Gilt Taste stories

Black and White and Eaten All Over

2012-11-29T19:59:50Z

We’re thrilled to bring you our series, The Art of Plating, where we take you into the imaginations of chefs as they design and present their dishes. We show you how they do it, step-by-step, and let them explain their creative process in their own words—what’s going on in their heads as they put their food on the plate. This time around: Tyson Cole and Philip Speer of Uchi and Uchiko. Check back in for more dish design from Chefs Cole and Speer. – Ed.

Steak and Eggs and a Sunrise on a Plate

2012-11-29T19:56:45Z

A Homage to a Top Chef

2012-11-29T18:58:48Z

Squid and Sea Urchin, Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate

2012-11-28T19:52:00Z

Meet the Bean Readers

2012-10-25T02:02:26Z

“Once my tongue starts wagging,” drawls John Coykendall, tugging on the bib of his overalls, “you never know what’s going to come out.”

If you were casting a movie starring an old time Tennessee farmer, you could hardly do better than Coykendall, Blackberry Farm’s Master Gardener. With his deep Southern accent, his worn boots, and his tendency to speak in parables, he’s perfect for the part.

Blackberry Farm's Baked Peanut “Beans” Recipe

2012-10-24T02:00:06Z

This signature recipe from Chef Joseph Lenn is a good reminder that peanuts are actually legumes, a fact that is easy to forget since the role they play in our diets typically is more like that of nuts. The slow, low cooking renders a sweet and rich side dish with a subtle and surprising peanut finish that is fabulous with barbecued chicken.

Blackberry Farm's Duck and Dumplings Recipe

2012-10-23T02:00:57Z

Like many faithful sons, Joseph knows for sure his mother's original is the very best this side of the mountains. I'm not one to argue with Joseph about much of anything—especially not when it comes to his mother's cooking—but I will say this: his duck confit and dumplings is the best rendition of this Southern classic you'll ever taste, no matter whether you use chicken or duck.

From Elephant Trainer to Truffle Hunter

2012-10-22T02:00:47Z

Wander out just past the garden at Blackberry Farm, past where your nose meets the scent of compost, to a little stand of hazelnut trees. If you’re lucky, you’ll come across the most crushingly adorable dog named Tom. And if Blackberry Farm is lucky, Tom will be digging up the dirt around those trees, plucking out spectacularly expensive truffles for his trainer, Jim Sanford.

Meet the Artisans of Blackberry Farm with Ruth Reichl

2012-10-19T02:00:54Z

The ride from the airport did not prepare me for the astonishing beauty of the place, and I remember getting out of the car and feeling the soft air on my skin. I looked over at the view: The Great Smoky Mountains towered all around us while we stood in emerald green grass. Up above the sky was very blue, and animals were grazing peacefully. I remember, very clearly, thinking, “I have never seen a lovelier place.”

The Secrets to Great Stuffed French Toast

2012-10-05T02:00:13Z

Stuffed French toast just sounds so good, which is why I can never resist it when I see it on menus. I order it and daydream of creamy, luscious fruit between eggy toast, crisp at the edges and custard-like in the center. But every time, when the plate actually hits the table, I end up with a cloying, mushy and sloppy breakfast. So after a few weekends of slicing, dipping and frying, I found how to make my brunch dreams real.

How to Make a Better Vinaigrette

2012-10-02T04:52:55Z

Make your dressing fresh. Yes, you can make enough to last for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. But it takes no more than a minute to whip up a dressing that has the vibrant freshness of ingredients that are meeting for the very first time.

Dashi: The Better, Easier Stock

2012-09-28T02:00:09Z

Dashi is a golden broth that tastes like the perfect combination of smoke, ocean, aged meat and the sea. It’s mild and mellow, so it blends with thousands of flavors, but it provides the taste of umami—the foundation of Japanese cuisine. Used in everything from sauces to stews and as the base of classic soups like miso, it’s the Japanese version of chicken stock, but far simpler and quicker to make.

How to Make a Better Japanese Steamed Chicken

2012-09-25T02:00:24Z

Steamed chicken is not a beautiful dish, and it sounds like it’s too good for you to actually be good. But if you steam a chicken right, you end up with flesh so smooth, soft and tender it seems to have turned into some other animal, with a refined and subtle flavor. It is the easiest dish you’ll ever make. And among the most elegant.

Easier-Than-Pie Tarte Tatin

2012-09-21T13:55:52Z

Tender apples, sweet caramelized sugar and a buttery crust are always a killer trio, but what’s really great about a tarte tatin is how much it impresses with how little effort. Set this classic French dessert in the center of a table, and those who recognize it will wiggle with pleasure and those who’ve never seen it will be intrigued and impressed.

How Do Supermarkets Decide Where to Open?

2012-09-20T02:00:36Z

Who decides where supermarkets go? Are there enough supermarkets in the Bronx? Why does it matter? For Funky Fresh, a group of public high school students worked with teaching artist Hatuey Ramos-Fermín, to took a look at who gets supermarkets, who doesn’t, and why.

The Lobster That Brought Me Home

2012-09-19T02:00:16Z

For decades, I had a purely hypothetical romance with fancy dishes whose names consisted of an expensive main ingredient followed by a glamorous sounding name: Beef Wellington, Oysters Rockefeller, Clams Casino, and, most of all, Lobster Thermidor. This decadent-sounding concoction of lobster in cream sauce always conjures old New York’s hotel restaurants, the glamour and fizz of a long-ago, long-lost city I’d never known except in books: cigarette holders, highballs, men’s hats, swing bands, and proper literary feuds that ended in fisticuffs at the Algonquin (where it was, of course, on the menu).

How to Make Apple Cider Sing

2012-09-18T02:00:39Z

I once let a cider reduction go for so long it turned, basically, into a hard gel once I put it in the fridge. (Apples—and therefore cider—have lots of pectin, a natural gel.) The reduction concentrated all its sweetness and tartness, but even better, it gave me an apple flavor that was so richly compressed it tasted, I swear, like maple. Like wood and trees and old forest, and I thought I was hallucinating.

How to Make a Better Chicken Liver Mousse

2012-09-17T04:01:00Z

This is the time to use newly harvested apples in pies and crisps and galettes. But I’m going to offer a more unusual suggestion. This chicken liver mousse is extremely simple; you can whip it up for a party in under half an hour, and have some leftover for the freezer (it freezes gorgeously). The secret is the addition of an apple, which marries beautifully with the livers, bringing out their sweet freshness and creating a mousse with a character all its own.

The Kugel So Wrong, It Had to Be Right

2012-09-14T02:00:11Z

When I was about 10 years old, for a Passover Seder sometime in the late ’80s, my mother made a kugel, a casserole of wide egg noodles and sweet custard. She served it in big wedges that collapsed slightly on the plate, revealing tender, pink-tinged slices of apple. Their sweet-tart flavor, combined with the creaminess of the custard, came as a wonder. But, I learned years later, this kugel was exactly the wrong dish for this holiday.

Why Start a Food Blog?

2012-09-13T02:00:02Z

Falling into a rabbit hole of like-minded people who wanted nothing more than to write about what they made for lunch (or dinner, or dessert) all day long was like discovering Plimoth Plantation as a child. I could scarcely believe my good fortune. I never wanted to leave this new and wondrous world.

When Hot Sauce Burned All the Pain Away

2012-09-12T02:00:13Z

The power of chiles, I found, could cure just about any turmoil. Some 15 years after that early-morning Tabasco pill and all of life’s shifts—divorce, career changes, moves, and new starts later—I was growing my own chiles, the hottest I could find, and pureeing them into a toxic swill. It’s a permanent fixture in my refrigerator, ready and waiting for the times I need them most, the times when I need a sharp, overwhelming reminder that if I can just breathe through it, the pain will pass.

Spicy Caramel Soy Sauce Recipe

2012-09-11T02:00:56Z

I love the mysterious sweetness and thick, rich body a little caramel brings to soy sauce. And slightly cooking some chile in the caramel brings a different, mellow layer of heat. It’s fantastic for poached chicken, fish, or boiled shrimp, but the sugar also lets it stand up to roasted meats too. And it’s also an amazing dip for slices of fresh, ripe tomato or cucumber. Get your burn on!

How To Make a Better Mapo Tofu

2012-09-10T14:41:57Z

Sichuan peppercorns are a great addition to many dishes, but they are never more eloquent than in mapo tofu, where the bland whiteness of the tofu is the perfect foil for the peppercorns. To me mapo tofu is a classic demonstration of how a few simple ingredients can add up to much more than the sum of its parts.

The Art of Plating: Rib Comets and Peas-n-Carrots

2012-09-07T02:00:24Z

Welcome to The Art of Plating, where we take you into the imaginations of chefs as they design and present their dishes. We show you how they do it, step-by-step, and let them explain their creative process in their own words—what’s going on in their heads as they put their food on the plate. This week: Wylie Dufresne, of wd-50, for over a decade one of the world’s true leaders in creative, boundary-pushing cuisine.

The Art of Plating: The World’s Most Advanced Deli Meat

2012-09-06T02:00:41Z

The Art of Plating: Tire Tracks of Sauce

2012-09-05T02:00:39Z

The Art of Plating: Egg Ravioli or Square Omelet?

2012-09-04T02:00:24Z

How to Teach Your Kids to Cook

2012-08-28T22:40:02Z

You’d think the children of a chef (and not just any chef, but a Top Chef Masters Champion) would by nature be killer cooks. But Floyd Cardoz, chef of New York’s North End Grill, has two teenage sons who don’t necessarily qualify, so he figured he should fix the boys up with a few go-to recipes and techniques. Here are Floyd’s tips when showing teenagers the ropes in the kitchen.

When a Chef Packs Lunch for Preschool

2012-08-28T02:00:30Z

Few meals intimidate my husband Danny. He can wrap trout in prosciutto, pan roast it with artichokes and baby green beans, and top it with garlic scape pesto for the 80 people who will order it that night. For him, preparing a meal is grounding, a chance to stand in front of the stove and start again. But there was one meal that flipped him out: our daughter’s first brown-bag lunch for preschool.

How to Feed a Picky Child

2012-08-27T02:00:08Z

I’m convinced that there are two basic secrets to feeding your children. The first is to avoid turning the table into a battleground. Give your children food they like to eat, and eventually they’ll like to eat more. (Nick is now a 6 foot 3 omnivore with an appetite for almost everything.) The other secret is to make the kitchen fun.

Impress Yourself: Cure Your Own Gravlax

2012-08-24T02:00:32Z

Gravlax always impresses: buttery, salty, supple ruby-red ribbons of cured salmon, fit for brunch on any-old Sunday and gorgeous enough for a holiday feast. But you’ll impress even yourself when you make it, since it’s actually dead easy and quick; it takes just 10 minutes of prep and 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Bourbon-Pickle Your Peaches!

2012-08-23T02:00:06Z

Pickled peaches are a traditional accompaniment to ham and other pork dishes, but that’s only the beginning. They love fried chicken, game birds, and turkey, so trot out a jar of these on Thanksgiving to relieve those who are weary of cranberry sauce. They sit well on top of salads, or alongside a wedge of ripe cheese and spiced nuts. Spooning them over vanilla or caramel ice cream might become a habit. And they are plenty delicious eaten straight out the jar.

How to Concentrate and Save Tomatoes, Part 2

2012-08-22T02:00:08Z

You can’t argue against fresh, ripe tomatoes: their cooling juice, their sloppy glory. But when you really love tomatoes, you want to give them every chance to show off their charms. Yesterday, I wrote about what happens when you slowly, gently, lovingly cook the living hell out of them, turning them into a tomato paste bomb. The flavor is unbelievable, and, handily, it’s a great way to preserve them well into the winter.

And this is my other favorite way to do that: Dry them.

How to Concentrate and Save Tomatoes, Part 1

2012-08-21T02:00:38Z

“Congratulations!” she said. “You just made tomato paste. It’s cheap and comes in cans.” But but but…Ok, fine. Yes, that is what this is. But to be honest, I’ve never understood, really, why anyone eats the tomato paste comes in cans. I mean, I’m not even snobbing on this—it just tastes like sour goop; has anyone ever said, “You know, what this dish needs is some really sour red goop?”

This homemade tomato paste, though… this is magnificent stuff.

How to Make a Better (and Easier) Jam

2012-08-20T02:00:30Z

If you’ve never attempted to preserve your own jam, frightened off by all those bottles to sterilize and seal, you are not alone; it feels like very risky business. But there’s a better way. If you come home from the farmers’ market laden with beautiful fruit, you can make jam in small batches and simply store it in the refrigerator. Nothing to sterilize, nothing to seal. But there are a few things to keep in mind.

How to Make Eggplant Sing

2012-08-17T02:00:56Z

The eggplant is one of the most beautiful vegetables of summer. Its curved, voluptuous shape begs to be touched; its glossy, smooth skin comes in nearly every shade of purple. But it’s not without its detractors, and if your first bite of it was greasy or bitter—sadly too common—I can see why you wouldn’t look at one and go, “Come to Mama.” Here are a few quick ways of getting around any eggplant problems.

Villa Sparina Winery

2012-08-16T16:00:07Z

A Rind is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Watermelon Preserves Recipes

2012-08-16T02:00:12Z

There are actually lots of delicious things you can do with the crisp, white rinds of watermelons, but their full glory is revealed through preserves and pickles. Watermelon rind preserves are subtle, pleasantly sweet, and a little vegetal, both familiar and exotic, like something you’ve tasted before but can’t quite place. The pickles are tangy, sweet, crisp, and cold, not unlike bread-and-butter pickles, but with more charisma. These recipes aren’t quick, but they’re not difficult, and the rewards are worth the time and the sticky mess.

Have a Fine Time with Watermelon Rind

2012-08-15T02:00:20Z

We usually think of watermelon as a galumphing fruit with a sweet, juicy middle and a bothersome amount of useless white rind. But maybe this will help you change your perspective: Watermelon is Cucurbitaceous, which means it’s a cousin of cucumber, zucchini, and squash. So after the sweet stuff is gone, just pretend the leftover rind is a squash and have at it! Here are some ideas for making them delicious, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste.

Summertime Go-To: Pasta with Sweet Corn Ragu

2012-08-14T02:00:50Z

The point of all this is that, basically, if you have good corn and good tomatoes, you can be pretty lazy with the rest. You don’t have to be super careful to sauté the corn just-so, you don’t have to micromanage the tomatoes so they reduce exactly to the density that would cling to an angel’s wing. It’s summer, and summer cooking means you don’t really have to sweat it.

How to Make Better Sautéed Spinach

2012-08-13T02:00:36Z

Spinach is a love or hate proposition. Most people can be divided into those who side with E.B. White or those who think Catherine de Medici got it right. Mr. White is the man who tossed off the famous New Yorker cartoon caption (“I say it’s spinach, and I say to hell with it”), apparently unaware that would turn the vegetable into a national joke that has lasted more than 80 years. Ms. de Medici was the Queen of France who was so enamored of spinach that she demanded it at every meal.

The Art of Plating: Cilantro in Mid-Air

2012-08-10T02:00:00Z

In my insecurity, I fear someone could say, “You’re a hack, that’s not thoughtful, that’s not new.” But what’s new? Is it something new to you? New to the person perceiving it? Yesterday, there was someone seeing a an alginate spheres for the very first time, and I couldn’t think of anything more done to death.

The Art of Plating: A Cured Trout Homage to Mexico and NYC

2012-08-09T02:00:00Z

In Mexico, in places where they make the liquor mezcal, they’ll serve it with oranges and sal de gusano – salt with chiles and pulverized, roasted maguey worms. You’re supposed to sprinkle the salt on the oranges and have them in between sips. So we took the mezcal and that salt and cured ocean trout with it, and served it back with those components to let guests enjoy the flavor in several forms.

The Art of Plating: A “Tostada” Unlike Any Other

2012-08-08T02:00:00Z

I want the food to be pretty, but I also want this to be a restaurant where you feel like you can just walk in, have a drink and an appetizer, and have it be approachable but remarkable. So the idea of this dish is that it’s basically a tostada, with crispy masa waves for the tortilla and shrimp in tomatillo-chipotle salsa.

The Art of Plating: A Different Take on Mexican Mole

2012-08-07T02:00:00Z

When I first got into Mexican cooking, I thought I knew better: “Why wouldn’t you strain this? Why wouldn’t you do that?” Some of the cooking seems unrefined if your background is Eurocentric. But what you realize, though, is that there’s a lot of intelligence to it, a lot of experience in making things taste a certain way. You change the techniques and the food doesn’t taste the same. So here, I wanted to highlight the textures of the mole, to embrace—for lack of a better term—a “natural” aesthetic.

Brown Rice You’ll Finally Love

2012-08-03T02:00:27Z

More than once I’ve ended up with mushy and weirdly chewy brown rice that’s, let’s face it, is gross. But, if you nail the cooking technique, it turns out these heart-healthy grains—they have more fiber, vitamins and bran oil (thought to lower cholesterol) than white rice—make a nutty, al dente, satisfying starch to accompany anything from brown sugar and bananas in the morning, to green onions, soy sauce and chicken at dinner.

How to Make a Better Guacamole

2012-08-02T19:21:42Z

It is very sad that the avocado’s leap to fame came in the form of processed guacamole, which disguises the character of the avocado itself. In Mexico, guacamole is a seasonal dish that changes with the available produce. Right now, when avocados are at their richest and peaches are in season, is a perfect time for this summer guacamole, which uses peaches instead of tomatoes, emphasizing the sweet nature of an avocado.

Going on Diets Started at Nine

2012-08-02T02:00:37Z

Once, when I was nine years old, my older sister—then 15—invited me to her room. This in itself was an honor and a privilege, but today there was something even better: Kira was about to embark on a disciplined but rewarding diet of fat-free foods, and she wanted to know if I would join her. We would be partners! We would support each other, encourage each other, lose weight together! There would be challenges, of course, but together, we would succeed.

Michael Phelps Eats What!?

2012-08-01T02:00:28Z

Years ago, I fantasized about running marathons. Not because I liked jogging—I most certainly did not—but because long distance runners could, I surmised, eat whatever they wanted. Oops, did I just snarf an entire deep dish pizza? No prob, it’ll burn off by mile 12. Of course, I’m not the only one who assumes serious athletes are gluttons; in 2008, rumors circulated that swimmer Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day—almost five days worth of food.

Caramelized Watermelon Salad

2012-07-31T02:00:17Z

I once interviewed a watermelon farmer when he said something surprising: Rather than chill his, he liked to leave them to bake in the summer sun for hours. The heat, he said, brings out floral, almost tropical flavors, stuff you’d never tasted in a fruit you’ve had a thousand times. I didn’t buy it—after all, cold watermelon on a hot day is one of the truest pleasures of life. But I tried it, and sure enough, he was right; the flavors were all over the place, in a great way.

How to Make Better Lemonade

2012-07-30T02:00:02Z

“What’s in your refrigerator?” That’s a question food writers are invariably asked. My first answer is always “lemons, lemons and more lemons.” I am never without them. I included an entire chapter on lemons in my first cookbook. And just last week, I was surprised into shouting “I am the Queen of Lemons,” on the new season of Top Chef Masters. So you will not be surprised to learn that I have serious opinions about lemonade.

How to Get the Most Out of Marinating

2012-07-27T02:00:00Z

Boss cuts like a dry-aged, mega-marbled steak need nothing more than salt, but most everyday meats like chicken, flank steak and pork chops can all benefit from some marinade love. And since it’s the height of summer, what better to lend your marinade sweet, tangy flavor than fresh fruit?

Destiny Orders a Tiger Beer

2012-07-26T02:00:00Z

“You are the greatest kind of person there is in this world,” the man at the other side of the picnic table says to me in a uniquely Indian melody, which, like Italian, is more cadence than accent.

When There Was Nothing Left to Do, I Fed Her Ice Cream

2012-07-25T02:00:34Z

Cape Cod, where I grew up, is practically the ice cream capitol of the world, and my mother took full advantage of her adopted home. Unlike many women, my mother had an uncomplicated relationship with ice cream. She loved it and she ate it often, sometimes as a meal. That’s what growing up on a farm in Kansas will do for you: Food is for growing, cooking and eating, not for worrying about.

Peach Salad with Sweet Mint Pesto

2012-07-24T02:00:52Z

How to Make a Better Hot Fudge Sundae

2012-07-23T02:00:23Z

If you’ve been buying banal bottled hot fudge, this may be news to you: Making hot fudge is easy. Nothing you can do in the kitchen offers bigger rewards for so little effort. As for ice cream, there are many excellent brands out there, but ice cream is always at its best when it is freshly made and eaten right out of the churn. Here are the steps to sundae heaven.

