Kitchen Myths

There are a lot of kitchen “rules” or practices that we are told when first learning to cook: “never wash a cast iron pan with soap” or “rinse pasta after you cook it” or “only eat raw oysters during months with the letter r”. None of the previous rules are true.

Luckily there are devoted food journalists, as well as America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Illustrated, to help us understand cooking techniques or to offer advice for choosing the best kitchen utensil or pan.

Recently, The New York Times food writer, Julia Moskin, explained why some of the most commonly believed kitchen rules are wrong. Several of the myths she mentioned are rules or techniques for cooking pasta.

You don’t add olive oil to your pasta pot to keep pasta from sticking together. Simply keeping the water boiling and occasionally stirring the pasta will keep the it from sticking together. Never rinse pasta after cooking. Doing so rinses off the starches that give pasta its “special mouthfeel.” The rule about cooking pasta until it is al dente (Italian to the tooth or bite) means different things to Italians or to Americans. Many Americans (my late mother included) place cooked pasta on the plate and pile the sauce on top. Italians don’t cook pasta in the pot until it’s done. Instead they remove it or drain it before it’s done and then finish it in a sauté pan with the sauce in which it is served. (That’s how we do it at M’tucci’s).

Pasta will continue to cook after you drain it, so I usually fish a piece from the boiling pot and take a bite. If there is a little bit not thoroughly cooked, then it is done how I like it.

The major exception to the boiling rule is any stuffed pasta, such as ravioli. A vigorous boil will cause stuffed pasta to blow apart in the pot. What a mess!

Two other myths debunked are using soap to clean a cast iron pan and how first browning your meat will seal in the juices.

Cast iron skillets are more porous than those made with other metals. Over time, the oil used helps form a non-stick patina. The rule is from the days when nearly every kitchen had a cast iron pan and soap contained lye which would destroy the hard-earned patina. After cooking most foods, hot water and a gentle scrub will clean your cast iron. When cooking a steak or bacon, you might need a little bit of soap with your hot water and elbow grease - but never a metal scour pad.

Always hand dry cast iron with a towel and set it on a burner for a few minutes to thoroughly dry it and prevent any rusting.

Simply put, browning meat does not seal in the juices, it produces deeper flavors called the maillard reaction (named for the French scientist who discovered the effects of high, dry heat on meats and sugars). Steaks will be juicier if you cover them and let them rest five minutes or so.

As for oysters, typically the colder months with the letter “r” (September through April) were the months when wild oysters were the best. During the summer months they are spawning and it is when they turn a bit “milky” and are not at their best. Now, with most oysters coming from cold water oyster farms in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, they are good nearly any time of the year. My first raw oyster came from the famed Apalachicola Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Once a major producer of oysters for Florida and the U.S., the oysters beds became a victim of over-harvesting, drought and a major hurricane, and are now closed until 2025. I remember we did avoid eating these warm-water oysters during the summer.

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Weekend Specials

M’tucci’s Italian

Ravioli - Pesto Ricotta Filling - Roasted Chicken, Cherry Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Cream Local Green Onion Pesto, Pecorino, Basil, Crispy Prosciutto $25

24 oz. Porterhouse - Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Lemon, Balsamic Reduction $43

Pan-Seared Rosemary Pistachio Crusted Ruby Trout - Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Grilled Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $29

Red Wine Porcini Braised Sackett Farms Pork Shank - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Braising Sauce $27

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Michelin Man - Absolut Vanilla Vodka, Marshmallow Simple Syrup, Fresh Lemon Juice, Plum Bitters

M’tucci’s Moderno

24 oz. Porterhouse - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Broccolini, Italian Salsa Verde $43

Pan-Seared Rockfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Broccolini, Roasted Artichoke, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $27

Beef Tips Ravioli - Five Cheese Filling, Beef Tips, Grape Tomatoes, Rosa Sauce, Gorgonzola Cheese, Green Onions $23

Weekend Cocktail

Tropical Temptation - Hornitos Reposado Tequila, Passionfruit Puree, Ramazzotti Rosato, Grapefruit Juice, Lemon Juice, Limoncello & Tonic Water Float

M’tucci’s Twenty-Five

Blackened Chicken & Porcini Tortelloni - Five Cheese Tortelloni, Porcini Cream Sauce, Calabrian Roasted Mushrooms, Green Onions, Feta $23

Pan-Seared Ruby Trout - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Braised Greens, Artichoke Hearts, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $29

24 oz. T-Bone - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Charred Broccolini, Creamy Horseradish Remoulade $42

Weekend Cocktail

Prince’s Peach - M’tucci’s Select Russell’s Reserve Bourbon, Peach Alchemist, Fresh Lemon Juice, Brown Sugar Simple Syrup, Peychaud Bitters

M’tucci’s Bar Roma

Spicy Italian Ham & Polenta - House Made Spicy Capicola, Creamy Rosemary Polenta, Saffron Leek Cream Sauce, Cold Arugula & Red Onion Salad $23

Pan-Seared Amberjack - Garlic Whipped Mashed Potatoes, Braised Arugula with Garlic, Seared Stem-on Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $33

Weekend Cocktail

Roma-Cello Spritz - Limoncello, M’tucci’s Sparkling Wine, Fresh Lemon Juice, Club Soda, Aperol Float

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