These are the fresh fruit drinks of Mexico that you find at markets everywhere served from large ribbed glass jars. Vendors at Mexican markets will offer licuados of all flavors made from local fruit, sugar, and water in a kaleidoscope of colors—hot pinks and greens from melons, yellow from pineapple, purple from hibiscus blossoms, orange from tangerines. No two licuado stands are alike, and this drink represents, for me, the infinite variety and vitality of Mexican cuisine. If you go to Mexico, be sure to try the local licuado, since each region and locality has its own special tropical fruits and ingredients. I prefer to use cane sugar for licuados as it produces a noticeably brighter fruit flavor. For a more natural sugar, substitute a light agave syrup, using about one-fourth less than for cane sugar. If you have a juicer that both squeezes the fruit and strains the pulp, it will produce a fantastic licuado base with the purest fruit flavor. With really ripe, sweet fruit, decrease the amount of sugar in the recipe.
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Round out these autumn greens with tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pepitas, and a shower of Parmesan.
The silky French vanilla sauce that goes with everything.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
An extra-silky filling (no water bath needed!) and a smooth sour cream topping make this the ultimate cheesecake.
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Crispy tots topped with savory-sweet sauce, mayonnaise, furikake, scallion, and katsuobushi.