Tzimmes is eaten throughout the year by Ashkenazi Jews (who have roots in Central and Eastern Europe), but its inclusion of fall produce—like carrots and sweet potatoes—makes it a staple at autumn holidays, including Rosh Hashana and Sukkot. This version, adapted from Elka Pinson, one of the founders of the now-closed Center for Kosher Culinary Arts in Brooklyn, is sweetened with prunes and an optional touch of honey.

Featured in “Season of Rejoicing” by Katie Robbins in the October 2011 issue.

The post Beef Tzimmes appeared first on Saveur.

On a recent Friday, I walked into OZO Coffee Roasters in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado. With a few locations across the city, OZO cafés are the type of place where baristas regularly gush about how much their rotating single-origin espresso tastes of strawberries or papaya. But in a role reversal, I’d brought in beans for them to try—a variety called liberica from 96B, a café and roastery in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It’s almost never seen in coffee shops, and none of the staff had ever tasted it before. 

The roastery’s coffee nerds started pulling out the beans, sniffing and chewing them as they set up a cupping, the industry-standard way coffee professionals taste and rate coffee. How would this liberica stand up to the rest of OZO’s offerings? We ground the beans, poured them into glasses, and sniffed. “Weird… very sweet… winey,” a staff member pronounced. I cautiously offered that I smelled brownie batter. “Oh yeah,” another staffer replied. He pulled me over to a framed family tree of popular coffee varieties and pointed out that liberica wasn’t even on there. It’s in a category all its own.

This distinction is what first caught the attention of Hana Choi, one of the founders of 96B. Born in Vietnam, Choi grew up preparing to take over the family business (making packaging materials), but she loved coffee—a hobby she shared with her father. The two would buy fresh beans to roast at home and visit neighbors who farmed coffee to tour their gardens. Several years after graduating with a degree in international business, Choi told her parents she was going to work in coffee instead.

In 2015, while studying at SPC Coffee Academy in Seoul, Korea, Choi read a book that overviewed the different species of coffee beans. Of course there was arabica, the premium bean served at almost all upscale coffee shops. And there was robusta, the less-prestigious, higher-caffeinated bean used primarily in instant coffee mixes, and which makes up more than 95 percent of Vietnam’s prodigious coffee crop. But there was another species she’d never heard of: liberica. “The way [the author] put it was like, ‘When you try it once, it’s a life-long lasting experience,’” Choi says. “But there was no additional information. Just that it’s very unique and very special. So that stuck in my head.”

When Choi started 96B in 2016, Ho Chi Minh City had only a handful of specialty coffee shops. They roasted arabica beans imported from places like Guatemala and Ethiopia and generally avoided robusta, which had a reputation for lacking the former’s subtlety and depth of flavor. But Choi wanted to champion Vietnamese-grown coffee and invested in expensive roasting equipment to improve the quality and variety of the brew. 

That’s when she started searching for liberica. The name is a reference to Liberia, the West African country where the species likely originated, but she was pretty sure it grew in Vietnam. With some internet searching, she found photos of “a very big, giant tree” with huge leaves that looked completely unlike arabica, which often grows to just six feet. Most farmers she spoke with had never seen trees like that, but one recognized them, saying he thought they grew in a warmer, lower-elevation region. He had a relative there who called it “jackfruit coffee.”

Choi drove down with friends and met the relative, who toured them around and pointed out towering trees—in fact, Coffea liberica—growing by the village gate. People used the trees as fencing and shade for other crops, but he’d never tasted or harvested the fruits. Choi had never tasted liberica coffee either, but she paid the farmers to harvest it for her.

Working with a poorly documented and relatively unexplored bean meant starting from scratch in many ways. The first year Choi made liberica coffee, she didn’t think it was good enough to serve on its own; she only offered it as a blend with local arabica beans. But she was determined. She and her cofounder, Thai Dang, who joined 96B in 2017, invested in better harvesting and production methods and tried out different roasts and preparations, such as fermenting the coffee cherries for one, two, and three days to find the ideal duration. They paid for clean water to wash the beans and for raised nets so the farmers didn’t have to dry liberica coffee cherries on the ground. They learned that, despite many coffee aficionados’ preference for super “fresh” coffee, liberica seemed to get better with age—both the green and roasted beans.

