Blog Posts by Esquire.com

Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Shallots and Guanciale

From The Sides Project

Midwest Vegetable: Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Shallots and Guanciale

Inspiration

Even people who don't like Brussels sprouts will eat them in the guise of Thanksgiving tradition, especially when there's some sort of pork fat in the mix. This version goes straight to the heartland, home to Iowa's La Quercia (laquercia.us), the neo-traditional makers of some of the finest cured meat in our charcuterie-crazed country. Their artisan salumi includes Guanciale Americano, a cured pork jowl with a touch of rosemary, used like slab bacon. Because La Quercia products are made from pigs freely ranged on vegetarian, grain-based diets and only two ingredients (pork and sea salt) or three (pork, sea salt and spices) added ingredients, the rendered guanciale fat is silky-smooth with farm-fresh flavor.

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Ingredients

2 and 1/2 pounds whole Brussels sprouts (sliced about 8 cups)
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Read More »from New Thanksgiving Side: Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Shallots

By John Mariani

Nearly three decades have passed since Esquire published its first annual list of the Best New Restaurants of the Year. Sweeping trends in the restaurant world have come and gone, but this year has been unlike any other: In place of one trend, there are a whole bunch - and not just trends but also new ideas and personalities and ingredients and entirely novel kinds of cuisine bouncing around every city we visited. We've organized our list accordingly, showing how each restaurant fits into a larger phenomenon in the world of eating out. So get eating. It's a big, exciting, delicious country out there.

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Read More »from The Best New Restaurants 2012

How To Be A Good BossBy Duncan Niederauer, CEO, NYSE Euronext

You're more a communicator than a strategist a lot of times.

In a funny way, getting people to galvanize around a strategy is the easier part. The pressure comes when you realize that if you get it wrong or don't deliver, you're impacting the lives of a lot of individuals. I see it at our town-hall meetings - people translating what's going on to how's it going to impact them. And that's human nature, by the way. That's okay. They have a wife or a husband and kids to take care of.

When I say that I want a diverse management team, everybody assumes it's the classic metrics, gender and race. That's absolutely critical, but it's not enough of the answer. You don't want it to be the Friends of the CEO Club. We set out to build a team of people who had different experiences, had been to different places - they have scar tissue. It makes it more interesting, and it shows that you don't have to be tight with the CEO to get ahead.

Are

Read More »from 10 Easy Ways to Be a Better Boss

Michelle Obama

By Eric Vilas-Boas
President Obama has at least one edge over Romney in tonight's debate: his wife's cookies. The First Lady's baking beat out Ann Romney's in Family Circle's 2012 Presidential Cookie Bake-Off, which, yes, is a real thing and has been going on since 1992. More than 9,000 readers weighed in on the competing recipes: Michelle's white-and-dark chocolate chip against Ann's M&M's variety (yet another of the family's unconventional recipe touches). When all was said and done, the contest yielded the narrowest margin in its twenty-year history, with Michelle winning by just 287 votes. The winning recipe has actually predicted the winner of the general election four out five times - the exception being Cindy McCain's winning oatmeal-butterscotch cookies in 2008 - which goes to show either the power of cookies or how arbitrary some of these "predictors" are. Whether he trounces Romney or not, however, at least the president can look forward to delicious cookies when he gets

Read More »from The Best Cookies in the Election Go to Michelle Obama

JalapenosBy Matt Goulet

When Corso and Co. start spouting their predictions from the steps of Michigan State's Beaumont Tower this Saturday, surrounding them will be hundreds of tailgate setups around the East Lansing campus, with grills ablaze in advance of the No. 20-ranked Spartans hosting No. 14 Ohio State. While most of us will be in the comfort of our own homes, that doesn't mean we can't participate in some good ol' tailgate-style grilling. Make some space between the requisite steaks, burgers, and brats for an easy batch of grilled jalapeño poppers as a starter. They're green and white in honor of this week's Gameday hosts, not to mention smoky, spicy, and full of cream cheese.

PLUS: More Recipes from Eat Like a Man >>

Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

Serves nine.

18 jalapenos
1 8oz brick of cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup white onion (or scallions), diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the tops off of the jalapeños and hollow them out, making

Read More »from How to Make Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

BLT sandwich with schnitzel

Published in the October 2012 issue

Chef Matt Jennings, Farmstead, Inc., Providence

What we've got in this sandwich is some hot pork-on-pork action. It's my merging of the two greatest inventions in the world: the BLT and fried chicken. I switched out the poultry for pork, and although in the restaurant I typically use the fattier shoulder cut or even porchetta, this schnitzel is made from the loin because it's easy to get from any butcher. Since loin is fairly lean, brining is a necessary step that doesn't just add flavor, it draws in and then holds moisture so that the cutlet doesn't dry out during the panfrying.

One of the most valuable skills any cook can have is the ability to layer contrasting but complementary flavors and textures, and you get it all in this sandwich: The crunchy cornflakes and tangy buttermilk in the breading mix are a real flavor flash from the past - very Americana - and dressing the lettuce with vinaigrette gives the sandwich its needed

Read More »from How to Build a Better BLT (with Schnitzel)

You want to look good, and you want clothes that reflect your ambition and your drive. No matter your current salary or clothing budget, you have options. Command the authority that a good suit can afford you.

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Read More »from The Best 11 Suits for Work at Any Budget

You may not set the sartorial bar at work, but how you clear it is up to you. Try these office-appropriate outfits in your workplace.

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Read More »from How to Dress for the Office