Allrecipes December/January 2022

STORIES THAT INSPIRE Cooking as healing Both patients and chefs at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital know that great food is crucial to better health. We asked three patients to share their cooking inspirations and favorite dishes, and talked with some St. Jude chefs about how they cook for kids from all over the globe. One of those patients is Dakota, who says he used cooking “as something fun to help me get through cancer treatment.” See their stories by clicking here, or go to armagazine.com/st-jude HOLIDAY SHOPPING SECRETS Searching for holiday gifts can be stressful (you’re already shopping for so much stuff!), so we’ve got a guide to buying groceries—and even gifts—at the grocery store, all while keeping your chill. Find tricks to make store-bought pies holiday table–worthy and tips for choosing the…

THE SEASON OF sparkle As a Minnesota native who calls Iowa home, I’m proud to say it: I dig snow. While I don’t particularly enjoy shoveling it, I’ve always loved what the fluffy white stuff does for my spirits—and the wonders it works with the light. When snow covers the ground, any little beam of sunlight or moonlight or starlight sets the landscape aglow. Bare trees, dirty roads, and stubbly gardens shimmer, glisten, and sparkle beneath their downy coats. Our house feels cozier and cheerier when it’s brightened by the crisp, cool light bouncing in from the wintry world. On the coldest mornings, tapestries of frost spread in jagged whorls and lacy paisleys over the windows of our unheated front porch. If that’s not enough to make you believe in elves and…

WINE & DINE · NEXT-LEVEL · ALLSTAR TIPS & TOOLS Top Wine-tasting Tips You don’t need to be a certified sommelier to host a tasteful wine tasting. Simply keep these pointers in mind. 1. Plan your pours. A standard wine bottle has a little more than 12 (2-ounce) tasting pours. Aim for a selection of three to six different wines and enough of each to allow everyone to sample. 2. Check the temp. The ideal serving temperature varies by wine style. Chill sparkling and white wines 1½ to 2½ hours. Most reds need just 30 to 60 minutes in the fridge. Pull wines out about 30 minutes before serving. 3. Get your glasses. An all-purpose white-wine glass is an excellent default if you don’t own a complete tasting set. If you’re short on glasses or…

Not that long ago, much of what glittered in food was either made of precious metals (silver or gold) or of something the FDA didn’t recommend putting in your mouth. Case in point: Those metallic BB-size balls known as silver dragées that you may recall from holiday cookies and wedding cakes of yore. (Yes, you were supposed to remove those before eating. Oops!) These days, there’s a whole host of edible glitters, sprinkles, dusts, sprays, and bedazzled food products made with FDA-approved shiny pigments (like mica-based pearlescence) that let you sprinkle a little stardust magic on foods without sidestepping safety. Try one of these and live your disco dreams with everything from breakfast to cakes to cocktails during the season of sparkle. How to Be Sure It’s Edible Check the label: By law,…

“I love these Blue Platypus Swedish dish towels. It’s a small company with great designs.”– ALLSTAR AMY BARNES…

IN SEASON · COOK TO FOLLOW · SMELLS LIKE THE HOLIDAYS · COOKIE CONNECTION Behind the scenes, there’s quite a process that includes fermenting, roasting, grinding and more to create the rich, luscious, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate we know and love. It starts with raw, bitter cacao beans, the seeds of the cacao tree—a plant that traces its roots to South American rain forests. Today, cacao is also grown in parts of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and other warm, humid areas along the equator. Farmers mainly raise three cacao varieties: Forastero, which features robust cocoa notes; Criollo, a rare bean with fruity, tobacco aromas and delicate flavor; and Trinitario, a hybrid with a forward chocolate taste. Soil composition, climate, and elevation also play a role in cacao flavor. Chocolate makers blend cacao varieties or may…