Food Industry

The Blog

A regularly updated blog about cooking and food in these quarantimes. [Hard refresh the page for the latest posts!]

By

Updated May 05, 2020

The End of The Blog

Sad to say, but we're going to be ending this small experiment in coronavirus community-building. Instead of posting updates from the entire Serious Eats team here, we'll periodically put up updates on the main site.

Thanks to all who wrote in to contribute!

5/5 15:10

Good Morning! Late Night Chocolate Cake Edition

Kristina treated herself right last night, apparently!

5/4 10:45

How 'Bout a Meatball Parm

For lunch? Vicky's living XL with this meatball parm on day-old no-knead focaccia.

5/1 13:35

The Great Orange Debacle

The one that Tropicana spent $35 million only to lose $20 million in sales, we mean.

5/1 11:51

Good Morning! Banana Bread Edition

Everyone's making it, according to the Wall Street Journal, so you may as well check out our tips to make yours better (even if all banana bread is, by definition, wonderful).

5/1 8:40

What We're Planning to Make for Dinner

Plans being what they are, we can't say we will make these things, but this is what we've got our hearts set on as of 5 pm on Thursday.

Vicky: "Black bean and cauliflower quesadilla."
Joel: "Duck breast with duck fat potatoes."
Sho: "Broil-roasting (?) a skinless chicken that's been smothered in a marinade similar to the one I used in the butter chicken recipe for 36 hours, homemade pita, and maybe a spiced okra thing."
Maggie: "A light beans and spring veggies brothy soup that I can eat with or without snacking fatigue."
John: "Making this chicken with aji amarillo."
Daniela: "Ribollita but with white beans and probably no squash or turnips but maybe sweet potato."
Daniel DK: "Leftover mapo beans, some sautéed kale with a f%&$ton of garlic oil and lemon." [Ed. note: We're a family-friendly publication!]
Kristina: "Israeli couscous with sausage and mushrooms."
Jina: "Does a strawberry rhubarb pie count?" [Ed. note: Yes!]
Sasha: "Cate wants root beer floats. That’s as far as we’ve gotten with food negotiations. She banned me from making pasta or pizza for the past three days and I have been quarantine picketing."

4/30 17:30

What We've Been Making

A lot to catch up on since we, like you all, have been cooking up a storm.

Beautiful loaf of bread on a wire rack on a counter

Ariel's partner Gabby is becoming an incredibly accomplished baker, as the loaf above attests.

And Ariel ain't no slouch on stir-fry duty, either, as the take out-style kung pao chicken above shows.

Vicky tried her hand at croissants, using the Cook's Illustrated recipe, which she described as "pretty challenging," but they came out well!

Roasted salmon and roasted cauliflower on top of romesco sauce

Vicky also roasted some salmon and cauliflower and nestled them into a dollop of harissa mayo, which sounds fantastic.

Chicken thighs and sliced potatoes and fennel in a cast iron pan

Ed took on Daniel's sheet-pan chicken thighs with potatoes and fennel.

overhead view of pan pizza in a cast iron skillet resting on a wire rack

Maggie did another foolproof pan pizza with her sourdough. If you missed it last time, here's the formula Maggie's sister, Joann, came up with for using sourdough starter in the recipe:

344g bread flour - 219g water - 112.5g mature sourdough starter - 10g salt (same as original) - 8g olive oil (same as original)

overhead view of loaf of bread on cutting board

Kristina strutted her stuff with this insanely cute little loaf of bread.

butter cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet

And she also made Daniela's three-ingredient butter cookies, the recipe for which you can find over at The New York Times.

kimchi-brined fried chicken sandwich on a plate

Paul made Kenji's kimchi-brined fried chicken sandwich, and it looks like he did a bang up job!

Cornbread, ribs, and beans and greens on a plate

Sho made Daniel's cornbread, oven barbecue ribs, and a beans and greens thing with cooked beans, tomato, and pea shoot greens.

