I’ll be the first to admit that I struggle with the whole lunch thing. If I haven’t prepared anything at the start of the week (which, to be honest, is most weeks), I end up eating some version of eggs on toast all week long, lamenting the fact that I should have just carved out…
Easy Entertaining: Dressed-Up Roast Chicken, a Must for Every Home Cook’s Repertoire
Whether you are a novice cook or a gourmand, having a few simple, well-thought out menus that you can always rely on is the key to effortless entertaining. These basic recipes become the backbone of my cooking repertoire, and are the ones that, in moments of panic, save me from disaster. Among them, there is…
Roast Chicken With Sausages and Potatoes
Roast chicken, seasoned simply with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and herbs, is perhaps the epitome of effortless cooking. For six people, look for an organic or free-range oven roaster (5 to 7 pounds) or two smaller birds (3 to 4 pounds), knowing that either way you will have some leftovers. I started adding hot Italian…
Repurpose a Favorite Savory Ingredient for Cake That’s Simple yet Sophisticated
One of the most attractive aspects of making a cake with oil rather than butter is the way it expedites the mixing process: There’s no waiting for butter to come to room temperature and then beating it with sugar before you even start to add the rest of the ingredients. The batter is ready to…
The Journey to Perfect Rice
I have nothing but tough love for those who claim they can’t cook a pot of rice. Quit acting so helpless. Cook the rice. If you screw it up, consider what went wrong and adjust. Like you do when making a sandwich. Which is much easier to screw up than a pot of rice. Not…
Buying Good-Quality, Inexpensive Wines Has Never Been Easier
The late wine author Leon Adams once said that in a best-of-all-worlds situation, dry wine should be as cheap as milk. We may be reaching a point where that’s true. The overwhelming volume of wine in the United States today has kept prices for much of it very fair. The evidence is everywhere. Three of…
Upping Your Mash Game
What could be better than a rich and creamy bowl of mashed potatoes? How about a bowl of mashed potatoes infused with celery and horseradish? This fluffy bowl piles on the roots, with celery root and horseradish joining the mix. The result is a delicious side of potatoes, with an extra dimension of fragrance, flavor,…
30-minute Puff Pastry Glazed Doughnuts Are the Ultimate Lazy Breakfast
It’s hard to deny the satisfaction of freshly made doughnuts, be it fluffy yeasted doughnuts or rich and cakey doughnuts. But in my opinion, the very best homemade doughnuts don’t start with pulling out the stand mixer or heating oil for deep-frying. Instead, they start with a box of puff pastry. Unlike other doughnuts, puff…
Swap the Protein but Keep the Appeal of This Rustic Dish
The modern-day Italian American version of cacciatore typically contains bone-in chicken pieces in a garlicky, wine-enhanced tomato sauce studded with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. For a fresh revamp, we decided to use bone-in pork chops that had just enough fat to work well when braised. The bone adds flavor, and using bone-in chops honors the…
Are You Aware of the Real Purpose of This Part of Your Disposable Chopsticks?
Takeaway enthusiasts will be familiar with disposable wooden chopsticks; many may even have cutlery drawers replete with the handy wooden utensils in their neat paper packets. But what is that little wooden tab at the end of the chopsticks, keeping them together, really for? Many diners make a habit of breaking chopsticks apart, destroying the tab…
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