Claire Saffitz

“Holiday eating is a study in paradox. You're surrounded by food, but you're so busy shopping and cooking that you don't have time to eat. Then, when your blood sugar dips to the point of derangement, you make a desperate lunge for the closest foodstuff - and the next thing you know, you've eaten an entire box of regifted peppermint bark.”

“Every year since culinary school I have made a Buche de Noel, or Yule Log.”

“Only bake one type of thing at a time. Even when it seems like you're killing two birds with one stone, baking multiple recipes at the same time in one oven presents a tricky balancing act.”

“Heaven is a bowl of creamed herring and onions. Ditto whitefish salad. But the real object of my desire for all things gilled is gefilte fish.”

“As an adult, I use whole-milk cottage cheese anywhere you might use plain Greek yogurt or ricotta cheese.”

“Gluten - the elastic strands that give bread its chewy texture - forms when certain proteins in flour interact with water, which is desirable in bread, but not tender cake.”

“Ever crack an egg into simmering water only to watch the white spread out and form wispy tentacles? It happened to me until I came across this game-changing fix: Break the egg into a sieve set over a bowl. The watery outer edge of the white will drain through, leaving the thicker white and yolk intact.”

“Criticism of a dish is not a criticism of the cook.”

“If you think about it, composed salads are like nachos (I'll explain). When you're eating a plate of nachos, it's always a bummer when you get to those naked, topping-less chips on the bottom of the pile. It's the same with salads. No one wants to find a naked leaf on the end of their fork.”

“Lemon curd is a basic custard, meaning it's thickened by eggs. Although many curd recipes call for just yolks, I prefer to use a combination of whole eggs and yolks to add a bit of lightness.”

“No stuffing is complete without chopped onion and celery - they're the building blocks. If you want to deepen the flavor, consider adding leeks, sage, and/or hardy greens.”

“In the height of summer, a ripe cantaloupe is one of the most intoxicating pieces of produce under the sun.”

“Always bake in the center of the oven. A pan placed too close to the bottom of the oven will receive more heat radiating from the oven floor, baking it faster from the bottom. The reverse is true of something baked on the top rack. Always bake in the center for the most even baking and browning all around.”

“The last time I ordered soup in a restaurant was - well, let me see - possibly never. That's because in my mind, soup is something to be made and eaten at home, ideally with a cuddly animal at your feet in front of a blazing fireplace while the wind whips outside.”

“One thing I hear a lot is that people feel less stressed out after they watch 'Gourmet Makes.' There's a transference of their stress onto me.”

“Cooking for a crowd during the holidays takes a lot of time and effort, so we understand the desire to outsource as much of the work as possible.”

“Can you braid three strands? Then you can make babkallah. The very idea of babkallah came about because the recipe avoids the complicating twisting technique that gives babka its signature swirl.”

“Like turning potatoes or making a bearnaise sauce by hand, forming a cornet - essentially a DIY pastry bag - from parchment paper feels like one of those things culinary students do once or twice and then never again.”

“My beauty routine has changed a lot since I turned 30. But also, being on camera more has made me dial in on my skincare and makeup routine. I have acne-prone skin, and washing my face with cleanser in the morning, using witch hazel to tone, and washing twice at night to take off all of my makeup has really made a difference.”

“Why crown your own rack of pork when a butcher could do it for you? To start, it's way easier to brine two individual racks than a giant round crown (and yes, you definitely want to brine the meat).”