Amanda M. Rye

Dining’s new pandemic reality: shorter menus, quicker meals, and ugly-delicious dishes

By Amanda M. Rye 3 days ago

Every departure from his original dream was made to keep his staff employed, he says. “No one is going to order a $68 steak to go,” he thought when the pandemic emptied his dining room last year. Beran replaced eight ounces of dry-aged rib-eye with the same amount of hanger steak for $30. “Fancy food doesn’t travel well,” the chef says. So his dishes became more rustic (cassoulet was a recent possibility), and portions grew, giving customers the option of leftovers.

“We’ve gone from pressed duck served tableside to a glorified cheese sandwich,” he says — and from a menu with 32 dishes to a dozen.

Almost a year into what insiders liken to an extinction event for the industry, with 110,000 restaurants closed during the pandemic, diners are adjusting to the reality of fewer menu choices, briefer dining times, online ordering and dishes whose looks take a back seat

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This vegan picadillo recipe made with lentils is warm, filling and flavorful

By Amanda M. Rye 3 days ago

The way I like it best, though, is over rice, and these days I’m more likely to make this vegan version, using a can of lentils instead of a pound of ground beef. Aside from that change, it tastes a lot like my beef picadillo. Both start with a flavorful base of onions and garlic, get a boost from a blend of spices and are finished with a few pimento-stuffed Manzanilla olives and raisins.

“Raisins are divisive,” Jessica van Dop DeJesus, of the Dining Traveler, told me when I called. “I always start with a sofrito, and add extra onion, because I liked the texture of the chopped onion,” she said. “And I’m team olive.”

“I like a sweet version, with fresh and dried fruit for stuffing chiles en nogada,” my friend Adriana Velez texted me when I asked how she made her picadillo. “For other dishes, I like

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Starbucks Pistachio Latte Recipe and Photos

By Amanda M. Rye 3 days ago

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I love trying the new drinks that Starbucks comes up with. I also love anything pistachio-flavored, so the coffee chain’s new Pistachio Latte is right up my alley. And as much as I want to walk down that alley every day, a girl has her budget to think about, so I resolved to try and make this latte myself. I worried it would be a tricky drink to replicate as the flavors aren’t as familiar as your standard caramel or chocolate, and the Salted Brown Butter Cookie Flavored Topping is as unique as it is delicious.

Thankfully, a quick search brought me to a copycat recipe that was fairly easy and only required one ingredient that wasn’t already in my pantry: pistachio extract! You can buy it on Amazon for around $10 (I went with the one that the recipe suggested). I love pistachio flavor and definitely plan to

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Every Food Recipe in Valheim (& How to Cook Them)

By Amanda M. Rye 4 days ago

It’s important to eat well in Valheim, as different combinations of food can provide important buffs. There are currently 14 recipes players can cook.

In survival games like Valheim, making sure to have access to good food is extremely important. At the start of a new game, players will likely find their Viking foraging for foods like berries and mushrooms in the Meadows biome. However, as players begin to explore and progress, they will be able to access more food items, including meats, Honey, fish, and root vegetables. Once players have a Cooking Stand built in their home, they will be able to cook meals for themselves. Eventually, they can discover more complex recipes. Upon consuming these recipes, players will receive various buffs that can be useful when summoning and fighting bosses or simply trying to explore more of the world in new ways.

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