Eggplant is one of my favorites. Growing up, my mom prepared it in rice dishes—cubed, fried, and then cooked in with the rice, or cut into thick rounds and layered at the bottom of the pot below the rice. It seemed to be everywhere, but I never tired of it. It was in the moussaka, maqlooba, and especially in baba ghanouj. This smoky, creamy baba ghanouj recipe remains a staple in my kitchen. Sometimes we’d enjoy eggplant simply fried and served with pita, fresh vegetables, and hummus. But probably my all-time favorite is maqdoos: pickled baby aubergines stuffed with walnuts and garlic. My grandmother made these, and I hope to master them someday too.
Story by Maggie Weaver Photography by Dave Bryce Food Styling by Veda Sankaran Prop Styling by Keith Recker Recipe by Chef Steve Paul Wallpaper: Guermantes by Manuel Canovas, Courtesy of Cowtan & Tout
These Vietnamese-style chicken wings are a mouthwatering balance of sweet, salty, and tangy, with layers of flavor that build from an overnight marinade. Infused with fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, lemongrass, and ginger, the wings emerge from the oven with a glossy, caramelized coating and irresistible aroma. A final squeeze of fresh lime and sprinkle of cilantro brighten each bite, while an optional dipping sauce—packed with chili heat and umami depth—brings even more complexity to the table. Perfect for game day, dinner parties, or casual snacking, these wings deliver bold Southeast Asian flavor with minimal fuss.
What Makes Something Vietnamese-Style?
When you see Vietnamese-style on a recipe, think bold, aromatic, and balanced. It usually signals a dish built around the signature flavors of Vietnamese cooking—salty fish sauce, sweet caramelized sugar, bright citrus (like lime), fresh herbs, and a little heat from chili. It’s not just about one note, but the interplay between them: savory meets sweet, spicy meets sour. Techniques like marinating meat with lemongrass, garlic, and ginger, then roasting or grilling to lock in flavor, are also hallmarks.
Combine fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, juice from one lime, and lemongrass in a bowl. Add chicken wings and evenly coat marinade over all the wings. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Reserve some marinade for basting during cooking.
Preheat the oven to 400F and place chicken wings and on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 40 minutes. Town and baste midway with marinade.
Add fresh lime juice and cilantro before serving warm.
Dipping Sauce (optional)
Add all ingredients to a saucepan. Reduce liquid until slightly thickened (five minutes) Serve.
Tamales, biscochitos and empanaditas are important holiday traditions for the Martinez family of New Mexico.
To talk about the tamale is to talk about time writ large through food, to recognize interwoven histories across centuries, continents, and generations within families.
The word “tamale” is derived from the word tamalii, an Aztec word meaning, “wrapped food.” This compact creation of corn masa, filled with any combination of meat or vegetables and wrapped in corn husks, has satiated appetites dating as far back as 5,000 BC. Migrating north in the packs of Spanish soldiers, the tamale came to the land now known as New Mexico, where the hardiness and portability of a self-wrapped meal is perfect daily sustenance for the modern-day college student or grandma on the go.
Tamales and the Tradition That Surrounds Them
In Santa Fe, you can find tamales every day of the year. Yet come the winter holidays, tamales serve as more than a mere meal. When made traditionally, this deceptively simple dish is labor and time intensive – an endeavor made easier with many hands. As Christmas draws near, families in New Mexico gather around the kitchen to form a culinary assembly line, spreading masa, placing the filling, wrapping the corn husks, and steaming the finished tamales.
The tamalada, or tamale-making process can take an entire day, beginning with preparing the corn flour masa. Then there are the fillings, often but not limited to slow-cooked, fall-apart tender chicken or pork seasoned with a sauce made from dried red chili powder (Chimayo Red is a local favorite). Corn husks must be soaked until pliable to wrap and tie. The family circles around, making dozens at a time for the holiday. Try their delicious recipe for Traditional Tamales here.
