Blog Posts by Saveur

The hearty flavors of Southern-inspired comfort food take on a certain lightness when served chilled. This menu, great for a gathering of six to eight, is for eating with your hands: spread your blanket out in the warm evening sun and linger until the fireflies flash in the dark. Toast with chilled Lambrusco (it's our favorite summer sparkling red) and tuck in to a meal of spicy-sweet corn bread, mustardy slaw, classic cold fried chicken, and dense, rich brownies.

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RECIPE: Southern Fried Chicken
Simply seasoned and fried, with a thin, crisp coating and tender, juicy meat, the fried chicken at Martha Lou's Kitchen is some of the best we've ever tasted. This recipe first appeared in our May 2011 issue, with the article Specialty of the House.

INGREDIENTS
Peanut oil, for frying
4 cups flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 3-4 lb. whole chickens, cut into quarters
2 cups milk
2 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS
Pour oil into an 8-qt. Dutch oven to a

By Helen Rosner
I'm a die-hard fan of the gin & tonic (going so far as to insist, editorially, on ampersand usage instead of the written conjunction when writing the drink's name), and I know exactly how I like it: one part gin, one part tonic, juicy lime wedge squeezed and dropped in. But in certain contexts - and with certain gins - I've found that pushing the drink's flavor components to extremes can result in a drink that's entirely different in character, and often just as good.

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That's the case in this Cucumber Gin Cooler, which takes the standard three elements of the G & T (gin, tonic, and lime), and boosts the citrus to a dominant role. Instead of the scant half teaspoon of juice you'll get from a lime garnish, each serving of this drink is made with the juice of an entire lime, which dulls some of the gin's alcoholic tang while still allowing its herbal notes to shine through. Shaking the juice and gin with slices of cucumber further

Tapas have a long history. One story is that the 13th-century Castilian king Alfonso X El Sabio (the Learned) was instructed by his doctor to eat several mini-meals a day with wine; hence, tapas. Cervantes, in his 17th-century classic Don Quijote, refers to llamativos, or ''lures''-tidbits designed to arouse hunger or thirst. However, the most commonly accepted theory is that tapas as we know them originated in Andalusia in the 19th century as small saucers set over wineglasses in taverns to keep the aroma in and the flies out. Eventually, lore has it, some savvy soul hit upon the idea that complimentary morsels of food placed upon the saucers would increase bar sales. It worked: Today, tapas are rarely free-but there are more than a thousand varieties of them, and every region, city, and bar in Spain has its own specialties, from baked scallops in Galicia to stuffed peppers in San Sebastián to Casa Bigote's cod.

RELATED: Saveur's Essential Spain »

A giant soirée and movable feast to which everyone is invited, the tapeo-or tapas-bar spree-invents itself as it goes along: conversations with strangers, spontaneous introductions, the unexpected appearance of an old friend or ex-lover...Anything can happen on a tapeo, and often does. The tapeo reflects the Spanish approach to life-this itinerant tasting and tippling stems from an unabashed love of play and pleasure.

Banana bread was a mainstay in all our childhood kitchens, and the smell of this freshly-baked quick bread is one that brings us right back to sitting in mom's kitchen, eagerly awaiting a warm, buttery slice.

Today, one of our favorite versions is an exceptionally moist quick bread based on a recipe from Judy Mims, the mother of SAVEUR's assistant kitchen director, Ben Mims. Ben was inspired to revisit his mom's recipe after reading Dan Koeppel's fascinating story about the history and fate of bananas from our May 2010 issue.

Delicious as a snack or on-the-go breakfast, Mom's Banana Bread also makes the perfect addition to a Classic Spring Brunch!

INGREDIENTS
Butter, for greasing pan
1 cup flour, plus more for pan
¾ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. kosher salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup canola oil
⅓ cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
⅔ cup chopped pecans
3 very ripe bananas, mashed

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease a 9" x 5" x 
2 ¾" loaf pan with butter and dust

You might drown your sorrows in a whiskey or martini, but when it's time for good news, only sparkling wine will do. And when it's time for a celebratory brunch, there's nothing more delightful than a Champagne cocktail.

The most familiar sparkling cocktail for morning is likely the Mimosa, a simple mix of orange juice and sparkling wine. But if you're looking to drink something a little different with your eggs benedict, there's an endless array of possibilites to be made with a bottle of sparkling wine and a bit of creative mixology. Here are ten of our favorite combinations:

1. Add a splash of pomegranate liqueur (like Pama); garnish with mint.

2. Add a bit of amaretto and a good amount of pear juice.

3. Soak a sugar cube in bitters then drop it in a full glass of bubbly.

4. Mix in a spoonful of coconut cream.

5. Add a dash of grenadine; garnish with freshly ground pepper.

6. Stir in a splash of elderflower liqueur; garnish with a large lemon twist.

7. Muddle a handful of

When I visit my family in Las Vegas, my favorite thing to do is pack up a cooler of sandwiches and hit the road for a picnic. We love to visit Red Rock Canyon in Nevada, but there are many majestic parks to choose from all over the Southwest. No matter where you lay out your picnic blanket, this menu, featuring grilled chicken with red onion jam and a spread of salads that travel well, is perfect to enjoy while you bask in the sun. -Kellie Evans, SAVEUR Kitchen Director

The Menu

• Cucumber Limeade
• Grilled Chicken with Red Onion Jam
• Marinated Zucchini and Green Bean Salad
• Tomato Salad
• Cipollini Onion Hummus
• Red Pepper Cracker Puffs
• Potato Salad with Tarragon and Shallots
• Potato Chips
• Angel Food Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting

By Helen Rosner, Photo by André Baranowski

Forget the horses, forget the ladies in giant hats - nothing says Kentucky Derby like a mint julep. It's a perfectly balanced cocktail: Bourbon, mint, sugar, and gently melting ice, strong at first and (depending on how long it takes you to drink it) sweetly sippable by the bottom of the glass. But bourbon isn't the only one that can play this game: the julep is part of the family of cocktails known as smashes, where mint and crushed ice combine with any number of sweetening agents and spirits.

RELATED: See all our Friday Cocktails »

The classic julep will never go out of style, but this Derby Day we're planning to shake up something different. We've concocted 7 variations on the original - mint-spiked tipples that make great use of cognac, moonshine, peaches, strawberries, ginger, and even Chartreuse - plus one ultimate recipe for the original; they're all perfect whether you're spending a sunny afternoon watching the ponies, or just

Often mistaken for Mexico's Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates the victory of a small Mexican army over a much larger French force at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, during the French occupation of that same year. This small but symbolic triumph signaled to the world Mexicans' determination to remain free of foreign interference. Today this event is remembered with fiestas, feasts, and parades, particularly in the border towns of Mexico and the United States, where entire communities come together in an enthusiastic display of appreciation for the shared history and heritage of both cultures.

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Although I can't claim any Mexican ancestry, I still find great fun in inviting a few friends over to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Since I have a long day ahead of me before I get home tonight to kick back with margaritas, I want to keep things simple when it comes to providing food for the festivities. My husband is a big fan of taquitos,