How To

Happy Cream Cheese Brownie Day!

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Feb 10th 2011 @ 1:15PM

Happy Cream Cheese Brownie Day!

Though the classic cocoa brownie will never go out of style, an updated version with a cream-cheese swirl adds an interesting visual element, in addition to a richer flavor. Like black and white cookies, these nibbles allow the best of both worlds in one rich bite.

Martha Stewart's simple recipe spoons alternating amounts of the dark, chocolate base, with that of the white, cream-cheese base. Marble the top of the batch with a knife to create the elegant swirled pattern.

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Filed under: Holidays, How To

10 Cooking Techniques You Need to Know

COMMENTS 3

by the Editors at YumSugar, Posted Jan 27th 2011 @ 2:00PM

how to shuck oysters Photo: brent_buford, Flickr

So you think you know how to shuck an oyster? (It's all in the wiggle of the knife.) How about roasting a pepper or poaching an egg? Essential cooking techniques don't always come naturally. Sometimes you need a little help from the pros. Our friends over at YumSugar give you step-by-step how-tos for ten skills you absolutely need to master. And they make it look so easy.

Check out all 10 Crucial Cooking Techniques to Know over on YumSugar.

Filed under: How To

Happy English Toffee Day!

COMMENTS 0

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Jan 8th 2011 @ 1:15PM

Chocolate almond buttercrunch toffee. Photo: Come Undone, Flickr

Happy English Toffee Day!

For a simple base of butter and sugar, it's incredible what a decadent dessert toffee forms, with its initial -- but not cloying -- sweetness followed by a pleasantly lingering buttery flavor. One could argue that the only thing holding back this dulcet sweet from perfection is its pesky ability to cling to teeth.

Imperfections aside, we're amazed at how simple it is to make your own tray of the buttery delicacy. Aside from a few ingredients, the main apparatus needed is just a candy thermometer. If you're feeling ambitious on this National Toffee Day, try making some yourself -- and who better to learn from than Paula Deen, the reigning culinary queen of butter? (Heck, in addition to heaping it copiously into the vast majority of her recipes, she's even been known to drink it straight!)

So get cracking on her alluringly simple recipe -- it's divine, y'all.

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Filed under: Holidays, How To

Happy National Whipped Cream Day!

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by Alexa Weibel, Posted Jan 5th 2011 @ 1:15PM

Photo: Elana's Pantry, Flickr

Happy National Whipped Cream Day!

There's nothing quite like a sugary puff of freshly whipped cream -- yet when it comes to the billowy dollops of cloudy perfection, prepackaged varieties ever seem to fall short. Lucky for us, the homemade version can be whipped up in minutes: Simply beat a bowl of fresh heavy cream, adding in powdered sugar as soon as the cream begins to form soft peaks. (The ratio should be roughly one tablespoon sugar for every cup cream, although it is adjustable according to taste.)

If you really want to elevate your dessert, try adding a variety of additional seasonings to your whipped cream, from spirits (bourbon, Grand Marnier, etc.) to spices (vanilla bean, cinnamon, nutmeg, and the like), to a plethora of possible additions (mint, lemon zest, and more). You may find yourself favoring your whipped cream topping over the dessert itself.

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Filed under: Holidays, How To

Happy National Cream Puff Day!

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by Alexa Weibel, Posted Jan 2nd 2011 @ 1:15PM

Chocolate cake. Photo: Timothy Gerdes, Flickr.

Happy National Cream Puff Day!

Much like cupcakes, this heavenly dessert is as precious to taste as it is to regard, with two crispy choux pastry shells enveloping a light cream or custard filling, topped off with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Unique by right of the hollow crust it forms, choux pastry is thought to have originated in Renaissance Italy and France, where it was supposedly dubbed "choux" ("cauliflower") for its bulbous appearance. Catherine de Medici's pastry chef is credited with the inclusion of a moist, creamy filling, but it is Antonin Careme who is thought to have perfected the dessert.

The trick of the cream puff is in the pastry, not the pudding. For a detailed recipe, we suggest that of the Food Network, who pairs it with a promising -- if untraditional -- chocolate whipped cream center.

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Filed under: Holidays, How To, Food History

Happy National Brandied Fruit Day!

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by Alexa Weibel, Posted Oct 20th 2010 @ 1:15PM

Boozy fruit salad. Photo: You Can Count on Me, Flickr

Happy National Brandied Fruit Day!

Consider brandied fruit a simpler way than canning to preserve fresh summer fruits for the cold of wintertime. The process involves little more than clean, chopped fruit sitting in a sugared brandy bath, with alcoholic sweetness permeating the entire syrupy concoction.

