Paying less doesn’t mean having to do without anymore. When planning a dinner party, we spend ample time designing the menu, only then to find ourselves having to make a critical decision – go over budget buying six bottles of wine just to impress everyone or settling for an unknown […]
Thanksgiving is just the start of a very food-focused holiday season. And with the star of the show generally being a turkey, followed by seasonal roasts in every shape and size, if you are not a meat eater, you may feel like these dinners just aren’t for you. But we […]
Chestnuts have sustained communities over the centuries. They are a relatively starchy nut, perfect for cooking in thick creamy soups or added to stuffings. Preparing Chestnuts Cut an X on the flatter of the nut’s two sides. Try to keep your cut shallow so that you don’t cut into the […]
Upon reading the title, you may be thinking: “It’s a few weeks before the holiday, and I just started to write my shopping list. I still have to fight the crowds at the grocery store, to then go home and start preparing the meal. Now you want me to make […]
As the holidays draw close, we’re revisiting our knife skills to make sure we’re ready to take on the carrots, potatoes, and all of those fresh green herbs. Here are a few of our must-see videos to ready you for any Thanksgiving recipe! At the end, you’ll find a printable […]
Some things are just better homemade, and croutons happen to be one of those things. Croutons and rusks (rusks = big croutons!) keep well for several days in an airtight container, so make a large batch if you have enough bread on hand. To make croutons, remove the crust from […]
Potato varieties differ in starch and moisture content, skin and flesh color, and shape. Sweet potatoes and yams, although not botanically related to the potato, share several characteristics with it and can be treated in the same manner. Each cooking technique produces a markedly different texture, flavor, and appearance in […]
Small foodies may have candy on the brain, but before they start their whirlwind foraging expedition, little ghosts, cowgirls—and hopefully a tiny chef or two!?—need some food-fuel. Since it is Halloween, dinner needs to be fun and maybe a little spooky! For your sake, it should also be easy. We […]
Sugar is the defining ingredient of candy making. It provides sweetness, bulk, flavor, mouthfeel, and preservation to candies of every description. Without sugar, there simply would not be such a thing as candy. In chocolates, the sugar is already contained in the chocolate itself, and we may add little or […]
Ready or not, holiday season is almost here! Whether you love to host or are a professional guest, knowing your way around the bar is key. Use this guide to brush up on your bar vocab so you can order the perfect dirty martini every time. Apéritif: A dry alcoholic […]
Chocolate shavings and curls are the simplest way to finish a show-stopping cake or other special occasion dessert. To create chocolate shavings and curls, you need a good-sized block of chocolate at room temperature. You can use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate for your curls. Look for larger […]
Despite the abundance of pumpkin-flavored foods at every turn, we spend surprisingly little time handling actual pumpkins. After all, as proponents of “homemade is best,” an apple pie starts with apples, a cherry pie starts with cherries. But a pumpkin pie starts with…a can of pumpkin purée? Using prepared pumpkin […]