Serious Eats / Nader Mehravari Baklava is indispensable to the Persian culinary landscape, just as it is to other baklava-loving cultures from Armenia and Azerbaijan to Lebanon and Syria and over to Turkey and Greece. The most common iterations of traditional baklava feature layers of buttery phyllo dough and nuts drenched in simple syrup or honey. And if you are a fan of traditional baklava—regardless of the cultural origin of the particular iteration—you will likely agree with me that the process of making this crunchy and nutty dessert is a bit involved, and can be intimidating to make for those less acquainted. But this Persian baklava–inspired cake—a confection that’s well known throughout the Persian diaspora—is a great way to enjoy the best qualities of baklava, within a simpler-to-prepare cake. While this rich, dense, syrupy cake is less complicated to prepare than baklava, it still delivers the aromas, flavors, textures, and appearance that should satisfy most baklava ...
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Your Kitchen Is Missing This $15 Serrated Knife That Slices Through Fruit and Bread Like Butter
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Serious Eats
I’ll be honest: Sometimes, I don’t feel like dirtying two knives. While my nakiri knife, paring knife, and chef’s knife are trusted blades that carry me through weeknight meals and weekend cooking projects, my favorite (of over a decade) is a versatile 5-inch serrated knife from OXO that lets me slice tomatoes and a crusty loaf of bread in one go for my avocado toast. Plus, it’s only $15—a tiny investment for a knife that’s quite the multitasker (fruit and bread? Oh là là).
The Takeaways
It’s Great for Delicate Tasks
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I reach for it over my other knives sometimes because I know its teeth will produce consistently smooth slices every single time, be it lemons, tomatoes, or peaches. It simply glides through without squishing the soft insides. It’s also my go-to knife for halving baked goods like croissants or brioche buns without crushing them.
It Holds Up Against Harder Foods, Too
I love my bread knife, but this serrated knife could give it a run for its money. While it’s not long enough to slice through a large sourdough batard, it’s great for French baguettes or crusty rolls. It’s also adept at cutting stringy ingredients like rhubarb and celery and can produce a picture-worthy cross-section of a bagel sandwich. It’s so sharp I’ve even used it to saw off a knob of frozen ginger, but don’t try that one at home.
It’s Durable and Comfortable to Hold
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Even though I bought this knife over 10 years ago, it’s still as sharp as the day I got it. It cleans up with warm soapy water and is surprisingly forgiving if you forget about it by the sink. At least, mine has never shown signs of rusting if I don’t clean it right away. The knife also has a curved, textured handle that ensures a stable grip for every task.
Do I Recommend It?
OXO Good Grips 5-Inch Serrated Utility Knife
Amazon
Be it slicing nectarines, lemons, or bagels, this serrated knife is my go-to for countless kitchen tasks. It’s remained super sharp for over a decade and has never squished a tomato under my watch. Its strength is in its versatility as a blade that can glide through soft fruit just as easily as it can saw into crusty bread. At just $15, it’s worth grabbing to make kitchen workflows more efficient.
Serious Eats For years, Lodge cast iron pieces have been our affordable pick for essentials like Dutch ovens and bread ovens , but there are times when they’ve even beaten out more expensive competition. In fact, the brand topped our grill pan review and its cast iron skillet has been our absolute favorite for six years and running. Already reasonably priced on any given day, it’s now $14—the lowest price we’ve ever seen. Why It Won Our Review It Excels at Searing and Baking This cast iron skillet sears a golden-brown filet mignon and bakes the most uniform cornbread . It’s a standout in conducting and maintaining heat across its cooking surface without any hot or cold spots. It also gets hot fast . In our tests, we reported a whopping 53.4% increase in temperature after just a minute over medium heat. That kind of high heat is what helps you achieve a crispy crust on tofu steaks or breakfast hashes . It’s Impressively Slick This Lodge skillet comes pre-seasoned straight ou...
Serious Eats This summer, I spent five months living and working at Camp Denali, a wilderness lodge in Denali National Park, Alaska. Backcountry hiking is the main attraction, and on each outing, our naturalist guides carry more than 10 pounds of gear, including a slew of emergency preparedness supplies. But the item that I find most important isn’t truly an “essential.” It’s a thermos full of hot chocolate . Our guides carry Stanley thermoses on every outing into the park so guests can enjoy a hot beverage after a long day of hiking. Ranked as one of the best thermoses in our review, the Stanley Classic Legendary bottle keeps beverages steaming hot for many hours—but most impressively, the thermos is basically indestructible. In fact, Camp Denali has used the same thermoses (cleaned after every use, of course) for over 30 years. What's a Thermos Good For? Serious Eats If you like to bring hot drinks on the go, a thermos is an excellent option. It keeps the conten...
Serious Eats / Qi Ai I did not understand the value and appeal of a pressure cooker until I became a mother. Time has become especially precious, and I find myself frantically rushing around during my son’s brief naps to meal-prep as much as I can. Stressed and short on time, I’ve quickly adapted all my go-to recipes—such as beef noodle soup and congee—for the Instant Pot, so they can be made as quickly as possible. One of the first recipes I adapted for the pressure cooker was lu rou fan (Taiwanese braised minced pork belly), a comforting and deeply flavorful dish that has long been a fixture in my kitchen. The first iteration of this recipe is in my cookbook Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories From the Island Nation. I learned to make the dish from Lin Tai-Yu, the third-generation owner of Lin Family Braised Pork Over Rice in the Taiwanese city of Tainan. Lin, who goes by Gloj, spends his days slowly simmering hand-diced pork in a sweet and savory concoction of soy sauce, fried ...
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