Cognac is a pretty awesome and these days underrated liquor that’s nice for sipping for those times you don’t feel like the burn or challenging smokiness of trendy whiskies and tequilas. If you aren’t much into cognac and just want it for cooking, go for Courvoisier. If you prefer not to buy cognac at all, you can substitute with brandy, rum, or bourbon as well, but cognac is best for this and you can use it for a bunch of other classic steak sauces.

Steak diane without alcohol
Can you make Steak Diane without alcohol? Yes, but ideally you wouldn’t. Alcohol is a flavor enhancer and the majority of the alcohol cooks off in this dish since it goes in pretty early and gets reduced. If you prefer to have zero alcohol in your food, you can subsitute with peach, pear or apricot juice at 1:1 – though it definitely won’t taste the same.

This is a little 101 on all things Korean BBQ. What it is, what you should buy, how you should set the table, and how you do it. Korean BBQ for everybody!

Why you should throw yourself a Korean BBQ party
Korean barbecue is all about balance and contrast between flavors and textures. It’s completely customizable so that everyone at the table can eat exactly what they want.

Here’s what happens when you go out for KBBQ: You sit down and a bunch of tiny plates that you haven’t ordered come out. These are banchan: little side dishes that go with Korean BBQ. You order your meats and they come to the table, raw. You grill them, wrap them up in lettuce, dip/top them, then eat them up. Everything is smoky, meaty, savory, and delicious. Eat meat, drink copious amounts of alcohol, and repeat!
Sounds fun right?! Mike and I LOVE going for Korean barbecue. It’s one of our things – late night grilling and chatting the night away. I like the interactive part of it and Mike likes the meat and alcohol. We both love the food. We’ve eaten at countless Korean barbecue restaurants and earlier this year, when everyone was in lockdown, we were really, really missing Korean barbecue. It was an itch we just had to scratch. So we did the thing: the ultimate way to KBBQ, right at home.

This is a little 101 on all things Korean BBQ. What it is, what you should buy, how you should set the table, and how you do it. Korean BBQ for everybody!

Why you should throw yourself a Korean BBQ party
Korean barbecue is all about balance and contrast between flavors and textures. It’s completely customizable so that everyone at the table can eat exactly what they want.

Here’s what happens when you go out for KBBQ: You sit down and a bunch of tiny plates that you haven’t ordered come out. These are banchan: little side dishes that go with Korean BBQ. You order your meats and they come to the table, raw. You grill them, wrap them up in lettuce, dip/top them, then eat them up. Everything is smoky, meaty, savory, and delicious. Eat meat, drink copious amounts of alcohol, and repeat!
Sounds fun right?! Mike and I LOVE going for Korean barbecue. It’s one of our things – late night grilling and chatting the night away. I like the interactive part of it and Mike likes the meat and alcohol. We both love the food. We’ve eaten at countless Korean barbecue restaurants and earlier this year, when everyone was in lockdown, we were really, really missing Korean barbecue. It was an itch we just had to scratch. So we did the thing: the ultimate way to KBBQ, right at home.

Cognac is a pretty awesome and these days underrated liquor that’s nice for sipping for those times you don’t feel like the burn or challenging smokiness of trendy whiskies and tequilas. If you aren’t much into cognac and just want it for cooking, go for Courvoisier. If you prefer not to buy cognac at all, you can substitute with brandy, rum, or bourbon as well, but cognac is best for this and you can use it for a bunch of other classic steak sauces.

Steak diane without alcohol
Can you make Steak Diane without alcohol? Yes, but ideally you wouldn’t. Alcohol is a flavor enhancer and the majority of the alcohol cooks off in this dish since it goes in pretty early and gets reduced. If you prefer to have zero alcohol in your food, you can subsitute with peach, pear or apricot juice at 1:1 – though it definitely won’t taste the same.

Understanding the risks and any possible health benefits of alcohol often seems confusing; that’s understandable, because the evidence for moderate alcohol use in healthy adults isn’t certain.

Researchers know surprisingly little about the risks or benefits of moderate alcohol use in healthy adults. Almost all studies of lifestyle, including diet, exercise, caffeine, and alcohol, rely on patient recall and truthful reporting of one’s habits over many years. These studies may indicate that two things may be associated with one another, but not necessarily that one causes the other. It may be that adults who are in good health engage in more social activities and enjoy moderate amounts of alcohol, but that the alcohol has nothing to do with making them healthier.

Any potential benefits of alcohol are relatively small and may not apply to all individuals. In fact, the latest dietary guidelines make it clear that no one should begin drinking alcohol or drink more often on the basis of potential health benefits. For many people, the possible benefits don’t outweigh the risks and avoiding alcohol is the best course.

On the other hand, if you’re a light to moderate drinker and you’re healthy, you can probably continue to drink alcohol as long as you do so responsibly.

Here’s a closer look at alcohol and your health.

Defining moderate

Moderate alcohol use for healthy adults generally means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men.

Examples of one drink include:

• Beer: 12 fluid ounces (355 milliliters)
• Wine: 5 fluid ounces (148 milliliters)
• Distilled spirits (80 proof): 1.5 fluid ounces (44 milliliters)

Pros and cons of moderate alcohol use

Moderate alcohol consumption may provide some health benefits, such as:

• Reducing your risk of developing and dying of heart disease
• Possibly reducing your risk of ischemic stroke (when the arteries to your brain become narrowed or blocked, causing severely reduced blood flow)
• Possibly reducing your risk of diabetes

However, eating a healthy diet and being physically active have much greater health benefits and have been more extensively studied.

Keep in mind that even moderate alcohol use isn’t risk-free. For example, even light drinkers (those who have no more than one drink a day) have a tiny, but real, increased risk of some cancers, such as esophageal cancer. And drinking and driving is never a good idea.

Risks of heavy alcohol use

While moderate alcohol use may offer some health benefits, heavy drinking — including binge drinking — has no health benefits.

Heavy or high-risk drinking is defined as more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week for women and for men older than age 65, and more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week for men age 65 and younger.

Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks within two hours for men.

Excessive drinking can increase your risk of serious health problems, including:

• Certain cancers, including breast cancer and cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver
• Pancreatitis
• Sudden death if you already have cardiovascular disease
• Heart muscle damage (alcoholic cardiomyopathy) leading to heart failure
• Stroke
• High blood pressure
• Liver disease
• Suicide
• Accidental serious injury or death
• Brain damage and other problems in an unborn child
• Alcohol withdrawal syndrome

When to avoid alcohol

In certain situations, the risks of alcohol may outweigh the possible health benefits. For example, check with your doctor about drinking if:

• You’re pregnant or trying to become pregnant
• You’ve been diagnosed with alcoholism or alcohol addiction, or you have a strong family history of alcoholism
• You’ve had a hemorrhagic stroke (when a blood vessel in your brain leaks or ruptures)
• You have liver or pancreatic disease
• You have heart failure or you’ve been told you have a weak heart
• You take prescription or over-the-counter medications that can interact with alcohol

Deciding about drinking

If you don’t drink alcohol, don’t start because of potential health benefits. However, if you drink a light to moderate amount and you’re healthy, you can probably continue as long as you drink responsibly. Be sure to check with your doctor about what’s right for your health and safety.