Thanks to these iterative improvements, Choi and Dang started selling unblended liberica coffee in early 2021. Today, they sell bags of the beans to coffee distributors and direct to consumers. “It really shines in milk-based drinks,” Dang says, “because it’s so sweet.” The 96B café menu now features the Liberica Experience: a mini cappuccino and a mini espresso to taste it with and without milk, plus an option to add a mini cold brew. 

Lately, Choi and Dang have been garnering attention for helping put this bean on the map, and for celebrating Vietnamese coffee more broadly. The New York Times included 96B in their guide to the best coffee in Ho Chi Minh City (though, notably, with no mention of liberica), and the celebrated specialty roaster Blue Bottle has offered liberica at one-off tastings in Kyoto, Japan, and Seoul after a visit to 96B. But Choi and Dang are no longer liberica’s sole heralds. Other farmers and roasters in Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines are now selling the beans, and some barista competitors have gone on to win awards with brews made from it.

But there’s a more unsettling trend that could soon bolster liberica’s growth: the climate crisis. Arabica is a notoriously finicky crop. It prefers cool highlands, and across the world the plants are succumbing to excessive heat and drought. Major coffee players such as Nestlé and World Coffee Research are exploring ways to breed sturdier and higher-quality robusta; some celebrated coffee regions, such as Minas Gerais, Brazil, have even replanted with robusta entirely. 

Liberica, however, naturally thrives in warmer regions, and its deep roots find water more easily than arabica and possibly robusta, though very little research has been conducted on liberica. Dang and Choi have visited coffee farms where drought has killed off arabica and robusta but left liberica trees hale and healthy—a promising sign for the bean’s commercial future.

At OZO, as we began our cupping, I suspected 96B’s liberica might score poorly. Choi has had less than a decade to perfect her process, and the scoring method we’d be using was developed specifically for arabica beans. Plus, coffee drinkers’ palates and expectations have been shaped by decades of drinking arabica. Would it have been more fair to the beans—and to 96B—to try the liberica in a cappuccino or cold brew?

Instead, the staff simply poured hot water over the ground beans. After a brief wait, we dipped our spoons, sipped, and began discussing: “Very smooth, almost no bitterness,” one remarked. Everyone agreed it was very sweet. Some compared the taste to black sesame cookies; others to hoisin sauce or even duck. For me, the strongest notes were of melon. And since the coffee wasn’t as strong as arabica or robusta (liberica seems to have a lower caffeine content), the experience felt a bit like sipping tea.

Each coffee was scored based on criteria such as acidity, body, and sweetness (which everyone ranked 10 out of 10) before the whole lot was averaged for a score out of 100. The single-origin coffees OZO sells usually score between 85.5 and 88; the liberica beans scored just above 86, holding their own against arabicas carefully sourced from around the world. As we finished up, the staff encouraged employees who’d been busy roasting in another room to try the last drops of the pours we’d prepared. “It’s not going to overtake Ethiopia,” one of the roasters said. But it’s “approachable, complex, unique…It doesn’t remind me of anything else.”

The post Meet Liberica, the Coffee Bean You’ve Probably Never Heard Of appeared first on Saveur.

For those of us who constantly have to clear space on our bookshelves, autumn is the most exciting time for new cookbook releases. While both spring and fall see a glut of new cookbooks, publishers historically save their heaviest hitters for the latter half of year—we’re talking big-name authors (hello again, Samin Nosrat), books packaged so beautifully you can’t not give them as holiday gifts, and cultural deep dives designed as much to educate as to inspire. This year, as always, there’s an incredible lineup of new cookbooks to sift through. Here are 12 we’re particularly looking forward to. 

Fusão: Untraditional Recipes Inspired by Brasil

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Ixta Belfrage, the author of 2022’s award-winning Mezcla and an alumni of Yotam Ottolenghi’s test kitchen, tackles her own Brazilian-English heritage and Brazil’s rich blend of indigenous, Portuguese, and West African influences in her latest. “Fusão,” which translates to “fusion” in Portuguese, sees Belfrage experimenting with flavors and form, resulting in dishes like moqueca fish burgers, picanha with coffee and chile butter, and chocolate-papaya cake. The sun-soaked aesthetic and colorful photos drive home the transportive feel.

Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing

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Arguably the most iconic appetizing shop in America, New York’s legendary Russ & Daughters is (finally) committing their legacy to paper, with a cookbook penned by the fourth-generation owners Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper that captures a century of family history, Jewish tradition, and really good smoked fish. Beyond the standards the shop is known for (smoked salmon, sable, herring, and so on), recipes include comfort-classics like crispy potato latkes, matzo ball soup, and chocolate babka—a must-have for tourists and locals alike.

Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share With People You Love

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It’s no overstatement to say that Samin Nosrat changed the way Americans understand cooking with her 2017 smash hit Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. In her highly anticipated follow-up, clocking in at over 400 pages, she shares the traditions and recipes (125 of them) she leans on to foster a sense of community around the table. It is—somewhat unusually—organized around the idea of cooking as a ritual. We’re already bookmarking recipes for ricotta custard pancakes and “sky-high” focaccia.

Chesnok: Recipes From Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia

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Polina Chesnakova—born in Ukraine to Russian and Armenian parents from Georgia—pens a timely ode to the foods of the Soviet diaspora, focused on regional recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Recipes for Ukrainian-style dumplings, Georgian tkemali (sour plum sauce), and Uzbekistan-style plov are braided with essays, family histories, and profiles of the cooks who helped shape Chesnakova. A bonus: There are separate chapters on both dessert and pastries and breads, making this ideal for the sweet-toothed.

My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook

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Cambodian cuisine is woefully underrepresented in cookbook format, but Nite Yun, the the daughter of Cambodian refugees and chef-owner of Lunette Cambodia in Oakland, California, is out to change all that with her deeply personal tome. The 100-plus recipes capture techniques normally passed through families orally, mixed with memoir-style storytelling, snippets of Cambodian history, and culinary tips for those new to the cuisine to master dishes like kuy teav Phnom Penh (fragrant pork and noodle soup) and amok (coconut-steamed fish in a banana leaf).

On Meat: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen

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Eight years after his groundbreaking On Vegetables, Rustic Canyon and Birdie G’s chef-owner Jeremy Fox is back, tackling the thematic opposite with his signature blend of professional expertise and can-do attitude. Chapters are organized by animal (with the exception of cured meats and sausages in the “Deli” chapter), and the Los Angeles chef’s 115 recipes have an emphasis on zero-waste, sustainable approaches with extensive how-tos. Expect beautiful photographs and stunning design throughout.

Six Seasons of Pasta: A New Way With Everyone’s Favorite Food

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Portland, Oregon, chef Joshua McFadden is back with a follow-up to his wildly popular Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables with this new pasta-focused spin on his time-tested formula. Each chapter focuses on seasonally appropriate pasta variations (asparagus with almonds and lemons in the spring; baked ziti with broccoli rabe in the winter), plus a section on year-round favorites, all made with store-bought dried pasta. Helpful techniques abound, including the chef’s signature build-the-sauce-in-the-skillet method.

The Korean Vegan: Homemade: Recipes and Stories from My Kitchen

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In this 400-page sequel to her James Beard Award-winning The Korean Vegan, social media star Joanne Lee Molinaro is giving us more of what she does best: veganizing Korean dishes and Koreanizing everything else. Written in her welcoming personal voice (with her own photographs to boot), the 100-plus new dishes here pay homage to the people and places that have inspired Molinaro, from the fried rice waffles that nod to her grandmother to the pesto tteokbokki that combines her husband’s Italian heritage with her own.

Steak House: The People, The Places, The Recipes

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Undoubtedly the most irreverent title on this list, Foodheim author Eric Wareheim takes his beloved blend of humor, curiosity, and a slightly gonzo spirit to that most hallowed of American traditions: the steakhouse. With documentary-style profiles and arresting photos, Wareheim leads readers on a cross-country road trip to chronicle the places, people, and the steaks that loom so large in our cultural imagination. Tangents dedicated to martinis, Parker House rolls, and creamed spinach are most welcome detours.