Amazing One-Ingredient Corn “Butter”

2012-07-20T02:00:00Z

Everyone loves corn’s simple, on-the-cob goodness, but what if I told you that in just three simple moves you can turn corn into something as silky as pastry cream, as flavorful as preserves and as satisfying as butter? (Even without any fat?) Here's a smooth, pudding-like spread that tastes like the purest, sweetest corn flavor… because that’s all that’s in it.

Learning to be an Indian in New York

2012-07-19T02:00:00Z

Last fall, when the New York sky began to darken and the leaves brightened, I thought of everything I’d left behind in Bombay. Diwali, the festival of lights, threatened to pass by unnoticed, just like Holi, the festival of color, had in the spring. I found hundreds of Halloween pumpkins at my local grocery but what I really wanted were the heart-shaped taro leaves that my grandmother used to make patra, another dish of our winters.

The Rise of Wild Beer

2012-07-18T02:00:44Z

In the back room of a hipster bowling alley in Brooklyn, Tim Stendahl stands onstage with a 10-year-old bottle of beer held high above his head. Once the crowd, about a hundred strong, recognizes the beer in his hand, it surges toward Stendahl, aching for an ounce of the strange elixir that has been slowly maturing inside its bottle since before we invaded Iraq.

Why I Talk to Americans about Food

2012-07-17T02:00:16Z

Whatever “talking to people” means on the surface – getting phone numbers, dates, or interviews for stories – it always means something else underneath: That you belong.

How to Make a Better Steak Sandwich

2012-07-16T02:00:00Z

If you love steak sandwiches, you need to make friends with skirt steak. It’s a wonderfully flavorful cut that gives you true beef flavor for not much money - but it has to be handled correctly. The skirt is very hardworking, which means that it has great flavor and a strong desire to be tough. But in my house it’s the favorite for sandwiches because it has the right chew, and the skinny slices can stand up to salsa, chimichurri, pesto—or simply mustard and a bit of butter.

Luscious-but-Light Summertime Mac n’ Cheese Recipe

2012-07-13T02:00:00Z

When it’s 95 degrees out, how can you justify turning on the oven? So I came up with my Summertime Mac n’ Cheese. This recipe doesn’t require an oven, even though you still get that great crunchy topping. And the sauce is rich and satisfying, but feels far lighter than the traditional version thanks to loads of lemon, tangy cheeses and fresh green herbs.

The Art of Plating: Why Presentation May be Self-Defeating

2012-07-12T02:00:00Z

We’re thrilled to bring you our new series, The Art of Plating, where we take you into the imaginations of chefs as they design and present their dishes. We show you how they do it, in step-by-step photos, and let them explain their creative process in their own words— why they put this sauce here, for example, or why they placed the herbs just so. First up: the revered pastry chef Michael Laiskonis, formerly of Le Bernardin and now the Creative Director of the Institute of Culinary Education.

The Art of Plating: Growing a Delicious “Rock Garden”

2012-07-11T02:00:00Z

We’re thrilled to bring you our new series, The Art of Plating, where we take you into the imaginations of chefs as they design and present their dishes. We show you how they do it, in step-by-step photos, and let them explain their creative process in their own words—why they put this sauce here, for example, or why they placed the herbs just so. First up: the revered pastry chef Michael Laiskonis, formerly of Le Bernardin and now the Creative Director of the Institute of Culinary Education.

The Art of Plating: Designing a Dessert

2012-07-10T02:00:00Z

We’re thrilled to bring you our new series, The Art of Plating, where we take you into the imaginations of chefs as they design and present their dishes. We show you how they do it, in step-by-step photos, and let them explain their creative process in their own words—why they put this sauce here, for example, or why they placed the herbs just so. First up: the revered pastry chef Michael Laiskonis, formerly of Le Bernardin and now the Creative Director of the Institute of Culinary Education.

How to Make Better Garlic Bread

2012-07-09T02:00:05Z

A fragrant loaf of garlic bread is the best way I know to please a crowd. While it bakes it perfumes the neighborhood, broadcasting such deeply nostalgic signals that it can send the staidest grownup straight back to childhood.

Vacation Farming with the Dark Lord

2012-07-06T02:00:00Z

The first time I saw Chris, she was sitting behind the windshield of a white convertible, looking me up and down, frowning, as if I were a chicken she wasn’t sure she wanted to take home for dinner. She’d driven into town to bring me back to her farm, where I was to spend the week working for room and board. Only after what seemed like a very long, very judgmental time, she said hello.

How to Make Your Own Soft Serve

2012-07-05T02:00:09Z

John T. Edge is a national treasure. A son of Georgia and the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance and, he’s done as much as anybody to promote and celebrate the culinary heroes, new and old, of the American South. But for The Truck Food Cookbook, he traveled far and wide through this great country to find 150 of the most inspired recipes on wheels. Here are a few of them, from NYC’s Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.

The Doggy Dozen: 12 Rad Hot Dog Topping Ideas

2012-07-03T02:00:25Z

What could be more classically American than firing up a grill for some hot dogs on July 4th? Maybe watching George Washington chop down a cherry tree or having your name changed at Ellis Island, but that’s about it. Here are a dozen of our favorite deluxed-out dog toppings, some inspired by the wiener’s global reach, some by our own drooling imaginations.

How to Make a Better Burger

2012-07-02T02:00:00Z

I am married to a man who would happily have burgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He can go on at great length about why burgers are better than steak, better than eggs, better than chocolate cake. It took me a while, but over time I’ve come to agree that the great American hamburger is one of the world’s best edible inventions, and I have given a lot of thought to making it better.

Drinksicles: Popsicle Recipes for Grown-Ups

2012-06-29T02:00:36Z

Sometimes it’s just more fun to imbibe sans stemware. And since there are few things that’ll entice people on a sunny day like a frozen treat, cocktail popsicles are my favorite way to get a summer soiree started. To get you going, here are recipes for white sangria, Irish coffee, and watermelon-vodka treats.

A Recipe is Not Always the Place to Begin

2012-06-28T02:00:10Z

I do not dislike recipes. They can be wonderful things. They are very good, for example, when you know that the only thing that you want tonight is paella. But you do not always want paella. Sometimes you just want a good meal, to end up satisfied and happy, and not devote too much time or money to it. Then, recipes can be sort of like maps that demand you travel to a different location before you start your journey, then show you only a single route.

Should You Raise a Sugar-Free Baby?

2012-06-27T01:00:00Z

“You mean to say you’ve never let Dean try a bite of cake before?” a friend asked. (Undertone: Have you become a crazy person?) Nope, I replied. Nor had I ever let him taste a cookie or a candy or a brownie or even Mott’s sweetened applesauce, for that matter. I mean, when he first started eating solid food, I didn’t even let him try fruit for a month. I’ve studied the science of sugar for two years, and I am raising a sugar-free baby.

Spicy Avocado Cucumber-Fennel Salad Recipe

2012-06-26T02:00:00Z

There is no more refreshing hot weather eating than zinging your mouth with lime, warming it up with chile, and cooling it down with cucumbers. This salad builds on that trick and adds the crunch and sweetness of fennel, the fruitiness of bell peppers, and the herbal freshness of parsley. It’s ridiculously simple– you don’t even have to make a dressing, because the lime and buttery avocado chunks pretty much do what a vinaigrette is supposed to do anyway.

How to Make a Better Angel Food Cake (And Miraculous, Instant Strawberry Ice Cream)

2012-06-25T02:00:17Z

This is what I like about angel food cake: It is beautiful. It is light. It is totally fat-free. It is a gorgeously empty canvas for all manner of desserts. When done right, it’s a high, white cloud-like confection, a perfect example of the importance of the chemistry of cooking.

Chill, Baby! Make Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles

2012-06-22T02:00:00Z

Popsicles were “invented” by Frank Epperson, when he accidentally left a cup of soda with a stir stick sitting outside on a cold night in 1923. Nine decades later, we’ve learned a thing or two about making them great. You can, obviously, freeze any drink or puree into a popsicle, but here are some tips to making them more refreshing and delicious than ever.

Are Rare Steaks Really Better?: A Butcher's View

2012-06-20T02:00:29Z

Aren’t rare steaks juicier and more tender? Well, not necessarily. I started doing some experimenting—I’m no scientist, but even a knuckle-dragging son of a construction worker like me can learn a thing or two—and it turns out in some cases, cooking your meat a little more can make for better texture and flavor. Blame fat, collagen, and chemistry.

Garlic-Thyme Popcorn Recipe

2012-06-19T02:00:40Z

Here’s a popcorn that stands up tall and says hello while looking you in the eye. It starts with duck fat—the most noble of fats—and it ends with rich puffs of flavor that fill your head with duck’s favorite friends: mellow garlic, fragrant thyme and bright orange. And if you’ve never made popcorn on the stove, it’s quick, and kind of mesmerizing fun if you have a pot with a glass lid. Respect is due.

How to Make a Better Lobster Roll

2012-06-19T02:00:00Z

Lobster rolls are this summer’s slider—the food of the moment, the dish on every trendy menu. And why not? This purely American invention has a contradictory character; it tastes like freedom, like summer on a plate, and at the same time it is the most luxurious sandwich ever invented. Since lobster rolls are mostly made ahead, they’re perfect party food. If your friends have been eating them out, they’ll be thrilled that the one you serve them can be so much better, if you consider these tips.

Icy and Spicy Three Pepper Gazpacho Recipe

2012-06-15T02:00:00Z

Bright with basil, delicately spicy, subtly sweet and creamy (thanks to a surprise fat-free secret ingredient), this green gazpacho has the depth of flavor that most cold vegetable soups lack. Finished with crisp cucumber, roasted shrimp and a healthy spoonful of sour cream, I’m gonna go ahead and make the claim that this recipe will be the tastiest (and healthiest) in your summer soup repertoire.

When the Queso Dripped Like Honey

2012-06-14T02:00:15Z

The first time I ate queso was at a cast party for a high school play. I'd been dieting for months, a lonely stretch of rice cakes and Lean Cuisine, and now unencumbered by the pressure of 600 eyes staring at me from auditorium seats, I could chow down.

"What is in this stuff?" I asked my friend, licking the melted cheese off the side of my hand.

"Velveeta and Ro-Tel," she said. It was like learning the passwords to heaven.

The Problem with Food Souvenirs

2012-06-13T02:00:22Z

A souvenir should be something permanent, a lasting reminder of an experience, right? Food is the opposite. It is meant to be consumed, and only after its gone has it served its purpose fully. The moment something succeeds as food, it fails as a souvenir.

How to Choose and Cut Mangoes (and Turn Them Into Shakes)

2012-06-12T02:00:27Z

I grew up eating mangoes raw — straight, no chaser. Only when my mother bought way too many on special and they languished, softening too quickly, did we cut them and blend them into shakes, so we could suck them down faster. I’ll share my mom’s recipe — and a recipe for a fantastic Indian yogurt-mango drink — below, but first, some basics on how to handle the magic.

How to Make Better Deviled Eggs

2012-06-11T02:00:10Z

Although deviled eggs are delicious, they are not always easy. The availability of new-laid organic farm eggs is something of a mixed blessing. Farm eggs are infinitely tastier than industrial ones, but a fresh egg is almost impossible to peel. If you want to make a better deviled egg, there are a few things you should know.

Strawberry Caramel Sauce for Sundaes and More

2012-06-08T02:00:00Z

How's this for a brilliant technique? Cook sugar until it’s dark amber-colored and then stop the caramelization by mixing in the whole pureed fruit. You end up with a luscious, velvety caramel that’s got sweet, pure fruit flavor up front balanced by a hint of bitter from the burnt sugar at the end.

The Mulberry’s the Worst Berry There Ever Was!

2012-06-07T02:00:28Z

It was 2005, the summer after graduating from college, and all my friends and I lived within a 2-block radius of each other. We were working minimum-wage summer jobs, or none at all, and were aimless, carefree on the outside, and scared to death for the future on the inside. Our nights were full of drinking and music-playing on our porches. We had dance parties and bar crawls, nightly excursions to the lake for moonlit skinny-dipping, and we picked mulberries.

Is it Fair for Chefs to Cook Other Cultures’ Foods?

2012-06-06T02:00:00Z

And so we talked, immigrant son to immigrant son, food-lover to food-lover, Chinaman to Chinaman. (It isn’t the preferred nomenclature, but it works for us.) We had an honest debate over whether it’s right for chefs to “take” someone else’s culture and sell it, what responsibilities writers and chefs have to make sure people understand where cuisines come from, and, in the end, what it means to be an immigrant in America. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation.

Roasted Green Beans with Chunky Olive Salsa Recipe

2012-06-05T02:00:41Z

Vegetable fans, lovers of the color green, vegetarians who miss meat, nut allergy sufferers, and people who think throwing crispy bits of tortilla on food is a good way to have a good time: Y’all are going to love me today. That’s because I’m going to share with you the easiest, meatiest, nuttiest recipe you’ll ever see that doesn’t involve meat or nuts.

How to Make a Better Spaghetti Carbonara

2012-06-04T02:00:17Z

Carbonara begins with everyday ingredients - eggs, pasta, and cured pork - and it can be thrown together in a trice. Although its sheer deliciousness has led many cooks to try to improve upon the recipe by adding extraneous ingredients (cream, vermouth, herbs), in this case, less really is more. And especially if you take care to keep these tips in mind.

Make Your Potato Salad the Summer Buffet Baller

2012-06-01T02:00:03Z

Potato salad is buffet staple for loads of reasons; it’s easy to make in big batches, can be prepped ahead of time, and when cooked and seasoned the right way, it’ll be the first dish to empty. It’s the perfect canvas for a curious cook to experiment with flavors and textures. It’s endlessly mutable, but for great flavor and that totally satisfying firm-but-plush texture, there a three main things to know.

Iced Coffee’s Frenemy

2012-05-31T02:00:31Z

When was the last time you found yourself saying this?: “This iced Columbia Tolima has amazing grape notes with its hints of spices and I like it a lot more than that iced Sumatran Blue Batak Tarbarita with its honey and chocolate tones.” You haven't. No one has. If you did, you would have zero friends. And, I want you to have friends. You should be popular. But, I also want you to drink iced coffees that celebrate a coffee bean's uniqueness, essence, and epiphanies.

Reveal the Appeal of Potato Peels

2012-05-30T02:00:00Z

So you’re mashing potatoes and have a mound of skins. And maybe T.G.I. Franchise has made you think that those skins are only for being covered in 2500 calories-worth of neon cheese. But—surprise!—potato peels are nutritious, tasty and useful even without bacon bits. Turn them into crusts for savory pies, crunchy snacks, and even use them in place of breadcrumbs; their sturdy, earthy flavor and ability to crisp are so intriguing when they’re unexpected.

How to Make a Better Poundcake

2012-05-29T02:00:00Z

I’ve always admired the simplicity of poundcake, whose name comes from the recipe, which was originally a pound of butter, a pound of flour, a pound of sugar and a pound of eggs. It’s a versatile cake that is richly delicious but also easily adaptable. You can serve it with berries and cream, you make it into trifle, you can toast it and serve it with jam. It’s an easy cake - and one that is easy to make better – lighter, fluffier, more delicate.

Pork Belly, Mint + Cucumber Sandwich Recipe from Cochon Butcher

2012-05-25T02:00:04Z

The crisp freshness of cucumber lightens up the rich pork belly, while sweet mint gives a high, heady aroma. It’s like a BLT, but with flavors both familiar and totally unexpected

The Crisped-Cheese, Fried Egg, Maple Sausage Sandwich from 4505 Meats

2012-05-24T02:00:04Z

No one would ever accuse this nasty boy of being restrained and refined, but what we love about it is its smart use of cheese and greens. That is, instead of using something sharp and acidic to cut through all the richness, it goes instead for the crisp, fresh, green pepperiness of cress. And letting the cheese brown a bit gives it a wonderful chewy crispness. We like to amp that up by fusing the cheese to the bun.

Cutty’s Mind-Bending Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe

2012-05-23T02:00:07Z

There are no secret tricks at Cutty’s—they won hearts and minds by being obsessed with making everything well and with quirky little twists to the classics that make you wonder why things haven’t always been made this way. Like this little lovely. Classic egg salad gets zapped with earthy black olives, the sweet bite of radishes, and a floral hit of cilantro. Once you get the flavors in your head, they’re impossible to get out.

The Turkey Club Recipe to End All Turkey Clubs, from Court Street Grocers

2012-05-22T02:00:00Z

The best turkey club in the world is at a little shop called Court Street Grocers. It’s got all the things you want in the classic—tender, moist roasted breast; bacon; a firm hand with the mayonnaise knife. But along with this there’s a rich little brick of pulled turkey leg meat, slow-simmered in duck fat.

Broccoli Sub with Ricotta and Spicy Lychee Pickles from No. 7 Sub

2012-05-21T02:00:04Z

Kicking off our Sandwich Week is No 7 Sub’s brilliant why-didn’t-I-think-of-that? broccoli sub. Half of Gilt Taste’s caloric intake in any given week comes from this unstoppably, compulsively delicious sandwich of roasted broccoli, sweet-spicy pickles, salty ricotta and crisp fried shallots and pine nuts. Enjoy!

Three Savory Cheese Cookie Recipes: Take That, Cheez-Its!

2012-05-18T02:00:41Z

Enter my friend Marybeth Albright, writer, cook and hostess extraordinaire, who blew my mind with her clever, simple technique for savory cheese cookies. They’re so good, in fact, that after seeing them save your leftover cheese board once, you’ll be buying fresh cheese just to bake them into these light, tender, totally addictive snacks.

What Does Tartness Do for Food?

2012-05-17T02:00:25Z

I think of the other tastes as pushing the flavors in a dish forward; tartness feels as if it is pulling flavor. Try sucking on a piece of lemon and then biting into a freshly cooked shrimp sautéed with garlic. After an initial puckering, you feel your mouth filling with flavor, like a tire being pumped up with air. Very often tanginess is the one missing element that completes a recipe, puts a bow on it, and advertises that it is as full-flavored as it is going to get.

Rhubarb’s Ruby Submission

2012-05-16T02:00:26Z

When I was young, my Chinese father ate the pokeweed that was growing in our garden, insisting that it was rhubarb. He vomited for two days straight. He didn’t even like rhubarb; he was just trying to prove a point, objecting to my mother spending money on something that he believed was already in our backyard. The irony is that my mother was probably cooking so much rhubarb because she was having an affair with a man who loved it.

Sicilian Sweet-and-Sour Cauliflower Recipe

2012-05-15T02:00:00Z

Here is a dish I started cooking in 2005, when my head was still full of the rumble of Palermo and Catania’s black lava streets. It’s based on the sweet-and-sour profile so common there—creamy, mild cauliflower steamed in a little tomato, then tarted up with aromatics, vinegar, sugar, olive oil and mint. The key to keeping something with sweet-and-sour flavors savory is depth. So for this dish, you develop that depth through caramelization and intense concentration of garlic, aromatics, and tomato.

How to Make a Better Cheesecake

2012-05-14T02:00:46Z

I’ve done dozens of different cheesecakes, mixing almost every imaginable ingredient into the mix. In the end I’ve come to believe that you can’t beat the elegance of the classic New York version. Its stark white simplicity belies the sinuous way it slinks into your mouth and overwhelms you with its richness. It is the perfect ending for any meal, but you can make it better. Here’s how.

Hunky Honey-Wheat English Muffins

2012-05-11T02:00:00Z

It was the most seductive English muffin ever. Tall and slender, unlike the squat pucks you get at the grocery store, it had a crisp, cornmeal dusted shell that hid a soft, springy center, loaded with craggy pores that trapped drops of hollandaise.

After that meal, I pledged that a store-bought English muffin would never touch my lips again, only homemade English muffins, or what I now call “British studs.”

A Family Tied Together by Apron Strings

2012-05-10T02:00:00Z

In 1972, when Donna Kelly was 16, she gave up her first child, a daughter, for adoption. 18 years later, Anne Tegtmeier set out to find her biological mother. She had her name, located her number, and made that call. But the pair didn't reunite until almost 10 years later, when Anne was 27.

This is the story, as told to writer Sarah Henry, of how they found their way back to each other and became a family... by cooking together.

PB&J Parfait with Peanut Butter Whipped Cream Recipe

2012-05-09T02:00:00Z

We all have Moms as unique as our lunchboxes, but I’ll wager PB&J stirs up childhood memories for all of us. On Mother’s Day, make this for her and let yourself be that kid again.

