With warmer temperatures becoming the norm, we're craving something refreshing. Thank goodness for the Waldorf salad, a lighter take on a salad that's chock-full of cold-weather produce like Gala apples and celery root.
We turned to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, home of the original salad, to learn how to make the perfect rendition of this salad. Keep reading for step-by-step directions.
Try as I might, I've never been able to get over a long-seated mayonnaise aversion. While its full-bodied creaminess adds dimension and a silky texture to a whole host of classic dishes, I recoil in fear at the barest glimmer of the condiment.
For the most part, I've been able to get on with my life — let's be real, this is a quintessential first-world problem — but at the same time, I often feel as if I'm missing out on something essential. Classics like potato salad, tomato-mayonnaise sandwiches, and Waldorf salads have graced my lips but a handful of times in my two-plus decades of life. That is, until now. . .
Last Fall when living in Manhattan, I experienced fresh concord grapes for the first time and was dazed by the naturally jelly consistency and supersweet interior. I probably went through five pounds a week, so you can imagine my excitement when grapes started popping up at the farmers market here in San Francisco. Preserve the season's bounty by making homemade jam. A few serving suggestions: offer it for breakfast with English muffins and butter, or use it as a filling for cakes or mix it into vanilla frosting. Slip some in a peanut butter sandwich, and you'll find that PB&Js never tasted so good.
Fall back in love with this sandwich staple when you get the recipe.
A decade ago, wine aisles across America were stocked primarily with well-known varietals like Chardonnay, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc. Not today.
From Viognier to Fumé Blanc to Grenache Rosé, grocery stores are flooded with distinctive grape varieties that are lesser known yet slowly becoming more prominent. Do you know anything about them?
I'll start by testing you on the most elemental classification: whether these up-and-coming varieties are red or white grapes. How educated is your best guess? Find out when you take this quiz!
Take the Quiz
This weekend is the San Francisco Wine Competition, so to get in the mood for sipping, test your vino knowledge with my grape quiz. You may know your Chardonnay from your Merlot, but how about the less mainstream varieties? Tell me, red grape or white grape?
Source: Flickr User Nick Allen
Take the Quiz
Instead of serving a spirits-based specialty cocktail at my Californian Thanksgiving, I'll be pouring a wine-based drink that's garnished with icy grapes. The recipe is somewhat like sangria, but without the addition of liqueur. White wine is infused with fresh rosemary, mint, and lemon zest. It sits overnight until the wine has an aromatic herbal quality. It's a light, refreshing, and fruity start that will offset the heavy and rich meal perfectly. Don't skip the frozen grape step; it's a festive presentation and they end up looking like floating jewels in the infused white wine.
Keep reading for the easy, make-ahead recipe.
The next time you crave roast chicken but don't have time to bake an entire bird, select bone-in chicken breast halves instead. This juicy cut cooks in half the time, about 30 minutes. For a super flavorful preparation, follow this recipe which stuffs the chicken skin with a goat cheese mixture. The ingredient list calls for dried herbs, however, if you've got fresh mint and thyme on hand, why not use them? A combination of red and green grapes makes for a colorful and juicy sauce. It's a simple, effortless meal that's absolutely scrumptious, so consider it for an impromptu Friday night dinner party. Read the technique after the break.
They say you can't really compare apples and oranges, but what about grapes and raisins? I have often wondered how the dried version compares with its juicy source.
When a fruit is dried, many of the nutrients become concentrated. According to the Berkeley Wellness Newsletter, ounce for ounce, raisins have almost three times the antioxidants as their grape counterparts. However, the amount of sugar is concentrated as well. Ounce for ounce, raisins also contain considerably more calories. A half-cup of raisins contains 246 calories and the same amount of grapes contains only 31 calories. But once the portions of each are appropriately sized, as in the chart below, raisins and grapes hardly differ.
| Raisins 1 ounce | Grapes 1 cup | |
| Calories | 84 | 62 |
| Fiber | 1 g | 1 g |
| Sugars | 17 g | 15 g |
| Potassium | 6 % | 5 % |
| Vitamin C | .6 mg | 3.6 mg |
| Iron | .5 mg | .3 mg |
Although a tartine is an open-faced French sandwich, this tartine recipe employs taleggio, a gooey Italian cheese. Taleggio smells stronger than it tastes and pairs well with fruit and bitter greens — in this case grapes and watercress. A quick vinaigrette combines grainy mustard with sherry vinegar and agave syrup. Don't skip the step that steeps the red onion in the vinaigrette because it gives the onion a slightly pickled flavor. To look at the recipe, read more
After tossing back a few of PartySugar's Candy Corn Cordials last weekend, I was ready to get into the spirit of the holiday with a chilling concoction of my own. A slime rickey isn't just a wordy play on the classic lime rickey of gin, lime juice, and club soda — it's also softened with the sweetness of simple syrup and eerily bobbing frozen grapes. The beverage is so easy to drink that the pitcher I made was gone in under an hour! Looking for a playful and festive Halloween refreshment? Then read more
