Serious Eats

Watch It with Us: 'The Next Food Network Star,' Episode 5

2009-07-06T00:12:27Z

We're going to try something a little different this week. If you're planning on watching tonight's episode of The Next Food Network Star, join us here in the comments at 9 p.m. ET. It'll be an open thread—jump in with your comments, observations, or play-by-play as the episode unfolds. This week things get real with Rachael Ray: who do you think will be going home?

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Corn-Bacon Relish

2009-07-05T21:45:19Z

From Recipes

If, after the long holiday weekend, you've still got coal or propane and the energy to cook out, I've got one last grilling recipe for you. It's from perhaps my favorite grilling book of all time, Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby's The Thrill of the Grill. This grilled pork tenderloin dish features grilled corn kernels glazed with maple syrup that go into a relish featuring three diced slices of your favorite bacon. C'mon, you have to admit it, that sounds seriously delicious. And it is. Praise the lard, serious eaters. Praise the lard.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Corn-Bacon Relish

- serves 4 -

Ingredients

3 ears of corn, shucked
4 tablespoons maple syrup
3 slices of bacon, diced small
1 large onion, diced small
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 pork tenderloins (10 to 12 ounces each)

Procedure

1. Cook the corn in boiling water for 4 minutes. Remove it and allow to cool to room temperature.

2. Over a medium fire, grill the corn 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly brown. Brush on the maple syrup and continue to grill for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until the syrup begins to caramelize (it will turn golden brown). Remove the corn from the grill and cool.

3. With a sharp knife, remove the kernels from the cob.

4. In a saute pan cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is clear. Add the corn and cook 2 minutes more.

5. Remove the corn mixture from the heat, add the sage, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir well and set aside.

6. Rub the tenderloins with salt and pepper to taste and grill them over a medium fire for 12 to 15 minutes, rolling them every 3 to 4 minutes to ensure even cooking. I like my pork pink, but if you don't leave it on the fire an additional 4 to 5 minutes. If you're using a meat thermometer take the meat off when it's 160 degrees.

7. Remove the tenderloins from the grill, allow them to stand for 5 minutes, then carve each in 1/2-inch slices. Spoon some relish over each portion of the sliced pork and serve.

Joey Chestnut Wins Again at the 2009 Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest

2009-07-05T18:00:26Z

From Serious Eats: New York

Yesterday morning in Coney Island, thousands of cheering people crowded the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenue. But these cheers were not for independence—no, they were for something greater. Something meatier. Something log-shaped.

Hot dogs—more specifically, lots of hot dogs being shoveled down many gullets at the same time within a ten-minute period. This is the scene of Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest, the oldest (since 1916) and most famous eating competition in America.

Joey Chestnut garnered first place for the third year in a row, at the same time breaking the world record by eating 68 hot dogs, or HDBs (shorthand for hot dog and buns in the competitive eating world), in ten minutes. Takeru Kobayashi came in second with a still-nauseatingly-high 64 and a half hot dogs. In third place was Patrick Bertoletti, who ate a mere 55 hot dogs. And let's not forget about the female champion Sonya Thomas, who set a new women's world record by chowing down 41 hot dogs. (For the full results, visit nathansfamous.com.)

I just summed up the whole contest for you. Somewhat. If you don't think you'll ever make it to the big day, here a more detailed look at the contest with lots of photos, after the jump.

If you want a decent view, you have to get there earlier than around 10:30 when the above photo was taken. The contest doesn't start until 12:30—die-hard fans are ready to endure hours of standing to see their heroes in action. Some of them came wearing hot dog-related costumes or wielding homemade posters. My favorite poster said, "Pandas for KOBAYASHI."

There's pre-competition entertainment in case pure anticipation of watching mass hot-dog-face-stuffing isn't enough to keep your attention. One of my friends said the entertainment was better this year than last. There was live music, world-class trampoline jumpers, performers from Ringling Bros. Circus (including some dachshunds; of course, that's what I took a photo of), a kid's Hot Dog Eating Contest where the contestants tried to eat as neatly as possible, cheerleaders who shot T-shirts into the audience, the Coney Island Strongman who lay on a bed of nails while holding an anvil and getting hit with sledgehammers, and more.