Depending on what fruits you decide to use -- a medley is great too! -- brandied fruit is surprisingly versatile, pairing well with savory dishes (cheese, cooked poultry) as well as a variety of desserts (topped with ice cream or whipped cream or topping cakes and other baked goods).

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Filed under: Holidays, How To

Happy "Snack a Pickle Time!"

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by Alexa Weibel, Posted Sep 13th 2010 @ 1:15PM

Photo: Stephen Moudry Photography, Flickr

Happy "Snack a Pickle Time!"

Often mistakenly interpreted to include only the green, cucumber variety, the term "pickle" actually refers to any "food that has been preserved in a seasoned brine or vinegar mixture," according to The New Food Lover's Companion. The most pickled food products include cucumbers, cauliflower, pearl onions, baby corn, watermelon rind, herring and pig's feet (!), but the variety of things that can be pickled range as much as the possible pickling flavors, namely sweet, sour or hot.

A plethora of pickling spices are also often used to season pickles, with blends often including allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon, clovers, cardamon, mustard seeds, ginger and peppercorns -- but you can get creative, with everything from fresh herbs like dill to exotic condiments from your refrigerator (Sriracha pickles!). If you're looking for an all-inclusive guide to making your own pickles, we recommend that of The Joy of Pickling: 250 Flavor-Packed Recipes for Vegetables and More from the Garden or Market. But if you're seeking to satisfy an instant craving, we recommend placing an order for some whiskey sour pickles or fennel beets from the pros at Brooklyn Brine company.

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Filed under: Holidays, How To

World Cup: South Africa on a Plate

COMMENTS 5

by Nadine Rubin, Posted Jun 10th 2010 @ 12:00PM

Pap and Boerewors. Photo courtesy of Madiba Restaurant

You may not be able to watch the World Cup Soccer tournament in South Africa, but that doesn't mean you can't get a taste of that country's munchies (snacks), meals and drinks.

South Africans have nicknamed their food "Rainbow cuisine" to encompass the melting pot of cultures who have joined the indigenous people since the Dutch built a half-way stop in Cape Town for the Dutch East India Company. Next came the French Huguenots who planted vines that were the beginnings of the Cape Winelands. Sugar farmers in Durban brought laborers from India, others came from Malaysia. The British arrived looking for gold, as did Germans (though they staked their claim on South West Africa, now Namibia). Plus, the Portuguese, who colonized nearby Mozambique, brought the flavor of spicy peri-peri to South Africa on chicken and prawns (large shrimp).

Filed under: How To, Events, News

Molecular Gastronomy Starter Kit - I Tried It!

COMMENTS 16

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Jun 7th 2010 @ 1:00PM

Red fruit caviar. Photo: Courtesy ThinkGeek.com

Perhaps the largest breakthrough in cooking in the last decade, molecular gastronomy -- or "playing with powder," as David Lebovitz puts it -- is an art form that has some diners widening their eyes in wonderment and others shaking their heads in disbelief.

Popularized by Ferran Adria's soon-to-be-shuttered El Bulli in Spain and, later by Wylie Dufresne at New York City's WD-50, the avant-garde cuisine takes the ordinary to extraordinary levels. As Frank Bruni put it in 2005, the "sci-fi cooking" has been known to "toy with unusual textures, play with wildly unlikely flavor combinations and generally venture in directions that might turn out to be silly, but then again might not." Pondered Lebovitz, "Just like Matisse was widely-panned for painting a woman's face with a green stripe down the middle, I think we're going to have to let time tell us if this is just a passing fancy or if it's something that's here to stay."

And though the still-kicking buzz of molecular cooking has died down - quite likely as a result of the prohibitively high cost of restaurants embracing it as their specialty - it may now create another stir, as it is released in a user-friendly form to the general public.

Filed under: Magazines, Trends, How To, New Products, Gadgets

Order Thai Food Like a Native

COMMENTS 4

by Lindsay Damast, Posted May 20th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Photo: lookslikeamy, Flickr

Have you ever sat down in a Thai restaurant and found yourself confused by the menu and so went with the most seemingly innocuous item? However adventurous or timid an eater you might be, there are certain cultural differences that once explained, would enlighten your ordering.

Pailin Chongchitnant, a culinary student and guest writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, first noticed the drastic differences between Thai and North American culture when she moved from Thailand to Canada. Having been hit with this culture shock, Pailin offers her personal guide to ordering Thai food, to enable you to venture beyond curry and partake in a more authentic Thai dining experience.

Filed under: Newspapers, Food Politics, How To, Recipes