Food & Wine August 2023

2021 DR. LOOSEN RED SLATE DRY RIESLING ($18) So there’s one crucial thing to know about Riesling: Not all Riesling is sweet! File that essential information away. Check out this perfect-for-summer, super-crisp, dry (yes, dry) bottling from Germany’s inimitable Erni Loosen. 2022 SHANNON RIDGE HIGH ELEVATION SAUVIGNON BLANC ($25) At the Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience, I had the pleasure of meeting vintner Clay Shannon. His 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is citrusy and mouthwateringly zesty; bring on the grilled shrimp. 2021 NALLE DRY CREEK VALLEY ZINFANDEL ($48) The Nalles have been making top-notch Zinfandel in Sonoma County since 1984. I refreshed my memory of their Zin’s style—spicy and elegant, plenty of raspberry fruit, never weighty—at a recent tasting with April Nalle.…

Summer Playlist “JUST PLAY THE HITS,” my wife told me when I was bemoaning a few dinner fails earlier this year. Truth is, I was trying a little bit too hard to be the Food & Wine guy at home, rather than a dad cooking for a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old. So I followed Jen’s advice and pivoted my family dinner strategy, doubling down on simple, kid-friendly recipe riffs to feed the four of us. The result: more fun and less grief at the table. Then, once I’d stacked a few weeks of dinner wins, I slowly began to weave in new dishes they’d never tried before. Turns out, the same approach comes in handy during a busy summer of travel. Cooking for family and friends on vacation in an unfamiliar…

DRY SEASON NEVER COMES for Lindsay Gasik and her husband, Richard Koivusalo. For the past decade, they have been leading durian-centric tours across the planet and documenting their travels on Instagram (@durianwriter). The couple travels around the world according to monsoon seasons, the rainy periods that allow durians to ripen. They land in a country as the season comes to an end, just in time to taste the enormous, spiky fruit at its peak. Sometimes their destination is a well-known durian-growing area, like Thailand or the Philippines—other times, Zanzibar or Hawaii. To learn more or to book a durian tour, visit yearofthedurian.com. NT: How does the durian focus change how you travel? Lindsay Gasik: People are overwhelmingly friendly because you’re interested in their life. There’s always someone like, “Oh, my…

Varieties to Know THERE ARE OVER 500 DURIAN VARIETIES—WE ASKED CHEFS AROUND THE WORLD TO SHARE THEIR FAVORITES. MUSANG KING “This durian is prized for its buttery flesh that has a special combination of sweet and bitter flavors,” says pastry chef Michelle Goh of Mia in Bangkok. Although it’s most commonly grown in Malaysia, Musang King is the world’s most popular variety. MONTHONG DURIAN Translating to “golden pillow,” Monthong is the most popular Thai durian. They’re generally large with an ovular shape and a milder smell compared to other varieties. Its flesh is thick, creamy, and sweet, with notes of caramel. KAN YAO This variety is exclusively grown in the Nonthaburi region of Thailand, making it one of the most expensive durians in the world. It has a custardlike flesh,…

WITH TINY SPOONS and crusty baguettes in hand, our editors dipped, swirled, and sampled the best flavored olive oils on the market. Each and every bottle we tasted starts with an excellent base—an olive oil we’d happily use for cooking, baking, and drizzling on its own—that’s infused with fresh aromatics to quickly punch up the flavor of dressings, marinades, or baked goods. Our three favorites take as much care in sourcing the best ingredients for the infusion as they do with their olives, resulting in oils with fresh flavor and a delicious balance of buttery, vegetal, and piquant olive notes. 1. THE BAKER ENZO ORGANIC CLEMENTINE CRUSH OLIVE OIL AND ORGANIC EUREKA LEMON CRUSH OLIVE OIL Enzo mills its olives with local aromatics to create unfiltered Crush blends. The clementine…

SINCE THE 1960s, plastic straws have been ubiquitous … and so has their environmental pollution. Luckily, there are excellent reusable alternatives on the market, made of metal, glass, and silicone. Read on for five of our favorite eco-friendly options that look better in your drink and function without fail. 1. BEST FOR THE BAR HAY SIP COCKTAIL STRAWS Some cocktails are best enjoyed from a straw. These 6-inch glass straws fit neatly into a lowball or a rocks glass, making cocktail hour a little more special. ($30 for six straws, us.hay.com) 2. BEST BENT MOMA TWO-TONE BOROSILICATE GLASS STRAWS Made of delicate borosilicate glass, these playful straws perfectly marry fun and function. ($28 for six straws and one cleaning brush, store.moma.org) 3. BEST PORTABLE GIR TRAVELER STRAWS These silicone straws…