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  • in Recipes

    10 Quick and Easy Back to School Lunch Box Recipes

    There’s no doubt that school is looking a lot different this year! In a way, it seems that there are several different directions we are taking to navigate this upcoming school year, but there is one thing that remains a constant… SCHOOL LUNCH. Whether you’re in-person, distant learning, doing a hybrid method, or homeschooling, these kiddos need to eat!
    I am doing a homeschooling co-op with a few other families in my neighborhood, and the topic of lunch has come up in all the logistics we’ve had to figure out. We have decided that each kid will bring their own lunch, which means I will still be packing five different lunches every night. Yes, I pack my lunches at night! It’s one of the ways I help my mornings run just a bit smoother.
    While PB&J is still a major contender for our lunch boxes, we definitely like to try new things! LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    5 Weeknight Dinners to Transition from Summer Days to School Schedules

    This month, welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
    As a kid, I met the end of summer vacation with a mix of anticipation and dread. It’s not so poignant as an adult, but I still feel a soft melancholy knowing the long days and warm nights are embarking upon their way out for the year…just like the last of the lightning bugs glowing after the sun sets.
    Do you get similar pangs? There are still plenty of summery nights left, so make the most of them as you transition to the altered schedules of school or whatever changes life may hold for you! These are light, carefree recipes to enjoy while mentally adjusting to the eve of autumn.
    One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    Quarter Sheet Pans

    Kitchen ToolsOne Simply Terrific Thing

    While we’ll never give up our half sheet pans, don’t forget about quarter sheet pans! These smaller-sized pans are perfect for small-batch cooking and prep.

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    Welcome to One Simply Terrific Thing, our ongoing series highlighting the small tools and kitchen goods that make life better!

    Half sheet pans get all the glory. They’re the go-to for roasted vegetables, chocolate chip cookies, and sheet pan dinners.
    And while I would never be without at least two of those pans (I currently have three), not enough love goes out to the half sheet’s smaller sibling, the quarter sheet pan ($22/2 pack).

    This is the sheet pan for small batch cooking and for cooking for 1-2 people. This is the pan I pull out when I want to toast some nuts in the oven or roast just a couple sweet potatoes or beets.
    It’s what I use when I want to cook a bunch of different things at one time, but individually. I can fit four of these pans in my oven, two side by side, which lets me pull out the vegetables or chicken thighs or salmon filets when they’re done, and let the rest keep cooking.
    A quarter sheet pan is also terrific for prep and storage.
    I use it for seasoning pieces of meat (the high lip contains juices much better than a cutting board or plate), breading, and for holding anything I need to freeze first: balls of cookie dough, a large bag of chicken broth. I can actually maneuver a quarter sheet pan into my freezer, which I cannot do with a half sheet pan!
    As for cleaning? I can submerge a quarter sheet pan entirely under water in my sink! Big fan.

    This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

    Cambria Bold
    Cambria Bold is the Product and Lifestyle Director for Simply Recipes. She has almost a decade’s worth of online editorial experience and know-how, first as the Managing Editor for Apartment Therapy’s green living site Re-Nest (RIP) and later as the Design and Lifestyle Editor for The Kitchn. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and their two little girls. And, yes, this is her real name.
    More from Cambria LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    Gimlet Cocktail

    A classic gimlet doesn’t require much: gin (or vodka, if you must), lime, and simple syrup. That’s it! It’s a perfectly balanced gin sour that’s equally appropriate for a dinner party or a casual night at home.

    A simple, classic cocktail—just gin (or vodka), lime, and sugar—the gimlet is one of the gems among classic cocktails, with a long history stretching from the high seas to Madison Avenue. Light green, lime-forward, and exquisite when well-balanced, this gin sour is equal parts refreshing and scurvy-preventing—who doesn’t require both?

    WHAT’S THE HISTORY OF THE GIMLET?
    Like every other classic cocktail, the gimlet comes with a handful of competing origin stories. The most credible is its creation, in the 1880s, at the hands of Royal Navy surgeon Sir Thomas Gimlette, who encouraged his mates to take their gin rations with a healthy dash of scurvy-preventing lime juice. Lauchlin Rose’s lime juice cordial, invented just a decade earlier, helped make that possible, at the same time sweetening the drink and preserving the citrus.
    As for its origins, you can think of the gimlet as a sweet gin rickey (without the soda water), or another in a long line of descendants of the sour, one of the main cocktail families. Originally a 50-50 mix of gin and lime cordial, modern preferences for drier (better balanced) drinks have seen the proportion of lime cordial track ever downward.

