Fresh berries are one of summer’s great pleasures, but they don’t come cheap — which makes it even more disappointing when a basket of strawberries or raspberries turns to moldy mush within days of purchase. Washing them before storage usually accelerates the deterioration, but Cook’s Illustrated has a washing method that actually keeps the berries fresh longer in storage. Here’s what they recommend.
You made it! The long weekend is finally here and it’s time to treat yourself. For me, that means starting with an extra-special breakfast. Most days I run out the door with a banana or granola bar. If I’m lucky, I’ll have time to scramble an egg or throw some avocado on toast. But when a holiday weekend rolls around, I’m sure to make it count.
It doesn’t mean every recipe needs to take hours to make, or even that they’re complicated — they’re simply delicious recipes that you can make when you have a little more time. So put on a pot of coffee, turn on the music, and head into the kitchen with these recipes for your lazy holiday weekend.
It isn’t summer until you’ve had your first watermelon of the season. Chances are, though, that it’s been about a year since you’ve bought your last watermelon. Do you remember how to pick out a good one? Did you ever really know? Here’s what you need to look for in order to spot the perfect picnic-worthy specimen.
Have you found yourself staring blankly into the fridge searching for the perfect beverage? Is it time for a drink, but not time for wine? Does beer sound like a terrible idea?
Enter: the wine cooler. A classic combination of wine and bubbles, the wine cooler exists for moments of summer when pure, unbridled refreshment and the glory of wine collide — so basically, most moments.
Before we snuck a grill onto our balcony one glorious day last May, I would regularly show up at friends-with-grills homes with prepared pizza dough and a few toppings in the summer; I love grilled pizza so much that I’d feed a crowd just to get my fix. It was one of the first things I made when we bought our own. The benefits of cooking pizza outside are manifold. With heat circulating all around the pizza and the dough resting on open grates instead of a flat tray, I find that you can get more texture — crisp on the outside but staying stretchy within — and flavor — charred spots that will immediately remind you of your favorite brick-oven pizzeria, without heating up your apartment, pretty much the last thing any of us want to do in the summer. Plus, it’s really quick. Once your dough is purchased or prepared, you could be eating your pizza in 10 minutes; not bad for a homemade dinner after a long day.
I’ve already discussed at length my favorite homemade margherita — my preference is for mozzarella that is packed dry, not the fancy stuff in water (despite what you see in the early pictures; promise you’ll save the fancy, ultra-tender stuff for serving cold and fresh with appetizers and salads, please) and for “raw” sauces, blended from canned or fresh tomatoes with some liquid poured off and then doctored up and seasoned well, for the best flavor — and I follow the same rules here. In the oven but especially on the grill, you must keep your toppings thin, light, and pre-sautéed or they simply will not cook before the crust is done; it also leads to puddled and wet pizza tops, something I’m sure we’ve all experienced.
Yesterday Sam Sifton announced that the cooking section of the New York Times is going to go behind a paywall. Readers and cooks can sign up for a 28-day free trial, but after that they have to pay five dollars a month to get access to recipes. If you already have a New York Times subscription, you can access the cooking site as a part of that package.
This change, according to Sifton, is not to punish readers, but to let editors and recipe developers continue to produce an excellent product. “The work we do is expensive, and we want to do more of it. We travel ceaselessly, and cook every day. We test our recipes relentlessly. We photograph and make videos about them, we think beautifully,” says Sifton in the announcement.
One of the greatest things about the Fourth of July is the food. It’s usually everything you want to eat at this time of year presented without too much fanfare (that gets saved for the fireworks). Since most of us prepare the same things every year — the grilled corn, the ribs, the potato salad — the dishes get perfected with every candle added to America’s birthday cake. Here are those classics all in one place. Consider them a menu of sorts — a hub you can use to double check details, or inspiration if this is your first time hosting a bash. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the Independence Day eats. Once you’ve perused the classics, it’s time to check out our collection of recipes for sides and desserts. There are a few wild card ideas thrown into the mix, because you never know when you might need 10 ways to top a corndog.
The trademark speed at which Rory and Lorelai speak in the Gilmore Girls franchise can be attributed to a globally loved bean juice (more commonly known as coffee). The two characters are seen frequenting Luke’s Diner for their regular cup of java throughout the series, which was on air from 2000 to 2007 and later revived for a season by Netflix last November.
While both the town of Stars Hollow and the character Luke Danes are fictional elements of the show, actor Scott Patterson — who plays Danes on the series — is turning art into reality by launching his own line of coffee, reports Hello Giggles. Prepare to freak out a little bit.
(Image credit: Starbucks)
Brace yourselves, Starbucks fans — the coffee chain has a great summer “buy one, get one” special going on right now that will let you and a friend enjoy an iced beverage for the cost of just one drink.
The BOGO deal, which Starbucks is offering to celebrate summer, will let you receive a complimentary iced espresso beverage of equal or lesser value for free when you order a grande iced espresso beverage. The special will run at participating stores in the United States from June 27 to July 2. But the promo is only active during select hours in the day — 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time.