Loaf of sourdough that has several slices cut out of it

John is getting into the sourdough game, and presents his first-born. We shall name it "Number 1."

And Joel roasted a duck, didn't take photos, but then managed to grab a snap of some quacklings.

4/30 17:10

Thieves Are Targeting Restaurants

And mostly going after alcohol, which, while understandable, doesn't make kicking businesses while they're down any less reprehensible..

4/30 12:19

Good Morning! A Poem for the Moka Pot Edition

Reader Iliana sent Yasmine a lovely poem about the Moka Pot, in response to Yasmine's love letter to the little coffee pot that could (and a picture, above):

Nearly every morning
I make a cup of coffee
in my battered old moka pot.

While the coffee sputters and fizzes
toward completion
I carefully place a dusty crumb of incense
on the burner, next to the pot.

I watch as a thin curl of smoke rises,
as the fragrant molecules of resin ignite:
myrrh, frankincense, rose, spikenard, jasmine, and the mysterious opercula of the wing-shell mollusk.

Uncounted mornings, evenings, and high holy days have calibrated and fixed
a specific set of connections between embodiment and sacred
through the everyday science of breathing,
so that simply sitting here by the stove
and waiting for coffee
becomes church.

4/30 11:00

"Spice Curry" Bleg

Reader Zachary writes in to ask for some assistance finding a recipe for "spice curry." None of us are familiar with the dish (he's clarified that it's not kare), so we thought we'd throw it to our audience. Here's Zachary's description:

"I was wondering if you guys might be able to help me out. I went to visit my brother Ben who lives in Osaka last year and I became obsessed with Spice Curry. We are from Long Island, but Ben has been in Japan for over 10 years now. I am not sure how familiar you are with the dish, but it's pretty wonderful.

"My brother tells me that the dish has really started to take off in the city over the last couple of years. It's different than the other curries I've had before, really crossing over between India, Nepal and other parts of Asia with Japanese cuisine.

"It has elements of a traditional Japanese curry, but it is way more flavorful and obviously more spicy. At most shops that I went to a few varieties were offered and many times you were given the option to try a couple of different types."

He sent over the picture above, but he also sent over a link for a gallery full of spice curry-related photos. If you or anyone you know has any insight into this delicious-looking thing, email us.

4/29 17:05

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

dill growing in an aerogarden that looks kind of like a person

Ariel also sends over this snap of her little dill person growing out of her Aerogarden, which, in addition to no longer being an item worthy of mockery around the office, apparently also provides entertainment.

4/27 16:30

Livestream on Twitch!

Just a semi-regular reminder that Ariel livestreams a recipe on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 4:30 pm on our Twitch channel, making stuff like Daniel's pasta with vodka sauce, pictured above. If you miss the stream or want to see old ones, they're all archived on the channel. Today she's doing...gnocchi!

4/29 16:25

Plastic Grocery Bags!

Bad for the environment, yes, but very good for proofing bread. Daniel DK mentioned that he reused old plastic grocery bags to proof his beautiful bread, and Vicky has started doing it, too, as pictured above.

4/29 15:12

What You're Cooking (for Anzac Day)

Reader Catherine sends over this photo of these David Liebovitz cookies inspired by Anzac Biscuits, which she made to celebrate Anzac Day (yes, we know it's late! We've got a backlog!).

"Had to add some chocolate chips to some, cuz that’s what you do," Catherine says, and yes, that is

what we do, too.

4/29 11:45

(Late) Good Morning! Cross-Testing Edition

Daniel DK had some ramps around, and needed some ideas, and ended up doing a little cross-testing of coming recipes from Sasha and Sho.

Spicy beans!

Savory pancakes!

4/29 11:16

How Coronavirus Is Changing the Way We Eat

For one thing, we're snacking a lot.