Recipes From the American South

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Celebrated food historian and scholar Michael Twitty (The Cooking Gene) goes deep on one of America’s most complex cuisines, with an astonishing 250-plus recipes that showcase the diversity of the region, interspersed with essays, historical lessons, and personal reflections. Fortunately, he’s a heck of a storyteller, making this gorgeously designed tome as much a pleasure to read as it is to behold. Recipes like she-crab soup and hummingbird cake reflect the influence of the slave trade, migration, and multiculturalism across the region.

Baking and the Meaning of Life: How to Spread Joy in 100 Recipes

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Pastry chef Helen Goh, another Ottolenghi alum and the co-author of his books Sweet and Ottolenghi Comfort, branches out solo with her baking-centric debut, focused primarily on sweets, with some savory recipes, too. Blending her own Australian and Malaysian background, confidence with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors, and a dash of pop psychology, she explores not just how to bake, but also how baking connects us as people. Come for the chocolate tahini cake with sesame brittle; stay for the puttanesca galette.

Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America

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Three-time James Beard Award-winning Oglala Lakota chef Sean Sherman (The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen) is back with a new book tapping the rich vein of Native American foodways. Organized by region across Turtle Island (an Indigenous term for North America), the book features more than 100 recipes that promote plant-forward, nose-to-tail eating in tune with the seasons and our natural world: think wild rice-crusted walleye cakes, sweet potato soup with dried venison and chile oil, and sweet corn pudding with woodland berries.

The post 12 Must-Read Cookbooks Coming This Fall appeared first on Saveur.

Nothing screams summer like corn on the cob, simply buttered and salted. If you’re craving more flavor, there’s elote—Mexican street corn—charred on the grill, then smeared with mayo and creamy cotija cheese and dusted with ancho chile powder. 

Corn was domesticated in south central Mexico around 9,000 years ago and was an essential ingredient in Aztec civilization. The corn god, Centeōtl, wore cobs in his headdress, and Mexicans have been known as “the people of corn” ever since. Aztecs also refined a preservation process called nixtamalization, which results in dried, nutrient-rich kernels for hominy, as well as masa, the doughy base of tortillas and tamales. And long before movie night was a thing, Mesoamericans apparently invented popcorn, too. 

Whether you prefer a hearty chowder, a bright salad, or a baked casserole for a late-summer evening, this staple crop has something to offer for everyone. Here are our greatest corn recipes from the archives to help you make the most of one of summer’s most sought-after vegetables. 

Sweet Corn Pakoras

Chickpea flour is the base for these crispy fritters that chef and author Romy Gill likes to pair with cool mint-cilantro chutney. Get the recipe >

Elotes Asados

Spice up your backyard barbecue with this easy Mexican street food classic. Brushed with mayonnaise, the cobs develop a rich and smoky flavor from the grill while a sprinkling of cotija cheese adds a touch of tanginess. Get the recipe >

Grilled Corn Bhel

A favorite street snack in India, this corn salad gets a tangy boost from lime-cilantro dressing. Get the recipe >

Grilled Corn With Pepperoncini Butter

Charred ears of sweet corn are bathed in nutty brown butter and perked up with tangy pepperoncini in this bold yet simple side from chefs and vegetable enthusiasts Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson of Kismet in Los Angeles. Get the recipe >

Fried Corn on the Cob

This recipe only requires a few pantry ingredients and a pair of tongs to bring late-summer corn from crisp to crunchy in a matter of minutes. Feel free to keep things simple by seasoning with a sprinkle of kosher salt, or go all out with one of these spice blends. Get the recipe >

The Best Corn Chowder

Puréeing the corn makes for a creamier chowder in this starter or light main that’s garnished with crispy bacon and basil. Get the recipe >

Corn Salad With Dandelion Greens and Smoked Blue Cheese

Sweet corn is lightly sizzled in ghee and tossed with juicy tomatoes, peppery dandelion greens, and smoky blue cheese for a salad that’s equal parts sweet, bitter, and tangy. Get the recipe >

Corn and Potato Taquitos 

Sweet corn and mashed potatoes get a crispy, baked taquito makeover in author Kiera Wright-Ruiz’s homage to elote, with lime, Tajín, and crema bringing the bright, tangy flavors of Mexican street corn to every bite. Get the recipe >

