Posts

Rachael Ray inspired a frenzy for santoku knives back in the 2000s when she declared devotion to her Wüsthof model on her Food Network show, “30 Minute Meals.” But the knife’s history reaches back to post-World War II when Japanese home cooks adopted it as an alternative to the nakiri, a traditional vegetable cleaver. Santokus today are more lightweight than traditional chef knives, feature razor-sharp edges, and many come with “dimples” along the blade surface that keep food from sticking....

You can set up your upright freezer directly in your kitchen for easy access or in your garage to maximize storage space. Upright freezers offer an advantage over chest models since you can find what you’re looking for with ease in the former. Both are reliable options, but upright freezers have the upper hand when it comes to practicality. If you’re looking for an upright option, the Frigidaire 15.5 Cu....

There is the classic chicken pot pie of course. But with the holidays we thought we might try our hand at a turkey pot pie made with cooked turkey, a perfect dish for holiday leftovers. How To Make Turkey Pot Pie This turkey pot pie has a Cajun twist, starting with the trinity of onions, celery, and green bell peppers, and spiced up a bit with Cajun seasoning. It’s topped with a flaky, buttery crust, which is in my opinion, the best reason of all to make a pot pie....

Make the bean (canned or homemade) and turkey topping in a big skillet, and serve it warm over lightly dressed crisp romaine. Or make it ahead and serve it cold. It’s up to you. To finish off your salad, add a few crunchy fresh vegetables and top with some sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Actually, this salad has everything but actual tacos! You could always serve tortilla chips on the side, but who needs them with this saladpalooza?...

Cloves are also quite powerful in aroma and flavor, so you don’t need to add much to taste an impact. Here’s everything you need to know about this special spice. What Are Cloves? Cloves are the dried flower buds of an evergreen tree in the myrtle plant family called the clove tree (Szyygiaum aromaticum). You’ll find this tree in hot, humid, tropical locations like India, Indonesia, Zanzibar, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka....

What is Yorkshire Pudding? Not a custard, Yorkshire pudding is more like a cross between a soufflé and a cheese puff (without the cheese). The batter is like a very thin pancake batter, which you pour into a hot casserole dish over drippings from roast beef or prime rib. It then puffs up like a chef’s hat, only to collapse soon after you remove it from the oven. Given that it’s loaded with beef drippings (read fat) or butter, or both, Yorkshire pudding is probably not the thing you want to eat regularly if you are watching your waistline....

I don’t know about you, but to me, adulthood is overrated. The question, “What do I make for dinner tonight?” is one of the major stressors of adulthood. And truth be told, you’re not alone if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed when seeking the answer. This week’s meal plan focuses on alleviating the stress that comes from laborious cooking times. Each recipe takes only a few minutes to prepare and cooks in about 20 minutes....

These light and flavorful recipes celebrate the produce that comes with the arrival of the season. You’ll find mostly main dishes in this line-up, but many can double as sides or light lunches. If you’re lucky enough to have a farmers’ market open during the spring months, that’s an excellent place to pick up provisions for these recipes. If spring produce hasn’t hit your neck of the woods yet, jarred or frozen vegetables can swap seamlessly into some of these recipes....

Like any other holiday, celebration, or remembrance, food is in order. The unofficial official start of summer is the perfect time to fire up the grill and head to the backyard for a barbecue. All of these amazing recipes work for grilling masters as well as newbies. We also have some tips to help you master cooking on the grill so you can impress your guests. This comprehensive list of grilling recipes will inspire your Memorial Day menu....

Before entering the professional kitchen, Gaby spent years teaching young children how to cook, and this cookbook encapsulates her approach to cooking with kids—fun trumps all, except safety always comes first. “Have your kid knee on a chair against the kitchen counter, and give them something to do with their hands,” she says, like chopping fruit. (Psst! This the best knife that America’s Test Kitchen, who collaborated on Gaby’s cookbook, thinks is best for kids: Opinel Le Petit Chef Knife....

For that, I’m leaning on in-season dark leafy greens like kale and leeks, sturdy vegetables like squash and beets, citrus, and avocados for weeknight dinners that awaken the tastebuds. The produce aisle can feel drab in the winter. The good news is that dark leafy greens, squash, and citrus have long shelf lives when stored properly. Citrus lasts the longest (even two to four weeks) stored in the crisper. Quick tip: Room temperature citrus is easier to squeeze than cold citrus....

You can basically do whatever you want in your kitchen. Mix up cuisines. Pair unlikely foods. As long as it tastes good and you like it, no great uber-chef in the sky is going to look aghast and tell you you can’t do what you’ve just done. Thank goodness! Case in point, this quick and easy pasta dish from my friend Peg Poswall. Ancho chiles (dried poblano chili peppers) are distinctively Mexican....

No fuss, no mess, no difficult cleanup! One of my favorite things to serve with salmon is avocado. In this recipe we are gently tossing avocado with a little chopped mango, red onion, serrano chile, and lime juice for a sweet, sour, and savory salsa (try saying that five times fast!) Perfect to adorn our simple baked salmon. Enjoy! Add the minced red onion, serrano chile, and lime juice to the bowl....

But if for some reason you’re sharing, these jackfruit tacos are a saucy, lick-your-fingers addition to the weeknight roster for the vegans and non-vegans in your life. They’re ready in fewer than 30 minutes, and couldn’t be simpler to pull together—it’s more assembling than cooking, really. What Is Jackfruit? If you’re not familiar with jackfruit, it’s a large fruit that’s thought to be indigenous to India. Today, it grows in tropical regions, such as Southeast Asia and Brazil....

With this modernized recipe, we’re adding barley to a pot of vegetarian soup along with both dried and fresh mushrooms, and seasoning it with a surprising combination of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. The bowls of soup have a satisfying saltiness and an alluring sweetness—it’s an entirely new take on traditional mushroom barley soup. Mushrooms and barley are an old pairing, popular in dishes around the world wherever mushroom foragers lived....

It’s still high season around here for blackberries, which churn up beautifully in frozen yogurt, with a little lemon zest, cardamom, and cinnamon. You can skip the spices if you want, but they do add a lovely touch to the berries. These also make terrific popsicles.

Using the whole lemon adds a bit of bitterness to that classic sweet-and-sour blend. It has the intensity of a state-fair-style lemonade, which often uses the zest to increase the lemon flavor. But because the whole lemon is blended with the sugar and water, it’s more complex, which is super refreshing on a hot day. Just trim and seed the lemon, and then let your blender do all the work!...