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The scientist that she is, Helen Rennie takes a very methodical approach to cooking. Indeed, the former computer programmer and current host of "Helen's Kitchen" on her YouTube channel, likes to experiment with her recipes, preparing each the exact same way but varying one ingredient or technique in each trial until she hits upon the best-possible outcome. It's how she's developed her methods for preparing everything from steak and rack of lamb to grilled zucchini and pasta with sardines. "I find that food is the best experience for most people to have with something empirical, because most things in life unfortunately I cannot really test out," says Rennie, a Russian-born chef who also teaches cooking classes in her home of Natick, Mass. "Like say I read about a new way to parent my children and chances are I can't really collect data on that very well. It's going to kind of come out one way or another. But with food you can. You know, when you have a question about, 'Does it work like this?' you can actually test it." Rennie's technique for grilling steak is unique and best exemplifies her approach. After drying the meat with a paper towel, she sprinkles it with salt and then sears it on an oiled grill, flipping it every 2-3 minutes until she has the classic criss-cross grill marks. Then she turns off the burner directly beneath it and puts the others on low and lets it cook until desired doneness, as determined by a thermometer (medium rare, for example, is 130 degrees Fahrenheit). Then let the meat rest, seven minutes per inch of thickness. "The thermometer is key," Rennie says. "Without the thermometer, you really don't know when you are done. ... Often when people say 'scientific cooking,' all they mean is precise cooking. Because it's generally kind of 'Oh you know, it's kind of like that.' It's a little wishy washy. And sometimes you can just get really reliable, predictable results when you get measurement tools. Scales and thermometers are all wonderful." Helen Rennie What book are you currently reading? "My favorite new cookbook is 'The Fire of Peru.' ... (It's) really outstanding. It's so rare that I find a cookbook that I'm happy with because I find very often they're all food porn, just like the stuff online. Beautiful pictures, but when you go to actually do the recipe and (it's) like, 'Well, there are all these details missing.' So his stuff is great. I cooked so many things from his book and they're all delicious, and great detail in the recipes." What did you have for dinner last night? "Dinner last night was whole grilled bronzini. It's a little Mediterranean bass. It's very yummy, sweet, flaky (meat), and grilled summer squash. ..." What is your next project? "I have this series that I just started on my channel called 'Cookware Therapy.' People have been asking me for a while to make a video about which pan to use for what, and in all my videos I usually mention specifically which pan type is best for which dish. But it doesn't always give somebody a general overview. ... So I started working on this ... and it's been a somewhat difficult-to-make series because I research this stuff kind of to death, but really fun because I find it's not always information you can get. ... Sometimes it's fun to do something that's more like slightly higher level of some general concept." When was your last vacation, where and why? "My last big vacation was actually very exciting. We went to Barcelona with our children. My husband and I had been to Barcelona before. I'd been to Spain many times before, but this was our first time taking kids to Europe, and it was so fun. ..." BY GEORGE DICKIE Rennie opts for science over guesswork in YouTube's 'Helen's Kitchen' Page 8 August 21 - 27, 2017 3:00 p.m. WSBT 6 The Northern Trust, Third Round. From Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, N.Y. (N) GOLF Canadian Pacific Open, Third Round. From Ottawa. (N) 6:00 p.m. GOLF Cham- pions: Boeing Classic, Second Round. From the Club at Snoqualmie Ridge in Snoqualmie, Wash. (N) 8:00 p.m. GOLF Web.com: WinCo Foods Portland Open, Third Round. From Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Ore. (N) SUNDAY Noon GOLF The Northern Trust, Final Round. From Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, N.Y. (N) 2:00 p.m. WSBT 6 The Northern Trust, Final Round. From Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, N.Y. (N) 3:00 p.m. GOLF Canadian Pacific Open, Final Round. From Ottawa. (N) 6:00 p.m. GOLF Champi- ons: Boeing Classic, Final Round. From the Club at Snoqualmie Ridge in Sno- qualmie, Wash. (N) 8:00 p.m. GOLF Web.com: WinCo Foods Portland Open, Final Round. From Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Ore. 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