Method

Happy National Baked Scallops Day!

Although we love our scallops with a texturizing sear, Flickr photographer Special*Dark has swayed us over to the baked scallop team with this tantalizing baked scallops and salmon with dill recipe, adapted from Gourmet magazine. He tossed scallops with baby carrots, fingerling potatoes, red onions, lemon slices, a hefty branch of fresh dill and a drop of white wine, baking them in an aluminum foil pouch, allowing the ingredients to stew in their own juices.

Writes blogger All Things Chill, "You get a lot of wow factor when you bring the pouch to your guest (or hungry girlfriend) and they crack it open to release the most fragrant steam. It's an instant drool catalyst." We can only imagine the steamy aromatic scent -- and are eager to recreate it in our own kitchen soon.

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It seems like new coffee brewers are being unveiled all the time. Between Clover machines, Japanese siphon pots and hyper-exclusive Slayer espresso machine, it may appear that making coffee is only going to get more high-tech and complicated.

Don't worry -- we won't all necessarily need owners' manuals in order to brew a cup of joe. Sometimes the best methods and mechanisms are also the simplest. Enter the latest one-cup maker, aptly called the Clever Coffee Dripper -- a sort of hybrid between a Melitta cone and a French press.

Manufactured by a Taiwanese company known primarily for dreaming up new tea-brewing equipment, the Clever can create a sediment-free cup of coffee that still allows the beans' nuances to shine through. The grounds sit in a paper filter that's fit into the brewer (it takes standard No. 4 cones), and hot water is added directly to them, filling much of the basin. The coffee and water then typically steep for anywhere from two to four minutes, after which the liquid's drained through a small valve that opens once the brewer is placed on top of a cup or serving vessel.

Read more about the Clever Coffee Dripper after the jump.

"The hamburger isn't just a sandwich; it is a social nexus," proclaims burger expert Josh Ozersky, casually armed with a shot of whiskey during his burger seminar conducted at New York City's RUB BBQ on Tuesday.

Heralded by the American public and arguably the most quintessentially American of dishes, the hamburger tends to be quite a polarizing issue. Ozersky, passionate eater and author of The Hamburger, provided his insight on what makes a good burger, throwing in pertinent background info on the topic.

Backed by a BA in literature and a PhD in American history, it is perhaps Ozersky's appetite and analytical spirit that spurred his interest in the burger's role in the history and culture of the good old U.S.A. Having trekked across the country devouring the carnal bite -- even overcoming a case of gout -- there's one mandate he insists upon: No matter what the fixings, the burger should support a "visceral delight."

More on the secrets to a perfect burger, after the jump.

Meringues are one of the most elegant treats in the cookie kingdom. Stunning in their simplicity, they are beloved by many for being not only rich and delicious, but also tantalizingly low in calories, offering sweetness without health-breaking badness.

Since they are simply an airy, whipped mix of egg whites and sugar -- ingredients that just need a little time in a stand mixer before being piped and slowly baked -- they are perfect for impressive, last-minute projects. Meringues are malleable, easy to work with, and can suit any holiday need, from classy adult appetizers to cute kid treats. Perfect for any tastebud or gathering, they are the holiday treat that can't be beat.

We've come to the last of the "four Ms" needed to make everybody's favorite concentrated coffee kicker. And the last "M" is the romantic part, the human touch -- la mano, or the hand of the barista. Of course, as a professional barista trainer, I am inclined to think that this last "M" is the most important in the scheme of espresso-making. Call me biased, but seriously, you think this stuff is going to make itself?

The barista's role is perhaps more nuanced and significant even than it seems at first blush. For one thing, there's a good reason we're lumped in with all the fine-tuned mechanical details of the equipment and the blend: The barista is to be part artist, part machine. Just as la macchina is designed to the same thing every time you turn it on, so too should the barista be as consistent as possible. He or she should understand the "how" and "why" behind every step in the process -- from grinding to extracting to drinking.

A good barista can make delicious coffee; a great barista can explain how it came to be that way.