Blog Posts by Saveur

We love celebrating with family, friends, and loved ones over a drawn-out Farm-Fresh Easter Brunch from morning to afternoon. This Sunday, fill your kitchen with the freshest of the season's produce, using rhubarb, young carrots, and asparagus to furnish the dishes on your table. Start the morning with sweet Easter Breads adorned with homemade strawberry rhubarb jam, and perhaps your favorite local cheeses. For the centerpiece of the meal, a classic glazed ham is sure to please, while a coconut layer cake provides the finishing touch. With plenty of sweets, spring berries, and a pitcher or two of herbal Bloody Marys, you'll be ready for egg hunts, family games, and all the other festivities your holiday may hold.

RECIPE: Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Rhubarb, a reddish pink vegetable that grows in celery-like stalks and is harvested from spring through the late summer, has a pleasing tartness, so it pairs well with sweet strawberries in a jam. Our version tastes great spread over sliced

Read More »from A Farm-Fresh Easter Brunch Menu

At the start of spring, when new vegetables begin to appear in farmer's market stalls and on super market shelves, sometimes it's difficult to know how to best feature these vegetables on their own. One of our favorite ways to prepare spring vegetables is with our bevy of green soup recipes! Served as a first course or with a simple salad as a light meal, here are a few soup recipes to help you celebrate spring's early risers.

RECIPE: Fava Bean Stew
The recipe for this popular Egyptian morning dish is based on one that appears in The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden (Alfred A. Knopf, 2000), and features scallions as well as favas (you can substitute fresh for dried if available).

SERVES 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS
2 cups small brown Egyptian fava beans
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1⁄2 tsp. ground cumin
1⁄2 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
Kosher salt, to taste
1⁄4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1⁄4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
6 scallions, roughly chopped
2 plum

Read More »from Soup Recipes for Spring

SAVEUR's resident baking expert (and cake perfectionist) Ben Mims gives us his best tips for baking cakes. Try them out on Ben's Southern Layer Cakes!



TIP #1: All-purpose flour isn't really made for every purpose. For the best results when baking a cake, you need to use cake flour, a finely milled and typically bleached variety of flour made from soft winter wheat. With a lower content of gluten-producing proteins than in all-purpose flour--around 7 percent versus 10 percent to 12 percent--cake flour yields baked goods with a fine, soft texture. The bleaching process also raises the acidity of the batter, which allows the starch in the flour to absorb more moisture, further enhancing the cake's tenderness. Although cake flour is readily available at grocery stores, in a pinch, you can substitute three-quarters of a cup of all-purpose flour mixed with two tablespoons of cornstarch for each cup of cake flour called for in the recipe.




RELATED: 24 Layer Cake Recipes »


TIP #2: The key to

Read More »from Pro Tips for Baking Better Cakes

Nothing says home to a man from Mississippi like a sky-high layer cake. By SAVEUR Associate Food Editor Ben Mims. Layer cakes originated in the South, and with their over-the-top grandeur and unapologetic sweetness, they're inextricably linked to the culture I grew up in. The drama, excitement, and praise-they all speak to the South.

My childhood in rural Mississippi was filled with fantastic bakers: my mother, of course; her sister, Barbara Jane; my paternal grandmother, Carol; and Mom's friends, those church ladies decked out in hats who produced a never-ending procession of astounding cakes. My grandmother's neighbor Louise Hodges made a cake three yellow layers tall, draped in warm caramel fudge icing, which exuded a fragrance of vanilla and browned butter that could knock you over. Carol, who bought those cakes from Mrs. Hodges, served one to our family virtually every Sunday after church. We would sometimes have two slices each, and when I'd tease my grandmother, asking her who

Read More »from Sweet Southern Dreams: To-Die-For Layer Cake Recipes

Whether you're vegetarian, vegan, or simply looking for healthy, vegetable-based dishes to add to your rotation, these nourishing vegan recipes are sure to satisfy. Try out a few of the following orange and green vegan recipes for a healthy, festive, Irish flag themed plate!

RELATED: Cooking with Cabbage »

GREEN RECIPE: Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad
A simple salad of raw shredded kale and Brussels sprouts is a refreshing variation on cold weather's ubiquitous vegetables, which we still savor at the end of their season!

SERVES 4-6
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. Brussels sprouts
1 bunch kale, stems removed and finely chopped
2 tbsp. whole-grain mustard
4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Trim the woody ends off the Brussels sprouts. In a food processor fitted with the shredding disc, process sprouts until uniformly shredded. (If you don't have a food processor, you can slice the sprouts using a mandoline,

Read More »from Healthy Orange & Green Vegan Recipes for St. Paddy's Day

Whether you're throwing an all-out fancy Oscars Party for friends or rooting for your favorite film curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, toast your Best Picture pick with one of our Oscars-themed cocktails. Developed by Nitehawk Cinema's Beverage Director Jen Marshall, each of these classy recipes is inspired by the mood, characters, or setting of a 2012 Best Picture Nominee. Does your favorite film match your favorite cocktail?

RECIPE: Minny's Mississippi Punch
This punchy Southern cocktail, inspired by nominee The Help, is sweet but surprisingly strong-just like the characters in the movie.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ oz. rum
1 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. apple brandy
½ fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. granulated sugar
2 dashes orange bitters

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain the mixture into a pilsner glass filled with fresh ice.

RELATED: Homemade Pizza Recipes »

RECIPE: Billy's A Team
Inspired by Moneyball, thisRead More »from Oscars Cocktails: 9 Drinks Inspired by the Best Picture Nominees

Mardi Gras is one of our favorite holidays-the perfect excuse for a sinfully rich meal before Lent begins. This New Orleans-inspired party menu pairs rich and spicy Chicken Etouffée with creamy Crab Maison, while a rum-based milk punch, French pecan pastries, and classic King Cake are the perfect sweet finish to this indulgent, celebratory meal.



THE MENU:

• Artichoke Dip »
• Crab Maison »
• French Bread »
• Miss Daisy's Red Rice »
• Chicken and Andouille Étouffée »
• King Cake »
• Pecan Pastries (Oreilles de Cochon) »
• Martinique Milk Punch »
• 
  Get the recipes »
  
  MORE ABOUT THIS MENU:
  1. Pair your meal with some local New Orleans beer such as Abita's Turbodog. For dessert, mix up a pitcher of creamy milk punch, or try out some of our other classic drinks from New Orleans.
  
  2.Making roux is a nuanced but essential technique for good Creole cooking. For some pointers, check out this Q&A with New Orleans native John Besh.
  
  3.While King Cake is the

Read More »from A Fat Tuesday Feast

Mardi Gras is one of our favorite holidays-the perfect excuse for a sinfully rich meal before Lent begins. This New Orleans-inspired party menu pairs rich and spicy Chicken Etouffée with creamy Crab Maison, while a rum-based milk punch, French pecan pastries, and classic King Cake are the perfect sweet finish to this indulgent, celebratory meal.

MORE ABOUT THIS MENU:

1. Pair your meal with some local New Orleans beer such as Abita's Turbodog. For dessert, mix up a pitcher of creamy milk punch, or try out some of our other classic drinks from New Orleans.

2.Making roux is a nuanced but essential technique for good Creole cooking. For some pointers, check out this Q&A with New Orleans native John Besh.

3.While King Cake is the centerpiece of any Fat Tuesday feast, it's also good the next morning for breakfast with some creole coffee. 

RECIPE: CRAB MAISON

A popular appetizer at Galatoire's restaurant in New Orleans, this light and satisfying salad is a great lunch on Mardi Gras Read More »from A Fat Tuesday Feast Menu