We’re quite enamored of the Corkcicle, a reusable, gel-filled plastic icicle. Kept in the freezer until you need it, it becomes a wine cooler and bottle stopper that chills down a bottle of wine or maintains the temperature of an already chilled bottle.

Forget a bulky ice bucket: This the perfect way to keep opened bottles of wine at just the right drinking temperature. It’s available in a standard edition, Corkcicle Classic, and a deluxe edition, Corkcicle One, which has a built-in aerator and pouring spout. Either is a great gift for wine lovers.

Now Corkcicle has a beer brother: the Chillsner, for standard long neck beer bottles. The stainless steel frame contains the same proprietary thermal gel used in the Corkcicle. As with the Corkcicle, you keep the Chillsner in the freezer until you need it; then, simply insert it into the bottle.

You can place the Chillsner in a warm bottle of beer and immediately sip cold beer through the spout (or pour it into a glass). Or, use the Chillsner to keep a pre-chilled bottle cold.

If you’re drinking alfresco, the Chillsner also keeps the bugs out.

Give as a summer gift, or plan for the holidays. Any beer drinker will be delighted.

A tip just heard on the Today Show: A Cook’s Illustrated taste test on cooking frozen versus thawed steaks.

Conventional wisdom is that frozen meat should be thawed before cooking. But when testing frozen versus thawed strip steaks on the grill, the Cook’s Illustrated test showed that, while they took longer to cook, the frozen steaks were better: juicier and more evenly cooked.

The technique also produced less overcooked meat, specifically the so-called “gray band” near the seared edge.

Here’s the step-by-step:

1. PREHEAT oven to 275° (135°C).

2. FILL a skillet with 1/8″ oil and heat.

3. SEAR meat until browned, about 90 seconds per side.

4. TRANSFER meat to an oven safe wire rack, set upon a rimmed baking sheet.

5. COOK in the oven to desired doneness, 18 to 20 minutes for a 1-inch-thick steak.

So try it yourself—not just with steaks but with burgers and other frozen meat and fish. And then, see how it works on the grill, and let us know.
  

[2] Portabella mushrooms can be four to six inches across (photo © Mushroom Council | Facebook).

For a meaty vegetarian entrée, stuff a grilled portabella mushroom, a large, “meaty” mushroom. The stuffing can be simple, from breadcrumbs to cheese to salad. It can be vegetarian or vegan.

Or, you can add ground meat to your filling.

Stuffed portabella mushrooms provide the opportunity for complex layering of flavors, as in the recipe below for Grilled Portabella Mushrooms Stuffed with Bacon And Caramelized Onion Purée, Mashed Potatoes, Wisconsin Fontina Cheese, And Sliced Italian Prosciutto.

The recipe, by Chefs Michael Smith and Debbie Gold, is courtesy EatWisconsinCheese.com. While there are several steps, they are easy ones (caramelize the onions, mash the potatoes).

The recipe is below, but first:

> The history of mushrooms.

> The different types of mushrooms.
 
 
PORTABELLA, PORTABELLO OR PORTOBELLO?

How can one mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, be known by so many names? All three spellings are used; we prefer portabella, which flows off the tongue most easily.

Portabellas are mature cremini mushrooms, tan to brown in color. The immature cremini is variously called a baby portobello, baby bella, brown mushroom, crimini, Italian mushroom, mini bella, portabellini, Roman mushroom, Italian mushroom, or brown mushroom.

Portabellas are meaty in both taste and appearance, with more complex flavors than the young creminis. They can be 3 to 10 inches in diameter; the large portabellas can be grilled or stuffed as an entrée.

Like meat, portabellas release juices when cooked. Vegetarians enjoy them grilled in lieu of beef, and they make wonderful grilled vegetable sandwiches. They can be served whole or sliced, stuffed, or as “burgers.”

Whew!

For a simple starter, serve sliced grilled portabellas drizzled with a balsamic reduction. They are available fresh from December to March and cultivated year-round.

This recipe is made with “baby bellas,” three-inch diameter portabellas, and can be served in appetizer portions. But you can use larger portabellas for an entrée.

Ingredients For The Bacon Purée

For The Mashed Potatoes

 
For The Grilled Mushrooms

Preparation

1. MAKE the bacon purée: In a large heavy skillet, combine bacon and onions. Cook over medium heat until onions are very soft and dark brown. While hot, purée in a food processor. Set aside and keep warm. You will need 1 cup purée for this recipe.

2. MAKE the mashed potatoes: Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Meanwhile, scald heavy cream. Drain and rice potatoes in a food mill. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl, add cream, and stir vigorously. Add butter, continuing to stir potatoes. Stir in olive oil. Adjust seasoning with salt and white pepper. Set aside and keep warm. You will need 3 cups for this recipe.

3. GRILL the mushrooms: Prepare a hot grill. Remove stems and gills from mushrooms. Brush mushrooms with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from grill.

4. STUFF the mushrooms: Fill mushrooms with bacon purée. Spoon a good size dollop of mashed potatoes over the bacon. Top with a slice of cheese and a slice of prosciutto, pleated to fit. Place mushrooms on the cooler part of the grill until cheese is melted and gooey. While mushrooms are warming, season radicchio with salt and pepper. Grill both sides until slightly wilted and starting to turn brown.

5. DRESS the salad: In a medium bowl, toss grilled radicchio, arugula, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Divide onto four plates. Top each with a stuffed mushroom. Serve immediately.
 
 

A special gadget slices grapes in half. A
better gadget: a sharp knife and a cutting
board. Photo courtesy OXO.

But some work better than others. We had great hopes for the mango splitter we purchased; it didn’t work and was promptly donated to Goodwill. While peeling mangoes is a pain, it’s still easier to use a knife and a vegetable peeler.

