Blog Posts by Epicurious.com

by Sara Bonisteel


Throw a Great Gatsby party.Host a Roaring Twenties Champagne-fueled bacchanal inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, now a new movie directed by Baz Luhrmann

"He gives large parties. And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." -Socialite Jordan Baker, The Great Gatsby

Ingredients:
Fireworks. Methuselahs of Champagne. A band. Everyone you know and many more that you don't.

Preparation:
Put all your furniture in the bedroom. Pull out your New Year's Eve finery. Stock up on confetti. Learn the Charleston.

Yield:
A soiree so good it will leave revelers with no other recollections aside from that warm feeling of having attended the greatest party of their life. (No pressure on your part.)

The Menu:
A catered affair is ideal, but if you don't have the means of the great Jay Gatsby, then fully stock your bar with reserves in waiting, prepare a flotilla of hors d'oeuvres, whip up two suppers (one for early

by Esther Sung

The Prophets of Smoked MeatGrilling and barbecue season's "official" start date is still a few weeks away, but this year's batch of grilling and bbq cookbooks are trickling in. Daniel Vaughn's The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue (Ecco/An Anthony Bourdain Book) kicks off this year's coverage. It's a bit of an odd choice given that it's not a cookbook, per se (though the book does contain a number of choice pitmaster recipes from the Lone Star State). But if there was ever a paean for barbecue written for the common man who just happens to love barbecue, this book might have to be it. Vaughn's career trajectory wasn't exactly straightforward--exactly how does one plan on becoming "Barbecue Editor" for Texas Monthly magazine?--but the trained architect's insatiable zeal for barbecue pays off handsomely in this book. Part travelogue and part food reviews, the book is entertaining as well as sometimes maddening, thanks to Vaughn's subjectivity (there's a lot of

Sara Bonisteel


Use homemade syrups to make classic egg creams as well as flavored sodas.Anton Nocito, founder of New York's P&H Soda Co., shares recipes and tips for making flavored soda pop with naturally sweetened syrups.

Homemade pantry staples are having their moment, with jams, butter, crackers, cheese, beer, and other traditionally store-bought sundries now being made from scratch. But what about soda? Thanks in part to the wide availability of home carbonation machines, crafting naturally flavored soda pops and soft drinks has never been more popular. Anton Nocito, the founder of Brooklyn's P&H Soda Co., has written a new book, Make Your Own Soda: Syrup Recipes for All-Natural Pop, Floats, Cocktails, and More, that details just how easy it is to make your own flavored sodas. All you need is a carbonation machine or a bottle of seltzer.

But does homemade necessarily mean healthier? "Some of the recipe ingredients are barely cooked, so you're getting more vitamins, but I wouldn't consider the sodas healthy," Nocito says. "I mean, it is

by Kemp Minifie

Kemp Minifie/EpicuriousHow can it be May already? April was a busy month with some good questions. One in particular weighed on my conscience. There's nothing worse than following a recipe and ending up with extreme disappointment--particularly when the recipe involves chocolate, one of the great salves to the soul.

Q: On Twitter, @SmallDeluxe asks: "Made diabetes friendly cake that had blah taste & texture of a tennis shoe. Did I overbeat my egg whites or was the recipe doomed?"

Kemp: In order to answer the question fairly, I needed to see the recipe and @SmallDeluxe kindly tweeted a photograph of it. Right off the bat, the recipe looked potentially problematic. It resembled a chocolate angel food cake recipe except that it called for far fewer egg whites (only five compared to the standard 12), and no corresponding reduction in flour.

In addition, it used less sugar per white (1.6 tablespoons per white versus the more normal 2 tablespoons per white), which isn't

by Kelly Senyei

Chips-Guac

I was born and raised in Southern California, which means no excuses are needed to break out the chips and guacamole. But now that Cinco de Mayo is less than 48 hours away, my tortilla consumption is nearing its annual peak.

I'm wrapping and snacking on anything that fits inside or on top of a hearty corn tortilla, from enchiladas to tacos, burritos to quesadillas. With Mexican food favorites being enjoyed for breakfast through dessert, there's bound to be a few stray tortillas left without carnitas to hug or pulled pork to cradle. The solution to stray corn tortillas? Transform them into hot, crispy DIY tortilla chips.

To go from stacks of tortillas to crunchy carriers of guacamole (that is a tortilla chip's sole purpose, right?), simply follow these steps:

1. Slice your corn tortillas into wedges, or add a decorative flair by using a cookie cutter to stamp out shapes.

2. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan

JJ Goode


The classic Kentucky Derby drink requires the perfect balance of mint, sweetness, and bourbon

It's the drink synonymous with the Run for the Roses, and indeed on Derby Day, vast amounts of Mint Juleps are sipped under cover of splashy hats. The most common version consumed at Churchill Downs during the Kentucky Derby, however, comes from bottles of premixed rubbish, specifically more than 8,000 liters of Early Times Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail.

But the Mint Julep, a cocktail of bourbon, simple syrup, and mint served over crushed ice, is easy enough to mix without resorting to ready-mades. Plus, making the drink yourself means you can control its sweetness, which is so often increased to excess.

See more: Best Burger Recipes

When to add mint into the Julep equation is hotly debated. Arguments rage over its proper usage, some voting for muddling the leaves with water and sugar, others for infusing them in the syrup, and a third faction maintaining that a sprig as

Esther Sung


EpicuriousDiana Kennedy sets the record straight on Mexico's most popular cheeses and dairy products, including Cotija, queso fresco, and añejo

When you think of some of Mexico's most iconic dishes-tacos, enchiladas, frijoles-chances are, there's cheese involved. Crumbled, grated, sliced, and melted, the cheeses in Mexican dishes contribute salty, tangy flavors and offset some of the heat from chiles and spices. But when it comes to identifying some of Mexico's traditional cheeses (and other dairy products)-namely, the ones you encounter in Mexican restaurants and cookbooks-you're probably stuck at queso fresco and Cotija. Or perhaps your idea of Mexican cheese is the white and orange cheese mix found in your grocery's dairy section. Whichever the case may be, we turned to Diana Kennedy, the authority on Mexican cuisine, to help set the record straight on what is-and isn't-Mexican cheese.

The Truth About Mexican Cheeses

First, let's clear up several popular

by Esther Sung

Modern-art-desserts

If I had to name one cookbook I was most looking forward to this year, it would be Caitlin Freeman's Modern Art Desserts: Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections, and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art (Ten Speed Press). My excitement goes back to last summer when I beelined it to the Blue Bottle Cafe inside SFMOMA and ordered a slice of Mondrian Cake. After having read about it for awhile, my expectations were high. Let's just say, I became a fan with one bite. And while we may never get around to making desserts inspired by Rosana Castrillo Díaz, Richard Avedon, or Jeff Koons, Modern Art Desserts is undoubtedly a magical cookbook, for what Freeman and her pastry team have managed to create are miniature masterpieces. Perhaps the best part of the book is gaining insight into the process, care, and thought--from conceptualization to execution--that Freeman and her dedicated colleagues all bring.

I had the opportunity to speak with Freeman about the book and