Food & drink

Food & drink

Food is so personal and nostalgic, sometimes it's hard to believe the dishes we grew up eating are actually a little strange to others. I'll admit that as a former picky eater, my go-to snack was cheese sandwiched between two slices of banana (please don't judge me, it was really good). So when redditor u/kerker1717 asked the r/Cooking community to share the odd food combinations they grew up with, I was excited to see what my fellow weird eaters had to say.

Oh, Jimmy John's. It was the place that you ordered from at 3 a.m. in college when the idea of microwaving a plastic cup of mac and cheese sounded downright repulsive. You may know it as the best sandwich joint to eat from if you prefer a really, really soggy sandwich, or perhaps you're more familiar with its history of union-busting and preventing its workers from organizing for fairer working standards. Despite those issues, it's a sub chain that has its fair share of followers.

At Mast General Store, you can buy outdoor gear, cast iron skillets, local swag, cheeky pajamas, and candy. Lots and lots of candy. Chocolate bars, caramels, and cookie dough bites. Gummy bears, chocolate-covered pretzels, and cordials. Find all these sweet treats and more in the dozens of barrels that fill the store. When I was 10 years old, Mast General Store was the closest thing I knew to heaven on earth.

"One of our slogans is, home is not a place, it's a feeling. We want to embody that in every coffee shop that we've opened," Ocampo Kastanis said. "I came from a fashion background, so I knew what I wanted. I ran with the aesthetics of the place. I wanted black and white themes. I wanted the gold trimmings."

My parents had a 600-person wedding banquet at the former Empress of China in the late 1970s. For decades, my family association (mutual aid societies based on clans) had annual dinners at New Asia with up to 1,000 guests. However, these massive halls have been disappearing for several reasons: the retirement of owners, the astronomical costs of maintaining large spaces and the city's Chinese population moving to the suburbs.

I look out from my sunlounger, flanked by a wall of dazzling fuchsia bougainvillea and surrounded by combed sand the colour of flour. In the salty breeze the sweet smell of freshly baked croissants drifts across from the nearby veranda, where giant passion fruits and fine slices of mango and papaya are being laid out for breakfast. On the immaculately mowed lawns below, a waiter is taking down fairy lights, strung between palm trees for last night's seafood barbecue.

Stewart's top cooking tips cover a range of foods and cuisines, and there are many Martha Stewart seafood-oriented hacks worth trying. For one, she recommends cooking lobster in hard liquor - adding something like vodka or tequila to the cooking water - which she believes adds flavor to the meat. She also recommends not too much salt, but adding aromatics and lemons to the water for a proper shrimp boil.

I have sacrificed myself on the battlefield of patriarchy chicken, by walking square into people who stride down the centre of the pavement staring at their phones and expecting everyone else to jump out of their way. I have risked life and limb in a pub full of football fans by declaring my belief that the only real sports are running fast, jumping high and throwing or swimming far the rest are just games.

If you're planning on getting more protein, you might immediately start thinking about things like meat, eggs, and protein shakes. After all, there's a reason why bodybuilders love all of the above, and it isn't necessarily because they always taste great. But incorporating more protein into your diet doesn't have to come in the form of pea powder or boiled chicken. It can actually come from adding Greek yogurt and cashew butter into your next cake.

Legend has it that when Germans decorate their Christmas tree, the very last ornament they hang on it is a pickle. Usually made from shiny or matte green glass rather than cucumbers, the Christmas Pickle is much more than just a decoration. On Christmas Eve, the first child to find the pickle hidden amongst the branches on the tree is said to get good luck for the year to come, as well as an extra present.

Nachos are loved for their straightforward prep and shareable nature, and there's no one size fits all when it comes to whipping up a batch. This crunchy, topping-loaded snack is endlessly adaptable, and over the years, we've tried our hand at a fair few variations. Many recipes keep things classic with Mexican-inspired toppings like cheese, avocado, and salsa, while others switch things up entirely, and experiment with flavors and textures that are a little more out there.

NIKI RUSS FEDERMAN: Russ & Daughters, for me, was a literal mom-and-pop because it was my mom and my pop. SIMON: Niki Russ Federman is the cousin who practically grew up at the shop. FEDERMAN: As a kid, I would wait at the doors for the produce delivery guys to come. And they would wheel in with their handcarts - they had sacks - 50-pound sacks of onions, carrots, potatoes. And I would climb on top as if it were my chariot.

When Jose Villegas' grandparents died, he was in Mexico visiting with his mother. His grandmother, who had been ill for some time, died first, and his grandfather followed two weeks later. In the middle of grief, the mother, Delfina Villegas, and son looked at each other and asked: What will we do? The answer came just as easily: "We'll open a restaurant," the pair said.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add cranberries and rum. Stir to coat, and as soon as it starts simmering, remove from the heat. Let it sit for 30 minutes before transferring the macerated fruit into a small bowl, using a slotted spoon. Reserve the leftover rum. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter; set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add butter, eggnog, heavy cream, granulated sugar, and salt.

Punch is a host's secret weapon: It can be made in advance, frees you from bartending duty all night and sets the tone with a festive centerpiece. Plus, it's endlessly adaptable to the season, like an allspice-and-rye blend (see the Sand Dunes Punch recipe below) that tastes like Christmas ladled into a cup. As Vince Polizzi, bar manager at Adrift Tiki Bar and a punch enthusiast, puts it: "Punches are a communal drink - and the holidays are innately communal."

