Blog Posts by Saveur

Inspired by Jane and Michael Stern's article Fair and Square, we've combined classic state fair treats like crispy corn dogs and caramel apples with summer favorites like corn on the cob and slices of fresh watermelon, for a celebratory, eat-with-your-hands menu. Even if you won't make it out to a state fair this season, you can still get powdered sugar on your face while eating funnel cake in your own backyard! The Menu

• Corn Dogs
• Carl's Gizmos
• French Fries
• Minnesota Fair Pickles
• Corn on the Cob
• Mixed Green Salad
• Fresh Watermelon Slices
• Caramel Apples with Nuts
• Funnel Cakes
• Back Porch Tea Cocktail
• Homemade Root Beer

The root beer should be mixed ahead - how long it's left to ferment depends on the flavor you're looking for. After 2 days, it will taste strongly of molasses; at the end of 5, it will be milder and slightly alcoholic.

The pickles can

The one dish in the entire world that fully captures for me what it was like to be a kid growing up in rural Virginia is chicken salad. Not shrimp and grits, not cornbread, not pulled pork or any of the other classic Southern foods at which the region excels - just a bowl of chicken tossed with mayonnaise, onions, and pickle relish. It's my mom's recipe, and she serves it at every opportunity: It's there at Christmas, it shares the table with the turkey at Thanksgiving, and no summer cookout is complete without it. I don't recall my first taste of it; it's just always been there.

RELATED: See 6 More Chicken Salad Recipes »

I'd bring my mom's chicken salad with me to school in a zippered cooler, where other kids would beg fruitlessly for me to trade lunches. My friends would ask for it when they came over to my house. One particular friend loved it so much that she pleaded for weeks with her mother to get the recipe so she could have it at home. When our mothers finally spoke and

RECIPE: Fettuccine with Heirloom Tomatoes
The flavor of heirloom tomatoes takes center-stage in this divinely simple, summertime dish. Use good quality store-bought pasta for a quick weeknight meal, or take the dish to the next level with our step-by-step guide to making foolproof fettuccine from scratch.

SERVES 6-8

INGREDIENTS
6 cups roughly chopped heirloom tomatoes
1 cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
15 basil leaves, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 package fettuccine
Thinly shaved parmesan, for serving

RELATED: 15 Summery Pasta Recipes »

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Make the sauce: Combine tomatoes, oil, basil, garlic, and salt and pepper in a bowl; cover and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to meld flavors.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, and add pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta and add to bowl of sauce; toss to

James Osland Pasta with Sausage and Cheese
The simple combination of pork sausage, blue cheese, and fresh oregano add remarkable complexity to al dente pasta in this delicious dish.
SERVES 2-4

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 oz. semi-cured Greek pork sausages or sweet Italian sausages, cut into 1" pieces
Kosher salt, to taste
8 oz. pasta, preferably garganelli or penne
½ cup white wine
½ oz. blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

RELATED: What to do with Peaches, Plums, and Apricots »

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a 4-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Strain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking liquid; set aside.

3. Add wine to sausages and cook until reduced by

Maxime IattoniCentral Park was about as close as I ever got to the countryside as a kid. It was there that I enjoyed my first picnics, warm summer afternoons full of delicious, messy food- chief among them watermelon, which captured my imagination with its gargantuan size, its marbled rind, and its vibrant, seed-studded, sticky-sweet fruit. Still, it's been some time since I've actually considered hauling home one of the huge, heavy things, let alone bringing one to a picnic. So it was with with as much surprise as delight that I found myself buying a watermelon for the first time in years in order to make a pitcher of Watermelon Spritz, a gin-based cocktail from Santa Monica chef Jeff Mahin (it's called "The Merchant's Wife" on Mahin's menu) that takes its vibrant pink hue and subtle flavor from the melon's sweet juice.

RELATED: Surprising Ways to Use Watermelon »

The drink itself is sunny and rich: A bright mix of watermelon, Aperol, and lemon juice, topped with a splash of club soda for

Todd ColemanMONDAY: Greek Mac and Cheese
Studded with spinach and topped with feta cheese, this savory casserole is a fun alternative to traditional mac and cheese.

SERVES 8-10

INGREDIENTS
3 slices crustless white bread, torn into small pieces
9 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Kosher salt, to taste
8 oz. hollow pasta, preferably elbow macaroni
¼ cup flour
3 cups milk
4 cups grated gruyere cheese (about 12 oz.)
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
8 large shallots, finely chopped
16 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped
8 scallions cut into ¼"-thick rounds
⅓ cup roughly chopped fresh dill
1¾ cups crumbled feta (about 8 oz.)

RELATED: Summery Side Dishes »

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Put bread into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Put bread crumbs and 3 tbsp. butter into a small bowl and combine; set aside. (You can substitute store-bought

Quinoa Veggie BurgerWhether we're at a restaurant or a weekend barbecue, it always breaks our hearts just a little to get a veggie burger that's little more than a dry, beige puck. There's absolutely no reason the vegetarian option can't be just as flavorful, savory, and robust as its carnivorous counterpart - if not even more of a gastronomic delight.

These four veggie burgers are worthy occupants of any bun - no faux-meat here, just fantastically delicious combinations of beans, vegetables, legumes, and grains. From an earthy, rich portobello patty (that's miles beyond a standard mushroom-cap-on-a-bun scenario) to a subtly spiced quinoa burger to a Southwestern-inspired black bean burger, these patties are truly perfect. See our four favorite veggie burger recipes in the gallery »

RECIPE: Quinoa Veggie Burger with Roasted Red Pepper Relish
Our take on a classic meatless burger calls on a slew of vegetables for flavor, color, and texture: carrot, celery, arugula, beans, and - the ingredient that really

Belgian ales are full flavored and complex. Rich, dark dubbels, or "doubles," are named for their copious malts, which lend them potency. Even stronger are golden tripels. Like dubbels, these are abbey beers, originally brewed by monks. On the bitter side are Belgian strong ales, potent versions of hoppy pale ales. Flanders' wine-like, sourred ales are cask-aged. So are Brussels' tart, funkylambics, and blended lambics, called gueuzes, fermented with wild yeasts they contain wheat and malted barley. Wheat is also used in witbier, or white beer, a light, often spiced, brew. Wallonia's dry, fruity saisons are named after the French word for "season," a reference to the winter brewing and summer imbibing of these farmhouse ales.


Duvel Golden Ale

Juicy, yeasty, hoppy, and potent--an exemplary Belgian strong ale--but with a pale hue, brilliant white head, and crispness that make it seem lighter than it is.






Related: Food and Beer Pairings: Hefeweizen


Westmalle Dubbel

A dark,