Not to worry. I found it. Actually can’t miss it. Even with a try. It is in every home, in every food outlet, on

Cuts of Argentine beef decorate a dish towel

everyone’s lips and in everybody’s heart (both literally and figuratively), throughout Argentina.

Beef is not just a food in Argentina; it is a cultural treasure, a way of life, a beloved heritage well marbled in all strata of society.

Argentines boldly boast that their beef is the best in the world. The Buenos Aires taxi driver, in route from airport to hotel, says it’s because the cows walk every day to eat and they eat only grass. The gaucho (cowboy) you meet at a street fair credits the breeds of cattle. The nutritionist trying on coats at a leather shop claims the beef has health promoting properties, absent in beef from other countries. And the cook who invites you to an asado (barbecue) insists it’s impeccable grilling techniques that release the beef’s magnificent flavor.

I say it is all of the above. Praise be the total package.

That said, don’t cry for me Argentina. We North Americans have our own beef standards and may not agree with the Argentine  “best of the best” claim—that is until we become accustomed to the differences.

A Buenos Aires butcher proudly displays beef products

North Americans love long-aged, well marbled beef, served seared on the outside and bloody red inside. Argentines consider aged beef old and most order meat cooked medium well to well done. The marbling isn’t there either, as grass fed beef is much leaner than US feedlot counterparts. On the other hand, although we from the United States salivate at the thought of big, thick steaks, we find it virtually impossible to understand the gargantuan portions Argentines pack away in single sitting. Argentines eat a whopping 132 pounds of beef per person, per year, setting the world record.

Consider a typical meal in a Buenos Aires parrilla (steakhouse). Likely the meal will start with a sampling of Argentina’s favorite appetizers: beef empanadas; molleja (sweetbreads); chinchulines (intestines); rinones (kidneys); and assorted sausages, some finger thin coiled to cover the surface of a dinner plate and others as thick and succulent as any sausages on this planet. Next comes the entrée platter, which usually includes several different cuts of beef, the two most popular being bife de chorizo, a cut like a t-bone without the bone, and tira de asado, long,

Beef straight from the grill at a busy parrilla

narrow strips of bone-in short ribs. Of course, salads, potatoes and a variety of other vegetables can be ordered as side dishes. What never accompanies the beef is any sort of steak sauce, barbecue sauce or ketchup. Only salt flavors the meat. And the meat, unseasoned, not marinated, unsauced is simply irresistible.

So what really makes Argentine beef special?

Exercise, diet and living condition of the cattle play the major roles. Although Argentina does produce feedlot beef, the majority of cattle still wander freely over extensive plains, dining on rich grasses that thrive in the mild climate. A grass diet produces beef that contains less saturated fat, fewer calories, more omega 3 fatty acids and more vitamin E than other feeds. Grass-grazing, free-roaming cattle live in natural conditions and are generally free from hormone implants, stress and antibiotics.

Grass-fed beef is packed with flavor, but it can also be tough if not properly cooked and Argentines consider grilling an art form, associated with as many dos and don’ts as a religious ceremony.

Just in case you are lucky enough to get your hands on true Argentina beef and want to cook it as would an Argentine, here’s what you do:

Steak Argentine style

Barbecued Beef Argentine Style

or

RULES OF THE ASADO

1. Use a grill that is scrupulously clean.
2. Build a fire (coal or wood, with wood the preference as the embers last longer and perfume the meat). Let the fire burn to embers then push the embers aside, making sure you have enough embers to finish the cooking.
3. Spread a portion of embers on the floor of the grill.
4. When grill floor is hot, rub cooking grid with a piece of fat.
5. Salt the meat before cooking—or not (salting before will draw out juices; salting after doesn’t flavor as much). Add nothing but salt to the meat.
6. Place meat on grill and quickly sear the outside by lowering grill top or increasing amount of embers, then adjust grill or embers to cook the meat. Keep meat between six and four inches above the embers.
7. Do not move meat around on the grill; move embers.
8. Turn meat only once, with tongs; do not puncture with a fork or cut with a knife to check for doneness or you will lose juice and flavor.
9. Serve the moment the meat is cooked.
10. Enjoy.

