From Apartment Therapy → How DO They Do It? 4 Secrets of Effortless Hosts
Wonder what it takes to be a perfect, natural host? Here are the four secrets to help you entertain with ease!
3.6 / 5 Stars | 24 Reviews
by Kristel
“These chicken nuggets get their outer crunch from a crushed-pretzel coating. The sweet-hot marinade they’re rolled in doubles as a dipping sauce. A great appetizer!”
The fridge-clearing soup is a staple at my house. In fact, fridge-clearing in general is a good way to characterize my cooking style. But there is something about a sack of lentils that brings out the best of vegetables that have seen better days.
After three straight weeks of intense eating and carrying on in honor of the holidays, a soup that requires no shopping for ingredients is just what I need. Clean, simple cooking. Join me.
Creamy sweet potatoes, spicy ginger, and sweet and salty miso all meet in this easy, delicious soup that my family has been enjoying the last few days. When I first served it, my husband had a hard time pinning down the flavors — we both thought it tasted fruity, although I knew there was no apple or orange in the recipe. It’s thick, creamy, bright, and an excellent use for leftover sweet potatoes. A yogurt drizzle adds a tangy touch and more warming spice.
One of my worst cooking traits is that when I get frustrated with a recipe, it can take me years to get back to it. I mean, I’m theoretically too old to be having tantrums, kitchen or other, but there’s no other way to describe this behavior where I get frustrated, throw my jangly measuring spoons in the sink and huff off to gaze at jeans I could probably fit half a thigh into, which is how I mope.* Sure, you could just say that I need a little space, a break, it’s-not-you-it’s-me from the recipe so I can gain some perspective, and consider other approaches but six years? That is how long it’s been since I last attempted to share a recipe for old-school, dead-simple butterscotch pudding from scratch which refused to set. A six-year tantrum. (Fine, I snuck some pudding pops in there, but it’s so cold today, I cannot even look at them.)
There’s a reason butterscotch pudding is a classic, and no, and I don’t mean custard or pastry cream with 6 egg yolks and over a quarter-pound of butter. I don’t mean mousse, with all of those egg yolks, twice the butter and also egg whites and heavy cream. I don’t mean budinos, flan or any of the other luxurious jiggly desserts we order in restaurants. I mean, butterscotch pudding, the kind a grandmother would make with just milk and a little thickener, like the kind that comes in a box but will never, ever taste as good as this.
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One of the things that made flying cross-country with a toddler a bit more bearable was the free snacks handed out on the airplane. These little bags of treats helped maintain both my blood sugar level and acted as bribes to keep my daughter from roaming the airplane cabin.
My favorite discovery in the basket of snacks was cinnamon-sugar pretzel bites. Sweet and a tiny bit savory, these pretzel bites were addicting but really weren’t the healthiest option. What if I could take the same concept and make a healthier snack instead? Thus roasted cinnamon-sugar apple peels were born!
Every cook needs a foolproof biscuit recipe, and this version proves to be just that, along with a welcome addition of zesty fresh herbs and savory black pepper. Greek yogurt subs in for more traditional buttermilk, providing an airy texture and a oh-so-subtle tang. These delightful biscuits are easy enough for a weeknight meal, but impressive enough for dinner with friends!