Atol de Elote

This warm, sweet corn drink blends fresh kernels with milk, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon, turning Guatemala’s Mayan‑inspired staple into a creamy, comforting treat that’s sweet, subtly spiced, and soothing. Get the recipe >

Seafood Pasta With Chorizo and Corn

SAVEUR contributor Farideh Sadeghin’s take on a seafood boil hits all the marks in this one-pot wonder. Chorizo, shrimp, clams, and corn soak in a rich beer-and-butter broth, brightened with lemon and parsley to deliver all the flavor of a hands-on boil without the mess. Get the recipe >

Sopa de Chipilín With Masa Dumplings

This rustic soup from Chiapas, Mexico, features the grassy flavor of fresh chipilín leaves in a rich corn broth, with tender masa dumplings stuffed with creamy queso fresco for a satisfying bite. Get the recipe >

Grilled Catfish With Beurre Blanc and Maque Choux 

Grilled catfish is paired with sweet, tender corn, peppers, and pickled okra, then coated in a rich beurre blanc, creating a dish where Southern flavors take center stage. Get the recipe >

Cajun Seafood Boil 

This seafood boil turns a simple meal into a celebration, with loads of spices, flavorful shrimp, crawfish, and sweet corn coming together in a fragrant, comforting, and slightly messy hands-on feast. Get the recipe >

Creamy Poblano Rajas With Corn

Make the most of late summer’s generous bounty with this hearty vegetarian main, which comes together quickly for a weeknight meal. Get the recipe >

Three Sisters Stew

Employing the trifecta of corn, squash, and beans, this hearty stew is the perfect way to use up the most abundant ingredients at your local farmers market. Get the recipe >

Chipá Guazú (Cheese and Corn Casserole)

Bubbly, melty, and full of cheese, this hearty and filling one-pan dish is the perfect addition to your summer menu repertoire. Get the recipe >

Swiss Chard and Chipotle Tacos

If you’re looking for a light yet filling vegetarian option for your next taco night, look no further. Get the recipe >

Grilled Corn Salad With Feta, Cucumber, and Red Onion

Our contributing editor Fatima Khawaja recreates a childhood-favorite salad in this recipe that calls for feta and chaat masala. Get the recipe >

Cauliflower-Corn Tostadas With Salsa Macha

Roasted corn and cauliflower top these crunchy tostadas that get a drizzle of nutty-peppery chile sauce. Get the recipe >

Mexican Braised Spare Ribs With Squash and Corn

This tender pork dish cooks low and slow in beef broth with tender corn and zucchini. Get the recipe >

Elote-Style Corn Chowder

Leftover grilled corn adds a smoky note to this cheesy, chile-infused soup. Get the recipe >

Summer Succotash Salad

Charred corn is tossed with ripe tomatoes and edamame in this updated take on the American classic that has roots in Indigenous cooking. Get the recipe >

Cucumber and Corn Salad

Pomegranate seeds add pops of tartness to this sautéed corn and crunchy cuke combo. Get the recipe >

Sweet Corn and Blueberry Trifles

Sweet corn pastry cream is layered with blueberry compote and buttery shortbread in this late-summer trifle. Get the recipe >

Southern Corn Fritters

Saveur’s editor at large Shane Mitchell shared these Southern-style pancakes, which get their subtle chew from fresh corn kernels. Get the recipe >

Grilled Corn and Ricotta Dip

Creamy, cheesy, and satisfying, this dip is sure to please at your next late-summer get together. Get the recipe >

Lobster Corn Chowder

The mellow sweetness of summer corn and lobster meat harmonize beautifully in this ultimate summer soup. Get the recipe >

Fresh Pea and Corn Salad

Sweet and sour notes mingle in this refreshing and crunchy salad, brimming with chopped veggies in a tangy vinaigrette. Get the recipe >

The post 28 Standout Summer Corn Recipes appeared first on Saveur.

Rise & Dine is a SAVEUR column by contributing editor Megan Zhang, an aspiring early riser who seeks to explore the culture of mornings and rituals of breakfast around the world.

