Cooking

Cooking

Going out for fast food can be such a satisfying treat, but doing it too often can have a serious impact on your wallet, not to mention your health. Most of us assume that we could never emulate the indulgent treats served in popular restaurants and cafes, but that is often not the case. To help you skip the drive-through queue and make your favorite fast food treats at home, we've rounded up some of the best copycat recipes that can be whipped up in your home kitchen.

"It's really creamy with a consistency that's different from most other mayonnaise,"

They're fancy names for comfort food that uses common slow-cooking processes producing scrumptious tidbits surrounded with sauce. The sauce, a velvety broth, is a mixture of natural juices and stewing ingredients, sometimes thickened with flour. It bathes each morsel of meat and vegetable in enticing flavor. To produce an authentic stew, first sear the meat on all sides, to a rich brown.

After boiling eggs to perfection, the cooked pieces will be mixed into a seasoned sauce that can be customized to your liking. Lean into spicy, savory flavors with minced garlic, Old Bay seasoning, onion powder, and red chili flakes, or embrace a tangier treat with a sauce made from lemon pepper seasoning, brown sugar, and paprika. When stirred with melted butter, bone broth, and served warm, this flavorful recipe will transform boiled eggs as you know them.

Bring 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add 1 egg and cook for 7 mimutes. Remove the egg, peel and set aside. Add the ramen noodles to the pot and cook, according to the package instructions, around 3 minutes. While the egg and the noodles are cooking, add the mayonnaise, garlic, the remaining egg and seasoning packet to a large soup bowl. Whisk well to combine.

There is no time of year - or time of day - that a grilled cheese sandwich is not a welcome food. The simple combination of crisp, buttery, griddled bread and melted cheese is a universally adored food for people of all ages. But there is no reason that your grilled cheese can't change with the weather, incorporating new ingredients to give that favorite sandwich a touch of seasonal flair.

The difference between good soup and okay soup usually comes down to how flavorful the broth is. This little-fuss-or-muss hack not only effectively adds dimension to soup, but it's also both versatile and fun, to boot. "Fun" because with no single set of aromatics required, this is the place to let your creative juices really steep. While a traditional bouquet garni contains a tried-and-true trio of parsley, thyme, and bay leaves, it can be changed, expanded, and adapted to suit whatever soup or stew

While making soup, Ramsay plops butter into the recipe in a move he dubs a "naughty chef's trick." This nearly last step in the soup-making process is a move that helps make the soup extra smooth and delicious. In the video posted to Facebook, Ramsay shows that pumpkin that has been roasted with rosemary and garlic and is blended with butter is the kind of foundation that sets the stage for a tasty meal.

That's both a sweet treat and a comfort food, especially when it's fresh out of the oven. The downside is that it takes time to make and bake, and then when it's done, you have a whole cake to deal with. The obvious answer, here, is to make a mug cake when you need "a little something" to help you cope. It's a single serving, it's warm and comforting, and it comes together just about as quickly as you can stir.

Preparing an old-fashioned beef stew recipe is simple and fulfilling, offering opportunities to include unique ingredients to amplify the flavor. That's exactly what Tasting Table chatted about with chef Ayo Balogun of Dept of Culture Brooklyn at the New York City Wine & Food Fest, where he hosted a tasting menu from North Central Nigeria. Balogun shared his expert advice along with one of the pantry staple ingredient he leans on to make a memorable beef stew: Nigerian fish powder.

It's a known fact that Trader Joe's discontinues products fast. For those who enjoy Trader Joe's frozen scallion pancakes, be it the brand's Korean-inspired Scallion Pancakes (Pajeon) or the similar Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes, you'll be pleased to know that you can replicate these delights using only four ingredients. All it takes are dumpling wrappers, scallions, oil, and salt for a picture-perfect dupe of these savory snacks.

If you are a lover of all things fall, or simply enjoy a big hug in a bowl, then this super comforting apple cinnamon oatmeal recipe is for you. To make this warming spiced breakfast option, diced apple is sauteed in a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup until soft and lightly caramelized. Oats, chia seeds, milk, and salt are then added to the pan and simmered until the oatmeal is thick and silky.

Baking season is officially on the horizon, and our pantries are getting prepped. With cooler days ahead and fall gatherings lining the calendar, it's prime time to stock up on essentials. One item we never go without? Chocolate cake mix. Sure, we love a from-scratch cake moment, but cake mix hits that sweet spot between convenience and comfort. Turns out, experts agree.

