Latest news with #homemade
New York Times
12 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
The Fast-Food Gimmick That Became an Unlikely Muse for Chefs
In 2020, Fernando Strohmeyer was scrolling through Reddit in the back of Aunt Ginny's, a dive bar in Ridgewood, Queens, when a video of someone making a homemade Crunchwrap Supreme caught his eye. It didn't matter that he had never tasted the Taco Bell original. Recipes for the fast-food staple have spread online like open-source code. Soon, he was making one, too. From his small kitchen at Aunt Ginny's, Mr. Strohmeyer serves six-sided wraps that are browned on both sides and filled with the 14-hour pernil he learned to make from his Puerto Rican mother. His version — 'the Crispwrap Ultimate' — is considerably thicker than the source material, with a cross-section that looks more like your actual aunt's seven-layer dip. 'As long as you have that crunchy thing in the middle and you know how to fold it, you can put anything in there,' said Mr. Strohmeyer, 44. Introduced by Taco Bell as a special on June 22, 2005, the Crunchwrap Supreme wildly outperformed company expectations, becoming the fastest-selling menu item in the fast-food chain's history. Twenty years later, it is as much a novelty food as a playful framework for chefs. They reinterpret its nostalgic layers — ground beef, nacho cheese, a tostada shell, lettuce, tomato and sour cream enrobed by a 12-inch flour tortilla — with ingredients that are deeply personal. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘The dish of the year': William Sitwell reviews Upstairs at Landrace, Bath
It was the most fabulously delicious, gracefully homemade, perfectly cooked and gloriously un- Instagrammable dish of the year. The sausage and porcini ragu turned through fettuccine would vex the monkeys of social media. Faced with its various shades of brown, from tan brogue to croissant, autumn puddle to tawny owl, the influencers would be wrestling with their filters until their phones started smoking. Which, in an era where restaurants are urged to cook dishes that can market themselves in all their sparkling, colourful self-aware vanity, made it all the more tasty. But then Upstairs is above the Landrace bakery in Bath, and this is the sort of bakery that bakes and sells actual bread, as opposed to the gut-destroying fakery peddled by most supermarkets. So their heart and soul is in the right place, as is their design aesthetic. In fact, it's a bit like that pasta dish, once showered in Parmesan: the sepia tones of the wooden floor, wooden slatted divides and the sides of the kitchen pass, on the shelves of which sit collections of ancient bottles and candles on pewter dishes, the ceiling fans with dark brown paddles as blades, ivory white walls and paintings with shades of cubism and futurism. Even the staff are dressed in beige aprons. It's my kind of mood board. And my kind of food. It's British with a hint of Med, a well-crafted offering of ingredients given gentle pushes towards greatness, rather than smothered in a cheffy muddle. Cantabrian anchovies, that great appetiser de nos jours, sort-of spatchcocked and unusually still with their tails, were in a herby oil with flecks of lemon rind. Large cuts of ham came with a pile of celeriac remoulade, silky smooth save for the crunch of the raw vegetable and delivering just the right balance of seasoning from the capers in the sauce. A dish of three scallops (each with their orange coral intact, which too many chefs discard) was cooked in butter just so, with a hint of green from chopped parsley and cleverly elevated with the umami hit of bottarga. Then came that wonderful, earthy and rich sausage ragu, before two fabulously messy dishes of monkfish and pork. Emily's sturdy piece of fish was nicely caramelised, hiding under cubes of salsify and spinach; hearty and soulful, as was my pork chop. It was huge, with crisp skin, sliced along the plate alongside a jumble of broad beans and waxy ratte potatoes, cooked and then squished. Next time my life is laboured by a tasting menu where various clean-looking but lonely bits of protein and veg stand to attention on a plate before a sauce is introduced in an attempt at unity, I'll show them these dishes. This is food, this is how we need to eat; cooked with passion and confidence and served with generosity. What with the bread at the start, we had very possibly over-ordered. But then the words Paris-Brest jumped out from the menu. Sounding like some Gallic poultry but named after the cycling race (just the thing after you've cycled for some 800 miles), this was a version to make its inventor Louis Durand proud. It was correctly round, flaky and fluffy with cream, had added crunch with shards of caramelised biscuit and nuts on top and was dripping in rich chocolate sauce. A friend of mine has just returned from Switzerland where she dined in a smart establishment on the banks of Lake Lucerne. Course one was entitled 'Low Temperature Carrot'. I'll see her gastronomic aberration and raise it with my brown ragu and a dinner at Landrace, which, with great service and wine from the Loire, bottled in house, provides virtue, flavour and fun.
