My father calls it “nature’s fast food.” We’ve been known to go through a couple 2-pound Dungeness crabs just for lunch! Freshness Is Imperative As with all seafood, the crab’s freshness is imperative. I once had to return crab to the market because it just wasn’t edible. My bad, I forgot to check. Although your fish monger should be checking before handing it over to you, you really do need to inspect it before paying for it and taking it home....
Yum! The crab cakes are small, so you can either serve them for appetizers or serve several as a main course. Now, if you’re like me, you might want to make a double batch, because you can always use any extra crab mixture to top some butter lettuce and a few slices of avocado. Or, you might find yourself picking at the mixture just to make sure it tastes good, until lo and behold half of it is gone, which, if you’ve made a double batch, still leaves you plenty for the crab cakes....
What Is Cream of Spinach Soup? It’s basically a vichyssoise, with spinach in addition to the potatoes, and can be served either hot or chilled. Defrost and drain frozen spinach before adding it to the soup. To defrost, use one of these methods. Put the frozen spinach package in the refrigerator overnight.Leave the frozen spinach package at room temperature for about 5 hours.Defrost in the microwave — removed from the package and in a microwave-safe bowl — on the defrost setting for about 2 minutes....
Goat cheese melts into the cream sauce to make it even creamier. The lemon juice brightens the sauce, and a glance of nutmeg adds a final note. Feel free to play around with this one! Swap out a different cheese, or experiment with different herbs like thyme or basil, or even add some heat with a few chili pepper flakes. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Reserve a half cup of the cooking water for adding back to the pasta if needed....
This is especially true when these potato rolls are on the menu. Mashed potatoes make the rolls extra-soft and fluffy. I top them with some honey butter and they disappear like magic. A Flexible Side Dish Since I’m often already making mashed potatoes for big family dinners, I just make a little extra to use in these dinner rolls. They’re also great with sweet potatoes if you feel like switching things up!...
Making your own blend of mulling spices ensures that the spices are fresh. It costs less than buying a mulling kit, and makes a great hostess gift (with or without a bottle of wine to go with it). Finding the Best Bulk Spices Look to buy spices in bulk for the most cost-efficient and freshest spices. Well-stocked grocers have bulk whole spices next to the large bins of nuts and seeds....
Before you get upset, just know that I’m not to blame for this idea. This smart advice isn’t even mine! In fact, it comes from Claire Saffitz, the author of “Dessert Person” and the newly published “What’s For Dessert.” I recently listened in on a panel of professional bakers that Saffitz was on, and she made the case for not making pie dough from scratch this Thanksgiving, especially if you are a person that doesn’t make pie dough from scratch throughout the year....
In this recipe the Brie is topped with raspberry jam, surrounded with puff pastry, and drizzled with maple syrup. Pastry Choices for Baked Brie Traditionally puff pastry surrounds Brie in recipes like this, but you can also use crescent roll dough. Crescent roll dough is a little sweeter than puff pastry. You’ll find crescent roll dough in the refrigerated section. You’ll find puff pastry in the freezer section. If you go with the crescent roll dough, look for dough sheets that don’t have perforations in them....
How to Make Easy Tomato Soup Whether you’ve canned your own tomatoes or bought them at the store, this soup comes together in about 20 minutes using pantry staples—canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and of course, butter. Dice an onion; add a little garlic, and let it simmer! I use an immersion blender to purée it, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. You can also use a countertop blender, or don’t bother blending it at all....
Gibson Cocktail Origins: Multiple Stories Why does this simple variation on a classic Martini get its own name? Well, in the late 19th century in San Francisco…sorry. Unfortunately, that’s where the trail for the cocktail’s history dies off. There are multiple origin stories: all with gentlemen named Gibson, all trying to improve upon their Martini cocktail, and not a single one for which we have definitive, verifiable proof of authenticity. You can find a reference for a Gibson in the 1908 cocktail book “The World’s Drinks and How to Mix Them,” but it does not include any garnish, and is closer to 50/50 Martini (half gin and half vermouth)....
