Holiday Gift Guide 2025

My perennial favorite kitchen (and other) items can be found in The Shop . And at the very end of the post, I’ve included my favorite local and online retailers. Gift Guide 2025 A Pizza Making Class (with Me! in Philly!) On January 8th, I’ll be teaching a teaching a pizza making class at The Bread Room , a bakery and event space created by Fork’s Ellen Yin in Center City....

February 5, 2026 · 12 min · 2388 words · Dorothy Foley

Perfect Roast Chicken (juicy! Crisp! Tasty!)

The secret to making a roasted chicken with crisp skin and super flavorful, juicy meat is to salt it a day in advance. Read on to learn why. This recipe calls for just a handful of ingredients and truly produces the best roast chicken. There is nothing more satisfying to me than roasting a whole chicken. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. In addition to feeding my family of six*, it gives me a carcass to make stock from and enough extra meat to toss into a salad or add to soup for a meal on a subsequent night....

February 5, 2026 · 23 min · 4772 words · Giselle Martinez

Quick Vegetable & Tofu Curry

My naan experiments earlier this month sent me on a curry bender. I started with this favorite lentil + kale dal, then made this chickpea + cauliflower number, then sort of combined the two, leaving out the legumes, adding tofu in their place. The result is a veggie-loaded, super flavorful, Thai-spiced “curry”, a stewy, comforting not-quite-one-pot wonder of a dish. Here, the curry materializes stovetop, while tofu cubes bake briefly in the oven, just long enough to lightly crisp the edges, a measure that ensures the cubes won’t dissolve while simmering, but not so long to render them tough, incapable of absorbing the sauce....

February 5, 2026 · 15 min · 3035 words · Gloria Relf

Simple Roasted Yellow Tomato Sauce

This simple roasted yellow tomato sauce comes together in no time and tastes sweet and bright, truly like summer in a sauce. Use it in all of your favorite recipes calling for tomato sauce, or freeze it for a future day. Last October, at the tail end of tomato season, when the sungolds were still arriving in droves at our little co-op, I made this sauce on repeat. It calls for minimal prep, a handful of ingredients, and a quick roast at high heat, but produces a sauce that tastes like so much more: sweet and bright and fresh all at once....

February 5, 2026 · 14 min · 2886 words · Joseph Fugate

Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal

This baked steel cut oatmeal is irresistible. The whole thing can be assembled the night before or it can be assembled and baked immediately. It is infinitely customizable to your preferences — you can make it dairy-free, vegan, with or without nuts, and with any fruit your heart desires 🙂 Inspired by a recipe for baked oatmeal using rolled oats, I made a variation using steel cut oats instead. What I love about using steel cut oasts is that it allows the entire dish — egg, milk, melted butter, baking powder and all — to be assembled the night before baking....

February 4, 2026 · 25 min · 5188 words · Jessica Mcdougall

Classic Margarita With Tequila & Grand Marnier

This classic margarita recipe is equal parts fresh lime juice and tequila. A smaller amount of Grand Marnier and simple syrup offer sweet and citrusy notes. A sea salt rim + lots of ice are essential. I first made this recipe many years ago, and I’ve never looked back. The secret? Fresh-squeezed lime juice — nothing compares. I learned how to make a margarita from How Sweet Eats , whose author, Jessica Merchant, has posted over 10 margarita recipes on her blog over the years....

February 4, 2026 · 7 min · 1452 words · George Henderson

Easy, One

This one-pot coconut Thai chicken curry is incredibly flavorful and easy to prepare thanks to delicious time-saving tip: not browning the chicken. After sautéing an onion and making a simple sauce with spices, curry pastes, tomatoes, and coconut milk, you add the chicken to the pot and transfer it to the oven. In just about an hour, it will be done! The sauce is plentiful, so making rice or some sort of flatbread essential....

February 4, 2026 · 32 min · 6740 words · Becky Mckinney

How To Make Fresh Homemade Ciabatta Bread

This post will teach you how to make a crusty, open-crumbed loaf of ciabatta bread. Below you will find a detailed guide full of tips and tricks to help you make a loaf of ciabatta bread with a crisp, golden exterior and a light, airy crumb. Find video guidance below, too! Originating from the Lake Como region of northern Italy, ciabatta means “slipper” in Italian and is characterized by a crusty exterior and a porous, chewy crumb....

February 4, 2026 · 47 min · 9954 words · John Harrower

Jim Lahey’s No

Crusty, airy, bakery-style bread in your home kitchen? Yes. You. Can. This dough takes 5 minutes to stir together, and from there, time does the work. If you love a rustic boule for dipping in your soup or toasting and slathering with butter and jam for breakfast, this recipe is for you. If you’ve spent any time toiling over a loaf of sourdough bread, making Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread will feel like a breath of fresh air....

February 4, 2026 · 29 min · 6014 words · Beatrice Buffey

Ramp Green Pesto & Pizza

About this time last year, I discovered the beauty of baking pizzas naked and dressing them out of the oven with simple, light herb-and-cheese sauces. The benefits of this method are twofold: 1.) Liberated of toppings, the dough springs in the oven, emerging with dramatic crests and craters that so nicely cradle sauce and cheese. 2.) Ingredients, herbs especially, sprinkled on post baking retain their fresh, bright flavors. When I spotted the first ramps of the season at the Co-op last week, I thought of those summer pizzas and bought two large bags....