Michaël Dessimiroff gave me the recipe many years ago, when he was chef on the Horizon II, a hotel barge floating the canals of France. Trained as a pastry chef before joining the barge staff, Michaël baked particularly marvelous quiches, one for every day of the trip.  He said that the secret to a great crust is to not overwork the dough and to refrigerate the dough after each handling. He also said that cooks can make a variety of different quiches by using one basic recipe and altering a few flavoring ingredients.

Although it can be done, I can’t imagine altering Michaël’s Pear and Roquefort Quiche as to me it was the pièce de résistance of his entire quiche repertoire, offering a flawless balance of delicate flavors and a perfect ratio of rich buttery crust to soft custard filling. Also I can’t imagine any real man refusing this quiche—although, mon dieu, I do keep trying to find one.

PEAR AND ROQUEFORT QUICHE

2-1/2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) Roquefort cheese (or good quality blue cheese)

1/2 cup whipping cream

3 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1-1/2 cups whole milk 

Pinch each: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon fine, dry bread crumbs

1 partly baked 10-inch pastry shell (recipe follows)

1 small pear, peeled, cored and thickly sliced

1 to 2 teaspoons honey

On a plate, using a fork, mash cheese with some of the cream to form a smooth paste; transfer to a medium bowl. Gently beat in remaining cream. Add eggs and beat until mixture is blended, but not foamy. Whisk in sour cream, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, salt and pepper; set aside.

Sprinkle bread crumbs in center of pastry shell. Arrange pear slices in a circular pattern over crumbs and drizzle with honey. Set pan on a baking sheet. Stir egg mixture and pour into shell. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven until quiche has puffed slightly and top has lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool slightly on a rack. Release side and bottom of pan and slide quiche onto a serving platter. Serve quiche warm or at room temperature.

Yield: About 8 servings.

PASTRY SHELL

2 cups all-purpose flour plus additional flour for rolling dough

12 tablespoons chilled salted butter, cut into pieces

1 egg, beaten

Pinch salt

Sift 2 cups flour into a mixing bowl. Add butter. With fingertips, rapidly rub butter and flour together until mixture is in small crumbs. Make a well in center; add egg and salt. Stir gently with a fork to incorporate egg, then gather ingredients into a rough ball and knead gently and quickly to form a dough. Put dough on a flat surface and, with the heel of your hand, smear about three tablespoons of the dough into a thin streak; repeat until all dough has been smeared once. Gather dough into a smooth ball, flatten ball, wrap with plastic or foil, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to an 11- to 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 10-inch, false-bottomed quiche pan and gently maneuver dough to line pan. Turn excess overhang into pan and press to make double-thick sides to the pastry case. Trim off excess dough. Prick at 1/4-inch intervals with the tines of a fork. Place a sheet of foil, shiny side down, in pan and smooth over dough. (The foil should be large enough to come about 2 inches above rim of pan on all sides.) Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Fill foil lining with pastry weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake in preheated 425°F oven until bottom of shell is set and sides are beginning to brown, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Return shell to oven and bake 2 minutes. Remove pan from oven and put on a rack to cool.

Yield: One 10-inch pastry shell, partly baked.

The school’s recipes were authentic, but slightly adapted to please American palates, and gentle Thai cooking teachers explain how each recipe could be further adjusted to suit individual tastes.

For example, teachers said that when making Pad Thai, cooks could:

1. substitute rice vinegar for the tamarind juice—although the tamarind adds a distinctive “fruity” taste;

2. use roasted red pepper instead of paprika for color;

and/or

3. substitute cubed raw chicken for the shrimp.

Then again, cooks could follow the original recipe with perfectly pleasing results.