Queso is a magical ingredient, capable of adding a layer of rich, creamy decadence to anything it's drizzled on. If you love your cheese sauce, it's also something you've probably been tempted to smother on top of any Tex-Mex dish that comes your way. And that compulsion is something Torchy's Tacos has brilliantly tapped into, with a "trashy style" modification that replaces your lettuce with a slather of velvety, ooey-gooey queso at no extra charge.

I made Ina Garten's brownie pudding, which has been going viral on TikTok for the past month. The delicious dessert requires only a few ingredients and minimal prep. It's a warm and comforting dish that's perfect for the holidays. It's time to gather our loved ones and ring in the most important holiday of the year. I'm talking, obviously, about Ina Garten's wedding anniversary. This week, the "Barefoot Contessa" star and her beloved husband Jeffrey celebrated 57 years of marriage. There's no better way to honor these two lovebirds than with Garten's famous brownie pudding, which pays tribute to the very first dessert she whipped up to win his heart. Here's how to make it.

We were skeptical when sliding this soup out of its wrapping, as it resembled a rock-hard giant bouillon block with layers of croutons and cheese all stuck together. Despite a less-than-appetizing first impression, its transformation in the microwave rendered mind-blowingly delicious results. To begin, Cuisine Adventure's French onion soup had both melted Swiss cheese and croutons, which none of the other competitors had. The cheese dispersed beautifully throughout the broth, providing a decadent, savory flavor to complement the sweetness of the caramelized onions.

While Chicago-style pies look very different when finished, the ingredients that go into them are pretty similar to other recipes. Even the crust itself isn't that thick; it's just shaped differently to hold more sauce and cheese. And that's a big reason why when we spoke to World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani about mistakes to avoid when making Chicago-style pizza, he told us to avoid adding too many different types of toppings.

Traditions vary from family to family, but there are a few staples that you will find at any large, celebratory gathering, regardless of the time of year: mountains of plantain; coleslaw smothered in salad cream or mayonnaise; an array of starters (spring rolls, chicken wings, savoury donut-style puff puff balls, samosas) endearingly known collectively as small chops; two types of rice: fried, and the regional favourite jollof.

HOLMES: The flour-milling business was created by Harmon S. Holmes. ULABY: His great-great-grandfather. HOLMES: And then there's Howard Samuel Holmes, and then Howard Sumner Holmes. ULABY: His grandfather. His dad is also Howard Holmes, and so is his baby boy. But great-grandmother Mabel invented Jiffy corn bread mix during the Great Depression. Jiffy mix cost 10 cents a box back then. Right now, 50 cents at Walmart. That old-fashioned package, says Holmes, sells itself.

My social circle mainly consists of Gen Zers and young millennials who are early-career professionals, first-generation immigrants, pursuing further education, or raising small children. We also happen to live in the California Bay Area, where the median income of over $120,000. Being frugal doesn't mean we cannot have a great Christmas gathering. It just means we have to reset our expectations and values, and prioritize what matters the most to us: time with each other.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Portola Valley is now home to a new Japanese restaurant, Hibari, offering kappo-style dining. Kappo, which means cut and cook, refers to a multi-course meal where the menu is up to the chef. Think omakase-style, but with dishes that go beyond sushi. It's often considered less formal than other omakase formats, with the chef passing dishes to diners over the counter.

The restaurant's first-ever brunch service will include a Big Mac mantou (a steamed bun with cheesy beef, onions, kimchi, and Russian dressing), a McRib bao (a bao bun made with pork rib and Chinese barbecue sauce), a Filet o Fish bao (fried fish on a bao with American cheese), and more whimsical fast food creations. There will also be drag performances and cocktails.

Dirty sodas - customizable drinks that combine regular soda with flavored syrups, cream, and surprising add-ins - have become the new drink of choice for many Americans. The early version of dirty soda was created to fill a void for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who refrain from drinking coffee and alcohol due to their religious beliefs. However, what started as a local Utah phenomenon has since exploded into a nationwide, viral beverage takeover.

When it opened last fall, Somerville immediately became one of the city's toughest reservations. The first fine-dining concept from partners Ajay Relan, Yonnie Hagos and Issa Rae of Good Vibes Only (GVO) hospitality group, the glitzy supper club is a sepia-toned tribute to South-Central, named in honor of the Central Avenue hotel where musicians like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday once stayed while touring jazz and blues clubs along the busy thoroughfare. This month, it was ranked on The Times' 101 Best Restaurants guide.

At 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday, every seat is taken at the Original Red Onion in Rolling Hills Estates, deep in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. As 20 parties wait for tables, a steady stream of takeout orders flows through the kitchen, and bustling bar patrons hold generously poured jalapeño mezcal margaritas that spill down the green cactus-shaped stems. Throughout the restaurant's multiple rooms, servers maneuver rolling carts of carne asada and saucy enchiladas between tables while they empty and refill chip baskets and salsa bowls.

The culinary essence of the festive season is a kind of sanctioned chaos. Never mind that, from one angle, Christmas is mostly just rigidly observed collective food traditions and grown adults dying on the hill of whether yorkshire puddings should be served with turkey. I don't think I ever really feel that warming yuletide rush until I have turned a disparate assemblage of leftovers into what, to the casual observer,