The Best, Lightest Pancake Recipe Ever

2012-05-08T02:00:12Z

Marion Cunningham’s Heavenly Hots really are the best-ever pancakes. She describes them as “seeming to hover over the plate,” and they really, truly, are astonishingly light. They go in your mouth and disappear, as if they are just a ghost, an idea of pancake-ness. They cook in seconds, so to serve them at their hottest, at their absolute best, have your guests hang out with you right by the stove and feed them to them the moment they come off the heat.

How to Make a Better (Mother’s Day) Quiche

2012-05-07T02:00:23Z

My Mom is long-gone, but every year on Mother’s Day I bake a quiche in her honor. Remembering her joy in it, I make it as carefully as I can. Then I sit down with a group of women friends and we pay tribute to the women who raised us. Here's how I make it.

The Sexier-Than-It-Sounds Standard Breading Procedure

2012-05-04T02:00:00Z

Knowing how to perfectly bread a piece of chicken, eggplant, fish, a pre-roasted carrot or anything else is invaluable to a cook’s repertoire, but many people avoid it because it seems messy and intimidating. Really, it’s a simple technique to execute—all you need to know is how to be organized and clean. I’ll show you how to you’re your creativity to it, too. And if you’re worried about pan frying, also know that a great crust can come from baking.

What Does “Eating Locally” Really Mean, Anyway?

2012-05-03T02:00:20Z

It’s a locavore’s dream, living in Seattle. But a couple of years ago, I started to wonder: What does it mean for this food to be “local” if I made no part of the transaction with an actual human being? And what is “local,” anyway, besides the descriptor all foodwise upper middle classers are supposed to put in front of everything we eat?

From Sex Cake to Spurned Salad

2012-05-02T02:00:00Z

Two weeks before B. and I started dating, I baked him a birthday cake. It was chocolate, four layers fused together with several inches of bittersweet ganache, entombed under an aggressive quantity of chocolate buttercream, and crowned with a pint of strawberries and blueberries. “A sex cake,” a friend said, cutting me off as I described it to her. He blew out his candles, and one of his friends began eating the cake with his bare hands.

Shrimp Tempura Tacos for the Win!

2012-05-01T02:00:00Z

There’s a lot to love about a fish taco: crisp fried fish swaddled in a warm corn tortilla, dribbled with spicy, creamy sauce and topped with crunchy cabbage slaw. The flavors are exciting and comforting at the same time; the textures hit every pleasure center in the brain.

How to Make Better Breadcrumbs

2012-04-30T02:00:24Z

Homemade breadcrumbs are easy to make, and they’re a quick fix for many dishes; the extra crunch and toasty flavor they give adds intrigue. I love to throw them into sautéed vegetables, to layer them on top of cheese in gratins, sprinkle them on top of thick soups. They’re wonderful for breading veal, chicken or eggplant, or topping pasta.

Make Good Fried Rice Great

2012-04-27T02:00:00Z

With a couple of techniques, you can really swing for the fences: a platter of piping hot, oil-kissed rice, aromatic with ginger and garlic, tangled with textures like chewy bits of pork, egg, slippery bits of onion and whispers of flavor from glugs of fish sauce and sweet scallions. And, of course, fried rice is a great way to use up odds and ends from the fridge, so you can make it with whatever you have on hand. Just make sure you follow these guidelines for greatness.

Strawberry Shortcake with Chocolate "Gravy" Recipe

2012-04-26T02:00:49Z

Imagine this version of biscuits and gravy: Ripe strawberries and tender cream biscuits under a blanket of warm, rich, silky chocolate gravy. Yes, gravy—the term comes from the old Southern practice of using the word “gravy” to describe any roux-thickened sauce made in a skillet, whether sweet or savory.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

2012-04-25T02:00:00Z

Days on The Farm: Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie and Asparagus Soup Recipes

2012-04-25T02:00:00Z

Our friend Ian Knauer just released his gorgeous first book, The Farm. It’s full of lovely stories of a young man leaving the city and going back to his family’s farm. And it’s really full of fantastic recipes—we should know, since he worked with Ruth Reichl for years as a food editor at Gourmet. (She also wrote the forward, which is a wonderful story in itself.) We’re proud to present selections, in edited form, from the book.

Cold Spring Night Asparagus Soup

2012-04-25T02:00:00Z

How to Make Perfect Rice, Every Time

2012-04-24T02:00:14Z

How is it that the staple food of like half the world’s population is so hard to cook? Well, before I would face abandonment by the spirits of my ancestors, I had to figure out something quick. And so I did what all morally flexible people do under pressure: I stole. I stole the method for cooking my plain white rice from pilaf, which is brilliant.

How to Make a Better Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

2012-04-23T02:00:46Z

A 2002 survey turned up a remarkable statistic: the average American will eat 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school. A sandwich so ubiquitous certainly deserves some scrutiny.

Foolproof Crisp, Buttery Tart Shell Recipe

2012-04-20T02:00:00Z

Everyone loves a flaky pie dough, sure, but the French were really onto something with the tart dough called pâte sucrée. Crisp, crumbly and buttery like shortbread, but sturdy enough to cradle heaps of pastry cream or slices of juicy fruit from tart tin to your mouth, pâte sucrée is one of the most foolproof weapons in a baker’s arsenal of dough recipes. It freezes perfectly so you can have it ready for a quick tart pretty much anytime. And it’s super versatile.

Why Are Chefs So Happy to Cook Gluten-Free?

2012-04-19T02:00:23Z

The awareness of gluten-free food, how it has to be prepared, and why this matters has increased enormously in the last few years. Why did that shift happen so quickly, when it took decades before vegans and even vegetarians could reliably find much more than a salad at restaurants?

The French Laundry’s Revolutionary (Gluten Free!) Pasta Dough Recipe

2012-04-18T02:00:00Z

One of the real holy grails of gluten free cooking is making credible pasta. But this recipe, from the legendary French Laundry, goes one better and makes stunning pasta –with that satisfying chewiness that most “substitute” pastas lack and a super rich flavor. It’s so tasty, in fact, it’s worth making with regular all purpose flour.

Bouchon Bakery's Gluten-Free Cherry Chocolate Scones Recipe

2012-04-17T02:00:23Z

When Thomas Keller asked Lena Kwak to come up with a gluten-free version of his signature cornets—tiny ice cream cones filled with salmon tartare—she found herself on an epic journey, wading through dozens of powders and flours. At the end was her formula for Cup4Cup, a gluten-free flour substitute that works in place of all purpose flour in almost any recipe. Here, she shares one of her favorite recipes for scones. You can also make it with regular all-purpose flour, of course.

TKO Recipe: Thomas Keller’s Take on the Oreo

2012-04-17T02:00:20Z

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of being at one of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakeries, you’ve no doubt given the TKOs a good stare – like the oversized Oreos of your childhood dreams. And they taste even more magical than that. Amped with butter and a touch of salt, they make both your grown up and kidlike sides very happy.

Thomas Keller’s “Lost” Years

2012-04-16T02:00:26Z

In 1992, when I was at the Los Angeles Times, I couldn’t help overhearing a discussion a colleague was conducting with a chef. Finally my curiosity got the better of me. “Who have you been talking to?” I asked. “He sounds really depressed.”

“Thomas Keller,” she replied.

The Easier Gnocchi

2012-04-13T02:01:54Z

Comforting, buttery and laced with cheese, the baked dumplings called gnocchi alla Romana have the same cozy-food feel as potato gnocchi or polenta, but are crazy easy to make. All you have to do for gnocchi alla Romana is make a batter, cool it down, cut it into pieces, and bake them. In fact, you can make this traditional Roman dish ahead of time and simply pop it the oven come dinner.

Homemade Fruit Rollups Recipe

2012-04-12T02:00:06Z

I swore that I would never feed my children fruit leathers—those geeky cousins to the fruit rollup that most importantly do not roll up. Ruby red, rolled like an unopened toy—those flawless sheets of sticky sweetness glistened in the sun of the cafeteria as they emerged from every other lunchbox but mine. With this recipe, you don’t have to suffer that fate… or feed your kids unpronounceable ingredients.

A Baker Never Has to Die, Not Really

2012-04-11T02:00:45Z

Last week, a woman stopped me on the street to tell me she unearthed her copy of my grandmother’s recipe for rugelach. There are probably a few hundred copies of it out there, each with its own hand-written note. It’s a special recipe that gets that sort of circulation. But when my grandmother was alive? I refused to find out how good it really was.

The Simplest Way to Perfectly Tender Chicken

2012-04-10T02:00:00Z

We all know frying is the finest preparation of chicken. (Oh good, you’re perking up.) And then comes roasting, and of course my friends at Cook’s Illustrated will say that their 87 methods for pan seared chicken breast are THE BEST EVER. All that is fine. But here’s why you don’t want to snooze on poaching: You get clean, pure flavor and super-tender, super-juicy meat every time.

How to Make Better Hummus

2012-04-09T02:00:00Z

Great hummus is soft as velvet, with the seductive smoothness of whipped cream; the first time you meet it you experience an almost irresistible desire to slather it on your body. Then you taste it and instantly know how wrong it would be to waste a single bit. If you have never encountered hummus this good, you are in for a treat. Here’s how to make it.

How to Make a Better Chicken Soup

2012-04-02T02:00:15Z

When you’re making chicken broth, you want to begin with a stewing hen. Too tough to roast, they make spectacular soup. At other times of year it can be hard to find stewing hens at the butcher, but the flocks are culled in the spring, so now is the perfect moment to make the best chicken broth of your life.

Buttery Glazed Asparagus: Bring Back the Boil!

2012-03-30T02:00:00Z

Everyone loves roasting vegetables, but I’m on a mission to get more people to ditch the 450° dial and bring back the boil. Most people shy away from boiling because they have awful memories of mushy, grody-green broccoli or peas, but that’s only if you overcook them. If you do it right, you end up with tender, brightly-colored vegetables. Add a glossy, sweet buttery glaze, a classic little sauce, and you have pure, simple sophistication.

Butter Means They Love You

2012-03-29T02:00:00Z

Butter means they love you. In 38 years of mortal toil, I have not learned many absolute truths, but that’s one. Always double down on eleven; never say no when a pretty girl says drive; always stick around for one more drink; butter means they love you: sum total of my earthly wisdom.

Panic! At the Cooking Demo

2012-03-28T02:00:00Z

There was a cameraman. His only job was to switch on two cameras set in locked positions and to fit me with a microphone. When he approached—when I stepped back from the board and raised my arms so he could run the cord up under my jacket and clip the mic to my lapel—it occurred to me that I really should’ve given a little thought to what I was going to say.

The Most Refreshing Rice Pudding Recipe Ever

2012-03-27T02:00:13Z

I love them all, but as the weather turns warmer, it’s the Indian version of rice pudding called kheer I want the most; it’s the one rice pudding that can actually feel refreshing. Part of it is the rice—fragrant basmati is much lower in the kind of sticky starch that makes other puddings so rich and thick. Part of it is the flavor, how it buzzes with the floral flavor of cardamom instead of the heavy warmth of cinnamon. And part of it is how you can make it looser and serve it colder, so it cools you.

How to Make the Easiest Blueberry Crisp

2012-03-26T02:00:00Z

Serve the world’s easiest dessert. This cheater’s production uses shortcuts, but it perfumes the house as it bakes, looks extremely sassy emerging from your oven, tastes terrific - and takes about five minutes of your time.

Make Perfect Pita

2012-03-23T02:00:00Z

Pita is the ultimate bread for a beginner baker looking to impress. Toasty, yeasty, puffy and chewy, they’re great for sandwiches, dips, or just plain snacking. And after allowing the dough to rise, fresh pitas take only minutes to flatten and puff in a hot skillet or oven. They’re also one of the most fun things to make with an audience, because even kids can get in on the rolling and shaping.

Going Cuckoo for Chips Cooked in Salsa

2012-03-22T02:00:00Z

I started going out to eat alone. When a version arrived that wasn’t to my liking (every time), I was too embarrassed to not eat in front of the staff, so I’d feign an important phone call and ask them to wrap the plate “for later.” I knew that eating was supposed to be a pleasant act, not a desperate one, and months in and untold subway rides later, I started to wonder if my obsessive-compulsive attitude toward chilaquiles was me…actually going crackers.

Why No Love for Sweet Wine?

2012-03-21T02:00:00Z

The wine that made me care about drinking, the one I remember most vividly, was fortified and sweet. At the tail end of a late dinner, a generous friend pulled out a dusty amber bottle with only the number “1899” stenciled on it in whitewash. The Malmsey Madeira was a few years shy of a century, and I knew the moment I tasted it that I’d remember it well into dementia.

The Founding Fathers toasted with Madiera. So why don't Americans like sweet wine anymore?

Quenelles de Brochet Recipe: Feather-Light French Fish Dumplings

2012-03-20T02:00:00Z

How could you turn down a dumpling made of mild fish and cream, poached until just set, and then baked so that it puffs and soaks up a bunch of lobster bisque? This is seriously classic food, and it’s not hard to make. Just plan ahead.

How to Make a Better French Fry

2012-03-19T02:00:48Z

There are some things that anyone who has thoughts of French frying a potato should know; the first is that you have to do it twice to get it really right. There are other well-known rules as well; you have to soak the potatoes to remove as much starch as possible. You have to get the oil really hot, and fry in small batches to make sure it stays that way. But the most important secret is one that nobody ever tells you, and that is that you must use the right potatoes.

How to Plate Like a Pro, Part 2

2012-03-16T02:00:00Z

Making a beautiful, delicious looking plate of food doesn’t require tricky techniques,but it’s fun to get fancy and serve a dinner that makes it look like you have stars hanging on your wall. With a little bit of patience and some standard-issue tools like a vegetable peeler, these restaurant-esque plating techniques are within any cook’s reach.

I Feared You, Cilantro, and Now I Love You Too Much

2012-03-15T02:00:54Z

As a child there was not a lot I wouldn’t try. Pig’s ears, tripe, onions; raw fish, kidneys, garlic – they all slid down my gullet without my complaint. The exception was cilantro. It is a very pretty herb, a more fragile, intricate version of parsley; the leaves are like snowflakes, miniature and brilliant green, nodding on pale jade stems. The Chinese name for cilantro is xiang-cai, or fragrant vegetable. For nearly 20 years, I regarded it the most evil flavor in the world.

Cooking with the Heart of Cabbage and Cauliflower

2012-03-14T02:00:55Z

Both vegetables' cores and tough outer leaves can be simply cut more finely than their florets or inner leaves and cooked alongside. I often cook them separately—it's nice to get a little more boiled cauliflower or sautéed cabbage; it's even nicer to get two separate dishes out of either, taking real advantage of the slightly starchy cores and the sweet outer leaves.

What Makes Sushi Great?

2012-03-13T02:00:00Z

Jiro Ono, 85 years old and counting, is a revered sushi chef who runs a restaurant inside a Tokyo subway station, and Jiro Dreams of Sushi is easily the best, most beautiful movie about sushi you will see this year, or, let’s face it, probably any other. But through it all, you wonder: What animates a sushi master? What inspires you to be a god of small things?

How to Make a Better Shrimp Cocktail

2012-03-12T02:00:00Z

Shrimp cocktail is the hamburger of the seafood world; it is served with ketchup and almost universally snubbed by the sort of people who consider themselves “gastronomes.” For the rest of us, however, shrimp cocktail is a true American classic that is easy to like and easy to make.

The Basics of Plating Like a Pro, Part 1

2012-03-09T03:00:00Z

When it comes to getting your guests to salivate, how you put the food on the plate is nearly as important how you cook it—a great-looking plate entices, excites, and sets the tone for the meal. And just like your food, plating doesn’t have to be fancy to thrill. You don’t have to be a chef, you don’t have to be an artist, you don’t need to go to culinary school. But it helps to follow a handful of guidelines.

What the Notorious B.I.G.’s Lyrics Taught Me about Food

2012-03-08T03:00:03Z

After Biggie died, after I wondered why there were marches in the street for him, after my friend Eric handed me a cassette with the words “Best of Big” scrawled on the label, I came to love him, in that way where the best artists become, you hope, a part of you. He rapped about the life of a street hustler-turned-playboy, about blunts and broads and sex in expensive cars, but along the way he taught me who I would be as a writer on food.

Making Tortillas with the Garlic Cutters

2012-03-07T03:00:00Z

Night after night, Inez emerges from the kitchen with a thick stack of steaming rounds the size of dinner plates, crisp at the edges and soft, nearly doughy, in the center. They will go stale by morning, so we eat them until they are gone, the pile disappearing under a flutter of hungry fingers. Inez makes a lot of the other things that parade out of the Martinez kitchen: pickled jalapeños biting with vinegar; burning salsas; tender carne and pollo asada for tacos. But, for now, I want to learn tortillas.

Crisp, Chewy Parmesan-Roasted Carrots Recipe

2012-03-06T03:00:00Z

At dinner a few months ago, at the veg-tastic ABC Kitchen, I had some fantastic roasted vegetables with a certain familiar savor, a salty tang, a deep umami. And a little bit of crackle. Chef Dan Kluger told me the secret and, sure enough, it was the return of my old friend, the parmesan crisp. Only he used an ingenious method: Roasting the cheese and vegetables together.

How to Make a Better Caesar Salad

2012-03-05T03:00:04Z

There’s a reason why the Caesar, which was invented in a Tijuana hotel in the twenties, was an immediate hit with its glamorous Hollywood clientele. The salad was crisp and refreshing, substantial enough to make a meal, and enormous fun to eat. But sadly, there are many despicable versions around now. We can do better.

How to Make Rockin' Risotto

2012-03-02T03:00:00Z

When I was working at Per Se, the white truffle risotto came off my station. Since the dish carried a hefty supplemental charge—that’s how white truffles roll— you can bet the chef made darn sure I nailed that risotto every single time.

Cooking 10 Minute Meals with Ferran Adria

2012-03-01T03:00:45Z

In Madrid, 14 years ago, I picked up a slender spiral-bound cookbook at the supermarket. Now out of print, it was entitled Cocinar en 10 minutos con Ferran Adrià—seven minutes, really, after one has dutifully engaged in the exercise its author calls mental preparation—and it featured fast versions of classic Spanish dishes in distinctly elBulli-ish tones. Arms crossed, looking impatient, a young Ferran glowers from the cover as if waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.

America’s Unlikely Bake-lympian

2012-02-29T03:00:01Z

Few bakers, even the most committed artisans, mix their dough by hand. Nor do they work in a converted shipping container plopped in their backyard. Nor do they often bake with a wood fire, because the heat and oven can be as fickle to master as the bread itself. Mike Zakowski does all of this. But it’s not the whole story, because Zakowski has been attempting another feat: Representing the United States in Paris next week at the world cup of baking.

The Most Talked-About Buttery Tomato Pasta Recipe Ever

2012-02-28T03:00:37Z

What if you had a dinner date with spaghetti and tomato sauce, and the tomato sauce excused itself to slip into something a little more comfortable? Something a little slinkier, a little silkier, a little more sensual?

What do you think would make tomato sauce more seductive? Yes, exactly. Butter. And if you said onion too, well, go out and get a ring, because you’re about to have your breath taken away.

How to Make Better Croutons

2012-02-27T03:00:20Z

Croutons are a rescue for stale bread, but there’s no reason for why they so often taste like it. Your salads deserve something better than an afterthought, and here it is - a crouton so delicious you may find yourself shredding vegetables simply as an excuse to eat more of them. The key is in really getting the bread to hold onto flavorful olive oil and butter, and then sautéing them crisp and serving them warm.

How (and Why) to Make Creamy Ricotta at Home

2012-02-24T03:00:11Z

Homemade ricotta is heaven; it’s a soft and sweet cheese, full of milky flavor you won’t believe, nothing at all like the pasty stuff from the grocery store. It will shine simply drizzled with olive oil, a sprinkling of salt and a few cracks of pepper. It’s a soft foil to jam or marmalade, perfect slathered on toast or a bagel. Or it’s a vehicle for herbal perfume, lovely for stuffing a chicken breast. But the best part is that it takes just three ingredients and three unbelievably easy steps to make it.

How School Lunch Reform Can Begin at the Table

2012-02-23T03:00:55Z

There’s one piece of the lunch puzzle that has remained largely untouched by reformers, and that’s the part that lies beyond the menu: the long wait on a tedious line, the stressful and potentially lonely act of finding a seat at the lunch table, the inevitable Lord of the Flies atmosphere that develops when you unleash a few hundred kids on a sugar rush into a minimally supervised environment.

How to Infuse Hot Cocoa with Flavor

2012-02-22T03:00:26Z

At my house, hot cocoa is wintertime religion and a hotly contested canvas for my wannabe-Ripert experimentation. My fiancé is a purist when it comes to the stuff, while I simmer mine with pouches of sweet spices and herbs. If you can forgive the blasphemy, you won’t find a fresher way to impart personality and dimension into hot cocoa. It begins with steeping herbs, spices, or other flavors in the milk.

