Until I watched Anthony Bourdain order green borscht from a restaurant in Ukraine, I had only ever thought of the soup as bright purple and made of beets. Considering it's National Soup Month, I set off on a culinary mission to learn as much as I could (in a couple of hours) about borscht. Here's what I learned in a nutshell. Borscht originated from the trimmings of Winter vegetables, Read more

If you're a fan of cold soups like I am, I'm sure you'll agree they're the perfect midday refreshment during one of Summer's heat waves. Although gazpacho takes a lot of credit for its cooling properties, don't discount other traditional warm-weather favorites, like the chilled version of the Eastern European soup known as borscht. The soup's beets, aside from having a nice depth of flavor, Read more

Whenever you're complaining about the ferocity of Winter, just remember things are much, much colder in other parts of the world. But while Russian Winters may be brutal, they've got plenty of amazing, comforting recipes with flavors designed to take that chill out of your bones. It's time to call up your babushka, put on your copy of Doctor Zhivago, and grab a tall glass of vodka, if you see Read more

Make a New Year's Resolution to make your own versions of store-bought staples. Get inspired in the kitchen with a cute new apron. We sat down for an interview with Ruth Reichl over dinner this week. Check out our Q&A. Expand your knowledge of Spanish food and your pantry with these essential ingredients. We taste test the new Starbucks blonde brew. And we finally got to sample the strange Read more