While doing research for this post, I found references to many different ways of making red chile sauce. In Mexico alone, there are as many ways to prepare this sauce as there are varieties of chilies! There are even more when you take into account the regional twists. A Basic Red Chile Sauce The following is a recipe for a basic red chile sauce, made with ancho chiles (also known as pasilla chiles - see notes)....

The rebel in me refused to do so, thinking, “I love mint! I’ll use it in cooking.” (Gardeners reading this are laughing about now.) Let’s just say that mint grows very well indeed, and is especially well suited to containers, where it cannot send out runners and take over every nook and cranny in a yard. I have kept the mint, but I do have to be diligent, and pull it up where it doesn’t belong....

Just sauté a hefty amount of mushrooms, add cooked pasta and spinach, and stir until the spinach wilts. Just like that, dinner is ready! The Secret Is in the Sauce With so few ingredients you might think this dish would be too plain. But that’s where the magic of brown butter comes in. Brown butter transforms this very basic pasta into something special. You might have seen it used in recipes for baked goods, like Elise’s Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies, but its nutty flavor is also great with pasta....

I was re-watching a video of my friend Maangchi making Sausage Ppang (소세지빵), a Korean bakery staple made with a fluffy, slightly sweet yeasted dough. It has a hot dog wrapped inside and it’s cut to look like a flower or leaf. Toppings vary, but one of the most common is similar to Korean corn cheese with corn, onion, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese, and green bell pepper or scallions. Everything melts together into what ends up becoming a pull-apart version of pigs in a blanket, great for an afternoon snack, party appetizer, or even a surprising school or al-desko lunch....

The light, sweet scones enjoyed in England are nothing like the heavy, somewhat dry scones we usually have here in the states. They are more like our biscuits, but sweet. Of course “biscuit” in England means what we here would call a cookie. So confusing. I set out to make a light, savory scone, and in the process learned that, at least here in America, what I was making would more normally be called a biscuit....

This simple recipe of pasta, sausage, Parmesan cheese and rabe or kale is very easy to prepare and delicious. We all agreed that it is a keeper! Ms. Weir’s original recipe calls for broccoli rabe, but kale makes a perfectly fine substitution. Kale can be quite bitter on its own, but included in this dish there is no trace of bitterness. The kale accents the flavors of the sausage and cheese....

When trying to come up with a good quiche to serve for a Mother’s Day brunch, I spied some smoked salmon in the fridge and here you have it - an appetizer morphed into a quiche! I’ve added fresh dill because, well, dill just tastes good with salmon. But feel free to use another favorite herb if dill’s not your thing. For the filling, I followed Michael Ruhlman’s basic ratio for quiche filling, which is essentially 1/2 cup of milk or cream for every large egg....

Rice noodles, drizzled with a miso ginger dressing, are chewy and satisfying. You’ll want to eat this on the porch all summer long or make the noodle bowl for lunches any time of year. What Steak to Buy I chose lean flank steak for this recipe. Normally, flank needs a marinade to make it flavorful, but I skipped it with this recipe to save a little time. There is plenty of flavor in the dressing added after the steak is cooked to justify skipping this step....

Mine is strawberry rhubarb, without a question. When it’s the season (usually mid- to late-spring), and both strawberries and rhubarb are available in the market, it’s the one pie that we must make. Video: How To Make Strawberry Rhubarb Pie What Is Rhubarb? Do you cook with rhubarb? It looks like pinkish red celery, or the stems of really fat Swiss chard. In the store, you’ll only find the stems, as the green leaves are poisonous....

What Is Texas Caviar? Texas caviar (also called “cowboy caviar”) is a cold black-eyed pea salad, with chiles, onions, and bell peppers that doubles as a dip for tortilla chips. This particular version of the recipe comes from my friend Lisa Fain, food blogger extraordinaire, and author of the Homesick Texan Cookbook. Now most of the food we make around here gets shared among many—parents, boyfriend, friends, brothers, neighbors. But this one?...

Personally, I love cookbooks because I can linger with them, like any great book—each headnote and recipe feels like a short story. Cookbooks not only feed our bellies, but also our hearts, brains, and souls. As sappy as that sounds, I’m sticking to my story. Lucky for us, a slew of new cookbooks are being released this fall—perfect for warming up our kitchens with fresh recipes. Here are 24 that our team of editors at Simply Recipes are most excited to cook from and linger with....

Cocktail shakers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the two main types you should familiarize yourself with are the cobbler shaker and Boston shaker. The cobbler shaker is the most popular option for home chefs and beginners. It comes with three pieces: shaking tin, built-in strainer, and cap. The Boston shaker is what you’re most likely to see professional mixologists using. It has two shaking tins, one larger than the other....

But which grill brush is the right one for you? There are metal bristle brushes, steam brushes, and even electric brushes that take some of the labor off the table. Some materials can be used on any grill surface, while others are too harsh for delicate grates. The grill brush that’s best for you depends on your personal needs. Of course, the best way to see if a grill brush is worthy of a hook on your grill is to put it through some tests....

For most, a spice grinder isn’t a kitchen necessity, but if you’re getting to the point where you think you need one, you’ll find your life far easier with it. When shopping for a spice grinder, it’s important to take inventory of what you’ll want to make. Are you planning on making chai weekly? Do you plan to make a small batch of garam masala once in a while? Are you dipping your toe into grinding your coffee beans fresh every morning and not ready to spring for a burr grinder?...

Since there are numerous Vitamix models, ranging from classic to high-tech designs, choosing the best Vitamix blender for your household is no easy feat. You have a lot of variables to consider, especially since it is so powerful. “The different speed settings on the [Vitamix] blender can help you make something as easy as an omelet by whipping the eggs at a low speed or something as fancy as a strawberry basil margarita!...

Here’s one more for your “make soon” list: a rustic tomato galette made with candy-sweet cherry tomatoes and a crispy, cheesy whole wheat crust. I love the combination of Parmesan and whole wheat in this crust, plus cornmeal for crunch. It’s cheesy and nutty at the same time, and it goes perfectly with the summer tomatoes. This tart crust also freezes well, so you might want to make a few extra batches of the dough to freeze for unexpected tomato events....

So the concept that a tortilla could also be a thick potato omelette, took some getting used to. But that is the difference between a Spanish tortilla and a Mexican tortilla. The Spanish version is made by frying thinly sliced potatoes in extra virgin olive oil, then layering those slices in a pan (preferably a cast iron frying pan), covering with beaten eggs, and cooking until set. It’s perfect for a weeknight meal, and only requires a few ingredients which you likely have in your pantry....