Slate Articles

The Maximum-Gluten Diet

Brian Palmer — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:24:03 GMT

Vegetarians have a complicated relationship with tofu, by far the most popular meat alternative in America. It’s great that we herbivores can reliably ask for the cheap, reliable soy product in place of meat at most restaurants. But imagine if restaurants served only one kind of meat, and then imagine if that one kind of meat were a bland, soggy, and rectangular solid that faded into the background of whatever sauce it was soaked in. The carnivores would be outraged.

Back to the Grind

Sara Dickerman — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:17:33 GMT

Please don’t come after me brandishing yard-long pepper mills! In my article this week I advocated for a demotion of black pepper. I didn’t suggest we should banish it altogether, but maybe it’s time to question its ubiquitous placement next to the saltshaker on our tabletops. I find that black pepper’s blunt force can overwhelm many dishes. I’m not entirely alone in this belief: A couple of Slate readers pointed to Chef Thomas Keller’s similar remarks on black pepper. In his seminal French Laundry Cookbook, Keller argues that, while salt plays a role in almost every dish, “pepper, on the other hand, should be used only in certain cases for specific tastes.”

Against Pepper

Sara Dickerman — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:15:00 GMT

In another lifetime, I worked briefly for Spago Beverly Hills, where one of my jobs as the lowest ranking member of the fish station was to prepare the mashed potatoes. Quantities were large, and one day, just before service, a clench-jawed sous chef came walking up to me in crisp military strides. “Taste these,” he said, holding forth a container of the pureed yellow finns I’d prepared earlier. I did, and my face dropped. The potatoes, no doubt hand-coddled spuds from a fancy organic ranch, no longer tasted of potato but of smutty hot pepper instead. They might as well have been instant flakes goosed with preground pepper at the school cafeteria. Thus shamed, I raced to whip up another 20-pound batch. And I never overspiced my potatoes again.

The Miracle Noodle

Annie Lowrey — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:02:44 GMT

In the past decade, pasta has slowly disappeared from many American plates, banished for its starchy carbo-load along with bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, and corn. But what if dieters could have as much delicious pasta as they wanted? And what if this pasta not only came carb-free, but calorie-free?

Paella Is a Party!

Sara Dickerman — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:12:00 GMT

Maybe it’s time you stopped stirring. For a couple of decades now, risotto has been the go-to sophisticated rice dish for homes and restaurants alike, and cooks have stood by the stove with a spoon in one hand and a ladle in the other, tending to their finicky rice. But there is another great European rice tradition that delivers even more oomph with less baby-sitting, and a recent cookbook, Paella, by Spanish-Parisian chef Alberto Herraiz, has reminded me just how good the dish can be.

Let Leftovers Be Leftovers

Jill Pellettieri — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 06:15:00 GMT

Pumpkin Eaters

Sara Dickerman — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:43:00 GMT

This fall, there is no other ingredient working it quite as hard as pumpkin. With little concern for overexposure, it makes appearances everywhere, from cocktails to dessert. Thanksgiving, of course, kicks off a few weeks when normally tempered appetites turn to splurges; and food professionals are eager to use pumpkin's nostalgic charms to drum up holiday overindulgence, adding it to everything from ravioli to brewskis. By the end of November, pumpkin's been so overhyped, it's practically a Kardashian.

20 Guests, 19 Pies

David Plotz — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:24:57 GMT

“When he began to eat pie, he wished he had eaten nothing else. He ate a piece of pumpkin pie and a piece of custard pie, and he ate almost a piece of vinegar pie. He tried a piece of mince pie, but could not finish it. He just couldn’t do it. There were berry pies and cream pies and vinegar pies and raisin pies, but he could not eat any more.”

Pizza Is Not a Vegetable

Benjamin Phelan — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:11:00 GMT

“What’s next?” Colorado Democrat Jared Polis mused in the House of Representatives on Thursday. “Are Twinkies going to be considered a vegetable?” Probably not, even though shortly after Polis yielded the floor, the House voted 298-121 that a slice of pizza spread with two tablespoons of tomato paste should be counted as a vegetable, at least when it’s fed to schoolchildren. Obama signed the bill into law on Friday.

Macarons, Macaroons, Macaroni

Dan Jurafsky — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:22:08 GMT

Parisian macarons, astute Slate readers have surely noticed, are everywhere—not only in French-style patisseries but also at such mainstream purveyors as Trader Joe’s. Here in San Francisco, we have macaron delivery, and even the Wall Street Journal has noticed the trend. Why these cookies have become so popular is a matter for another day, but their ubiquity suggests another question: What, exactly, is the relationship between the delicate French almond macaron and the less fashionable, dense coconut macaroon consumed at Passover? And why do these words sound so much like macaroni?