Meatless corn dogs are one of the vegetarian
treats from Veggie Patch. Photo courtesy
Veggie Patch.

This vegetarian line includes family favorites:

 
Chick’n and Veggie Dogs taste like the real, meaty deal; and the Broccoli Bites and Spinach Bites will convince everyone to eat more veggies.

Try them all!

See all of the Top Picks Of The Week.

*There are 20 Sullivan’s locations across the U.S. See the website for the roster of cities.

Here are Chef Garcia’s tips to avoid the most common grilling “misteaks”:

MISTEAK #1: Going Too Lean

Marbling is what delivers the flavor: It is one of the most important factors in steak selection. When selecting your meat, look for small streaks of fat and you’ll have a more flavorful steak. But, the more marbled the cut, the pricier the meat. The solution (approved by your healthcare provider): Eat smaller amounts of better meat.

MISTEAK #2: Taking Meat Directly From Fridge To Grill

Take the steak out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before you start grilling. This engenders more even cooking and more tender meat.

The steak should be the star. Avoid heavy marinades, butter and rubs; let the flavor of the meat shine by simply seasoning with salt and pepper. Chef Garcia recommends larger-grain salt, such as kosher salt or coarse sea salt, and cracked pepper. He advises, “Be generous but not heavy handed.”

MISTEAK #4: Skipping The Pre-Heat

For the best prep, the grill should always be preheated before the steak goes on. Gas grills require 5-10 minutes; charcoal grills may take a bit longer. When using a charcoal grill, make sure the coals are white hot: They will produce the most heat. Searing first will help keep the seasonings on the steak through the cooking process.

MISTEAK #5: Not Letting The Steak Rest

Pull the steak off the grill and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. While the meat rests, the hot juices are absorbed back into the muscle, making it juicier and more tender.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR CUTS OF BEEF?

Check out our beautiful Beef Glossary.

Lucky people in the Shreveport area can take part in Chef O’Boyle’a Gulf Pig Underground Dinner Club, with changing locations and menus. (Next up: a dinner in late July/early August and two in September/October.)

Chef O’Boyle is a consulting chef to the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, which acquainted us with him by sending one of his recipes.

While most home cooks may not want to take on his Tomato Gelée, it’s easy to whip up his reversal of the conventional steak salad, greens topped with sliced steak.

Here, the positions are reversed.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Pickle the vegetables (this can be done up to a week in advance).

2. Cook and plate the protein.

3. Top the protein with the dressed salad.

4. Garnish and serve.

Both food service professionals (Christopher is a pastry chef and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America), they can be commended for their excellent palates as well. The two varieties of cookies we tried were winners.

With next week’s cookie and calorie budget, we’ll look forward to working on the rest of the line: Big Apple Caramel Cookies (with dried apple slices and butterscotch chips), Black n’ White Cookies, Chawcolate Chunk Cookies and Dulce de Leche Cookies, sandwiches of two cinnamon and clove cookies filled with the milky caramel spread.

Shop online at NewYawkBakingCo.com or call toll-free: 855-NEW-YAWK.

Find more of our favorite cookies and recipes.

Make star-spangled drinks with star-shaped ice. Photo courtesy Promo-Wholesale.com.

Make each soft drink or cocktail more special with star-shaped ice, made in a silicon mold.

No time to find ice cube trays?

Head to the market for carambola, star fruit, to garnish the rims of glasses.

Then, find some special cocktail recipes.

Here are options in addition to the Star Spangled Banner and Patriot cocktail recipes we published last week:

JULY 4TH DRINK RECIPES

Serve glasses of red, white or blue Prosecco or other sparkling wine:

The red sparkler has a base of cranberry juice, the white is plain and the blue uses blueberry juice. Add two inches of juice to a Champagne flute and top with the sparkling wine. Don’t stir: It breaks up the bubbles.

You can make a non-alcoholic version with with lemon-lime soda.
 
 
Find more cocktail recipes.