Snow peas, sugar snap peas, and pea shoots are quick-cooked with a Thai-inspired oyster-fish-soy sauce dressing, along with plenty of garlic and chiles, in this bold and punchy side dish from SAVEUR editor-in-chief Kat Craddock, which she adapted from a Pok Pok recipe by Andy Ricker. Shoots harvested later in the season are tougher in texture—adjust the cook time accordingly.

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Building a great cake is nothing to be afraid of.

I worked as a pastry chef years back and have made more birthday cakes than I can count (and a handful of wedding cakes I’d prefer not to), and when New York pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz’s gorgeous new cookbook, More Than Cake, arrived in the mail, flipping through it reminded me just how low-stress making a really great cake can be. Sure, layer cakes are high-stakes; they’re the centerpieces of some of the most special occasions, an on-display embodiment of the baker’s skill and style. But Pickowicz gets it. While the multi-component cake recipes in her book are involved, an overall sense of chill persists throughout, encouraging and inspiring the reader while alleviating our collective dessert-related anxieties. 

The fastidious home baker will likely find More Than Cake a rewarding exercise in planning and time management; but jazzier readers will enjoy the open invitation to experiment and the lush series of highly-riffable prompts. Sure, you could make her elaborate fennel jam- and mascarpone-filled, pistachio buttercream-wrapped olive oil cake from scratch. You could also go at it a little more relaxed, borrowing an individual component or two from the book, then swapping in store-bought elements or your own creations for the rest. (When I spoke with Pickowicz on the phone, she eagerly encouraged either approach.) In addition to the recipes themselves, Pickowicz also provides a clear photo tutorial for how to assemble a layer cake like a pastry pro. I’ve often wondered why this smart and simple bakery method—which results in sharp edges, a level top, and a stable cake every time—hasn’t been the standard in home layer cake recipes, so I hopped on a call with the cookbook author to talk through the basics.

Check out her pro technique below, then get your hands on your own copy of the book here.

What you need:

• 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet (aka half-sheet pan)
• Round cake pan
• Paring knife
• Plastic wrap
• Pastry brush
• Assorted offset spatulas
• Large serving platter
• Cake turntable (optional)
• Piping bags
• Piping tips

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Just about all layer cake components can be made well ahead of time; most can be stored in the fridge or freezer. But before you begin, be sure that all of your ingredients are at the proper working temperature (cool room temp is ideal). 
Many home cake recipes suggest sawing thick baked rounds crosswise into fragile slices, which are then stacked freeform into teetering, icing-spackled towers. Pickowicz’s pro method is simpler, sturdier, and far more precise. “My whole approach,” she explains “is to build the cake the way you might assemble a lasagna or a tiramisu. You assemble it in a deep dish so that the layers are supported as they rest in the pan.”

STEP 1: Bake the cake in thin sheets and cut to size.

Rather than baking thick layers in a round cake pan, Pickowicz prefers to spread her cake batters into large rimmed baking sheets (aka sheet pans). These thin layers bake more quickly and evenly than thicker rounds, which have a tendency to dome and crack.

Pickowicz then uses a deep, round cake pan as a stencil to cut as many circles as she needs. Be sure to reserve two perfect circles for the cake’s top and bottom layers and use the trimmings to “Frankenstein together” additional circles for the center layers. (Don’t worry: the filling will help fuse any irregular pieces together.)

STEP 2: Line a cake pan with plastic wrap and insert a circle of cake.

Line the inside of the cake pan with 2 or 3 large sheets of plastic wrap, making sure that the film reaches all the way to the corners of the pan while still leaving plenty of overhang along the edges. Carefully lower an intact circle of cake into the pan. If using a “soak,” brush the layer generously. While Pickowicz acknowledges that soaks are not always strictly necessary, she likes the added moisture and flavor that comes from adding a syrup or creamy liquid. “Soaks are another opportunity to build flavor into a layer cake,” she explains.

STEP 3: Add a layer of filling, another circle of cake, and repeat.

Old-fashioned American-style cakes often sandwich thick cake layers around modest swipes of the same frosting used to decorate the outside of the cake. Pickowicz prefers to play with more surprising textures, and a more balanced cake-to-filling ratio inspired by intricate mousse cakes popular in Korea and China. Spoon a generous layer of filling evenly over the cake layer: Try a layer of homemade or store bought jam, a curd, or even a nut butter or praline paste.

