The juiciness comes from cooking meat quickly at a high temperature, as opposed to grilling or sautéing, which cooks the meat for a longer time at a lower temperature.

Searing creates a crisp and flavorful crust by caramelizing the natural sugars an amino acids in the beef (known as a Maillard Reaction). The ideal temperature for caramelizing is 350°F to 500°F.

Be careful not to exceed 500°F when cooking. Very high temperatures can char the beef, producing a burned flavor as well as carcinogens.

• Find more tips in Chef Eguaras’ book, 101 Things I Learned In Culinary School.

Keep it juicy! Ribeye steak from
RedMarbleSteaks.com.

• What‘s the difference between a ribeye and a porterhouse? A hanger steak and a cowboy steak? Learn your cuts of beef in our Beef Glossary.

Chips for the cure, available through
October. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

The company launched its Food Should Do Good initiative to give back.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the company created pink-trimmed packaging for its Multigrain, Olive, and Sweet Potato tortilla chips. With each purchase, Food Should Taste Good will donate five cents to the cure.

Hopefully, enough chips will be enjoyed so that each of the three participating charities—Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Ellie Fund and Susan B. Komen For The Cure—will receive $25,000 apiece.

But that depends on you! Chip in, and buy the special chips by the end of the month.

They’re available at major grocers nationwide including Kroger, Safeway, Stop & Shop and Whole Foods, in 5.5-ounce and 6-ounce bags. The bags are priced at $2.99 to $3.29.

• Read our review of Food Should Taste Good, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

Sir Francis Bacon is offering five lucky winners the opportunity to try both bacon peanut brittle and their chocolate-covered peanut brittle bar. The sweet, the salty and the savory will keep you coming back for more. We loved it so much we made it a Top Pick Of The Week (read the review).

The brittle is produced in small batches in copper kettles. Buttery, salty, smoky and crunchy, this all-natural confection will find fans among everyone who likes bacon.

Retail value: Approximately $34.00

To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Best Bacon Gifts Section and click to enter your email address for the prize drawing.
This contest closes on Monday, November 11th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!

For more information about Sir Francis Bacon, visit BaconPeanutBrittle.com.

The sophisticated way to enjoy peanut brittle:
with bacon inside. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

Complex wine demands simple food.
Photo by Michal Szydlowski | SXC.

Complex wines demand simple food. You want the wine to be the focus of attention, not a dazzling dish of food.

Grilled steak, roast beef or lamb for a great red wine do the trick; as does grilled seafood or fish for a white wine.

Use subtle herbs and spices on the vegetables; avoid heavy sauces. Dress vegetables simply: This isn’t the time for your famous Roquefort sauce.

Simple cooking also gives you what you want most: the time to relax and enjoy that bottle of wine!

• Bone up on the flavors and aromas of wine. Then, as you drink the wine, look for the particular flavors and aromas as you nose (sniff) and taste the wine.

First, you can try new cookie recipes. You don‘t have to eat them all: Make them as a birthday gift or a no-occasion thank-you for a neighbor, relative, teacher, hairdresser, healthcare provider (yes, they eat cookies, too) or other helper.

Second, you can learn more about cookies.

• The history of cookies
• The history of biscotti
• The history of the brownie, a bar cookie
• The history of the chocolate chip cookie
• The history of the macaroon
• The different types of cookies: a cookie glossary

The chocolate chip cookie has evolved in
wonderful ways since the original chocolate
chip cookie. See who invented the
chocolate chip cookie.