Then, starting with the guacamole masher—a device made by Amco and other companies—as well as the separate OXO avocado slicer, without the mashing component, we began to wonder what was going on in the invention of new kitchen gadgets.

They seemed to be unnecessary—drawer-clutterers that didn’t do any better job than the standard gadgets we already have. Yet, manufacturers won’t make these gadgets unless consumers will buy them.

With the Caprese salad maker—a tomato and mozzarella slicer from Jed Mart, and another from Rösle—we noticed that things were getting out of hand. If you can’t evenly slice a mozzarella cheese or a tomato, you simply need to practice with a knife.

A corn stripper/shucker? Don’t even think of it: Some ears of corn are simply too plump to fit through the one-size-does-not-fit-all kernel remover. Here’s how we cut corn kernels from the cob.

The Basics Work Best

We can’t imagine who would buy gadgets like these, because everyone we know who prepares food at home knows how to hold a knife and slice.

And that’s all you need: a good knife and a cutting board. So today’s tip is: Please, save your money!

The gadget that inspired today’s tip is the OXO Good Grips Grape and Small Tomato Slicing Guide (photo above).

You fill the Guide (the container) with up to 1 cup of grapes, grape tomatoes, or other small fruits like kumquats, pitted cherries or pitted olives.

Seriously: one cup of grapes or tomatoes? That’s not very much to slice by hand. A sharp kitchen knife will slice them faster and better.

While we haven’t tried it (we’ve tried too many new-fangled gadgets, with no success), we opine that in the time it takes to load, slice, remove and clean the container, you can slice the grapes on a cutting board with your kitchen knife.

Stop The Insanity

The next time you’re tempted by a nifty-looking kitchen gadget, ask yourself:

Will a sharp knife do as well? Then sharpen your knives, or treat yourself to a new paring knife if you must buy something.

And don’t buy cheap knives: The edge isn’t great to start with, and will dull quickly. It’s no bargain.
 
The Grand Finale

A couple of months ago we received this pitch: “Nik of Time, Inc., introduces PantryChic™—a sleek and modern kitchen appliance line designed for precise ingredient measuring and simplified food preparation through its intuitive and innovative engineering. PantryChic promises to re-introduce families to the joy of baking, cooking and sharing a meal by addressing some of the tedious preparation steps to save time and allow for better more consistent results.”

As you can see in the photo, this comprises a canister on a stand, that you place over a base with a mixing bowl. You dial the amount of flour or other ingredient and it is dispensed into the bowl.

Does this look like a better option for your kitchen? Photo courtesy Pantrychic.

Seriously once more: Is this an improvement over a conventional canister and a measuring cup? Have we gotten to the point where we can’t scoop and measure with a spatula and achieve “consistent results?”

And, as the company claims, will this “re-introduce families to the joy of baking?”

Perhaps we just don’t get it, but you can find out more at PantryChic.com.

MORE KITCHEN GADGETS TO AVOID.

Papa Kadam (Om Puri) brings his family and
their cuisine from Mumbai to a small
French town. Photo courtesy Dreamworks.

We didn’t know about the international best-seller, The Hundred-Foot Journey, a novel by Richard C. Morais. But after seeing the film version twice, we were so captivated that we ordered a copy.

The main story, of an immigrant Indian restaurant family taking on the finest Michelin restaurant in 50 miles of their town in the south of France, was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as a “favorite summer read” in 2010. Oprah brought the book to Steven Spielberg, and we are the beneficiaries of the film, The Hundred Foot Journey. If you love a warm story, beautiful cinematography, spot-on performances and direction and of course, great cuisine, you’ll cherish this charming film.

Let others write about the cultural divide and the ability to walk in somebody else’s shoes. We’re here for the food, which is glorious. From the just-harvested produce and fresh proteins in the town market, to the activity in the kitchens of two very different restaurants, this film is a feast for food lovers.

The actual distance from the [fictitious] elegant Michelin one-star Le Saule Pleureur* to the boisterous newcomer, Maison Mumbai, is brief: one hundred feet, says the title. It refers to both the actual distance and the cultural divide and battlefield.
 
*The Weeping Willow.

There are several journeys: the Kadam family’s, from Mumbai to France; young Hassam’s, from his modest family restaurant to the pursuit of three stars at a top Paris restaurant; the pursuit of the craft of great cuisine; and two love stories. The haughty restaurateur, Madame Mallory, feisty Papa Kadam, and even the beautiful sous-chef in Madame’s kitchen, Marguerite, discover new paths.

The story takes place in the real town of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the south of France.

The words “charming,” “picturesque” and “quaint” are not clichés here: You will want to go online and book your next vacation. Many of the actual vendors who work in the local market appeared as extras in the film, along with their produce, cheeses, flowers and wines.

However, as happens in motion pictures, some locations are not what they may seem.

The center of town is Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, but the breathtaking outskirts where the two restaurants face off amid green fields, is actually a composite, a miracle of digital art that placed a farmhouse some 10 km away across the street from the 19th century pink mansion that stands in for Le Saule Pleureur.

This film has received only average reviews from many reviewers. We don’t agree with their comments, and can only imagine that these individuals aren’t interested in chefs, great cuisine or stories built around them.

To lovers of great cuisine, who thrill to the flavors and aromas of fine kitchens, it’s a sensory delight—a very joyous journey indeed. Not to mention, a fine story that seems very real.

Directed by Lasse Hallström, the film stars Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal and Charlotte LeBon. But the gifts of all cast members and the production team, tfrom cinematographer Linus Sandgren and production designer David Gropman to the food stylists and the location scouts, deserve three stars.