I have a love-hate relationship with pineapples. Well, more of a love-meh relationship. They smell divine, the tropics in fruit-form, but the flavor can be harsh on the mouth when raw. I find they start to cut up the inside of my mouth if I eat too much of them, so I tend to minimize my exposure to the fruit if I see them in a fruit salad, for instance, and if a wedge forms part of the garnish on a cocktail, I offer it to my pineapple-loving husband. But cooked pineapple is a different story. I love it. The…
Author: emma
Do you know anyone who doesn’t like burgers? It seems impossible, doesn’t it. As crazy a thought as that this, what also leads to heated arguments is where one can find the best burger. In every city I’ve lived, the question of “where can I get the best burger?” inevitably comes up, probably a close second to “where can I get the best pizza?” The best burger should be made in your own home, it turns out, and it’s easy to do. You’re familiar with grilled burgers, patties rendered into rich meaty goodness over a dancing flame. But do know…
There is something pretty spectacular about summer fruit. Sunshine from a tree, delicious naturally, as the old promotional commercial goes. Peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries. I’ll even throw tomatoes into the mix as they are technically fruit. The smell alone makes me think of long lazy afternoons by the lake, my mother bringing out a plate of sliced peaches or nectarines for us to snack on between leaps from the floating swimming dock. Because summer fruit has natural sweetness and aromatics, they are the perfect companion for something salty, a splash of acid, some yin/yang balance. Texture is important too, as…
Have you heard of morning glory? No, not the flower, nor the Asian green also known as water spinach (which is delicious sautéed with garlic, by the way.) And definitely not the studio album and song by the band Oasis. The morning glory to which I am referring is a spicy, chewy, nutty, fruity, muffin served at breakfast, ideally with some softened butter and a hot cup of coffee or tea, or for a pick-me-up snack. But there is a way to have all the flavor of the muffin in bowl, and the hearty and scoopable at-another-level oatmeal will be…
If you are a gardener, you know how easy it is to grow zucchini. You may have more zucchini than uses for them. Perhaps you’ve tried them in the form of a fritter, put them in your smoothie mix, made zucchini bread, or added them to marinara sauce to serve over pasta. But if you simply cut them in half, you’ve got yourself a little culinary vehicle, a boat, if you will, for a myriad of flavors. The Kitchn’s Nina Elder presents four ways to use this versatile summer vegetable that will appeal to vegetarians and carnivores alike. It’s important…
I love pizza. There, I said it. It is one of the best things in the world and can change the mood of a room at the arrival of the familiar flat box. But I also like to turn the familiar on its head a little bit, throw in a unique ingredient, try a different cooking method, employ a piece of equipment not typically used for the dish. The atypical piece of equipment for pizza is the muffin tin. Muffin tins are a great way to give pizza pizzazz, making the big into mini, and an easy way to serve…
Corn and summer go hand in hand, but you may be tired of eating corn on the cob, and just want a different way to get those sweet kernels into you. Consider this easy corn salad recipe, succotash, to be precise, which also shows off summer’s other bounty: tomatoes. “Succotash” comes to us from the Algonquin language of the Narragansett Native Americans of Rhode Island, and simply means “boiled corn kernels.” Corn was an important staple crop to not only the Native Americans but also the early colonists who began incorporating it into their cooking. The salad itself includes just…
If I am invited to a potluck dinner or any event where I am asked to bring something, I almost always bring a Texas smoked salmon dip that I discovered years ago in Food & Wine Magazine. Chef Dean Fearing takes the traditional grouping of smoked salmon, red onion and capers and “Texafied” it, adding garlic, lime juice, jalapeño along with sour cream and, serves the “tartare” atop a crispy tortilla chip. Every time I have served this dip aka “tartare,” I receive rave reviews and request for the recipe. I’ve made it so many times I don’t need to…
Most of the country is sweltering under a prolonged heatwave, and people are looking for ways to keep cool. You leave an air-conditioned house for an air-conditioned car to take you to an air-conditioned office, supermarket or shopping mall. You consume cold drinks, search out ice cream, and avoid heavy food. Yes, you do need to eat, even in a heatwave, but you are probably not craving anything hot or fried. Consider this cooling salad chock-full of good-for-you-veggies, filling beans, and refreshing herbs. The recipe calls for lentils, but if you prefer another bean such as chickpea go ahead and…
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like mac and cheese. It’s impossible not to like it! Even the out-of-the-box kind tastes good. But with a few additions and a key piece of equipment, you can elevate mac and cheese from college dorm food to something special and worthy of celebration. First, I implore you to invest in a cast iron skillet if you haven’t already done so. I waited years to get one and I wonder what took me so long. So many amazing meals are born from it – frittatas, burgers, pancakes, s’mores, panini, lasagne… But what about a…
