The goal: Develop a recipe for gluten-free focaccia that rivals our wildly popular recipe for no-knead focaccia. Getting there was no easy task. Flour is a fairly small component in cakes and cookies relative to the other ingredients. But bread? Bread recipes hinge on gluten, which is formed by the reaction of (usually) wheat-based bread … Read more
Perhaps you spotted a scotcheroos recipe on the side of a Rice Krispies box as early as the 1960s. The dessert is still a staple at sleepovers, potlucks, and bake sales throughout the Midwest, especially in North Dakota and Iowa. Most easily described as peanut butter Rice Krispies Treats layered with chocolate and butterscotch, scotcheroos … Read more
It only takes a handful of ingredients to turn a can of young green jackfruit into smoky, savory meatless “carnitas.” Layer them high atop tortilla chips, cheese, and black beans before heating through in the oven until melty. Top these hearty nachos with pickled jalapeños, sliced radishes, and all the fixings. They’re perfect for dinner, … Read more
Though I’ve lived almost my entire life in the South, I was an adult the first time I encountered fire crackers, a so-called Southern staple, at a neighbor’s Christmas party. A year or so later I read Sheri Castle’s paean to the Alabama favorite in Southern Living. Reading it made me nostalgic for something I … Read more
Whether you call them summer rolls or fresh spring rolls, this popular Vietnamese snack is easy to make at home (though it can take a fair amount of time to assemble). Prep a few ingredients in advance, grab a friend to help form an assembly line, and you’ll have no trouble cranking them out for … Read more
Wings top of my list of party snacks. And when I think of perfect wings, it’s not the spicy burn of Buffalo that I’m after. My mind goes South to another city: Atlanta, the capital of lemon-pepper wings. The zingy mix of lemon and pepper probably started eons ago in India, but as a seasoning, … Read more
In 1985 the first blooming onion hit the fryolator at Russell’s Marina Grill in New Orleans, a creation of chef Jeff Glowski. Glowski’s friend and colleague, Tim Gannon, brought the fried onion to a neighboring restaurant in NOLA. And then, in 1988, take a wild guess what popular restaurant chain Tim Gannon cofounded. The blooming … Read more
The best thing about popcorn is that it’s the perfect canvas for just about any flavor—be it the simple seasoning of butter and salt, a sprinkling of masala, seaweed snacks, or tangy hot sauce. But the combo that reigns over the city of Chicago is caramel and cheddar, first popularized by Garrett Popcorn. To outsiders … Read more