    GIN GIMLET OR VODKA GIMLET?
    This is going to be a question that only you can answer, as opinions are many and they are strong.
    Unless you specifically request vodka, most bartenders will likely serve this with gin, for good reason. It is the gin that makes this a balanced, more soulful drink with a soupçon of complexity, elegance, and even strength. A great gimlet depends on the balance between juniper (from the gin) and fresh citrus: Too much of the former, and it is overly stiff; too much of the latter, and it is too tart. To a gin purist, vodka would be like signing yourself up for a boring blind date.
    To the vodka camp, gin talks a bit too much, dominates the conversation; preferable are the more subtle airs of a good, clean, ice-cold vodka.
    WHAT’S THE BEST GIN FOR A GIMLET?
    Your old-school gimlets were all made with Plymouth gin, a unique style of gin so special it was called for by name in 20+ recipes in the Savoy Cocktail Book, and so beloved by the British Royal Navy that they commissioned a higher proof version known now as “Navy Strength.”
    Plymouth is drier than London Dry gins, but more citrusy and even botanical than most. It has enough character to guarantee some personality to even a sour.
    But a crisp, dry London-style gin like Tanqueray, Beefeater, or Gordon’s also make for good choices. Save your more delicate or aromatic gins, like Hendrick’s, for spare cocktails like a Martini, where those subtleties can be appreciated.
    What’s the Best Vodka (if you go that route)?
    The same thinking holds true here, too: Save your Grey Goose for another occasion. Smirnoff is a perfectly fine choice. That said, feel free to venture off toward Ketel One, with its hints of honey and subtle cracked black pepper, or even Tito’s with its clean minerality and grain character.

    FRESH LIME JUICE OR ROSE’S?
    After deciding between gin or vodka (though there is only one proper answer to the above, and it rhymes with “win”), your choice of how to sour and sweeten this drink is most critical.
    Historically, the gimlet is made only with Lauchlin Rose’s original formula for a lime cordial—commonly available as Rose’s Lime Juice. But while original recipes and those of the many gimlet originalists all call for Rose’s Lime Cordial, the Rose’s of today is much changed from Lauchlin’s original, with high-fructose corn syrup and additives that wouldn’t make it through the door of most craft cocktail bars.
    The recipe below substitutes Rose’s for a “quick lime cordial” hack, combining fresh lime juice with a simple syrup and fresh lime zest. If you’re set on using Rose’s, mix one ounce of Rose’s sweetened lime juice with a half ounce of fresh lime juice.
    ANY FUN VARIATIONS ON THE GIMLET?
    The Richmond Gimlet, a creation of Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s, simply includes mint shaken with the same ingredients mentioned below.
    A Basil Gimlet, muddling the basil leaves with either a simple syrup or agave nectar, will be slightly herbal and more than a little refreshing.
    Vodka Gimlet: The default for some, this should still count as a variation, and one not without its own great qualities.
    Ancho Gimlet: This slightly spicy version would incorporate Ancho Reyes Verde, a peppery Mexican liqueur.
    MORE BELOVED CLASSIC COCKTAILS LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Drink

    Episode 161 – Tales of the Cocktail 2020 with Caroline Rosen

    Now, you might be wondering at this point why we’re bothering to give you a cocktail recipe as cloudy as this one. Well, one reason is that some ungodly percentage of first time visitors to New Orleans visit the birthplace of of the Hurricane Cocktail – Pat O’Brien’s, and the history of this bar, coupled with the supposed origin story of the cocktail are actually kinda compelling.
    Pat O’Brien is a gentleman who ran a speakeasy in the French Quarter during Prohibition, and according to legend, the password for this elicit bar was: “Storm’s Brewin’.” Later on, when drinking was legal again, he purchased a sprawling residential building and converted it to a bar with an attractive courtyard and a dueling piano stage, which is still popular to this day. I’ve been there – and as you’d expect – it’s pretty much all tourists and bachelorette parties.
    AND YET – Pat O’Brien’s is pretty much the undisputed home of the hurricane cocktail.
    See, in the wake of Prohibition and during World War II, there was a glut of rum from the Caribbean because everyone was suddenly obsessed with all the stuff they couldn’t get – like whiskey and imported stuff from Europe and because the military efforts abroad had a lot of manufacturers pivoting to help the war effort. 
    The following statement comes directly from the Pat O’Brien’s website:

    In the 1940’s many US distilleries were used to manufacture necessities for war time, and domestic liquor was scarce. However, Rum coming up the Mississippi river from the Caribbean islands was plentiful. In order to buy a case of Bourbon, for example, there was strong incentive to purchase large quantities of rum. With General manager George Oechsner Jr at the helm, the folks in the bar experimented with recipes, and eventually everyone agreed that passion fruit was a hit! A glass shaped like a hurricane lamp was the perfect vessel and the Hurricane drink became New Orleans favorite libation.