These staple north Indian flatbreads come in a variety of forms thinner, softer versions cooked on a flat tawa are also known as chapatis, while phulkas employ the same dough, but are held over a flame until they puff like a balloon. Either way, they're great for scooping up meat and vegetables, or for mopping up sauce. Years of practice makes perfect, but this recipe is a good place to start.

While both spaghetti and meatballs are quintessential Italian dishes, they aren't traditionally served together in Italy. The combination of meatballs, called polpette, with tomato sauce and spaghetti stems from an influx of Italians immigrating to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, where they found meat to be much more affordable and began to use it more liberally in their cooking.

Mini pumpkin pie bites are delicious individual portions of classic pumpkin pie, and you don't have to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy them. They have the same great taste as regular pumpkin pie, and while they are certainly a delicious addition to a dessert buffet, their bite-sized format and portability also make them easier to enjoy as a snack or on the go. Serving couldn't be easier - no silverware is required, and there won't be any messy dishes to wash up afterward.

I may have roasted my first turkey this year, but I will always think fondly of my turkey-free Thanksgivings past (and future, I reckon). Every time I hear the collective tizzy about "how to roast the best turkey" I think, "Just roast a chicken instead!" Or a nice leg of lamb, or even two whole sides of fish. All loads easier than wrangling an ungainly bird half the table doesn't really much care for anyway (what? it's true!).

Canned soups are great. They save time, they save stress, and they can quickly be incorporated into more elaborate recipes like green bean casserole. But the benefits of canned soups are frequently outweighed by their cons. Even reduced-sodium canned soups are often high in salt, and of course, nothing can beat the flavor of homemade soup with fresh ingredients. With the right recipe, even soup purchased from a restaurant might not live up to homemade standards;

What makes pie different from cobbler is that pie always has a crust on the bottom, while cobbler puts the pastry on top of the filling. To make a pumpkin cobbler, you simply prepare your favorite pumpkin pie filling, then pour it into a baking dish or cast iron skillet. Mix up the crust of your choice, which can be a biscuit, cake batter, or anything in between; pour it over the filling; and bake until the crust sets.

There are dishes that take a lot of time, effort, and expertise to pull off (like the peak crispiness of Peking duck, perfectly airy brioche donuts, or a really excellent croissant, where the luscious layers are so beautiful, you just want to sink into them and melt away with the butter). These are places where shortcuts either don't work at all or, if they technically do, they don't yield anywhere near the same result.

Protein-packed - These brownies are a secretly high-protein, naturally gluten-free dessert thanks to cottage cheese, eggs, and almond flour. Bakery-quality - Each brownie is super chocolatey, dense, and fudgy. Just because they're made with "better" ingredients doesn't mean they have to taste like it! Customizable - From mix-ins to the toppings, these brownies are so easy to make your own.

To many, the banana pudding at the famed New York City shop Magnolia Bakery is even more iconic than the store's beloved cupcakes. Airy, creamy and delightfully reminiscent of childhood packaged snacks, this dessert is both a crowd pleaser and easy to assemble. You can make Magnolia Bakery's famous banana pudding at home. Beat the condensed milk and water until blended, add the instant pudding mix and beat until the mixture is smooth. Cover and refrigerate overnight, then whip the heavy cream with the mixer running. Add that pudding mixture one spoonful at a time. Mix it until you see no streaks left.

Dining out at restaurants, it's usually dinner rolls that arrive at your table first. Golden, tender, and glossy, it's almost too easy to forget they're only meant to be companions for the main courses to come. The secret to this magic is surprisingly simple, and you can recreate it at home with a little help from bacon. Whether you just spent a whole afternoon baking up dinner rolls or got them straight from the supermarket,

After becoming the first female Iron Chef in 2005, she's been featured on various television shows, and later became the first woman to be inducted into the American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame. Cora is more than a chef, she's also an author, health and fitness guru, philanthropist, and restaurateur. She's opened more than 15 restaurants across the United States, including Cat Cora's Kitchen, Olilio by Cat Cora, and Wicked Eats by Cat Cora.

Before the flavors kick in and the freshly cooked warmth invades the senses, it's the crispness that determines just how good a classic British fish and chips recipe truly is. Unfortunately, it's not always a guarantee with every single batch you make. It all comes down to precision and patience, particularly as you're preparing the fish. A little bit of patting dry and a few hours of refrigerating can go a really long way in ensuring that perfect bite in the outcome.