Most of the recipes in the book look ridiculously complicated, taking hours of preparation and needing ingredients that one might have difficulty finding even at Whole Foods. This one however, is simply turnips, potatoes, onions, stock, and butter. Unassuming, but surprisingly and exceptionally good, especially considering that the main ingredient is turnips. Don’t get me wrong, I love turnips. I have found however that most people don’t. There’s something about the blend of flavors in this soup that take the edge off of the bitter turnip flavor and produces a thick and creamy soup, yet without any cream....

I also love the flavor of this cake—classic vanilla with the slight tang of buttermilk. (By the way, the acid in the buttermilk helps keep the cake tender by inhibiting gluten formation!) Because the flavor is simple, cake is also incredibly versatile and pairs well with pretty much any frosting or filling combination. Use the Reverse Creaming Method I use a reverse creaming method for this cake, which means the butter is blended into the dry mixture until it becomes sandy in texture, and then the liquid is added to create the batter....

Melons love salt (think prosciutto and cantaloupe). In fact, if you just want to give a slice of watermelon some extra pizzaz, sprinkle just a little salt on it. Both feta and its Mexican sister cotija are dry, crumbly, salty cheeses. Perfect for tossing into a melon salad. We’ve also added crunchy jicama, some red onion, and a little bit of heat with some minced serrano chile and a pinch of cumin....

Every vegetable and fruit has its season—a season when it is ripe and plentiful, when it tastes the best, and costs the least. Some say our bodies are designed to eat the foods that are in season around us. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do know that in middle of winter I crave a big pot of stew with plenty of root vegetables. And in the middle of summer, I rejoice in eating juicy berries and fresh ripe tomatoes....

Great advice, and easy to remember. Colorful fruits and vegetables are loaded with nutrients. Here’s a warming fall and winter stew that is so alive with color, it makes me smile just to look at it. Just take your basic white bean and ham soup, and rev it up with tomatoes, fresh pumpkin, and chard. My father came over to try some for lunch and went home with half the batch (I wouldn’t let him take it all)....

In its very simplest terms, a casserole is a dish that is baked slowly in an oven. This can include a full meal (breakfast or dinner), a side dish, or I’d even dare say a dessert (I’m looking at you Bread Pudding!) For this round-up, though, I wanted to stick to the type of casseroles that make a full meal. That means all of these casseroles have a meat and a vegetable included in it....

Not to worry, I have your back! The Simply Recipes archives are packed with fun regional recipes from all corners of the U.S. Queue up your driving playlist and join us as we cruise via food from Maryland (crab cakes) to South Carolina (chicken with mustard BBQ sauce), to Miami (Cuban sandwiches) to Texas (chilaquiles), and then hang a sharp turn north to the Ohio River Valley for a totally unique chili (Cincinnati chili)....

Summer might be over (sniff!), but cold brew coffee season sure isn’t! How else am I supposed to get back in the swing of my regular routine now that the beach vacations and lazy weekends are fading into the rearview mirror? It’s been over two years since I first posted my method for making cold brew coffee, and by golly, has that recipe taken off. I’m so glad to find so many fellow cold-brew coffee aficionados out there!...

These egg bites are a protein-packed, keto-friendly breakfast for a stress-free morning. Tips for Perfect Egg Bites You won’t need professional cooking chops to make perfect egg bites, but here are a few tips and tricks that’ll ensure success: Be generous when greasing the pan. You could make the fluffiest, dreamiest egg bites, but if they stick to your muffin tin, it’s game over. Of course, the best way to thwart this all-too-common issue is to invest in a quality nonstick muffin tin—especially if you’re planning on making a weekly batch of these egg bites during meal prep time....

I grew up with plenty of meals made with turkey legs because they feed a lot, and they’re an inexpensive source of protein. But no matter what time of year we’re having turkey legs, as much as I love turkey, the taste always reminds me of Thanksgiving, which is not necessarily what you want in say, June. In this preparation however, slowly cooked on a grill, and basted with a tangy, strong, sweet, sour yellow mustard-based barbecue sauce, the turkey doesn’t taste anything like Thanksgiving turkey, in a good way....