From left: Juliet Lee, Sonya Thomas.

The two women of the contest, Juliet Lee and Sonya Thomas, were brought out to a cheering crowd. Rock on, slim Asian women!

A special award for gas guzzling (not the real name; that may have been the "Carbon Footprint Award") was giving to the man who drove the most in the past year to attend hot dog eating contests.

Judges and contestants finally took to the stage minutes before the contest was to begin, with Chestnut and Kobayashi in the center. A few minutes before, a giant screen to the side of the stage showed Chestnut and Kobayashi sitting next to each other backstage looking about as excited as they would be if they were waiting at the DMV. There didn't seem to be any pre-contest jitters; it was just another year of eating an inhumanly large amount of hot dogs.

And they're off!

In the first 40 seconds, Chestnut and Kobayashi down seven hot dogs. About a minute later, Chestnut eats another nine hot dogs, Kobayashi another eight. (This is about the time when any desire I had to eat a hot dog has disappeared.) Four minutes in, they're in the 30s. Seven minutes in, Chestnut is in the lead with 53 hot dogs, with Kobayashi at 50. Chestnut hits the 60 mark with one and a half minutes left.

With two seconds left, Chestnut and his belly of 68 hot dogs gives a fist pump of victory, subsequently followed by the slump over of, "Oh god, there are 68 hot dogs in my belly."

Chestnut, draped in an American flag, raises his first place trophy to the cheering crowd.

Kobayashi may have finished second place with his 64 and a half hot dogs, but it's still his personal best. Here he shows off his distended belly to his fans.

In an interview with ESPN right after his win, Chestnut says he had the capacity to eat more than 70 hot dogs. Maybe next year. And what was for dinner that night? "Probably a Cobb salad. Something with ranch on it."

USA Wins! Joey Chestnut Defeats Kobayashi at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest!
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Shortened to Ten Minutes
Bar-Graphing Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Champs

This Weekend in 'New York Times' Food News

2009-07-05T16:00:07Z

From Serious Eats: New York

The Paris Bistro: The new bistro is inventive, affordable, and reliable.

Japanese Baseball: Attending a ball game in Japan is an opportunity to cheer nonstop, try takoyaki, and slurp soba noodles.

Dip Revolution: Dip no longer entails "sour cream mixed with Lipton onion soup mix, served almost exclusively with Ruffles potato chips."

Taste of Slovenia: The Karst, a limestone plateau bordering the Friuli region of Italy, has a rich culinary tradition and thriving agricultural tourism.

Urban Farming: Will Allen is bringing good food to the city with 14 greenhouses packed onto two acres in a Milwaukee working-class neighborhood.

Travel: Lobster Benedict and veal in Provincetown; 36 hours in Madison, Wisconsin; the Junction section of Toronto is home to artisanal chocolates and a "living foods" cafe.

BioMio in Copenhagen: It's an "entirely organic restaurant ," in which every aspect, from the wait staff’s Fairtrade organic cotton uniforms to the ventilation system, is thought through in terms of environmental sustainability.

An Urban Homestead: An Oakland family makes jam and pasta, cans tomatoes, and makes their own charcuterie.

Feeding NYC Kids: Summer meals are available to all children under 19, "regardless of their family income or whether they live in the city, to ensure that they have access to nutritious meals."

Dark ‘n’ Stormy: The Bermudan cocktail is all the rage these days in New York City.

Red Chilaquiles With Chicken: Chilaquiles is a stove top tortilla casserole with salsa, and sometimes chicken and eggs.

Sunday Brunch: Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad

2009-07-05T12:00:23Z

From Recipes

After consuming copious amounts of burgers and hot dogs on the Fourth, I'm ready to lighten up Sunday brunch. My wife makes this amazing watermelon, feta, and arugula salad every year for a friend's summer potluck party. She adapted the salad from You on a Diet. This year's party took place on July 3, so this recipe's clean, tangy, and fruity flavors are fresh in my mind. Although I love the creamier, less-salty-but-still-punchy taste of French feta cheese, any feta will do. Serve this salad with pieces of grilled or warm pita bread.

