Food & Wine June 2024

2022 ANSELMO MENDES CONTACTO ALVARINHO ($22) On a recent trip to Portugal, I drank more than my fair share of this vivid, minerally white—what can I say; it was hot outside!—from one of the stars of Portugal’s Vinho Verde region. It is far more complex than most of the traditional wines from the region and makes for a stellar companion to fish of any kind. 2022 ALBERT BICHOT DOMAINE LONG-DEPAQUIT CHABLIS ($26) As Burgundy prices spiral ever upward, I was thrilled to find this basic village Chablis at such a moderate price. It’s got everything you want in Chablis: a whiff of springtime flowers on the nose; vivid, bright acidity; crisp, citrusy fruit; and a hint of classic Chablis stoniness on the finish. 2022 GIROLAMO RUSSO ’A RINA ETNA ROSSO…

My Summer Go-To HEY, COOKS. Summer is on the horizon, so we’ve made a point to keep the recipes in this issue as breezy as this note will be to you. Take this riff on the Thai corn salad from the New York City restaurant Fish Cheeks, where the salty, electrified funk of fish sauce, acidic brightness of lime juice, fruity heat from chile, and mellowing softness of sugar form the condiment prik nam pla and amplify barely blanched green beans and crisp-tender corn, tomatoes, and basil. Also: As always, you’re in the driver’s seat; adjust the levels of sweet, sour, and spicy to your liking. This issue is full of recipes for every kind of cook, whether you favor crispy-edged smash burgers or a thick, two-fisted tavern-style burger (p.…

CHEF ERIC GREENSPAN’S FAVORITE FOOD of all time is American cheese. “I’ve used American cheese my entire career,” he says. “But most cheese is really more about texture than taste, and we thought it could be more than that.” When Greenspan was writing The Great Grilled Cheese Book in 2017, he started wondering why American cheese didn’t get more attention from chefs. “They make burger buns from scratch, and they grind their own meat … I feel like there should be a way to close that circle of quality,” he says. He mentioned the idea of an artisanal American cheese to his friend Alan Leavitt, a consumer packaged goods investor. Leavitt was immediately intrigued. In 2022, after five years of research and development, Greenspan and Leavitt launched New School American…

DAIRYLAND SHARON SPRINGS, NEW YORK I’ve got a knack for making things too complicated, but not when it comes to soft serve. I’ll take a small vanilla sundae with chunky pineapple sauce, chopped peanuts, and an unnaturally scarlet cherry staining the cumulus cloud of whipped topping. It’ll taste pretty much the same anywhere I order it, but it’s never so sweet as when I’m basking in the neon flicker of the Dairyland boy perched on a shed rooftop on the side of Route 20. From April through September, I’m standing in a long line with my neighbors as we shuffle up to order. I’ll then take a seat in the shelter of the aluminum sheds or on the hood of my car to enjoy ice cream, a lemonade, and maybe…

SENBON FOLDING KNIVES ($88 FOR A SET OF FOUR, AMAZON.COM) Each of the olive wood–handled, stainless steel knives in this four-piece set folds to protect the edge. The blades range from just over four inches to nearly five inches long and include a chef’s knife, two paring blades, and a serrated bread knife. You can purchase each knife individually, but the full set is a great investment. WACACO NANOPRESSO ($70, WACACO.COM) Even the most discerning coffee drinkers will be impressed by the quality of this clever tool. Users can easily create the pressure necessary to pull a great shot of espresso directly into its built-in cup with a finely ground coffee that is firmly tamped. Add boiling water and pump the machine’s piston to begin brewing. EVERDURE BY HESTON CUBE…

YOU KNOW THE CLICHÉS. Mother’s Day is for breakfast pancakes in bed, and Father’s Day is for steaks on the grill. But what if we treated these two holidays less like Hallmark ones and more like Thanksgiving or Diwali? What if we gathered our entire extended families, showed up in our finest attire, and planned the holiday around how we are going to manage seconds and thirds at the buffet spread? In other words, what if we went big? Texas big, heart-bursting-with-love big? Derry Family big? For chef Tiffany Derry, every holiday involves extended family and an enormous meal, but on Mother’s Day, the men, led by her uncle LeRoy Johnson, cook a feast to honor the women with food, music, and flowers. A month later, the women return the…