Tag: Food & Dining

My Mother’s Best Cooking Advice: Burn Your Sugar

My mother ran a small candy business known for its caramels out of her home. Fans would rave about their buttery texture and robust caramel flavor and constantly ask her what her secret was. People would speculate that there was a secret ingredient she would add, but the truth was her recipe was pretty simple…


Overnight Waffles Are the Perfect Treat for Mom

Overnight waffles (also known as raised or yeasted waffles) are very old-school. They do require advanced planning, but they are the crispiest, tastiest waffles on the planet. They are very light and airy because they contain yeast—the magic ingredient that makes bread rise. Make the batter before bed (or even earlier in the day). When…


This Cheesy Ranch Potato Gratin Is a Fresh Twist on the Classic Casserole

Choosing the greatest potato dish of all time is an impossible task. Frankly, there are far too many options and they’re all irresistible. But choosing my favorite potato dish to make? That’s an entirely different story, and the answer comes easily: a cheesy potato gratin. Potato gratins are quick to prepare and always crowd-pleasers. But…


Ropa Vieja to Save a Roast

Ropa vieja is considered the national dish of Cuba, though its name—meaning “old clothes”—might not exactly hint at just how delicious it is. The name comes from the tomato-based stew’s shredded meat, which bears some resemblance to the tattered edges of worn fabric. The legend attached to it is of a poor old man struggling…


Sauvignon Blanc Whereness

Wine geeks use the French term “terroir,” a hard-to-translate term that relates to how grape varieties are impacted by the regions in which they’re grown. In theory, it means that chardonnays display unique characteristics that emanate directly from the grape variety as well as from their growing regions. But in practice, what a winemaker does…


A Bistro Classic at Home

As its name indicates, salade Lyonnaise hails from the city of Lyon, in southern France, renowned as being the gastronomic capital of the country. Home to chefs such as Paul Bocuse and George Blanc, the highest concentration of restaurants per capita in France, and the vineyards that produce the famous Beaujolais Nouveau wine, Lyon is…


Bright Ingredients for a Refreshing Spring Salad

This first-course salad is best in the spring months, when the vivid, maroon-colored blood oranges, now grown commercially in California, make their appearance. Blood oranges have a distinctively rich orange flavor, with raspberry overtones, that has been featured in the Mediterranean diet for centuries. This update on the classic grapefruit and avocado combination includes thinly…


No Boba? No Problem: Make Bubble Tea With Frozen Blueberries

Drinkers of bubble tea are bracing for the worst. Boba balls, the tapioca-based spheres that collect at the bottom of a cup of this wildly popular Taiwanese beverage, are reportedly in short supply. Bubble tea is a combination of milk and tea, shaken or stirred to create the namesake bubbles. The boba balls sink to…


How to Make Ketchup Just Like Heinz

So, this is a first for me. Honestly, Heinz ketchup is about as common a product as any in the Hunt refrigerator. So why on earth would I even think of making it myself? If you haven’t read this in the news, brace yourself. The U.S. is experiencing a ketchup shortage. Not kidding. Ketchup! And…


Tuna Loves the Grill

There is more to tuna than the mayo-based sandwich filler. In fact, if there is one fish that can handle a robust marinade and the fire of the grill, it would be tuna. Tuna is thick and dense, and it holds its shape while you take the time to sear it golden brown. The key…