Blog Posts by bon appétit magazine

By Carla Lalli Music, Bon Appétit

Walk through any farmers' market this month, and you'll smell them before you see them: tomatoes. They're everywhere. Heirloom varieties-from Brandy-wines to Green Zebras-draw the deepest crowds, but a field-grown beef-steak has eternal appeal (and costs less, too). Ripe tomatoes are wildly fragrant, heavy for their size, and flashy in their reds, oranges, purples, greens, and yellows. Good ones will be bursting with juice beneath their thin, tender skins, so get a bunch, ferry them home safely, don't refrigerate them, and eat them up ASAP. Here are eight easy ways to make the most of this moment while it lasts.

Read More: The Top 20 Best Tasting Burger Recipes


Photo by Zach DeSart














Tomatoes and Blue Cheese
Makes 1
Recipe by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

Cut tomatoes into thick wedges and serve with your favorite homemade blue-cheese dressing (click for recipe), some snipped chives, and plenty of cracked pepper.


Photo by Zach DeSart














Horseradish Cherry Tomatoes
Recipe by The Bon Appétit

By Danielle Walsh, Bon Appétit

Breakfast is too often forgotten in the frenzy of the morning rush-around. You're trying to get out of bed (a hard enough task), pick out an outfit ("Wait, do I have plans after work tonight?"), and get to work on time. That means sometimes a granola bar--or even just coffee!--stands in for what should be the most important meal of the day.

But breakfast doesn't have to be an afterthought. Here are ten take-to-work breakfasts that are travel- and desk-friendly (oh, and they're delicious).

Check out more travel-friendly breakfast ideas from Bon Appetit.

More from Bon Appétit:

10 Snacks You Thought Were Healthy But Really Aren't
10 Quick and Easy School-Night Dinners

25 One-Bite Appetizers

Junk Food Makeover: Healthier Chicken Nuggets

Photo by Romulo YanesRecipe by Soa Davies, Bon Appétit

Chicken with Herb-Roasted Tomatoes and Pan Sauce
Servings: 4
Active: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes or other small tomatoes on the vine
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves

Ingredient Info:
Herbes de Provence, a dried herb mixture, can be found at specialty foods stores and in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Read More: The Top 20 Best Tasting Burger Recipes

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°. Combine tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. oil, and herbes de Provence in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy ovenproof skillet until oil shimmers. Carefully add tomatoes to

Photo by Zach DeSartBy Kay Chun, Bon Appétit


When it comes to prolonging the shelf life of market-fresh produce, proper storage is your best friend. Ideal conditions vary for different fruits and vegetables, but it all starts with the correct temperature.

Stone Fruit: To speed ripening, place apricots, peaches, and plums in a paper bag at room temperature (don't pile fruit or it will bruise). Skip the fridge: Cold makes stone fruit mealy.


Read More: The Top 20 Best Tasting Burger Recipes

Tomatoes: Place stem side down in a single layer on a plate and keep at room temperature away from direct sunlight. This will prevent tomatoes from bruising and softening.

Berries: Discard any moldy ones, then spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or paper towels. Store in the fridge, covered with a kitchen towel. Fresh berries deteriorate faster than other summer fruit, so handle with care and never pile them on top of each other.

Herbs: Wrap in moist paper towels, place in

Photograph by Chris GentileRecipe by Chad Robertson, Bon Appétit

These chewy-crisp flatbreads are just right for drizzling with chile oil and herb sauce or wrapping around grilled meat. Use this master recipe and topping combinations from our list below, or improvise with anything from guacamole to pesto. And yes, you can substitute store-bought pizza dough.




Read More: The Top 20 Best Tasting Burger Recipes

Grilled Flatbread
Makes 8 Recipe by Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, CA

Ingredients
Dough
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream Vegetable oil (for brushing)

Topping Suggestions
• Ancho Chile Oil, Green Charmoula, and grated Cotija or Parmesan cheese
• Puréed black beans, sliced avocado, radishes, and pico de gallo
• Sliced plum tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, and crema (or sour cream)

Read More: The Best Store-Bought Ice Cream

Preparation
Dissolve yeast in

By Janet McCracken, Bon Appétit

Our Melon Carpaccio calls for thin, elegant slices of honeydew. For that recipe and everyday eating (not to mention fruit salads), we turn to this tried-and-true method for breaking down a whole melon, be it a cantaloupe or any other hollow melon. Don't be intimidated--it's much easier than you think.

Read More: The Top 20 Best Tasting Burger Recipes

1. Wash the rind! That melon has been sitting in dirt, then handled on its journey to you. When your knife cuts through the skin, it could transfer bacteria from the outside to the flesh. Photo by Zach DeSart















2. Trim one inch off each end and place melon upright on a work surface. This will keep the melon from rolling around while you remove the inedible rind. Using the curve of the melon as your guide, slice off the rind in strips. If your cuts are too shallow and any parts of the rind remain, just go back up and trim them off.
Photo by Zach DeSart














Read More: The Best Store-Bought Ice Cream

3. Slice the melon in half, either crosswise or

Photo courtesy of Home Decorators CollectionBy Julia Bainbridge, Bon Appétit

The market is over-saturated with jams, syrups, time-saving gadgets, and other Things To Buy. How are you to know what's worth the money? We'll tell you, that's how. And we'll start with grilling tools. Here are some accessories you definitely don't need next time you fire up the Weber. Let's get to it, shall we?

Read More: The Best Store-Bought Ice Cream



"Instant Light" Charcoal: It tastes like chemicals. Use regular Kingsford or, better yet, hardwood charcoal. Basically, learn how to light a good fire without accelerant (we use a chimney starter) and your food will thank you.

Cheap Grill Brushes: They'll melt the first time you use them. We like this Brinkmann wire brush with a built-in edge for scraping the grate--it's got heft, like any good grilling tool should.

Meat Forks: "I've never met a meat fork that I liked," says BA food editor Hunter Lewis. To transfer your meat from grill to plate, use tongs with the help of a spatula, if needed. Why

Photo by Zach DeSartBy Mary-Frances Heck and Danielle Walsh, Bon Appétit

Our latest cool kitchen trick: grating tomatoes. it yields a pure pulp perfectly suited to so many uses. Simply slice in half, then grate the cut side over the coarse holes of a box grater (discard core and any tomato skin left in your hand). That's it!

Whisk the results into vinaigrettes, quick salsas, and gazpacho, or make tomato jam. The slightly chunky pulp also works well in fresh pasta sauces, frittatas, and as a sandwich topper--no peeling or chopping required. --Kay Chun

That's right, graters aren't just for cheese. Here are 10 more things you didn't know you can grate.

Read More: The Top 20 Best Tasting Burger Recipes

Garlic Instead of painstakingly mincing or using a garlic press, grate garlic on a Microplane to get a fine texture that will cook evenly. It's also great for raw preparations--you don't want to bite into a big piece of raw garlic.

Charcoal If you like your meat to have a super-smoky flavor, think about