Extra Helpings - A Blue Apron blog
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How to Eat a Persimmon
As the holiday season approaches, persimmons are reaching their peak sweetness. If you haven’t cooked with persimmons before, this will help you get started. Keep reading for persimmon recipes and tips on choosing a ripe persimmon.
How-To: Quarter and Deseed a Lemon
How to quarter a lemon
Our Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe
Basil pesto is a simple but flavorful sauce. The traditional Italian recipe is made from just basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. Blue Apron sends a delicious, fresh nut-free recipe. There are hundreds of variations available on the internet, but our favorite recipes stick pretty close to the classic.
Sloppy Joe History: The Origins of this Iconic Comfort Food
There’s nothing complicated than a Sloppy Joe.
At its most basic, the Joe is a sandwich made with ground beef and a tomato sauce. The Sloppy Joe’s history, however, is a bit more complex.
Winter Tomatoes: Finding & Cooking Them
For tomato lovers, August is a sacred month—it’s the magical time of year when the farmer’s market overflows with ripe, juicy, heirloom tomatoes. These in-season beauties are delicious on their own, or as the star of a simple tomato sandwich
Learn How to Make Glaze at Home
Some of your favorite restaurant and takeout dishes are finished with a sticky cooked sauce, also known as a glaze. Replicating these dishes at home doesn’t have to be complicated. Learn how to make two basic glazes, then take these recipes and mix and match them with your favorite ingredients.
How to Dice Potatoes Like a Pro
We’re embarking on a quest to help you cut down prep time in the kitchen by finessing your knife skills and making short work of onions, garlic, and carrots. Today’s lesson: how to dice potatoes. Let’s start by focusing on a large dice. This method is great for creating big potato chunks perfect for roasting.
The Best Squash for Pumpkin Pie
There are hundreds of varieties of squash and pumpkin. In fact, many of the pumpkin pies and pumpkin ravioli you’ve eaten over the years have been filled with another variety of sweet, orange, winter squash. You never would have noticed the difference.
Your Guide To Asian Vegetables & When To Use Them
When we’re stuck in a cooking rut, one of our favorite things to do is visit a specialty grocery store. Your local Asian market is full of ingredients you can’t find at major American supermarkets. You may even find a flavor or vegetable that’s new to you. These are some of the Asian vegetables we pick up when we hit the market, and how we like to cook with them.
Essential Middle Eastern Spices & How To Use Them
While there are many ingredients that make up the Middle Eastern kitchen, here are a dozen to start with and a few ideas of what to do with them.
Penne alla Vodka Recipe
Every winter, I say I’m going to watch The Sopranos. Somehow, I never get around to it. Whenever my fellow test kitchen Chef Lauren asks me how it’s going, I have the same answer: “I’m waiting for a blizzard, so that I have time to really get into it.” Well, here I am, the cherry blossoms in peak bloom outside my window, 40-odd hours into a blizzard with Tony, Paulie, Furio, and most importantly, my girl Carmela, who makes a mean ziti.
A Guide to Grocery Store Sausage
Sausage is a magical food. It exists in dozens of forms, across cultures, and is filled with a variety of spices. There are so many types and flavors that it becomes hard to define what exactly qualifies as sausage. It can be a link or a patty, smoked or dried, pork, beef, or even seafood.
Make Instagram’s Favorite Dalgona Coffee (Whipped Coffee) at Home
What is Dalgona'? In short: it’s gorgeously caramel, fluffy, and sweet—perfect for an Instagrammable quarantine treat. Bonus: It can be made hot or cold. Even though you need to start with hot water to melt the coffee crystals, after it’s whipped it can be finished over cold milk and ice.
The Difference Between Whole Wheat and Whole Grain
White, whole wheat, and whole grain breads all get their start with grains. The difference is determined by white grains are used, and how those grains are processed.
Before we understand the difference between whole wheat and whole grain bread, let’s take a look at what a grain is.
What Is A Gastrique Sauce?
Gastrique is a classic French sauce. It’s sweet, sour, and intensely flavored, similar to an Italian agrodolce.
A gastrique is an easy way to make any meal feel special. Even the word feels elevated, announce it confidently, and you’ll sound like a trained French Chef. With a gastrique, even a simple Sunday dinner of roasted chicken and potatoes will feel like it came from a fancy restaurant.
A Shakshuka Recipe to Use up Whatever Is in Your Fridge
Shakshuka is one of the most comforting, versatile dishes out there. This recipe always sparks excitement and lifts me out of my usual cooking routine. Shakshuka can be served for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner. If you need to serve a larger group, you can easily bulk it up by adding another can of tomatoes and more eggs. It’s also a one-pan wonder, so in my eyes, it’s perfect.
14 Apple Varieties to Fall in Love With
Apples are synonymous with fall. Every September, grocery store aisles fill up with dozens of apple varieties. These are some of the types of apples you’ll find this year, what to expect, and the best ways to use them.
How To Finish Pasta Like a Pro
Today, we’re talking about improving your spaghetti endgame so that your pasta primavera tastes like it’s from the best Italian restaurant in the world. Learning how to finish pasta will help take your spaghetti dinners from good to great.
A Guide to Duck Confit
Attention fans of big cooking projects: making duck confit is the perfect way to bust out of your poultry rut. Duck is widely available in US supermarkets, but it’s a far less common addition to the dinner table than its feathery counterpart, the chicken. If you’re looking to master a new skill, read on to learn all about this traditional method for preparing duck.
How to Make a Pie for Any Size Party
Pies are a perfect party dessert. Unfortunately, the classic 9-inch pie tin isn’t one size fits all. For small households, there’s a serious risk leftover pie could languish in the fridge—a true tragedy. For large celebrations, one pie just isn’t going to cut it. From parties for one to full-sized crowds; here’s how to make a pie to suit any size gathering.
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