Blog Posts by bon appétit magazine

Joshua M. Bernstein

For much of the last century, beer drinkers around the world have been in love with lagers. The appeal is understandable: The cold-fermented beers are crisp, refreshing, and suitable for situations ranging from sweltering tropical afternoons to cutting the heat of fiery Sichuan fare. America has, and cherishes, Budweiser. But how well do you know these 59 other lagers from around the globe?

See more lagers from around the world.

Joshua M. Bernstein has written for The New York Times, New York magazine, and Imbibe, where he's a contributing editor. He is also the author of Brewed Awakening and he lives in Brooklyn, where he leads homebrew tours.

More from Bon Appétit:

Easy Ways to Upgrade Instant Ramen Noodles

Your New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

Healthy Snacks? Maybe Not

Spring Vegetables: 26 Ways to Eat 'Em

Danielle Walsh

Photo by Kenji Toma












The secret to an ice cream sandwich? A soft cookie. Harder cookies will smush the soft ice cream out of the oh-so-perfect sandwich when you bite into it, causing pain and anguish as that delicious ice cream falls to the ground--or, worse, into your lap.

See more: Top 20 Best-Tasting Burger Recipes

But we take it a step farther, dipping half of our cookie into a tempered chocolate sauce, then letting it harden in the freezer to hold in all that creamy goodness. Let's call it a deliciously practical way to save your pants from being ruined by ice cream (or, let's be real, your ice cream being ruined by pants).

Chocolate Chip and Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients
1 16.5-ounce log refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough or two 16-ounce tubs pre-portioned chocolate chip cookie dough rounds
2 pints premium banana ice cream, slightly softened
2 ripe bananas, cut into very thin slices
1 11.5-ounce package bittersweet

Sue Li and Chris Morocco


Nailing this misunderstood classic (no, we don't want grilled chicken) is all about restraint and, yes, anchovies.

1) The Dressing: A great Caesar salad gets its swagger from a great dressing. Squeamish about raw egg yolks and anchovies? Sorry. Yolks are what give richness to the emulsion, while anchovies provide a briny blast (and that whole umami thing). Here's our go-to recipe:

See more: Top 20 Best-Tasting Burger Recipes

Chop together 6 anchovy fillets packed in oil, 1 small garlic clove, and a pinch of kosher salt. Use the side of a knife blade to mash into a paste, then scrape into a medium bowl. Whisk in 2 large egg yolks*, 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard. Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in 2 Tbsp. olive oil, then 1/2 cup vegetable oil; whisk until dressing is thick and glossy. Whisk in 3 Tbsp. finely grated Parmesan. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Can be

Danielle Walsh


This Mango, Berry & Banana Smoothie is creamy, sweet, and not at all watery. Whoever thought of blitzing a bunch of fruit and vegetables and calling the results breakfast is brilliant. The smoothie has changed our morning routine as we know it, giving us sweet, portable fuel. Healthy fuel. This meal in a glass packs the most important part of the food pyramid into the most important meal of the day. Genius.

And smoothies are easy to make, to boot. But there is one huge misstep--and a few other smaller ones--that, if made, could make turn your tasty meal into a total drag. Here's how to avoid them all, according to assistant food editor Alison Roman.

See more: Top 20 Best-Tasting Burger Recipes

1. DON'T Use Under-Ripe Fruit: If you wouldn't eat it, don't put it in your smoothie. Under-ripe fruit has zero flavor and tends to make your drink watery--the number one sin of smoothie making. And don't waste your time hunting for pristine fruit for your smoothie, either--it's alright to get bruised, mildly squishy stuff. You'll be blending

Danielle Walsh

Although we said that Cinco de Mayo is a good excuse for us to show off all our Mexican cooking know-how, let's be real: this "holiday" is all about the drinks. And even though it falls on a Sunday this year, there's no way we're passing up a margarita. Or a Paloma. Or a Michelada. (How else to wash down all those tacos?) For the festive teetotalers, though, there's a rainbow of aguas frescas (a.k.a. juices) to sip on while you're nomming guac or a quesadilla. We just have one rule for Cinco de Mayo imbibing: If it comes out of a slushy machine, don't drink it. Plain and simple.

More from Bon Appétit:

Easy Ways to Upgrade Instant Ramen Noodles

Your New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

Healthy Snacks? Maybe Not

Spring Vegetables: 26 Ways to Eat 'Em

Matt Gross


From how to crash the business class lounge to the best in-flight cocktails, former New York Times Frugal Traveler Matt Gross shares his air-travel tips

1. Hit the Lounge: I fill up on free booze, salty snacks, and the last fresh fruit I'll see for a while--and I don't need an upgrade to do it. How? I have an American Express Platinum Card, which gives me access to 600-plus lounges worldwide, and the strength to face 14 hours in coach. At $450 a year, it's worth every penny.

2. Drink Early, Drink Often: If I'm squeezed into a middle seat, I need to relax. Preferably with Frontier Airlines' selection of craft beers from their microbrew-crazy home base of Colorado (all around $7). On long hauls, Singapore Air serves a freshly mixed Singapore Sling in all classes. On the ground, the gin-and-pineapple juice cocktail may feel kitschy, but over the Pacific, it tastes like love.

See more: 8 Essential Kitchen Gadgets

3. Lower Your Tray Table: Korean Air's coach-class bibimbap is

Sam Dean

We like science as much as the next guy, but historically, it hasn't been the most consistent when it comes to telling us what we should and shouldn't eat. Even though ingesting (and digesting) food is key to the biological definition of life itself, scientists just can't seem to make up their minds about what happens to us when we put things in our mouths.

We already went through wine's up-and-downs (poison! medicine! kinda both!), but what about chocolate? Going way back, chocolate was thought of as medicine. The Aztecs used it as a religious energy drink, and old-school quacks wrote that chocolate helps digestion, coughs, jaundice, the "New Disease" (i.e., syphilis), and gout, among other things. Some said it was perfect for pepping up the constitutionally frail; others said it was perfect for calming down the overstimulated. Either way, everyone agreed that it was probably good for something, and it tasted great.

Then milk chocolate, science, and dieting came along.

Alison Roman


Risotto only sounds intimidating-if you can stir, you can make it. Poaching the eggs ahead of time should quell any lingering performance anxiety.

See more: 8 Essential Kitchen Gadgets

Ingredients, Serves 6
2 cups shelled fresh (or frozen, thawed) fava beans or peas (from about 2 lb. pods)
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
6 large eggs
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/4 pound chanterelles or crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 large leeks, whites and pale greens only, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach, trimmed, leaves torn
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
1 1/2 cups finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan (about 3 ounces) plus more for shaving
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper

See more: Top 20 Best-Tasting