While working in a restaurant in the New York Catskills, I had the good fortune to befriend my French chef neighbor and he gradually became my mentor. He had strong opinions about women working behind the line, which only further pushed me to become a pastry chef. Soon, brioche became part of my standard repertoire. What Is Brioche? Brioche is an enriched bread dough, made with butter and eggs for a rich flavor and tender crumb....

That leftover chicken in the fridge? Whether it’s poached, baked, or grilled, give it a home in this salad! You won’t find dainty croutons here. I adore serving this salad with big slices of garlic toast. Pick a hearty, crusty artisan-style bread, cut it into thick slices, and toast it in the oven. This makes toast that’s crunchy on the outside but still a little chewy on the inside (my favorite)....

If you are unfamiliar with the dish, chicken-fried steak is a Southern favorite. Tenderized beef cutlets are dipped in egg and flour and fried, much like fried chicken, but with steak. Video! How To Make Chicken Fried Steak What Cut To Use to Make Chicken Fried Steak Chicken fried steak is made most often with cube steak, or steak that has already been tenderized, or a cheap cut like round steak....

Could they be more cute? Super easy to make too! The Best Strawberries to Buy Look for strawberries that are deep red, preferably with very little white showing near the stem and leaves. The leaves should also look fresh and bright green; not wilted or bruised. Wash your strawberries, but then make sure they are completely dry before dipping in chocolate. It’s best to wash them, then set them out on paper towels or kitchen towels to air dry....

My friend Garrett taught me how to make this years ago. It’s a great way to make dessert more interactive. Everyone gets to choose their own “dip-able”—whether it’s strawberries, bananas, or marshmallows, and it’s incredibly easy to make. Only needs three ingredients—chocolate, cream, and a pinch of salt. You can add extra flavors to the chocolate too, like some peppermint extract for peppermint chocolate fondue, or cinnamon and chili for a Mexican spin, or Amaretto or Bailey’s Irish cream for a more grown up version....

Deep dark chocolate and fresh grated ginger sets these cookies apart from the other cookies on the holiday cookie plate. Most gingerbread and gingersnap cookies don’t quite have enough gingery “snap” to them for me. My solution is to use actual fresh-grated ginger in the dough. It sounds fussy, but once you start using the fresh ginger, it’s hard to go back to plain ground ginger. The fresh ginger also gives the cookies a warm heat that makes a great contrast to the earthier chocolate....

But they also tend to dry out quickly and are easy to overcook. That’s why I love this Citrus Brined Pork Chop recipe! The salty sweet brine keeps the pork chops really tender and moist, even if you do accidentally overcook them a few degrees. Why Brining Makes Tender Pork Chops Once you mix up the simple brine, the pork chops need to brine for at least an hour; overnight would be even better to allow the flavors to really penetrate....

It is subsidiary sauce or ‘daughter’ sauce of hollandaise, one of the five French mother sauces, with an herbal piquancy that complements its mother sauce. To make béarnaise, you start with a reduction of wine, vinegar, shallots, and tarragon. Set it aside while you make the hollandaise, which is a semi-permanent emulsion of egg yolks and clarified butter. Stir the herbal reduction into hollandaise, and voila! You have béarnaise sauce....

As one of the five “mother” sauces in classic French cooking (Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Sauce Tomat), velouté is a light ‘cream’ sauce made with chicken, fish, veal, or vegetable stock thickened with a blond roux of butter and flour. Once the roux, a combination of flour and fat, has cooked for a minute or two, you whisk in the stock and a little salt and cook for a few minutes....

This coconut cake pulls out all the stops. It is the best dessert for any special occasion. If I learned anything from my days as a pastry chef, it is that in baking, you can often play around with timing and make most recipes work on your schedule. This is because pastry making is all about components. At the restaurant, we made many of our building blocks throughout the week: puff pastry, pastry cream, pie dough, even buttercream, could all be made ahead at separate times and then combined in different ways depending on the particular dessert we needed to make....

At first, I drank it in small mugs poured by my husband. Ultimately, I began to brew it on my own. A natural next step has been to combine my newfound appreciation for coffee with my longtime love for smoothies. Both tend to be morning endeavors anyway, so why not a mocha coffee smoothie? Coffee Smoothie in a Snapshot Creamy, mildly mocha blendMade with nourishing ingredientsProtein and healthy fats to help fill you upCan be made with decaf coffee...

There’s no heavy lifting here. Mix the dough by hand, shape it into two flat rounds, and cut the rounds into wedges. Once in the oven, your house will fill with a sweet aroma. These buttery, flaky scones along with your favorite brew will brighten any chilly morning. In fact, it’s an ideal baking project for a snow day or breezy weekend when you just want to stay cozy....

What Is Smoked Paprika? Like chipotle, smoked paprika can add a delightful smoky dimension to food. It’s make from peppers that have been dried, smoked over a wood fire, and ground into a powder. It’s not spicy, but adds a smoky depth to any recipe in which its used. Smoked paprika is perfect with this rich and creamy pumpkin soup. This spice has gained popularity in recent years, so you should be able to find it in the spice aisle of most grocery stores or online....

I’m sure you know the fish sticks I’m talking about: the kind that come straight from the freezer and are made with some sort of strange mush? Fish mush? YUM! Kid-Friendly Homemade Fish Sticks I grew up on fish sticks, though, and let’s face it—they’re a great way to get kids comfortable with eating fish because most are made with very mild varieties. My kids know the mass-produced frozen version and like them, but I hadn’t made fresh fish sticks for my two-year old before I tested this recipe....

When I don’t have the energy to tackle the tricky original, which entails deep-frying fritters of battered sweet potato sticks with whole shrimp attached, without things falling about, I make my streamlined workaround: these delicately crisp sweet potato pancakes. I blend grated sweet potato with grated carrot. Seasoning with green onion and fish sauce imbues the pancakes with some of the pungency and umami depth of the original. They come together handily with little fuss....

That said, I promise you: This is the easiest omelet you could ever make. You don’t need a culinary degree (or any fancy cooking skills) to whip one of these up, though your friends and family will probably think you’ve been taking cooking classes in your spare time. Enjoy a Denver Omelet Any Time of Day The diner-favorite Denver omelet is a simple, beginner-friendly egg dish that’s undeniably impressive, super customizable, and just as delicious for a quick lunch or dinner as it is for an un-fussy breakfast....