Butterkäse is a mild, semi-soft German cheese whose name literally means “butter cheese,” known for a buttery, creamy flavor and a melt so smooth it’s landed inside baked sweet potatoes all over TikTok. A few people have asked me “what is butterkase cheese” lately. Makes sense, given how fast it went from a cheese nobody
Eggs with avocado, Greek yogurt with chia and berries, cottage cheese with flaxseed, oats fixed with nut butter, baked veggie egg muffins, and nut butter with apple all pair protein or fat with fiber, which is what keeps blood sugar steady for hours instead of crashing by 10am, and none of it requires weighing a
Yes, you can freeze both turkey and stuffing after Thanksgiving, but turkey holds up in the freezer a lot better than stuffing does. I learned that the hard way a few years back when I froze a full container of leftover turkey and stuffing mixed together, thinking I was saving myself a step. Big mistake.
Costco Halloween candy runs about 18 to 30 cents an ounce depending on the bag, which is why I can walk out with three full varieties of candy, over 15 pounds combined, for under $50. I have made this same Costco run every October for years now, and the math has stayed pretty consistent. You
Aldi is the cheapest place to buy Halloween candy this year, with bulk variety bags running as low as 9 cents a piece, and Costco and Walmart aren’t far behind if you time your trip right. I spent way too many afternoons this month walking the seasonal aisles at Aldi, Costco, Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club,
Candied carrots are sliced carrots simmered first in water until just tender, then finished in a butter and brown sugar glaze that reduces until it clings to every piece. Carrots are the side dish nobody plans around and everybody finishes first. Glazed properly, they go from an afterthought to the thing people ask about before
Cranberry sauce is fresh or frozen cranberries simmered with sugar and a little water or orange juice for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the berries pop and the natural pectin in the fruit thickens the sauce on its own as it cools. Canned cranberry sauce is a texture, not really a flavor, and the
Candied yams are sliced sweet potatoes simmered in a butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon syrup until tender and glazed, made on the stovetop or finished in the oven, with marshmallows entirely optional depending on which side of the family you grew up in. The name bothered me for years before I finally looked into it.
Creamed corn is fresh or frozen corn kernels simmered in butter and cream until the sauce thickens into something rich and slightly sweet, made without any canned cream-style corn at all. I spent years assuming creamed corn came from a can, the pale, oddly sweet stuff sitting next to the green beans on the Thanksgiving
An air fryer can revive leftover pizza and fried chicken, bake a faster potato than your oven, toast nuts and granola in minutes, dehydrate citrus peel and herbs, and roast a small batch of vegetables without heating up your whole kitchen, all of which matter more in winter, when you’re already running the furnace and
The fridge essentials that separate restaurant-tasting food from average home cooking are a real Parmigiano-Reggiano wedge, Dijon mustard, capers, anchovy paste, good unsalted butter, fresh lemons, buttermilk, crème fraîche, and prepared horseradish, none of which cost much but all of which get skipped on a typical grocery run. I used to think good cooking came
Cheap pantry staples like Better Than Bouillon, oyster sauce, chili crisp, and tamarind concentrate cost under $5 at most grocery stores and can turn a plain pot of rice, a pan of ground meat, or a bowl of eggs into something completely different, as long as you start with less than you think you need.
The best substitute for farmers cheese is drained whole-milk ricotta for sweet baking, or pressed cottage cheese for savory dishes like pierogi, since both match its mild, tangy, dry-curd texture once you get the extra moisture out. I make pierogi and blintzes often enough that running out of farmers cheese is basically a recurring event
The best substitute for muenster cheese is Havarti, since it has almost the same mild, buttery flavor and melts just as smoothly, with Monterey Jack and brick cheese as solid backups. I’ve gone through a lot of muenster in my kitchen over the years, mostly because it’s my go-to for grilled cheese and tuna melts.
The best substitute for quark is a mix of Greek yogurt and cottage cheese blended smooth, since it matches quark’s tangy flavor and thick texture better than either one alone. I’ve been getting asked about quark a lot lately, which honestly surprised me at first. It’s not exactly a household name in most US kitchens.