New & Now – Page 2 – FoodWatcher

Katy Perry’s Nonalc Drink Actually Rocks

Ever since George Clooney traded his keys to the Casamigos Castle for a crisp billion dollars, celebrities—like Kendall Jenner, Matthew McCounaghey, and the guy that ruined twitter dot com—have hurled themselves towards any opportunity that pours from …

Unfortunately, many of these fame-forward forays into the alcohol business have spawned spirits that are some combination of over-priced, unenjoyable, and problematic. Unless you enjoy booze that reeks of hand sanitizer and deleted paychecks, I’d avoid the category altogether.

Fact vs. Fiction: 3 Epic Meals From ‘Julia’

By the time we meet Julia Child in the fictional Max show, Julia, her time in Paris, one of the most consequential periods in her life, has already passed. Her groundbreaking cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, has just been accepted for pub…

By the time we meet Julia Child in the fictional Max show, Julia, her time in Paris, one of the most consequential periods in her life, has already passed. Her groundbreaking cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, has just been accepted for publication, and Julia, fully embodied by actress Sarah Lancashire, is off to Cambridge, Mass. with Paul Child (David Hyde Pierce). The show’s producers skip ahead to this moment so we can get to the meaty part: the launch of The French Chef on Boston public television, which brought French cooking, cooking shows—and of course, Julia—to the American masses.

The French Chef is when Julia’s star really begins to rise over 1960s America, altering not just her life, but the trajectory of everyone in her orbit. Unlike a biopic such as Julie and Julia, which doesn’t have the time to go deep on minor players, Julia has the luxury of eight hours per season to shine a light on a multitude of people and events that make her story so relevant.

6 Gin-Based Cocktails We’ll Be Making This Holiday Season

We’ve teamed up with NOLET’S Gin to share a few of the warmest and brightest holiday cocktails. These sips come together with NOLET’S Silver Gin, a floral spirit that’s been crafted with over 330 years of distilling expertise by the Nolet family using …

When it comes to cocktails, holidays call for remixes. If you’re a gin fan like me, that means slightly adjusting your steady rotation of go-to cocktails to align with the flavors and festivities of the holiday season. By subtly incorporating flavors like cranberry, pomegranate, apple, and cardamom into classic drinks like the Negroni and gin sour, timeless cocktails can embrace the holiday spirit without completely abandoning their most essential qualities.

A Holiday-Ready Espresso Martini (& More Festive Drinks to Savor This Season)

December is like a game of Jenga. I start off strong, ready to accept every holiday invitation and family commitment. But as I attend each holiday dinner, party, and gift exchange, a little piece of me diminishes, until I finally crumple into a pile of…

One obvious way to keep it together this season is to be more mindful about drinking, not necessarily by cutting out booze, but by building in time to savor every festive drink. Re-centering yourself with a cup or glass in hand is a universal tradition: The Italians enjoy apertivo hour, Scandinavians make time each day for fika—coffee and cake—and millions of people from England to Japan have rituals around tea, be it a late afternoon cuppa or a ceremony.

The Truth Behind Restaurant Health Inspections

So you’re on your way to dinner, and as you approach the restaurant, you see the dreaded Grade Pending sign hanging in the window. Should you turn back? Abandon all hope? Frantically get on Resy and pray there’s a decent opening in a few hours? Fortuna…

Note: all facts and figures are based on the New York State inspection infrastructure.

Cyber Monday Savings Are Here—Shop Our Top Picks From Food52’s Sale

If you’re anything like us, you scour reviews and recommendations to make sure you’re securing the absolute best, most meaningful holiday gift. So, to save you time in these final days of Cyber Monday savings, we’ve done the research for you. Below is a hand-picked list of 30 gifts our community loves based upon either the reviews in our Shop or the number of times our community has saved or “faved” an item to a Food52 collection. Even better, as part of our sitewide Cyber Week sale, you'll save 20% on purchases under $300, and 30% when you spend $300 or more with code CYBER, so be sure to treat yourself to one or a few of these beloved gifts, too.

Deck Your Halls and Mantels

Stock up on our best-selling holiday decor for your home, or bring a little holiday cheer to your favorite host or friend.

Thanksgiving Cocktails, Ranked

This list favors warmth. It favors the spiced and the mulled—crowd pleasers that prompt the question: “Do we need more star anise?” It favors the cocktails we exclusively sip on the fourth weekend of November. It favors bourbon, tequila, and everything that can occasionally taste like the inside of a bonfire. On this list, convenience isn’t required, only spice drawer exploration. This is about drinks that taste like how gourds look. This is about leaning in, committing to the bit, and embracing Thanksgiving, The Brand.

In the spirit of giving, this list will start with our champion and then work down to our fifth favorite. To be clear, any cocktail on this list is worth the requisite time, effort, and ice. In the top tier of Thanksgiving cocktails, there are no skips. As for how we ranked these, you needn’t know more than that we developed a Highly Complex criteria based on personal consumption, visual appeal, spice drawer-reliance, and vibes. Mainly vibes.

Black Friday Is Here—Shop Our Top Picks From Food52’s Sale

You probably have in mind all the people you want to buy presents for this holiday season. The only question left is what you’ll be giving everyone on your list. If you’re anything like us, you scour reviews and recommendations to make sure you’re se…

You probably have in mind all the people you want to buy presents for this holiday season. The only question left is what you’ll be giving everyone on your list. If you’re anything like us, you scour reviews and recommendations to make sure you’re securing the absolute best, most meaningful gift. So, to make your Black Friday shopping easier, we’ve done the homework for you. Below you’ll find a hand-picked list of gifts that we know our community loves based upon the reviews or the number of times they’ve been saved to a Food52 collection, or wish list—the surest sign that you're selecting a beloved gift. And, as part of our sitewide Cyber Week sale, you'll save 20% on purchases under $300, and 30% when you spend $300 or more with code CYBER.

Deck Your Halls and Mantels

Stock up on our best-selling holiday decor for your home, or bring a little holiday cheer to your favorite host or friend.

Fluffy Cinnamon Buns with Pearl Sugar

Nothing is better than cozying up on the couch with a cup of tea and a freshly baked (and might I add, warm) cinnamon bun, especially if it’s homemade. There’s a sense of not only accomplishment–because let’s be real, yeast isn’t always the most forgiving of ingredients–but also a sense of satisfaction as you get to sit there and unravel the buttery layers, one by one.

It seems as though each person has their own preference for how a cinnamon bun should look and taste, and although there’s no wrong answer, I am and always will be a pearl sugar girl over vanilla icing. Pearl sugar is almost like a coarse, compressed version of powdered sugar, and not only makes for a beautiful decoration, but also adds a nice crunch and sweetness to baked goods. Although more commonly found in Scandinavia and other European countries, you can easily purchase it online.

Kitchen Soundtracks: The Favorite Music of New York’s Best Chefs

The Doobie Brothers make shucking fava beans tolerable. Blaring Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” while scrubbing a deep fryer will lead to increased cleanliness. Drake’s “Nothing Was The Same” leads to better-looking cavatelli. These are the restaurant tr…

The Doobie Brothers make shucking fava beans tolerable. Blaring Taylor Swift's “Cruel Summer” while scrubbing a deep fryer will lead to increased cleanliness. Drake's “Nothing Was The Same” leads to better-looking cavatelli. These are the restaurant truths that will remain with me, forever.

While you don’t need a collection of black clogs to verify that music makes all aspects of food more enjoyable, restaurant kitchens tend to be dialed in on the interplay of music and food. With that in mind—and in hopes of creating the ultimate kitchen playlist—we asked a few of our favorite New York City chefs what they’re listening to before and after service.