If you like, top with another layer of filling—variation in texture is key—then repeat the process, adding another cake layer, a bit of soak (if using), and another layer of filling. Repeat this process four or five times, or until the cake pan is nearly filled, reserving one unbroken circle for the final layer.

Top the final layer of filling with the unbroken cake circle, brush generously with your soak (if using), then fold the edges of the plastic up and around to cover. Press down gently to level the cake as needed. Wrap tightly with another layer of plastic wrap, then transfer the cake to the fridge for at least 8 and up to 72 hours, or to the freezer for up to a month.

STEP 4: Unmold the cake onto a platter or cake stand.

The day you plan to serve the cake, unmold and frost it. (If the cake is frozen, thaw it overnight in the fridge before unmolding.) Unwrap the top of the cake, then invert the pan over a cake platter, cardboard cake round, or cake stand. Lift the pan up and away so that the perfectly flat bottom layer is now the top. Discard the plastic wrap.

STEP 5: Using an offset spatula, coat the cake generously with buttercream.

Ice the cake: Some folks like to use a rotating cake stand at this stage and you may certainly do so if you like, but Pickowicz shrugs off the added equipment as unnecessary. “You can frost the cake right on the platter, right on your cake stand, right on your whatever!” If using buttercream you have made ahead of time, be sure it is at room temperature and beat it well until very smooth. Using an offset metal spatula, she explains, scoop half of your icing onto the top of the cake. Spread the buttercream all the way to the edges, then dollop the remaining buttercream evenly along the sides, smoothing gently to avoid scraping the edges of the cake and the filling, until the sides of the cake are thoroughly coated. (Remember: A well-chilled cake will hold together far better at this stage than a warm or room temperature one.) Run the spatula once more along the surfaces to smooth, scraping away any excess buttercream from the edges.

STEP 6: Decorate the cake with a piping bag fitted with a pastry tip.

Once the cake is coated, you can consider it a blank canvas: Pickowicz’s decorating style is elegant, organic, and a bit freeform, but you can feel free to experiment with the many intricate cake decorating tools available online and in your local bakery supply shop. A pastry bag with or without a piping tip is an easy way to create sculptural designs with buttercream and other icings. Alleviate any pressure by making a bit more frosting than you need; that way, you can always scrape away any mistakes and start afresh.

STEP 7: Experiment with unconventional decor.

If piping bags and buttercream rosettes aren’t your style, that’s fine too! Some of Pickowicz’s most striking cakes are only very simply iced—then crowned with a few choice beauties from the farmers market. “When I’m decorating cake, I’m always looking at my pantry and fridge and wondering, ‘What do I have in here that I could use?’” she explains. “Maybe it’s this beautiful bunch of basil or some tomatoes on a vine. Maybe it’s whole nutmeg pods and cinnamon sticks. I like thinking beyond what we think ‘should’ be on a layer cake and instead just saying, ‘Well, what’s around me? How can I make this personal?’”

Get the Book

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Hello, Friends!

Big things are happening over here at SAVEUR this week. 

Back in 1994, a small group of editors led by Dorothy Kalins, Colman Andrews, and Christopher Hirsheimer launched SAVEUR as an ambitious print publication unlike any that had come before it. Through stories ranging from a deep dive into the egg, to profiles on “the Beavis and Butthead” of the Santa Barbara County wine scene, to the exquisite cover feature on Oaxacan mole, they set out to “tell the life story of food,” wrote Kalins, for readers who “see the world food first.” 

Food media looks a bit different today than it did in the ’90s, and SAVEUR has played no small part in that evolution. After three years of overhauling our website and rebuilding our team with Recurrent, our deeply loved brand is poised for growth. Today, I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve partnered with an investor to purchase SAVEUR from its most recent parent company. Effective immediately, I, along with our core editorial team, will begin transitioning our operations to thrive as a nimble and independent publication. 

I was 11 when SAVEUR’s first issue dropped. My mom signed us up for a subscription immediately, and I grew up devouring the magazine’s stories and recipes—many of which I still come back to today. When I moved away for college, SAVEUR kept me (more or less) out of trouble, inspiring me to work weekends as a cheesemonger and to host many a dorm-room dinner party. After graduation, it led me (like so many in the food business today) to culinary school, and then to a career in kitchens. In 2015, after over a decade working in restaurants, I joined SAVEUR by way of its test kitchen—a longtime dream come true. 

