Blog Posts by Martha Stewart

No ice cream maker? No worries! Everyday Food editor Sarah Carey shows you how to make vanilla ice cream that's smooth and creamy -- without any special equipment.

Watch the video

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes plus freezing
Makes 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
• 2 cups cold heavy cream

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, stir together condensed milk, vanilla, and bourbon. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream on high until stiff peaks form, 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently fold whipped cream into condensed milk mixture. Pour into a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan. Freeze until firm, 6 hours.

Cook's Note
Freeze ice cream, covered, up to 1 week.

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Plus:
60 Ice Cream Treats
Ice Cream Sundae Ideas
Basic Cooking Tips you Need to Know

Don't let Sunday's bagels go stale on the counter. Try these ingenious recipes.


Cornish Hens with Bagel Stuffing
Any bread will work here, but this is an especially good way to use up leftover bagels. Pumpernickel or everything bagels are our favorite choices for this stuffing.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour, 10 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
• 2 day-old bagels, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced small
• 1 large celery stalk, diced small
• 1 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms (about 7)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/3 to 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or water)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Cornish game hens (about 1 1/2 pounds each), rinsed and patted dry

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange bagel pieces in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry and beginning to brown, 7 minutes, stirring halfway through. Meanwhile, in

Looking for a way to roast a whole chicken faster? Everyday Food editor Sarah Carey shows you how to do just that with a timesaving technique called spatchcocking. She'll also show you a cool trick for roasting vegetables along with the chicken.

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Using a broiler pan to bake chicken on top of vegetables makes for a simple weeknight meal. Butterflying a whole chicken cuts roasting time by 20 minutes.

• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Total Time 50 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

Ingredients
• 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 1 large red onion, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds and separated into rings
• 1 bunch watercress (3/4 pound), thick ends trimmed
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in upper third. Place chicken, breast side down, on a work surface. Starting at thigh end,

The photo-sharing social app known for its nostalgia-inducing filters, is a fun way to share photos with friends. And the little square snapshots are ideal for creative projects. Thanks to some innovative app producers, you can turn your favorite moments into a personalized and handmade production. Check out some of our favorite things made from Instagram photos.

ImageSnap Turn Instagram snaps or other photos into ceramic tiles. The tiles come in a variety of sizes and shapes and range in price from $4 to $35 per tile. Smaller tiles come with a magnet to show off your creation on the fridge, and larger sizes can be mounted as wall art. The site also sells cork backings so you can turn your tiles into photo coasters. Sprinkling the Teeny Tiles throughout a mosaic tabletop would be an unexpected way to display photos at home. Plus: How to Arrange Family Photos

PostalPix A unique aspect of

As soon as the slightest suggestion of warmer weather is in the air, the Everyday Food test kitchen's affections for a hot afternoon tea turn to a refreshing iced coffee. We all know the numbness of the 3 o'clock slump, but few rally like the test kitchen staff.

It's like a beautiful choreographed dance: One of us grabs the stash of Illy espresso while one of us pulls out the stove-top espresso pot, measures three heaping tablespoons of coffee, and fills the bottom of the pot with water; meanwhile one of us mans the Bodum milk frother and hastily churns and froths whole milk for our iced coffees. While the coffee brews, another grabs an ice bath to chill the coffee. Soon, we're all enjoying a much-needed caffeinated libation. With pick-me-up in hand, we finish the day without longing for a nap.

	1. Add three heaping tablespoons to the basket, but do not tamp it down!
	2. Brew with lid open over moderate heat and remove immediately when crema

Some kitchen tasks are way more fun than others. Mincing garlic? Hate it. Whipping up meringue? Love it! Charring and peeling bell peppers? Ugh-THE worst! One of my absolute favorite jobs in the kitchen is frosting a layer cake-I find it to be such a calming, zen activity. (Or, I'm just a sugar addict. I actually aspire to be one of those people who perpetually keeps a frosted layer cake sitting on the counter at home under a glass dome, like the folks at my local diner or Meryl Streep's character in It's Complicated.)

Recently, Everyday Food Senior Editor Merritt Watts asked me to whip up a simple layer cake for a photo shoot. As I smoothed the dark frosting over and around the cake layers, Merritt peppered me with questions. Clearly a tutorial was in order….

Plus: Try one of these delectable chocolate frosting recipes.

Here are my top tips for making a photo-shoot ready cake.

1. Invest in a couple of offset spatulas, a large one and a small one. They are inexpensive and will make

Frying slices of eggplant for Eggplant Parmesan can be time-consuming and messy. In this recipe we bake all the classic flavors into the eggplant itself for a cleaner approach.

Yield Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
6 small eggplants, (about 8 to 10 ounces each)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons medium-chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Olive-oil cooking spray

Directions
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake eggplants until slightly softened, about 15 minutes. Transfer eggplants to a clean surface. Slice off 1/4 of each eggplant lengthwise, and reserve the pieces. Hollow out eggplants, leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh attached to the skin. Reserve the flesh. Cut removed pieces and flesh of the eggplants into 1/4-inch dice; set

Lighting is one of the easiest (and least-expensive) ways to cast an enchanting spell on any outdoor space. Try these ideas when you want to illuminate a setting and create a distinctive mood.

	Bottle Beauty Bars and buffet tables must be adequately lighted, but they're often located far from electrical outlets. An easy, inexpensive solution is to gather clear apothecary bottles and fill them with lamp oil and wicks. Arrange the bottles under a large hurricane for protection; we set these on a sturdy glass cake stand (make sure the bottles are evenly balanced on the stand).
	Light Columns Geometric "topiaries" inspired by the paper sculptures of Isamu Noguchi stand on both sides of this swimming pool. A few white plastic beach balls tied to weighted lines float in the pool like pearls cut loose from a giant strand (for safety, never cover the surface of a pool with a large number of balls). How to Make Light