Watermelon, Arugula, and Feta Salad

- serves 4 -

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 small shallots, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large bunches of arugula (6 cups packed), washed and dried
2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1 cup (4 ounces) French feta cheese, crumbled

Procedure

1. Combine oil, vinegar, and shallots; mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper; let stand 5 minutes.

2. Arrange arugula on 4 serving plates or bowls.

3. Arrange watermelon and cheese on top of arugula; drizzle with dressing.

Video: The Ross Sisters Sing About Solid Potato Salad

2009-07-04T14:00:00Z

The Ross Sisters were a trio of singing, dancing, contortionist siblings who came to fame in the 1940s. What better way to celebrate the Fourth than by watching some of this great home-grown Texan talent sing about "solid potato salad"?

For me, the words "solid potato salad" conjure up images of potato salad entrapped in quaking green Jell-o. Thankfully, there is no such thing. A quick search revealed that solid was a wartime expression for "great," or "good."

They're cute, they've got matching outfits, and they can put their legs behind their heads. Plus, I really think their outfits would be the perfect thing to wear to a picnic, pigtails and all. The video starts out so sweet with a little jingle about potato salad and from there ... aieeeee! Those women in my yoga class have nothing on these sisters.

Watch the Ross Sisters do their thing after the jump.

The Ross Sisters Sing about Solid Potato Salad

Potato Salad Recipes

If hearing a ditty about potato salad makes you want to whip some up, here are some great recipes.

Tyler Florence's Ultimate Potato Salad
Ed Levine's Potato Salad
Fingerling Potato Salad with Green Chile-Cilantro Salsa
Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

[via Swiss Miss]

Grilling: Pizza

2009-07-04T00:00:00Z

From Recipes

On Fridays, Joshua Bousel drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!

Before you run out and grab all those burgers and hot dogs for tomorrow's great Fourth of July cookout, let me tempt you with another great American tradition that's great for the grill and revelers alike: pizza Although the high heat of the grill produces a truly excellent pizza, it's a challenge to get a perfectly cooked crisp crust at the same time the toppings are ready, but after years of trial and error, I've developed a fairly foolproof way to get perfect pizzas every time.

This requires a two-zone fire, with all the coals piled on one side of the charcoal grate, and a process of cooking the crust in stages.

First you stretch the dough out to a personal-size pizza and place it directly over the coals, cooking it until it browns and crisps nicely. Then remove the crust to a plate, arrange the toppings on the cooked side, place it over the cool side of the grill, and cover. When the cheese is melted and the toppings are done to your liking, check the bottom of the crust; if it needs to cook a little longer, just move it over to the hot side again until it's perfect.

What comes off the grill is a real beauty of a pie. A wonderfully cooked crust, with that balance of crisp and chewiness that makes a great pizza—something to truly celebrate alongside our independence.

Perfectly Grilled Pizzas

Ingredients

Your favorite pizza dough, homemade or picked up from your local pizzeria
Your favorite pizza or marinara sauce
Toppings of your choosing

Procedure

1. Light a chimney 3/4 full of charcoal. When charcoal is fully lit and covered in gray ash, pour coals out and arrange them on one side of the charcoal grate, keeping the other side empty. After heating up for a minute, clean and oil the cooking grate.

2. Break off a piece of dough about the size of your fist and stretch to a personal sized pie, about 12 inches. Immediately place the dough on the grill on the hot side, directly over the fire. Watch the dough closely, when it crisps and becomes golden brown, remove from the grill to a plate.

3. Arrange your sauce and toppings on the grilled side of the dough. Place the pizza back on the cool side of the grill and cover. Checking the pizza every few minutes, continue to grill until the toppings are cooked to your liking. Check the bottom of the dough, if it needs a little bit more time to brown or cook, move the pizza to the hot side of the grill again and cook until the bottom is nicely browned and crisp. Remove from the grill and enjoy.

Kids Can Make Dumplings More Slowly with Bandai's Gyoza Maker

2009-07-03T23:00:00Z

I feel like the most fun part of making dumplings is the part where you crimp the edges and marvel at your hand made dough pouch, but maybe my opinion would change if I tried Bandai's new gyoza (dumpling) maker [English translation]. According to Bandai's website, the gyoza maker is geared towards 8 to 12-year-old girls (no boys allowed?) and their parents, and will be available starting on July 25 for ¥3,150 (about $33). Place the dumpling skin on the rollers, use the included spatula to plop in some filling, close the lid, crank away, and—ta da, dumpling sort of instantly plops into the drawer below!

