An exploration of cooking spray, from its mid-century origins and aerosol technology to its many uses, nutritional quirks, and the question of whether we’re actually getting any olive oil out of that can. There are certain kitchen products that don’t get nearly enough attention. They’re not particularly glamorous, they don’t photograph especially well, and nobody is likely to give you one as a hostess gift unless they’ve seriously misunderstood the assignment. Vegetable oil spray is one of them. It lives somewhere between the olive oil bottle and the miscellaneous drawer containing three vegetable peelers, a corkscrew nobody knows how to
Category: Food
Tortillas: The Humble Little Discs Holding Civilization Together
Let’s talk about tortillas. Not because tortillas are glamorous. They are, objectively, flat circles whose primary professional responsibility is keeping your dinner from falling into your lap. But tortillas have been doing this job for thousands of years, which means they have considerably more experience than most of us do at holding things together. Tacos? Tortilla. Enchiladas? Tortilla. Quesadillas? Tortilla. Tortilla chips? Tortilla. Breakfast burrito containing enough eggs, cheese, potatoes, and bacon to qualify as a structural engineering project? Also tortilla. And yet, most of us wander through the grocery store, toss a package into the cart, and never stop to
Abby’s Blueberry Pie: A Blueberry Hater Makes a Blueberry Pie
I have a confession to make, and I realize it may get me kicked out of the food-blogging community. I don’t particularly like fresh blueberries. There. I said it. I know blueberries are supposed to be wonderful. They’re cute. They’re nutritious. They’re packed with antioxidants. They show up in muffins wearing little blueberry tuxedos and somehow convince everyone they’re the sophisticated fruit. I’m not buying it. But I have a daughter who loves blueberries. She also loves pie. And, because apparently she has learned how to weaponize the mother-daughter bond, she had been begging me to make a blueberry pie. So
BBQ Sauce: The Sticky, Sweet, Tangy History of Putting Sauce on Everything
There are few condiments with the ability to inspire the kind of deeply personal opinions normally reserved for politics, religion, and whether pineapple belongs on pizza. BBQ sauce is one of them. Some people want it sweet. Some want it spicy. Some want vinegar sharp enough to strip paint. Some insist that good barbecue should not need sauce at all, which feels suspiciously like the sort of thing a person says immediately before eating an entire plate of dry brisket. Personally, I believe BBQ sauce exists because humanity occasionally looks at perfectly good meat and thinks, You know what this needs?
Chicken Stock: The Surprisingly Complicated History of Boiling a Bird
Chicken stock is one of those ingredients that quietly shows up everywhere while demanding absolutely none of the attention. Nobody posts thirst traps with a carton of stock. Nobody starts a heated family argument over stock the way they do over stuffing, mayonnaise, or whether pineapple belongs on pizza. And yet this humble liquid is carrying entire cuisines on its bony little shoulders. From soups and sauces to risottos and gravies, chicken stock is the culinary equivalent of the reliable friend who helps you move, picks you up from the airport, and never once mentions it afterward. Let’s give it
Brown Butter Cookies with Apple Butter: Better Late Than Never
I’m aware of what month it is. As I sit here writing this, it’s July. People are firing up grills, complaining about humidity, and pretending they enjoy zucchini from their neighbors’ gardens. Meanwhile, I’m about to tell you about one of the coziest autumn baking recipes I’ve made. In my defense, I did make these in the fall. My camera roll can prove it. The only thing that didn’t happen in autumn was me sitting down to write about them. Apparently my recipe review backlog has become as overstuffed as my Pinterest boards. Fortunately, good cookies don’t care what the calendar says.
Onions: The Vegetable That Has Made Humanity Cry for Thousands of Years
There are few foods more universally accepted than the onion. You can cross cultures, religions, centuries, wars, continents, and socioeconomic classes and somehow everyone eventually lands on: “You know what this dish needs? An onion.” Not a truffle. Not saffron. Not edible gold flakes served by a man named Sebastian. An onion. The onion is the supporting actor that quietly wins the Oscar while the flashy ingredients get all the attention. Nobody walks into a restaurant screaming, “OH MY GOD, THE ONIONS!!!” but remove them from civilization and society collapses into bland despair within approximately four business days. And yet
Chicken Thigh Fillets: The Underrated Main Character of Your Dinner Plate
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who choose chicken breast, and those who understand that chicken thigh fillets are the superior life form. If chicken were a high school movie, breasts would be the popular cheerleaders: lean, bland, conventionally attractive, and slightly boring. Thigh fillets would be the brooding indie girl who writes poetry, drinks oat milk before it was trendy, and quietly steals every scene. You didn’t notice her at first, but now you can’t shut up about her. Let’s unpack why chicken thigh fillets deserve a standing ovation. What Exactly Is a Chicken Thigh Fillet?
On Wednesdays We Wear Pink, But Every Day We Use Salt: A Deep Dive Into Table Salt
Let’s get one thing straight: table salt is Regina George. It’s everywhere. It’s powerful. It shapes society. It makes everything better. And occasionally, it ruins your life. Salt is one of those ingredients so basic that we barely think about it, yet it has single-handedly driven wars, built empires, preserved civilizations, and turned otherwise sad food into something worth living for. Without salt, humanity would still be gnawing on bland roots and staring wistfully at the horizon like, is this it? So put on your pink, grab your Burn Book, and let’s do a full cultural, historical, and functional breakdown of table salt through
Hazelnut Cookies (or: Almond Cookies That Look Like Crimes Against Cats)
This recipe for Hazelnut Cookies from Little Upside Down Cake came into my life the way most good ideas do. Casually. Confidently. With zero warning that it would humble me aesthetically while emotionally nourishing me through butter. On paper, these are hazelnut cookies. In practice, I did not have expensive hazelnut flour. What I did have was almond flour, which I swapped in without regret or apology. The result was less “elegant European hazelnut biscuit” and more “luxury almond shortbread that could ruin your self control.” The dough itself is extremely pleasant. Butter and sugar get creamed together until they