How to Make a Better Stew

2012-02-21T03:00:26Z

It’s stew season. I’m not going to give you a recipe - I assume you’ve got dozens of good ones at your fingertips. Instead, here are a few tips for making an ordinary stew into something rich and silky, something that will perfume your house with promise—and fill your friends with joy.

George Washington’s Celebrity Chef

2012-02-17T03:00:22Z

With all due respect to James Beard and Julia Child, America’s first celebrity chef actually predated them by nearly 200 years. Hercules was lauded by the glitterati that ate at his table as an “artiste;” he was notorious in the kitchen for demanding perfection and equally notorious outside of it for his love of lavish clothing, theater and the other entertainments of high society. He knew the President well. He was, in fact, George Washington’s chef, a master of both high French culinary art and simple frontier cooking—and he was a slave.

Dinner in Adrian Grenier's World

2012-02-16T03:30:00Z

When we first started talking with the actor Adrian Grenier about selling his wine, SHFT House Red, we asked him where he’d most want to open a few bottles, and what he’d want to eat with it. He took us to his home away from home: Locanda Vini & Olii, an unflashy neighborhood Brooklyn restaurant, a choice that turned out to be more telling than I’d realized.

Why Farms Want Cold Winters

2012-02-15T03:00:00Z

Despite appearances, winter is a surprisingly important time on a farm. There’s a lot going on, biologically, below the surface, much that can influence what we see on market tables for the rest of the year. And much that can go wrong if the winter is warm, as this one has been in the Northeast.

How to Make the Sexiest Salted Hot Fudge Recipe

2012-02-14T03:00:14Z

He threw the recipe that’d been forming in his head together in minutes, and something magnificent came out: A sauce that was loose enough to pool under any dessert, but that also got fudgier, chewier as it cooled, like it would on ice cream. The flavor was deepest, darkest chocolate, sparked with salt that stays crunchy in the sauce. It was brilliant: more seductive, quicker, and easier than the others.

How to Make a Better Roast Chicken

2012-02-13T03:00:04Z

Here’s the first thing you have to do: Relax. And here’s the second: Forget all the stupid advice that people give you. There’s so much nonsense out there it will make you crazy, make you scared and make you never want to roast a chicken again. Some people insist that you brine it, others want you to massage and baste it religiously with butter, truss it with twine, turn it every 10 minutes... Stop!

Champagne Waffles & Chocolate Butter for Valentine's

2012-02-09T03:00:02Z

Facing Valentine’s Day alone? Like you care, you just had chocolate and champagne for breakfast! Forgot to order flowers? Say it with a rose(-flavored waffle)! Can’t take the day off, get that reservation, or spring for a flashy present? After this breakfast in bed, all will be forgiven. And even if you don’t have all ingredients needed, you can round ‘em up later in the week and rake in bonus points for making the romance last another day.

Salted Caramel Pot de Crème

2012-02-08T22:27:53Z

When done right, custards are a luxury of texture: silky and rich, either loose and light or firm enough to cut, a good spoonful can make you moan. Custards come rustic or refined, warm or cold, even savory or sweet, so knowing how to nail a basic baked custard means you hold the key to turning out dreamy dishes like fluffy quiche, wobbly bread pudding or a smooth, enchanting pot de crème (like the nifty brown butter salted caramel version below).

Love Among the (Modern) Cavemen

2012-02-08T03:22:26Z

Dave told me that, for his health, he wanted to start eating like a caveman. I imagined him killing his own food and wearing a loin cloth. It sounded kind of sexy. But when I learned specifics, I balked. What about romance? Lady and the Tramp couldn’t have had their adorable noodle moment, snouts touching, with a raw pork chop.

Better-Than-Classic Sausage Gravy Recipe

2012-02-07T03:00:38Z

Sausage gravy (especially with biscuits) is great, isn’t it? So simple, but the soft flavor of milk is such a great vehicle for the mouth-filling richness of pork. But, well, most versions and recipes for it aren’t very good—either super floury, glue-thick or barely simmered, so the sausage just waves hello to the milk, miles away from marrying each other. Here's how to fix it.

How to Make a Better Brownie

2012-02-06T03:00:28Z

Brownies are the ultimate cheap trick; it takes less than five minutes to throw the classic recipe together, they bake in a flash - and everybody loves them. Having so few ingredients means that making them better is remarkably easy. But here’s the thing: Because the recipe is so simple, the technique will change it enormously.

The SOUPerbowl: New England vs. Manhattan Clam Chowder

2012-02-03T03:00:40Z

Just like in football, most chowder fans are loyal to one team: Team Thick and Creamy (New England) or Team Tomato (Manhattan). I’m from Chicago, so unless there’s an Italian Beef chowder I have yet to discover, I take no side. But a good chowder must have a great foundation. Here’s how to get that something into your chowder (or any soup, actually) and how to perfume your house with the smell of comfort.

I Left My (Chocolate) Heart in San Francisco

2012-02-02T03:00:00Z

At Pier 17 on San Francisco’s waterfront, set among the palm trees and blue skies, sits a squat cement building stamped with the words “New American Chocolate.” Inside, a high-tech scientific development center is leading the revolution in chocolate science, studying things like wild fermentation and plant genetics… all for the sake of better tasting chocolate.

How to Make Mineral Water...Really

2012-02-01T03:00:57Z

I don’t want to sound too much like a soda jerk, but there’s something truly refreshing about making your own fizzy water. And if you’re going to make carbonated water at all, why not live deep and clone your favorite top-shelf mineral water?

Here’s what you should know.

A Fire Roasted Guacamole Recipe so Good the NFL Might Sue Me

2012-01-31T03:00:05Z

I started taking my guacamole in a chunky direction: I make a tomatillo puree, like a salsa verde, and then fold in diced avocados, dressing them like a salad. The effect is killer—the salsa first hits you with sharp lime and onion, floral cilantro, and then as you crush the avocado between your teeth, it all rounds out into smooth richness. (Did you know the Chinese call avocado “butterfruit?” How perfect is that?)

How to Make a Better Chili

2012-01-30T03:00:41Z

If you like chili - and what American doesn’t? - there’s really no such thing as a bad bowl. But here’s the problem: A memorable bowl of chili is really rare. There are, in my opinion, three reasons for this:

Almost everybody uses bottled chili powder, most people use ground beef, and few people take advantage of the liquid options. Here are my secrets instead.

Don’t Sweat the Technique for Great Biscuits

2012-01-27T03:00:37Z

When I was a cook at Thomas Keller’s Per Se, it was on me to make biscuits on Sunday mornings for staff meal (see the recipe I used below). The pressure of making biscuits for some of the best cooks in the country turned me into an expert in a hurry, and I’m happy to share what I learned. I’ll walk you through what happens when you use, say, milk versus buttermilk or butter versus lard, but you’ll be amazed at the differences that are all in the hands. Just remember, it’s all or nothing with these babies…no shortcuts!

Herbal Stem-ulation

2012-01-26T03:00:34Z

The key to making the most of herbs’ stems is knowing that their nature is different than that of their delicate-tasting leaves. Their job in the plant’s growth is different--they’re hardy and supportive their whole lives--so their taste and texture are, too. Using proud, determined, tough stems requires taking advantage of those qualities.

The Vegetarian on a Carnivore Crash Course

2012-01-25T03:00:49Z

The host of the pig roast presided over the pig in question, which was very crispy and very dead, its insides arrayed like a wreath around its outsides. “Have some!” the host said. “Thanks, but I don’t eat meat,” I replied, deploying the apologetic smile I haul out in these situations. He looked at me with some consternation. “Isn’t that hard for you, being a food writer?” he asked.

Hiding Vegetables in Tomato Sauce

2012-01-24T03:00:25Z

This dish, a take on the classic “eggs in purgatory,” where they’re poached directly in spicy tomato sauce, makes a great brunch or a hearty, healthful dinner. The egg is tender and creamy, the chard leaves full of flavor and bright with vinegar. But the star is the sauce: Packed with softened red chard stems, the savory tomato puree takes on an earthy, minerally flavor that you can’t quite place because the color of the greens is disguised in the red sauce. And that’s when you’ll realize the vegetables aren’t hiding, they’re being coy.

How to Make a Better Pancake

2012-01-23T03:00:36Z

There’s magic in the chemistry of pancakes; a few simple ingredients - butter, flour, eggs, and milk - puff themselves into sassy little cakes in a matter of minutes. I stand, mesmerized, watching bubbles form, watching edges crisp, savoring the drama of the flip and the generosity of the scent that surrounds me. There may be a better way to start the day; I haven’t found it.

If your pancakes aren’t this much fun, it’s time for a change.

Fearlessly Roast (and Eat) Whole Fish

2012-01-20T03:00:00Z

Don’t let whole fish intimidate you. It’s easier to cook than a roasted chicken, won't stink up the house like searing fish filets and is one of the healthiest, speediest, most impressive family-style dinners you’ll ever serve. I know it can be tricky to eat, but the method my grandma taught me when I was a little girl, it's easy and always works.

There are tons of techniques people use to roast fish, from burying them in salt to complex fast-sear and slow-bake combos. But my favorite technique is really just a one-pot meal: Cooked in a cast iron skillet with vegetables underneath, acting as a rack. And it’s versatile; you can go with any flavor combination that fits your mood (or that fits what you’ve got on hand your refrigerator!)

When Being Vegetarian Gets in the Way of Family

2012-01-19T03:00:00Z

My grandmother never imagined that her granddaughter would define herself with a new, unfamiliar, American word: vegetarian. To her dismay, I simply can’t stomach meat, and haven’t been able to since the day my vegetarian father held my eight-year-old hand to pet a cow, introducing the animal as my future dinner. In Persian families, serving meat is a sign of wealth and social class. How could I have been raised to snub this tradition, the centerpiece of the meal? Didn’t I come from a good family?

Ginger Scallion Sauce: An Explosive Recipe

2012-01-18T03:00:24Z

Ginger scallion sauce is not, I’ll admit, the prettiest thing you’ll see today, but its flavor is ridiculous. It’s like if you packed a room full of ginger and scallion and threw a grenade into it, because, well, that’s kind of like how you make it: You chop the two up, and then subject them to the spectacular violence of dumping in smoking-hot oil. The flash of intense heat makes the ginger and scallion sweeter and rounder, and infuses it all through the oil.

How to Make Better Black Beans

2012-01-17T03:00:23Z

Elegant and inexpensive, black beans are the little black dress of the kitchen. Treat them right and they’ll reward you with musky richness and enormous depth of flavor. If you’re wondering why I’m so enamored of these basic blacks, it can only mean that you’ve been cursed with boring beans. Here are a few ways to ensure that never happens again.

Greek Eggs Benedict Recipe

2012-01-13T03:00:31Z

Everything You Need to Know about Poaching Eggs

2012-01-13T03:00:00Z

There is something unexplainably magnetic about a delicate object that was made to be broken, but that’s just one of many reasons poached eggs are great. A soft fabric of egg white hiding a warm, velvety yolk, sunny and runny— it triggers something in the brain that makes us ooh-and-ahh.

And really, anyone can do it—a great poached egg just requires following five simple steps.

What Michelle Obama Had for Lunch: Garlicky Spinach Pasta with Mushrooms Recipe

2012-01-12T03:00:47Z

When Michelle Obama came to Gramercy Tavern for lunch, young cook Sophie Brickman wasn’t ready—she hadn’t read up on current events to make conversation, and given that her belt was made up of plastic wrap twisted through her belt loops, she wasn’t really dressed for the part either. Read her charming story about how a great kitchen kicks into high gear when VIPs arrive, and afterwards, treat yourself to the dish the First Lady had for lunch that day, this intense, thoughtful rendition of a pasta classic.

When Michelle Obama Came to Lunch

2012-01-11T03:00:50Z

I’d been working the lunch service as a line cook at New York City’s Gramercy Tavern for about three months when one morning I arrived to find a secret service agent inspecting my prep.

I froze. Had my sous chef called the FBI to investigate why my carrot puree always needed more salt? As I tried to remember the name of a good lawyer, our Executive Chef, Michael Anthony, motioned everyone to the pass.

The French Onion Soup Sandwich (!) Recipe

2012-01-10T03:00:23Z

I melted the leeks, I broiled some cheese on bread, I scrambled pair of eggs (they looked lonely, and it was brunchtime), and what happened was a kind of time-warp magic. It was crisp and tender, plush and chewy, and full of the soft, round flavor of onion and cheese. Everything the kid and the cook in me’s ever loved about French onion soup, without scalding my tongue.

How to Make Better Scrambled Eggs

2012-01-09T03:00:35Z

The main point to remember—other than using the best, freshest eggs that you can find along with good sweet butter—is that scrambled eggs, cooked with great patience, have a texture like velvet and a taste that reminds you why you want to be alive. Scrambled eggs should not be fluffy curds, but a dense, almost custardy concoction that you eat with great joy and concentration.

Gingerbread Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

2012-01-06T03:00:00Z

The best thing about sticky toffee pudding is its intense, tooth-aching sweetness. And that's the worst thing about it, too. Some recipes are so cloying they just beg for some kind of sugar-cutting counterpoint—acid, heat, or spice—to break up the syrupy monotony. Ginger comes to the rescue in this recipe, which is, in essence, a pan of moist, date-studded gingerbread heightened with stout and then made sticky with a gingery toffee sauce.

From Dracula to Naked Lunch: The Coolest "Book Plates" Ever

2012-01-05T03:00:21Z

While we couldn’t have you over for Dining in Public, we would like to share with you our dishes for the night: an exhibit by local artists and readers who painted 22 plates in various media to represent their favorite food-related book titles, from Naked Lunch to the Grapes of Wrath to, yes, Dracula. Maybe they’ll inspire your own eating and reading in public!

Pasta with Greens “Carbonara” Recipe

2012-01-04T03:00:00Z

Most people boil sturdy greens like kale or collards until they’re limp and the color of army camouflage, which is why most people avoid them entirely. I happen to like them that way too, but they’re really just beautiful when sliced thin and sautéed until tender, keeping a little bit of their chewiness and their deep green color. Add a dash of pimentón for smokiness and a few splashes of fish sauce or good soy sauce for deep, lasting flavor, and dare I say the whole starts to taste kind of…bacony.

How to Make a Better Grilled Cheese

2012-01-03T03:00:33Z

A great grilled cheese sandwich is a seriously seductive creature. Warm, tangy and gooey, it should be absolutely irresistible. But here’s the problem: Even ordinary grilled cheese sandwiches, the kind made with white bread and Velveeta, are pretty appealing. Which means that too many people are willing to settle for good enough.

That’s a shame: Making it better is remarkably easy. Here are a few tips, beyond the obvious ones of using good bread and good cheese.

Oeufs à la Sexy: A Perfect New Year's Breakfast

2011-12-31T17:00:00Z

Our Favorite Stories from 2011

2011-12-30T03:00:57Z

Our Favorite Recipes from 2011

2011-12-29T03:00:00Z

Peanut butter jelly pies, perfect lobster rolls, cocktails, how to reinvent celery, and plenty more

Hoppin’ John: Pork, Peas and Rice for New Year’s Luck

2011-12-28T03:00:00Z

The rituals of New Year’s Day will soon be upon us: The lines will form at store return counters. Once-desolate gyms will teem with creaky, writhing bodies. And all across the South, the Caribbean, and drawing a line directly back to west Africa, people will eat black eyed peas and rice – Hoppin’ John – for luck. Here are two versions: A traditional take, and a creamy risotto-style dish, served with collard green pesto. Collards or other greens represent folding money, so eat plenty of those, too!

New Year's Brunch: Dutch Baby with Tangerine Cream Recipe

2011-12-27T03:00:34Z

This Dutch Baby – or puffed pancake, if you prefer – is hangover food at its most refined, the kind of thing slightly under-the-weather hosts can whip up impressively for a New Year's Day brunch without much effort, and just the thing they'd want to eat to make themselves feel better, too. Tangerine zest adds brightness to the classic puffy pancake recipe while a sauce of tangerine juice and cream spiked with vanilla tastes just like a Creamsicle, in the very best way.

A Feast for Fifty

2011-12-24T17:00:00Z

What Should Cooks Know about American Wagyu Beef? {Snake River Farms}

2011-12-24T03:00:15Z

A Christmas Fruitcake Recipe to Dread… and Love

2011-12-23T03:00:04Z

During the holiday season I live in dread fear of that most hated confection: the fruitcake. Sure, its haters are many—it’s too dry, it’s too wet, the fruits are cloying, it sits like a brick in the belly. But I tremble alone, because my fear of fruitcake is not based on aversion but a long, impassioned, and complicated adoration of the confection. Or, rather, of one particular version: Black Cake.

Make a Michelin Star Meal

2011-12-22T22:41:49Z

Roasted Oysters with Spiced Citrus Butter Recipe

2011-12-22T03:00:55Z

Briny, rich, and with that flavor you just can't put your finger on...

The Fight of the Seven Fishes

2011-12-22T03:00:00Z

Before I fell into a career writing about food, I was a picky eater: nothing green, nothing touching. Yes, one of those kids, and doubly cursed with being Italian, a culture that does not take kindly to those who refuse food. And so, when you only eat one kind of fish—and that’s assuming shrimp counts as a fish—a Christmas Eve tradition based on eating seven feels more like torture than celebration.

Finding Apple Stack Cake, a Classic Holiday Recipe

2011-12-21T03:00:00Z

For all that Kentucky fancies herself a Southerner, she has just as much heritage in the mountains of Appalachia. While kitchens across the South start welcoming fall with apple dumplings, pan dowdy, cobbler, and pie, in Kentucky we have eyes only for apple stack cake: layer and layers of gingery molasses cake, slathered in dark apple butter. By the time Christmas rolls around, pumpkin pie and fruit cake reign across Southern sideboards, but Kentuckians in Appalachia see the holidays as just another excuse to start stackin’ cake.

How I Learned to Love the Latke

2011-12-20T03:00:00Z

A couple thousand years after a small amount of oil burned miraculously for eight days and gave the world Hanukkah, latkes nearly burned down my childhood home. I was six, my sister was five, and our mother was attempting to fry a pan of the potato pancakes when the burner caught fire and the smoke alarm wailed, announcing our imminent doom.

Olive Oil Scallion Pancake Recipe

2011-12-19T03:00:00Z

Because potato latkes are the iconic Hanukkah food in this country, it's easy to assume that the spud is integral to the holiday. But really, the potato is strictly optional. Hanukkah is all about the oil, specifically frying good things in hot oil and eating the crisp, golden results while paying tribute to the miracle of one day's worth of oil lasting for eight,as it did so many millennia ago. Thus, anything fried in oil is fair Hanukkah fare, including these scallion pancakes, which pay tribute to the long standing connection between Jews and Chinese food.

A Surf and Turf Party

2011-12-18T17:00:00Z

The City Girl's Party

2011-12-17T17:01:00Z

A Peking Duck Party

2011-12-17T17:00:00Z

How Do You Know What Cheeses You'll Like? {Aaron Foster, Murray’s Cheese}

2011-12-16T20:50:45Z

Momofuku Milk Bar Holiday Cookie Recipes: Snappy Gingersnaps

2011-12-16T03:00:00Z

We love this spicy, molasses-rich recipe for gingersnaps from Leslie Behrens and Martine Dallemand. The duo graduated from the French Culinary Institute (where they picked up this awesome recipe) and now bake up a storm at Milk Bar as Christina Tosi's pastry sous chefs.

Momofuku Milk Bar Holiday Cookie Recipes: Walnut Rugelach

2011-12-15T03:00:00Z

This simple, utterly delicious walnut rugelach recipe came from Rose Grabeslsky to Ann Alper, to Marian Alper, to mama Derman to Jena Derman, Milk Bar’s sous chef. We love how the bottoms get slightly caramelizes with cinnamon sugar, while the inside stays as tender as a perfect pie crust.

Momofuku Milk Bar Holiday Cookie Recipes: Sesame-Ginger Rice Krispies Treats

2011-12-14T03:00:00Z

Helen Jo, Milk Bar’s resident Korean supermodel, didn’t have a celebrated baked good growing up, but her mom used to make rice krispy treats using whole puff wheat to keep it healthy. Boring! We love Helen’s twist on her family favorite: a warm dose of ginger and toasted sesame seeds.