A Personal Experience
Although she grew up in Pojoaque, just north of Santa Fe in northern New Mexico, Theresa Martinez recalls making her first tamales in her early 20s with a friend. But she had eaten them throughout her childhood when the December tamale “harvest” was a family ritual marking the holidays – a time to make copious amounts of food to share with family and neighbors alike. Theresa likens the custom to decorating the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving – moments that define how a family observes this special season.
Now a mother herself, Theresa makes sure that her daughters, Aurora Martinez-Rivera, 24, and Lola Martinez, 10, make the tamales, together with her mother, Lola Thompson, 72, and even her grandmother, Della Ryobal, 95.
What Else Goes With Tamales?
In addition to tamales, [Theresa’s grandmother] makes her biscochitos – a crisp lard- or butter-based cookie, flavored with cinnamon and anise. Theresa tries time and again to reproduce those cookies, but she thinks that there is something unique to her grandmother Della’s hands — part chemistry, part technique. Try her recipe for New Mexico Biscochitos here.
Theresa feels deeply that for her daughters to carry on this tradition is integral to the future of her family so that her girls can teach their own children. It can be a thorny route to navigate, when personal expressions of gender and gender-specific roles, specifically in the kitchen, are constantly shifting and changing. And perhaps that’s where culinary traditions carry such significance. Theresa’s daughters may dress and dance and even speak far differently from their great-grandmother. But, the smells of the tamales steaming and the cookies baking are senses that will always carry them back to the same place. That is what happens when four generations of women and girls gather together in the kitchen to make tamales as their ancestors have done before them.
Traditions are a pathway not only to the past but a wayfinding route for the future – as the family gathers around the table, telling stories, making the best kinds of messes, sticky fingers, stained aprons, and far-flung dough galore – memories are made for years to come.
From smooth, sophisticated sips to spirited, crowd-pleasing mixes, these easy, classic, and craft whiskey cocktail recipes will elevate your home bartending game with ease. We’ve selected 11 of our best whiskey cocktail recipes that celebrate both its classic history and its versatility. Whether in a smash, a sour, or an Old Fashioned, whiskey is one of the best types of liquor to experiment with in home cocktail making.
Tasting Notes to Look for in Whiskey
Just like wine, whiskey has its own tasting notes and flavor profiles. Since whiskey is often aged in barrels, many whiskeys have an oak taste to them. That oak then evolves on the palate to vanilla, caramel, or spice, depending on the whiskey and the type of barrel it was aged in. In Scotch whiskeys, smoke and peat are some of the strongest notes to look for. If you like smokiness, Scotch is the way to go, but bourbon and rye bring a fuller bodied grain flavor. There’s something for everyone in the different types of whiskey out there.
Fresh fruit and tangy flavor take center stage in this delicious craft bourbon smash recipe. The bourbon smash is a perfect cocktail for the changing seasons, refreshing and delicious but classy and high quality, too.
For a dessert cocktail, the bourbon slush can’t be beat among whiskey recipes. A little bit of well-steeped black tea and frozen lemon concentrate make this one of the most refreshing bourbon drinks out there.
It’s a classic for a reason. The sour goes back as far as the nineteenth century and is now enjoyed at bars around the world. The cherry adds a fruity tang to whiskey’s smokiness, while the frothy egg white sweetens the whole mixture.
What does blue taste like? Calming, but confident, able to whisk you away to a blue sea. To savor a bit of blue’s wonderful qualities, try The Taste Curators‘ Blueberry Whiskey Sour recipe. Perhaps you’ll enjoy a bit of synesthesia!
Warm and complex on the palate, this Smoked Bourbon Old Fashioned whiskey recipe offers an undeniably delicious and robust flavor. An old fashioned can become new every time with the complexity of its flavors!
This cocktail inspired by the strong, mysterious witches who headline the Dune prequel makes a bold, boozy choice in combining red absinthe with bourbon. Maybe don’t make this before driving. But it’s delicious!
