all things food
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She’s boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and roasted more broccoli than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles chicke…
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and roasted more broccoli than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles chicken thighs.
It was summer of 2013, hot and sticky in the city, and I’d just acquired 12 chicken thighs.
Mortadella is having a moment.
As a cured meat obsessive, I’ve always vaguely known about it—mainly as an element of certain sandwiches, like the muffuletta. But it wasn’t until recently that I started encountering it almost every time I went out to e…
Mortadella is having a moment.
As a cured meat obsessive, I’ve always vaguely known about it—mainly as an element of certain sandwiches, like the muffuletta. But it wasn’t until recently that I started encountering it almost every time I went out to eat.
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She’s boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackl…
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles broccoli.
The year is approximately 25 B.C., and the world’s primordial broccoli is about to be presented to a human for possible consumption. “Aspetti!” hisses the emperor’s chef, his eyes wide as the tiny treelike structures make their way to the grand dining table of Domus Augusti. “Wait! Is there any way to make it look any less…limp? Or any more…green?” But it’s too late—the florets are already in motion. And the emperor, never one to mince words, takes a single bite before pronouncing it “fine but kinda boring,” thereby relegating it to side dish status, at best, for thousands of years.
Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, is my everything.
I’ve been watching her cook beautiful spreads in her spotless—but not inaccessibly so—kitchen, and then throughout the pages of her books, for as long as I can remember. My best memories from middle…
Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, is my everything.
I've been watching her cook beautiful spreads in her spotless—but not inaccessibly so—kitchen, and then throughout the pages of her books, for as long as I can remember. My best memories from middle school involve faking sick so I could stay home and lie in my parents bed, propped up on my elbows, mesmerized as she peeled potatoes effortlessly on the screen of their shoebox-sized television.
I can hardly remember life before I got an Instant Pot. The electric multi-cooker has changed my dinner game in so many ways, not least of which: no-soak bean soups.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Instant Pot is able to turn dried legumes—completel…
I can hardly remember life before I got an Instant Pot. The electric multi-cooker has changed my dinner game in so many ways, not least of which: no-soak bean soups.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Instant Pot is able to turn dried legumes—completely sans soak—into tender, creamy bites floating in a thick, flavorful broth, through utter magic (pressure cooking). Which means next time you come home with a bag of dried black beans, the only thing you need to remember to do is press a button.
Dried legumes have long eluded me. Don’t ask about the time I tried to boil bulk bin–black beans for nearly eight hours, until I gave up on using them for anything other than gravel.
But chickpeas are the exception. Creamy and tender, this versatile i…
Dried legumes have long eluded me. Don’t ask about the time I tried to boil bulk bin–black beans for nearly eight hours, until I gave up on using them for anything other than gravel.
But chickpeas are the exception. Creamy and tender, this versatile ingredient never disappoints, whether blended into hummus, simmered in chana masala, or crisped under the broiler and consumed at cocktail hour.
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She’s boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackl…
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles pesto.
Maurizio Valle makes a lot of pesto—about 100 batches each year, if he had to guess.
We’re partnering with California goat cheese maker Cypress Grove to show you all the ways you can enjoy goat cheese at every meal, including dessert! Here, our Absolute Best Tests columnist Ella Quittner shares her recipe for a no-churn strawberry ice …
We're partnering with California goat cheese maker Cypress Grove to show you all the ways you can enjoy goat cheese at every meal, including dessert! Here, our Absolute Best Tests columnist Ella Quittner shares her recipe for a no-churn strawberry ice cream with a secret ingredient that makes it sing.
Quarantine has made home cooks scrappier than ever.
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She’s boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackl…
In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles salmon.
I did not grow up eating much fresh fish. My parents were exceptional cooks, but they mostly steered clear of the stuff—perhaps because they were raised in landlocked places, or because they learned to cook in the ’80s, when swordfish carpaccio reigned troublingly supreme. On the rare occasion my dad would fire up the broiler for, say, a hunk of halibut, my mom would run from the room with her pointer finger and thumb clamped firmly around her nostrils, throwing open all the windows as she retreated.
I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s resolutions. At least, not the broad, sweeping type like, “become a perfect person” or “make my bed every day, all year.”
But I do love a certain sort: simple, manageable New Year’s projects. Like, cha…
I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of New Year's resolutions. At least, not the broad, sweeping type like, "become a perfect person" or "make my bed every day, all year."
But I do love a certain sort: simple, manageable New Year's projects. Like, challenging myself to spend a full weekend alone, or learning how to master (fingers crossed) laminated pastry doughs (I'm addicted to kouign-amann). One I'm especially excited about this January is a week of vegetarianism. I'm looking forward to trying this primarily because as a recipe developer, I really appreciate dishes that build a mind-blowing amount of flavor with no meat at all.