Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2026 i Food & Wine

2024 LATTA WINES KIND STRANGER ROSÉ ($17) Who says you can’t drink rosé in the winter? This pale pink, citrus- and strawberry-scented blend of Mourvèdre and Grenache comes from Washington state winemaker Andrew Latta, who created this label specifically to help fund a range of social charities (in this case, the International Rescue Committee and local nonprofit Mary’s Place Seattle). 2024 AGRICOLA PUNICA SAMAS ($23) I poured this lively Sardinian white as an aperitif, and it was really everything you’d want in a start-of-the-evening wine: citrusy, tingly, fresh, and invigorating. It’s 80% Vermentino and 20% Chardonnay, the latter rounding out its texture nicely. It’s not too high in alcohol, too—important when you’ve got a lengthy dinner ahead of you. NV CHAMPAGNE BARONS DE ROTHSCHILD BLANC DE BLANCS ($90) The holidays…

DARK CHOCOLATE HAS RANGE. It’s a pick-me-up snack, a classic dessert hero, and a secret weapon in savory recipes. Generally containing at least 50% cacao, the best dark chocolate bars are balanced—semisweet, slightly bitter, and smooth with a satisfying snap—while the worst are cloying and chalky. To find the greatest dark chocolate for your needs, we tasted and ranked 16, from premium artisanal bars to supermarket-aisle staples. If you don’t have a favorite dark chocolate yet, start with these five that came out on top in our taste test. BEST OVERALL HU SALTY DARK CHOCOLATE Hu’s dark chocolate kept us hooked from the first taste. At 70% cacao, it’s balanced, rich, and fruity, with buttery notes that layer on the tongue. (It also happens to be vegan.) This is the…

KITCHEN FAUCETS HAVE MORE OFTEN been regarded for their utility than their style. But lately, that’s changing, with brands debuting thoughtful designs that address the look, feel, finish, and functionality of the faucet, for hardware that’s both smart and stylish. BRIZO In partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Brizo’s new kitchen collection has a decidedly organic feel. Inlays for taps and handles include warm wood, concrete, and textured glass, all offset with a range of finishes, from luxe gold to black onyx. Some faucets come equipped with SmartTouch technology, meaning you can turn the water off and on with a simple tap. (From $1,620, brizo.com) MOEN The Tenon line from Moen (a wholesaler-exclusive collection available through retailers such as Ferguson Home) has a modern yet whimsical curvy look. Handles…

OUR OCEANS OFFER US a huge diversity of seafood, each species unique and wonderful in its character and qualities. And while this bounty is diverse, it doesn’t need to be daunting. Most seafoods can be put into culinary categories based on the general attributes of texture, flavor, fat content, color, and how they are most often cooked. These culinary categories help us to see what is similar among them and how their shared qualities can be used to our advantage. These recipes—and others you’ll find in The Blue Food Cookbook—are designed to be accessible, practical, and, most importantly, purposeful. We often say that “less is more,” and that’s especially true when it comes to cooking seafood. Gentle heat, short cooking times, and the right combination of ingredients can transform even…

BANANAS ARE THE WORLD’S most popular fruit. And by the looks of today’s cocktail menus, we’re not just eating them; we’re drinking them, too. Perhaps that’s because they’re so versatile. Bartenders are infusing spirits with bananas for added body and sweetness, as in the minimalist Banana Jameson at New York City’s Forgione, where the banana-enhanced whiskey is served simply over one big rock. They’re pureeing them for classics, as with the frozen banana daiquiri at Cafe La Trova in Miami’s Little Havana, and for newfangled creations, such as the mezcal-laced Salty Saturn at Chicago’s Asador Bastian. There, bartenders roast the bananas before blitzing them with miso and passion fruit. Pros are also batching up banana-flavored mixers. At Manhattan’s Tiki Chick and Lark outside Philadelphia, they macerate the fruit and peel,…

Soup nourishes us on many levels. It simplifies and concentrates, taking disparate ingredients and flavors and simmering them into a cohesive, comforting whole. When we make soup, we break down proteins like chicken into rich broth and tender meat, and we extract the essence of restorative ingredients—ginger, garlic, and galangal, to name just a few—making them easier to enjoy and also to digest. Soup warms us, hydrates us, and restores our energy. This year, we’ve gathered some of the most beloved soup recipes from around the world to add to your winter soup-ertoire, from shorbat adas, the nourishing soup of spiced red lentils beloved across the Middle East (p. 69), to Mexico’s tortilla soup, its chicken-and-tomato broth laced with smoky chipotles and crowned with crunchy tortillas (p. 66). So pull…

I’m making soup tonight. I DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT KIND OF SOUP, so I begin by peeling and chopping ginger, garlic, and turmeric. Then some onions and carrots. They all go into the bottom of an enameled cast-iron pot where olive oil shimmers, and the soup begins to come together. In go quartered shiitake mushrooms, red chile flakes, and plenty of salt and pepper. Then, after a few minutes of stirring, some white wine to reduce, followed by two quarts of rich stock made from the carcass of the chicken roasted last night. I tear the meat from the bones of the leftover legs and thighs and add it to the pot, along with a teaspoon of crystalline MSG, and a tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon chicken base and white…

SOURDOUGH SOURDOUGH WAS THE BREAD, the hobby, and the self-prescribed therapy of the COVID-19 pandemic. Treating a starter like a pet, feeding it on a carefully regimented schedule, and baking loaves of bread was how many people filled their days during the lockdown. It was all-consuming, and that’s what made it perfect. But as the world began to reopen and busy schedules resumed, the rigorous bread-baking routine started to feel impossible. But making sourdough doesn’t have to take over your life—with careful planning (see “Timing Tips,” opposite), the process can be adapted to busy schedules. Sourdough gets its characteristic tangy flavor from the bread’s most important ingredient: sourdough starter. This bubbly mixture, brimming with naturally occurring wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, is first combined with flour and water to…

I WOULD NEVER HAVE PREDICTED that a 5-mile trek in shin-high snow, through the Spullerwald forest, over rivers and past ice-fringed firs, would be a highlight of my trip to the Austrian village of Lech. But when a whiteout storm axed the day’s ski program, that’s what I did: hiked to Älpele—one of several Alpine huts in the region reachable by foot, snowmobile, skis, or horse-drawn carriage—for a skillet of Tiroler gröstl, a bacon, onion, and potato fry-up, washed down with crisp, cold Grüner Veltliner. That lunch, in a fire-warmed, 300-year-old room in the shadow of the Rüfikopf mountain, crystallized what had drawn me to the Austrian Alps. There are no chain hotels, branded pop-ups, celebrity chef concept restaurants, or lookalike boutiques here. With its medieval onion-domed church, the town…

DINE AT ANY OF JOE AND KATY KINDRED’S four restaurant concepts in North Carolina, and you can’t help but admire your surroundings. At Kindred, their bright and intimate flagship in Davidson with a modern Southern menu, an outdoor patio draped in string lights blurs the line between indoors and out. At Albertine, their elegant Mediterranean restaurant in Charlotte, a stunning marble bar is the focus of a space awash in earthy hues and natural light that streams through floor-to-ceiling windows. From their sunny seafood spot, Hello, Sailor, on the shores of Lake Norman to the retro, all-day Milkbread cafés, each location has its own style but shares an airy sophistication and a commitment to comfort. Day to day, Joe and Katy split the responsibilities of their hospitality group—Joe helms the…