This Mother's Day, gift mom one of these family cookbooks, written by celebrities, chefs, and food bloggers who are also moms. Whether she's devoted to health-conscious eating, fanatic about ethnic cuisine, or considers herself a comfort food queen, she'll love one of these famous titles and hopefully reward you with some home-cooked meals that you'll both appreciate.
The long wait is over — thank goodness! — and berries and stone fruit are returning to supermarket shelves (at absurdly low prices to boot). A textured Winter fruit salad has kept me going the past few months, but now I'm putting that recipe aside for this Spring- and Summer-forward fruit salad featuring all-new produce.
It's impossible to pinpoint what I love most about this combination of flavors. Sure, any old day you can combine a bunch of berries in a bowl, but here, mint, nutty Marcona almonds, and lemon zest and juice transform this into a fruit salad worthy of serving on a special occasion. The addition of sugar enhances the flavors in the fruit as well as releases more juices so the whole salad is marinated in a berry syrup.
The Great Gatsby is out in theaters this Friday, but we were able to sneak into an early screening, and as expected, the film is full of glam, glitter, and bootlegged beverages. These five cocktails, as seen in the film, are guaranteed to help you party just as Jay Gatsby would.
Often the most memorable gifts are those that are homemade. Rather than go to an expensive chocolate shop, attempt these homemade white chocolate truffles. Sure, you may be thinking white chocolate is plain Jane, but these truffles are anything but. Whether you are making them for your love, your friends, or your mother this Sunday, any recipient of these chocolates will be amazed by the craftsmanship and flavor of these white chocolate truffles.
First, you'll need to make a ganache, which is an emulsified mixture of heavy cream and white chocolate. When it cools, it will set into a cloudy, more malleable mixture.
The ganache is rolled into balls before it is dipped in the melted, tempered chocolate.
The white chocolate shell snaps to reveal creamy white chocolate ganache centers.
This Sunday, treat Mom to a made-from-scratch midday meal that's filled with Spring produce. She's guaranteed to feel special — and to remember it for years to come.
Lavender Collins Cocktail
Mom will love sipping on this floral, lemonade-like cocktail that's designed for adults only. The pastel blue hue in this cocktail comes from creme de violette, which is the essential ingredient in the lavender Collins cocktail.
Asparagus Caesar
Caesar salad is a classic, but it can instantly receive a seasonal boost by subbing ribboned asparagus in place of lettuce greens. For extra crunch and flavor, throw in some quality anchovies and crispy croutons.
Tired of our same old asparagus routine? This pesto from GraceDickinson uses the Spring veggie in a whole new way.
This is the first year I've ever tried to do an asparagus pesto, and I was pleasantly blown away with the results. This makes for a perfect sandwich spread and would also go great with pasta.
For more — and the recipe — visit her blog, and then be sure to share your food photos via Savory Sights on POPSUGAR Social or by starting your own blog. If you're on Instagram, then chime in on the conversation with the hashtag #savorysight.
Today is May 4, otherwise known as Star Wars Day. If you encounter anyone wearing fanboy paraphernalia (though, of course, you're wearing geek gear with pride too) , make sure to greet them properly by saying, "May the fourth be with you!"
We made a Star Trek cake for Captain Picard's birthday, so of course we had to make a sweet treat for May 4 too.
To replicate this fabulous and fairly easy Star Wars cake, take a look at my decorating tips.
Breweries have been known to design a signature glass for their beer, so is it that out of the ordinary for a winery to develop a signature wine glass to enhance the tasting experience of its wine? Argentinian winery Graffigna Centenario doesn't think so: it's partnered with stemware giant Riedel to develop a signature, six-month-exclusive glass for the winery's Malbec wines. We were sent a pair of the new glasses along with a bottle of Graffigna's Grand Reserve Malbec to taste the difference for ourselves. But to detect differences in the Malbec's scent and flavor, we poured it in three different glasses: a standard wine glass, a red wine stem glass from The One, and the Riedel Malbec glass. Would the new stemware help us taste the Malbec through rose-colored glasses? What flavors would it bring out in the glass, if any? Continue reading to see our results.
With Cinco de Mayo on the horizon, you'll need a lot of salsa to celebrate. Instead of reaching for bottles in the chips aisle, make this chipotle-tomatillo salsa, which will put any of the jarred stuff to shame. If you've never attempted homemade salsa, let me let you in on a little secret. I've never been able to make a decent homemade salsa before I met Michelle Bernstein, a Miami chef, restaurateur, and expert in Latino cuisine. We met at Lean Cuisine's Culinary Roundtable, where Michelle, a member of the conference, taught a group of us food writers how to prepare various salsas from different regions of South America. This is a riff on her traditional Mexican salsa.
Afraid of tomatillos? Don't be! They have a flavor like underripe tomatoes, and once you've tried them in this salsa, you'll want to experiment with them in other Mexican sauces, soups, and dishes.
The tomatillos, onions, and garlic take a trip to the broiler to become charred and softened. This adds a smoky, roasted flavor to the salsa.
If you're wondering how the salsa turns out red, it's due to the chipotle peppers in adobo. Pulse the charred vegetables, chipotles in adobo, and agave nectar (which neutralizes the spiciness, according to Michelle) together in a food processor until a smooth salsa forms. One bite and you'll be hooked on this salsa forever. It has the amazing ability to hit all the flavor profiles at once: sweet from the agave, sour from the tomatillos, spicy from the chipotle, and salty from the adobo sauce.