We’ve heard about the heart-healthy benefits of fatty fish like salmon. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation and lower blood pressure, and are a good source of essential vitamins and minerals. In grocery stores or even fish markets you’ve walked past icy shelves of layered pinks and oranges, pieces of salmon large and small that stare out at you, beckoning you to bring them home to enjoy the flavor bomb within. But not all of us know how to cook a piece of salmon. My husband is not a huge fish fan but he’ll eat…
What could be better than a plate of chicken wings? It is so often the best appetizer, the best snack, that something-something that rounds out a barbeque. But you want them crispy, don’t you? I’ve had many a chicken wing that has been gummy, gooey, and so disappointing that the rest of my day has been ruined. So, the next time you make chicken wings for a party make sure you incorporate this ingredient into the process. Corn starch. Yep, that’s right. We have Korean fried chicken to thank for the concept of corn starch to crisp up poultry skin.…
We’re experiencing recession times, inflation vibes, and looking for ways to stretch the dollar. Groceries are more expensive, and we are buying less food while dealing with high gas prices and overall malaise that has permeated the nation and, sometimes, the last thing you want to do is cook. But rendering meals to be more bang-for-your-buck is easier than you think, and doesn’t have to involve anything fried or wrapped in paper, and stuffed into a bag emblazoned with a corporate logo. The Kitchn’s Jesse Szewczyk has come up with a list of 20 easy dinners that you can make…
I have a lovely, friendly neighbor who raises chickens in her backyard and sells the eggs they produce to people who walk past her house. Lately I’ve been making a weekly visit to pick up the next dozen and love that I don’t have to refrigerate them, as they still have the protective “bloom” on the shell which protects the insides from air and bacteria, something that is washed off before arriving at your grocery store. Eggs are the perfect little food package. Low in calories but full of essential nutrients, they are a breakfast favorite and easy to prepare. …
I started gardening in a real, serious, way this spring and I have found myself with a plethora of lettuce. Lettuce of all sorts! And who knew it was going to grow so easily and quickly, especially since last year was such a bust with the mealy heads and lackluster flavor. But fear not! I have found a delicious solution to my lettuce woes: Larb Gai. What, you say? Yes, it’s larb gai, a traditional Thai street food. And it is awesome. Quick, easy, flavorful, healthful. Basically, you sauté some ground poultry or pork, throw in some aromatic herbs, a…
If you’ve got a pot-luck dinner coming, or just want a satisfying and crowd-pleasing munchie to serve at your next BBQ, then go no further than this 7-layer dip. It’s easy to make, a meal in itself, really, and is a perfect companion for tortilla chips. Are you trying to get your kids to eat more veggies (and yourself!)? You’ll be able to do it with this dip at your side. Ingredients matter, even in this recipe, so some things to keep in mind according to The Kitchn’s Patty Catalano: 1. Beans: Choose the best-tasting can of refried beans at the…
In the summertime, when it comes to food, less is more. Shorter recipes, lighter ingredients, smaller portions. When you seek the shade, start thinking about what cools you off. A glass of lemonade? A chilled-like-the-arctic lager? A scoop of ice cream in a cone that you have to eat in record time before it coats your hand? What about the summer BBQ and picnic favorite, something that you can slice, dice, cut into wedges, or blend into a cool, refreshing, and hydrating drink? You know what it is…watermelon! I find watermelon so thirst-quenching and satisfying that I look for ways…
Sometimes lunch just makes you want to cry. You’ve sat through a torturingly long meeting or tackled a barrage of email messages with no end in sight since dawn, and it’s all you can do to will yourself to make it to lunch. What awaits you is a pathetic little number that you’ve brought from home. Insert whatever between two things that are supposed to be bread. Maybe you try to spice it up with a side, like a bruised apple, and then you come to terms with the truth. You are in store for a sad desk lunch. Nooooo!…
As far as sheer culinary perfection goes, it’s hard to beat a grilled cheese sandwich. Reliable, comforting, and appealing to old and young alike, the grilled cheese sandwich and its variations appear in many countries and cultures. It’s crisp and gooey, it’s dip-able (a magical pairing with tomato soup) and it’s oh-so-easy to make. Because it is a breeze to make, you might think there is no need for a step-by-step guide. But I assure you there are some tricks that you should incorporate into your process the next time you or a loved one has a hankering for this delectable…
One of my favorite flavors is sesame, and I find myself gravitating toward it, whether it be sesame oil, sesame seeds, or even the Persian confectionary called halva. There’s a sesame salad dressing that I frequently purchase, and it has become a staple in my home. Its uses go beyond flavoring lettuce. While I am a proponent of homemade food, from stock to growing vegetables from kitchen scraps, it never occurred to me to make my own sesame dressing. I have made salad dressing before, one go-to being a garlicky, vinegary one my father came up with years ago, but…