4/27 12:54

Clear Shells, Full Yolks, Can't Freeze

4/27 11:30

Good Morning! Thousand Layers of Beef Edition

4/27 10:09

Like a Loaf of Bread

"Eating Olives at the End of the World," a story by Etgar Keret, translated by Jessica Cohen, over at the NYR Daily.

4/24 11:15

Good Morning! Sparks of Hope Edition

Ruby Tandoh writes about "Good Food Things."

4/24 10:47

What We've Been Making

Maggie got some scallops. "My first fresh seafood in weeks!"

foolproof pan pizza cooked in a cake pan on a cutting board

Vicky's been doing some baking. Foolproof pan pizza in a skillet and in a cake pan ("I had to make another in a cake pan instead of skillet. Much harder to get out.")

butter chicken in a serving bowl with rice alongside

Yasmine made some butter chicken.

And Daniela, our new features editor, makes a big The Blog debut with candied orange peels and homemade Orangettes. Welcome, Daniela!

4/23 5:43

Good Morning! Put a Shirt on Edition

Maggie's huevos en camisa lookin' delectable.

4/23 10:49

Bean Memes Go Big

Clio Chang over at Vice with the best trend piece of the moment: "Boom Times for Bean Memes."

4/22 16:27

The Incredible Endless Bag of Cheddar

Commenter qpalmz147 sends us a massive update about the massive bag of Costco cheese, along with these snaps:

mac and cheese on a plate with fixings on top

overhead view of an easter dinner, with lamb loin chops, roasted cauliflower, and mashed sweet potatoes

"This is qpalzm147 here (also Nancy). Updating you with my cheese adventures from the Serious Eats recipe files! Made the simple stovetop mac and cheese with extra add ins and the soufflé pancake with cheese. I’ve also thrown cheese into crescent rolls for a simple grilled cheese feel and made quesadillas with cheese crusted on the outside (no pictures though). The first bag of Costco cheese has been used up and now for the second one living in the freezer.

As a bonus, also attached pictures of blueberry muffins since I found some frozen blueberries in the freezer (my husband asked if they were social distancing) and our Easter dinner of lamb loin chops (which I also happened to have in the freezer) roasted cauliflower and mashed sweet potatoes.

Enjoy! Stay safe! Stay healthy!"

You, too, Nancy!

4/22 15:58

That Bird Is Po-i-son!

Just a reminder to not eat random beautiful birds that may or may not kill you.

4/22 10:55

Good Morning! Bread and Butter Edition

Vicky's enjoying the simplest things.

4/22 10:00

Pasta Like a Walk in the Woods

Overhead view of a bowl of pasta bosciaola

Ariel made Daniel's boscaiola, or "woodsman-style" pasta on the Serious Eats Twitch stream yesterday.

4/21 13:27

Baking Goals

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andrea Love (@andreaanimates) on Feb 25, 2020 at 6:33am PST

Ah, this is too perfect. The pot holder, the crumb coat, the proper creaming method!

4/21 12:06

Good Morning! Chapaguri Edition

Nongshim has announced it will begin selling an instant cup noodle version of Chapaguri in May, the Neoguri-Chapagetti mash-up made famous by the movie Parasite. Arise, shine, for thy light has come, noodle lovers!.

4/21 9:42

It's...It's Beautiful

Made a slight adjustment to Kenji’s smash burger. from r/seriouseats

4/20 16:32

What You've Been Making

Bowl of rice and quinoa salad on a counter

Reader Sarah sent along the above photo of "a rice and quinoa salad with raisins and almonds loosely based on this recipe." She also asked if we could put up a roundup of grain salad recipes, which we did last week! How's that for service?

Reader Michelle sent in a photo of a "spinach and leek matzah lasagna."

Reader Yael was foolin' around with Kenji's foolproof pan pizza dough. He took it "in a sort of manaqish direction with a topping of fresh marjoram, onion, sumac, pine nuts and sheep's milk feta." The verdict? "Delicious."

