Food Network Magazine Jul/Aug 2019

DINNERS UNDER 500 CALORIES Is the Mediterranean Diet Really So Great? Yes! A new study from the journal Neurology tracked followers of the diet for decades and found that the most strict adherents had a significantly lower risk of poor cognitive function later in life. Maybe a Mediterranean dinner is in order tonight: Try the Italian acqua pazza on page 102. Eat More Strawberries! According to research presented at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society, eating three-quarters of a cup of strawberries a day could improve gut health and reduce colon inflammation. Add some berries to your dinner tonight: Try the green tomato–strawberry salad on page 86. Looking Good Eat a rainbow of tomatoes this summer—different colors contain different antioxidants, according to a new study published by the American Society for Horticultural Science. Here’s…

We asked the stars: What’s the spiciest food you’ve ever eaten? “Tang’s Amazing Tofu with Pork, a Sichuan dish from Hwa Yuan in New York City’s Chinatown. It is painfully delicious.”“My mother’s green chili—it used to give me a headache, tears and a burning sensation all at once! I think she’d forget how many jalapeños she put in.”“I bit into a ghost pepper. You think, ‘I can handle it.’ I was deeply wrong.” WIN BIG! SWEEPSTAKES! Enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Austin inspired by The Great Food Truck Race. The prize includes round-trip flights to Austin, three nights at The LINE hotel with daily breakfast, tickets to the Real Austin tour and a sunset sightseeing cruise, plus $1,000 to spend at The Picnic food-truck park and around town.…

Let me run a headline past you, to see if you get it: Last fall, an editor turned in a soup story and called it “Soup for You!” If you watched Seinfeld in the ’90s, you might have guessed that this is a reference to the famous Soup Nazi line, “No soup for you!” And if you didn’t watch Seinfeld, you probably think it’s a spectacularly dumb name for a story, the equivalent of writing “Meat for You!” on a hamburger feature. When we circulated the soup story among the editors here, we quickly realized there was a cultural divide: Half of us watched Seinfeld and the other half didn’t. In fact, a bunch of staffers (everyone under 30) weren’t even alive when the show started airing in 1989, so “Soup…

Meat Halfway You don’t have to give up burgers to cut back on meat: Blended patties—part ground meat, part mushrooms—have become a popular compromise. Applegate Farms recently launched mushroom-blended turkey and beef burgers, and specialty food stores are stocking similar patties from Grateful Burger and Teton Waters Ranch. Some produce companies have even started packaging preseasoned mushroom crumbles, made for mixing with ground meat. To make your own ’shroomy burgers, cook 8 ounces finely chopped cremini mushrooms in oil until browned; season with salt and pepper and let cool. Mix the mushrooms with 1 pound ground beef; form into ½-inch-thick patties and cook in a hot oiled skillet for 1½ minutes per side. PHOTO: RALPH SMITH; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON.…

JUST A LITTLE Americans love dessert, but apparently we prefer it in small packages. A new grocery report found that sales of tiny treats—mini muffins, doughnuts and brownies—all spiked in the past year! PEACE, LOVE AND GRANOLA The 50th anniversary of Woodstock falls in August, and that calls for a big bowl of granola. Why? There was hardly any food at the festival in 1969, so entertainer Wavy Gravy and his commune stepped up and handed out thousands of Dixie cups filled with granola, forever tying the snack to the hippie community. In honor of the anniversary, make your own batch: foodnetwork.com/fruitgranola. The Munchies Aren’t a Myth A new study found that chip, cookie and ice cream sales increased in Colorado, Oregon and Washington after those states legalized marijuana. BIG BUZZ Who makes the strongest coffee on…

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