Epicurean Kitchen Cooking School’s

PAD THAI

Yield: 1 large serving

About 2 ounces Thai Kitchen Stir-Fry Rice Noodles (or rice sticks, also called banh pho)

2 tablespoons dried shrimp, optional

1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons water

1-1/2 tablespoons premium fish sauce

2 teaspoons tamarind juice (or rice vinegar)

Pinch paprika for color

About 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large shallot, peeled and finely sliced

2 tablespoons preserved sweet radish

1 tablespoon cubed extra firm tofu

About  7 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 small egg

1 cup bean sprouts

2 scallions, trimmed and slivered

For Garnish

Chiles

Lime, cut into wedges

Crushed roasted peanuts

Put rice noodles in room-temperature water to cover and let soak until pliable, but firm—not soft or mushy; soaking can take from 20 minutes to 1 hour (see note below). Drain noodles well and set aside. Cover dried shrimp with water and let soak until tender, about 20 minutes; drain well.

Combine sugar, water, fish sauce, tamarind juice and paprika; set aside.

Heat wok or large frying pan over medium high heat; add vegetable oil. When oil is hot, add shallots and stir-fry until golden brown. Turn heat to high. Add radish, dried shrimp and tofu to wok; stir-fry 1 minute. Add softened noodles. Pour sugar mixture over top. Stir-fry ingredients until noodles are tender (taste, they should be al dente). Push noodle mixture to the side of the pan. Add raw shrimp and stir fry until cooked. Push shrimp to the side with noodles. Add egg and stir-fry until scrambled. Mix all ingredients together (if necessary, continue stir-frying another minute or so until mixture is “dry” and sauce incorporated). Toss in bean sprouts and scallions and stir-fry until mixed.  Serve immediately garnished with chiles, lime wedges and/or peanuts.

NOTE: If you are in a hurry, you can “fast soak” the noodles, but they won’t be as good. To fast soak: bring a pot of water to the boil, turn off heat, add the noodles and let sit until pliable—3 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse in cold water.)

I’ve been a long-time fan of Scott Uehlein, Canyon Ranch’s corporate chef and author of NOURISH—so am not surprised at the high quality his newest book which, in addition to recipes, includes photos, nutritional information and helpful hints. Gotta confess, I find some of the hints as inspiring as the recipes—for example what dieter could not love the nutrition note accompanying the warm chocolate cake recipe “Nutrition Note: We are so happy to tell you again how healthy chocolate is.”

Scott Uehlein, Canyon Ranch Chef

Thank you Scott—your book is terrific and I am so happy to have it in my collection.

Nourish is a Viking Studio publication with a list price of $40. For a tasty sample of a typical recipe try this:

BEEF SHORT RIBS

Makes 4 serving

2 pounds bone-in beef short ribs or 1 pound boneless short ribs

2 cups Mongolian BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)

2 cups water

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sear the short ribs in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Place in a shallow glass baking dish with a cover.

Combine the BBQ sauce, water, and brown sugar in a medium bowl and mix well. Pour over ribs. Cover tightly and roast for 2 to 3 hours, or until tender.

Serve 2 ribs with 2 tablespoons sauce,1/2 cup mashed potatoes and 1/2 cup braised red cabbage (recipes for potatoes and cabbage are included in NOURISH)

Each serving contains: 370 calories, 35 g carbohydrate, 15 g fat, 58 mg cholesterol, 22g protein, 740 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.

Beef Short Ribs

MONGOLIAN BBQ SAUCE

Makes sixteen 2-tablespoon servings

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari sauce

2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 cup sake

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

1/3 cup low-sodium ketchup

Pinch ground coriander

Pinch ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup minced leeks, white part only

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

Combine the 1/2 cup tamari, the cane juice, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sake, and the 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low. Add the ketchup, coriander, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for a 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Combine the leeks, garlic, fresh ginger, the 2 tablespoons water, and the 2 tablespoons tamari.

Add the leek mixture to the sauce mixture and stir until combined.

Each serving contains: 35 calories, 4 g carbohydrate, trace fat, 0 mg cholesterol, trace protein, 288mg sodium, trace fiber.

