Recipe: White Noise Cocktail — Recipes from The Kitchn

This is one of our most popular drinks. It has been on the menu at Portland Hunt + Alpine Club since we opened without a break, and it is a drink that we are incredibly proud of. It’s simple yet pleases many different types of guests on multiple levels.

First and foremost, it’s so delicious that almost everyone enjoys it. Slightly sweet without being syrupy, it’s a perfect drink to sip while deciding on din­ner. It uses Cocchi Americano Bianco, a product imported from Italy that uses wine as its base. The wine is fortified, sweetened, and aromatized, leaving a pleasing play between sweetness and bitterness on the tongue. (It is an ingredient that even the geekiest cocktailian would be happy to serve a crowd.)

Our staff loves this drink because it’s very simple to make round after round (and they do get ordered by the table), so you’ll find it is a very easy drink to batch at home for a party as well. Finally, this drink is great because it’s low in alcohol; it is a great spacer when you feel like you don’t want something strong, and it’s wonderful to sip all night long when you’re just not in the mood for stronger spirits.

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The Best January Aldi Finds to Start 2019 Off on the Right Foot — Shopping

With New Year’s Eve quickly approaching, we got a sneak peak at the Aldi Finds that will hit stores in January. (Not familiar with Aldi Finds? Every Wednesday, Aldi grocery stores around the country bring new products into rotation for a limited time. And they’re called, you guessed it, Aldi Finds. These special products can be anything from frozen pizzas with fun toppings, to drawer organizers, and even trampolines.)

January’s Aldi Finds are mostly grocery items — although there are $20 Lightweight Cast Iron Dutch Ovens and Braisers coming out on January 2 — and we quickly noticed three main themes. There’s healthy stuff, snack-y items for the Super Bowl, and treats for Valentine’s Day.

Here are the 10 Aldi Finds for January that we’re the most excited about.

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Open-Faced Sandwiches for a Crowd — Recipes from The Kitchn

We think sandwiches are easily one of the best foods out there. We love how creative you can get with ingredients that go between two pieces of bread. The same goes for open-faced sandwiches, of course, which are what you’ll find on our smorgasbord. It’s funny how a sandwich just tastes better when you pile toppings as high as they’ll go and throw out that top slice. (Though you are free to use a top slice too — we won’t tell.)

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Our Favorite Meat-Free Meal Plans This Year — Next Week’s Meal Plan

My family is about as omnivorous as they come, but we eat vegetarian meals regularly and often dedicate whole weeks of our meal plans to eating meatless. Choosing vegetable-, grain-, and legume-based dinners helps us try new foods, eat more produce, and keep our grocery budget in check.

This week instead of sharing my personal meal plan, which is frankly eating up candy canes and leftover cheeses, I’ve rounded up our 10 most popular vegetarian meal plans from the last year.

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This Dad Made His Kid a Play Kitchen That’s Nicer than Yours — Food News

Little kids love play kitchens, where they can pretend to be just like their parents — chopping, slicing, searing, and baking, with none of the yelling about how they’re about to burn themselves or poke an eye out. You’ve seen them — they’re usually clunky plastic in bright colors that just add to the visual disaster that having children turns your house into. But that wasn’t going to cut it for Reddit user mcsoup88.

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Pedialyte Has Finally Embraced the Adult Hangover — Food News

New Year’s Eve is synonymous with hangovers. You go out with your friends, drink a little too much bubbly around midnight, wake up the next morning, and, well, you probably know what a hangover feels like. It’s not fun. So, what’s your hangover cure? Do you reach for a jug of water, some Advil, and a bagel? Or do you have another trick up your sleeve?

If you have kids in the house, there’s a good chance you know about Pedialyte, a drink that is normally associated with helping kids stay hydrated, especially when they’re sick. If you’ve been using the kids’ drink as your own personal hangover cure, you’re not alone, and now the company has FINALLY acknowledged that it’s an “adult” beverage, too.

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The Big Problem with Backyard Chicken Coops — Food News

I’m known in my friend group as the trendy one: I’ve mixed Mason jar cocktails while wearing dropped-crotch pants (and looked great in them, thank you), and I’ve made homemade apple cider donuts while sporting a Ray Charles-esque undercut hairstyle. But, as cool as I think I am, sometimes I completely miss a trend until it’s on its way out. That’s why, when I heard 2018 was the year of the chicken coop, I was taken aback — especially when I heard about the problem it’s causing for animal shelters across the country.

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cosmopolitan

Did you learn how to cook anything new this year? Anna Hezel, senior editor at Taste (one of my favorite breakout food publications of the last couple years) asked this on Twitter last week and like a Muppet to the ABCs, I couldn’t resist jumping in. I’m glad I did. I always wish I had more time to cook all the things I want to cook (my To Cook list is still thousands deep), wish I could share more recipes more often here, but this caused me to look back at the new recipes here in 2018 and feel a murmur of pride. Look at all we did! I learned to make falafel, and that it’s shockingly easy! I got to make Pad Thai I crave the most at home. We got cacio e pepe just about foolproof at home, just when I was convinced I never would. I learned about melting potatoes. We made the sheet pan sandwiches of my dreams and they’re vegan too. We had a real talk about the InstantPot and got some delicious short ribs out of it. I learned to make the best apple pie I’ve ever had. I made a completely bonkers layered mocha cheesecake late in the day on my husband’s birthday, and last week we mashed up baklava and babka, just because we could. I look at all of this and I am so excited about the year we’ve had, many of these things I had barely dreamed up yet this time last year, and I hope next year is even better.

And now, a brief moment of sap: Getting to hang out here, indulging my culinary whims, and having a cheering and encouragement squad had been one of great surprises and delights of my so-called adult life. Who knew what I’d do when I grew up? Certainly not me. I bumbled along, I tried things I hated, I tried things I didn’t hate but felt no passion for, and one day I landed here and, to my surprise, am rarely asked to leave. I am so thankful you are here and since I am not tired of cooking, I hope you never get tired of reading.

So tell me: Did you learn how to cook anything new this year?

Meanwhile, here are your Smitten Kitchen favorites from this year:
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This Might Be the Best Christmas Prank We’ve Ever Seen — Food News

The best parts about spending the holidays with your family are the long evenings sipping cocoa, catching up on each other’s lives, and also getting to mess with the people you know best. Sure, the occasional prank on a friend is good for a few laughs, but playing a prank on your family means you know exactly how to really get to them — and you’re pretty much assured forgiveness. (Unless you cross the line. Don’t cross the line.)

This Christmas, Twitter user Judy Brown told the story of what might just be the best holiday prank of the year — or, rather, years, since it was not a single instance, but quite the long con.

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These Are the Best Cities for Food in 2019, According to David Chang — Food News

We know what food trends to look out for in the fast-approaching new year, which will likely determine what you’ll be eating. But in 2019, where will you want to eat? Celebrity chef David Chang, host of the hit Netflix show Ugly Delicious, recently revealed his top three picks for the best food cities of 2019 — and one of them might surprise you.

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