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By Root 4123 0

Meanwhile, position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 13 × 9-inch casserole.

Lightly whisk the eggs in a large bowl with the cooled, melted butter, paprika, oregano, and hot red pepper sauce. Stir this mixture into the bread mixture along with the chopped shrimp and scallops. Stir in the crabmeat, half the grated cheese, the salt, and pepper.

Pour this mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.

Bake until bubbling and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

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Can’t get enough crab? Check out Filled Omelets, Crab and Scallion Filling for a frittata, Crab Sage Puffs, Crab and Pesto Savory Tart, and the Crab Filling for ravioli.

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For squid recipes, check out Fried Calamari with a Ginger Crust or Squid Salad.

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Beef, Pork, and Other Meats

THIS CHAPTER TAKES ON THE ESSENTIAL PROBLEM OF MEAT: TOO MUCH FANDANGO ruins a good cut. Roasting, grilling, even no-fuss braising—simpler techniques bring out the best flavors.

Of course, there are a few complicated dishes here—some stews, for example, that require extra time. These are a result of less expensive cuts that require long cooking to get tender.

Frankly, most of the work needs to be done at the market. Buy good-quality meat from a reputable supplier. If your market has butchers on site, get to know them. (If there never seems to be anyone back there, find another market.) The butchers are your best bet for making the right choices. They’ll know what’s fresh, what looked good when it came in, and what cut up well without too much tendon or fat. Unfortunately, we’ve moved into a faceless marketplace where we’ve lost sight of the relationships across the counter. Buck the trend! Even at big-box warehouse stores, someone’s probably cutting meat back there.

And once you do your work at the store, you can make the best meat dishes imaginable at home—because then it’s only a matter of keeping it simple.

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Beef

If you’re not cooking steaks, roasts, or even ground beef within 6 hours of getting them into your refrigerator, remove the store packaging, place the beef on a plate, cover loosely with wax paper, and set in the coldest part of your refrigerator for no more than 2 days. (The store’s plastic wrap aids bacterial production in your refrigerator’s humid environment.) Our other tip? Forgo inner marbling for a leaner cut. You’ll barely miss it if you cook the meat to the proper temperature.

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Strip, Shell, or Club Steaks

These steaks are taken from the top loin, a part of the larger short loin. It lies in the upper half of the cow right about at the midway point, between the ribs up front and the larger sirloin behind. The whole top loin is a very tender piece; the muscle does little during the cow’s life to toughen it. If a steak cut from it has a piece of the bone, it’s a “club steak”; if not, it’s a “strip” or “shell steak.” Here are two cooking techniques, indoors and outdoors. (See section Fish and Shellfish for an explanation of a steak’s doneness.) Makes 4 servings

¼ cup olive oil

Four 8-to 10-ounce, ¾-to 1-inch-thick strip, shell, or club steaks, trimmed

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons finely crushed black peppercorns

Begin by rubbing ½ tablespoon olive oil into each side of each steak. Coat each side with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, gently massaging them into the steak. Alternatively, sprinkle the salt and pepper on a sheet of wax paper and press the oiled steaks into the mixture. Set aside at room temperature while you heat the oven or grill, then follow one of these two methods.

If you’re cooking the steaks indoors:

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F.

Heat one or two large skillets, preferably well-seasoned cast iron, over high heat until smoking, about 5 minutes. Turn on the overhead ventilation, if you have it; or open a window and door to create a draft to blow out the smoke.

Place the