The most genius summertime snack hack that we've come across recently is, without a doubt, the campfire cone. Astounding in its simplicity and ease of preparation, yet brilliant in its execution, the campfire cone has something for everyone: parents and children, expert and novice campers, backyard barbecuers, and oven lovers alike.
Next time you want to add plain ol' salt to your recipe, don't. Instead, use a delicious citrus herb salt, which will elevate the flavor of your dish more than salt by itself ever could.
A whole grilled pineapple is the perfect party dessert. It's beautiful, provides a natural centerpiece before you eat it, and can be sliced right on the spot and served with a dollop of ice cream. (Fresh mint leaves and a splash of liqueur on top taste pretty good, too.)
When we think of pickling, we usually think of using veggies like cucumbers, carrots, and peppers. However, with summer upon us, we found ourselves thinking about fancy pickled berries as a novel way to use all those gorgeous gems that are popping up at the market.
The octopus is famous for its bulbous head, enormous eyes, and four pairs of long arms. The stuff of legends and nightmares, octopi have been featured in stories, artwork, and meals galore. But how do you eat this distinctive looking, bilaterally symmetrical sea creature?
With the weather warming up and the days getting longer, fruit salads are starting to appear at backyard BBQs, beach picnics, and pretty much everywhere else. Often these sweet side dishes are unremarkable, with each colorful bowl blending into the next. Luckily, there are easy ways to spice up your fruit salads so that everyone will still be talking about them next summer.
Whether you simply can't stand it or consider it a separate food group (or not food at all), there's no denying that Spam is everywhere. America's favorite canned mystery meat got its humble beginning in Minnesota, but is now used in dishes and found in homes around the globe.
You're better than a can of Reddi-wip, which is why you should always make fresh whipped cream at home. It's extremely easy to make, won't have all those nasty preservatives, is thicker and creamier in consistency (like cream should be), and tastes much richer.
Store-bought marinades and sauces have an ability to jazz up the simplest items. But after a while, those favorite tastes seem a bit repetitive and mundane, and that got us to experimenting with different add-ins to make our marinades stand out. Fruits, herbs, spices—all of the usual suspects were delicious, but not spectacular.
Many recipes call for self-rising flour as a staple ingredient. Oftentimes, we find ourselves passing these recipes by because we don't have it on hand, or because we don't use it enough to actually want to buy it.
Chopping veggies is pretty straightforward: grab the right knife and start slicing. Nothing to it! However, the way you cut your food does affect the length of time it takes to cook, as well as how evenly it cooks. So the next time you need to get your vegetable from hard and crunchy to perfectly soft in mere minutes, give the oblique cut a try.
I know I'm in the majority when I say that grilled cheese sandwiches are one of life's simplest and best pleasures: gooey, rich, melted cheese, sandwiched between two perfectly-buttered pieces of toast... perfection.
Greek yogurt has always been in my regular snack rotation. Packed with more protein than plain yogurt, it fills me up and stabilizes my energy with its low levels of carbohydrates and sugar.
Valentine's Day is right around the corner... which is the perfect excuse to ignite your inner cupid and bake a heart-shaped cake. If you have a heart-shaped cake or springform pan, you're all set. If not, don't worry—you don't need one! With a little ingenuity, you'll have a beautiful heart cake using the pans you already own.
It should come as no surprise that, according to Details Magazine, nearly half of all people who make New Year's resolutions pledge to lose weight, eat healthier, and/or get fit. There are innumerable companies out there that are ready and willing to take advantage of this momentum: from those hocking "magic bullet" pills that will increase your energy or reduce your belly fat to the myriad shake- and juice-based diets that put you at a near-starvation calorie input—and will probably have you...
You might be familiar with the use of zucchini blossoms in cooking and maybe even know how to make herbal simple syrups. But if you really want to show off as someone who knows how to use flowering plants in food, try adding some flower water to your cooking/baking repertoire.
Besides being one of the super nutritious "superseeds," chia seeds also absorb liquid and then take on a jelly-like texture. These properties make chia seeds the perfect hack for an easy, healthy jam compared to the normal jam-making process—which usually requires lots of sugar, pectin, and boiling for thickening.
Dinner is meant to be enjoyed after a long day away from home—it shouldn't cause stress or fuss. But for many, that's exactly what a home-cooked meal represents, especially on a work night. The prep work, the steps involved in following the recipe, the numerous amount of bowls, pots, and pans you use, and... worst of all, a sink full of dishes to clean.
Regardless of your culture or your age, eating with your hands is fun. Flouting social convention and just digging in with your fingers provides a whole other level of epicurean enjoyment. And one of the most entertaining hands-on foods is monkey bread. Food historian Tori Avey provides a comprehensive history of the origins of this pull-apart treat, including the important detail that no actual monkeys are involved in the making of monkey bread. Originally a savory culinary creation from Sou...
Here's a not-so-well-kept secret about the food industry: retailers love to take your money. And one of the ways they do that is by dividing food into smaller sizes and charging more. Have you ever noticed that a container of precut, washed broccoli costs more than a head of broccoli with the same amount of florets and stems?