Momofuku Milk Bar Holiday Cookie Recipes: Sugar Cutouts

2011-12-13T03:00:00Z

Nothing beats a warm, freshly-frosted sugar cookie. Milk Bar pastry sous chefs Courtney McBroom and Maggie Kindschuhgrew up in Texas, scarfing down too many of these cookies to count. The recipe has been passed down from their Grandmas to their Mas to them. Hands down, it’s the best sugar cookie recipe we’ve ever tried—with a caramel butter flavor that takes us right back to childhood.

What Do Thai People Drink? {Andy Ricker, Pok Pok Som}

2011-12-12T23:00:19Z

Pok Pok, which started as a roast chicken shack in Portland, OR, has grown to be one of the country’s most respected Thai restaurants, where chef Andy Ricker’s rigorous cooking and passion for the cuisine won him the James Beard Foundation Award in 2011 for Best Chef: Northwest. But not everything he does is purely Thai—his line of fruit-flavored drinking vinegars, Pok Pok Som, also showcases his creativity and seasonal, ingredient-driven sensibility. Gilt Taste recently talked with him about how he learned Thai cooking, what Thai people drink with their food, and the importance of fun.

Learning from a Life in Spice {Lior Lev Sercarz, La Boîte à Epice}

2011-12-12T19:28:56Z

Momofuku Milk Bar Holiday Cookie Recipes: Cinnamon Sugar Squares

2011-12-12T03:00:00Z

This recipe came from Grandma Rosemary, to Greta Tosi-Miller, to Christina Tosi. With a golden, buttery crust and incredibly tender center, it’s a simple cookie that reminds us of being kids. Dusting it with cinnamon sugar on top makes it magic, but the cookie tastes spectacular plain too, or decorated with colored sugar.

Holiday Cookie Recipes from Momofuku Milk Bar

2011-12-12T03:00:00Z

My first restaurant job in New York made for my first holiday season away from home in Virginia. I was knee deep in the kitchen trenches and there was no way I was going home for Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas. My mom was crushed, but when you work in a restaurant there’s no time for holiday spirit. At least, that’s what I thought.

Momofuku Milk Bar Holiday Cookie Recipes: Gooey Butter Cake Bars

2011-12-12T03:00:00Z

This recipe was passed down from Grandma Rosemary, to Greta Tosi-Miller, to Christina Tosi. It’s insanely sweet and tender—an intense two-biter— with a nostalgic perfume and a sticky topping that reminds us quite happily of Tosi’s famous Crack Pie. Greta, she with the unstoppable Christmas spirit, still ships it to Christina during the holidays, slightly under-baked the way her daughter likes it, so that it slides across the baking pan into one gorgeous, vanilla-scented lump by the time it arrives.

An Oyster Dinner Party

2011-12-11T17:00:00Z

Crown Roast and Oyster Stuffing Recipe

2011-12-11T03:00:00Z

There is nothing quite like a crown roast of pork—the king of roasts—to grace your holiday table with some serious grandeur. Opulent and majestic, this roast is aptly named, and the holidays are a perfect time for some splendor, especially if you pair it with a classic oyster stuffing.

A Suckling Pig Roast

2011-12-10T17:00:00Z

What’s it Like Being a Cheese Superstar? {Soyoung Scanlan, Andante Dairy}

2011-12-08T03:00:00Z

Cheesemaking has its stars, but one of its brightest, Soyoung Scanlan of Andante Dairy, demurs. She prefers to talk, instead, as if she was a tailor, simply interested in making something well-suited for a client. She speaks in pure poetry, her words rich with wisdom and curiosity, but she is famously reticent to give interviews and shies from the business of her work. As she says, “When I make enough money to buy next week’s milk, I feel like the richest person in the world.”

The Perfect Oyster Sandwich Recipe, from The Dutch

2011-12-07T03:00:54Z

How do you gussy up the oyster po' boy to serve at the white-hot restaurant The Dutch, Andrew Carmellini’s ode to American cooking that Eater.com just called New York’s “Restaurant of the Year”?

Easy. You keep them simple, put a little smokiness in the crust, riff on classic New Orleans remoulade for the sauce, and you make ‘em real cute. The chef may be too respectful to say this, but we will—these might even be better than the original.

Consider the Oyster Farm

2011-12-06T03:22:03Z

“How hard can it be?” I thought when Kevin brought it up. Farming oysters seemed easier than farming things with roots or legs. They eat what floats by. They’re impervious to bad weather. They can’t run away. But really, picking a crop because you think it’s going to be low-maintenance is a good indication that you shouldn’t be farming in the first place.

What is Modernist Cuisine About?

2011-12-05T03:00:18Z

The 2500-page, self-published Modernist Cuisine is a history of cooking, a science textbook that explains what happens when you make food, and an art book. Many of the world’s greatest chefs call it a resource that will make for generations of better cooks. We talked with Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet, a chef and co-author, about why modernist cuisine isn’t about technology, being a human thermostat, and why great food doesn’t have to be delicious.

A Wood-Fire Party

2011-12-04T17:00:00Z

A Sushi Party

2011-12-03T17:00:00Z

Cruise Through your Holiday Cocktail Party with Melissa Clark

2011-12-03T03:00:00Z

No matter how overwhelmed you might be, hosting a convivial holiday cocktail party is within anyone’s reach with a little preparation and a touch of inspiration: Throw together a few chic but simple homemade hors d’oeuvres ahead of time, supplement with some excellent purchased items to round things out, and stir up a good, strong punch. You won’t have to fuss too much with doing things one-at-a-time, and you’ll be clinking glasses in no time.

Spiced Persimmon Punch Recipe

2011-12-02T03:00:00Z

Easy Radicchio Bacon-Cheese Tart Recipe

2011-12-02T03:00:00Z

Spicy Lamb Meatballs with White Bean Dip Recipe

2011-12-02T03:00:00Z

Go Nuts with Pumpkin Seeds

2011-12-01T03:00:00Z

For seasonal cooks, the change from the fall harvest to winter is tinged with sadness. But take comfort—even though the jack o’lanterns are long gone, pumpkins and their hard squash siblings won’t leave you. And squash seeds are one of our favorite ingredients. Most people know how to make roasted seeds or pumpkin seed brittle. Here are a few more unusual options for making the most of their rich, nutty flavor.

Is Pricey Champagne Worth It?

2011-11-30T03:00:57Z

To nurture a desire for Champagne is to make peace both with its singular pleasures—a kind of ecstatic brain freeze—and the inevitable expense. More people open Champagne than any other serious wine, but for all its fame and ubiquity, and despite its role as a signifier of graceful living and pecuniary exhibitionism, no wine happens to be less understood.

What Makes a Master Chocolatier? {Christopher Curtin, Éclat Chocolate}

2011-11-29T16:55:21Z

Christopher Curtin of Éclat Chocolate is a true master; he has the paperwork to prove it, after training in half a dozen countries in Europe, and he counts among his most enthusiastic fans the great chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin. But more importantly, you can taste his precise way with flavors and textures in his bars and truffles. Gilt Taste spoke with him recently about why European training was for him, and what separates good chocolate from great.

Turn Leftover Brussels Sprouts into a Lemony Salad...and More!

2011-11-24T21:00:00Z

Next to green bean casserole and possibly the parsley garnish, Brussels sprouts are probably the most popular green thing on Thanksgiving tables every year, and with good reason. These diminutive cabbage lookalikes turn up in the markets every fall, and taste fantastic when simply roasted with oil until caramelized and crispy-leafed on the outside, and soft and melting at the heart. They are so marvelous that you might not, in fact, have any leftover at all. But if you do, consider yourself lucky.

Turn Leftover Mashed Potatoes into a British Classic...and More!

2011-11-24T21:00:00Z

In Britain, bubble and squeak is traditionally comprised of potatoes mixed with boiled cabbage, but any member of the Brassica family will do. Here, sautéed deep green Tuscan kale and golden fried onions add texture and an earthy, sweet flavor to the casserole, which is then topped with a crunchy crust of good Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Turn Leftover Cranberry Sauce into Easy Streusel Bars...and More!

2011-11-24T21:00:00Z

Every Thanksgiving feast requires a bowl of jiggly, vermillion cranberry sauce to accompany the turkey. Its bright color breaks up the table’s beige carbohydrate monopoly, and, when leftover, it makes for some fantastic cranberry-walnut streusel bars.

An Open Letter to All Thanksgiving Cooks

2011-11-21T03:00:34Z

In the name of the perfect bird, we obsess over brines, under-skin butters, heritage breeds, times, temperatures, fireballing fryers… I even know poor souls who flip turkeys mid-roast and apply bags of ice to the breasts. You know what? Stop. Take a deep breath, and decide to relax. Here’s how to prepare for, survive, and maybe even have a little fun cooking this year.

Why Are We Eating Bluefin Tuna to Extinction?

2011-11-19T03:00:41Z

If you eat fish regularly, you've probably grown used to regularly being told by conservation groups—or that slightly-irritating, politically-correct friend—that certain fish shouldn't be eaten: American Striped bass, Atlantic swordfish, Chilean sea bass and Caspian sturgeon have all been the focus of vocal consumer and chef boycotts. Happily, some of these campaigns have been effective in helping fish populations recover. But amidst all the sustainable seafood media noise, we've somehow managed to let the biggest and arguably most beautiful fish of all slip away.

FRI PLACEHOLDER apple tamale

2011-11-18T03:00:00Z

Citrus-Spice Celebration Punch Recipe

2011-11-18T03:00:00Z

Local bar owner Jim German brought a celebration punch—a cheery bowl of gin, citrus and hibiscus with a generous Cava floater. “At his bar, Jim crafts these incredible elixirs. He’s like a wizard,” says Kyle. A big bowl of these colorful cocktails keeps revelers occupied and giddy as the bird roasts.

Turkey FAQ

2011-11-17T17:00:00Z

Answers to your questions about cooking gobblers. Have a question we haven't covered? Leave a comment at the bottom of the page and we'll get back to you. Or, call our Turkey Hotline at 877-445-9228. The hotline will be open on Monday, November 21st and Tuesday, November 22nd from 3pm to 7pm EST and Wednesday, November 23rd from 9am to 12pm EST.

Garlic, Herb and Bacon-Stuffed Roast Turkey Breast Recipe

2011-11-17T03:00:00Z

Chris Ainsworth, chef and owner of the inventive Mediterranean restaurant, Saffon, arrived with the main event – the turkey, a local heritage bird that had been deboned, rubbed with garlic, herbs and lemon zest, larded with house-made pancetta and rolled like a classic porchetta.

Here, we’ve adapted the recipe for the home cook, replacing a boned-out turkey with a breast, but it’s no less a stunner when you carve into the golden roast and release the rich aromas of garlic and bacon.

Autumn Vegetable Tempura Recipe

2011-11-16T03:00:00Z

Eric Dunham’s Tongan aunt arrived to Thanksgiving with of the most spectacular centerpieces we’ve ever seen – a Hubbard squash cut into a basket shape, filled with crisp tempura-fried vegetables: golden onions, sweet squash, and crunchy red peppers, all spiked with the fall flavors of sage and thyme. For vegetable lovers, we can’t imagine a more showstopping display.

Reinvented Beer Can Chicken Recipe

2011-11-15T03:00:00Z

Later that afternoon, Eric manned an enormous gas grill to make his version of "beer can chicken,” a backyard classic that roasts the bird while fragrantly steaming it from the inside, producing a tremendously moist, flavorful chicken. As evidence to their devotion to this particular poultry art, the Dunhams have permanently rigged up their grill grates with flat-bottomed pipes to stand in for the beer cans. And they spiff up the recipe a little, too; instead of filling the pipes with Bud, they use a little of their aromatic Riesling.

Pear-Hazelnut Salad with Jam Jar Dressing Recipe

2011-11-14T03:00:28Z

Joan grew up as a wheat farmer's daughter in Walla Walla, Washington. Now she raises sheep and goats with her charming French husband, Pierre Louis. For actor Kyle MacLachlan's Thanksgiving dinner in the great Northwest, the couple put together a rustic pear salad with beautiful greens pulled from their garden, sweet Warren pears and homemade feta.

Pumpkin Caramel Flan Recipe by Michelle Bernstein

2011-11-11T03:00:48Z

If your impression of flan is that it’s rubbery and tastes of hardly more than egg and sugar, this is the one to try. The ultra-smooth, pumpkin-spice custard needs only a deeply browned caramel sauce to end up a crust-free, delicate take on pumpkin pie.

The Cheater’s Maple-Candied Pistachio Pumpkin Pie Recipe from Mission Street Food

2011-11-11T03:00:47Z

Face it: you have too many other things to do on Thanksgiving to make a pie from scratch. You can, of course, ask a guest to do the baking. Or you can even pick up a halfway-decent one at the store and fancy it up with maple-candied pistachios and rich whipped mascarpone. Hey, instant winner!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Recipe from Michael Anthony

2011-11-11T03:00:00Z

We can’t imagine a funner alternative to pumpkin pies than these tiny, tender whoopie pies from Gramercy Tavern’s pastry chef, Nancy Olson. Easy to make, and easy on the eyes too, these adorable cake sandwiches are a real crowd pleaser.

Guaranteed Non-Gummy Mashed Potato Recipe from Mission Street Food

2011-11-10T03:00:34Z

We’re used to the technique of boiling potatoes and mashing them immediately with plenty of butter and a touch of cream, but the Mission Street Food team has a trick to ensure the mash never gets gummy. When the potatoes are nearly cooked, pull them from the hot water and cool them down, trapping the starch so there’s no risk of pastiness when you heat them up a second time and mash the hell out of them.

Citrus-Sherry Cranberry Sauce Recipe from Michelle Bernstein

2011-11-10T03:00:33Z

We love Michelle Bernstein’s simple but sophisticated cranberry sauce, sweet with orange juice and given woodsy depth with sherry. A touch of candied ginger spices it up.

Perfect Roasted Fingerling Potatoes Recipe from Michael Anthony

2011-11-10T03:00:00Z

You can’t go wrong with no-fuss, perfectly roasted fingerling potatoes. Simmer these spuds in water first to reduce precious oven time, but also to ensure that they’re tender all the way through while still crispy-brown on the outside.

Shallot-Gin Cranberry Sauce Recipe from Mission Street Food

2011-11-10T03:00:00Z

This smooth cranberry sauce, studded with tender cranberries, straddles sweet and savory with an addition of salt-cured shallots. The gin and tarragon are optional, but they’re highly recommended – they give the sauce a sweet herbal quality that’s intriguing and delicious.

Sweetly Spiced Cranberry Sauce Recipe from Michael Anthony

2011-11-10T03:00:00Z

This is a sweet, warmly-spiced cranberry jam that will make your whole kitchen smell like the holidays. But even though Gramercy Tavern’s Michael Anthony is our ringer, he called in a ringer of his own for this recipe: this comes from his revered pastry chef, Nancy Olson.

Roasted Chile Potato Pancakes Recipe from Michelle Bernstein

2011-11-10T03:00:00Z

You don’t have to be Jewish, and you certainly don’t have to wait until Hanukkah next month to fall in love with Michelle Bernstein’s latkes. Crispy on the outside with a tender, chile-infused middle, they’re especially delicious dipped in hot turkey gravy, or topped with a sweet dollop of ginger-infused cranberry sauce.

A Very Modern Thanksgiving Stew

2011-11-09T15:00:00Z

Nathan Myhrvold still turns to techniques like a traditional French gallantine or a confit thigh when it comes to cooking turkey at home, but in this never-before-seen video , his team creates a thoroughly modern Thanksgiving, rethinking old rules and cliches with a bright cranberry consomme and turkey cooked sous-vide so that it's very tender.

Swiss Chard, Sunchoke and Chestnut Stovetop Stuffing Recipe from Michael Anthony

2011-11-09T03:00:00Z

We knew we could count on Michael Anthony to remind us of the true meaning of stuffing: seasonal vegetables. Forget the giblets, this beautiful stuffing is made rich with roasted chestnuts, sunchokes, and finely chopped Swiss chard. But the best thing about it? It doesn’t even go in the oven.

Toasted Challah and Chorizo Stuffing Recipe from Michelle Bernstein

2011-11-09T03:00:00Z

There are some people who have not yet acknowledged that yes, the stuffing is actually the best part of Thanksgiving dinner. But those people haven’t had Michelle Bernstein’s creamy, chorizo-laden version, made with rich, eggy challah bread. We’ll give them three bites before they see the light.

Bacon, Apple and Pecan Stuffing Recipe from Mission Street Food

2011-11-09T03:00:00Z

Crisp your bread in sweet, salty bacon fat and toss it with caramelized apple, onion, and toasted pecans for an insanely delicious stuffing. If you like a dry stuffing, go easy on the stock you add just before roasting; if you like a more moist stuffing, go nuts.

Crisp Green Bean Salad with Carrot Dressing Recipe from Michael Anthony

2011-11-08T03:00:00Z

On a table full of heavy, rich, meat-and-carb loaded dishes, it’s wonderfully refreshing to have a cool and crisp green bean salad. We love Michael Anthony’s simple carrot dressing, whose stunning orange brightness is balanced with the deep flavors of ginger and garlic.

Umamilicious Green Bean Casserole Recipe from Michelle Bernstein

2011-11-08T03:00:00Z

To make Michelle Bernstein's super-creamy green beans, start by putting together a quick mushroom-and-ham base and use it to coat the beans before they go in the oven. With a crisp, lemon-kissed breadcrumb topping, this umami-rich casserole isn’t your Aunt Edna’s.

Creamy Green Beans with Fried Onions Recipe from Mission Street Food

2011-11-08T03:00:00Z

Buy pre-fried onions and spend your time caring for this casserole in other ways

Brined and Roasted Turkey Recipe from Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern

2011-11-07T18:00:00Z

Ever since Michael Anthony has been the chef at New York’s Gramercy Tavern, the restaurant has closed for Thanksgiving, allowing the whole staff to go home and celebrate with their families. Anthony favors a day of marinade-like brine followed by a day of rest for his turkey (in the past, he’s plied a local pizzeria with beer to allow him to use their walk-in refrigerator for the bird). The extra day out of brine helps to dry the skin for crispness and more evenly cure the meat, for incredible flavor.

Super Tricked-Out Roast Turkey and Gravy Recipe from Mission Street Food

2011-11-07T18:00:00Z

For our Thanksgiving menu, chef Anthony Myint of Mission Street Food offers a mix of epic (a two-day gravy that will end all gravies) and ingeniously shortcutted recipes (like how to doctor a store-bought pumpkin pie). His turkey is also brilliantly streamlined, but loaded with fantastic ideas—like how to get around the crispy-skin conundrum entirely.

Garlic Citrus-Marinated Roast Turkey Recipe from Michelle Bernstein of Michy's

2011-11-07T02:00:00Z

Michelle Bernstein's Latin-inspired turkey gets a simple, full-flavored mojo marinade of golden, toasted garlic and citrus juices before being browned in a hot oven. Never afraid of more flavor, Bernstein likes to put a creamy, chorizo-studded stuffing (coming later this week) inside the bird, too.

Jeffrey Meisel

2011-11-06T05:00:00Z

Five Gin Fizz Recipes to Keep You Buzzed and Bubbly

2011-11-04T02:00:00Z

Over the last few years, classic cocktails have surged in popularity: Sidecars, Ward 8s, and Old Fashioneds once again grace bar menus from coast to coast. Also due for a comeback: the refreshing, delightful Fizz – the perfect libation for languorous days.

Gilt Taste Launches "Wine & Spirits" Top 100 Wines

2011-11-03T17:58:00Z

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake Recipe

2011-11-03T02:00:15Z

All the delights of pumpkin pie a la mode, in sip-able form. Just throw a few kitchen staples into the blender, and press start. You could even serve this as a nontraditional dessert at Thanksgiving (pour it into juice glasses for a fun presentation). You may never bake an actual pumpkin pie again.

Serious Eats: A Recipe for Streetside Chicken-and-Rice

2011-11-02T02:22:20Z

Utterly ubiquitous anywhere there are offices in Manhattan, Halal carts sling boxes of deeply spiced bird, throwing off clouds of garlicky steam, feeding whole cities’ worth of lunchers. Each midday, the ritual repeats itself: a call, a flash of a five dollar bill. Three arcing scoops of rice – sometimes white, sometimes brown, sometimes day-glo orange – land in a box, a paint spatula dumps chicken on top, a tongful of “salad,” and then go the squeeze bottles: fire-hose jets of mysterious “white sauce,” reputed to be herbed yogurt, or mayonnaise, or just straight-up sorcery.

How to Save Small Farms

2011-11-01T02:00:00Z

You could say Penny Jordan saved her farm. But Jordan doesn’t take the credit. The secret to her booming business, she says, is instead a complex and seemingly rather dull legal contract called an agricultural easement. The arrangement, made with a land trust, allows farmers to be paid in return for stripping their land of its development rights – no new subdivisions or shopping malls allowed – and instead keeping it as farmland.

