Chefs Cake

After stumbling across an interesting article by Hanne Blank—(apparent) hobbyist chef and widely known activist on the issues of weight, bisexuality, and sexuality—I've become even more fascinated by kitchen shortcuts. Former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold's recently released M ...more

Ah, turducken. The fondest of all portmanteau words and the tastiest of all Thanksgiving day meals. Turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken—three glorious poultry meats molded into one marvelous, boneless hunk of flesh that any sane carnivore wouldn't ...more

The ability to make a meal for yourself used to be one of those life skills you had to learn or otherwise you would starve, but the rise of convenience foods, takeout, and other aspects of modern living have made it entirely possible to be a grown person and not know what to d ...more

This Fourth of July, go beyond cherry pie, strawberry shortcake, and those gimmicky red, white, and blue cupcakes. Instead, wow your friends and family with this delicious, patriotic honeycomb cake made of puff pastry, whipped cream, and fresh fruit — no artificial coloring ne ...more

This year's FOOMA International Food Machinery and Technology Exhibition had a few robots I wouldn't mind hanging around my kitchen. The sushi-bot's hand is amazing... if only it could make the sushi, not just transport it. Oh well. There's always next year. The Okonomiyake P ...more

Eggs are incredibly important to cooks, and not just because they're tasty and a complete protein (many erratic genius/artist types make a point of eating an egg or two for breakfast). Yes, they are great when perfectly poached, scrambled, hard-boiled, and even scram-boiled, b ...more

Soda bread, corned beef and cabbage, and colcannon are all great dishes to serve up on St. Patrick's Day, but desserts really let your inner leprechaun come out to play. Not only can you have fun incorporating all kinds of tasty Irish liquors into baked goods, you get to dye t ...more

Ah, ginger. From stir fry to smoothies, ginger is a reliably sharp and refreshing flavor that adds zing to everything it touches. It may be a pain in the ass to remove the skin from ginger (or not), but the zest it brings to food is well worth the trouble. Don't Miss: How to B ...more

Pitting cherries is really annoying. There's no neat way to do it with a knife and, though they make a tool that does it, not everyone has space in their kitchen for a gadget that does so little. But fresh cherries are so delicious when they're in season... it's almost worth t ...more

At first glance, the Big Green Egg looks like it was created by Dr. Seuss or some other whimsy-driven being, like Zooey Deschanel. And while this earthenware cooker may look cute, it produces serious results that can rival the best barbecue or grill. In fact, it's got quite a ...more

Most people who cook end up having at least three or four different kinds of spatulas in their drawers. I personally have at least five. However, if I had to do it all over again, I would purchase only one, and that would be a flexible fish spatula. Flexible fish spatulas are ...more

What is gluten, why do some people think it is pure culinary evil, and why are there more and more products devoted to being free of this mysterious substance? Here's what one person thinks: What Is Gluten Really? Gluten is a protein found in wheat (including lesser-known spe ...more

Pickling isn't rocket science. In fact, anyone can make their own speciality pickles using just about any fruit or vegetable. For example, I've pickled everything from lemons, watermelon rinds, and apples to red onions, carrots, radishes, and cucumbers. Don't Miss: DIY Pickle ...more

A sphere of clear gelatinous goo may not sound all that appetizing. But to food fad fans on social media, the raindrop cake—a soft and lightly flavored edible blob—has gone insanely viral. The 'cake' finally made its first appearance in the U.S. this weekend, thanks to Darren ...more

Ice pops are like summer on a stick, with all the sweetness and stickiness of July and August. Store-bought popsicles, although refreshing, are never as good as homemade. So it's time to up your popsicle game with some of these beautiful creations, including some boozy pops (p ...more

I have a thing for citrus in any form. If I can't get a hold of oranges or clementines, I've been known to slice up lemons and limes and eat them straight with a little bit of salt—terrible for the tooth enamel, but amazing for the tongue. Don't Miss: How to Squeeze Out Every ...more

When you have a parent who cooks—and has you act as sous chef—the kitchen automatically becomes a less intimidating place. In other words, kids who know their way around the kitchen will most likely become adults who cook for themselves, which also means that they'll eat more ...more

Using breadcrumbs in the kitchen is the perfect way to add crisp and crunch to the usual salad, entrée, or dessert. As chef and media personality Mario Batali once said, "There's almost nothing I wouldn't put homemade breadcrumbs on." Making crumbs themselves is just plain ea ...more

Mushrooms are glorious: they're nutritional powerhouses, add meaty savor to just about any dish, and are cheap and plentiful (mostly). But just when you thought you knew best how to use edible fungi (in gravies, as portobello burgers, stewed and served over pasta, just to name ...more

"Cooking" with liquid nitrogen seems like one of those activities that should be strictly limited to pros who are appearing on Top Chef, but it's the only way you'd ever be able to make Dippin' Dots at home. If that isn't enough of a reason for you to get some LN2 for your kit ...more

The decadent, chewy, fresh-from-the-oven brownie is a classic American dessert. US History Scene states that the first brownies ever made were a result of socialite Bertha Potter Palmer's request of her chef at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel in 1893 "to create a dessert that cou ...more

If you love sitting poolside with a slice of watermelon, then I've got a real treat for you. Picture yourself cooling off with a slice of juicy watermelon topped with fresh ingredients like soft cheeses, herbs, and fresh summer fruits. Watermelon pizza is a wondrous thing—a c ...more

In many places, May has given way to a surplus of strawberries cluttering the produce aisle. These sweet berries are great in a wide variety of delicious baked goods, from pies to cakes and everything in between. Don't Miss: The Secret to Making Strawberries Taste Like Candy ...more

