Blog Posts by foodandwine.com

By Food & Wine

Perfect for a graduation party, this is a giant, crowd-pleasing cake, layering light, white cake with fluffy, rich chocolate ganache. Beautiful Layer Cakes

Giant Black-and-White Layer CakeGiant Black-and-White Layer Cake
INGREDIENTS
CAKE
6 cups cake flour (28 ounces or 800 grams)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 cups sugar
8 large eggs, at room temperature
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
FROSTING AND FILLING
1 quart heavy cream
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 pounds extra-dark (75 to 85 percent) chocolate, chopped
4 sticks unsalted butter (1 pound), softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. MAKE THE CAKE Preheat the oven to 350°; arrange 3 racks in the oven. Line three 12-by-17-inch baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with vegetable oil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the cake flour with the baking powder and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla. In the bowl

By Food & Wine

F&W's Grace Parisi creates a delicious peanut sauce for these juicy burgers using creamy peanut butter and coconut milk. Best Burgers in the U.S.

Chicken Burgers with Peanut SauceChicken Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 teaspoons chile powder
Salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons chopped salted peanuts
4 round ciabatta rolls, split and toasted
Lettuce, for serving

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken with 1/4 cup of the chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of the chile powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and the garam masala. Using slightly moistened hands, form the ground-chicken mixture into four 4-inch patties.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped onion and 1

By Marcia Kiesel, Food & Wine

Mom's Chocolate Cake
Mom's Chocolate Cake
This is a real old-fashioned American chocolate layer cake. It's very moist, very chocolatey, a snap to make and best baked the day before serving.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Chocolate Frosting:
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 stick (4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour two 8-by-1 1/2-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with wax paper. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves; then pour into a large bowl. Add the chocolate and

By Food & Wine

This breakfast casserole topped with runny eggs by F&W's Grace Parisi develops a terrific texture as it cooks slowly in a glass dish (which makes it easy to see when the bottom is perfectly browned). As one F&W editor remarked on tasting it, "I worship the crisp bottom and the chewy, moist bread." America's Best Brunch Cities

Bacon-Egg-and-Cheddar Breakfast CasseroleBacon, Tomato and Cheddar Breakfast Bake with Eggs

INGREDIENTS
1 pound bakery white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (16 cups)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sliced applewood-smoked bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
One 28-ounce can whole Italian tomatoes--drained, chopped and patted dry
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 pound extra-sharp cheddar, shredded (about 2 cups)
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Salt
8 large eggs
Hot sauce, for serving

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly oil a

By Food & Wine

These muffins are crisp on top with light, fluffy centers and plenty of big juicy blueberries.
Delicious Breakfast Recipes

Perfect Blueberry MuffinsPerfect Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS
MUFFINS
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups blueberries


DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375° and fill 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the butter with the milk, both sugars, lemon zest and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the muffins are golden. Let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and let cool on a rack.

Make Ahead The muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up

By Food & Wine

Thick-cut potato chips in this crust stay more crispy than the standard kind. Salt-and-pepper is delicious here, but any flavor works beautifully--even barbecue. Best Fried Chicken in the U.S.

Oven-Fried Chicken by the BucketOven-Fried Chicken by the Bucket

INGREDIENTS
Canola oil spray
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Two 8 1/2-ounce bags kettle-style potato chips (such as salt-and-pepper flavor), finely crushed
Four 6-ounce boneless chicken breasts with skin, halved crosswise
4 bone-in chicken thighs (1 1/2 pounds)
4 chicken drumsticks (1 pound)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400° and arrange the racks in the upper and lower thirds. Spray 2 wire racks with canola oil and set them over 2 rimmed baking sheets.
2. Place 1 cup of the flour in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. In another medium bowl, whisk the milk with the mustard and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, stir the crushed

By Justine Sterling, Food & Wine

Mixologists across the U.S. are crafting fantastic margaritas with hand-squeezed citrus, carefully selected tequila or mezcal and refreshing additions like cucumbers, jalapeños, grapefruit and star anise. Here, Food & Wine names America's Best Margarita Bars.

Margarita Bars: Tres, San FranciscoTres, San Francisco
The bright and airy tequila lounge dedicates a full portion of the cocktail menu to margaritas organized by type of tequila: unaged blanco, lightly oaked reposado, oak-aged añejo and special edition reserva. All have a base of fresh-squeezed Mexican lime juice and agave nectar.

Photo © GammaNine.




Margarita Bars: Mayahuel, NYCMayahuel, NYC
One of New York City's best mixologists, Philip Ward opened this East Village tequila and mezcal bar in 2009 with stellar cocktails and Mexican food like tamales with charred poblanos. One of the off-menu drink specialties is a superb classic margarita with blanco tequila, Cointreau and lime juice.

Photo courtesy of Mayahuel.



Margarita Bars: Jimmy's in Aspen, Aspen, COJimmy's in Aspen, Aspen, CO
Surrounded by the Rocky

By Steve Menter for Food & Wine

This fantastic version of guacamole gets smoky-sweet flavors from crushed chipotles and chunks of mango. Best Guacamole Recipes

Chunky Avocado-and-Mango GuacamoleSmoked-Chile-and-Mango Guacamole
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 dried chipotle chiles, stems discarded and chiles finely crushed
Kosher salt
2 Hass avocados--halved, pitted and diced
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1 serrano chile, minced
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 mango, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1/2 cup)
1 cup lightly packed cilantro, finely chopped, plus whole leaves, for garnish
Tortilla chips, for serving

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Stir in half of the diced plum tomatoes and add the shallot, crushed chipotles and a generous pinch of salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the chiles are softened, about 5 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and let cool