While our team has a rich and storied legacy to uphold, our business is now striking out on its own and moving into startup mode. I know that our superstar editorial team—and a number of new hires you’ll be hearing about soon—are exactly the right people to make this new project a success, and to guide SAVEUR into the future while staying true to the brand so many of you have loved and supported over the years.

I can’t wait to tell you about all the exciting announcements we’ve got cooking. If you don’t want to miss any of the coming news—trust me, you really won’t!—sign up for our newsletter here. And if you’d like to get in touch with me or anyone else on the team, shoot us a DM on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, or email us at editorial@saveur.com. 

–Kat Craddock, Editor-in-Chief / CEO

The post A Note From Our Editor appeared first on Saveur.

From schnitzel and katsu to chicken Kiev, breaded and pan-fried cutlets abound throughout the world. Retro chicken cordon bleu—stuffed with melty Alpine cheese and ham—is one of the more lavish of the bunch, and while origin stories set the dish’s roots deep in the Swiss Alps, its popularity spread widely through the 20th century, so much so that subpar versions became the stuff of American TV dinners for decades. In Paris these days, both fresh and frozen cordon bleu is a convenient comfort, readily available from casual restaurants, neighborhood charcuteries, and even the frozen food emporium, Picard.

At Pigalle’s hip and elegant Restaurant Rochechouart, Naples-born chef de cuisine Luigi Di Giovanni serves his own zesty and elegant take on chicken cordon bleu. “It’s a French classic—comforting and simple—that immediately brings us back to our childhood.” Layered with Comté and jambon de Paris, paired with cornichon-studded sauce gribiche, and finished with sumac and lemon zest that brighten the rich and salty cutlets, Di Giovanni’s recipe is at once modern and familiar. 

Jambon de Paris is similar to the unsweetened deli-style ham available throughout the States. Comté—a firm, mountain-style melting cheese from the Jura—is nutty, fruity, and complex. Look for the exceptional Marcel Petite brand in U.S. cheese shops and specialty markets. (If you can’t find Comté, Gruyère is a similar and suitable substitute.) At Rochechouart, Di Giovanni pairs the cutlets with a simple fresh salad, but for a heartier meal, he suggests adding an extra green vegetable like broccoli, green beans, or snow peas, or a starchy side such as sautéed potatoes or fries. 

And for busy home cooks drawn to the appeal of a freezer version? “All of it can be prepared ahead of time, for those who don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen,” he explains. Prepare the cutlets through step two, then freeze on a baking sheet in a single layer. If cooking the cordon bleu out of the freezer, adjust the cook temp to medium-low and increase the time on the stove to 20 to 25 minutes.

The post <strong>Chicken Cordon Bleu</strong> appeared first on Saveur.

Classic sauce gribiche is the zippy cousin to mayonnaise, one of the six “sauces mères” at the heart of traditional French cuisine. Flavored with Dijon mustard and wine vinegar and studded with hard-boiled egg, cornichons, capers, and parsley, this version takes cues from the great Jacques Pépin and the Larousse Gastronomique—the definitive tome of French food and drink. A sort of continental sister to tartare sauce, this piquant condiment has the power to brighten and elevate a wide range of dishes, from steamed asparagus to fried fish to chicken cordon bleu. Anchovy is a non-traditional (but delicious) addition. For a vegetarian sauce, feel free to omit it. 

The post Sauce Gribiche appeared first on Saveur.

Filled with a runny egg and melted cheese—traditionally a mix of imeruli and sulguni—this traditional Georgian khachapuri recipe from the Black Sea region of Adjara is best eaten hot. We find that a blend of low moisture mozzarella and strong, tart feta gets you close to the traditional version. To eat, tear off pieces the crust and dunk them into the well of molten cheese, egg, and butter.

The post Adjaruli Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread) appeared first on Saveur.

In spite of plenty of snobbery, tender white bread remains a beloved staple of cuisines all around the world. Editorial director (and ex-professional bread baker) Kat Craddock’s version is aerated and fluffy like North American packaged loaves, but with the enriched chew and structure of French pain au lait. She also borrowed a shaping technique from Japanese and Taiwanese bakers, which results in a delicate, feathery crumb. The result: an ethereally fluffy, generously buttery, and delightfully squishable loaf.

