​Patience is key for making impressive jelly desserts. That’s something Thu Buser, a Brooklyn-based chef and culinary artist, learned at an early age while watching her mother spend hours preparing batches of rau câu, a Vietnamese dessert featuring delicate, colorful jelly layers. Now Buser creates her own highly stylized jellied desserts, multicolored variations on the rau câu she enjoyed growing up. She injects fruit juices into pristine clear jelly, producing bursts of color and flavor: a kaleidoscope of vibrant green coconut-pandan, a sunset-hued yellow yuzu-lychee, a riotous fuchsia coconut-ube. “Buser says, ‘I can make any flavor pretty.'” Her syringe serves as her paintbrush, applying delicate sweeps and precise staccato jabs to the cooling agar-based gelatin. This is all done essentially blindly, as the injections are performed from the bottom of the mold.  

​However, the kettle sort of shakes as it warms up, and presets, as opposed to by-degree temperature control, can be a little arbitrary—not every green tea needs to be brewed at the recommended 175° F. The OXO kettle, as well as some others, offers better control over the temperature settings.. Breville Crystal Clear Electric Kettle. Breville. Crystal Clear Kettle. $110 $100 (9% off). Amazon. Breville makes a lot of really impressive small appliances for the kitchen, and in our testing, the brand’s Crystal Clear Electric Kettle boiled water as fast as the OXO. We enjoyed watching it reach a rolling boil through that crystal clear glass, too. But this kettle has some limitations that kept it far from the top spot. There’s no keep-warm function, so as soon as it reaches a boil, it shuts off. There are also no temperature settings—when you turn it on, it boils the water, shuts off, and that’s all she wrote. At the time of publishing, the clear glass OXO electric kettle is practically the same price and has far more features.. Amazon Basics Electric Kettle. Amazon Basics. Electric Kettle. $21. Amazon. Amazon’s house brand offers a selection of good-enough, affordable kitchen gear that gets the job done. True to its name, this Amazon Basics electric kettle is very basic, but it boils water quickly, and a blue light will turn off when the kettle does, so you know it has reached the boiling point and has shut off (there’s no keep warm function). The 1-liter capacity might be a little limiting for some home cooks, and the opening is somewhat small, but if you just need something that will boil water quickly and you’re on a budget, this is a decent option at a very accessible price.. Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch Kettle Pro. Zwilling. Enfinigy 1L Cool Touch Kettle Pro. $100 $90 (10% off). Amazon. $130. Williams Sonoma. $130. ZWILLING. We love the look of Zwilling’s Enfinigy line, which includes toasters, coffee makers, blenders, scales, grinders, and other gadgets and appliances. Many perform really well in the kitchen too, including the Cool Touch Kettle Pro. This electric tea kettle is quiet, easy to clean, and in our testing it boiled water quickly and demonstrated precise temperature control. There are six presets—including one for warming baby bottles—plus a keep-warm function. The outside is also cool to the touch, even with boiling water inside.. Hamilton Beach Glass Electric Kettle. Hamilton Beach. 1.7L Electric Tea Kettle. $51. Amazon. Hamilton Beach makes a range of pretty good, pretty cheap small appliances for the kitchen, including coffee gear, and this Glass Electric Kettle is one of them. Hamilton Beach’s kettle has some great-to-have features, including six presets for different teas, French-press coffee, hot cocoa, and of course, boil. It also has an automatic keep-warm function that will hold the water at the target temperature for up to 30 minutes, and boil-dry protection senses when the kettle is empty and will autom  

​The appliance also comes with a cork trivet, a lid holder, and a Y-shaped wood tool that’s perfect for scraping food from the edges of the pot.. How is it different from a regular slow cooker?. The Magnifique cooker is made from kaolin clay, which traps heat efficiently, resulting in faster slow-cooking (something of an oxymoron, but you get the idea). The kaolin clay pot is super durable, ranking 8.5 on the Mohs’ scale, the standard measurement of mineral hardness. (For reference, diamonds are a 10; glazed aluminum cookware ranks at 2.5.) It’s free of plastic and PFAS and is naturally nonstick.. Magnifique claims that this is the only slow cooker on the market made from 100% clay, though the existence of other products, such as the Vitaclay, challenge that assertion. And while many slow cookers now offer coated aluminum or stainless steel pots, the original Crock-Pot slow cooker that took over American kitchens in the 1970s featured a ceramic crock similar to Magnifique’s. Indeed, even today, the Crock-Pot brand still produces many slow-cooker products with removable oven-safe stoneware crocks. Unlike Magnifique’s completely clay pot, however, these stoneware crocks are glazed in a silicate made of a blend of quartz, feldspar, and clay. According to Crock-Pot’s brand site, the FDA specifies allowable amounts of lead, cadmium, and other substances, and its products meet or exceed those FDA requirements. According to Magnifique, because it exclusively uses kaolin clay for the pot and glaze, it does not contain traces of heavy metals. Do with that information as you will.. The more significant design differences that set the Magnifique apart from the Crock-Pot are the Magnifique’s oven-safe clay lid (opposed to the glass and plastic Crock-Pot lid) and its Sear/Sauté setting, which the Crock-Pot lacks. Other slow cookers currently available like the Cuisinart Cook Central, do have a Sauté/Browning setting.. What I cooked using the Magnifique Claypot Multicooker. Over the course of a few weeks, I made various things in the Magnifique Claypot Multicooker with the goal of testing all its different capabilities.. Stew. I started with a classic red wine beef stew recipe, a veritable slow cooker classic. Since the beef needs to be seared to build a good base flavor, I’d typically use my Dutch oven instead of a slow cooker or Instant Pot to make this because the appliances often don’t get hot enough to properly brown the beef, but I was pleasantly surprised by the Magnifique’s browning capability. The beef chunks took on a good amount of color and built up a nice fond on the bottom of the pot before the liquid went in.. The beef seared nicely on the Multicooker’s Sear/Sauté function. Callie Sumlin. True to its promise for faster slow-cooking, the beef was incredibly tender after three hours at the low setting.  