Let's set the scene: you're at home, it's late in the evening, and you have a hankering for those deliciously decadent chocolate-wrapped squares of ice cream goodness. You could drive to the store and pick up the usual pack of Klondike Bars in the ice cream aisle... or, you ca ...more

A cup of ginger tea with lemon first thing in the morning, a pick-me-up cup of green tea (or matcha) to fight off the afternoon slump and a soothing cup of chamomile tea to help me unwind before bed—I would be lying if I said I weren't a major tea enthusiast. Don't Miss: Gree ...more

My Cuisinart ice cream maker was a wedding gift; it wasn't something on my list, but I jumped up and down with delight when I unwrapped it. I never would've purchased this appliance on my own because it didn't seem practical, yet I loved the idea of making homemade ice cream. ...more

My favorite finishing touch to any dish is a tuile. Small, elegant, and simple—even its name makes it sound delicate. Tuiles are garnishes that are malleable when directly removed from the oven and crisp up as they cool down. I love them because they complement both savory and ...more

Believe it or not, you can put your money to use very efficiently in a new way: your credit or debit card can serve as a blade in desperate situations. (It might even be handier than dental floss as a brilliant substitution for specialized kitchen tools.) While I wouldn't take ...more

Look, I'm no food snob. I once dedicated an entire day to eating only deep-fried things (butter, Twinkies, Oreos, pickles) at the Minnesota State Fair. But even I draw the line at instant mashed potatoes. I mean, why bother? It's not that hard to make perfectly delicious and f ...more

Okay, it's true: even the highest quality instant coffee is never going to replace really good fresh beans (and properly cleaning your coffee maker) when it comes to creating a great cup of joe. However, instant coffee does have all kinds of uses in the kitchen, as the smart f ...more

Who doesn't enjoy sitting down to a nice dinner with a cocktail in hand? After a long day, a drink is a great way to unwind. Yet your favorite spirits can do more than just help you relax after work. By utilizing alcohol in the kitchen, you can enhance everything from how food ...more

Chances are you've got a bunch of wooden takeout chopsticks doing nothing but cluttering up your utensils drawer. That's a darned shame, considering that chopsticks aren't just for shoveling food into your mouth—they're actually the best cooking tools a cook can have (plus the ...more

Within the gastronomic melting pot of America, pizza was first introduced in the late 19th century by Italian settlers in cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The slice-by -slice phenomenon gained popularity when immigrant street peddlers walked the sidewalks with ...more

If you spend a lot of time reading about food, chances are you've heard about bone broth. It's all the rage these days, from high profile chefs like Marco Canora building menus around it, to celebrities like Salma Hayek using it as self-prescribed beauty regimens. Bone broth ...more

I recently wrote about fast food fakeouts you can make at home, but people cannot live off fast food alone. Sometimes you need to step up your game a little and enjoy the fare at a popular chain restaurant with a bit more variety to its menu. Don't Miss: Check Out These 5-St ...more

Cookbook author, celebrity chef, television personality, and former White House nuclear policy analyst Ina Garten is familiar to many as the queen of foolproof cooking. Also known as the Barefoot Contessa, Ina hones in on techniques and tips that make time in the kitchen far l ...more

Even if you haven't heard of ube (pronounced "OO-beh"), you've probably seen pictures of desserts made with this brilliant purple yam. The ube really does look almost too pretty to be food, doesn't it?. While there is often confusion between sweet potatoes and true yams, the u ...more

Coffee mugs: nothing proliferates more quickly in my kitchen cabinets. People are always handing them out as gifts or as swag, plus I always seem to find a vintage model or two at a garage sale that I'm compelled to buy. I used to do a yearly purge of my excess muggage, but it ...more

Whether you call it chicken-fried steak, country-fried steak, Milanese, wiener schnitzel, or breaded cutlet, there's something irresistible about a piece of meat that's been treated until it's thin and tender, dredged in beaten egg and flavorful bread crumbs, then fried until ...more

Last week, I showed you why your refrigerator is one of the best tools in the kitchen when it comes to saving money and preserving food at its tastiest. But did you know your freezer is another underutilized ally in the cooking game? Chances are, you've been using your freeze ...more

If I had to guess, I'd say your waffle maker is probably collecting dust on the highest shelf in your kitchen, or deep in some cabinet you haven't opened in years. And that's assuming you even have a waffle maker. Most people don't make waffles often enough to own an applianc ...more

There's nothing in this life that we love more than making one ingredient or one food tool do multiple things. It saves money! It saves time! It makes us look smart at cocktail parties! Without further ado, here are several ways to save money, waste less food, and make the mo ...more

In case you haven't heard, chia seeds are off of the novelty plant grower and in your supermarket. Why? Because they're a nutrient-dense food loaded with calcium and fiber (18% and 42% respectively of your RDA per one ounce of seeds). There are even some preliminary studies th ...more

Go to a chain supermarket, and chances are you'll see one type of garlic—maybe two or three if you're lucky. However, there's a mouthwatering slew of Allium sativum out there, far beyond those papery white bulbs most of us encounter at the nearest Stop 'n' Shop. While most re ...more

Brining is magic. All you have to do is make a mild saline solution, toss in your protein of choice, let it soak, and cook. You end up with incredibly tender, flavorful meat or tofu for very little effort. So why aren't more of us doing it? Pork chops soaking in a brine of sug ...more

There are two types of people in this world: those who recognize Wordle grids of yellow, green, and gray/black blocks and those who do not. No matter which category you fall in, there's a Wordle-inspired game that's perfect for you. The viral success of Wordle, the daily five ...more