In my pantry right now, there among the cans of tomato paste and chicken noodle soup, is a box of rich, decadent sipping chocolate, a bag of dried porcini, and a little tin of handmade candied violets. In my closet, a pair of fancy velvet heels and a gorgeous cashmere sweater mingle with the cotton shirts and clogs. Tucked away in a drawer, a small vial of a favorite, very expensive perfume waits for the special day that I will dab it on my wrists. Besides being wonderful and special, all these things have one other thing in common: I never use them. And lately I've been thinking that this has got to change. More

As we close out Lunch Week we had to point out these sweet lunch bags that just went up at the Food52 Shop. These waxed canvas bags have a special pocket -- want a closer look? 

Homemade Irish cream, a pretty marble tea cake, and soba noodles with scallion and ginger in today's Delicious Links. More

Everyone loves to clink a green drink on St. Patrick’s Day. I enjoy color-coded cocktails and party-themed sips as much as the next gal, but it still has to taste good.  To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you could simply add a little green food coloring to your beer — or you could recognize you are no longer a college co-ed and toast the day with this classic green cocktail instead.

Forget the beer for a second — let's talk about the very cool, very well-designed beer labels that adorn many of our favorite beers. Sometimes it seems like breweries put as much work into creating a beautiful label as they do into the beer itself! Do you ever save these bottles for their labels?

Sandwich cookies, tomatillo shrimp, and a grapefruit rosemary spritzer for a casual weekend lunch in today's Delicious Links. More

A ploughman's lunch doesn't have to be something that's only done in England. Because really, shouldn't making cheese the centerpiece of a meal be a universal concept? Think of it as a deconstructed sandwich.

A ploughman's lunch is a simple template: pair cheese with some bread, chutney, and maybe some meat or pickles or hard-boiled egg, and call it a lunch. But what about getting a little creative with it? Here are five new takes, showing how easy it is to switch it up. More

I've been a fan of Karen Solomon's work for a long time, ever since I read and reviewed her first book Jam It, Can It, Pickle It back in the early days of the DIY kitchen revolution. We've come a long way since then. Canning and pickling are no longer grandma skills in need of rescuing from the brink of oblivion, thanks to people like Karen who have spent years testing and experimenting, discovering and inventing, helping to make the art of preservation fun and exciting.

But how does Karen handle day-to-day cooking in her home kitchen? What are the five essential things she believes a home cook should know? Read on for her fun, eclectic list! More

Great brownies, grapefruit spinach salad, and egg salad with a twist in today's Delicious Links. More