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Featured In: How to Make the Fluffiest White Bread in the World

More Bread Recipes

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We love the brininess of olives or pickled pearl onions in our martinis and Gibsons, but pickled cranberries deliver the same salty kick plus a puckery tartness, satisfying crunch, and pretty crimson hue to holiday cocktails. Though fresh cranberries take several days to tenderize and absorb flavor, defrosted frozen ones have slightly softer skins, which speeds up the pickling process. Get a batch started at least two days before you plan to serve. Cinnamon leaves can be ordered online from Burlap & Barrel.

The post Pickled Cocktail Cranberries appeared first on Saveur.

Cyrus Schultz thinks Champagne is always a good idea. Born and raised in Maui, Schultz cut his teeth serving wine in celebrated fine dining establishments throughout Hawaii and California, including Roy’s in Maui, Benu in San Francisco, and the French Laundry in Napa Valley. When the now-sommelier signed on to run the wine program at Sonoma County’s Cyrus (the shared name is a coincidence), he took great care to ensure that the restaurant’s aperitif service set the tone for the whole meal. That’s why, heading into year-end festivities, I reached out to him for advice on how to serve Champagne at home like a pro—from optimal glassware to perfect food pairings.

If ever there was a time for the Cyrus team to break out the Champagne, it’s now. The Northern California wine region’s most anticipated new restaurant of the year, Cyrus is actually about to embark on a new chapter. After a lease dispute in their intimate and widely loved original location, co-owners, chef Doug Keane and mâitre’d Nick Peyton abruptly closed up shop a decade ago. This September, after years of false starts and pandemic woes, the pair finally opened the doors on this second act. Barely three months later, reservations for the 17-course tasting menu are booked solid, and the team recently took home Cyrus 2.0’s first Michelin Star.

The morning before the Michelin news came through, I happened to be on the premises, scoping out the space and sipping a graciously poured glass of bubbles before dinner service. The room was designed as a reimagining of the famed pre-dinner Champagne and caviar cart guests had come to love at the original location. Diners begin their meal with bubbly and small bites overlooking acres of surrounding vineyards and, beyond that, the rolling hills of the Alexander Valley. Even in the daytime, an understated luxe permeates the room. “It’s hard to not fall for the space,” Schultz tells me. “We offer three seatings each night, and for each of those, we’ve built in a half an hour where you can just sit, get a glass of Champagne, and watch the seasons change over the vineyards.” 

Whether you’re hosting everyone you know this season, or are looking to make the most of a special bottle with your favorite dinner companion, your evening deserves just as much. Here are Schultz’s tips for bringing a little bit of Cyrus’ Champagne chic into your own home.

The Glassware:

At Cyrus, stemware is the first thing diners bring to their lips, so Schultz was acutely aware just how important it would be to choose the proper champagne glass. In the Lounge, he uses Zalto tulips to serve all effervescent pours. “You want something that doesn’t cage all the flavors,” he explains. “A more generous glass shape allows the wine to be more expressive and speak louder” than it might in a standard, straight-sided flute.

For elevating the Champagne experience at home, glassware is the clear place to start. If your space or budget demands that you streamline your options, though, Schultz finds that sparkling wines can shine just as brightly in an elegant, all-purpose white wine glass that “lets the bubbles breathe a little.” (He uses the Sophienwald brand at home.)

Feeling festive, or setting up a Champagne fountain? “I also do love a coupe,” he admits. “For the right time and occasion, with a wine that’s fresh and vibrant and super-cold, a coupe can make you feel like you’re in that Great Gatsby era.” In other words, the glass sets the mood. “Coupes may not be the most functional, but sometimes they make you feel great, and how you feel when you’re drinking something is so important, too.” 

Keep it Cold:

When it comes to Champagne, you’re going for cold—significantly colder than other white wines, but not freezing. “You don’t want your champagne so cold that its flavors start to close down,” Schultz warns; he suggests aiming for somewhere around 46 degrees Fahrenheit (or a touch colder for non-Champagne sparklers, like cremant or Prosecco). 

The reason for this chilly temp boils down to physics. With still wines, proper temperature is all about flavor and fragrance, but with bubbles, temperature also has an impact on texture. Rising temperatures cause carbonation to expand, resulting in a more open mousse (i.e. fatter bubbles). “Effervescence is a texture rather than a flavor,” Schultz explains, “and there’s a point where the mousse behaves on the palate in a way where the wine just sings. I usually like Champagne to be very finely, tightly wound, and have that really delicate bead, but depending on the wine, sometimes it can warm up a touch, and become much more expressive.”