How I Became a Halloween Grump

2011-10-31T02:00:00Z

Here is a Halloween tradition, circa 1892, as described by an article in the New York Times: You hang a stick by a string from the ceiling. At one end of the stick is an apple; at the other end, a lit candle. You spin the stick around, and try to snag the apple with your teeth without getting your face burned off.

By the time I was a kid, in the 1980s, not much had changed. Halloween, all told, was fantastic.

The Warlock's Hat, a Halloween Cocktail Recipe

2011-10-28T02:00:00Z

This flaming drink, created by cocktail wizard Dave Wondrich (author of Punch and Imbibe) is very loosely based on a Manhattan, except that you set it on fire (Manhattan the cocktail, not the island; setting that on fire isn’t a good idea). The base consists of strong rye mixed with port (replacing the usual vermouth), which is then seasoned with a dash of bitters and small spoonful of a black walnut liqueur. As a flamboyant garnish, Dave ignites a small rum-filled lime afloat on the top of the drink. It’s strong, black, bittersweet, bracing, and slightly dangerous—just the thing to serve to the ghoulish crew you’re likely to encounter on Halloween.

A Recipe for Brown Butter-Banana Toffee

2011-10-27T02:00:00Z

Some people have a sixth sense for knowing when a fruit is perfectly ripe. My father is not one of them. When I was growing up, he used our family’s kitchen as his banana-ripening laboratory, tucking the fruits away in paper bags, finishing them in the sun near the telephone, and resting them in a drawer of the fridge. My mother threatened to throw these ripening bananas away many times, insisting that her friends might mistake them for an invasion of unspeakable things, but my father was very protective of his collection.

A Halloween Dance Party, Heavy on the Jelly

2011-10-26T02:00:00Z

The first video of jiggling jelly that Australia-based blogger Billy Law posted on his site this month looked, not accidentally, like a boob. This was particularly arresting because the soy-milk cone was set very softy with gelatin, placed on a speaker, and left to wobble obscenely to the tune of Rick James’ Superfreak. It even had a pink nipple, for good measure.

A Recipe for Golden Syrup Caramels

2011-10-25T02:00:00Z

Before I stepped foot in a professional kitchen, I became obsessed with making, eating and achieving the perfect gingerbread. Gingerbread’s fine, moist crumb is the product of using different kinds of sugars, how they’re proportioned, and how many of them are invert—meaning sugars that are liquid in their natural state.

Lyle’s Golden Syrup perfected my gingerbread, thick from the tin with a slightly caramelized flavor. And now, as a pastry chef, I like to paying homage to the ineffable, illustrious Lyle’s Golden Syrup with this chewy, salted caramel.

A Recipe for Grown-Up Peanut Butter Cups

2011-10-24T02:00:00Z

Forget your trick-or-treat bag; this year the best treats won’t be at the neighbor’s house, but in your own kitchen. These peanut butter cups turn out just like the ones you loved to find in your Halloween pillowcase but, like you, they’ve done a lot of growing up. The honey gets caramelized, smoked salt brings the sweetness into balance, and heaps of vanilla bean paste and dark chocolate give a surprising depth of flavor.

A Recipe for Chocolate-Pear Bread Pudding

2011-10-21T02:00:00Z

Imagine the silky, springy, custardy character of a bread pudding melded with the bittersweet lusciousness of a chocolate terrine and the autumnal juiciness of a pear crisp, and that's what you'll get from this unexpected dessert. We've baked it in a loaf pan, making it easy to slice and serve in stunning, mosaic-like slices. Even better, it wants to be made ahead, even by days, meaning there is zero last minute fussing at a dinner party. Just top it with a little creme fraiche and pour a tawny port on the side and accept the oohs and ahs with grace and ease.

How to Fix Fish Farms

2011-10-20T02:00:00Z

In a world where nearly 50 percent of our seafood is farmed, we really don’t have the luxury to say we will no longer farm fish and shellfish. The demand is too great. The industry is too entrenched. But with the alleged appearance of a deadly farmed-salmon disease in wild salmon, we have to think about how we might separate the farms from the wild.

Apple Core Values

2011-10-19T02:00:00Z

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, and can keep anyone else away if you fling it hard enough. But the prudent plan is to throw no apple parts anywhere, and certainly not away, because any tasty apple yields a core and skin nearly as flavorful as its flesh. All it takes is a little bit of attention to turn the trim into apple vodka, apple-ginger syrup, zesty gremolata and more.

IACP Journalism Award Winner: Sibling Rivalry at the Stove

2011-10-18T02:00:00Z

As soon as my brother heard the news, he snapped: after years trailing behind me through elementary, middle, and high school, always chilled by what he tightly called my “intellectual shadow,” he decided that by cooking professionally I had trespassed onto the sovereign territory to which he had secretly laid claim.

And we were off.

How to Write About a Baker

2011-10-17T02:00:00Z

He leaned across the table. “That French idiot—he is totally insane.” His eyes were over-bright, his hands flat on the table. “He thinks that his cooking—his meat—is what’s important? I feel sorry for him. I feel pity. He doesn’t know that everyone is waiting for dessert?”

Andrew Carmellini's Best Fall Recipes: Korean Steak and a Harvest Salad

2011-10-14T02:00:00Z

Here’s what I’ve learned from all the Korean cooks who’ve worked with us over the years: at the end of a long service, there’s nothing better than Korean barbecue. We like to go to Hahm Ji Bach in Flushing, Queens (I like Park’s in Los Angeles, too), but I wanted to learn how to make it myself. When I started asking Korean cooks about it, I learned that in every family recipe, there’s always one key ingredient in the overnight marinade for sweetening and tenderizing.

A Fast for Love: Karva Chauth

2011-10-13T02:00:00Z

As a girl, I would follow my mother around on Karva Chauth, making mental notes, getting ready for when I would finally have the chance for my own love fast. Preparations started the night before: she would knead dough for fried bread and boil potatoes, seasoning them with cumin sizzled in oil, a breakfast for the day she had seen her mother and grandmother prepare for years. The morning of the fast, she would be up before sunrise and eat, sipping a cup of tea. Then I would watch my mother, hungry and thirsty, smile through the day’s work.

A Recipe for Macaroni and (Blue) Cheese with Caramelized Onions

2011-10-12T02:00:00Z

There are some mac and cheeses that are decidedly even more delectable than others, and this is one of them. The combination of tangy blue cheese and creamy parmesan intermingled with sweet, brown, caramelized onions makes a memorable casserole that will enthrall even the most blasé cheese-eater you know. Serve it as the centerpiece of a meatless meal, as a side dish to roasted chicken or grilled steak, or by itself in all its oozing glory.

The Birth of the Atomic Cheeseburger

2011-10-11T02:00:00Z

Every night at the Owl’s bar, some of the smartest men in the world sat through the huge New Mexico nights, drinking cold beer and eating burgers, burning their tongues on sweet-hot New World chiles while talking about implosion triggers, explosive lensing and, among themselves, laying bets on what would happen when “The Gadget” was finally detonated.

Caviar Pizza? New High-Low Recipes for All Types of Roe

2011-10-07T02:00:00Z

The fact is that caviar tastes just as good gilding the creamy heart of a deviled egg as it does perched on top of a wheaten blini. And with all the terrific, more economical varieties of fish roe now available on the market, why wait until New Year’s Eve or that big birthday to indulge? We say, any party is a good enough excuse to break out a tin, and especially a fall gathering with friends. Here are some of our favorite ways to experience caviar—both high and low.

A Recipe for Backyard Suckling Pig

2011-10-06T01:58:00Z

I have perfected, in the solitude of my modest backyard, a roasted suckling pig my favorite way—on a spit. It's really quite simple and aside from building a fire and a few basic sewing skills, the only thing you need is time. Which, Grandma said, men always seem to have a lot more of than women.

A Recipe for Marinated Octopus with Fennel and Black Garlic

2011-10-05T02:00:00Z

My friend Martha is terrified of octopus (hey, happy birthday Martha!) and I don’t blame her. They're funny-looking, frighteningly clever and lurk about in the sea. But, they’re also irresistibly tasty, with a sweet, briny bounce that’s unlike any other seafood. And, more importantly, home cooks forget how easy octopus is to prepare. Poached in salted water and left to marinate overnight, their fibrous tentacles soften and soak up tons of flavor.

The Original Red (Wine) Velvet Cake Recipe

2011-10-04T02:00:00Z

The “red” in the name originally referred to “red sugar,” an old term for what we know as brown sugar. At its heart, Red Velvet was a cocoa cake with a warm, molasses-like sweetness. I set out to reclaim that goodness with a recipe that harkens back to the original.

But with some twists, of course, including red wine – a complex, subtle pairing with chocolate. It ain’t Grandma’s recipe, but Red Velvet aficionados will recognize it at first bite. And for longtime Red Velvet-phobes like me, it’s like finally coming home.

The Unknown History of Red Velvet Cake

2011-10-03T02:00:00Z

It turns out, Red Velvet has a more twisting, fascinating history than the oft-told legend about its invention at the Waldorf~Astoria hotel, a precursor to the famous “Nieman Marcus cookie scam” story (with the same level of credibility). But thanks to a stash of ancient Southern cookbooks, I’ve pieced together a theory and, I believe, found this cakey orphan’s parents. And no, there are no dyes and no beets involved.

My Favorite End of Summer Recipe: Red Gratin

2011-09-30T16:00:00Z

A quick tart of buttery breadcrumbs, kissed with tomato juice and caramelized onions, is just the thing for these sunny in-between days. As the weather cools and your bounty changes, replace the top layer with whatever you fancy for a no-fuss vegetable tart that’s always in season.

A Recipe for Almond-Topped Warren Pear and Huckleberry Crisp

2011-09-29T20:00:00Z

I've found the best way to eat a ripe pear is raw, standing up under the shade of its tree, with the sweet juice of the fruit dripping down your arm. The second best way? Alice Waters’ delicious, bubbling pear crisp—the perfect ending to a fall dinner party (and a pretty fantastic breakfast, if you’re lucky enough to have any leftovers).

Sample Story

2011-09-29T17:16:32Z

This is a sample story to demonstrate various formatting techniques.

It Takes a Village to Save a Drowning Farm

2011-09-29T02:00:00Z

This is the great risk of farming: It all hangs on the harvest. Without that, calamity.

Calamity came to Kira Kinney, Ray Bradley and thousands of other northeastern farmers flooded by Hurricane Irene late this August. They remind us not only of the vulnerability of small farms, but also of how critical it is that the communities that support them in good times remain there in bad, and that these bad times go on long after we’ve forgotten this latest tragedy.

The Seven Flavors of Wine

2011-09-28T02:00:00Z

A Recipe for Honey-Roasted Duck with Apple and Potato Confit

2011-09-28T02:00:00Z

Of all the holidays on the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah is the sweetest by far, making it the perfect time to add sugary things to the savory side of the menu. Here, a roasted duck is lacquered with honey and cooked with apples, garlic, potatoes and onions.

The Perfect Fall Cocktail Recipe: Brandy, Apple, Maple and Beer

2011-09-28T02:00:00Z

With a sparkling, golden body of German wheat beer, tweaked with apple cider vinegar and apple brandy, the Sidewalker is as cool and crisp as
an early fall evening. We love it as a quirky aperitif with a dozen cold oysters, sitting outside as the sun goes down (earlier and earlier, we know). Try it at home with the beer you have on hand—but stay away from those hops-forward brews.

The Gentile's Guide to the Jewish Holidays

2011-09-27T02:00:00Z

I love Jewish food—tender gravy-laden brisket; fluffy potato latkes with sour cream; and of course, smoked fish galore. But, after spending nearly a decade dating a Jewish man as a shiksa (the Yiddish word for a gentile girl), my relationship with the Jewish holidays has been rocky.

A Recipe for Black Sesame Panna Cotta

2011-09-23T02:00:00Z

The virtue of most panna cotta is their delicate, milky taste, often with a subtlety bordering on neutrality. Their simplicity can be a soothing panacea after a heavy, multi-course meal, though no one expects to be wowed in the intensity-of-flavor department. This panna cotta is something different entirely. Infused with toasted sesame oil and black sesame seeds, then topped with a glistening layer of palm sugar gelee, it’s potent and nutty, smoky and exotic, and about as far from subtle as anything made with sesame oil ever is, in a very good way.

A Recipe for Dreamy Chocolate-Coconut Cream Pie

2011-09-22T02:00:00Z

A toothsome crust holds a silky, rich filling, layered with flavor and impossibly creamy (Ong uses coconut cream, coconut powder and cream). For the crust, Ong adds toasted and ground jasmine rice, a common savory seasoning in Southeast Asian cooking. It might seem like an unusual addition, but the rice helps make one hell of a pie crust, adding an earthy aroma and a wonderful crunch. Topped with very softly whipped cream and shaved bittersweet chocolate, this grownup pie is a real showstopper.

Learning to Love Thai-American Food

2011-09-21T02:00:00Z

When I was younger, my grandmother would brave four lanes of Bangkok traffic chaos to buy duck noodle soup. I remember her—an old woman just over five feet—looking left and right midway in the street as motorcycles and pick-up trucks barely miss her. In her hands were rubberband-tied cellophane bags bulging with dark broth. She had to do it: No other duck noodle would have been good enough for her. Such is the devotion that Thais have to what we eat.

The Problem with Cooking “Authentic” Chinese Food

2011-09-20T02:00:00Z

I’ve been devoted to Sichuanese food ever since living in Taiwan for four years in the mid-80s. My first day there, two other Americans brought me to a crowded Sichuan restaurant tucked into an alley and ordered a table full of dishes. I took one look at the Mapo Doufu—”Pock-marked Grandmother’s Tofu”—and was dubious: Chunks of white stuff floating in a gooey broth with bits of ground pork, slivers of fungus called “tree ear,” and other, even less-identifiable objects. But it was not the time for quisling hesitation.

The Next Generation of Asian Fusion

2011-09-19T02:00:00Z

It’s not quite noon, and the line’s still short at Hapa Ramen, Richie Nakano’s movable stand at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza. The 32-year-old Nakano hawks bowls heavy with broth, noodles with a crisp bite, and rich proteins like kara-age (Japanese-style fried chicken) and soft-poached egg. Hapa’s slow-cooked pork ramen is just the thing to neutralize the breeze blowing in from San Francisco Bay, satisfying with seared hunks of fat-streaked pork, as lush as browned butter.

Food and Fantasy in Game of Thrones

2011-09-17T02:00:00Z

While we can’t always identify with the ice kingdoms and horse-riding armies of Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin makes the pleasures of his fantasy world immediately recognizable—a slice of strawberry pie and a glass of honey-sweetened milk. In fact, by the time I finished the first book, it didn’t seem so strange that Gilt Taste’s own boss lady is something of a super fan (don’t tell her I told you!).

A Recipe for Fragrant, Curried Fish in Coconut Milk

2011-09-16T02:00:00Z

There are all-day curries that require toasting and grinding of whole, hard-to-find spices (preferably by hand with a mortar and pestle). Then there are speedy, toss-everything-into-one-pot curries that offer up an apology for the shortcuts. This one walks the line between the two, blending garam masala, cumin, and coriander that works beautifully with fish. While the whole dish is made in one pan, the aromatics and vegetables for the sauce are cooked in batches, building up layers of flavors to perfume the dish, and finished with lime and creamy coconut milk.

Grilled Cheese Goes Luxe with Baby-Cap Chanterelles

2011-09-15T02:00:00Z

We love chanterelles for their dangerous-looking Day-Glo color and nutty, butter-soaking flesh. These grilled-cheese sandwiches are perfect for all three seasons that kick off in September: school, football and mushroom.

The High Art of the Plate Lunch

2011-09-14T02:00:00Z

“This is the high art of the plate lunch,” Pableaux declared, the pronouncement hovering over his plate of smothered beef. The crawfish étouffée tasted of cream and pepper and the sweet clean earth of mudbugs. And I swore I saw a halo ringing a big ol’ meatball with chocolate-brown gravy that seeped into a mound of Louisiana rice, chewy and angelically white.

An Introduction to Grand Cru Wines

2011-09-13T02:00:00Z

I know that a bottle bearing the Grand Cru moniker instantly commands the attention of even the snootiest sommelier, but...why? When our wine team decided to select 10 great Grand Cru wines for Gilt Taste (that launch today!), I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. As it turns out, the term Grand Cru was first used in 1855, the year the Exposition Universelle was held on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Fennel Stalks, Ribs and Fronds Can Transform Drinks... and Dinner

2011-09-12T02:00:00Z

With its cool, crowd-pleasing crunch and ephemeral licorice flavor (not to mention density of antioxidants), foeniculum vulgare is a mood elevator of the tastiest type. Yet usually, all but tender layers of the fennel bulb—over half of the plant!—gets a one-way-ticket to the underworld. Tragedy. The dark, feathery leaves and fibrous, lime-hued ribs are edible, as is the obstinate core when treated nicely.

Grilling Marrow with Blue Ribbon's Eric Bromberg

2011-09-09T04:00:00Z

It’s an iconic restaurant dish: a platter of pale bones, sliced open to expose the wobbling, custardy marrow within. On the side is a slab of toasted country bread, some coarse sea salt and perhaps some fried shallots or parsley for a crunchy, herby contrast to all that savory softness. It’s a dish you’ve at least seen a hundred times before on menus, even if you’ve never ordered it yourself. So what happened in 1992 to change all that? Eric and Bruce Bromberg opened Blue Ribbon restaurant in SoHo, that’s what.

Hi, My Name is Tom and I’m a Farmoholic

2011-09-08T02:00:00Z

There’s a confession I need to make. At this very moment I have 150 close-up, black and white pictures of bull testicles in my library. I know how this sounds. It doesn’t sound good. How did my life come to this? The same way undercover vice cops become addicts after smoking freebase to fit in, I suppose. I am addicted to farming.

Sweet Stings and Armageddon: My Life as an Amateur Beekeeper

2011-09-07T02:00:00Z

Driving a car with a box of 5,000 bees in the backseat is one way to wake yourself up in the morning. My friend Dan and I were on our way to install our new beehive in his backyard. The box was humming; spiking in pitch with every pothole. I was wearing a red shirt. I had just learned that bees hate the color red. We were nervous.

Gone Clammin': A Story of Bivalves, Beach Police, and Alec Baldwin

2011-09-06T02:00:00Z

My wife and I alternated with the rake, dragging it through the sucking mud. This was not fishing, it was gardening; it was raking potatoes. All too often, after hoisting the rake out of the muck, I felt like Charlie Brown peering into his Halloween sack; reporting a mournful, “I got a rock.” The veneer of relaxation, already worn perilously thin, was eroding quickly. How many clams do you need for a pot of chowder, again?

Asian Spare Ribs Recipe

2011-09-04T16:00:00Z

At this time of year, when the weather begins to turn from summer into fall, I look for great recipes that can work outdoors or indoors, and these spicy, sweet, Asian-inspired ribs and sides happily straddle the seasons. The ribs and broccoli can be grilled outdoors now or roasted in the oven come chilly evenings. The peanut noodles are satisfying served cold at a sunny barbeque, or comforting in fall, when I pile them into a big bowl while still piping hot. And the plums—pickled now while they’re ripe and sweet—can be jarred and eaten long after stone-fruit season.

Labor Day Playlist

2011-09-04T16:00:00Z

The fact that you're here visiting Gilt Taste, spending your money on things like La Frieda rib roasts and hand-foraged chanterelle mushrooms, probably means that you're some kind of serious home cook. Good for you. It also probably means that you throw one hell of a party. And while we're sure that you can execute a five course meal for twenty with precision, we are betting that when it comes to music for your party, you're connecting your iPod Nano to a boombox, hitting shuffle, and hoping for the best. That's where we come in.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Pie Recipe

2011-09-02T02:00:03Z

Do you really need a reason to make a peanut butter and jelly pie? We didn’t think so. But we’ll give you one anyway: it’s the end of summer, school is starting. For a whole lot of people (possibly teachers excepted), this is a cause of celebration. So to mark all of this, we offer you the nostalgic flavors of the lunchroom, refashioned into dessert.

Where Does Your (Convenience Store) Food Come From?

2011-09-01T02:00:00Z

We love this video made by incredibly charming high school students in the South Bronx, home to one of New York City’s most infamous “food deserts.” (The irony of the predominance of fast- and processed food in this neighborhood is that it’s also the distribution point for most of the fresh produce that comes to the three surrounding states.)

