Removing the last bit of sticky jam from a jar is usually a job for alcohol, but other, spreadable substances—such as Nutella and peanut butter—just don’t go into solution that well. The solution, obviously, is to swap one vice for another, and fill that almost-empty jar with ice cream.

Picking fresh produce and eating fresh produce are two of my favorite summertime activities. I make “salads” that are really just piles of raw corn, eat juicy peaches over the sink, and down bowls of berries swimming in heavy cream. I never had much reason to get anything cooked involved, until the geniuses at Food…

Few people think of red wine as something that needs to be chilled. Red wine, after all, is usually served at “room temperature,” but that value can vary wildly from room to room, house to house, and climate to climate. But most red wines benefit from at least a little time in the fridge, especially during the hotter…

Peach liqueur is a tough sell. With a cloying, trite image and candy-like flavor, it requires a delicate hand. (A sense of whimsy doesn’t hurt either.) But if you can press the reset button in your brain and forget any negative Sex on the Beach-related nightmares, you’ll find that it works quite well in certain…

Chick-fil-A is known for two things: surprisingly addictive chicken and problematic politics. To enjoy the former and avoid involvement in the latter, a DIY recipe is needed. Most people think the key to making Chick-fil-A’s iconic poultry lies in a pickle juice brine, but if you look at the ingredients list, there’s…

You do not have to be a capital-F Food Writer to write excellently about food; an enthusiasm for the subject and a way with words is enough. Case in point: bestselling author Chuck Wendig’s yearly heirloom apple reviews—a vastly entertaining and thoroughly educational romp through the world of apples.

I will never forget the time I asked for ice at a Patisserie Valerie. It was a particularly hot day in Oxford, and I had grabbed a Coke from something that looked like a fridge, only to discover it was quite tepid. The woman working at the cafe went to the little freezer, took out a cold pack (like the kind you’d find…

Edibles are tricky business. If you’ve never eaten your way to a high before, you may be a little wary, even if you’ve smoked many a joint. Edibles, as the kids say, hit differently.

If you’ve ever gone berry picking, you know how it easy it is to pick an insane amount of berries. Each plump piece of fruit begs to be pulled from the vine, and before you know it you have flats full of fruit and big plans. But then you get home, and you realize you may have been a tad overzealous.

People being mad about Italian food online (and in my home) is one of my favorite forms of content. It’s a righteous anger, a pure anger, an anger I (usually) have to experience vicariously through my Italian-American boyfriend. But even I, a person who orders pineapple on her pizza, am slightly scandalized by The…

I do not have a garden, but I have many gardener-type friends, and this means I enjoy free produce in the summer months. Some gifts, like two pounds of blackberries or many ripe tomatoes, are welcome, but a recent offering—a single zucchini—had vague troll vibes.

If you know me, you know that I hate it when things roll away. Things that roll away slow me down, and they force me to pick them up. It’s inconvenient, and I’m accustomed to an easy life.

I may be a messy bitch, but I am not a messy eater, and I absolutely hate it when toppings—be they on pizza or burgers—slide off prematurely. Forgoing lettuce or pickles simply to avoid a shirt stain is a little too precious, but you can greatly decrease your chances of slippage by dicing and shredding your favorite…

Buying furniture or decor is fueled by need (you need a couch to sit on that doesn’t hurt your back) or want (I want another mounted deer head). You plan ahead to buy stuff you need, whereas wants are often impulsive—you find the perfect headboard when you’re out browsing an antique store. To ensure you don’t…

Caramel is great, but salted caramel, with its contrasting flavors, is even better. Add MSG to that mixture, and you have a sweet and salty, buttery, gooey caramel sauce with just a hint of umami (sorta like a fish sauce caramel, but without the fish, and much more dessert friendly). It is—and I cannot stress this…

I have been celebrating my birthday since Sunday, and it has involved a not insignificant amount of drinking. I’ve had margaritas in Mississippi, a Viuex Carré at Carousel Bar, and a really dank grasshopper here in Portland. And now—in typical Leo fashion—I’m asking you to continue celebrating with me with a few of my…

McDonald’s Big Mac sauce is one of the most iconic condiments around, but there’s no reason it should be limited to McDonald’s patties, even if they are “all-beef.” Though the official “leaked recipe” is a long list of oil, corn syrup, stabilizers, emulsifiers, flavorings, and preservatives— as most mass-produced…

If you are a person who likes free things and a person who likes iced coffee (or tea), then I have some pretty good news. Starting at 2 pm today (August 8th), Starbucks is running a BOGO deal on icy cold beverages.

Heavy cream, in its liquid form, is a fairly neutral ingredient that can be added to sweet or savory dishes, to bring luxurious texture, rich mouthfeel, and glorious fat. But for some reason, once you whip it, it gets restricted to dessert applications, even though there is no real reason for it.

When it comes to fruit, it’s the flesh people want, but that flesh often clings to stems, pits, and peels, and tossing those bits means you’re tossing out flavor. Lucky for us, Queen of Sweets Stella Parks has a solution: Use these supposed scraps to make vibrant no-cook syrups.