Bowl of tomato soup with a grilled cheese on a plate alongside

Finally, reader Jim sent over a "simple grilled cheese paired with Kenji's 15-minute tomato soup."

4/20 14:50

Coronavirus and Cooking for People With Disabilities

Jonathan Katz describes some of the many challenges people with disabilities face in a time of self-isolation.

4/20 10:55

Good Morning! Bun Edition

cinnamon buns in a caking dish, pre glazing

Kristina made some cinnamon buns, but decided to risk it all by trialing a recipe that scored 10/10 from the tragically misguided folks at The Kitchn.

On a personal note, it seems unfair that Stella's one-bowl recipe got docked points because you have to clean the bowl a couple times! But, obviously, we're biased.

4/20 9:45

What We've Been Making

Ariel made Sho's layered scallion omelette on our Twitch stream (as ever, the stream is archived if you want to view it after the fact).

John made Sasha's 'nduja pasta.

overhead view of pasta with greens and beans

And Vicky put some beans to good use in Sasha's pasta with greens and beans.

4/17 16:40

Oodles of Noodles

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sho Spaeth (@shospaeth) on Apr 17, 2020 at 11:00am PDT

Sho made lam(b)en for lunch.

4/17 14:02

That Presidential Chef Panel

"[I]if we ever needed concrete evidence that the fine-dining world we lionize is fundamentally irrelevant to the true joys and business of American eating, this Potemkin panel is it."

Max Falkowitz, always worth reading about anything, counts the ways the "Great American Economic Revival Industry Group" rankles over at New York Magazine.

4/17 12:25

Serious Breads

Should we rename the site? Why the heck not?!?

overhead view of nadia's bread on a cooling rack

Here's the latest from London, where Sasha's sister, Nadia, is becoming an accomplished baker before our very eyes.

And just look at Daniel DK's latest loaf. Look at it! Damn, Daniel! Here's his brief description: "Very slightly lower hydration version of this recipe. Ohh and just King Arthur AP, no fancy flours, and no outside seeds."

Although, speaking of fancy flours, Daniel DK and Kristina, another good baker, highly recommend Maine Grains for your flour needs.

4/17 11:25

Good Morning! Find Some Flour Edition

Looking for flour? Here's a website that identifies small mills in your area, based on your location.

4/17 9:50

We Just Work Here

Overhead view of pickles laid atop avocado toast with peanut butter and a jar of wickles pickles alongside

Our (truly) fearless leader Niki writes of the food(?) above:

"The blog seems like the appropriate venue to introduce this strange open-faced sandwich that I've been secretly obsessed with for years. My mother invented this combination, and when she first described it to me I was horrified: whole wheat bread with peanut or almond butter, half an avocado, and a layer of Wickles original spicy pickles. I can't explain why it works, only that when I finally tried it, I was instantly converted. The pickles have a very distinctive hot-sweet tang that somehow bridges the bizarro combination of nut butter and avocado. It's truly all about the Wickles and I've never tried it with a different type of pickle, homemade or store-bought. Cringe all you want (my husband still won't try it)—I'll be living it up with my Momma Achitoff signature dish. #notawicklesad"

4/16 13:40

Ceramics AND Condiments

View this post on Instagram

got the first batch of soy sauces out of the bisque AND my first unemployment deposit, feeling extremely powerful ⚡️1–9/30, only 21 to go lol

A post shared by stephanie h. shih // 石函玉 (@stephaniehshih) on Apr 11, 2020 at 10:28am PDT

The coronavirus content we all need!

4/16 12:35

In Praise of Canteens

This piece from a year ago by Rebecca May Johnson is a lovely evocation of the pleasures and importance of a good canteen.

4/16 10:50

Good Morning! I Want That Edition

Waffle breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese

Maggie wins the day, maybe the week, with a 'nduja, egg, and cheese waffle breakfast sandwich. "Waffles are a good use of discard starter. Recipe from King Arthur flour."

overhead view of 12 waffles made from sourdough starter on a cooling rack

4/16 10:00

Yeast

We've been getting comments and emails about yeast, mostly along the lines of "I don't have instant yeast, but I have another kind. What do I do with it?"