During my time in college, when I was just beginning to cook for myself, I chanced upon an episode of The French Chef. I watched Julia Child expertly whisk and roll a lovely French omelet, all the while explaining every step with her signature sunniness. The footage was in black and white, but as she deftly plated the dish, I could imagine the omelet’s pastel yellow hue and practically taste its soft, custardy center.

The French omelet is revered for a reason: Jeremiah Langhorne, the chef behind the Dabney in Washington, D.C. (and formerly the French-inspired diner Petite Cerise), considers the elegant dish an encapsulation of the precise, meticulous technique that has made French cuisine a pillar of culinary excellence. “[French culture is] always looking for ways to finesse food,” he says. “You’re going to take these humble ingredients, but through your skill and finesse, create something amazing.”

Of all the global takes on omelets, the French style seems particularly technique-driven, asking cooks to master temperature and timing, as well as nimble coordination. The proof will be right there in the pudding: “The outside of the omelet should look very silky and pale yellow, while the texture should be soft and pillowy, ethereally tender,” describes chef Laurent Réa, who helms the kitchen at Brasserie Mon Chou Chou in San Antonio, Texas. The refined meal (in France, ironically, usually served as lunch or dinner) is a paean to the magic of eggs.

It’s unsurprising that, in culinary lore, the French omelet is a test chefs often administer to prospective new hires to quickly gauge their competence. “The difficulty in mastering a French omelet lies in the combination of technical skills, sensitivity to texture, and the need for a delicate touch throughout the entire cooking process,” says Patrick Charvet, the executive chef behind Brasserie Lutetia in Paris.

I learned this all first-hand shortly after watching that clip of Child in my dorm room. Visions of elegant brunches swirling in my head, I grabbed my roommate’s questionably nonstick skillet and turned on a tiny burner in our ten-square-foot kitchen. To my chagrin, nothing went as well as Child had demonstrated: The bottom browned too fast, the curds were huge, and the final invert flopped a good chunk of omelet onto the countertop. Deflated, I told myself this was a dish best left to the pros, then tucked the event away in the furthest recesses of my memory (and went to Le Pain Quotidien instead).

In the decade since that attempt, my fondness for omelets endures. On weekends at home, I love hopping around the globe, cooking a Spanish version one week and trying a Desi one the next—but always sidestepping the French style. Recently, though, I tasted Langhorne’s take on the French omelet and found my dormant aspiration reawakening. Filled with tender onion and soft goat cheese and nestled in a pool of Gruyère sauce, his elegant riff seemed true to classic French technique yet unconstrained by it. It was the inspiration I didn’t know I needed to dust off an old objective.

This time, no longer a stumbling teen and armed with a little more cooking know-how, I gave it another go. One of many mistakes I’d made in my first trial, I realized, was rushing into the process before actually understanding the techniques and variables. So, I reached out to several pros to ask them what critical points a cook should keep top of mind in order to make a great French omelet.

With their sage advice, I’ve been cracking a lot of eggs lately. Though my omelets won’t win any beauty pageants soon, they’re thankfully a far cry from the darkened, rubbery mass of curds I made in college—and the learning curve has been tasty. If you, too, dream of someday whipping up a French omelet as effortlessly as Child, here are some of the chefs’ tips that helped me most. 

Put down the whisk.

When beating, whip with vigor using a fork instead of a whisk. The eating utensil creates a homogenous mixture without incorporating too much air, Charvet explains. (We’re not after a soufflé texture.) Though adding liquid isn’t necessary, some cooks mix in a splash of milk, cream, or water. According to Le Bernardin alum Robert Sisca, who now owns Bistro du Midi in Boston, milk or cream yield a richer omelet, while water makes it fluffier and lighter. Once the eggs are in the skillet, you can continue using the fork—just hold it with the tines up and the flat side touching the pan, to minimize abrasion on the nonstick surface. 

Stick to nonstick.

If you’ve had your eyes on a new nonstick skillet, consider this a sign to take the leap. A less-weathered pan, with an intact nonstick coating, will help ensure the omelet separates cleanly from the surface and doesn’t brown at all, explains Sisca. If you’re serious about perfecting the at-home brunch, “don’t use the pan for anything else other than omelets,” he advises. 

Master the heat.

