Cooking

If I’m home for New Year’s Eve – where I prefer to be – chances are I’m making fondue. Sometimes I make two: a cheese one for dinner and a chocolate one for dessert. The fun, informal nature of the dish sets just the right tone. There’s an ease about fondue, from the stress-free way it’s served to the freedom each person has to choose what they want to dip in it.

I consider caramel as evidence that cooking is a form of magic. With just heat, you can turn simple, sweet sugar into something deliciously complex with a range of textures (depending on the addition of other ingredients). This is thanks to chemical reactions that create new flavor compounds. But as with any potion, making caramel can be hard to master and even dangerous if not handled properly.

Holiday gifts don't have to be big or expensive to be appreciated. In fact, it's often the smaller, practical items intended for everyday use that end up having the most impact in the long run. 

Since Hanukkah is approaching, I wanted a one-pot dish that was festive enough for a holiday meal, yet easy enough to leave time to make latkes. Tsimmes recipes vary greatly, but the version I grew up with included honey and orange juice to nudge the natural sweetness of the root vegetables and dried fruit.

For many customers, walking into Karar Market feels like home.

A big part of me loves to be a little extra. I love baking that looks a little extra. That part of me that loves all things extra is at war with the part of me that doesn’t always have time to make everything extra. I love finding something that feels like minimal work with maximum results. I have spent many hours decorating cookies, and I love it. However, I prefer dealing with something other than piping tips, many piping bags full of icing and then the cleanup.

For years I’ve looked at pictures of gorgeous star-, wreath- or tree-shaped holiday breads and pastries, knowing that they looked far more complicated than they really were. But, I never bothered to make one.

I found this delicious and very easy way to steam fish. It’s in the oven instead of over boiling liquid. It helps retain moisture and flavor. The combination of ginger, scallions and garlic form a flavorful sauce for steamed tilapia. It takes a few minutes to prepare ingredients, but then the oven does the rest of the work.

Of the nine major food allergens, two are nuts – specifically peanuts (technically a legume), and tree nuts, including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. (The others are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soybeans and sesame.) That’s a lot of ground to cover for people with nut allergies, especially because nuts are a common ingredient in all sorts of sweet and savory recipes.