Here's some advice from Stella about when and how to substitute different kinds of yeast in a recipe.

4/15 14:30

Bulk Food Orders From Restaurants (NYC)

Maggie sends over this Eater roundup of restaurants in NYC that are offering bulk food orders to customers with the note, "Rezdôra is on the list," along with the eyes emoji.

4/15 13:15

Other Hobbies

Vicky's been painting some comforting things.

4/15 13:10

"From the Rooter to the Tooter"

The Southern Foodways Alliance has a video for anyone out there, like us, who will consume anything and everything about Rodney Scott. (That fish looks amazing!)

4/15 12:53

Good Morning! Sticky Buns Edition

My wife made Kenji's sticky buns with orange cream cheese sauce this morning from r/seriouseats

4/15 10:30

Destiny

View this post on Instagram

Clearly wound up in the appropriate profession

A post shared by Niki Achitoff-Gray (@snachitoff) on Apr 11, 2020 at 2:43pm PDT

Niki, who's responsible for [waves hands] everything around here, found some prescient material while cleaning out her apartment this weekend.

Don't let your dreams be dreams, folks.

4/14 16:23

Potato, Potahto

Some people, like Maggie's parents, stock up on good greens.

Others, like Yasmine, stock up on discounted Easter candy.

Whatever floats your boat.

And, speaking of potatoes, how about this horse, huh?

4/14 14:26

Jesus Roman Melendez

Chris Crowley has a moving piece over at New York Magazine about Jesus Roman Melendez, an integral member of the Jean Georges team who has died due to COVID-19.

4/14 13:04

O-R-E-O

Ariel live-streamed the process for making Stella's homemade Oreos on Twitch yesterday and, in the process, inspired a viewer to make them, too, but with a Disney twist!

Ariel does the stream every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4:30 pm, so tune in when you can. (Old streams are archived on the channel, too.)

And if you're looking for a nice read, and you missed out on reading Stella's history of the Oreo when we first published it, we recommend it highly!

(If you need any added incentive to make the Oreos, know that you can use up any leftovers—ha!—in a cookies 'n' cream cookie or—why the heck not—Oreo ice cream.)

4/14 11:30

Good Morning! Scones Edition

Ariel made some of Stella's scones.

4/14 9:55

Where's the Pork?

Smithfield is closing one of the largest pork-processing facilities in the country due to COVID-19, which raises the possibility of disruptions in the meat supply chain.

4/13 15:20

Cutting Boards for Charity (and Love!)

The good people over at The BoardSmith, who make the cutting boards that prevailed in our tests of cutting boards on the market, and who we worked with to produce a custom Serious Eats board, are selling cutting boards to benefit Furlough Kitchen, "a non-profit whose mission is feeding as many of the laid-off chefs and restaurant workers they can right now."

If you want to send a board to someone you love, be sure to add a note as the better boards will go to those orders!

4/13 14:39

For the Three People Who Hoarded Frozen Okra

Sho threw together a recipe.

4/14 14:08

From the Mailbag

Reader Julie asks:

"Have tried several online search results - no luck.

It’s fine until I am no longer able to stop by Lawsons and can pick up a frozen pizza on my way home from Japanese class or a fresh made one from Yorkmart or OK when grocery shopping. What am I going to do when back in the states and I can’t get that delicately delicious pizza?

It’s in the dough for sure. What is that mixture? Have tried rice flour and a mix of rice flour and bread flour. The texture isn’t right. Help!"

We asked Sho, who's spent the most time in Japan on staff, and he said, "I'm ashamed to say I've never eaten combini pizza, so I have no idea what it tastes like."

We throw the question to you, dear readers? Ideas?

4/13 12:30