Medium-low heat helps the beaten eggs set gradually without any browning, says Charvet. The heat should be such that, once you add butter to the empty skillet, it should sizzle gently and foam. “When the foam begins to subside, then it’s time to make the omelet,” says Child on The French Chef, explaining that the eggs need to enter the pan before the butter begins to brown. If you want to test whether the pan is ready before going in with all the butter, drop in a small piece first: It should sizzle gently, then melt into a creamy mass. If it sizzles and steams right away, the pan is too hot; no sound, it’s too cold. 

Keep it moving.

Making a French omelet is an exercise in ambidexterity. Part of its trickiness “comes from needing to constantly hold and shake the pan with one arm while also stirring the mixture with the other hand to create the small curds,” says Marie-Aude Rose, who owns the New York City café La Mercerie. This two-handed process keeps the eggs constantly moving and ensures they cook evenly. “The edges start to firm up first,” notes Langhorne, so be constantly scraping the perimeter of the skillet to incorporate those bits into the runnier interior. Because it can take under 30 seconds for the eggs to coagulate and set, the chef recommends looking out for a visual cue: “If you start to see the pan through the whisking, that’s an indicator that you should stop whisking” and start rolling the mixture toward the side of the skillet opposite the handle.

Gravity is your friend.

When the omelet is ready for plating (you can gently push a spatula under it to be sure it will release cleanly), switch the skillet handle to your dominant hand and grip it with your palm facing up, then hold your plate in your other hand. With the lip of the skillet resting on the edge of the plate, tilt the pan toward the plate, letting gravity roll and invert the omelet, seam side down, onto the surface. (Child, bless her, notes helpfully, “If by any chance you find that the omelet hasn’t formed up as you like, you can just push it with the side of your hands” to form the signature rolled shape.)

Simple is sweet.

“Overloading the omelet with too many fillings can weigh it down and detract from the delicate texture,” Charvet notes. A few pinches of finely chopped herbs—chives, parsley, chervil, and tarragon—whisked into the eggs before cooking are all you need for a classic omelette aux fines herbs. For extra richness and an appealing sheen, Rose simply brushes the surface of the omelet with a bit of salted butter before serving.

…But riffs can be fun.

As Langhorne’s cheese and onion-filled version reminds us, it’s also gratifying to make a dish your own. Once you’ve mastered the basic version, consider it a canvas on which to apply a fun flourish. Rose likes to add mushrooms and a little grated Emmentaler, while Charvet offers a lobster topping for an extra luxe finish.

Recipe

French Omelet With Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

Get the recipe >

The post How to Make a Mean French Omelet—Straight From the Pros appeared first on Saveur.

Washington, D.C., chef Jeremiah Langhorne’s riff on a French omelet ups the richness with a luscious filling of goat cheese and caramelized onion, and a velvety gruyère sauce poured on top. You can make the filling and sauce ahead of time; ideally, bring them to room temperature before using. While you should definitely whisk the eggs with a fork, you can also use the fork to stir the eggs while they’re in the skillet—just hold it with the tines facing up, or use a plastic one, to minimize abrasion on nonstick surfaces. 

Featured in “How to Make a Mean French Omelet—Straight From the Pros” by Megan Zhang.

The post French Omelet With Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese appeared first on Saveur.

Sprinkled with flaky sea salt and black pepper, these crispy chickpea fries from Provence make for a satisfying snack. For the best results, fry in a thin layer of oil to prevent them from floating—the high-moisture dough browns best when it is allowed to sear on the surface of a hot skillet or griddle.

Featured in: Panisse Is Here to Replace Your French Fries

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On a sunny day in June, SAVEUR reprised its beloved Cookout series for the first time in a decade—in partnership with Travel Texas. Hosted in the lush garden terrace and main dining room of the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, SAVEUR welcomed more than 100 readers for a barbecue-filled night featuring three new-wave pitmasters from across the Lone Star State. 