    Fast forward to today, and you’ve got Pat O’Brien’s selling jugs (and powdered packets) of their Hurricane mix (as well as a bunch of hackneyed DIY recipes on the internet that involve Hawaiian fruit punch). It’s all slightly reminiscent of a frat party, especially when you consider the ingredients that frequently bastardize the formulation:

    Galliano (of Harvey Wallbanger fame)

    Grenadine (possibly why the cocktail at Pat O’Brien’s is red instead of orange)

    And other fruit juices like pineapple orange juice

    Now, one thing all these ingredients have in common is sugar – which suggests that you need something (or multiple things) to sweeten your drink and take the edge off all that booze and acidity. So keep that in mind as you’re seeking out the best hurricane cocktail recipe for you. This is the type of challenge we think today’s home bartenders are uniquely suited to tackle because the ingredients should be readily available (even the passion fruit puree or syrup), and you can really dial in the recipe to suit your personal palate, which is something you can’t always find at a bar.
    Garnishing Your Hurricane Cocktail
    In terms of consistency, it’s a bit ironic that the garnish for the Hurricane cocktail is the one item that seems to carry over with complete accuracy from recipe to recipe. They all call for an orange wheel or half-wheel and a maraschino cherry. In the spirit of the cocktail, this is normally a firebird red artificial cherry, but I’d highly recommend subbing in a brandied cherry if you’ve got one.
    Show Notes
    Tales of the Cocktail began in 2002 as a small, historical walking tour that featured New Orleans’ rich cocktail history and culture. Over the ensuing 17 years, it developed into a massively popular international cocktail convention with a more than 8 million dollar impact on the service industry of New Orleans. Some of the highlights of the event include: LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    Classic Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

    Wedge salad with blue cheese dressing is such a classic! Made with iceberg lettuce, crispy bacon, cherry tomatoes, and homemade blue cheese dressing. 15 minutes and it’s ready for the table!

    Photography Credit: Sheryl Julian

    For years, iceberg lettuce got a real thrashing from chefs who thought of it as tasteless and nothing but texture. What’s wrong with great texture?
    Cut up a head of iceberg for a classic wedge salad, add blue cheese dressing, smoky bacon, and a few cherry tomatoes, and even the worst kitchen snobs will change their minds!

    What is a Wedge Salad?
    Wedge salads go back to the early 20th century, when iceberg lettuce was simply dressed with a creamy dressing such as Roquefort, Russian, or Green Goddess before serving.
    Blue cheese and bacon became wildly popular additions in the 1950s, but then the dish fell out of favor as the trend faded and as leafier, more flavorful lettuces (like red and green leaf, oak leaf, and others) came into popularity.
    But all good things return to the table, and so have wedge salads.

    How to Make Wedge Salad
    There’s so little prep with this salad that you can make it in the time it takes to fry bacon. If you’re serving this at a dinner party, you can make life even easier on yourself by frying the bacon and whisking the dressing ahead of time.
    The Best Dressing for Wedge Salad
    For the dressing, I like to use a combination of sour cream, mayonnaise, blue cheese, and cider vinegar. It needs to be fairly thick, but still pourable, so when the dressing goes over the wedges, it sticks to the top, but still drizzles down the sides and onto the plate.
    Crumble bacon, add a few colorful cherry tomatoes and a sprinkle of chives and you have really wonderful textures and tastes: creamy, crisp, crunchy, smoky, juicy, aromatic. The classics are classic for a reason.
    More Classic Salad Recipes
    Updated August 26, 2020 : We spiffed up this post to make it sparkle! No changes to the original recipe. Enjoy!

    Classic Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

    Make-ahead Tip: The bacon and the dressing can both be prepared several days ahead. Reheat the bacon briefly in the microwave before serving, if desired.

    Ingredients
    6 thick strips bacon
    2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
    1/4 cup mayonnaise
    1/4 cup sour cream
    1 tablespoon cider vinegar
    1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or more to taste
    Dash hot sauce, like Tabasco, or more to taste
    1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or more to taste
    Heavy cream or milk, as needed to thin the dressing
    1 head iceberg lettuce
    12 red or yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered
    2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

    Method

    1 Prepare the bacon: In a heavy skillet, fry the bacon strips, turning often, for 5 minutes, or until they are evenly golden and crisp all over.
    Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Cool and crumble.

    2 Make the blue cheese dressing: In a food processor, combine the blue cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixture until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt, or pepper, if you like. If you need to thin the mixture, add heavy cream or milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.

