Excellent fresh mozzarella is milky, tender, and mild, with a faint layer of cream beneath the skin that gushes a little when you slice it. This is mozzarella you eat when it's still warm, and it never goes into the fridge. Here's how to make it at home.
Paneer makhani, or butter paneer, is a staple in America's Indian restaurants for a reason: it's hard to beat chunks of fresh cheese in a creamy, buttery tomato sauce. It's also drop-dead simple to make at home.
Queso fresco is a delicious, milky, fresh cheese that is a breeze to make. It doesn't melt, so it's a great cheese for grilling in cubes or slices, and is awesome crumbled over soups or salads.
Most of us at home don't have easy access to a large supply of whey, but we can use milk and an acid like white vinegar to make a cheese that's remarkably similar to true ricotta. The keys to getting it right lie in using the right amount of acid, heating the milk to the right temperature, and holding it there long enough for a ricotta-like flavor to develop.
Video: How to Poach Eggs, the Foolproof Method (Really!)
It wasn't until I discovered this technique that my egg-poaching success rate suddenly soared to, well, pretty much 100%, where it's stayed ever since. The trick requires no fancy equipment, and can be done by anyone. Watch the video to become an egg-poaching pro.
Japanese mayonnaise (and Kewpie brand in particular) is beloved worldwide for its delightful spreadability, savory flavor, and sunny disposition. Why does it rise above the rest? It has a silky-smooth consistency and rich yellow color that come from egg yolks (most American mayos are made with whole eggs), and it takes on a deeply satisfying umaminess thanks to a little MSG. The most difficult thing about making our version at home is ordering the ingredients—and even that is freakin’ easy: just click the shopping cart icons in the ingredient block below and wait patiently for your packages to arrive. After that, it’s a two-step, ten-minute process for a 500-gram reserve of delicious mayo that you can keep in your fridge for weeks. Drizzle it on burgers, dip your fries in it, or smash it into a warm potato salad—the best thing about having a stash of homemade mayonnaise on hand is you can use it in hundreds of innovative ways. And when it’s Japanese mayo, you can count on it lending a deep, savory flavor to just about anything. PSST: There are tons of ways to spice up this recipe. Try one of the variations at the bottom of this page, or get inventive with your own flavor enhancements. Regardless of which variation you choose, we think you’ll find this mayo a cut above the stuff they slather on your sandwich at the local Subway.
These rich stuffed shells are packed with a mixture of crabmeat, shrimp, and scallops, then baked with a creamy sauce and golden, buttery bread crumbs. It's like a crab cake stuffed into pasta.
Pozole Verde de Pollo (Green Mexican Hominy and Chicken Soup) Recipe
If you've ever cooked that great Rick Bayless recipe for pozole verde, the Mexican meat and hominy soup flavored with green chilies and tomatillos, you'd know that it's a beast. The truth is, unless you've got the day off, cooking pozole on a Thursday is nothing more than a sueño imposible. My goal was to come up with a recipe that is not only delicious, but fast enough that it can reasonably be made on a Thursday night. The recipe I came up with may or may not be authentic, but it sure as heck is delicious.
These sauces were created to cook protein in the them sous vide. Make the sauce, cook the protein, and create a few sides. Dinner is done. Easy weeknight meals with flavors from around the world.
Transform your chicken noodle soup from beige and boring to golden and striking with a few extra steps, some precision cooking, and a long-simmered broth.
It's good to recognize your flaws, but it's also good to recognize your skills. If there's one thing I know I'm good at, it's making kickass quesadillas. Not authentic, not fancy, not gourmet; just tasty. I mean, let's be honest: You can microwave some pre-shredded cheese on a tortilla, fold it in half, and end up with something tasty. But I'm talking really frickin' tasty here.
Black sesame paste has a deep, earthy flavor with an edge of bitterness. With the help of little more than lemons and olive oil, it's transformed into a dressing for tender roasted carrots, which makes for a visually striking dish with contrasting flavors.
These carrots develop a natural sweetness as they're roasted on the grill. A finishing brush with a honey and soy sauce mixture leaves them with a glistening glaze that has a salty depth and a mild ginger and garlic bite.
