5 Savory, Cheesy Snacks from the Fancy Food Show — Kitchn Craves

After marching down every aisle at the Winter Fancy Food Show this week, I realized that some of my favorite bites were decidedly cheesy and savory, helping to counteract the endless booths of cookies and chocolates.

If you also love cheese snacks, check out these new ways to devour them all day long. And look for them to start popping up in grocery and specialty stores soon.

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3 Surprising Stories Behind America’s Favorite Chinese Dishes — An American Lunar New Year

When it comes to our favorite Chinese foods, the path from China to our plates isn’t as straightforward as you’d think. Several books that have come out in recent years — such as Chop Suey, Chop Suey USA, and Chow Chop Suey (no joke!) — tell the story of a uniquely American cuisine that was born out of a complex relationship between Chinese immigrants and their host country. (There is currently an excellent exhibit on this very topic at the Museum of Food and Drink in New York City.)

Turns out, going into the restaurant business was one way that Chinese transplants established themselves in a country that, through racial discrimination and harsh immigration policies, made it extremely difficult to do so.

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10 Favorite Tastes from This Week’s Fancy Food Show — Winter Fancy Food Show 2017

Every January the Winter Fancy Food Show descends on San Francisco, and thousands of booths and people fill the city’s vast convention center. It takes days to walk down every aisle and see and sample the latest drinks, snacks, gourmet foods, and ingredients. It’s the place to spot the food trends for the coming year: Is matcha still in? Is coconut water on its way out?

Both my feet and taste buds were completely worn out at the end of every visit, but I wouldn’t want to have been anywhere else. Here are some of my favorite offerings from this year’s show. (And yes, matcha is still very much in!)

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My Favorite Place to Store My Slow Cooker — Organizing Tips from The Kitchn

I can’t tell you how many of my friends store their slow cookers on top of their upper cabinets. Sure, that space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling would otherwise go wasted, but I can’t figure out why people think that is the place for a heavy and cumbersome electronic appliance.

I get that maybe these folks don’t use their slow cooker every day, or even every week, so it might not make the most sense to let it take up valuable real estate on the counter.

But there’s a better home for it!

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5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Cheese Balls — Mistakes to Avoid

The beauty of including cheese balls in your appetizer spread is their simplicity and ease of preparation. In fact, cheese balls don’t require a recipe so much as they do some good ingredient inspiration, while following a four-step assembly process. Even so, there are a few missteps that have the potential to stand in the way of making a cheese ball that’s a total win.

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an easier way to make cookies

an-easier-way-to-make-cookies

Pretty much everything terrible about making cookies comes down to one thing: deciding you want a cookie and realizing that the expanse between now and when you get to eat said is unfairly wide.

For example:
• Butter needs to be softened. Is your kitchen really cold today? Have fun with that.
• The butter needs to be “creamed” with sugar until “light and fluffy.” Some recipes want you to do this for many, many minutes. Some recipes think you are bored.
• Once your dough is made, it needs to be formed into packets and chilled in the fridge for “at least two hours” but “preferably overnight.” Remember when you said you wanted a cookie? You meant tomorrow, right?
• The next day, you get to flour your counter and remove a brick of dough and fight, fight, fight it flat. It’s going to crack at the edges. It’s going to stick to the counter, something I usually don’t realize until I’ve already cut out all my cookie shapes. It’s often mush by the time the dough is even and flat, which leads to less sharp cookie shapes that are harder to transfer.
• Oh, and cookie cutters! Maybe you have a tesselated (hat tip) cookie cutter? Fantastic idea, but I do not. Maybe you have one of these and want a cute grid of cookies? Also good thinking. But for most of us, there’s a specific shape we want or need and it always leaves negative spaces. So, when you’re done with the first layer of dough you get to re-gather the scraps except they’re soft now and need to be chilled again so you can roll them out again. The second batch of cookies has absorbed a lot more flour and is usually not as great. Plus, more scraps to re-chill and roll. At some point — we all do this, right? — I either bake an misshapen last blob of cookie dough or drop the last piece in the garbage because the though of rolling another cookie no longer sparks any joy.

And guys, we do all this before we even get to the fun stuff: icing and sprinkles.

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We Wanna Cook Here: Luxury Casita in Rockridge Garden — Vacation Rentals for the Cook

(Image credit: Rotem Raffe)

Vacation Rental: Luxury Casita in Rockridge Garden, Oakland, California
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
Price: from $159 per night; 2-night minimum
Why We Wanna Cook Here: Our reason for loving this place is less about cooking and more about grilling. Scroll down! Did you see that patio?

We know what you’re thinking: “This isn’t a kitchen! It’s a bedroom!” But look at the far wall and you’ll see a cute kitchenette with a mini-fridge, a tea and coffee bar (with a French press and free locally roasted coffee and teas), and a sink (thank goodness!). The best part isn’t in this photo, though — it’s the grill.

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This Is the Best Time of Day to Host a First Birthday — Tips from The Kitchn

Planning a first birthday party is so fun — you get to pick cute decorations and make cake or cupcakes for a baby to smash in fits of delight! I often get asked what time of day is best for hosting birthday parties, as I’ve tried everything from morning to late evening parties for my two children, and I’ve come to a slightly surprising conclusion that works well for both babies turning 1 and most kids under 8 too. Here’s the best time of day to host a young kid’s party.

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