If I were a kid I'd probably love this thing. As an adult, I love it just because it takes the individual dumpling-making process to such complicated heights by way of an aesthetically pleasing toy. I'm looking forward to hearing how well this thing works in real life. [via Gizmodo]

Time for a Drink: Mamie Taylor

2009-07-03T22:00:00Z

From Recipes

Let's start the weekend right—with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one for the three-day? Hit up the archives. Cheers!

For all its reputation as a warm-weather refresher, on a truly hot afternoon when you’re relaxing outside with the smoke from the grill blowing across the yard, a beer has a hard time keeping up. No matter how thick your beer cozy, by the time you reach the bottom half, the heat of the day has sapped the beer’s refreshing character right out of the bottle, leaving the rest of your drink tepid and disappointing.

Fortunately, there’s this stuff called ice, and it has a wonderful way of keeping your drink cold even on the most sultry Fourth of July weekend. Pack a highball glass with big chunks of very cold ice, add a measure of something sharp, and leaven it with something crisp and bubbly, and you’ve got a drink that keeps its backbone long after your average beer has turned flaccid and unappealing.

Here’s a highball that’s easy to prepare and immensely refreshing. Named for an opera singer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mamie Taylor was quite fashionable at the turn of the last century, though by the middle of the 20th it had almost completely disappeared. For fortification, the Mamie Taylor relies on blended scotch, but while this dark spirit can evoke the cooler months, fresh lime juice lightens the spirit’s ponderous demeanor, and a spicy ginger ale or ginger beer places it firmly in summer-cooler territory—making it just the thing to help celebrate a long holiday weekend.

Mamie Taylor

Adapted from Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails, by Ted Haigh.

Ingredients

2 ounces blended scotch whisky
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
Ginger ale or ginger beer, the spicier the better

Procedure

Fill an 8-ounce highball glass with ice and add scotch and lime juice. Fill with ginger ale or ginger beer and gently stir; garnish with a lime wedge.

About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.

Look Who's Talkin': Comments, Quips, and Tips We Have Known and Loved

2009-07-03T21:00:00Z

There's so much going on in Talk week to week that we almost can't keep up. If you're in the same boat, here's a small selection of topics and responses that have piqued our interest this week.

Ack! 4th of July Is Saturday!

"When I do chicken for a crowd, I BBQ thighs on the bone. They are very moist and VERY forgiving as far as window of service goes. I also think they taste better. We're having a Crawdad boil with all the fixin's. We live in the middle of Oregon wine country and this is year three for the Crawfish Feed. Today on Tuesday we are in the false sense of control, Wednesday/Thursday will bring panic, followed by denial on Friday. Looking at anywhere from 60 to 100 people." —NWcajun

When It's Hot...

"100-cheers for ICE COLD beer! There's really nothing I crave MORE when it's hot out." —hungrychristel

Vegetarian/Non-Dairy Appetizers

"Racking my brain, here's what I've come up with: Spring rolls or rice wraps — you can fill them with just about anything — my favorite Thai place around here does rice noodles, carrots, shrimp (can be replaced with tofu or left out) and mint. Flatbreads — there are some ideas on this thread. Also, bean salads, marinated veggies, baba ghanoush... hope this helps!" —thinkingincrayons

How Should Burgers Be Cooked?

"...The sad truth is that unless you're grinding your own meat, it's not advisable to cook a burger rare or medium rare. Insert an instant read thermometer in the side of the burger till you reach the center of the patty and when it reads 160, it's done." —therealchiffonade

Customers Who Linger After Hours

"I'm a cook in an open kitchen of a corporate restaurant with a policy against being 'unwelcoming' to customers near close. If they walk in at 5 to close and want 3 courses plus dessert, we have to stay and pretend we're thrilled they've come. You can bet we're all talking about the interesting ways we could kill them and chop them into the cobb salad." —unarata Chefs &

The Double Double, a National Canuck Treasure Rejected?