Step aside, vodka—whiskey will soon be the best-selling hard liquor in the United States. The whiskey renaissance has been largely attributed to the current trend for locally- and artisan-produced goods. Local whiskey distilleries are rapidly increasing in number across the nation while bars in every state are including the old-fashioned cocktail on their menus in an attempt to capitalize on the trend (which we can probably thank Mad Men for).
Cauliflower has become trendy again, and it's mostly thanks to the low-carb crowd who use its mild flavor and soft texture as a replacement for things like rice and pizza dough.
In my opinion, there is no candy greater or more timeless than Sour Patch Kids. They're the ultimate treat: sweet and refreshing, yet sour and tangy. These contrasting flavors are what make Sour Patch Kids perfect for the people of all ages—especially your kids. So let's make dishes that incorporate this awesome candy into your cooking rotation!
Preparing and serving seafood can be a daunting task. Fish is so delicate that one extra minute of heat can turn a juicy, flaky filet into a dried-out disaster. But that same fragility also allows us to use unconventional methods to chemically transform the fish into its cooked consistency.
Hair dyers are pretty straightforward tools, but they can actually do way more than just dry your wet hair or defog your bathroom mirror. From the kitchen to the backyard, a blowdryer can help you solve common problems around the house and beyond, and here are our 10 favorite uses.
It's no secret that exercise is good for you, but you may be surprised to know that a good workout can actually boost your memory, too. They key to giving your body and your brain muscles a good workout is by adding more weight and pushing hard for an extra 20 minutes.
In my opinion, spices are the key to a successful kitchen. With a healthy array of spices and spice mixes, you have the foundation for nearly any dish that you want to make; the culinary world is your oyster. With a depleted cupboard of spices, however, nearly every recipe looks intimidating and unattainable.
When I was a little kid, my parents often eschewed cakes for my birthday parties, and instead opted for ice cream sundaes and banana splits. It made perfect sense: ice cream is so easy, and you can get multiple flavors to ensure that everyone is happy.
Do you ever walk into a nice boutique, a friend's house, or a fancy restaurant, and think, “I wish my house smelled like this”? Because I sure do.
Although pasta is a remarkably simple dish, I find it to be one of the most aesthetically appealing foods. The noodles—especially thicker iterations, like linguine and fettuccine—are graceful and luxurious. Add in some sauce coating the noodles, and a sprinkle of Parmesan or a drizzle of olive oil, and pasta single-handedly reminds us of a basic tenet of cooking: sometimes keeping it simple is the perfect way to go.
Fourth of July usually means barbecues, patriotism, and getting piss drunk. Okay, well not really, but a little inebriation is usually on the menu, and nothing says America more than serving patriotic drinks at your party. Here are our 10 favorites.
It is a universal truth that Nutella is the nectar of the gods. It takes the already delicious (e.g., sandwiches, cupcakes, or even bacon), and turns it into something magical. Everyone also knows homemade is always better. So if you're looking to step up your baking game, follow these instructions from Cookies, Cupcakes, and Cardio and make your very own Nutella!
The other day I was doing the math on roughly how many eggs I eat each year. I estimated about 500. That's a lot of eggs. And, subsequently, that's a lot of eggshells to throw in the trash.
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As glorious as a good drink (or five) can be, the aftermath of alcohol on the body is one of life's least enjoyable features. A few hours of fun can come at the expense of a day or two of feeling dead to the world, with an upset stomach, an aching body, and a headache that makes it feel as though your friends used your head for a piñata.
Grilled cheese is one of my favorite foods, ever. However, there are times in my life when I haven't had access to a full kitchen, and it's pretty hard to make a good grilled cheese sandwich without one.
Meet the Wonderbag. The "first non-electric slow cooker" uses an insulated bag made of poly-cotton fabric, polyester, and repurposed foam chips. You bring your one-pot meal to the desired cooking temperature, usually via the stovetop. Then you turn off the heat, pop the pot into the Wonderbag, and it will continue to cook thanks to the retained heat in the bag.
The fridge is the heart of the kitchen; take it away, and the whole operation falls apart. Yet, despite this, the fridge is also one of the most overlooked appliances in any kitchen. Most people organize their drawers and shelves for maximum efficiency, while many others buy islands simply to make their culinary playground more space efficient. Heck, I know some people who have passed up on otherwise great apartments because the counter space simply wasn't large enough.
Sriracha has quickly become one of the country's most universally loved condiments. The addictive and affordable chili sauce seemingly goes on anything, and with anything, and never seems to get old. To wit: when I studied abroad, all of our food was boring, pre-packaged Sysco shipments; for three months, I smothered every breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Sriracha. And after all of that, I still eat it almost religiously.
Confession: I love bagels. I love to make them, but above all, I love to eat them. In college I ran a mini-bagel business from my kitchen, and on bagel-making day, it wasn't uncommon for me to eat the circular goodies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yet even with my obsession I can't always eat bagels fast enough to keep them from going stale. That's why I started learning ways to use bagels even when they're a day or three past their prime. As it turns out, there are a million and one thin...
