Photo: Lauren Hendrickson A couple of years ago I watched the Barefoot Contessa roast bacon in the oven. She was making a BLT and didn't need the bacon fat. I had never thought to bake bacon, and the idea has changed my life! Now, I roast bacon all the time. It's an easy, convenient, and splatter-free way to cook it. Here's what you do: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover a large cookie sheet Read more

Living in a small, city apartment, I've learned that I can go without a lot in the appliance department while still managing to create delicious food. The oven, however, is not one of those things; in the modern kitchen, it's the king. Two cooking methods — roasting and baking — are nearly synonymous with the concept of the oven itself, yet they are seemingly identical techniques. They both Read more

As a native San Franciscan, I can't get enough sourdough bread. While this isn't the only city where you can get a great loaf, it sure perfected the art before artisan bread hit the mainstream. So it was just a matter of time before I took a stab at a homemade version inspired by the town I call home. Every region's sourdough gets its unique flavor from the yeast organisms in the starter. Read more

What if you could simply conjure ingredients out of thin air? It sounds like something out of a Star Trek episode, but it's absolutely possible in one instance: sourdough. This tangy, fluffy bread gets its start as a simple fermented flour and water mixture that pulls its yeast fungi straight from the air! While you can certainly bake delicious bread using the dry active yeast that comes in Read more

If you went to college or lived near a campus bar, you're undoubtedly familiar with a drink called the Irish car bomb. It's similar to a sake bomb or cement mixer in that it requires choreography: one shot each of Baileys Irish cream liqueur and Irish whiskey are dropped into a pint glass of Guinness stout, and some poor soul downs the entire concoction before the drink can curdle, often while Read more

I love using color to brighten up my baked goods, but sometimes the idea of adding drop after drop of artificial food dye makes me cringe. So with St. Patrick's Day coming up, the hunt was on to find a natural coloring agent to turn my baked goods a lovely shade of green. Historically used in Japanese tea ceremonies, matcha is finely milled green tea powder that today finds its way into mochi, Read more

If bread is the staff of life, then this cook has been wobbling on shaky legs for much of her culinary career. What is it about baking bread that's so daunting? I suppose I've rationalized my bread-baking evasion by telling myself it takes too long and my spaghetti-noodle arms can't knead well enough. But I recognize those are silly excuses, so this week I set about tackling the easiest bread Read more

Whether you're vegan or just want to make healthier baked goods, finding ways to omit the butter can greatly reduce the amount of calories, fat, and cholesterol in your sweet treats. There are countless ways to replace eggs in recipes, and here are healthier alternatives to using butter. Applesauce: This ingredient is often used to replace oil in recipes, but it can also be an alternative to Read more

Making a king cake has never been one of my baking priorities, considering I've got little to no knowledge of Mardi Gras in general. But something came over me last week and I decided I wanted to take on this challenge. And a challenge it certainly was: I did a fair amount of research, finding an overwhelming number of different recipes and methods, then settled on a recipe from the king of New Read more