A really nice pat on the back

It feels really nice when people try stuff I recommend.

Last year...or even before that?...Bittman introduced me to this awesome technique for broiling (check out the link for a video). Basically, you put a cast iron skillet in the oven and heat it up until it's screaming-hot, as hot as your oven will get (mine was 500 degrees...I wonder if this is why my oven broke?). Once it has reached that temperature, you put whatever meat or veggie you are broiling in the screaming-hot skillet and turn the broiler on high. The skillet side sears really nicely because it's screaming hot; the broiler side sears really nicely because it's screaming hot; and the middle actually cooks (but doesn't overcook) because the whole oven is screaming-hot. It works fantastically and produces a lot less smoke then searing steaks on the stove-top. Plus, the actual broiling only takes about 6 minutes for a nice steak, less for fish.

Anyway, just this morning, a good friend from Chicago sent me this picture to tell me that he tried the technique and it worked wonderfully for him as well.

If you have a cast iron skillet or any skillet that can stand 450 or 500 degrees in the oven, you should try it too!:)

My friend from Chicago: "I made a feta-crusted steak for dinner a week or so ago and I used the cast iron skillet in the oven method you told me about a while back. It worked wonderfully. We had a feta feast because it was buy-one-get-one at the store; feta-crusted steak, feta and chedda' mashed potatoes, and a spinach salad with red onions and of course, feta. Anyway, I thought you'd appreciate it."

If only my sexy husband liked feta....