Jessie Shafer

It’s time you get to know labneh. And if you’re already in the know, it’s time you use labneh to make cheesecake bars. Labneh is cheese made from strained thick yogurt. It’s commonly eaten for breakfast in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries with olive oil and bread. At stores, you’ll find it in the refrigerated section, sometimes labeled as “yogurt cheese.

What do pancakes, puppies, and pillows have in common? Fluff! Nine out of 10 pancake connoisseurs (aka, my friends) agree that fluffiness is the most desirable trait in pancake prep (and puppies and pillows, too). The tenth guy said “soft,” but he’s never been one for words. There are a few tried-and-true ways to achieve ultimate pancake fluff, one of them being Chef Clayton Miller’s tip to incorporate three whipped egg whites for soufflé-like cakes.

Fusion foods are created when ingredients, flavors, or a technique from one cuisine combine with those of another. I like to call these kinds of dishes “When Harry Met Sally” recipes. These recipes are born when you think two different things can’t possibly be friends because something will inevitably get in the way. But those two flavors keep bumping into each other (sometimes in your dreams) because — despite their differences — it’s just meant to be.

In some ways this creamy pasta dish is reminiscent of a familiar Reuben sandwich or German-style mashed potatoes, but it’s also so much more. When I was dreaming of new ways to use sauerkraut — perhaps the most ubiquitous fermented food there is — I kept circling back to potatoes. Potatoes and sauerkraut are a match made in heaven. One is basic, while the other is complex. One is creamy and tender, while the other is sour and powerful.

What’s cool? Bloody Marys with brunch. What’s cooler than being cool? Bloody Marys with kombucha. Time to give this classic brunch cocktail a fizzy, gut-healthy update. Kombucha is fermented tea made simply from water, sugar, dried tea leaves, and a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast).