The latest poll for our own gubernatorial race has Democratic State Sen. David Ige up by 12 points over former GOP Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, 45-33%. As I suspected he would, he's finally pulling away, especially in the wake of his surprisingly impressive debate performances in recent weeks. Prior to those debates, the last poll had him up by only five.

The independent gubernatorial candidacy of former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann has proved a complete fizzle if not a non-starter; he's polling in single digits. Hopefully, he'll finally take a hint that voters really don't like him, and he'll retire from electoral politics.

Myth #2: "Sear your meat over high heat to lock in juices."
The Theory: Searing the surface of a cut piece of meat will precipitate the formation of an impenetrable barrier, allowing your meat to retain more juices as it cooks.

The Reality: Searing produces no such barrier--liquid can still pass freely in and out of the surface of a seared steak. To prove this, I cooked two steaks to the exact same internal temperature (130°F). One steak I seared first over hot coals and finished over the cooler side of the grill. The second steak I started on the cooler side, let it come to about ten degrees below its final target temperature, then finished it by giving it a sear over the hot side of a grill. If there is any truth to the searing story, then the steak that was seared first should retain more moisture.

What I found is actually the exact opposite: the steak that is cooked gently first and finished with a sear will not only develop a deeper, darker crust (due to slightly drier outer layers--see Myth #1), but it also cooks more evenly from center to edge, thus limiting the amount of overcooked meat and producing a finished product that is juicier and more flavorful.

The Takeaway: When cooking thick steaks, start them on the cooler side of the grill and cook with the lid on until they reach about ten degrees below final serving temperature. Finish them off on the hot side of the grill for a great crust. For thinner steaks (about an inch or less), just cook them over the hot side the entire time--they'll be cooked to medium rare by the time a good crust has developed.

With this experiment I dry brine the meats and keep them out of the frig while brining for a couple of hours and let the meat come to room temps. Then I'm vacuum packing them and slow cooking them to a rare doneness. Then I take them out of the vacuum packs, let them dry, and then quickly do a malliard browning. First test was pretty gook but I only had 2 bites tonite since, well, I can't eat a big or a lot of steak in one sitting unless it is a 'special'  dinner. I do want to try some of your ideas, so thank you for that! the salsa and the mexican sour cream.

Being in wheelchair didn't stop the Republicans for attacking him in ads when as a Senator he didn't vote for everything that GWB wanted passed by the Congress.

Steak was fantastic. Dry salt only brine a rib steak... then sous vide cook it till it is "rare" temp (125). Cool and pop into the frig. Then the next day cut it out of the foodsaver bag and let it dry and come to room temp.

Malliard it the squeaky recommended method, just more quickly - not the 10 minutes, but more like 5 - control the temp - medium to medium high (kept paper towels handy to clean out cooking fats before adding butter). Then let it rest for a timed 15 minutes (by that time we all were just waiting to dig into it). The steak was tender and tasted "real" and the browning (not charring) was delicious. They watched me do the butter basting and that was all around fun. Not a huge or expensive cut of meat got so much mileage for 5 people. Someone commented that I should get a cooking show on TV so we just went with that. I think I might have given credit to squeaky or to Alain Ducasse, but I can't remember....  ;)

Finished the stove top roasted potatoes (cooked with grass fed butter and bacon grease) and set out the broccoli salad while the steak 'rested' (broccoli salad -my own new recipe - it was a great hit and I liked it too _ added some pretty hard cooked and quartered duck eggs to the recipe)(this was my first attempt at actually creating a real recipe and it was a fun adventure) out and a nice baguette and a great room temp butter. Self grind pink H salt on the table. Easy-peasy and just a big hit and the dinner was so much fun !!

Finished dinner with a few fresh berries, some 'paleo' cookies I made (wanted to try to bake something since reading comments here --and for my mom, who will be staying with me for 2 weeks for winter holidays and supposedly does not "do" gluten and I wanted to practice making something she can enjoy then) , a very expensive port and a very expensive bit of blue cheese ($15 !!!! for a local oregon made blue) with the rest of the locally made bread and nice butter and a few hunks of 80% cocoa chocolate bar for dessert. The entire meal, including the $60 bottle of port and the $15 slice of blue cheese for the dessert, was around $150.  $150 for 5 with leftovers for lunch tomorrow which I sent home with guests.

I always want to make or go to a meal that is like Babette's Feast - where differences seem to melt into a nice moment or two. Tonight it worked for a tiny bit for my family.

____

Not at all the same as a "moon suit"