We're fans of Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese, but we have been less impressed with the new members of its brand family, like Snack Delights and Cooking Creme (eek!). So when the company sent over Spicy Jalapeño ($3), a new flavor on shelves now, we had our suspicions. Would it really taste spicy? And would we really be able to detect a true jalapeño flavor?
When I first opened the cream cheese, it appeared watery and grainy, with large green jalapeño chunks — not a very attractive sight. A few stirs with a spoon reincorporated the cream cheese, but it still had an uneven consistency, as if the jalapeños had curdled the cream cheese. However, a whiff of the container quieted my skepticism that the product had gone bad. It had that signature, slightly tangy Philadelphia cream cheese scent, with a peppery kick from the jalapeño. But did it have the flavor and texture to match? See the star rating and our taste testers' surprising response when you read more.
Cinco de Mayo is one of the easiest holidays to prep for. It's all about the buffet style set up with plenty of salsas, guacamole, chips, and pitchers of margaritas to go 'round. Here's a menu that is guaranteed to make your fiesta súper delicioso.
Strawberry Margaritas
Keep the cocktails flowing by serving them in pitchers. Offer regular margaritas as well as something special like strawberry margaritas. This recipe doesn't call for any sugar — just plenty of strawberries to sweeten the beverage naturally.
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Don't be scared to make homemade tortilla chips; they're easier than you think! Offer baked and fried tortilla chips to accompany the salsas, guacamole, and queso dip.
Read on for the rest of the Cinco de Mayo party menu.
Pepperidge Farm's swirled loaves have a special place in my heart: growing up, I was never allowed white bread, save for an occasional slice of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl, because even my mother couldn't resist the loaf. So when we received a special delivery of the breadmaker's newest, limited-edition flavor, Blueberry Swirl ($4), I audibly squealed with delight (to the alarm of my co-workers) and sprinted to the toaster.
The spongy, melt-in-your mouth bread has all the awesome qualities found in the original cinnamon loaf; only this time, it's dotted with dried blueberries and a blueberry-flavored swirl. Is it made with real blueberries? Don't know and don't care! Actually, a quick scan of the ingredients does show dehydrated blueberries and blueberry juice concentrate (at the very bottom of the list). But that's no bother! The blueberry flavor bursts forth, making this one berry fruity, addictive bread. Try to stop at one slice; I dare you. Keep reading to see how long it's on shelves.
Remember drinking the neon-green margarita mix at college parties? It's hard to know exactly what scary sweeteners and artificial flavors filled those plastic bottles! Thankfully, there's been a bumper crop of newer options made with lime juice and real sugar. In an effort to find actually good margarita mixes, we picked up five finer options (all available at BevMo) so you can throw a fancy fiesta with margaritas that are convenient to make, yet also deliver in the flavor department.
Spring festivities like bridal showers, luncheons, and picnics call for a hummingbird cocktail. This light, bubbly cocktail features sparkling wine and St-Germain, an elderflower liqueur. Topped with club soda and a lemon twist, the drink will have you humming happily in no time.
Who doesn't love Pop Rocks, the faddish candy of the 1980s? When Molecule-R sent us Popping Sugar ($4 for 2.8 ounces), I knew I had to sprinkle it over some sort of confection.
Popping Sugar is a neutral-tasting, carbonated sugar that reacts with liquid to release carbon dioxide bubbles, which causes all that snapping and sizzling inside your mouth. For my first experiment, I was inspired by Chuao to start with chocolate bark because it's relatively easy to make and an oh-so-fun way to experience the electrifying sugar juxtaposed with the melting chocolate.
The ingredients are simple: just chocolate and the Popping Sugar. Temper the chocolate; spread it on a nonstick mat, cover it in the Popping Sugar, and let the chocolate set before snapping it into the bite-size bark pieces.
Bring it to parties, and let the grin-inducing cracking begin. Keep reading for the recipe.
Feast on roasted potatoes slathered in rosemary and garlic, courtesy of GraceDickinson.
I absolutely adore this simple combination and can never get enough of roasted garlic. I contributed this dish for a family dinner the other week. As straightforward as it is, it surprisingly got a round of comments from the table. I was worried it'd be masked by all the other seemingly elaborate dishes on the table. There's something about potatoes, however, that nearly always bring high fives.
For more — and the recipe — visit her blog, and then be sure to share your food photos via Savory Sights on POPSUGAR Social or by starting your own blog. If you're on Instagram, then chime in on the conversation with the hashtag #savorysight.
Why choose between green juice and a margarita when you can have both in a spicy-savory jalapeño margarita? This one's made with celery leaves and lime juice.
This is the perfect drink for someone who tends to sway toward more savory drinks, like salty dogs or balsamic bloody Marys. However, a sugar rim could tone down the spice and acidity, so feel free to sub that instead of the salt. Serve it in a pitcher to make it fit for a crowd. To look at this picante Margarita recipe, read more
While it's always been easy for vegetarians and vegans to order at Chipotle, the burrito chain has rolled out yet another meat-free option to pilot locations in Northern California: Sofritas, shredded Hodo Soy tofu marinated in a spicy sauce made from chipotle chiles, roasted poblanos, and Mexican spices. Being fans of both Chipotle and Hodo Soy tofu, an Oakland-based brand that stocks the restaurants with the soy product, we tried Sofritas for ourselves. See if it's worth ordering.