"God Bless Tim Horton's! I love it! I don't require coffee beans that were pulled from a pile of civet excrement to satisfy my palate. I DO require Caffeine. Starbucks, IMHO... is MERDE! I am fine with DD or Tim Horton's (although Tim Horton's does have better mugs!). That being said, I also love hockey (GO HABS!). I should probably preclude myself from further discussion however, as I am of Canadien descent." —Pavlov

Diary of a Foodie: PBS

"I like that show. One of the things I like about it is that instead of sending a talking head from the US to some other location to 'discover' the culture and experience it for the first time, they have someone familiar with the area explaining it to us. They might be going to a specific place for the first time (particularly if it's someone's home) but they're familiar enough with the general idea that it doesn't seem like they're barging in. It's not like they're saying 'oooh, here's some really weird food that I've never eaten before,' it's more like, 'this is the food that we eat, and this is how its done and why.'" —dbcurrie ...

Tipping Out the Kitchen?

"Tipping out the kitchen has never been a policy in any of the fine dining establishments I (or anyone I've known) have been involved with. However, when I was in college and worked in a casual dining place we started tipping out the kitchen, but that more or less insured that we could hook up our friends. Definitely good for camaraderie, but not so good for the restaurant.

"As I grew up in the business, I find that buying my kitchen staff a beer or two after work (or providing a six pack when they're done breaking down the line) is more appropriate and more enjoyable than handing them a couple of bucks at the end of the night." —wookie

Why We Are Losing the Battle of the Bulge

"50+ posts later the joyyy v. grumpy irony is setting in on me. hahaha." —joyyy

Need to Use Fresh Mozzarella

"This is kind of crazy, but I was riding in my car a couple of days ago listening to a program on (duh)—food and immigrant culture in NYC, and a Mexican woman who was a recent immigrant to the U.S. said she had been having fun trying different traditional dishes with Italian cheese, instead of the cheeses she normally used back home. Riffing off of that, you could try it on nachos, enchiladas, and chili." —HeartofGlass

How Many of You Like S.O.S and Why Is It So Despised by Others?

"Ha, Ha, Ha — When I saw the title I thought you were talking about the scrub pads for dishes. I was confused as to why people despised them. Seemed like such an odd thing to have such strong feelings about. LOL, good thing I read the entire post :)" —Martini Me

'Dinner' vs 'Supper'

"I call my evening meal 'high tea' and carbonated drinks 'the black waters of imperialism.'" —cybercita

Tomato Thief!

"Same thing happened to my sister, last summer. She waited and waited for just the perfect time to pick this big, fat, red tomato and who do you think got it? The deer—she saw him taking a big fat bite and leaving the rest! Talk about pissed." —duncan1205

A Different Kind of Flag Cake for the Fourth of July

2009-07-03T20:00:00Z

Photograph from 17 and Baking

If you're tired of the typical berry-dotted Flag Cake, Elissa of 17 and Baking has a creative Fourth of July dessert recipe for you: layered hidden flag cake! The flag, featuring an outer blue ring of cake, only appears when you cut into the cake. Elissa explains how to construct the cake and shares a recipe for cream cheese frosting. [via @bakingbites]

Our New Tweet Spot

2009-07-03T19:00:00Z

If you haven't noticed it, I figured I'd call your attention to our new "tweet spot" on the homepage of Serious Eats. The latest tweet from our Twitter stream now appears at the bottom of the upper right hand feature box.

We use Twitter in a variety of ways, but if you're not on Twitter yourself or are not following us (and, really, why aren't you?!?), you may be missing out on the fact that it's become a bit of a supplemental microblog for us. We often post links there that we're thinking about blogging on the homepage or that, for whatever reason, may not ever appear on the homepage but are still interesting, funny, or useful. So hit our tweet spot, why doncha?

And, of course, if you're not following us on Twitter, what the heck are you waiting for? We're @seriouseats.

Cook the Book: Plantain Shoestring Fries

2009-07-03T18:00:00Z

From Recipes

Plantains are not that popular in the U.S., but the rest of the world eats them up. They are a starchy staple of many tropical countries' diets. Wikipedia lists no fewer than 23 regional dishes that revolve around plantains. In the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, and Venezuela they are sliced into chips and called plátanos maduros. In Cuba they are mashed into a porridge known as fufu. Plantains are fried in Ivory Coast and served with a tomato onion sauce and grilled fish to make aloco.

