Journal

Hostess Gifts Worth Bringing: 25 Ideas Better Than Wine and Flowers

Hostess gifts that get used, not regifted. 25 ideas organized by the kind of host you are visiting, plus the etiquette on spending, timing, and what to skip.

Bloody Mary Gazpacho

Bloody Mary gazpacho is the closest thing there is to a Bloody Mary you eat with a spoon. It is a cold, no-cook tomato soup built on the same flavors as the drink, and it is one of the best things ...

Bloody Mary Oysters

A Bloody Mary and a plate of raw oysters want the same things. Brine, acid, horseradish, and heat. That is why the two have shared a brunch table for a hundred years. This is how to put the flavor ...

Bloody Mary Ketchup Recipe: 2 Ingredients, 3 Ways

Stir Stu's concentrate into your favorite ketchup. Get the two-ingredient recipe, batch quantities, and three flavor options for burgers, fries, and brunch.

Bloody Mary Butter

This is the laziest, highest-payoff trick in the whole kitchen lineup. Melt butter, stir in Stu's Bloody Mary Concentrate, and brush it on whatever is hitting the grill. Wings, shrimp, corn, a stea...

Bloody Mary Chicken

Bloody Mary chicken is exactly what it sounds like. Chicken marinated in the flavors of a Bloody Mary, then grilled or roasted. The tomato, brine, and spice soak into the meat and char at the edges...

Cocktail Sauce Recipe

Store-bought cocktail sauce is fine until you taste it next to a batch you made yourself. Homemade takes five minutes, uses five ingredients you probably already have, and tastes brighter and sharp...

Gin and Tonic Garnishes

Stop defaulting to a lime wedge. How to match a gin and tonic garnish to the gin's botanicals and the tonic, plus the alcohol-free version.

Spritz Garnishes: How to Finish an Aperol Spritz and Every Other Spritz

How to garnish a spritz, the right way. The orange slice question settled, a garnish for every spritz, and how to finish the alcohol-free version too.

Champagne and Sparkling Wine Garnishes

The champagne garnishes that actually work, matched to the wine, plus the one rule that keeps your bubbles alive and a make-ahead garnish bar for a toast.