Together, the three award-winning pros served up fresh takes on Texas barbecue, blending tradition with the state’s rich cultural diversity. Out of Fort Worth, pitmasters Chris Magallanes and Ernest Morales of Panther City BBQ served beef cheek barbacoa tostadas with salsa verde and pickled onion; brisket “flaco tacos” topped with asadero cheese, onion, and cilantro; and their famous Panther City chopped brisket elote. From Houston, brothers Don and Theodore Nguyen of Khói Barbecue brought their signature Viet-Tex style to New York via brisket bò lá lốt with perilla leaf and a beef rib coconut curry with garlic rice and Vietnamese sauerkraut. Finally, Lance and partner Bookyung “Boo” Eaker of Fredericksburg’s Eaker Barbecue shared their Korean-Texan take with gochujang pork belly burnt ends, smoked brisket with galbi sauce, and a cooling cucumber salad. 

To round out the culinary offerings, the Wythe Hotel laid a bountiful “grazing table” featuring Texan pimento cheese alongside vibrant crudités and dips—in addition to desserts like blackberry cream puffs and lemon-blueberry pavlovas. 

Between bites, guests imbibed on Texan beverages, including two signature SAVEUR cocktails: the refreshing and sessionable Amarillo infused with Lalo Tequila, cucumber, aloe, and habanero; and the bold Midnight in the Garden with Charles Goodnight Whiskey, cognac, Bénédictine, sweet vermouth, and bitters. 

The bar was also stocked with premier Texas wines such as Mosaic Red Blend and Viognier from Grape Creek Vineyards and Euphoria from Heath Sparkling Wines. Beers from Shiner Bock (including nonalcoholic Shiner Rodeo Golden Brew) and assorted sparkling waters from Rambler Sparkling Water completed the drink list.

SAVEUR readers mingled with SAVEUR editors and staff—Frances Kim, Ryan McCarthy, Russ Smith, Fatima Khawaja, Thomas Payne, Shane Mitchell, and Toni-Ann Gardiner—as well as contributors, media, and friends such as Kristin L. Wolfe, Chuck Cruz, Hailee Catalano, and Michele Hermann, among others.

With the party in high spirits, Craddock made a toast to the sponsors and everyone who came to celebrate, and underscored the night’s overarching theme of culinary excellence and collaboration.

“There’s something special happening in Texas right now: the hospitality, the creativity, and the diversity of flavors and cultures are just so alive,” Craddock said. “And honestly? Our states have more in common than you might think. Whether you’re in Fredericksburg or Williamsburg, barbecue has a way of bringing people together.”

As the night came to a close, guests went back for seconds of glistening meat before stepping back out into the summer air.

Recipes

Texas Smoked Brisket

Get the recipe >

Brisket Elote

Get the recipe >

Blackberry Cream Puffs

Get the recipe >

The post Celebrating a New Generation of Texas Pitmasters at the Ultimate Barbecue Party appeared first on Saveur.

Created by executive pastry chef Leanne Tran at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, these cream puffs were the bright, seasonal finale to our 2025 SAVEUR Cookout. Piped with blackberry crème légère, the airy bites make an elegant finger food dessert. The craquelin topping is optional, but it’s easy to whip up and adds a pleasant crunchy counterpoint to the velvety filling.

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Led by pitmasters Chris Magallanes and Ernest Morales, Fort Worth’s Panther City BBQ blends Texas tradition with new-school Tex-Mex flair. For our 2025 SAVEUR Cookout with Travel Texas, they served Brooklyn a taste of the restaurant’s signature elote (akin to esquites)—creamy corn, a hint of spice, and a generous topping of slow-smoked brisket. Even without the meat, the elote makes a delightfully decadent side. To cook the corn, grill or bake it in the husk at medium-high heat (about 400°F) for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and lightly charred. When fresh corn isn’t available, or to save time, use six 15-ounce cans of corn kernels, drained.

The post Brisket Elote appeared first on Saveur.

Time is the main ingredient in this smoky brisket recipe from Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth, Texas. Pitmasters Ernest Morales and Chris Magallanes coax deep flavor from the beef by smoking it slowly and steadily. Whole briskets have two muscles—the lean flat and the rich, marbled point—which cook together to stay moist from end to end. Allowing the brisket to cool to temperature as slowly as possible after cooking lets the juices redistribute fully and tenderize the meat. Serve the brisket alongside classic sides like mac and cheese, potato salad, or coleslaw, or take a page from Panther City and pair it with creamy, cheesy elote.

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