​Skip to main content. Recipes. Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua. These Kentucky Derby party recipes bring the spirit of Churchill Downs to your house. While anything Southern goes on race day, we like to opt for party foods and appetizers that guests can pick up with their fingers—think buttery roasted pecans, deviled eggs, and shrimp salad on toast. (pimento cheese and buttermilk biscuits are high on the list too.). Jump ahead. Mint Julep. Snacks and appetizers. Entrées and sandwiches. Sides and salads. Derby Day desserts. Derby Day drinks. It wouldn’t be Derby Day without something to toast with as you watch the most exciting two minutes in sports. Mint juleps, punch, and other bourbon cocktails are all classic choices. As for the ornate headwear, seersucker suits, and profusion of pastels that usually accompany this horse race, well, that’s your call.. Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero, Prop Styling by Christine Keely1/31. Mint Julep. Start with the classic Kentucky Derby party cocktail, then explore more drinks at the end of this collection. Stainless steel julep cups are fun, but you can use a rocks or footed old-fashioned glass if you’d like.. Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua2/31. Pimento Cheese Ball. There’s something delightfully retro about a classic cheese ball. This one twists the formula with the flavors of the storied Southern spread. Too much pimento cheese on your roster? Try a port-and-blue-cheese version.. Peden + Munk3/31. Salt-and-Butter-Roasted Pecans. Buttery, nutty, and lightly spiced, these pecans have a lot going for them. Plus, they can be made up to three days in advance.. Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Food Styling by Micah Morton, Prop Styling by Christina Allen4/31. Extra-Creamy Deviled Eggs. This simple recipe delivers deviled eggs with just the right balance of mayonnaise, mustard, and a touch of hot sauce. If you’re really going for it, top with crispy bacon for extra flavor.. Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Ines Anguiano5/31. Cornbread Cheddar Biscuits. Flaky, tender, buttery biscuits meet sweet, cheesy cornbread in this all-star recipe. If you’re looking for a classic buttermilk biscuit recipe, we can point you there too.. Alex Lau6/31. Bread-and-Butter Pickles. No matter whether you’re serving fried chicken, Kentucky hot browns, or something from your slow cooker, it’s always smart to have pickles on hand—especially when they’re homemade.. Photo by Laura Murray, Food styling by Yekaterina Boystova7/31. Pretzel Focaccia. The Derby’s official 2026 menu includes a pretzel board. Make your own with this pretzel focaccia (don’t worry, it’s easy to make), thinly sliced country ham, cheddar, and pepper jelly. Oh, and that pimento cheese from the last slide.. Photo by Laura Murray8/31. Pimento Cheese. Known as the caviar of the South, this sprea  

​Welcome to Open Tab, a weekly roundup of news, gossip, and stories that have stayed open in my tabs all week. Last week we covered rumors of cat killing and various other scandals at Horses.. When explorers in the days of yore set out to discover colonize new lands, they loaded up their boats with hardtack, salted meat, and peas. They suffered from scurvy and sickness, and their diet was distinctly unglamorous. Space explorers of today have it much better, even as the food preservation challenges have gotten tougher. This week, the Artemis II mission began. It’s the first crewed mission to orbit the moon since 1972. Launching with them? Five distinct hot sauces, tortillas, an ominously named “vanilla breakfast drink,” and many other comestibles.. Also this week, we’re chatting about the lawsuit (or lack thereof) against David Protein, what wholesale food distributor Sysco’s immense new acquisition might mean for restaurants, and spice company Burlap & Barrel’s lawsuit against the Trump administration. But before all that: Please note that Reese’s has committed to changing its recipe back to the original after sustained public outcry—including in this column. Do you think this is a direct result of my focused, public complaining? Hard to say!. On the evening of April 1, Artemis II launched from Florida. That launch came after much preparation, including extensive plans around the crew’s menu. According to NASA, the crew had a lot of say on the menu for the 10-day journey. “Crew members sample, evaluate, and rate all foods on the standard menu during preflight testing, and their preferences are balanced with nutritional requirements and what [the spacecraft] can accommodate,” according to the NASA website.. There are five hot sauces aboard, as well as “spicy green beans,” “barbecued beef brisket,” and something called “pineapple drink.” All told, there are 189 unique menu items, all of which are designed and packaged to be optimized for space. Good luck to the astronauts, and hopefully they enjoy their 58 tortillas, no more, no less.. This deal is important. Sysco, the country’s largest provider of food and other goods to restaurants and other food service providers, acquired Restaurant Depot, another massive supplier that mostly serves independent restaurants, for $29.1 billion. This isn’t just another merger—it’s two restaurant supplier colossi becoming one in a deal that will likely be scrutinized for antitrust issues.. Put simply, if this deal does indeed go through in 2027, it would be pretty calamitous for the small, independent restaurants we love. Namely, the cost of their food will probably increase, making their margins even tighter or forcing them to pass on that cost to the diner. Personally, I can’t afford a $55 roast chicken, and I don’t want my favorite spots to close down—should we all write to our congresspeople or something?. A few weeks ago, a class action lawsuit was brought agains