The bowl is also a fun and accessible kid meal! Kids can customize their own bowls so they feel involved in the prep, and then either stir everything together or keep things separate (which is what my kids do, much to my chagrin). For Flavor, Use Freshly Grated Ginger Sometimes you will see pickled ginger in rice bowls, but I tend to think of that as more of a palate cleanser like you would see with a poke bowl or sushi....
Parsley, garlic, and lemon zest—the most basic of ingredients, yet together, they are cymbals in the food orchestra. Noisy alone, but perfect to accentuate a lamb stew or veal osso buco. Just as you are easing into a savory, meaty bite, the slightly bitter tang of the gremolata will wake up your senses. A little sprinkle of gremolata is sometimes all that you need to take a dish from good to great....
This super simple, flavorful grilled fish comes from China’s Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region, a small sub-tropical area just a few miles from both Laos and Myanmar. The idea is simple—a whole fish is stuffed with fresh herbs and chilies, is grilled over hot coals and brushed with salty oil as it cooks—but as the herbs wilt from the heat, their fragrance perfumes the fish and gives it a lovely, delicate flavor....
Video: How to Make White Bean and Ham Soup The Best Ham and Bean Soup This ham and bean soup is one of my favorite recipes on the website, and one that my father has been making for the family for decades. He makes a big batch (doubles this one) and because it just gets better as the days go by, we’ll enjoy it for dinner one night and then for lunch for several days afterward....
All squashes belong to the family of flowering plants called Cucurbitaceae. More commonly referred to as cucurbits or gourds, these fruits — yes, we treat them like vegetables, but squashes are technically fruits — are related to cucumbers, melons, chayotes, loofahs, pumpkins, and all the hardy winter squashes and decorative gourds. When is Summer Squash in Season? As our colloquial naming suggests, you’ll find summer squash dominating your local farmers markets from June to August....
How to Test the Freshness of Eggs in Water The process is really as easy as it sounds: simply fill a bowl or a glass with cold water, then carefully submerge the egg you’d like to test. If the egg sinks to the bottom and lies flat, it’s still fresh and safe to eat.If it sinks but doesn’t lie flat and remains standing on one end, it’s safe to eat but isn’t quite as fresh....
Is It Safe to Cook Frozen Food in an Instant Pot? Yes! It seems crazy, but it’s totally doable. Not all items can be cooked from frozen, mind you, but boneless fish fillets are the perfect candidate. The fillets are thin, plus fish cooks quickly in the first place. What is Tilapia? Tilapia is a freshwater fish native to Africa and is a very mild, sweet tasting fish. It’s also economical to farm—which means it has broad appeal and is an affordable fillet which is a part of the reason it’s so popular now....
The classic stove-top method works just fine, of course, but I couldn’t wait to convert this classic recipe to be made in the pressure cooker! Using an electric pressure cooker or Instant Pot to steam the potatoes and eggs all at once streamlines this recipe, conserves water, and speeds things up a little bit. New to the Instant Pot? Check out our post How To Use an Instant Pot: A First-Timer’s Guide....
The last is the case with this Irish beef stew. As any Irish person will tell you, lamb is the preferred meat for a good Irish stew. But here in the states we eat a lot more beef than lamb, so when we want to make a stew to celebrate all things Irish, it’s usually done with beef. Video: How to Make Irish Beef Stew An Irish-Inspired Beef Stew This particular stew has all of the classic trimmings of a good Irish stew—meat, stock, plenty of root vegetables—with the addition of some Guinness extra stout, for its malty flavor and some Irish authenticity....
The essential ingredients in a traditional Irish soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The acid in buttermilk reacts with the base of the baking soda to provide the bread’s leavening. This leavening from buttermilk and baking soda is what gives the bread its name: “soda bread.” Video: How to Make Irish Soda Bread Why the Cross in the Center? Why the cross in the center? Scoring the dough will help the heat reach the center of the loaf while baking....
