Food & Wine March 2016

AT FOOD & WINE, we pride ourselves on always looking ahead. But, just this once, I'm going to use this space to look back as I step down as editor in chief after 21 years. To assist me in this daunting task, I asked my friend Mario Batali to conduct an exit interview, excerpted below (the photo of Mario with Jimmy Fallon and me is from one of my favorite F&W stories ever). But I'll stay connected with this incredible brand and with you, dear reader, as I head to Chefs Club by Food & Wine, a restaurant concept created in partnership with F&W. At its locations in New York and Aspen, Chefs Club curates the best chef dishes from around the country and the world on one great menu.…

EGG ENCOURAGEMENT My girlfriend recently taught me how to make a Spanish fried egg. You shake the pan while you spoon olive oil over the egg as it's folding over onto itself. If you say "Give it a home, give it a home" as you shake the pan, which is what my friend says, it seems to help a lot. MARIO BATALI THROWDOWN I was on The Chew, which I found to be the most nerve-racking situation ever. Mario asked me to lay asparagus down for him as we were making a fish dish. I was trying to lay it down perfectly in the pan, and he was like, "No, no, no, just throw it." DATING A PRO HOCKEY PLAYER My boyfriend [Jarret Stoll of the Minnesota Wild] eats pretty…

1. FOOD JEWELRY Chefs sometimes tattoo their favorite ingredients on their arms. These leather bracelets, available in 22 designs, are less of a commitment. From $75 each; delicaciesjewelry.com. —Kate Heddings 2. SPICED NUTS I eat these crunchy, smoky, dark-chocolate-covered almonds with cocktails and for dessert. $10 for 5 oz.; cliffamilywinery.com. —Julia Heffelfinger 3. ROASTING PAN The upright handles on Cristel's tri-ply pan make a big difference in helping me hoist heavy roasts out of my oven. $230; bloomingdales.com. —Christine Quinlan 4. SILVERWARE SET This sculptural piece looks like a fancy egg, but it actually holds a 24-piece set of silver-plated flatware. $1,000; christofle.com. —Suzie Myers 5. TEA RX This adorable survival kit with tea and honey is the perfect gift for my sister in frigid Chicago. $25; davidstea.com. —JH 6.…

F&W Best New Chef 2015 Jim Christiansen, of Heyday in Minneapolis, has taken a French picnic staple-chicken liver pâté-and transformed it. His elegant chicken liver tart is also a showcase for in-season vegetables. "It's a labor-intensive dish considering how simple it looks," he says. "When we get 10 orders at once there are a lot of hands moving really fast to make them." 2700 Lyndale Ave. S.; heydayeats.com. Carrot tops Christiansen believes in root-to-stalk cooking. Onion jam A classic accompaniment to pâté; Christiansen's changes with the seasons. Onion powder Yellow onions—dried, baked and pulverized— resemble soil. Pickled radishes Christiansen pickles raw radishes so they're tangy.…

Three chefs reveal how they bump up the flavor in healthy dishes and replace the richness of fat. SAVORY OATMEAL "You can add just about anything to oatmeal and eat it any time of day. Instead of brown sugar and milk, I like to add tomato sauce and Parmesan or cook the oatmeal in dashi and add miso paste." SANG YOON, LUKSHON, L.A. LOWER-FAT VINAIGRETTE "I blend a little bit of xanthan gum (½ teaspoon per quart of dressing) and water (1¾ cups) with high-quality oil and vinegar." MATTHEW ACCARRINO, SPQR, SAN FRANCISCO SALSA VERDE "I make a big batch with tomatillos, cilantro and avocado for creaminess. I leave it in my fridge so I can use it to top seafood, grains, eggs and other dishes that need some tang."…

MEAL PLAN Every week, subscribers to the COOKING LIGHT DIET get an email with recipes for three meals and two snacks daily, all based on the number of calories they choose. F&W's favorite part: You can substitute a glass of wine for a snack. cookinglight.com. CALORIE TRACKER Some apps do a good job of tracking food intake; others excel at monitoring calories burned. The MyFitnessPal site and app, recently acquired by Under Armour, successfully integrates the two. myfitnesspal.com. WIRED BOTTLE The HIDRATESPARK WATER BOTTLE (right) lets you create your own daily drinking goals, keeps track of your progress and even glows to remind you to take a sip. $60; hidratespark.com. [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.] Goal: 72 oz. 50% 1½…