Ina Garten’s Cauliflower Cutting Trick Is Beyond Brilliant

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.

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7 Cozy Instant Pot Soups & Stews to Warm Your Home (& Heart)

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.

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The Absolute Best Way to Cook Chickpeas, According to So Many Tests

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.

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The Absolute Best Way to Make Pesto, According to So Many Tests

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.

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Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream—Zero Churning Required

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.

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The Absolute Best Way to Cook Salmon, According to So Many Tests

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.

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Our Most Popular Vegetarian Mains of All Time

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.

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The Absolute Best Way to Cook Pasta, According to Too Many Tests

Someone buy me a ruler, please.

Photo by Ella Quittner

In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the trut…

Someone buy me a ruler, please. Photo by Ella Quittner

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 pasta.


Nobody likes limp, lifeless pasta.

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The Groceries New Yorkers Reach for in Times of Crisis

On Saturday morning, Eddie, 61, was on his knees in the pasta aisle of Gristedes in Manhattan’s West Village, moving a new shipment of jarred tomato sauce onto shelves.

A supply truck—the second in three days—had just replenished the grocery store’s s…

On Saturday morning, Eddie, 61, was on his knees in the pasta aisle of Gristedes in Manhattan’s West Village, moving a new shipment of jarred tomato sauce onto shelves.

A supply truck—the second in three days—had just replenished the grocery store’s stock of items selling out all over the city. “It’s spaghetti sauce, toilet paper, water, paper towels, rice, beans,” he said, ticking them off from memory. “Frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned soup—all the Progresso was sold out.”

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The Vegan 1-Ingredient Ice Cream We’re Not Talking About Enough

It has come to my attention that very few people in my life are still obsessing over one-ingredient ice cream. This is, in my humble opinion, a huge shame.

Allow me to provide a refresher course on the singular dessert: a banana-based confection-slash…

It has come to my attention that very few people in my life are still obsessing over one-ingredient ice cream. This is, in my humble opinion, a huge shame.

Allow me to provide a refresher course on the singular dessert: a banana-based confection-slash-magic-trick, which, now over a decade old, can comfortably be considered retro. It consists of blending frozen pieces of ripe bananas in a food processor for many, many minutes, until—thanks to a high pectin concentration—they become as fluffy and creamy as any traditionally churned fare.

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