Danny Meyer

restaurateur opened Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern, two of New York City’s most beloved restaurants, but before he opened Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Blue Smoke, Shake Shack and The Modern, the decidedly luscious dining room in the Museum of Modern Art.

As fitting America’s quintessential restaurateur, Danny’s turkey is not—not at all—not even remotely—run of the mill or traditional. He practically flash roasts his turkey, cooking it at a high heat covered with bacon, which lends a delicate porky flavor and keeps the turkey moist.

Talking turkey, Danny’s recipe gives cooks with time constraints just one more reason to be thankful on Thanksgiving.

DANNY MEYER’S BACON ROAST TURKEY

1 fresh (11- to 12-pound) turkey

Salt

Coarsely cracked black pepper

About 6 sprigs fresh herb (sage, marjoram, thyme or a combination)

1 pound bacon, thinly sliced

Rinse turkey under cold running water and dry well inside and out. Sprinkle body cavity with salt and pepper. Place herb sprigs inside cavity. Do not truss turkey or close legs. Place turkey, breast up, on a rack in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Completely cover top of turkey with bacon, using the entire pound. Place turkey in a preheated 450-degree oven and roast until bacon is completely browned, about 35 minutes. Remove bacon from turkey (reserve bacon for another use).  Baste turkey well with bacon drippings. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the turkey thigh, not touching bone. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and continue roasting turkey, basting every 15 minutes with bacon drippings, until turkey registers 180 degrees on the meat thermometer, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove turkey from oven and let stand for 20 minutes before slicing.

Yield: About 10 servings.

Julia Child

I can’t say we were friends, more like friendly acquaintances. We would sometimes sit together at industry events and food conferences. Lucky me. Like almost every other cook at the time, I revered her, not only because she was one of the first TV cooks and her recipes never failed to produce something glorious, but also because she was such a generous, non-pretentious super star—always willing to share.

As her cookbooks inspired so many people, I once asked her what cookbooks inspired her.

She replied quite simply in that sky-high voice, “ I started out with the Joy of Cooking. This was before I went to France. It took hours for me to get dinner on the table, and then I was often too tired to eat.”

Whereas I loved all of Julia’s recipes, many becoming mainstays of dinner parties and family celebrations, only one recipe from the Joy of Cooking made my staples list—a pork roast.

Frankly, I never met a cook I admired more than Julia, and I never made a pork roast I liked more than the Joy of Cooking’s Roast of Pork.

OLD FASHIONED PORK ROAST WITH PAN GRAVY (As remembered from the Joy of Cooking)

Rub a 5 to 9-pound bone-in pork butt or shoulder with crushed garlic. Dredge roast with flour. Put roast, fat side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and, if desired, crushed dried herbs such as rosemary, sage or thyme. Place roast in a preheated 450-degree oven. Immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees. Roast uncovered 30 to 35 minutes per pound or to an internal temperature of 185 degrees. Remove roast from oven and transfer it to a cutting board or meat tray; let sit in a warm place while you make gravy.

Pan Gravy:  Pour pan drippings into a measuring cup, leaving about 2 tablespoons fatty drippings in pan. Drain fat from drippings in cup and add enough milk, cream or broth to make 1 cup liquid; set liquid aside.

Place roasting pan over heat and sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons flour over drippings, whisking until mixture is well combined and smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly add reserved liquid and cook until gravy thickens, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (and a touch of rosemary, sage or thyme if desired). Can thin gravy with additional liquid if desired. Serve immediately.

More village than town (only one electric street light in the whole place), Apalachicola sports an unusual amount of sophisticated restaurants. Most feature local seafood, which isn’t surprising as more than 186 species of fish are found in Apalachicola Bay, with oysters earning worldwide attention. (Here is one of the only places in the States where wild oysters are still harvested by tongs from small boats.)

Restaurants showcase Apalachicola Bay oysters in every conceivable manner, but  it’s hard to beat the simple fried oysters served at Tamara’s Café Floridita (www.tamarascafe.com).