How can you tell when a bottle is cold enough? After years in the business, Schultz relies on instinct and physical touch, but admits that, for most, this method is not precise. For a 750-milliliter bottle, three hours in the fridge is a safe minimum starting point. An ice bucket can be faster and convenient, but Schultz reminds us that when using one, the bottle should be fully submerged in order to chill evenly. (Also remember that magnums and larger bottles take substantially longer to chill than those standard 750s.)

Food Pairings:

For nibbles to pair with their Champagne, chef Keane sends guests dainty canapés—often featuring uber-luxe ingredients like wagyu and truffles—to tease the lengthy dinner to come. They may also choose to enjoy a serving of caviar. While the ingredients are lavish, the bites are intentionally petite. 

For a more casual—yet still elevated—home experience, Schultz likes to offer more generous portions of simple, fatty foods: think fried chicken or potato chips, or the occasional silky slice of foie gras. With fuller, fruitier rosé Champagnes, though, he prefers to veer in another direction, looking to his home state for inspiration: raw tuna, seasoned with scallion, soy sauce, sesame, and inamona salt. “Rosé has enough power to stand up to the rich, oily nature of ahi,” he tells me.  “Don’t sleep on rosé Champagne and ahi poke!”

The Main Event:

Schultz built Cyrus’s 800+ bottle wine menu from scratch; today, the restaurant’s cellar boasts just over a hundred Champagnes (and a handful of stand-out Sonoma sparklers). Rare vintages from well-known marquee houses are listed alongside niche grower-producers, and while many of the selects are near impossible to find outside of private collections and wine-focused restaurants, some of the somm’s favorites are available in stores. In the $40 to $60 price range, he suggests seeking out Chartogne-Taillet, Pierre Peters, or the consistently delicious Pol Roger. 

For folks looking to splurge, Schultz points to Krug or cult favorite Salon—an early pioneer of the Blanc de Blancs style which only produces wines in the most exceptional of vintages. “[Salon] only makes one wine, so you know it’s going to be delicious. You don’t have to do all this homework about, ‘was that a good vintage or a bad one?’ They’ve done it all for you—but it is a splurge!”

A Note on Gifting Champagne Like a Pro:

Schultz has thoughts on gifting Champagne, too. “The biggest thing I try to let people know is that if I’m giving them a bottle of Champagne, I’m saying, ‘Hey, this is something for you to drink and enjoy now.’” Recipients of wine gifts may instinctively save the bottle for another special occasion, but Schultz reminds us that the holidays are about enjoyment and fun. “Nothing does that like opening a bottle of Champagne.”

How To Open Champagne Like A Swashbuckling Sommelier

The post How to Serve Champagne Like a Pro at Home appeared first on Saveur.

Don’t fear the dinner party! We’re of the opinion that hosting is so much more fun when guests are welcomed into the kitchen. This is Dinner at Kat’s—a new series wherein SAVEUR editorial director Kat Craddock welcomes buzzy chefs, cookbook authors, and wine and spirits pros into her home for a day of cooking and connection. There’s no mystery behind throwing a successful dinner party. Find the menus, recipes, drinks, shopping tips, and tricks to make it happen right here.

The Guest: 

While winter root veggies and hearty braises have their charms, come December, I’m always jonesing for lighter and brighter fare. Chef and cookbook author Leah Cohen grew up in New York’s Westchester County and now lives in Jersey City, so she’s no stranger to the Northeast’s dragging, dreary winters. The food at her restaurants—Pig & Khao on the Lower East Side and Piggyback up by Madison Square Garden—is inspired by Leah’s extensive travels throughout Southeast Asia and her own Filipino heritage. In the bone-chilling depths of winter, her bright, chile-laced fare is the next-best-thing to a Southeast Asian vacation.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Leah kept her kitchens open, coming into the city daily to prepare meals for front-line workers through the Rethink Chinatown Initiative. These days, business is more or less back to normal, and between running her restaurants and raising her two sons with her husband and business partner Ben Byruch, and judging the hit PBS show, The Great American Recipe, Leah has plenty to keep her busy. So I was over-the-moon that she agreed to join me for dinner.

