I don't love Nacho Cheese Doritos because my late grandfather used to sneak them to me under the pew during tedious Sunday sermons (he didn't). And I don't crave their cheesy crunch because my grade school crush, Bridget McElroy, sported an ever present orange film of "cheese" under her fingernails (thoughshe probably did). They taste like heaven because their creator, Frito-Lay, designs them to. Today we're focusing on the science behind that cheesy seasoning. More

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On such a record-breakingly scorching Saturday, it can be hard to lure hundreds of people out of their houses to ferry over to Governors Island. But when mighty delicious sandwiches are involved, your odds are much better. Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us at the first Serious Eats All-Star Sandwich Festival over the weekend. We had a blast meeting all of you and munching on turkey heroes, sliders, falafel, banh mi, and all of the other sandwiches, drinks, sweets and pickles on the menu while kicking back on the grass. Here are a bunch of snapshots from the day. More

The idea for Apps Only came from a number of places, but it crystallized at the bar at Back Forty. I came for the great happy hour deal—half price drinks from 6-8pm, Monday-Thursday—but lingered over fried squid, Greenmarket-driven salads, and the occasional pork shoulder slider. More

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There is a fancy gourmet market in my neighborhood that sells the most delicious pistachio butter. Brilliant green, slightly sweet, and intensely nutty, it's easily one of the best spreads I have ever eaten. The trouble is, it's imported from Italy and costs $30 a jar. Since I just can't live without it slathered on my morning toast, I decided to see if I could make a passable version at home for a fraction of the price. More

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I couldn't help but get excited by this Talk thread on the one spice Serious Eaters would keep if they could have only one. I couldn't answer for myself—even thinking about was too much like deciding which children to abandon—but it did get me thinking about the essentials of what spices are really about. What do we really use them for and how do they effect our experience of a food? More

A few bits of cheese and some savory chopped scallions make for an ideal contrast to the standard sweet muffins that are often served in the morning. These muffins are not only great on their own, served warm with a bit of butter, but would make an excellent accompaniment to some scrambled eggs with salsa, or even huevos rancheros. (Or some hearty chili later in the day). More

There is definitely something rustic-glam about making your own pigs in a blanket, replete with sweet onion Dijon mustard, and light-as-air puff pastry. Gone by halftime—promise! More

Risotto gets a bad wrap for being difficult. I happen to think the opposite. And the reputation of this dish will only further yours if you pull it off. More

I spent about 10 days in Israel when I was 13, but the only two dishes I remember eating are falafel and turkey schnitzel. (I wasn't the most svelte of teenagers.) At that point, my obsession with food was in relatively nascent stages, so I can't feel too remorseful about all the local delicacies that I missed out on—but the one dish I do regret not trying in the homeland is shakshuka. More

You'd expect sea-inspired eats to be the standouts on The Mermaid Inn's brunch menu, and indeed, it's hard to go wrong with their fish tacos or shrimp po'boy. What's surprising is that their pancakes and French toast--seemingly boring same olds that certainly don't mesh with fish--are executed with just as much flair. Personally, I'm biased towards the former, made with a loose cornmeal batter that yields ultra-thin cakes ($12). More

The recipe began eerily similar to macarons: the almonds and confectioners' sugar whirred together to make a light, floury powder instead of a dense paste. When the egg whites were mixed in, the batter held its airiness. Piped onto the cookie sheets, the soft, peaked domes baked perfectly—puffed-up and crisp on the outside with that perfect chewy-meets-light inside, plus a super charged almond flavor from the ground almonds and extract. More

These Cornmeal Biscuits with Honey Butter from Eric Ripert's Avec Eric are a biscuit-cornbread hybrid and just the kind of Thanksgiving bread that's quick enough to be totally doable. The dough comes out of the food processor moist enough to shape but thankfully not at all sticky. They're simple to roll out and shape, and out of the oven in a little over 10 minutes. They are light and fluffy with a great cornmeal crunch, and when spread with the sweet-salty honey butter, totally irresistible. More