This easy amaretto cocktail by Team Nemacolin at our inaugural cocktail shake-off embodies the perfect blend of tradition and innovation. The balanced flavorful classic won over the crowd.
Low calorie cocktails are a way for all to enjoy the relaxation of a cocktail without the guilt after. Simply take a can of Green Bee Ginger Buzz Honey Soda and add it to a combination of whiskey and lime juice. It’s subtly sweet with a slight bite from the ginger in the soda.
The 19th century saw the rise of bourbon as it became associated with a style of whiskey. In honor of this period, our 19th Century Cocktail uses Marie Brizard white crème de cacao, Woodford Reserve bourbon, lillet rouge, and lemon juice. The result is ruby-toned brillance.
If you just can’t stay away from Diet Coke then we have some good news, it’s the center of this cocktail recipe. This low calorie cocktail features tart maraschino cherry juice, whiskey, and orange bitters to offset the sweet soda.
We know how hard it can be to get yourself to cook dinner. After a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is get up off the couch to cook over a hot stove. But, an easy recipe makes the task of dinner at least a bit easier. This Chicken Fajita Skillet is a one-pan effort that takes tender chicken and mixes it with fajita vegetables. Garnish your skillet with avocado, lime, and cilantro before serving hot out of the oven.
What is in Fajita Seasoning?
Fajita seasoning is that aromatic blend of spices which forms the flavor base for this beloved dish. The core of the blend is typically chili powder and cumin for spice. These are then complemented by smoked paprika for a rich, smoky undertone and a vibrant red color. Other essential ingredients include garlic powder and onion powder for a savory base, while a touch of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes can be added for extra heat. A bit of oregano or dried cilantro and a hint of salt and black pepper usually round out the mix.
Recipe and Styling by Anna Franklin Photography by Laura Petrilla
Sautéed zucchini, roasted zucchini, zucchini bread, the options are endless when it comes to deciding what recipes to make with zucchini. With so many recipes and so little time, we’ve complied a list to make your zucchini breakfast, lunch, and dinner searches a breeze. Try selections like our Easy Zucchini Tart, Savory Zucchini Crepe Cake, or Spiral-Cut Zucchini Summer Salad for ways to unlock the underlying flavors of this summer ingredient.
Best Zucchini Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Whether you need a grab and go breakfast option or a dish to take to the family cookout, these Savory Zucchini Muffins satisfy any hunger cravings. You can even substitute the chicken stuffing mix and chicken soup for vegan stuffing and veggie soup and add plant-based butter to customize this dish to your diet.
The fresh produce in this Spiral-Cut Zucchini Summer Salad helps create the perfect, energizing lunch recipe. Not to mention, the spiralized zucchini adds a different texture than the usual slices you see in salads.
If you haven’t had a chance to try “zoodles” (zucchini noodles) then now is the time! This Thai-Inspired Zucchini Noodles recipe is a healthy pasta with a kick. The zoodles soak in the Thai-style sauce that’s a little sweet, a little hot, and a lot delicious.
Everyone needs an essential Zucchini Bread recipe that’s great to make for bake sales or to take for lunch. Combine this dense bread with your favorite type of butter or jam or even eat it plain for a snack in between meals.
Why have zucchini by itself when you can mix it in with other vegetables like yellow squash, okra, cherry tomatoes, and corn? These Roasted Sheet Pan Veggies are a great side for any dinner. Plus, with only one pan needed, it’s an easy recipe to prepare. Though we must admit it is the Spicy Glaze that makes this recipe such a hit.
If you want to impress your guests with a visually stunning recipe then this Easy Zucchini Tart is for you. The spirals of green create an intriguing design that only further proves its excellence by tasting. While it looks complicated, the preparation is actually simple with a list of under 10 ingredients.
Ditch the basics of stuffed zucchini and instead give Grilled Zucchini a try. This recipe uses a Tahini Yogurt Sauce that’s tangy and brings out the natural flavors of the zucchini. Finish it off with a Corn Relish (either store-bought or made from home) and your nutritious lunch for the day is set.