I don’t know what chef Daniel Itzkovitz does to capture such flavor…well…that’s not true. I do know. He told me:

Chef Daniel Itzkovitz

FRIED OYSTERS FROM TAMARA’S CAFÉ FLORIDITA

“Take the oysters straight from their natural liquor, coat them lightly with flour, salt and pepper, and deep-fry them at 350 to 360 degrees for one minute. Serve the oysters with a sauce made from mayo, sour cream and diced pickled jalapeño peppers.”

Made with absolutely fresh Apalachicola Bay oysters and eaten blissfully hot, the dish is succulent, crunchy, sweet, subtle and tangy all at one time. My mouth is watering just thinking of them.

Those who subscribe to the “R” rule—don’t eat oysters in months spelled without an R—or conversely, eat oysters only in months with R in the name, have a good reason to be joyful that the long, hot summer has turned into a run of R months.

 Airport food can be dismal, but Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 provides some far-better-than-average options. I found one of the simpler outlets, V Bar, while trudging through the terminal at 3:30 a.m. Midwest time, transferring from a Chicago-to-Rome-through-London flight.

“Morning special,” lured the chalkboard outside the bar, “Bacon sandwich on thick homemade country bread. Beers on tap.” OMG, beer and bacon—gotta have it. A spa couldn’t offer better restoration from a child-packed, coach-class overnight and an in-flight breakfast of truly terrible coffee and cardboard croissant.

V bar is slightly more sleek than old-fashioned pub-like, particularly if one chooses to sit in the pleasant light-bright seating area outside the main bar. And the bar’s morning menu offered some traditional English fare updated with surprisingly “healthful” items.

I went for the full English breakfast which came with bacon (of course), cut into thin medallions like ham in the United States; free-range eggs, scrambled with fresh chives; a plump leek and turkey sausage (wonderful); two large grilled baby portabella mushrooms, a small broiled tomato and whole wheat toast.

Fruit smoothies, rich coffee and a decent selection of wines supplement the beer.

I am not saying it is worth booking through Heathrow to have a meal, but if you are stuck in Terminal 5 for any length of time, you’ll find food good enough to be grateful for the wait.

So let’s say in a fit of madness you invited the _________(fill in the blank: family, neighbors, office friends, beer-drinking pals) for an impromptu mid-summer dinner. You have less than two hours to shop, cook and otherwise get ready. Watta ya do? First head to a grocer that has it all: shrimp, plump smoked sausages, small flavorful potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh green beans, crab/shrimp boil seasoning (such as Old Bay and/or Zatarain’s), great crusty bakery bread, butter, an assortment of mustards, cocktail sauce, and a truly fine dessert—oh, yes, cold beer and a few cheery bottles of wine, butcher paper and plastic table cover (or you can use trash bags).

Once home, line your dining table with plastic. Top with butcher paper. Add plenty of napkins, bread and butter, and the condiments. Shuck the corn and break in half. Scrub the potatoes. Trim ends off the beans. Cut sausages into pieces. Have a beer or glass of wine. Pick some garden flowers for the table.

When your guests arrive, while they have a drink—oops, while at the store you should also have bought some chips and dips, crackers and cheese or other appetizers). Put a large pot of water on to boil (size of pot depends on the amount of ingredients you bought which depends on how many guests you expect). Pot should hold all of the ingredients with room to spare for lots of water. (Think large stockpot for small group and turkey fryer for a crowd.) Add the seasoning. When water boils rapidly, add the ingredients in order of the time it takes them to cook: potatoes first, then sausages and corn, beans and finally shrimp. Call people to dinner. Drain the boil. Spread the feast directly onto the paper covered table. Voila! Done. Eat with fingers. This shrimp/sausage boil (aka Low Country Boil) is not only simple and easy to produce, but the eating with fingers encourages camaraderie and clean up is a snap. One pot to wash. No utensils or plates to complicate. EASY. Gotta do it again—and again—and again…