This is the easiest soufflé you'll ever make—just eggs, pumpkin, and syrup. After 30 minutes you have an impressive, effortless holiday breakfast with all the best flavors of Thanksgiving. More

Main dish salads are tricky to pull off, especially around this time of year when you can't just dump a butch of ripe tomatoes into a bowl with lettuce and call it a dinner. With autumn here, a little extra effort is required. But it also means the results can be even more soulful and satisfying. That's especially true for this salad from Bon Appétit, which mixes roasted butternut squash with French green lentils. More

This recipe for Beef Sauerbraten with Red Cabbage and Pretzel Dumplings is a mix of old world and new—fairly standard brisket in a sour and aromatic marinade, slow-roasted and served with melting sweet and sour red cabbage. The Franks' modern take comes in with the pretzel dumplings. Day-old soft pretzels are mixed into a rich egg dough, rolled into logs, poached, and finally pan-fried into something that I can only compare to a crisp pretzel bread pudding. When the super tender brisket, sweet cabbage, and carb-tacular dumplings come together they make for a knockout of a cold weather plate. More

The recipe begins by grinding a warm spice rub of ginger, paprika, coriander, turmeric, and cumin, then rubbing it into the chicken and letting it sit and soak for a few hours. Even before the chicken is grilled, it takes on a lovely burnished tone. After the spice rub has had enough time to work its way into the flesh, it's time to crack open a beer! Taking a few sips is part of the recipe. More

Of all the ways I've worried over the years about falling short, being a decent Italian-American was never one of them. But this weekend I discovered the cucuzza, and now I'm not so sure. How could I not have known about this ancient Italian summer-squash-like gourd? I spent the weekend getting to know it. Are you familiar with the cucuzza? Let us know in the comments. More

Turns out the earthiness of beets plays superbly with the earthiness of dried chiles, which are the soul of this absolutely addicting dressing. The result is sweet, vinegary, smoky, garlicky—it's wondrous. I'm going to start keeping this around all the time. More

Sitting in my AC-less apartment with the fan blowing hot air in my face, it's hard to think about anything except how frigging hot it is in the Northeast. Record-breakingly hot. Temper-breakingly hot. Now, this doesn't necessarily put everyone in the mood to scarf a chocolate bar, but here are four ways to get your cocoa fix while staying cool. More

When dipped in flour, the skate wing crisps up beautifully and the capers take care of the rest. Sure, red pepper and shallots may add some color, but it's the briny capers that really carry the sauce and help balance the creamy flesh of the skate. More

You have to respect Trader Joe's for addressing such an important issue: that steelcut oatmeal takes forever to cook. Sometimes up to 45 minutes, it's just too long to justify outside of a weekend breakfast luxury. But wait. Trader Joe's is now selling frozen steelcut oatmeal—three words you never thought you'd hear together—and it's ready in less than three minutes. Which got us thinking, what if we made a big pot of steelcut oatmeal and started freezing it in an ice cube tray? More

There are few foods on the planet for which you expend more energy chewing it than you receive in calories. Raw celery is one of them. Konnayaku, the Japanese product made from a plant in the taro family called konnayku (also referred to as konjac or devil's tongue), is my low calorie food of choice. Here are some suggestions for how to cook with it, including a recipe for simmered konnyaku with beef. More

Chocolate peanut butter cups are undoubtedly one of the finer things in life. But I have my reservations about the construction: the chocolate gets your hands messy and there never seems to be enough peanut butter. So what would happen if you turned a peanut butter cup inside-out? More

A plain baked sweet potato is incredibly tasty, as far as I'm concerned, but Ina Garten's brown-sugared baked sweet potato fries are out of this world. Although I usually leave the peels on (out of laziness and a longstanding belief that the peels contain good stuff), they are even better peeled. With or without peeling, they come together very quickly and make a nice side for an easy and inexpensive meal of hot dogs or hamburgers. More