Cooking

Cooking

When you think of Frank Sinatra, the first thing that comes to mind is probably not his food preferences, but it turns out he was particular about what he liked to eat and how he wanted it prepared. Despite his death in 1998, we still have proof of his tastes thanks to a dressing room rider that shows just how specific Ol' Blue Eyes was about what he wanted backstage - and exactly how he wanted it.

Pumpkin spice is going to have to wait a minute; it's time for apples to shine. Whether yours are hand-picked from a local orchard, scooped up at a farmers market or plucked from your backyard, we want to make the most of the season while the fruit is at its crispy, flavorful best. We turned to three new cookbooks to find new recipes for the occasion, starting with "The Art of Jacques Pépin."

Italian cuisine so often references old times; I love simple food and forgotten tales, too, but I also feel the need to escape this tradition. We opened our restaurant, Trattoria della Gloria, in Milan in 2023, and instinctively refused to spend every night selling a remote and often fictional past. Instead, we explore and experiment with ancient gestures, methods and pairings to create new old things. That is, dishes that our grannies could have made, but didn't.

Few dishes are as vibrantly full-flavored and remarkably balanced as pad Thai. Whether you prefer sweet, sour, salty, or pungently savory flavors, this popular stir-fry has it. The base sauce (tamarind, fish sauce, sugar), choice of protein (shrimp, chicken, egg, tofu), and toppings (peanuts, lime, green onions, cilantro) all work together to create something deliciously tantalizing for taste buds without any element outshining another, making it easy to understand the dish's popularity. With all these components, you might overlook the noodles.

When you think of medieval cuisine, you probably think of a "Game of Thrones"-style banquet, complete with elaborate dishes like roasted swan, boar's head, and huge golden brown pies, all washed down with goblets of wine. It's true that special occasions for society's elite did involve extravagant table displays of flamboyant dishes, but for everyday people, recipes were, well, a bit more normal.

While watching season two of "With Love, Meghan," one recipe immediately caught my eye. In the fourth episode of Meghan Markle's Netflix show, James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Samin Nosrat shows the Duchess of Sussex how to make a roast chicken and bread salad. Inspired by a dish from the iconic Zuni Café in San Francisco, the salad was packed with colorful vegetables, homemade croutons, and a passion fruit vinaigrette. It was unlike any salad I had made before, and it looked incredible.

A lunch classic with endless opportunity for customization, chicken salad offers the perfect mixture of freshness, color, and a hearty dose of protein. It's a dish that comes in a diverse array of different formats, from creamy sandwich fillers and vibrant, Asian-inspired creations to satisfying pasta salads. Grilled, roasted, or pan-fried, chicken is the ultimate canvas for enhancing with complementary sweet and savory ingredients.

If you haven't heard of the spice, no worries. Basically, nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast made from cane or beet sugar. It comes dried in light yellow flakes or a tan powder, and is known for its savory taste as a cheese alternative, its high B vitamin content, and inclusion in many plant-based recipes, from sauces to vegan tacos. When used to coat spuds before baking them in the oven, nutritional yeast imparts a balanced, savory, nutty flavor.

A big part of Chick-fil-A's massive success is just how much flavor it squeezes into a simple fried chicken sandwich. Normally, an essential part of any fried chicken recipe is the oil it's cooked in. Like KFC, the chain uses a secret blend of spices to give its chicken that special Chick-fil-A taste, and it's also known for using higher-quality chicken and a pressure cooker that helps keep the breasts extra juicy.

Choosing from among our favorite fig recipes is like deciding between a cup or cone at your go-to ice cream shop: it's hard to make a wrong move. As botanists and pedants will tell you, figs are technically a flower, not a fruit. Regardless, their versatility defies categorization. Blessed with tender skins and jammy interiors, fresh figs can offset the tang of tomatoes and bitterness of salad greens.

Between sky-high grocery prices and a need to reduce waste and clutter, downsizing your kitchen to the essentials is now more important than ever. When it comes to appliances, basics such as a toaster, microwave, kettle, and the like are certainly vital. Though it was once America's favorite kitchen appliance, it seems that the air fryer has waned in popularity to the point where some critics - including this writer - deem it a waste.

Pink radish amazu zuke (sweet pickle), below, is a great way to brighten up your plate, and it's incredibly easy to make. When preparing it, the radish initially loses its colour, which transfers into the pickling liquid. After a few days, the liquid turns the radish into a beautiful, vibrant pink. I find the colour is perfect by the third day. You can keep it longer if you want but, interestingly, if you leave it too long the colour fades again.

There are a couple theories about why drunken noodles earned their name. One is that spicy food is what you crave while drinking (this checks out-Thai people love spicy foods any time of day, but especially when they're drunk). Another is that they are the perfect hangover cure. Whatever the reason, you don't need a night out to enjoy this dish.

This easy apple cobbler recipe makes a perfect not-too-sweet dessert to savor the apple harvest. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! How's Apple Cobbler different from Apple Crisp? There is a difference between apple crisp and apple cobbler. Just like its name, apple crisp has a crispy crumble topping made with oats. The topping for this apple cobbler is a smooth batter that is poured on top of the apple filling and bakes more cake-like.

The celebrity chef shared his recipe for whipped sweet potatoes with Food Network, and it strikes the ultimate balance between sweet and savory. His trick is to counteract the typical seasonings used on sweet potatoes, like brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, with bay leaves. In a video posted with the recipe, he says, "The bay leaf gives it sort of a slight savory flavor. It's gonna be really nice." Florence adds the flavor of the bay leaves by infusing them in warm cream, which he adds to soft baked sweet potatoes before pureeing them. He discards the leaves once the cream is ready, and then adds some other aromatics to complement the flavors further.

Matt is the co-founder of School of Dough, a wonderful initiative that teaches children in some of Cornwall's least prosperous communities how to cook; he also runs a stall called Salt Yard Pizza at the Boathouse on Newquay harbour. His pizza is some of the best in the country, not just because he's mastered traditional techniques, but because he grows his own tomatoes and basil, and even rears his own mangalitza pigs to turn into charcuterie.

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, homemade yum yum sauce will last for one week. It tastes even better with each passing day, as the flavors have been allowed to meld and chill. But, for foodies playing the long game, start checking on your batch after the seven day mark (that is, if there are any leftovers remaining by then). If your sauce smells at all "off" or has begun to separate, toss it out.

Although it has a vintage feel, the upside-down cake is the ultimate dessert that's ready to make a resurgence. This unique treat incorporates cake, typically a dense one, along with ultra-sweet fruit and a glaze-like topping. It's never dry, it's never flavorless, and it can be relatively easy to make. And best of all, upside-down cakes are beautiful, no icing needed.

Most recipes have one step in common: searing the meat to lock in flavor and build a rich foundation for the sauce. But in Jamaica, they start with a bold extra step that sets their stew apart - caramelizing brown sugar in the pan before the chicken ever hits it. That burnt-sweet base infuses the dish with a rich, dark color and deep, smoky complexity that are hallmarks of many of the best Caribbean dishes.

When it comes to souffles, even those who consider themselves confident home cooks will often balk at the idea of whipping one up at home, preferring to leave this specific dish to the professionals. There's no beating around the bush - souffles are finicky and require a lot of precision to pull off. However, the saying that practice makes perfect also applies to this complex culinary creation, and what better way to practice than with this cheesy corn souffle recipe, courtesy of recipe developer Jennine Rye?