Mighty Young Writers

2011-08-31T02:00:00Z

Here’s something to think about, courtesy of William Butler Yeats: “Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire.” It’s a wonderful thought, putting inspiration at the head of learning. And with over half of all working-age people in Philadelphia struggling with illiteracy, it’s a place where children could use a dose of inspiration to help them learn. So, this summer, Mighty Writers—a Philadelphia-based literacy organization—took that thought to task by making education the filling of a pail… of soil, of carrots, of okra.

The Triumph of Jamie Oliver's "Nemesis"

2011-08-30T02:00:00Z

It was all I could do not to scarf the entire stromboli, neatly packaged for me in a Styrofoam clamshell, while in the car. The dough was soft. The balance of ham and mozzarella, just right. And so, only about half was left when I parked on Third Avenue, the main drag in Huntington, West Virginia, and offered a bite to some friends.

"Wow. That's great," said one.

"Yeah, where'd you get that?" asked another.

"You'll never believe it," I told them. "This is school lunch."

Gastronomy 101

2011-08-29T02:00:00Z

“My parents just don’t understand,” Grissel says. She’s a junior at New York’s High School for Math, Science and Engineering, but she’s not laying on the average teenage complaints about curfews and phone use. She’s talking about eating her vegetables. As in, she thinks her family should be having more of them—home-cooked—but her mother usually comes home with rice, beans and meat in takeout containers from the convenience store two blocks away.

Our Judgment of Paris (in Brooklyn)

2011-08-26T02:00:00Z

What do you learn at a blind tasting? As the panelists discovered at the (in)famous Paris Wine Tasting of 1976: taste rules. To select the wines we’d launch with here at Gilt Taste, we invited ten panelists, each of whom you can read about here, to the Brooklyn Winery to taste eighty wines (two groups of five tasted through 40 wines each). We stacked French wines up against California wines, expensive cult wines with huge followings against new discoveries, classics against the avante garde.

Button-Cap Chanterelle Pasta Recipe

2011-08-25T16:00:00Z

Angelo Romano's gorgeous pasta dish pairs stunning, apricot-colored chanterelles with pickled cherry peppers

The Real Triumph of Alice Waters

2011-08-25T02:22:00Z

In this moment of retrospection on Waters’s impact, what hardly makes a wave in the commentary is perhaps her most inspiring legacy. Because more than anything—more than edible schoolyards or locavore consciousness; more than popularizing the phrase “farm to table”; hell, even more than changing what Americans think about salad or goat cheese—Waters succeeded in elevating the amateur imagination.

Don’t Take Wine and Cheese Pairings Too Seriously

2011-08-24T02:00:00Z

Wine and cheese make a lousy match. It’s sad, I know, but it’s what science tells us. It turns out that most of the delicate aromas and flavors of wine are actually wiped out by butterfat, so why are you plunking down your AmEx Platinum on a great bottle to ruin it with a hunk of blue? Here’s the truth on wine and cheese pairings, and how to deal with them.

Elizabeth Esqueda

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Joy Kull

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Lauren Mowery

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Joe Campanale

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Jordan Salcito

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Jennifer Leuzzi

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Ryan Smith

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Adrian Stratton

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Laura Maniec

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Adam Landsman

2011-08-23T16:00:00Z

Ruth Reichl

2011-08-23T14:00:00Z

Introducing Wine on Gilt Taste

2011-08-23T13:05:08Z

We’re buzzing around Gilt Taste headquarters. We’re launching wine with more than 50 terrific food-friendly bottles – classics, cult wines, new discoveries and some really fun table wines. Many you’d never be able to gain access to without being on a long waiting list. Price points range from a $12 per bottle drink-it-now-white-it's-still summer rosé to the nearly$500 Bryant Family 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, worthy of a wedding gift. We're pairing each bottle with food and recipes we love, so you can discover wine in our favorite way – with a fork in one hand and a glass in the other.

The World's Most Important Wine Book Is… a Comic

2011-08-23T02:00:00Z

Forget point systems and stuffy critics: Since 2004, the most powerful wine people in Asia are…comic book writers. Brother-and-sister duo Shin and Yuko Kibayashi turn wine-writing into an adventure with their weekly comic, Drops of God.

Wine and Cheese Puff Recipes

2011-08-22T11:00:00Z

Few things go better with wine than salty, golden brown, lacy-edged cheese crisps served hot from the oven, still melting inside (actually hot cheese crisps pretty much go with anything, but we are talking wine here, so let’s stick with that).

The Glamour of Homemade Mayonnaise

2011-08-19T02:00:00Z

With the right soundtrack playing, making mayonnaise can make you feel like the bad ass hero of a 1970s action flick! Also, these last weeks of August happen to be BLT season--the ideal time to practice your mayo-making skills.

So, You Think You Wanna Marry a Chef?

2011-08-18T02:00:00Z

Whenever people find out I’m married to a chef, they always say just about the same thing: “Oh, lucky!” Well, I feel extraordinarily lucky to be married to Danny, the man who makes me laugh all morning. Danny? Oh yes.

But a chef? Come on.

My Mother, the Voice of McDonalds

2011-08-17T02:00:00Z

The McDonalds our family knew was a force for good: Traveler's helpmeet, employer of scrofulous teens, and valiant opponent of illegitimate royalist upstart Burger King. On road trips, we would rather be found dead of starvation in our Chrysler Voyager than eat at Burger King. Until I was at least a teenager, I possessed the unexamined belief that Burger King was evil. Not a worse burger-purveyor; evil. And so we never questioned why McDonald's, the Good Guys, would call our mother to its mysterious academy every year.

IACP Journalism Award Winner: The Cake that Makes Our Family

2011-08-16T02:00:00Z

Read between the lines of an old family recipe and you’ll read the story of the family itself. The scrawled marginalia, the collective memory of shared feasts—they might as well be alleles in the genome. Maybe it’s the chicken soup your aunt makes during flu season. Maybe, if you’re lucky, your dad has taught you the perfect Old Fashioned, which he learned from his uncle, who learned it from his bookie. For my family, the recipe that defines us as a tribe is my grandfather’s babka.

Rad Ice Cream Recipes: Bitter Chocolate Mint, Cajeta, and Ice Cream Cones

2011-08-15T02:00:00Z

When Nicholas Morgenstern starts talking about ice cream, you’d better pull up a chair; this could take a while. The owner of Goat Town restaurant in the East Village is an ice cream maven, an expert, a pioneer. The man creates some of the silkiest, most luscious and intense ice creams imaginable.

The Lexicon of Sustainability: Bringing the Language of Food to Life

2011-08-12T02:00:00Z

The first thing you'll notice about the Lexicon of Sustainability is how damn cool it looks. Sure, Douglas Gayeton’s smart, visually-packed collages connect the dry terminology of the food movement to real people and places—no small feat. But it’s his super-personal aesthetic and warmth as a storyteller that first draws you in.

Beet-Pickled Deviled Eggs Recipe

2011-08-11T02:00:00Z

Chances are if you’ve had a beet-pickled egg and haven’t liked it, it’s because it was a too-sweet, glowing, rubbery egg. The store-bought versions are often loaded with sugar, and sometimes, red food coloring makes them alarmingly neon. And they are always marinated too long, the vinegar turning the delicate whites into rubber balls. It’s a shame that something so simple and straightforward can have such poor versions lying around. So let’s change that.

Corny Ingenuity: Make Tasty Stuff from Husks, Cobs and Silk

2011-08-10T02:00:00Z

While the kernels may still be best for eating, all the other parts of corn have something delicious to offer, too. Imagine sweet, grassy husk-infused butter; husk-roasted fish; corn-cob-smoked meats, roasted corn stock, and gorgeous fried nests of corn silk. Be as corny as you wanna be!

Kick the Bottle: Make Your Own Soda Flavors

2011-08-09T02:00:00Z

Starting with our basic recipe, you can customize your syrups with anything in the garden and pantry. Cardamom? Jasmine tea? That bergamot bush you planted and now have no idea what to do with? It all plays. The beauty of homemade soda syrups is that they’re very forgiving. You almost can’t mess them up. But in case you can use a kick-start, here are 11 of our favorite recipes.

Buttery Roast Chicken with Black Garlic

2011-08-08T02:00:00Z

Contrary to what the name might suggest, black garlic is not a stage in the growing cycle of the bulb, like the wise old version of immature green garlic. Nor is it a trendy heirloom variety. Instead, black garlic are bulbs that have been heated at a low temperature for weeks until they ferment and utterly transform. The color darkens to licorice. The texture turns soft, sticky, and taffy-like. And best of all, the flavor sweetens, intensifies, and becomes a little funky, with notes of coffee, burnt caramel, and dark roasted mushrooms.

The Good, The Bad and The Leafy

2011-08-05T02:00:00Z

I knew for my final installment of Better Than Basics, I wanted to play with the spaghetti Western. These violent operas, often set to staggeringly beautiful music by Ennio Morricone, have captured my imagination ever since I saw Once Upon A Time In The West. A masterful epic of revenge, hidden riches and a whole lot of bad memories, it marked a change in style for director Sergio Leone. While initially a box-office flop in the United States, it, and its accompanying Morricone score, has since been recognized as a masterpiece of the Western genre. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, another Leone film that served as inspiration for this piece, has a theme that is instantly recognizable even if you've never seen a Western.

Summer Vegetable Tempura Recipe

2011-08-04T02:00:00Z

You might say tempura is just a fancy word for “fried,” but here’s the truth: Onion rings are not tempura. Ditto anything that ends in “popper” or that’s served in a plastic basket with a side of ranch dressing. Vegetables—especially those from your CSA or farmer’s market—can always benefit from a dip in hot oil, but the difference is that the Japanese way is all about respect. In a tempura, vegetables get a light, gauzy coating of crunch that won’t hide the ingredients within.

A Farm with Heart…and Brains

2011-08-03T02:00:00Z

“It was the lowest moment of my life,” says Lee Jones. He is standing in front of the modest farmstead on his family’s sprawling farm, and his usually ebullient face suddenly darkens. “Standing right here, I watched everything we had ever owned get auctioned off – down to the old car my mother was driving. All gone, in one afternoon; it takes the heart right out of you.” But the Joneses had farming in their blood, and they were determined to start over.

Perfect Five-Minute Raw Tomato Pasta Recipe

2011-08-02T02:00:00Z

You're at a party, you meet a guy, and you start chatting. You can't help but notice a certain passion in his voice, and suddenly, as he opens up, you start to think this is… a special moment. You lose him in the crowd, time and drinks go by, but finally you see him again. And there he is, telling the same story to someone else.

I'm that guy, and I'm talking about tomatoes.

Not just any tomatoes, but the greatest five-minute tomato pasta on earth.

Three Cool Summer Soups

2011-08-01T02:00:00Z

Eating your vegetables is all well and good but what about when it’s to darn hot too even chew? You know, when you’re mired in one of those steamy, sweaty evenings where the thought of consuming anything warmer than body temperature is about as appealing as tepid lemonade. That is when it’s time to break out the blender and whirl together a cold vegetable soup, something icy and light, yet still savory and complex. And while we’re at it, good for you, too. These three soups fill the bill, and even better only one of them, the chilled lettuce soup with crispy fried squash blossoms, requires any kind of cooking at all. The others – a garlicky, dilled cucumber soup made with creamy with sheeps’ milk yogurt and spicy from jalapeno, and a pink gazpacho rich with almonds, ripe tomatoes, and juicy green grapes – can be whirled together in minutes and are guaranteed to bring your body temperature down by at least several degrees. And send your happiness quotient up.

Our Spicy Tribute to Bollywood

2011-07-29T02:00:00Z

Last week's stop motion video on dancing salt was extremely exact, so I wanted this week's piece to have a completely different energy. Bold, liberating, spontaneous. I didn't want to be restricted by increments, I wanted to throw, smash and break things! Be free and live a little, you know? When I cook, I have the most fun not when I'm measuring, but when I'm spicing. A dash, a pinch, a touch - a subjective unit completely of my own determining. And once I thought of spices, it was just a hop, skip and a jump to Bollywood.

Miles Davis’s Chili

2011-07-28T02:00:00Z

Go ahead and play ‘Round About Midnight or A Tribute to Jack Johnson, or really any Miles Davis album: Love, death, exhilaration, rage, sex, sadness, lightness, melancholy—everything there is to know about being human boils over in the measured blast of that music. There are a lot of artists I admire and a few I revere, but Miles just destroys me. I’ve never wanted to be someone else, except for maybe Miles Davis. And so I needed to eat his chili.

Ginger Peels, the Japanese Way

2011-07-27T02:00:00Z

Despite its popularity, ginger is often sorely underappreciated: The trim and peels from ginger are almost always thrown out when they are delicious and surprisingly versatile, in sweet, savory, spicy, and restorative forms. Here are dessert sauces, condiments, stir-fries and more you can make from them.

The Great Pepper Conspiracy

2011-07-26T02:00:00Z

"Why does everything have pepper in it?" my father moans, rejecting yet another soup made inedible by a few black specks. Now, I don't typically ascribe to my dad's culinary notions—after all, this is a man who once actually served me decade-old Raisin Bran. Yet I began to wonder, does everything have pepper in it? And with that, I stumbled onto the food world's biggest conspiracy, which has cooks everywhere seasoning everything with pepper as if it were salt. Everywhere I looked, I saw it: Season with salt and pepper...

Frozen Iced Tea for Dessert

2011-07-25T02:00:00Z

Shimmering crystals of tea granita floating on a whipped cream cloud makes an impressive dessert without doing anything more kitchen-heating than boiling water. If you have sugared violets or rose petals in your cupboard, this is the time to break them out. And if you're not a fan of flowery tea, use whatever tea you like, though consider going caffeine-free if you're serving this to mixed company (adults and kids).

Spicing with Tea

2011-07-25T02:00:00Z

Tradition is expansive when it comes to defining tea. People brew pots of the stuff from all manner of botanicals – herbs, spices, flowers, aromatics, and of course, the fragrant leaves from whence its name comes. The tea leaves themselves, on the other hand, are pigeon-holed. Other than tea-brewing, tea-smoked chicken, and a few far-flung desserts, they rarely emerge from their boxes for any other kind of recipe.

Dancing Salts of All Shapes and Sizes

2011-07-22T02:00:00Z

There are few things I love more than dinner and a movie. As a filmmaker with restaurant owner parents, my motto is to taste everything, watch everything. And why not? I am, and always have been, enriched and inspired by the unexplored and the unfamiliar. But lately I've been noticing that I might not be exploring things with quite as much abandon in my own kitchen - I rely mostly on basic salt, some spices, some greens. What more could I need? Well... a lot, apparently.

Grilled Pork Rib Chops with Stone Fruit Vinaigrette Recipe

2011-07-21T02:00:00Z

Sweet, tart, and tender, this is summer food at its best.

Make Pig Tails and Chops Like The Publican, Chicago's Pork Palace

2011-07-21T02:00:00Z

In the middle of Chicago's Fulton Market, the place that earned that city the name of Hog Butcher for the World, stands The Publican, a restaurant known for many things: a tremendous beer list; cold oysters to befriend those beers; the greatest chicken fried steak in all of America, Texas included. But for the real point of the place, look to the walls, at the massive 10-foot paintings. Pig, pig, and pig. This is one of America's great temples to pork.

Spicy Coconut Crab

2011-07-20T16:00:00Z

Grant Achatz on Cooking Thai Food, Authenticity, and the Future of Next

2011-07-20T02:00:00Z

"With Paris, it was easy—no one had ever eaten in Paris 1906, so no one had anything to judge it by. But entering the realm of 'ethnic' cooking, we're subjecting ourselves to the 'pancake theory': You grew up eating your mom's pancakes, they might be great, they might be terrible. But you grew up on them, and so that's what they're supposed to be. When we go into a cuisine that people know or think that they know, they can tell you you're wrong."

The Cook Who Couldn't Smell

2011-07-19T02:00:00Z

Molly Birnbaum was about to enroll in culinary school when a car accident wiped away her ability to smell. Her new book, "Season to Taste," is a chronicle of her journey to regain that sense. Written in lovely, lyrical language, it's also a fascinating exploration of the science of smell, from scent molecules to olfactory receptor theories to animals' perception of pheromones. Gilt Taste spoke recently with Molly about the emotional power of smell, flavor wizards in labs, and about the strange case of people who can only smell one thing.

Toasted Farro Summer Salad

2011-07-18T02:00:00Z

Of all the possible grains to toss into your salad bowl, farro is by far the sexiest. Earthy, rich with the flavor of nuts, even the word is alluring, much more appetizing than, say, dowdy-old "wheat berry," which is precisely what a farro grain is. In this recipe, the farro is toasted to bring out its flavor, then mixed with crisp bits of fried pecorino cheese, caramelized sweet corn, and toasted pine nuts, with some plump cherry tomatoes laced in for juicy sweetness.

How to Make the Cream Puff Tower of Your Dreams

2011-07-15T02:00:00Z

From Japanese shukure-mu to Dutch moorkop, some version of the cream puff pops up in nearly every cuisine. But leave it to the French to turn this simple, beloved confection into something grand, something magnificent: A croquembouche. Literally meaning "crunch in the mouth," this pastry monument is traditional for weddings, a tower of individual cream puffs held together with glassy, crackly caramel. Here, Dominique Ansel, Executive Pastry Chef at Daniel Boulud's three-Michelin star restaurant, Daniel, shows us how it's done.

Chasing Perfection

2011-07-14T02:00:00Z

I hit it once, just once, but it was beautiful. It was exam time and I was nervous, waiting for my turn. I had the proper fire. The heat felt right. I made smooth, swirling passes with my spatula, and when I rolled my pan over the plate, I knew it. Chef took a look at my omelet and squinted at me. He poked at it, pinched it, and then he knew, too.

Chefs Shine (in Copper!): Daniel Boulud's Magnificent Pot Collection

2011-07-13T01:00:00Z

Daniel Boulud takes us on a tour of his favorite copper pieces given to him by chef friends from around the globe

Daniel Boulud's Sautéed Snails with Curry and Sausage

2011-07-13T01:00:00Z

During a break in filming our tour of Daniel's collection of copper pots at DBGB Kitchen & Bar, Daniel jumped behind the line and improvised an al fresco lunch for the cast and crew: plump basil-fed snails, a rich and creamy coconut curry sauce, charred scallions, and hearty pork Thai sausage. Washed down with an ice cold Captain Lawrence Freschester Pale Ale from DBGB's taps, I felt like one lucky lady. Thanks, Chef!

Pan-Roasted Quail and 10 Things I Learned from Daniel Boulud

2011-07-12T06:00:00Z

In honor of Bastille Week, this recipe was inspired by the cuisine of chef Daniel Boulud, who I worked with in 2004 and 2005 to co-write his cookbook, Braise (Ecco, 2006). At heart, this recipe is characteristically French, composed of lovely little quail that are browned on the stove, then finished in the oven and served with a simple, seasonal cherry pan sauce. But it’s also got a hint of the exotic from the marinade of ras el hanout, a North African spice mixture scented with dried rose petals, ginger, cinnamon, and coriander. Chef Boulud was one of New York’s first haute-cuisine chefs to explore global spices and ingredients, and blend them into his classic Escoffier-based French cuisine. And this dish strives to reflect just that.

Bastille Day: How to Party Like it's 1789!

2011-07-12T06:00:00Z

Ariane Daguin's company D'Artagnan always looks like the best place to work: French chefs, four-star restaurants and all the foie gras you can eat. She knows that if you're selling a culture, you'd better throw a good party. And she throws the best parties, transporting us all back to France for a day. So, in honor of Bastille Day on July 14th, we talked with her about the five things you need to celebrate properly during the French Fête Nationale.

Reading About Eating with Daniel Boulud

2011-07-11T20:00:00Z

Daniel Boulud has been collecting rare cookbooks since he was a young cook apprenticing on the line with the great chefs Georges Blanc and Paul Bocuse in France. His personal library now contains thousands of volumes, including many we’re featuring today, including four copies of Ali-Bab’s Gastronomie Pratique, The Physiology of Taste “a masterpiece on the philosophy of taste,” by Brillat-Savarin and of course Ma Gastronomie by the inimitable Fernand Point. I sat with Daniel at his downtown restaurant DBGB Kitchen & Bar, to look through a stack of the books he holds closest to his heart.

Beet Cake, Sweet and Romantic

2011-07-08T06:00:00Z

Somewhere along the line, cooking videos have come to focus on the end product. A winning dish. A victorious chef. In the lurch towards entertainment and excellence, humble ingredients are sort of the little guys, often unappreciated. This short film, a cooking video no doubt, is a work of art – romantic and beautiful – and tells a story well beyond the technical aspects of how to assemble a cake. The video chronicles the life of the artful ingredients that comprise the recipe. How they drift and swirl and melt; essentially, how they live when our hands do the urging. Watch, and you’ll soon understand the interest and intrigue for the work-horses – yep, those ingredients that sit in supermarket aisles and farmer’s markets stalls and pantries – of the foods we so love.

