She first sears the steak in a very hot pan, then perches it on a rack set on a baking sheet and pops it into a hot oven to finish cooking.

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It works by heating the moisture in a person's skin to the point where it feels, according to Kelley Hughes, an official at the directorate who volunteered to act as a guinea pig, like opening a hot oven.

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While Mr. Schwartz prefers quail grilled, cooks who are disinclined to barbecue in the cold can first crisp the birds in a hot pan before finishing them in the oven.

WSJ: Michael Schwartz's Maple-Glazed Quail With Pear and Almond Salad | Slow Food Fast

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza: New York or Neapolitan style pizza does not ship well, but deep dish travels magnificently, losing very little in translation, and since the best deep dish pizza, unlike the best thin crust pizza, does not require a special ultra-hot coal or wood burning oven, it lends itself to heating at home.

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Also of note: an ambitious onsite bakery (complete with a Twitter feed about what's hot from the oven) and gourmet shop stocking Prestat chocolates, Neal's Yard Dairy cheeses, and fruit and vegetables from the kitchen garden at Conran's country home.

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It took two years, 284 pounds of flour and all the ingenuity of her husband, Paul, who lined her stove with quarry tiles and, to produce the necessary burst of steam, dropped a brick into a pan of hot water at the bottom of the oven.

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When the Witch orders Gretel to peer into the hot oven, Gretel plays dumb and asks for a demonstration.

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