Blog Posts by Chow Ciao

When a sandwich is this good and this easy, you'll never believe it's the result of a leftover roast! Remake your leftovers with style by reheating them in homemade beef stock.

Tips:

• Easy secrets to making beef stock: Enrich your life! Your au jus will only be as good as your beef stock, so consider making your own from unused beef bones. Toss them into the freezer until you need them. Unsalted canned broth or consommé is the next best choice, but avoid using salty bouillon cubes.
• Smart leftover tricks to revitalize your food: How you treat your meat BEFORE it's leftover matters. Refrigerate or slightly freeze smaller chunks of cooked prime rib to portion it out, and use a sharp knife to make thin-slicing a breeze when you reheat it.

French Dip au JusFrench Dip Au Jus

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 3 sandwiches

Ingredients:

3 sandwich baguettes, sliced in half lengthwise

6 slices Provolone cheese

1-1½ lbs. roasted prime rib beef, thinly sliced

3 cups Fabio's beef broth

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Hardboiled eggs are made easy in Fabio's simple cooking primer.

Tips:

• Tricks to the hard boil: Use your older eggs for hard-cooking, as they release their shells easier.
• Boil the water with the eggs. Don't place raw eggs into boiling water, or the whites, which quick faster than the yolks, will be overcooked and tough.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

PERFECTLY BOILED EGGS

6 large eggs

Gently put the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by at least one inch. Bring the water to a boil. Once at a boil, turn off the heat and remove from the burner. Cover the saucepan and allow it to sit, undisturbed for six minutes for soft-boiled eggs and up to ten minutes for hard-boiled.

Remove the eggs from the saucepan and transfer into a bowl of very cold water.

Peel and eat or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

MANGIA!

Read More »from Easy Secrets to Cooking Eggs: Hard Boiling

Microwaves aren't just for the non-cook. Make a delicious pie from scratch in 30 minutes or less.

Tips:

• A microwave will easily provide great heat to meld sugars together into a perfect pie crust.
• Use a microwave-safe pie tin and place the crust right in the fridge for a quick and easy dessert.

Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie with Microwave Pie Crust

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

¼ cup unsalted butter

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 ¼ cups finely ground plain or cinnamon graham cracker crumbs

2 cups heavy whipping cream

3 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted

2 bananas, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, granulated sugar and graham cracker crumbs.

Microwave uncovered, on high for 2 minutes.

Carefully remove from the microwave and stir to incorporate the melted butter.

Dump the crumb mixture into a microwave-safe pie dish, pressing

Read More »from Microwave Secrets: Pie Crust

Holiday feasts are all about the roast, and this holiday is no exception. With special guest Heather Dubrow to take him over the top, Fabio and his prime rib are here to spoil you.

Tips:

• Secrets to buying prime rib: Call your butcher ahead of time!
• A succulent, tender and flavorful prime rib roast will make your dinner guests feel extra special. There's nothing better than a slow-roasted Prime Rib that is beautifully marbled, hand-trimmed and perfectly aged. Particularly if the Prime Rib Roast is certified USDA Prime.
• Bigger roasts are better. Larger roasts are more forgiving…and give more leftovers. When considering weight, assume one pound of prime rib (raw) per person.
• The finish line matters with roasts! Rest it for about 15 minutes, to let flavorful juices redistribute throughout the roast. Cut against the grain to avoid chewy meat.

Prime Rib

Prime Rib

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

9-10 lb prime standing beef roast

1 tbsp kosher

Read More »from Fabio's Prime Rib Roast

Make a simple cake in less than an hour. This cake's so good, Fabio gave it to the Pope (literally).

Tips:

• How to pick the best apple for your recipe: Use ripe apples for maximum sweetness. Firm apples with bold flavors are best for baking because the flesh doesn't break down, get mealy, or melt.
• Secret ingredient: olive oil. Olive oil draws out the sweeter notes in apples and brings superior character to the ingredients. Besides being a "healthier" fat, olive oil contains natural emulsifiers that lead to a more moist cake with great texture.

Fabio's Apple CakeFabio's Apple Cake

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

3-4 very ripe Red Delicious apples, peeled and cored

1 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs, plus one yolk

¾ cup granulated sugar

zest of one orange

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp golden brown sugar

powdered sugar, for dusting

fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Read More »from Fabio's Apple Cake

This dessert is so good you'll want it all day long.

Tips:

• Secrets to perfect pastries. Making the right dough for the job, creating an easy filling and learning how to glaze are all simpler techniques than you might think.
• "Proofing" means activating the yeast in the dough. Once it's activated, the yeast should be added to dough containing just enough flour to incorporate it. After mixing and kneading the dough, Fabio double proofs his cinnamon buns in place slightly warmer than room temperature before baking to give them a great size and doughy texture.
• Perfect cinnamon buns are the result of good dough that's rolled loosely and topped with brown sugar and cinnamon. Yum.
  

Gooey Cinnamon BunsGooey Cinnamon Buns

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 6-8 large buns

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 packet (or 2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

½ cup warm water

½ tsp granulated sugar, plus ¼ cup

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

½ cup whole milk

1 tsp kosher salt

1 large egg

4 cups

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Microwaves aren't just for the non-cook. They're capable of so much more than reheating leftovers or a quick defrost. Give the microwave the respect it deserves with some chef's tips from Fabio!

Tips:

• Veggies were made to be steamed in a microwave: they retain more minerals, make less mess, and keep their vibrant colors.
• Your vegetables will cook more evenly if they are cut about the same size.
• Add a little baking soda to keep colors bright.

Microwave Steamed VeggiesPerfectly Steamed Vegetables

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 oz carrots, peeled and sliced into ½-inch thick rounds

4 oz broccoli florets

4 oz cauliflower florets

8 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces

½ tsp baking soda

¼ cup warm water

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese, for grating

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Method:

Place vegetables in a large microwave-safe bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk the

Read More »from Microwave Secrets: Perfect Steamed Veggies

Fabio presents some simple tips to maximize the life of your fresh fruit. Fruit

Tips:

• Don't store bananas in a fruit bowl with other fruits. They release gases that cause neighboring fruit to ripen faster than they would on their own.
• When storing vine or tree fruit, including tomatoes, store them upside down, so that the fruit sits on its stem. Why? During ripening, the fruit hangs from its stem, and the simple force of gravity concentrates the juices of the fruit at the bottom. When storing, redistribute the juices throughout the fruit by turning it upside down. The fruit will last longer, and be even more flavorful.
• Citrus fruits such as limes and lemons are best stored in the refrigerator, where their precious skin oils can harden into a protective "wax" that will deter further ripening.
• To refresh over-ripened tomatoes, refrigerate them overnight, in a bowl of ice-water with a generous pinch of salt. In the morning, they'll be rehydrated and good as new!

Read More »from Simple Kitchen Secrets: How to Store Fresh Fruit