The Menu:

• Magbunga Cocktail (Coconut-Infused Rum, Banana, Pineapple, Calamansi)
• Ukoy (Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fritters)
• Red Snapper Sinigang
• Jasmine Rice
• Chocolate-Coconut Macaroons
• Coconut-Chip Sorbet

The Big Night: 

Leah and I hit up the Union Square Greenmarket for some provisions in the morning, then headed back to my apartment to cook. Back in my pastry cheffing days, I loved to perk up guests’ palates in the winter with tropical flavors and plenty of in-season citrus. So when she suggested expanding that sunny vibe throughout the meal with a crunchy green mango salad and a tart and tamarind-laced pot of sinigang, I knew we were in for a treat. 
SAVEUR’s senior recipes editor, Benjamin Kemper, was in town from Madrid that day too, so he came over to join us. Benjamin’s a good pal, and one of the people I work with the most every day. But, while I’ve tested, edited, and eaten so many of his recipes, we almost never get the chance to cook and eat together. A restaurant vet himself, he knows his way around the kitchen, and the three of us clicked into sync right away, slicing, shredding, and steaming through our mise en place over our tropical, happy-hour cocktails. 

Leah and I knew we were going to want to nosh on something salty and fried while we cooked, so she showed us how to make ukoy—crunchy sweet potato fritters with Chinese chives and baby shrimp. Doused in spicy, seasoned cane vinegar and paired with our sweet drinks, they were, in no uncertain terms, a revelation.

For our main course, Leah decided to make one of her family favorites. Sinigang—a tamarind-laced Filipino soup—is home cooking at its best. There are many traditional variations, which can include fatty pork, chicken, or seafood. The chef grew up eating her mom’s red snapper sinigang, and still today, it’s the only style of the dish she makes. Impressive and colorful enough for a dinner party, the recipe is also easy, mild, and nourishing enough for a soothing sick-day supper—in other words, you’re going to want to bookmark this one.

Anticipating that Leah’s savory dishes would take up a good bit of space in my little city kitchen, I made sure our dessert course was squared away a day ahead of time. I found a great, old-school chocolate-dipped macaroon recipe in our archives that I whipped up in homage to Leah’s native New York, then echoed the cookies’ tropical notes with a rum-spiked coconut sorbet.

At The Bar:

Our classic cocktail expert, Shannon Mustipher, wrote a fantastic book on Tiki drinks, so when she saw our menu, she was thrilled to develop a recipe that honored the genre’s Filipino roots. For the Mabunga cocktail, she infused a bottle of Kasama’s aged Filipino rum with unrefined coconut oil, then added classic Tiki and Filipino flavors: banana, coconut, and calamansi. Shannon was on her way to a specialty rum event in Philly and couldn’t stick around long. But, once she dropped off the ingredients, Benjamin took over the necessary bartending duties, crushing ice and mixing drinks for us like a pro. 

Shopping All-Stars:

• Kasama Rum
• Datu Puti Spiced Sukang Maasim
• Red Boat Palm Sugar
• Mama Sita’s Sinigang Powder
• Unrefined Coconut Oil
• Thai-Style Julienne Peeler

Pro Tips:

• Many Tiki-style drinks benefit from a generous scoop of crushed ice. If your fridge doesn’t have a crushed ice maker, do yourself a favor and break out the food processor early. Before your guests arrive, pulse ordinary ice cubes in small batches, then transfer immediately to a container in your freezer. Also note: crushed ice melts far more quickly than cubes; process double the amount of ice that you think you’ll need.
• While infusing spirits with fresh or dried coconut works great, I’ve always hated how much booze was lost in the process due to absorption. “Fat-washing” is a pro bartender technique in which oils and other high-fat foods are used to infuse flavor and fragrance into spirits. Shannon’s clever use of unrefined coconut oil results in a potently coconut-scented rum with just about 100 percent yield.
• I take dessert seriously, but like to get the heavy lifting out of the way ahead of time so I can focus on dinner and my guests. Popping classic coconut macaroons into the fridge immediately after dipping them in melted chocolate eliminates the need for fussy and time-consuming tempering—though if that’s your jam, by all means check out our handy how-to.
• Since I had plenty of melted chocolate left over from the cookies, I took a page out of my former chef, Mindy Segal’s playbook and swirled the leftovers into half of my vegan coconut sorbet, stracciatella-style.

Get the Recipes:

Magbunga Cocktail (Coconut-Infused Rum, Banana, Pineapple, Calamansi)

Get the recipe >

Ukoy (Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fritters)

Get the recipe >

Red Snapper Sinigang

Get the recipe >

Chocolate-Coconut Macaroons

Get the recipe >

Coconut-Chip Sorbet

Get the recipe >

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