February 4, 2026 · 7 min · 1324 words · Debra Williams

Rhubarb Galette Recipe With Frangipane

I’ve said it before , and I no doubt will say it again, but I find nothing more delicious than union of flaky pastry, creamy frangipane, and sweet-tart fruit. Here’s the latest, seasonal frangipane galette rendition: rhubarb-orange, always a nice match. The beauty of the galette process is that the flaky pastry dough, a longtime favorite David Lebovitz recipe, is made in the food processor, as is the frangipane — no washing in between necessary....

February 4, 2026 · 12 min · 2493 words · Daniel Mcniel

Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna

This butternut squash lasagna stole the show one snowy Thanksgiving in Vermont many years ago, and it’s become a staple ever since. It also happens to be simple and delicious. The secret? A rosemary- and sage-infused bechamel AND no-boil lasagna noodles. Creamy, rich, and delicious, this vegetarian entrée is loved by carnivores and vegetarians alike, making it perfect for entertaining. Snow, dogs, a constant fire — I couldn’t have asked for anything more of Thanksgiving in Vermont....

February 4, 2026 · 44 min · 9187 words · Felix Lotts

Roasted Chicken With Clementines

Here’s a low-effort, big-reward chicken recipe: roasted chicken thighs with clementines. It requires about 15 minutes (or less) to throw together, and it bakes for about an hour. The result? A stunning, festive, incredibly delicious assembly of caramelized onions, burnished oranges, and crispy-skinned fall-off-the-bone tender chicken. Upon receiving Jerusalem early last summer, I poured through it cover to cover, reading about hummus wars and baba ghanoush, feeling inspired to start burning eggplants and preserving lemons with every turn of the page....

February 4, 2026 · 19 min · 4008 words · Susan Naughton

Split Pea And Ham (or Not!) Soup

My mother emailed this split pea soup recipe to my siblings and me in December 2011. She wrote: “Hello Children. Here is a quick and easy recipe that I haven’t made for years. Very filling and cheap to make. Does not need stock. xo” Over the years, more often than not, I’ve made this soup as instructed, without a ham bone and with water alone (as opposed to stock). Every time I make it, I am amazed by the result, by how such basic ingredients — carrots, onions, celery, split peas — can simmer into something so tasty....

February 4, 2026 · 16 min · 3215 words · Dawn Pace

Super Asparagus

This recipe calls for puréeing about a pound of cooked asparagus and stirring it into risotto during the last five minutes of cooking. The purée allows every bite of this risotto to burst with the taste of asparagus and the tips provide a nice crunch as well as additional flavor. You can make it with farro or arborio or carnaroli rice, though there is something about the farro that is very wholesome tasting....

February 4, 2026 · 6 min · 1231 words · Richard Olivares

Thai

In this simple Thai-inspired chicken and cabbage salad recipe, cabbage is tossed with a simple dressing—fresh lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and Sriracha—and a ton of chopped cilantro, scallions, and vegetables. It comes together in a snap, and tastes light and summery. I’ve added shredded chicken to make it more of a meal, but it could work as a side salad, too, a cooling accompaniment to grilled fish or steak....

February 4, 2026 · 7 min · 1317 words · Bernardo Stringfellow

Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

Colu Henry, the author of Back Pocket Pasta , has a new book out: Colu Cooks Easy Fancy Food . It’s a real beauty, and while I have made only one recipe, if it is any indication of the others in the book, I have lots of deliciousness to look forward to. Let’s start from the stop: One Sunday last month, I spent the afternoon with Colu at her home in Hudson, where she made me a recipe from her book: ricotta and pecorino gnocchi....

February 3, 2026 · 24 min · 5061 words · Joan Parris

Easy No

Here’s a fresh, easy cranberry sauce recipe to add to your Thanksgiving condiment repertoire. I made it on a whim several Thanksgivings ago, and it has become a staple on the holiday table. I adapted the recipe from Epicurious , omitting the cinnamon, adding a pinch of sea salt, and using the full 1/2 cup sugar. It’s delicious: sweet-tart and scented with orange. This no-cook, fresh sauce nicely complements my favorite (cooked) Red Wine (or Port) Cranberry Sauce , which takes just a wee longer, and which is also a Thanksgiving staple....

February 3, 2026 · 9 min · 1869 words · Dorothy Blakeney

Joanne Chang’s Buttermilk Biscuits

I have read about Joanne Chang in blogs and magazines for years, watched her beat Bobby Flay in a sticky bun throwdown , drooled over both of her cookbooks at the library, but for reasons I can’t explain had never made any of her recipes until a few days ago. Joanne Chang’s Buttermilk Biscuits The recipe for buttermilk biscuits with maple and black pepper featured below, is in Dana Cowin’s new cookbook, Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen....

February 3, 2026 · 16 min · 3389 words · Emma Baldyga

Life

If you are under the impression you need to spend hours toiling over a pot of bones to make a highly seasoned broth to then make a good bowl of noodles, you must make Hetty McKinnon’s “life-changing” udon noodles from her latest book To Asia, With Love . ⁣⁣The broth is made with three ingredients — vegetable stock, soy sauce, and mirin — and after it comes to a simmer, it’s done....

February 3, 2026 · 32 min · 6629 words · Ronald Ellington