Blog Posts by Epicurious.com

As an editor at Epicurious I am frequently asked about food trends. Whether it's a friend, a colleague, an acquaintance, or a stranger, just about everyone is curious about the next big thing. And at Epicurious, we naturally try to keep on top of what's hot; we even publish a yearly round up of the year's biggest trends. It's with this in mind that I started looking at crEATe.: Eating, Design and Future Food by the British trend-forecasting firm, the Future Laboratory (Gestalten).

crEATe examines "how, where, and why food is gaining new meaning in our lives and in top-notch contemporary design." It's divided into seven chapters: Food Activists looks at food costs and food's place in political and environmental discussions; Wholehearted is about the return to grandma's way of cooking and living; Smart Food explores the idea of food as medicine; Packaging looks at the way we wrap, brand, and market food; Food Spaces features kitchens, restaurants, and other places where we eat;

When someone says "cupcake," I'm transported back in time to elementary school fundraisers where cupcakes were sold in shoeboxes and given away as prizes in cakewalks. But as I grew up, cupcakes and I parted ways until several years ago when the huge cupcake craze began, and then I couldn't escape them no matter how hard I tried. The cupcakes were usually dry and crumbly, and forget the frosting, which was usually piled on too high and was all butter and/or sugar.

Since that time, I've made my peace with cupcakes and just stick to baking cookies and other delectable baked goods. But when I received the Cupcake Kit by Elinor Klivans (Chronicle Books), I was won over by the cute-and thoughtful-packaging and decided to give it a go for a birthday celebration.

For cupcake-making beginners like myself, the Cupcake Kit is perfect. In it are 250 colorful cupcake liners (two sizes: medium and small), a reusable pastry bag with piping tips, plus a booklet by Klivans filled with choice

You make a lot of decisions if you're the wine master behind the nation's best-selling Chardonnay. Kendall-Jackson's Randy Ullom oversees the harvest, blending, aging, and bottling of millions of cases every year. And this is no plonk: The company's flagship product, the Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay, earned 90 points from Robert Parker late last year (and was famously spotted on President Obama's kitchen counter). We talked to the legendary oenophile about the evolution of the signature Chardonnay flavor, the distinctions between organic and sustainable farming, and the launch of the new K-J Pinot Gris.

Epi-Log: How did you become wine master of such an esteemed winery?
Randy Ullom: I always enjoyed wine, even when I was younger than legally allowed to drink.

When I graduated from high school, I was going to study mining engineering with a minor in skiing. So I went to the University of Utah , because they had both there. Then I went down to Chile , just to go skiing, and

After tasting 20 pies, we found a winner and 3 others we'd gladly eat again

Pizza lovers have very particular tastes. Some folks want the crust to be thick and chewy, others like it cracker-crisp. Some demand abundant amounts of gooey cheese, while others prefer plenty of tomato sauce. To each their own. But we think there are a few key factors on which we can all agree.

The ultimate pie cannot be soggy. It needs some structure and resilience. The tomato sauce must not be one-dimensional, too salty, or watery: It should show some sweetness, and be reasonably thick and full of body. The cheese needs to have elasticity, but not be rubbery. Finally, we gravitate towards pies that don't require a stack of paper napkins to absorb grease.

To find this king of pies, we tasted a total of 20 frozen cheese pizzas (no other toppings allowed). The variations were nearly endless. Some were marketed as having a blend of three cheeses or more, several as healthy, a few were deep-dish

I'm not a kitchen-gadget guy, generally. I don't see the need for a tiny Le Creuset just to melt butter, think it's kind of ridiculous to have a thousand different kinds of knives, and my default position is that the essentials that have been around for centuries are the only ones you really need. (Except for standing mixers, food processors and Microplanes: They rock.)

But I was pretty wowed at the New York Wine Expo this weekend when I saw a product that seemed to finally justify all those years spent in chem class.

(Also, the ice-cream maker. That's fun. I'm adding that to the list of cool modern kitchen gadgets.)

It's a much cooler way than a vacuum stopper to preserve your unfinished wine.

So here's how you use it: When you can't finish off a bottle of wine, you take the VineyardFresh canister, stick the nozzle in the bottle, and give it one or two squirts. Then cork it and store the bottle upright until you want to drink the wine again.

The canister

I know, I know, we're all sick of hearing about the economy. But while the times may be dire, there is an upside: We're learning to be frugal and waste less, just like great-grandma and her generation.

But how do you make leftovers appealing to the family? In an effort to cut down on eye-rolling at my dining table, I consulted Kelly, a.k.a. the guru at Almost Frugal.

"I try to throw away as little food as possible," she told me. "Of course, some leftovers go to feed my husband at lunch, but I try to be as imaginative as possible with the rest.

"Gone are the days of mystery meat and leftover nights.... A pinch of herbs, a dash of spice, and a willingness to experiment can make any meal last to be eaten another day. Leftovers are frugal - have some for dinner tonight!"

Read on for Kelly's five secrets to spicing up leftovers....

1. Sauce. Whether ketchup, gravy, or salsa, a bit of sauce can help to rejuvenate dried-out leftovers.

2. Garlic - or any other herbs

Today is the first Friday of Lent, and for observant Catholics, that means abstaining from meat (see AmericanCatholic.org for a thorough explanation of the rules). I was raised with this tradition and I ate my fair share of fish sticks on the Fridays between Mardi Gras and Easter. Then one year my mother introduced a cheesy eggplant casserole as a Lenten meal. My siblings and I loved it so much we started requesting it year-round (so much for Lenten sacrifices...). Taking inspiration from that dish (I really need to get the recipe!), after the jump are a few quick and easy meat-free main courses:

10 Quick and Easy Meatless Mains

• Grilled Eggplant Stacks with Tomato and Feta
• Superfast Vegetarian Pizza
• Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Orange and Cumin
• Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Green Olives, and Almonds
• Frittata with Ricotta Salata, Green Onions, and Parsley
• Seared Tofu with Green Beans and Asian Coconut Sauce

Is there anything better on a cold winter evening than a steaming bowl of chili? Or on a hot summer day, for that matter? Yesterday was National Chili Day, and while it's going to be another 364 days before it comes around again, there's no reason you can't eat chili on every one of those days. Go ahead: I dare you.

Just to get you started, here are a couple chili tips I got from the man who created the chili that recently won the People's Choice Award for Best Chili at the Third Annual Milwaukee Chili Bowl.

Robin Rosenberg is chef de cuisine at Levy Restaurants, known for Motor, its restaurant in the Harley-Davidson Museum. They served out 1,600 tasting portions at the Chili Bowl, with proceeds going to Second Harvest of Wisconsin. Personally, he falls on the beans-and-tomato side of the chili divide, so if you're a chili purist, be warned.

Here are his do's and don't's of making great chili:

- DO use the best ingredients you can.
- DO use the right utensils,