This recipe for Plantain Shoestring Fries from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes is a great introduction to cooking with plantains. Most stores sell ripe and unripe plantains; they both look like giant mutant bananas, except that one type will be green and firm and the other will be black and soft. This recipe calls for the unripe, green variety, which is starchy enough to fry up crisp.

Win 'Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes'

As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes to give away this week. Enter to win here »

Plantain Shoestring Fries

- serves 4 to 6 -

Adapted from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes by Bobby Flay.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons grated lime zest
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 cups peanut oil
4 green plantains

Procedure

1. Stir together the salt, lime zest, and cayenne in a small bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed medium stockpot over medium heat, or a tabletop deep fryer, to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.

3. While the oil is heating, peel the plantains. To peel the plantains: use a sharp knife to cut off the top and bottom ends. With the tip of the knife, make one slit in the skin of the plantain from top to bottom. Run the plantain under cold water and use your thumb and fingers to work the peel away from the fruit, beginning at the slit. Cut 1/2 inch off the ends of each plantain, then slice the plantains lengthwise with a U-shaped peeler or a mandoline into very thin strips ( about 1/8 inch thick). Cut each strip lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick fries.

4. Fry in batches, turning frequently, until golden brown, about 45 seconds. Remove with a mesh skimmer to the baking sheet lined with paper towels and season immediately with the salt mixture.

Video: 'Fireworks' by PES

2009-07-03T17:00:00Z

This fireworks display from stop-motion animation artist PES features Peeps, candy corn, Good & Plenty, and more. If only real fireworks caused candy to fall out of the sky. Watch the video after the jump.

'Fireworks' by PES

In Videos: 'Western Spaghetti' by Pes (Stop-Motion Animation)

Wine and Plastic Cups: Not a Perfect Pairing

2009-07-03T15:00:00Z

Editor's note: On Fridays Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 joins us to talk some Serious Grape. Today, some advice for entertaining this weekend. Take it away, Deb!

"If you can't be bothered washing stemware or are worried about fragile stems breaking outside, get yourself some stemless wine glasses."

This weekend, at cookouts all over America, people will be drinking wine out of plastic cups.

Sometimes, you just have to. Between the breakage issues and the cleanup issues, we can all be forgiven for occasionally serving Chardonnay in plastic tumblers.

But the wine will suffer for it. It will have barely any taste, no discernible aromas, and seem tart and slightly vinegary. At a backyard cookout that may matter less than someone stepping on broken glass or facing a sink full of dishes. But before you pour your cult Cabernet into a plastic cup, here's what I found out about the importance of good stemware at a seminar led by Georg Riedel, the founder of the wineglass company Riedel.

I knew in a vague way that serving wine in proper glasses mattered. But I had no idea how much until Georg Riedel led more than a hundred of us through a tasting this spring at the Hospice du Rhône event in Paso Robles. We tasted some pretty superb wine in everything from plastic cups to handblown lead crystal. The results were convincing: what you put your wine into matters as much as the wine itself.

Take the 2005 E. Guigal Saint Joseph Syrah as an example. In a plastic cup, this $26 bottle of wine tasted like Welch's grape juice. In a glass specially shaped to accentuate Pinot Noir's aromas and flavors, it tasted very alcoholic and acidic, with a roughness in the mouth that was unpleasant. In a glass Riedel made for Syrah, however, the wine smelled of red and black fruits and chocolate, and was as smooth as satin in your mouth.

Riedel makes dozens of glasses that are specially crafted so that the shape of the glass determines the flow of the wine into your mouth. He sees his wineglasses as "instruments" that accentuate the best qualities of a particular grape or style of wine. Before you clean out all your cabinets to make room for a full set of every different glass Riedel makes, here are some tips on how to improve your wine drinking experience without putting on a kitchen addition and taking out a second mortgage.

Ditch the Plastic Cups

Whenever possible, drink wine out of glass. Many makers (including Riedel) make stemless wine glasses. While wine snobs may say this is no better than a plastic cup, I've had wine out of a plastic cup—there's no comparison. If you can't be bothered washing stemware or are worried about fragile stems breaking outside, get yourself some stemless wine glasses. If you entertain a lot, go to a local beverage market and buy a box of cheap wine glasses. I bought a set of 18 for $20 a few years ago and whenever I have a big party I pull them out.

