Weekly Wrap-Up: 5/26-6/1

In case you missed them, here’s a wrap up of our favorite blog posts of the week. Read, get inspired, and start cooking!

 

Old-Fashioned Macaroni Salad with Sweet Pickles The secret to the old-fashioned flavor of this salad is the addition of a little sweet pickle juice and sliced pimiento-stuffed olives, along with the more traditional ingredients. Make it all spring and summer for family gatherings!

Q&A with the Tacolicious Team This season we partnered with the crew at Tacolicious, a San Francisco restaurant, to create a meal that celebrates the spicy, charred flavors of Mexican favorites on the grill. Here, we ask them all about building Tacolicious, what they love about Mexican food, and their favorite ways to use the new products.

Ingredient Spotlight: New Potatoes Spring’s freshly dug potatoes are sweeter and creamier than their fall and winter cousins — perfect for potato salad season! Read on for our best tips for working with new potatoes, plus some creative recipes to make them shine.

Spicy Asian-Style Baby Back Ribs Here, baby back ribs are soaked in a soy-lime-chile mixture and then quickly grilled. An herb salad offers a refreshing counterpoint to the richness of the meat.

DIY Tortillas Make your summer taco party one to remember with homemade tortillas — they’re at the core of our new menu, created in partnership with the crew at Tacolicious. Here’s how it’s done, with just a few ingredients and a handy tortilla press.

All About Summer Drinks Sipping a cool, refreshing drink is one of our favorite parts of any outdoor get-together, and this year we’ve vowed to mix our best cocktails yet. For tips, we turned to Josh Williams and Eric Prum, the creators of the Mason Shaker and authors of the book Shake. Find them here!

Meet the Makers: Owl’s Brew Cocktail Mixes (with Recipes!) Summer time is cocktail time! Our Owl’s Brew cocktail mixes are made by steeping top-quality tea with fresh fruits, herbs and other ingredients to create a concentrate that’s ready to mix with just about any spirit, wine or beer in your home bar. We talked to creators Maria Littlefield and Jennie Ripps for more inspiration on using the mixes at home.

Dark Chocolate Pudding This bittersweet chocolate pudding is great as is — especially for outdoor parties and picnics — but it’s also easy to adapt. See more ideas here.

Recipe Roundup: Our Top 10 Burgers We celebrated National Hamburger Day with some of our favorite recipes featuring different twists on the classic, all guaranteed to shake up your burger routine.

Tacolicious Party Tips We partnered Tacolicious to create the ultimate Mexican taco party, complete with festive cocktails, grilled nachos, spicy pickled vegetables and hearty tacos. Here, we ask Sara Deseran — who’s writing the Tacolicious cookbook, out this fall from Ten Speed Press — for her best tips for hosting a “taquiza” at home.

Italian Shellfish Stew This dish makes for a fast and healthy lunch or dinner — shellfish are a source of lean protein, and they cook quickly in the tomato-based stew. The ingredients pick up the flavors of garlic, red pepper flakes and red wine to perfection.

Weekend Project: Infused Spirits Put a unique spin on your home cocktails with infused spirits! We talked to Josh Williams and Eric Prum for their best tips and combinations. Cheers!

Cherry Tomato Salad with Burrata & Pesto Burrata — a moist, fresh ball of mozzarella filled with curds and cream — slowly oozes with each delicious forkful. It’s a perfect partner for summer’s first cherry tomatoes.

Party Planner: Tacolicious Taco Party Though San Francisco’s Tacolicious serves some of the best tacos in town, their Mexico City–meets–California cuisine goes far beyond those street treats. Our menu is enough to feed a crowd, so pour some Palomas and invite your friends for a backyard fiesta.

Lamb Kofta with Anchoiade and Mint YogurtThis Middle East-inspired dish features an enticing array of seasonings and textures. The saltiness of the anchoiade tames the richness of the lamb, and the yogurt brights up everything.