There is a moment every home cook knows. The sandwich is golden on both sides, the bread is exactly right, and then you cut into it, and the cheese is still sitting there in a cold, rubbery slab, barely warmed through. You did everything else right. The cheese let you down. This happens more often than it should, and the reason is almost always the same: the wrong cheese for … [Read more...] about 12 Grocery Store Cheeses That Actually Melt the Way You Want Them To
Ingredient Guides, Tools & Grocery
What to Do When You’re Out of Heavy Cream, Buttermilk, or Bread Crumbs
There is a particular kind of kitchen panic that strikes about twenty minutes before dinner. You're halfway through a recipe, the onions are already soft in the pan, and you've just discovered the carton of buttermilk you thought was in the refrigerator is nowhere to be found. The recipe calls for a cup. You have none. This is the moment where a good substitution either … [Read more...] about What to Do When You’re Out of Heavy Cream, Buttermilk, or Bread Crumbs
Why Home Cooks Keep Going Back to Trader Joe’s for These Pantry Staples
There is a particular kind of shopper at Trader Joe's: the one who moves through the store with the quiet confidence of someone who has already made all the mistakes. She doesn't stop at the new seasonal displays. She doesn't pick up the hibiscus sparkling water. She goes straight to the pantry aisle, loads her basket with the same ten things she always buys, and heads for … [Read more...] about Why Home Cooks Keep Going Back to Trader Joe’s for These Pantry Staples
The Best Cheese for Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
There is a specific moment in a grilled cheese sandwich when everything either works or doesn't. The bread turns the color of a good tan, the butter starts to smell nutty, and you press down gently with the spatula. If the cheese inside has gone soft and cooperative, you're about to eat something close to perfect. If it's fighting you, stringy, seized up, leaking oil instead of … [Read more...] about The Best Cheese for Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
8 Heavy Cream Substitutes That Actually Work (and When to Use Each)
There is a particular kind of Sunday afternoon panic that cooks know well. The soup is simmering, the recipe calls for a cup of heavy cream, and the carton in the fridge is either empty or two days past its prime. The store is twenty minutes away. Dinner is not. The good news is that heavy cream is one of the more forgiving things to substitute in cooking as long as you … [Read more...] about 8 Heavy Cream Substitutes That Actually Work (and When to Use Each)