Avoid Wineglasses with Thick, Rolled Edges

Most of us have some of these hanging around and I am appalled at the number of restaurants that serve wine out of them. Go look in your cabinet--you'll find them. Those thick edges protect against breakage. They also alter the flow of the wine into your mouth and make wine taste flat and acidic.

Spend About as Much on a Single Wineglass as You Do on a Bottle of Wine

Riedel suggested that your wine budget should guide your choice of glass. There's really no need to spend $100 on a single, hand-blown, crystal wineglass if you are going to put $10 wine in it. Instead, invest in glasses at a price level that makes sense for your wine-drinking habits. Riedel suggested that the amount you spend on a wineglass should be about the same as you spend on a single bottle of wine. I drink $15-$20 wine most of the time, so I spend $60-$80 on a set of four glasses. Most manufacturers (including Riedel) make glasses that are affordable as well as glasses that are extravagant. You know which category fits you.

You Don't Have to Own Every Shape of Glass Made

The sheer number of glasses that Riedel makes can cause you to throw up your hands in despair and decide that it's not worth starting down the road to better stemware. Don't get overwhelmed. My first Riedel glasses were the Vinum Zinfandel/Chianti glasses. They were recommended to me as good all-around wineglasses that would suit a variety of different wines, including most white wines. I loved them and used them so much that in a few months I went out and bought Riedel's Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc glasses. I chose those two shapes next because those are the grapes I gravitate towards and when I entertain I tend to serve Pinot Noir or Sauvignon Blanc. Though I find that wines do taste best in the glasses designed for them, when I'm tired I just reach for the Riedel Zinfandel glasses and enjoy every drop.

One word of warning: when you buy good wineglasses, you will find that the size of the bowl—the round part that holds the wine—is quite large. This is because the wine needs air to come to its full potential. Avoid the temptation to "fill" these wineglasses. In some cases, an entire bottle of wine will fit into a single glass. Instead, fill the glass just to the point where the the bowl reaches its widest point. That will give the wine plenty of room to breathe in all that oxygen.

I was surprised by my experiences at the seminar. I knew that wineglasses mattered, but had no idea how much. And one thing's for sure. My day's of serving wine in plastic cups are over.

About the author: Deb Harkness lives in Los Angeles under the motto that good wine doesn't have to cost as much as a car payment. She blogs about everyday wine culture at Good Wine Under $20, and her writing has appeared in publications such as Wine & Spirits. Deb is the winner of the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards for Best Wine Review Blog and Best Single Subject Wine Blog.

Serious Eats

Watch It with Us: 'The Next Food Network Star,' Episode 5

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Corn-Bacon Relish

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Corn-Bacon Relish

Ingredients

Procedure

Joey Chestnut Wins Again at the 2009 Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest

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Sunday Brunch: Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad

Watermelon, Arugula, and Feta Salad

Ingredients

Procedure

Video: The Ross Sisters Sing About Solid Potato Salad

The Ross Sisters Sing about Solid Potato Salad

Potato Salad Recipes

Grilling: Pizza

Perfectly Grilled Pizzas

Ingredients

Procedure

Kids Can Make Dumplings More Slowly with Bandai's Gyoza Maker

Time for a Drink: Mamie Taylor

Mamie Taylor

Ingredients

Procedure

Look Who's Talkin': Comments, Quips, and Tips We Have Known and Loved

A Different Kind of Flag Cake for the Fourth of July

Our New Tweet Spot

Cook the Book: Plantain Shoestring Fries

Win 'Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes'

Plantain Shoestring Fries

Ingredients

Procedure

Video: 'Fireworks' by PES

'Fireworks' by PES

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Wine and Plastic Cups: Not a Perfect Pairing

"If you can't be bothered washing stemware or are worried about fragile stems breaking outside, get yourself some stemless wine glasses."

Ditch the Plastic Cups

Avoid Wineglasses with Thick, Rolled Edges

Spend About as Much on a Single Wineglass as You Do on a Bottle of Wine

You Don't Have to Own Every Shape of Glass Made