We touched on zucchini noodles earlier in this list but what about a Zucchini Pasta Sauce? You could choose to combine this sauce with your zoodles or use another variety of your choosing. Either way this sauce provides a savory, herbaceous base for a dinner favorite.
This dessert take on zucchini bread is excellent for chocolate lovers and those with sweet tooth. With the addition of cocoa powder and chocolate chips, our Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread is a fun way to add some vegetables into your dessert choice. We even add a little bit of espresso powder to complement the decadence of the chocolate.
When the late summer temperatures start to drop, this Zucchini Soup fulfills those waiting for the fall soup season. The best part is all you need is a blender to help you create a smooth, creamy base of green goodness. Feel free to top with zoodles or other savory garnishes like herbs or olive oil.
While this Savory Zucchini Crepe Cake is not your typical dessert cake, it is a layered crepe appetizer packed with cheese and the flavors of zucchini. Add some bacon lardons on top and you’ve created a veggie “cake” that even the kids will be reaching for.
The next time you go to make salmon, be sure to include a zucchini accompaniment that dresses up your protein with a slighty-sweet profile. This Roasted Salmon sits on a bed of sautéed spinach, chopped zucchini, and a dill relish that makes use of fresh tomatoes.
A hearty zucchini sandwich is just what you need for a healthy and energizing lunch. With a Bánh Mì inspiration, these sandwiches layer quick-pickled carrots, cucumbers, radishes, and jalapeños with zucchini, cilantro, hot sauce, and mayo.
Frying veggies is always going to make them more succulent. These Baked Zucchini Fritters use feta, eggs, scallions, oregano, and mint to ensure plenty of flavor in every bite. Serve them alongside Greek yogurt as a cooling dip.
Scarpaccia just means a rustic Italian tart which we make our own by topping with thin slices of zucchini, zucchini blossoms, spring onions, and thyme. The best part is it does not take a pro to make such a simple and delicious Italian Zucchini Tart recipe.
A traditional Greek appetizer, Kolokythokeftedes essentially translates to zucchini meatball. They’re crispy on the outside and utterly soft on the inside. Plus you’ll learn to make a caper-yogurt sauce with a bit of orange blossom water for extra flavor.
Who says you can’t have two Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipes in one list? This version of Chocolate Zucchini Bread is a little more like a chocolate cake with zucchini, but you won’t find us complaining. A base of grated zucchini comes together with dutch process cocoa and dark chocolate chips throughout. It’s a way to be a little healthier but still indulge in your cravings.
Bring the bold flavors of Korean BBQ right to your kitchen with our simple Beef Bulgogi Bowl recipe. Bulgogi, which translates to “fire meat,” uses thinly sliced beef marinated in a savory-sweet blend of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. This recipe elevates the classic dish by serving it in a customizable bowl of thinly sliced vegetables, allowing you to build a perfect, balanced meal. Layered over a bed of fluffy rice and topped with kimchi, this dish is a fantastic way to enjoy a flavorful, hearty, and incredibly satisfying meal that’s easy to prepare.
Where Does Beef Bulgogi Come From?
Beef bulgogi is a staple of Korean cuisine and actually goes back centuries. Some believe the dish comes from the Goguryeo Dynasty (37 BCE–668 CE), where it was initially prepared as a skewered meat dish called maekjeok. Over time, the preparation evolved, and the dish then became known as neobiani, a finely sliced and seasoned grilled beef enjoyed by Korean royalty. But it’s not until the 20th century that bulgogi comes into its modern form, becoming a widespread and accessible dish. Today, its signature sweet and savory marinade and tender, thinly sliced beef are what define beef bulgogi.
Recipe and Styling by Anna Franklin Photography by Laura Petrilla
If you’ve ever indulged in the taste of Hot Honey, you know the addictiveness of silky smooth sweetness followed by a wave of heat. There’s only one thing that could make this delectable topping even better; crafting it right in your own kitchen and even saving a buck or two.
