Blog Posts by Epicurious.com

Michael Y. Park's recent post about the rising costs of food got me thinking about the rising costs of raising food. It is becoming increasingly more costly to raise the food that our nation eats, but the prices some farmers are paid isn't increasing at the same rate. For example, when my dad was raising hogs full-time in the early 90's feed was roughly (this is purely from memory) $5 for 50 lbs of mixed pig feed. Today, I pay between $9 and $10 for a similar mixed feed. The feed prices have about doubled from when my dad was raising hogs twenty years ago, but the supermarket prices of those pork chops haven't reflected the changes in the cost of production.

We raise our pigs on a very small scale, but if you are interested in what it takes to raise them from birth to finish, read on.

-It will take roughly 5 to 6 months to raise a pig from birth to a finish weight of around 250 pounds.

-A pig will eat an average of 6 to 8 pounds of feed per day. In our case the feed is

Why not take your family and friends on a victual trip to Mexico by way of the dining room table? And while you're at it, take a vacation from the greasy grub that often passes in restaurants for Mexican cuisine. Instead, treat yourself to food where the vibrant flavors of lime, chiles, and cilantro create fatless and faultless flavor and sauces are made not with butter but with toasted nuts, seeds, and spices. Here's a small sampling of our delicious and healthy Mexican recipes.

Cheese Please

Abandon the gloppy melted cheese that blankets dishes in lesser Mexican restaurants: A sprinkle of salty Queso Fresco will often do the trick.

Goodbye Fried

For a low-fat alternative to fried tortilla chips, buy baked chips or make them yourself: Simply brush corn tortillas with a little oil, stack, cut into wedges, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and any spices you'd like to add, and bake at 375° until crisp, about 12 minutes.

Go for Good Fat

Whether you're a tailgating neophyte or a true fanatic, our game-day gear guide has all the equipment you could possible need -- from a $20 drinks helmet (sure to help make new friends in the parking lot) to a $12,000 camper trailer that can take your party on the road in style. Sleek, portable gadgets make it easy to blend a pitcher of frozen drinks, heat up a batch of chili, cook some quesadillas, and even grill meats and vegetables over an open flame behind your car. Sturdy fold-out benches and water-resistant umbrellas will get you nice and comfortable if you're in it for the long haul, while quirky finds, like sports-inspired beer tubes and magnetic drinks cozies, will have everyone eager to join your team.

Portable Blender ($60)

It may not garner as much attention as the noisy, gas-guzzling Tailgator, but Coleman's rechargeable, battery-operated blender chops ice and blends ingredients quickly and efficiently. Outfitted with a powerful motor, it can make a 48-ounce pitcher

The ultimate hamburger. It's an elusive creation: the perfectly charred crust; the juicy interior with the ideal amount of fat; the full, beefy flavor. To help you get it just right, we consulted two guys who really know burgers: Steven Raichlen, host of Barbecue University on PBS, and Chris Schlesinger, coauthor of The Thrill of the Grill and How To Cook Meat. Read on for their secrets to producing perfect patties.

What cut of meat should I use?

The foundation of a hamburger is, of course, the meat. Different cuts have different amounts of fat and flavor:

Regular ground beef, a generic category that can be any cut or a combination of several, may by law have as much as 30 percent fat. This isn't necessarily a good thing, though -- the high percentage of fat can make the burgers greasy.

• Ground chuck has about 20 percent fat.

• Ground sirloin has about 15 percent fat.

• Ground round has about 11 percent fat, making it a favorite of dieters, but producing less-juicy

What makes a great salad? Crisp greens and fresh vegetables, a handful of aromatic herbs, a perfectly balanced dressing -- and a dash of the unexpected. For many of us, salads are the focal point of a healthy diet, and there is no better time to experiment with new ingredients than in the summer, when so much wonderful produce is at its peak. Our recipe collection moves salad to the center of the table, with a dozen main courses that make the most of the season.

But don't stop here. There are many ways to compose a salad, an infinite variety of flavors to audition. Take another look in your garden, your local farmers' market, or your refrigerator and get creative -- a bowl of mesclun turns into a protein-packed entree with the addition of last night's grilled chicken, and a few radishes contribute color and crunch as well as vitamin C, folate, and potassium. (Our advanced recipe search tool can help you figure out just what to do with those mystery veggies, too.)

Keep in

Last night's dinner isn't always your child's idea of exciting lunchtime eats, but its convenience can't be denied. However, all it takes is a few extra minutes and a couple of different ideas to transform dinner leftovers into a meal your kids can shout about. Here are a few of our favorite ideas, arranged by main ingredient.

Chicken for Dinner

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

Roast Chicken with Tarragon

Roast Chicken with Herb Butter, Onions and Garlic

Chicken for Lunch

Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Pickled Vegetables

Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Santa Fe Pizza

Turkey for Dinner

Turkey Breast Medallions with Tomato Jam

Spiced Turkey Breast with Red Cabbage Slaw

Turkey Cutlets with Cilantro-Almond Sauce

Turkey for Lunch

Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayonnaise

Turkey Cheddar Sandwiches with Honey Mustard

Turkey Burritos with Salsa and Cilantro

Veggies for Dinner

Roasted Vegetables

Trust me on this: These blueberry volcanoes taste a lot better than they look (never bake before caffeine).

They also contain something that already made a forgiving friend wonder about my sanity this morning, but that's not as bad as it sounds. I just am really tired of bringing home $2.50-a-quart organic milk and having it turn on me the very next day; I don't know if it's a sign of tight times that the stuff is not turning over fast enough in stores, or if the sell-by dates are ridiculously optimistic, or if I'm just hyper-aware of milk being right on the edge (I seem to be the only person I know who can tell instantly when nuts have gone rancid). Usually I've bought it someplace that would entail a round-trip subway ride to return, which means I wind up dumping it out and feeling as if I'm watching quarters flood down the drain. So I was quite taken by a recipe I came across in a newish Alaska cookbook for rhubarb muffins made with sour milk, a perfectly acceptable ingredient not

"Food is a big part of Ramadan," writes author and cooking teacher May S. Bsisu in her book The Arab Table. "Every evening of the holy month is likely to present several calls for delicious food -- and plenty of it." Growing up in Kuwait and Lebanon, Bsisu remembers breaking the daily sunup-to-sundown fasts with "memorable meals": plump dates and cool fruit juice, warming soup, succulent roast lamb, and numerous other treats. Drawn from these memories, her travels, and the dishes she now prepares for her own family in Ohio, Bsisu's recipes for Ramadan (see below) reflect the breadth of the Arab world. She sat down with Epicurious to share tips on celebrating this special holiday.

Recipes For Every Occasion

Throughout the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from both food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Once the sun sets and the fast ends, a series of beloved culinary traditions stretch through the night:

A Slow Start: The fast is traditionally broken slowly, with dates and a