Serious Eats: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Eating Delicious Food Wherever You Are [Paperback]

Ed Levine (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2011

Ed Levine and the editors of food blog SeriousEats.com bring you the first Serious Eats book, a celebration of America’s favorite foods, from pizza to barbecue, tacos to sliders, doughnuts to egg sandwiches, and much more. Serious Eats crackles with the energy and conviction that has made the website the passionate, discerning authority on all things delicious since its inception in 2006.

Are you a Serious Eater?

1. Do you plan your day around what you might eat?
2. When you are heading somewhere, anywhere, will you go out of your way to eat something delicious?
3. When you daydream, do you often find yourself thinking about food?
4. Do you live to eat, rather than eat to live?
5. Have you strained relationships with friends or family by dictating the food itinerary—changing everyone’s plans to try a potentially special burger or piece of pie?

Ed Levine, whom Ruth Reichl calls the “missionary of the delicious,” and his SeriousEats.com editors present their unique take on iconic foods made and served around the country. From house-cured, hand-cut corned beef sandwiches at Jake’s in Milwaukee to fried-to-order doughnuts at Shipley’s Do-Nuts in Houston; from fresh clam pizza at Zuppardi’s Pizzeria in West Haven, Connecticut, to Green Eggs and Ham at Huckleberry Bakery and Café in Los Angeles, Serious Eats is a veritable map of some of the best food they have eaten nationwide.
           
Covering fast food, family-run restaurants, food trucks, and four-star dining establishments, all with zero snobbery, there is plenty here for every food lover, from coast to coast and everywhere in between. Featuring 400 of the Serious Eats team’s greatest food finds and 50 all-new recipes, this is your must-read manual for the pursuit of a tasty life.
           
You’ll learn not only where to go for the best grub, but also how to make the food you crave right in your own kitchen, with original recipes including Neapolitan Pizza (and dough), the Ultimate Sliders (which were invented in Kansas), Caramel Sticky Buns, Southern Fried Chicken, the classic Reuben, and Triple-Chocolate Adult Brownies. You’ll also hone your Serious Eater skills with tips that include signs of deliciousness, regional style guides (think pizza or barbecue), and Ed’s hypotheses—ranging from the Cuban sandwich theory to the Pizza Cognition Theory—on what makes a perfect bite.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Featured Recipe: Hamburger Fatty Melt

Yield 2 burgers

• 1/2 pound freshly ground Basic Burger Blend (see recipe below)
• 4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened
• 8 slices sandwich bread, preferably thin-sliced
• 8 slices yellow American cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Toppings, as desired (we recommend a slice of ripe tomato for each sandwich)

Divide the beef blend into two equal parts and shape into square patties 1/2 inch larger than the bread slices. Set aside.

For the grilled sandwiches, butter all eight slices of bread on both sides in a thin, even layer, using 1/2 tablespoon butter per slice. Place the remaining teaspoon of butter in a 12-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat until the foaming subsides, 2 to 3 minutes.

Place two slices of bread in the skillet and cook until the first side is hot but not browned, about 30 seconds. Transfer the slices to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, hot side up. Top each slice with a slice of cheese. Repeat with the remaining six slices of bread and cheese.

Assemble the bread and cheese to form four sandwiches with two slices of cheese in the center of each. Place two sandwiches in the skillet and cook until the first sides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until they are golden brown on the second side, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer the finished sandwiches to the wire rack and tent with foil to keep them warm while cooking the remaining two sandwiches.

Place the skillet over medium-high and heat the oil until it is lightly smoking. Season the patties liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Place them in the pan and cook without moving for about 3 minutes, until they are well browned. Using a metal spatula, flip the burgers and cook for 1 minute longer, or until the desired doneness is reached. Sandwich each patty between two grilled-cheese sandwiches, adding toppings as desired. Serve immediately.

Basic Burger Blend

Makes 2 pounds

• 12 ounces boneless beef sirloin, trimmed of gristle, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 10 ounces beef brisket, trimmed of gristle, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 10 ounces boneless beef shortrib, trimmed of gristle, cut into 1-inch cubes

Using a Meat Grinder

1. Place the feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of the meat grinder in the freezer until well chilled, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, place all the meat chunks on a rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece, and place in the freezer for 10 minutes, until the meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chilled meats and toss to mix. Grind the meat, handling as little as possible after it is ground. Use the ground meat immediately, or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Using a Food Processor

1. Place the bowl and blade of a food processor in the freezer until well chilled, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, place the meat chunks on a rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece, and place in the freezer for 10 minutes, until the meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chilled meats and toss to mix. Working in two batches, place the meat cubes in the food processor and pulse until a medium-fine grind is achieved, eight to ten 1-second pulses, scraping down the processor bowl as necessary. Use the ground meat immediately, or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

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About the Author

ED LEVINE, founder of SeriousEats.com, is a New York–based food writer, blogger, and frequent New York Times contributor. He is a recurring judge on Food Network’s Iron Chef America and has appeared on Good Morning America, Fresh Air, Charlie Rose, Martha Stewart Radio, The Splendid Table, Leonard Lopate, and CBS’s Sunday Morning. Serious Eats has won two James Beard Awards and was named by Time as one of the Top 50 Websites in 2008 and 2010.  