The Hot Honey trend really comes from the establishment of Mike’s Hot Honey in 2010. Prior to creating his own recipe, Mike Kurtz was traveling in Brazil when he came across the concoction in a pizzeria. After trying it on his pizza, he went back to Brooklyn to work on his own Hot Honey recipe, eventually bringing it to Paulie Gee’s. The Hot Honey craze that shows no sign of stopping.
Recipe by Kylie Thomas Styling by Keith Recker Photography by Dave Bryce
Hot, muggy evenings and sunshine-filled days can only mean one thing: it’s peak tomato season! They are delicious enough to eat on their own — my mouth is watering, thinking about biting into the tender skin of a juicy, ripe tomato. But the versatile fruit is made even better when incorporated into a culinary treat. If you feel the same way, check out the following easy and fresh tomato recipes to make before summer is over.
You’ll love this carefree appetizer. The food processor does all the serious work of turning feta, cream, roasted garlic and black pepper into a luscious Whipped Feta Dip.
The richness of peppers and tomatoes roasted in olive oil is brightened beautifully with fresh greens and a big spoonful of lentils tossed in a tangy balsamic dressing. A dish this substantial will make you forget you’re eating salad for supper.
Say goodbye to your boring old house salad. Large balls of mozzarella, charred chunks of garden-fresh tomatoes, and some of summer’s finest greens make up a salad of epic proportions.
In case you’re looking for a bruschetta that’s a little less traditional. This Tomato Ricotta Bruschetta not only adds a light, creamy cheese on top but also substitutes in sliced cherry tomatoes in multiple varieties.
Stuffing warm Baked Tomatoes with a Mexican-inspired filling has us head over heals for tomatoes. Bite into these plump tender vegetables and a mixture of rice, chorizo, cheese, and fideos (vermicelli).
Who says tomatoes cannot be enjoyed for breakfast? These individual tartlets work the flavors of an everything bagel into a flaky crust that holds in goat cheese, green onions, and tomatoes. Each come with a balsamic reduction, capers, and fresh dill on top.
Who doesn’t love Martha Stewart? From her TV shows to her cookbooks and even her bestie friendship with Snoop Dogg, we love all things Martha. So much so that we cooked up our own take on her Hot Cherry Tomato Salad with the simplicity of onion, parsley, olive oil, and basil sprinkled in.
Another one of our favorite culinary icons, Stanley Tucci caught our eye when making this Maria Rosa Tomato Sauce. As Tucci travels Europe’s coasts in his series Searching for Italy, he makes a delectable sauce that makes our stomachs rumble.
A galette makes anyone a pro with its rustic look and simple ingredients. Even if you happen to get a little funky with the shape of this Heirloom Tomato Galette, it’s still going to taste and look delicious with its open face.
We promise we’re not just pairing these two together because they’re red. Though it does contribute to the stunning end product color. Strawberries and tomatoes combine beautifully with a balance of acidic and sweet notes. Plus nutty roasted pistachios on top add another layer to this delicious soup.
You’ve heard of fried green tomatoes but what about fried Green Cherry Tomatoes? These little balls of southern fried goodness pair with a spicy remoulade that adds some zest to your usual fried tomatoes.
Okay, so not every salad has to be overly healthy. Treat yourself with a cherry tomato salad that mixes in fried buffalo cheese curds, red onion, basil, garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil on top.
Chef Jessica Lewis, at the helm of Spirits and Tales on the top floor of The Oaklander, takes first position in our dessert-loving hearts with an absolutely phenomenal almond cake. Grand Marnier in the batter and brushed on top make it irresistible. Make this sweet for your sweetie…or just make it right this second for yourself.
True confessions: our crew devoured this cake as soon as the shutter clicked, and we hereby testify to its deliciousness! Try it fresh out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream on top as a warming treat.