    3 Prepare the iceberg lettuce: Discard the outer leaves of the lettuce. Halve the lettuce through the core. Cut each half into 3 wedges so each piece has some core attached to it. With the wedges flat on the cutting board, trim out the tough part of the core from each wedge, but leave enough so that the wedges stay intact.

    4 Assemble the salads: Arrange the wedges on six salad plates. Spoon some dressing over the wedges. Sprinkle with bacon, tomatoes, and chives. Serve immediately.

    Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. Thank you!

    This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

    Sheryl Julian
    Sheryl Julian is an award-winning writer, editor, and food stylist. She is the former food editor of The Boston Globe, co-author of The Way We Cook, and editor of The New Boston Globe Cookbook. Her food sections won Best Newspaper Food Coverage from the Association of Food Journalists in 2015.
    More from Sheryl LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    Cherry Tomato Jam

    This sweet spread is an easy way to enjoy summer’s tomato harvest long after the season has ended. Add it to a charcuterie board for a gourmet touch, or gift a jar to your favorite epicure.I first tasted cherry tomato jam many years ago at a local brasserie, where they served it alongside grilled calamari and an array of house cured meats on a charcuterie board. What a revelation! It was so wonderfully sweet and summery, and its flavor harmonized with everything on my plate. Each time I dined there I made sure to order something that had tomato jam as an accompaniment.This year I planted cherry tomatoes in my little 6′ x 11′ garden outside the workshop with designs to replicate my favorite tomato jam. And boy, did I ever have a bumper crop!
    The variety of cherry tomato I planted is called “Sweet Millions”. I’ve planted “Sweet 100s” before, which yielded a good crop of tomatoes, but I’ve never seen anything like the grape-like clusters on the Sweet Millions plant. I counted about 32 tomatoes on just one cluster!If anyone is interested in growing this variety next year, I purchased my live plant from Grow Joy, right here. Back in March when I was planning my garden, I wasn’t doing any shopping at local nurseries or home and garden centers, so I was happy to find a company that would ship live plants. They have some unusual offerings that aren’t available to me locally, and a unique way of packing the plants so they don’t get damaged.
    My best friend also loves the brasserie’s tomato jam, and so together we worked to get the closest flavor approximation. Lots of tomato jam recipes add strong spices such as cloves or they incorporate hot peppers. This is not our jam. The jam we know and love has unadulterated sweet tomato flavor, so our recipe has very few ingredients – but each one is important!A note about canning jars – I can’t find any at the grocery store right now! This makes me think eeeeverybody is currently canning their summer harvest. Luckily I had some jars squirreled away from last year, but if you’re coming up empty handed, then consider upcycling. Used jam jars and pasta sauce jars with screw-top lids can be washed and sterilized in hot water. You won’t be able to process these in a water bath, but this jam keeps for 6 months in the refrigerator.
    If you’re like me and have cherry tomatoes coming out of your ears, then THIS! This is what to do with them! The jam is wonderful with savory fare, but it’s also good as a simple smear on a buttered baguette.Our current obsession is eating it on wheat crackers with goat cheese and a leaf of fresh basil on top, but the possibilities are endless!

    Cherry Tomato JamYields about four 4 oz. jars2 1/2 lbs. organic vine-ripened cherry tomatoes2 cups (400g) granulated sugar1 teaspoon coarse black pepper1 tablespoon lemon juice3 tablespoons water1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt1 teaspoon coarse black pepperWash tomatoes thoroughly and remove stems. Gently pat dry with a soft tea towel.Place the tomatoes, sugar, lemon juice, and water in a large stock pot. Place over medium heat and stir until tomatoes are coated with sugar. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, mashing the tomatoes with a large wooden spoon or spatula as you stir. Increase the heat to medium-high. Stir in the salt and pepper. The mixture may foam as it cooks; when foam rises to the top, skim it off with a large spoon.Stir frequently to ensure the tomatoes are cooking evenly, until most of the liquid has cooked off. The mixture is ready when it has a glossy appearance, the tomato skins are translucent, and it has a slightly sticky consistency.Ladle the jam into sterilized canning jars and lid. Let rest at room temperature until cool. Store the jam in the refrigerator for up to six months.If canning these for long-term storage, process the jars in a water bath canner with boiling water that covers the tops of the jars. Time the jars at 15 minutes when the water starts boiling again after adding them to the canning pot. Remove the jars from the water bath and allow them to stand until the lids seal (with a satisfying ‘pop’!).Serve tomato jam over goat cheese with crackers, or alongside a charcuterie board. Serve with seafood, or use it to fancy-up fried potatoes of all kinds!
    link Cherry Tomato Jam By Heather Baird Published: Wednesday, August 26, 2020Wednesday, August 26, 2020Cherry Tomato Jam Recipe LEGGI TUTTO