4/7/20
3:30 PM
Instant Flavor
Marinate Your Easter Lamb in Labneh
Claire Lower
Once upon a time, I had big plans to host an Easter brunch with my friend Dan. We had grand visions of pre-batched cocktails, sous-vide hollandaise sauce, and a lamb carving station, but obviously none of that is happening anymore. But the inability to host a full-blown shindig is no reason to abandon my plans to eat…
4/7/20
12:30 PM
Baking
Here’s a Helpful Timer for All That Sourdough You’re Making
Claire Lower
Everyone’s a baker these days—which, apart from a flour shortage, is not a bad thing. (Like, it’s better than everyone dealing with isolation by getting really into cooking meth, or macrame.) But bread can be a little overwhelming, particularly if you’ve picked just now to get into sourdough, and you’re not used to…
4/6/20
3:30 PM
Tiny Hacks
Find and Share New Recipes With This Open Source Cookbook
Claire Lower
Cooking at home is one of the few activities that most of the population can engage in right now, which means it has taken on even more significance than usual. It is not enough to feed your body (so you go on living), you must nourish, you must uplift, you must connect. But all of this important cooking could very…
4/6/20
12:00 PM
Instant Flavor
Now Is a Good Time to Make a Bunch of Cocktail Syrups
Claire Lower
Cocktailing at home requires a few accessories. Beyond a shaker, a stirring glass, a spoon, etc., a home bar isn’t really complete without bitters, citrus, and syrups. The first two are fairly straightforward purchases, but syrups are extremely easy and cost-effective to make at home. They’re also almost infinitely…
4/3/20
3:00 PM
3-Ingredient Happy Hour
Start Your ‘Weekend’ With a Quarantine Queen
Claire Lower
It’s Friday, or at least that is what my phone tells me, but every day pretty much feels like every other day, and the “weekend” no longer hits the same. But, as the Contessa reminded us yesterday, traditions are important, so we might as well have a little IGIF—“I Guess It’s Friday”—cocktail.
4/3/20
12:00 PM
Tiny Hacks
Use a Large Mason Jar to Make a Contessa-Sized Cosmo
Claire Lower
I am usually not particularly charmed by videos of rich people “dealing” with being “trapped” in their mansions (or worse, singing), but that’s because most of those videos are tone deaf, cringey and just generally unhelpful. But this video from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, first of her name, is the opposite of…
4/2/20
4:45 PM
Coffee
These Emergency Coffee Creamers Might Be Hiding in Your Pantry
Claire Lower
If you’re not a black coffee drinker, you might be struggling just a little right now, especially if you’re not a fan of non-dairy powdered creamer. After all, not only are you stuck at home, but you could be stuck at home with another person, and that person might be using all the half & half.
4/2/20
12:00 PM
Veggie Heavy
Cherry Tomatoes Are the Perfect Tomato for Right Now
Claire Lower
Given that the goal right now is to stay inside, some people have developed a bunker-like mentality, spending most of their grocery budget on canned, frozen, or dried foods. Due to its limited shelf life, fresh produce isn’t getting a ton of love these days, but next time you make it to a store that sells such, I urge…
4/1/20
3:15 PM
Tiny Hacks
You Should Definitely Fry Any and All Leftover Chicken Skin
Claire Lower
I have never fully trusted anyone who doesn’t relish eating the skin off of a roasted chicken. (This includes my mother.) Crispy skin, whether fresh out of the oven or off the Costco rotisserie spit, is one of the highlights of poultry consumption. Those who leave it behind are fools.
4/1/20
12:00 PM
Instant Flavor
Make Better Pantry Pasta With Bouillon
Claire Lower
Bouillon cubes and pastes are an easy way to add a whole bunch of flavor with a single ingredient, but they’re usually reserved for soups, stews and gravies. There’s no need to limit them like this. They have so much to give.
3/31/20
4:30 PM
Tiny Hacks
Why You Should Order Your Pizza ‘Uncut’
Claire Lower
Since dining out (my favorite hobby) isn’t an option right now, ordering delivery has become something of an event, especially ordering pizza. And, since there’s not much else going on, there’s a lot riding on those pizzas, happiness-wise. This is why I’m ordering my pizzas un-sliced.
3/31/20
10:00 AM
Will it Waffle?
You Should Waffle Leftover Mac and Cheese
Claire Lower
Waffling carbs is almost always a great idea. After all, the original waffle—you know, the flour-based thing made with batter—is one of the greatest carbs ever invented, so it’s no surprise that other wheat-based foods would take well to this cooking method.
3/30/20
3:30 PM
Instant Flavor
How to Cope With a Mayo Shortage
Claire Lower
This morning, I heard terrible news. Apparently there is something of a mayo shortage going on right now, with not a jar to be found on the shelves of many stores across the country. Luckily, there are many ways to make your own mayonnaise, and I have taken the liberty of rounding them up for you.
3/30/20
12:00 PM
Instant Flavor
Melt Anchovies Into Butter and Put That Butter in Everything
Claire Lower
Since canned food is having a big moment, I’d say now is the time to reconsider the humble canned anchovy. They have a reputation for being overwhelmingly fishy and salty—and those rumors aren’t exactly untrue—but they also possess a deep minerality and ton of umami. When melted into butter (or olive oil), you can…
3/27/20
3:30 PM
3-Ingredient Happy Hour
I Hope We’re All Adding Liqueur to Our Coffee
Claire Lower
A lot of you have been sharing your newfound work-from-home tips, but you merely adopted working from home. I was born in it. Molded by it. I have been doing this for years, and I’m good at it.
3/27/20
12:00 PM
Tiny Hacks
Use a Fork Instead of a Spoon to Mix Chocolate Milk
Claire Lower
A tall, cold glass of chocolate milk is a nice treat for young and old alike, but most people use a spoon to stir it which, and a spoon, I am sad to say, is an inferior stirring implement. What’s the correct tool, you ask? Why, a fork of course!
3/27/20
10:00 AM
Do Your Pandemic Shopping at the Restaurant Supply Store
A.A. Newton
Restaurants and bars aren’t the only food-centric businesses suffering severe consequences during the coronavirus shutdown—all the vendors they relied on for ingredients and supplies are hurting, too. If you’re able, now is the ideal time to visit your local restaurant supply store.
3/26/20
4:00 PM
Will It Sous-Vide
Make Your Own No-Proof ‘Spirit’ With Flat Tonic Water
Claire Lower
When I first heard I would be spending all this time at home, I envisioned nightly cocktail hours in the bath, lots of reading, and a sparkling clean apartment. But in what scientists are calling “predictable,” none of that has really come to pass.
3/26/20
12:00 PM
Tiny Hacks
Thaw Frozen Meat With a Little Vinegar
Claire Lower
My freezer is an inefficient piece of garbage, and any steak, chop, or chicken thigh I freeze ends up enrobed with a layer of frost. The meat is technically edible, but it does not taste that good. This is why I’ve had a single frosty pork chop hanging out next to a bag of frozen corn for months now.
3/25/20
3:00 PM
Supper Time
Cut Down on Food Waste With a Weekly Baked Potato Bar
Claire Lower
I have the unique ability to develop anxiety around any issue, and right now that issue is food—particularly the food currently in my fridge. Aside from acquiring a few too many eggs, I think I did a good job stocking up on the right amount of food required for physical distancing and isolation, but every perishable…