Have a (Celery) Heart—And Some Leaves, Too

2011-07-07T06:00:00Z

Celery leaves are like parsley on a bender—way more intense, bitter, and stoked to be at the party. And the hearts: Well, love me tender, they're kind of like that. Treated right, a celery heart becomes a lilting, smooth expression of its lanky-limbed brethren. So get on it and try a few of these celery fringe recipes out: celery leaf pesto, celery salt, braised celery hearts, and candied celery.

The Most Important Fish in the Sea

2011-07-06T06:00:00Z

Dozens of gulls swoop toward the Reedville, and the water beneath the boat begins to churn and froth. Workers onboard hoist a vacuum pump into the net and suck tens of thousands of small silvery fish out of the water. It looks like an unusual way to catch fish; it's all the more unusual when you realize that this particular industrial catch is actually banned by every state on the East Coast. Every state, that is, save for one.

Four Fruit Curd Recipes to Celebrate Summer

2011-07-05T06:00:00Z

If fruit jam is goody two-shoes of summer preserving – bright, sweet, lean, and peppy -- then fruit curd is the vixen. Creamy, voluptuous, a little mysterious, and a lot delectable, it might not be the first thing you’ d think to do with your farm-fresh basket of raspberries or rhubarb. This is because when it comes to curd, few people venture beyond lemon. But composed primarily of fruit juice thickened with eggs and butter, curds can be made with any acidic fruit. Berries, stone fruit, rhubarb (okay, technically a vegetable), or even super sweet cherries, grapes, and mangoes will all work, as long as you balance them out with a touch of citrus or vinegar for tang. Here are recipes for four curds you’ ve likely never seen before: fragrant raspberry-rose with a vibrant fuchsia hue; luscious mango revved up with lime; subtly tart rhubarb; and last but not least, good old lemon, with poppy seeds stirred in for crunch. Savor them poured into a tart crust, slathered onto buttered toast or scones, or spooned over fresh fruit. Or just lap them straight from the spoon, in true vixen style.

Maple Panna Cotta with Marcona Almonds and Brioche

2011-07-01T06:00:00Z

The first time I saw a gelatin sheet, I was a newbie in the kitchen at Daniel, and I was confused. I couldn’t imagine that a thin, brittle, plastic-feeling laminate strip could magically turn a liquid into a gel, but once my chef showed me the simple technique, I understood. Restaurant chefs prefer gelatin sheets to packets of powder because each unit is a precise measurement, and therefore easy to measure. If you’ve ever followed the same panna cotta recipe a few times, and found its firmness to be inconsistent from batch to batch, it’s probably because the amount of powdered gelatin has been inconsistent (those packets never seem to contain the same amount, do they?). Don’t be afraid, the blooming process is basically foolproof: If you allow the sheets to dissolve properly in a heated liquid, you’ll never get a chewy clump in your otherwise silky-smooth panna cotta. We don’t yet sell gelatin sheets on Gilt Taste, but we will soon. The industry standard is silver strength. Trust me, try it.

What Makes a Pizza Master

2011-06-29T22:40:53Z

They would not let me make pizzas at my first job because I was, among other things, an idiot. But Angelo was tall and thin with thick-framed glasses like a mob accountant and forearms like banded iron. He'd been something else before, I believe—a plumber, a ninja or President of the United States—but had, at some point, received a higher calling and chucked it all to smoke cigarettes and make pizzas in a rattletrap shop no bigger than a rich man's closet.

Reinventing the Whoopie Pie

2011-06-29T02:57:00Z

Earlier this year Maine passed legislation that claimed the whoopie pie as the state treat. Folks in Pennsylvania were pretty peeved. Thieves! They already have blueberry pie as the state dessert, no less! We, of course, insist that Pennsylvania Dutch country is the homeland of the whoopie pie. The locals of Lancaster County, where there is an annual whoopie pie festival, were up in arms. At one point the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau's website called Maine's bill "confectionary larceny".

An Ode to the Nacho

2011-06-27T19:31:04Z

I do not have an Italian grandmother, nor a Nigerian one. My mother does not rinse kimchi in the dark. My dad would be happy to eat his meals in pill form, perhaps because my grandmother fed him clam broth for breakfast, hot.

If I go searching for my culinary inheritance, I wind up in a bowl of creamed chipped beef. My culinary slate started empty, and I went at things as I have taught myself: ravenously, indulgently, with a taste for chilies. But it wasn't until I ate nachos that I knew what it meant to have a food call your name.

Korean Pork Belly Tacos

2011-06-23T20:23:29Z

We're kicking off "Junk" Food Week with pork belly marinated with Coke and wrapped up like tacos. Melissa Clark and Jennifer Maeng introduce our newly favorite condiment, gochujang, a sweet and spicy Korean chili sauce. Paired with cooling pickled radish and an ice cold brew, this is how we'll be celebrating our 4th of July. Everybody's working for the weekend.

Dry-Aged Rib-Eye Steaks. Seared, Roasted and Basted in Butter

2011-06-23T16:09:38Z

When butcher Bryan Flannery said he could get us a whole dry-aged rib eye roast, we had to build a party around it. And so, we headed to the Catskills with a gorgeous bone-in rack, for what turned out to be literally the best piece of meat I’ve ever eaten. If you’ve ever wondered why restaurant steaks taste so much better than the ones you’ve tried to cook at home, the truth is, it’s all about the basics: the best ingredients, liberal seasoning, very high heat, neutral oils, roasting, rotating, basting and resting. Oh, I almost forgot. And butter.

Explaining the Psychology of Comfort Food

2011-06-22T19:01:20Z

Under the mashed potatoes and meatloaf lies a question: What does "comfort food" really mean? What about it actually comforts us? The obvious explanation is that it's all about nostalgia and missing Mommy. But it takes more than this to create the rush of sensations that make us feel safe, calm, and cared for. It's a complex interplay of memory, history, and brain chemistry, and while some basics apply — most of us are soothed by the soft, sweet, smooth, salty and unctuous — the specifics are highly personal.

The Classic Dark n’ Stormy Recipe, Made Stormier

2011-06-21T02:00:18Z

A spicy, sweet, and seductive cocktail of ginger beer and dark rum, the Dark ‘n’ Stormy is most at home on a small sailboat in the Caribbean. At the end of a hot, salty day, one needs a serious drink to revive the spirits. The zip of the ginger, the freshness of lime, and that long kick of rum does just that—a Stormy is the cure-all beverage to beat the heat.

Orange You Glad You Saved the Peels? You Will Be

2011-06-21T01:00:24Z

It doesn't take much to transform those bitter rinds into sweet, fragrant treats, leaving a taste that lingers surprisingly on the palate. Maybe I'm just an obsessive about these bumpy skins, but a true pastry chef does not let them go to waste—and doesn't allow anyone else to either! Here are tips for making candy, chocolates, orange-and-olive salt, and orange-cello.

How Going Gluten Free Let Me Find the Love of (My) Life

2011-06-20T22:46:32Z

Some things you never imagine. As an aspiring writer, I never imagined that giving up gluten would lead me to see a book with my name on it. And as a perennially unfortunate dater, I certainly didn't imagine that it would lead me to find the love of my life (sitting on a picnic bench stained with bird poop, surrounded by drunks).

Kale Salad with Pine Nuts, Smoked Bacon, Golden Raisins and Parmesan

2011-06-16T20:15:52Z

I love any type of hearty green paired lavishly with bacon, and the sweet kiss of golden raisins and perfectly toasted pine nuts make for fabulous eating. If you're not excited about kale, try this dish with earthy beet greens, bitter dandelion greens, or peppery radish tops.

Spaghetti Carbonara with Bottarga

2011-06-16T20:06:38Z

Everything is better with bacon… except possibly this ultra-creamy carbonara. Instead of relying on the usual salted, cured pig product as the foundation of the sauce, this version swaps in bottarga, a salted, cured fish roe, which gives the same intensity of flavor, but with a piscine rather than porcine goodness.

Ruth Reichl and Floyd Cardoz on Judging and Winning Top Chef Masters

2011-06-16T19:59:10Z

I thought that being a judge on Top Chef Masters would be very different than it actually turned out to be. I was sure that the producers would be watching over our shoulders, trying to nudge us into certain outcomes, and I kind of looked forward to fighting them off. I was positive that they would be willing to sacrifice the truth for the sake of a good story. But I was wrong. The Magical Elves never interfered, never questioned a decision, never even indicated a preference.

The Indignity of Industrial Tomatoes

2011-06-15T22:11:22Z

My obituary's headline would have read "Food Writer Killed by Flying Tomato." I drove up behind a truck heavy with what seemed to be green apples. Three of them sailed off, narrowly missing my windshield. Every time it hit the slightest bump, more would tumble off. The road was littered with green tomatoes so plasticine and so identical they could have been stamped out by a machine. When I stopped to look, not one was smashed. A 10-foot drop followed by a 60-mile-per- hour impact with pavement is no big deal to a modern, agribusiness tomato.

How to Season and Spice Fruit

2011-06-14T16:50:39Z

In Taiwan, watermelon is often served with a dusting of dried plums. The salty-winey-sourness of the powder gives the melon a kick and underlines its juiciness. Using taste combinations from different cultures as a guide, I started looking for new old ways to eat my fruit, and have been merrily sprinkling, dusting, and pouring all kinds of seasonings in my fruit bowl. What happens is so wonderful, it's easy to become spiced-fruit obsessed. Here are some combinations and seasoning mixes to get you started, too.

Father's Day Steak & Potatoes Redux

2011-06-13T20:10:28Z

Charred and blackened on the outside, bloody within, a grilled hunk of beef speaks to meat lovers in an essential, primal way. And while some might scoff that meat-and-potatoes are ho-hum, there's a reason millions of people keep going back to them, especially if your steaks are served with the tiny new potatoes that are just beginning to hit farmers markets.

How to Open Oysters with Style

2011-06-10T22:08:20Z

In this second course of the dinner party at Catskills cabin, we invite you to feast with us on fresh Northwest oysters from Lilliwap, Washington—a region whose waters are cold enough to supply oysters into early July. And because the only thing worse than a pierced oyster belly is a slipped knife piercing your hand, Ithai shows us how to open oysters cleanly, quickly, and beautifully. With great oysters, toppings are purely optional, but these sweet, tart mustard seeds pop as you chew, adding a delightful surprise to each bite.

A Pasta Prince Abdicates his Crown… to be a Cook

2011-06-09T15:01:34Z

At first glance, there's nothing unusual about an Italian chef arranging nests of tagliatelle on a sheet pan, no less one whose great, great, great, great grandparents were pasta-makers two hundred years ago. But a family relic on the wall tells its own story: a burlap bag printed with a company logo that bears his last name. In 1827, Giulia Buitoni built one of Italy's first commercial pasta factories, and over the years her descendants expanded the business again and again until it became an international industrial food giant. "I always wanted to cook," this Buitoni says, "but I didn't trust myself."

Yes, Carrot Tops are Edible...and Delicious

2011-06-08T15:37:24Z

As much as we love carrots, we realized one day that most of our carrot tops end up in the trash. It turns out they're nutritious—a good source of potassium, chlorophyll, and vitamin K. But more importantly, there is wonderful flavor in those carrot tops—a sophisticated, earthy character with a hint of bitterness and herbal notes from the abundant chlorophyll. Here are five ideas for making them into sauces, sautés, ravioli filling, and yes… naturally colored carrot cake frosting.

The Sweetest, Saddest Comic You'll Ever Read About Oysters

2011-06-07T16:11:47Z

What if you were the fastest oyster shucker in town, and the only man who can hear the song they sing?

Perfect Summer Crostini Recipes

2011-06-06T23:34:25Z

The charm of a great crostino lies with the crunch. Without the contrast between the soft, savory topping and the golden, olive oil-slicked toast, crostini would be about as festive as… tea sandwiches, which is to say, not so much. But a platter of crisp crostini topped with cold cured meats and fish, soft cheeses, marinated vegetables, or succulent fruit is one of the most compelling ways to eat in the summer. You can, of course, use them to whet appetites for more food to come, but why not let them make up the meal themselves? Serve them with your favorite chilled libation, and plenty of napkins.

Soft-Boiled Egg with Wild Mushrooms, Sugar Snap Peas, and Jamón Ibérico

2011-06-03T19:30:33Z

Each Friday over the next five weeks you’ll watch a young chef cook through a five-course dinner at a cabin in the Catskills. You’ll see how to open oysters, break down a whole rib-eye, and use gelatin sheets to make a panna cotta. You’ll see tools and techniques common in professional kitchens that you can use at home. Inspired by the way chefs really cook, we shot without stylists or storyboards; we wanted to do a different kind of cooking video, one more genuine and yet more beautiful than you might usually see.

Genetically Engineered Salmon's Empty Promises

2011-06-02T15:56:21Z

AquaBounty claims that their genetically-engineered salmon, up for approval by the FDA, is a great leap for the environment. But the environmental advantages they claim for their fish are readily debunked. And while the fish is not very useful to us or the oceans, it may be, in fact, very useful to AquaBounty—in a grab to control salmon farming as we know it.

Dinner and a Rock and Roll Show: A Guide

2011-06-01T21:43:08Z

This is when the best of the best music events happen around the country—from big festivals to intimate nights in the open air. But there's nothing worse than seeing the show of your life and ending up with a bag of gas station nachos for dinner. So what's key about the venues we're highlighting is that there's great food at or around each one. Take our advice on any one of these, and have your best summer ever, other than that really awesome one you had at camp when you were 11.

Moroccan Leg of Lamb with Golden Raisins

2011-05-31T21:43:41Z

A festive leg of lamb, slathered with a potent garlicky spice paste and grilled until charred on the outside and juicy-pink within, is just about the best grilling-for-a-crowd recipe there is. Here, it’s topped with sweet-tart golden raisins plumped with white wine and preserved lemon, and an herbal, chili-spiked Moroccan charmoula. Serve it with grilled crusty bread and a simple bitter greens salad.

Cheers to El Dorado

2011-05-30T22:52:36Z

This spin on the classic boasts a bite from bitters and aromatic apricot liquer

Golden Fleece Punch

2011-05-30T19:45:07Z

In eighteenth-century England, the very idea of gin punch was a joke. Punch was for the elite, gin for the rabble. But time is the great leveler. By the end of the century, English gin had gotten better and punch had become more democratic. It took an American, however, to seal the deal. Once Stephen Price, of New York, introduced the idea of mixing the traditional gin, lemon juice and sugar with chilled soda water, gin punch was off and running. This version, based on an 1869 recipe, adds green tea, pineapple syrup and a little Drambuie to make things interesting.

We Hear You!

2011-05-27T22:40:08Z

It's hard to believe Gilt Taste has been open for a little more than a week. As the General Manager of the team, I've been living and breathing this site for months, and we're all so thrilled that you've given us so much feedback. I'd like to tell you some of the changes we're making from the most frequent comments we've heard, but I also wanted to tell you a little bit about what inspires me: My grandmother.

(Not) Ducking a Legacy

2011-05-26T16:37:27Z

Jason Franey's duck has skin bowing over the breast, hugging it jealously, as brown as bourbon. It crackles somewhere between crisp and crunch, a little like puffed rice, before dissolving into honey sweetness and black pepper heat. The meat is thick with flavors I can't place: complex, swirling, delirious-making. It was early spring and it was a dish very much of the moment, served with wilted ramps, spring onions, pearl onions, and a sauce of cream infused with onions. As I ate, I thought, "What makes duck more delicious than onions?" And also this: "In a few weeks, when spring is gone, this dish won't be here anymore."

How to Do Memorial Day Right

2011-05-25T17:18:47Z

In 1976, my parents accidentally bought a hotel, sunk deep in the rural vastness of northeastern Pennsylvania. It's a nest of exploding pipes and dying appliances, and the smart thing would have been to push this ramshackle white elephant over with a bulldozer. But in time, we stopped wanting to, when it became the place for our annual Memorial Day cooking marathons, where potato gun fights, gin punches and kids running feral are part of the package.

Overcoming the Most Terrible Thrill of the Grill

2011-05-24T16:17:24Z

I have always been afraid of fire, and as a cook, this crazy-making, inexplicable phobia is a serious liability. For a while, I'd thought I'd gotten better. During a stint in cooking school, I learned that the arts of searing, sautéing, roasting, and broiling took care, focus, and attention—and don't require a Xanax and a fire extinguisher. Still, I failed my flambé class. Convinced that my eyebrows would be incinerated, I spent the evening in the bar downstairs. Old fears die hard.

Confessions of a Chocolate Hater

2011-05-21T03:32:10Z

I wish I had some easy explanation, but the truth is I’ve always been like this. My sister (the beneficiary of my trick-or-treating bounty) used to introduce me to friends by saying, "This is Lila. She doesn’t like chocolate. She’s weird." (Ingrate.) Try being the only kid without a cupcake at a classmate’s birthday party. It isn't fun.

Redeeming the Lobster Roll

2011-05-20T19:36:59Z

For years I took issue with lobster rolls. They seemed too easy to eat—no need for metal crackers to fracture the claws, or long pointy forks to dig out fragments of pink meat from shell-bound knuckles. There is no eruption of saline lobster juice from sucking on the skinny legs. Worse yet, with a lobster roll, there is absolutely no chance of lucking into a sweet coral prize of lobster roe if you happen upon a female. Two things happened to change my mind.

The Thrill of the Mushroom Hunt

2011-05-19T22:44:47Z

We met in a parking lot on a misty winter day. In the obscuring fog, I felt like an initiate in a secret society, but it wasn't, apparently, a glamorous one. We were a sorry-looking lot of dilapidated hippies, shifty hipsters, plaid-wearing farmer types and REI-clad yuppies, all bound by the desire to find and eat fungus. But to be a mushroom hunter is to be the Indiana Jones of foragers—you must be part scholar and part adventurer.

How to Cook Broccoli Stalks Iron Chef Style

2011-05-19T02:56:40Z

Before we were trounced by a TV cooking god, my sous chef and I were thrilled when we figured out that the stalk was holding all of broccoli's secrets. Nutty and crunchy, juicy and sweet, there were so many things that we could do with it… and yet it’s the most overlooked part. Which, of course, means it's the most fun to work with.

IACP Journalism Awards Finalist: What Will Fracking Do to Your Food Supply?

2011-05-19T02:02:42Z

In the Academy Award-nominated documentary Gasland, a man touches a match to his running faucet and watches it explode in a ball of fire. This is what fracking is doing to water supplies across the country. But what it might do to food production has received little attention, and you don't have to look very far to find sickened livestock and vulnerable crops. Some farmers are getting very nervous.

Spiced Porcini Mushroom Salt

2011-05-19T01:31:05Z

Skillet Chicken with Green Onions and Ramps

2011-05-19T01:24:01Z

Sautéed chicken is a basic dish that every cook should have in his or her repertoire. It’s the essence of easy—the chicken pieces are seasoned with plenty of garlic and herbs, then cooked in a skillet with butter and a little wine until the skin turns golden and caramelized and the meat starts to fall off the bone. It’s faster and more forgiving than roasted whole chicken, and far more elegant than broiling or baking, without any additional work.

Salt and Sugar-Cured Asparagus, Poached in Butter

2011-05-19T01:18:19Z

Every spring, I get so caught up in the burgeoning of my local farmers’ market that I completely forget there might be other, more far-flung delicacies to savor. White asparagus, for example. I picked up the recipe from Shea Gallante, the chef at the marvelous Ciano in Manhattan’s Flatiron district. He started curing asparagus as a way to intensify their sweetness, which happens when the salt draws out some of the moisture while the sugar seasons them.

Welcome to Gilt Taste

2011-05-17T16:38:24Z

The first time I walked into the Gilt Taste office I was hit by a wave of happy energy. It was a tiny group then but they were so excited by this new project that I was swept away by their passion. They wanted to do the wildest things—and they thought everything was possible. It reminded me of cooking in California in the early seventies, a time when young chefs were reinventing the very idea of American food. I felt exactly the same way as I did back then: I want to be part of this.

Six Things We'll Never Sell

2011-05-16T20:34:11Z

Yes, the food we sell has to be spectacular, but as Gilt Taste's lead buyer, it's got to be as much about the people. About their stories. About helping to uphold these traditions and preserving disappearing arts. But sometimes it's easier to get that across by telling you what we're not about, so I also want to show you some things we'll never sell. Like artisanal ice. And bananas. And, though it breaks my heart, my favorite guilty pleasure...