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030772087X
• ISBN-13: 978-0307720870
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1.2 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit disappointing November 13, 2011

By cristobal

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been a SE reader for years, and was delighted when I saw out they were coming out with this book. I pre-ordered as soon as it became available. On the website, it really sounded like there would be a lot more recipes than actually made the book. Instead it seems to mostly be made up of an endless series of Best Of lists. If you read SE there is absolutely no reason to buy the book, unless you simply want to support the site. If you don't visit the SE site, you will probably find the book quite entertaining for its voice, but don't think for a second you will find any cooking treasures in there, because you won't.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique and Refreshing Take on Food and Recipes November 3, 2011

By Chris

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

First of all, I'll caveat this review by stating that I've been a long time reader, commenter and occasional contributor to Serious Eats. I count the writers and editors of SE as both my professional associates and personal friends. With that said, I paid the full Amazon price for this book so I think that I am entitled my opinion just the same as other readers.

This book is a truly unique spin on food. It's a grey area between your traditional cookbook and the new wave of gastro-travel writing, in the same vein as Anthony Bourdain and AA Gill. There are honest, raw and sometimes humorous anecdotes about the travel, the progenitors of the food and the restaurants that the New York based staff sought out.

Earlier in the century, the Michelin tire company, driven by the motivation to get motorists on the road (and therefore selling more tires), started to case the great restaurants in the country of France. This tradition turned into what is now known as the Michelin guide, and is one of the most widely respected tomes of restaurant lore in the world.

I'll stop short of comparing the Serious Eats guide to the Michelin guide, but they've accomplished a similar goal - get the word out on local eats across the country and expose great restaurants to hungry citizens across the lower 48. As such, the book does a fantastic job of acknowledging locals eats, both famous and under the radar, across the country. If I ever find myself in Milwaukee, WI or Portland, OR, this book will serve as a valuable guide of where I should spend my dining budget.

Not that they've probed the country's gastronomy willy-nilly. They've smartly focused the book on the type of food that your average American eater and aspiring cook can relate to. This means slices of Americana, burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, desserts, BBQ and naturally, slices of pizza. These dimensions are further divided into variations of technique whether it be regional or idiosyncratic. For example, a chapter of pizza acknowledges not only the glories of New York style pizza, but also the Chicago style, the grilled, the bar pie and others. Furthermore, each section is peppered by helpful, bullet-proof recipes to recreate said cuisine.

As for the recipes, they're traditional and easy to follow, and in some cases, truly off the beaten path. I don't recall a Rachel Ray or Jamie Oliver cook book including a recipe for halal chicken over rice, or even a Cuban sandwich for that matter (which the SE book does). There are recipes in the book for falafel or the obvious buttermilk pancakes or hamburger. But that doesn't make them any less useful, as they tend to be well thought out.

The only hole that I could poke in the book is the fact that it's a Freshman effort by a young team of food enthusiasts. It's a bunch of strangers firing off opinions about restaurants and recipes, but then again, that could be a description of any show on the Food Network. Enthusiasm is the key message in this book. The love for food doesn't just drip from their tongues - it practically explodes on the page. Does that enthusiasm make their restaurant recommendations more credible or their recipes more reliable? I can't answer that, but it sure as hell makes this book more fun to read.

33 of 42 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Useful only as ironic statement on the status of the printed word in this century November 3, 2011

By nybiblio

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Serious Eats site is a wonderful resource for venues, recipes, and just about anything else to do with food. I purchased this book based on the expectation that it would be a similar resource. After all, it is "A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Eating Delicious Food Where Ever You Are." The title should have been "400 Pages of lists in SEverAL doZEN TYpEfacES and SIzeS with a few recipes thrown in." The lay-out of the book leaves much to be desired. It's a chaotic jumble, not helped by the typefaces/sizes previously mentioned.

I had hoped for thoughtful articles and a solid collection of recipes. Instead, the book mostly contains lists reprinted from the website. How relevant is this in an age where we can pull up the same information on our cell phones/iPads while traveling?

My cookbook/food collection spans several hundred volumes. I can always find room for one more if I even remotely think I will ever use it. I've never returned a book before, either to a book store or to Amazon. This one is ready for UPS pick up tomorrow.