How To Brown Butter — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

Imagine making butter taste better without adding anything to it. Imagine butter cooked slowly over low heat, its milk solids caramelizing, giving it a nutty sweetness. You get all this from brown butter.

Browning butter is a rather simple kitchen task, but it produces stunning results. So grab a few sticks of butter and a small saucepan and let’s upgrade our beloved butter to fragrant, nutty brown butter ready to be used in a batch of fast and fancy sugar cookies, the sauce for pasta, or an elegant dip and spread for your roasted vegetables.

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12 Cute & Crafty Ways to Dress Up Gifts — Christmas Morning

An exceptionally well-wrapped gift is a double present. You are giving the gift of whatever your gift is, but you are also giving the gift of beauty; the gift of pleasure; the gift of joy. All presents are fun, but a beautifully packaged present is even more fun. Isn’t it nice, in a warm, sappy way, to let someone know that you care enough not only to give them something, but also to wrap it with little jingle bells on top? That is thoughtfulness; that is love.

And (on a less warm, sappy note), while it is true that gift-giving is not technically “a competition” (I mean, I guess), there is no denying that all else being equal, the prettier package wins.

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There’s a Canned Whipped Cream Shortage Happening Right Now — Food News

As we head into the deep throes of the holiday season — which is full of pies, hot chocolate, and other baking delights — the country suddenly faces a canned whipped cream shortage.

Chicago Tribune reports that the shortage is linked to an explosion at a Florida nitrous oxide plant in August. Nitrous oxide fuels the ejection of whipped cream from cans, and the explosion in Florida means that there is a pause of production of this essential component.

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The Top Food Trends for 2017, According to Pinterest — On Trend

(Image credit: Karen Biton-Cohen)

It’s the end of 2016, which means everyone is rounding up what they thought was hot this past year and giving their predictions for the future. None of these might be as important, or interesting, as what Pinterest has to say. Food is the number-one reason people go to Pinterest, so they have a good sense of what people are saving and Pinning on their platform. With millions of ideas being added every day, Pinterest might have the best knowledge of what people want next.

Here are the top 10 recipes and ingredients that Pinterest has identified as being super trendy for 2017. Have you tried anything on this list?

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3 Secret Weapons for a Prettier Pantry — Pantries to Pin

(Image credit: Maxwell Ryan)

Our very own Maxwell Ryan worked with Mrs. Meyers to show off one of the most organized pantries out there. Whether you have an entire pantry or just a kitchen cabinet, these photos highlight three secret weapons that are a total must when it comes to keeping your ingredients — and other stuff — organized.

Here’s some food (storage) for thought.

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3 Ways to Drink Like a German This Winter — The Global Punch Bowl

In America, there’s no place like home for the holidays. But all across Europe, the early months of winter bring locals out of their houses and into the streets to shop and stroll and taste seasonal treats at the holiday markets. In Prague, pork browns on a spit roast; in Copenhagen, Danes eat jam-filled ebelskiver doughnuts; and in Germany, they drink.

Nowhere are the libations as numerous — or as strong — as at a German Christkindlmarkt. Indeed, asking if Germany is the capital of winter drinking is like asking if cinnamon and clove are crucial to the winter months; or if bad wine is made better when it’s mulled on the stove; or if you should you add alcohol to delicious lattes you’re already drinking. The answer is clear: Ja, ja, a million times ja!

But you don’t need to travel all the way to Europe to feel extra festive this holiday season. Take a cue from the Christkindlmarkts and enjoy Germany in a mug. Here’s how.

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Cooking with Kids? You’re Going to Need a Bigger Bowl — Tiny Chefs

(Image credit: Tyler Olson/Shutterstock)

The first time I made granola with my now 5-year-old daughter, she wasn’t quite 2 years old. She wore an adorable little apron, had her own mixing spoon, and I picked out a “just the right size for this batch of granola” bowl for us to work in. Moments after starting our granola project, oats and maple syrup littered the floor, her step stool, and her hair. And that’s when I learned that when you’re cooking with young kids, you need a much bigger bowl than you think.

No, even bigger.

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