Blog Posts by Epicurious.com

Bon Appétit | May 2011

by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

yield: Makes 4 servings

active time: 20 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

The deep, sweet flavor of white miso gives salmon an umami-packed supercharge. Look for containers of refrigerated miso and bottles of mirin in better supermarkets or at Asian markets.

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil

4 10-to 12-ounces salmon steaks, bone in

1/3 cup white miso

2 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Kosher salt

4 lime wedges (for serving)

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Preparation:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil; brush lightly with vegetable oil. Place salmon steaks on prepared baking sheet. Whisk miso, mirin, vinegar, ginger, and sesame oil in a small bowl to blend. Spread half the miso mixture over salmon steaks; season lightly with salt. Turn salmon

Gourmet | April 2004

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)

1 scant cup walnuts (3 ounces), chopped

1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces)

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup honey

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Preparation:

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Whether you'd like to add a personal touch or save a little money (or both!), try these eight easy ways to make your wedding memorable
by Sara Bonisteel

View this full story on epicurious.com >

Candy Keepsakes

Stamp paper bags with the date of your wedding or the names or initials of yourself and your betrothed, and fill the bags to the brim with your favorite candies. Swedish Fish, personalized M&Ms, hard candies-the choice is up to you. Or make your own candies and package them in pretty, small jam jars tied with a bow as favors. Try Mint Lollipops , Caramel Candy Bars , Mixed-Berry Chocolate-Toffee Bites , or Pumpkin Seed Brittle .

Photo: Lisa Lefkowitz / Brides.com

Sweet Party Favors

If you're an avid jam maker and canner, think homemade jam or jelly favors. An afternoon of jam making can yield a delicious thank-you to your wedding guests. Print or hand-letter customized labels for the jars or lids. Rochele and Jean-Paul made plum-and-berry jam from

Sheryl Crow and other food-loving celebrity moms dish on how they plan to spend Mother's Day
by Tyler Nguyen

View all 8 celebrity moms' wish lists here

There's a good chance you'll recognize these famous ladies from their hit TV shows, chart-topping songs, and other name-in-lights accomplishments. But bear in mind, there's one thing they have in common, aside from their celebrity status: First and foremost, they're mothers.

Mother's Day remains the one day each year when every mom is entitled to be treated like a queen. On this holiday, mothers get a green light to cave in to cravings, soak in a spa treatment (guilt-free), and just enjoy time with the kids-or far away from them!

With all these options in mind, we asked these foodie celeb moms how they hope to enjoy the holiday.

Sheryl Crow

Grammy-winning musician Sheryl Crow, 49, looks forward to bonding in the kitchen with sons Wyatt and Levi, soon to be 4 and 1, this Mother's Day. "With touring and

Chips and salsa are an essential dynamic duo, and Cinco de Mayo is their big holiday, so we tasted 31 brands of store-bought tortilla chips and 20 store-bought brands of salsa.

The best tortilla chip should have a good corn flavor and a slight saltiness. It must be sturdy and crunchy, not oily and dense. The perfect chip should be crispy and have a firm snap when you bite into it; it should not drape like a soft tortilla. Lastly, it should have a sensible shape, built for scooping salsa, guacamole, and dip.

Salsa should be chunky enough that it dresses up a tortilla chip but does not run down the sides. It should be multidimensional, with the sweet flavor of summer tomatoes, some element of onions, and a subtle kick of hot chile peppers to top it off.

Click here to view full tortilla chip taste test article or click here to view full salsa taste test.

CHIPS TASTE TEST

Methodology for chips: In a blind taste test, judges compared the flavor, consistency, and

Gourmet | November 2008

by Lillian Chou

View this recipe on epicurious.com.

yield: Makes 8 (hor's d'oeuvres) servings

active time: 20 min

total time: 20 min

Folding fruit into guacamole is an inspired tradition in Mexican cooking. Tropical mangoes are a natural pairing, their silky flesh adding a subtle tartness to creamy avocado. To herald the holiday season, pomegranate seeds flash bright red against the guacamole' s cilantro-flecked green.

Ingredients:

4 ripe avocados (2 pounds total)

1 cup finely chopped white onion

2 fresh serrano chiles, finely chopped (2 tablespoons), including seeds

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, or to taste

3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate)

3/4 cup diced peeled mango

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Accompaniment: plantain chips

Garnish: lime wedges

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Preparation:

Halve, pit, and peel avocados. Coarsely mash in a bowl. Stir in

Bon Appétit | April 2005

Roasting the meat uncovered during the last hour allows the sauce to reduce. Serve with the Cauliflower-Leek Kugel with Almond-Herb Crust and steamed asparagus. The brisket can be made two days ahead.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups orange juice

5 large soft dates (such as Medjool), pitted

4 large garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 pounds onions, thinly sliced

16 large shallots, peeled

2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 4 3/4- to 5-pound flat-cut (also called first-cut) brisket, trimmed of all but 1/4 inch of fat

1 1/2 cups canned tomato puree

16 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter red-skinned new potatoes, scrubbed

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Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Puree first 4 ingredients in blender until smooth. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large wide ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and whole shallots. Sauté until onions are

Gourmet | May 2005

View this recipe on epicurious.com

Ingredients:

Butter and matzoh cake meal for preparing baking sheet and foil

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

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Preparation:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Butter a baking sheet, then line with foil and lightly butter and dust with cake meal, knocking off any excess.

Stir together egg white, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and a pinch of salt until combined, then stir in coconut. Divide coconut mixture into fourths, then drop in 4 mounds (about 2 inches apart) onto baking sheet.

Bake until tops are pale golden in spots, 15 to 20 minutes, then carefully lift foil with cookies from baking sheet and transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes. Peel macaroons from foil.
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