The Sun
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
Home Bargains is selling refreshing summer buy that's perfect for kids – and it's £17 cheaper than John Lewis version
AS the summer holidays loom, Home Bargains is selling a stellar seasonal buy for your kids to enjoy. The retailer is offering a home ice-lolly mould set that is going for a far better price than many competitors. 2 These moulds come in bright, summery colours to help create your own ice-lollies for all the family. The retailer's website says: "Transform your kitchen into a summer paradise with The Outdoor Living Collection Ice Lolly Mould. "Create delightful homemade ice lollies that are perfect for cooling down on hot days or treating yourself to a sweet, refreshing dessert. "Whether you're hosting a backyard barbecue, planning a poolside party, or simply looking for a fun activity with the kids, these ice lolly moulds are a must-have for your summer kitchen arsenal." What's more, the moulds are currently selling for just £1.29 with Home Bargains, making them far cheaper than many rival retailers. A similar product at John Lewis sells is listed for £18.90, although it sits reduced to £17.01 at time of writing. Like the Home Bargains version, the package contains ice-lolly moulds in different colours. Its website says: "You can use fruit juices or yogurt with different fruits and flavours like honey, and let your imagination conjure up new combinations." One online reviewer said: "We've used these loads already. "The kids love making their own lollies. "Seem really sturdy so far and easy to get the lollies out once frozen." It's not the only big summer buy available to consumers as warmer weather heads our way. A chimenea has been reduced at Dunelm as part of a summer sale on outdoor products. This affordable garden addition now has 30% off, with the price slashed from £75 to just £52.50. Dunelm shoppers are leaving their praise online, with one calling it "brilliant", adding that it's "effective and easy to assemble". Another happy shopper hailed it: "A garden must-have". While a third wrote: "Worth the money, easy to assemble and provides a good heat."
CTV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
London sisters raise $3,500 for pancreatic cancer research
London Watch The young sisters are selling homemade dog bandanas in tribute to their late grandmother. CTV's Lauren Stallone has the details.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Chicken bone broth
Bone broth is relatively easy and incredibly cheap to make yourself, without having to resort to expensive health-food shop varieties. Ingredients Leftover bones and skin of 2 chickens – freeze them until you have enough 3 large onions 1 leek (optional) 4 carrots 2 sticks of celery 4 cloves of garlic Bunch of parsley Bunch of thyme 3 bay leaves Chunk of ginger (optional) Sea salt 1-2 tbsp peppercorns Method Step Gather your ingredients then roughly chop your vegetables (no need to peel the carrots). Leaving the skin on, smash 4 cloves of garlic once with your fist on the flat side of a knife. Add all this – together with the ginger, if using – into a deep pot along with the chicken bones and skin (can be from frozen), herbs and 1-2 tbsp peppercorns. Step Cover with approximately two litres of water (or enough for the ingredients to be fully submerged), add a generous pinch of sea salt and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and partly cover. Step Simmer for three to four hours and use a spoon to skim off any foam. Keep an eye on it and top up with water if needed so it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. Aim to have the bones covered at all times. Step Place a colander in a large heatproof bowl and tip in the stock to remove the bones and chunks of vegetable. Allow the liquid to drain through the colander. Press the bones and vegetables down with the back of a spoon to squeeze as much juice out as possible. You can also pass the liquid through a sieve to remove any smaller bits if you prefer. Allow it to cool slightly then pour into a container. Use from the fridge within five days, or it will last in the freezer for six months. Step You can choose to stop here if you'd prefer, but to make this truly a zero-waste recipe, return the bones and vegetables to the pot and top up with water again to make a second stock. This is called a 'remouillage' – the process of using bones twice.
