Bubbly makes everything better: a night becomes an evening, and lunch becomes a rendezvous; a gathering is a celebration, and an intimate dinner for two becomes a pronouncement of intention. Bubbly is, in all its forms (Prosecco, Cava and Champagne), magical in its ability to enliven and uplift every occasion — but never quite as much as when the bubbly is Champagne.
This time of the year, down in the Caribbean island of Jamaica, the locals are pulling out their pitchers and punch bowls to make the traditional holiday drink called sorrel punch. What’s sorrel, you ask? Don’t confuse it with the leafy spring green, as I did when I first heard of the punch made with it. They may share the same name, but they’re quite different.
Meal planning. It’s one of those things you know you should do, but don’t. Until you finally give up all your resistance and you do. And then you go on to quickly discover that meal planning is saving your butt, each and every week. So if you don’t meal plan, check out these tips and get on board. And if you do meal plan, check out these tips to help you do it better.
Having a few kitchen tricks up your sleeve can make all the difference, whether you’re cooking a dinner party for 20 or just trying to get Wednesday supper on the table. Some tricks, like the one for vegan whipped cream, are magical. Others are as simple as snapping an ear of corn in half. All are fun, doable, and will have your friends exclaiming, “How did you know that?”
A cook is only as good as her ingredients — and her tools. Here are 10 of our most popular kitchen finds from 2016. From the best peelers to a uni-tasker machine that has a 200,000-person waitlist, we found the best, most interesting, and most perfect tools — just for you.
Hot chocolate is a luxury of cold weather — a warm, velvety-smooth mixture of rich cream and dark chocolate that does double duty as a drink and dessert. Unlike its sweeter cousin, hot cocoa, hot chocolate is thick, with a balance of sweetness and bitterness that only dark chocolate can give. This homemade treat only requires a few ingredients and a few minutes on the stovetop to warm up a cold evening.
All smart cooks know that always having a few basic pantry staples on hand is critical for those times when making it to the market is just not going to happen or a quick supper is needed. Here we have recipes that rely on things every cook should have in her cupboard: cans of beans, tomatoes, coconut milk, and of course, the most famous of all, dried pasta.
Baking requires patient precision and a mastering of technique, yet it doesn’t have to be difficult or out of reach. These 10 lessons were our most popular in 2016, and for good reason — they inspire, instruct, and make possible the most tasty and delightful treats. So set aside an afternoon, roll up your sleeves and … bake!
It’s not Hanukkah without indulging in a fair share of fried treats — it’s part of the holiday tradition, after all. From doughnuts to fritters to some that are a little less conventional, here are five of our favorite fried sweets.