Thankfully, there’s a way to avoid all this bad news and ensure perfectly cooked brats. Ready when you are! Sear First, Then Beer I love a great bratwurst and the key is that it cooks to temperature. In this case, 145º F. A bratwurst cooked on a hot grill can reach this temperature quickly. And often, not surprisingly, when we aren’t looking. I might have to blame the beer in my hand for this....

The best bourbon of the month clubs do more than deliver a delicious spirit to your doorstep—they provide a spectrum of unique experiences. These can range from expert-led educational opportunities that take you deeper into the bourbon to landing the rare or hard-to-find bottle that practically disappears the moment it hits store shelves. When done right, these clubs can turn you from a mere bourbon lover into a staunch bourbon enthusiast....

On a quest to make chocolate chip cookies, it was discovered by my young charges that no chocolate chips remained in the cupboard. But we did find a bag of Hershey bars. So, we chopped them up into large chip-sized pieces and used them instead. You know what happens when you use chunks of chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips in cookies? Why Chocolate Chunk Cookies Taste So Good First, they’re bigger, so you get these pockets of chocolate explosions when you eat the cookies....

A Caipirinha is as simple to make as the short ingredient list suggests. However, it’s taste is more complex than you would imagine. Are you looking for a refreshing cocktail to relax away the summer heat? You’ve found your match! What’s a Caipirinha? A Caipirinha (pronounced kai-pee-reen-ya) is a cocktail made with cachaça (pronounced kuh-shah-suh), a Brazilian liquor made from fermented sugarcane, sugar, and limes. This cocktail is refreshingly sweet, tart, and the cachaça adds somewhat grassy and herbaceous flavor notes....

How To Keep Apples From Turning Brown The sliced apples will oxidize and turn brown pretty quickly. No one wants brown apples even if they are covered with caramel, chocolate, and candy. To slow the oxidation, squeeze some lemon all over the apples as you cut them. Over time the apples will turn brown—there is no stopping it—so if you plan to serve these at a party, we recommend waiting until you’re ready to serve before cutting the apples....

Guests were encouraged to bring a favorite dish, and we all got to vote on what we thought would be a hit on the site. The evening was a blast, the votes were tallied, and the winning dish? This caramelized onion tart! Or pizza as it was called, brought by Ann’s friends Jeff and Marilyn. I’ve made this tart several times since I first had it, and it’s one of those dishes you want to limit to special occasions, because it’s really hard to stop eating, it’s that good....

Case in point, this cilantro lime shrimp. If you have shrimp fresh and ready to go, it takes 10 or 15 minutes to cook, tops. If you are starting with frozen shrimp, maybe you have to add another 10 minutes to defrost it. Cilantro and lime are one of those master combinations that works well with steak, chicken, fish, and especially shrimp. How To Make Cilantro Lime Shrimp Start with few slices of serrano chiles and garlic in a little oil in a hot pan....

In my kitchen, there are a handful of Asian ingredients that I’m never out of. There’s the usual like soy sauce, oyster sauce and ginger, of course. But, there’s the other category of foods that are so versatile, they can be used in any style of cooking, whether Asian, Italian or Greek. What is Panko? And at the top of that list is panko bread crumbs. Panko is a Japanese breadcrumb that really shouldn’t be named “crumb” but rather bread “flakes....

Drink-wise I keep it simple: mulled wine and this coquito. Video: How to Make Coquito (Puerto Rico Eggnog) What Is Coquito? Coquito is an easy cocktail to make, but unlike mulled wine, no one knows they love it yet. As the host, I feel it’s my merrymaking duty to introduce people to it. Coquito is a traditional punch from Puerto Rico. It’s often called “Puerto Rican eggnog” due to its very similar flavor profile and occasional use of eggs in some variations....

This cheesecake is a classic version of a vanilla cheesecake, only I combined it with the best part of classic crème brûlée—the brittle sugar top. There’s just something about tapping the sugar shell and listening for that crack of brittle, caramelized sugar. The satiny filling is speckled with vanilla bean seeds, and the whole thing comes together when you scoop up the crunchy, buttery base. How to Make the Best Cheesecake For your cheesecake to turn out rich, creamy, and crack-free, follow a few simple steps....