#feijoada

#feijoada

Arepas have been found in Central and South American homes for centuries for good reason. These satisfying corn cakes are versatile and delicious.

Venezuelan cuisine is a vibrant melting pot of its cultural influences, where Indigenous roots, African heritage, and Spanish flavors come together to create rich, satisfying dishes packed with character. Venezuela's food scene shares many similarities with those from other Latin American countries, but focuses more on building layers of sweet, savory, and tangy depth rather than turning up the heat with bold spices.

A small splash can brighten the sweetness of corn and add a subtle herbal lift. It should enhance - not dominate. Think of it as a squeeze of lime, ever so popular in Mexican food, in spirit form.

Living in Japan in the early 2000s, Fralick fell in love with an Italian restaurant in the city of Shizuoka, where he ate Italian food, but with Japanese influences, like pastas made with uni and the fermented soybeans known as natto. "It really reminded me of home," says Fralick, who grew up in upstate New York and started his cooking career in Italian fine dining.

Country of origin labeling became mandatory on all international products entering the United States in 2009. The goal was to ensure American consumers knew where the products they were buying came from, enabling shoppers to make informed buying decisions. These products include everything from Mexican avocados to French wine to pasta from Italy, with the latter thankfully safe from recent U.S. tariffs. However, does the location a product comes from actually matter?

Fresh Italian fare has landed at West Oakland's Prescott Market. Fatto a Mano Alimentari, which is still in soft opening mode, offers an assortment of pastas made daily spaghetti, bucatini, gnocchi, paccheri and the like with varied sauces, including beef bolognese, pomodoro and four cheese. If you're looking for something on the lighter side, try the grilled eggplants dressed with cucumbers, black olives, Feta cheese, hummus and a side of focaccia, or the Tuscan bean soup.

East Bay hardcore outfit Manos De Fierro is part of a new wave of bands pushing the Bay Area scene back toward something raw, physical and community-driven. Pulling from hardcore, metal and beatdown influences, their sound is confrontational without feeling performative, rooted in real experience rather than image. The band has built a reputation through local shows that thrive on intensity and shared energy, where the line between band and crowd all but disappears.

Tanya Holland, especially among Bay Area foodies, needs no introduction. She's the award-winning celebrity chef behind Oakland's Brown Sugar Kitchen, B-Side BBQ and Town Fare, and the author of multiple cookbooks. She competed on Top Chef, hosted Tanya's Kitchen Table on the Oprah Winfrey Network and today serves on the James Beard Foundation's Awards Committee. For the Super Bowl this year, she'll be at a cousin's 80th birthday party.

Start with our cover star, food director Chris Morocco's one-hour bolognese that uses a pantry shortcut, Chinese black bean sauce, to kick up the umami. Then make his Green Chile Puttanesca Pork Chops where jarred jalapenos and guindillos offer buzzy heat and brightness to counterweight the rich meat. Senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic also shared wintry vegetable dishes that can stand on their own.

Barbecue is sacred in Texas, where joints large and small attract enthusiasts from around the world, all eager to sample delectable meats, even if it means waiting in line for hours. Starting next month, American Airlines passengers can enjoy one of the state's most famous barbecue spots at cruising altitude. As part of a new initiative to incorporate regional flavors on in-flight menus, American has partnered with Pecan Lodge to bring Texas barbecue to select flights between Dallas and New York.

The sauce alone packs a punch with its tangy and savory sweetness, carrying the simmered warmth of molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, and tomato-based condiments. It's a seamless blend into the pasta's own hearty base, further highlighting all of the dish's existing goodness. Then you've got the beans, adding bulk along with nutty and earthy notes as they cling onto the al dente pasta.

Mercado Bom Sucesso has been serving a wide range of traditional Portuguese food since 1949. Its modern design is unmissable when walking around the heart of Porto, and it's absolutely worth a stop. While farmers' markets are usually held outdoors, food halls are primarily indoors, and Bom Sucesso is no different. This means that no matter when you're visiting - whether it be the dead of winter or the height of summer - you'll be able to enjoy local delicacies in a climate-controlled environment.

One of the restaurant's owners, who was of Dominican heritage, requested that the menu showcase dishes reflecting her family's recipes, albeit with a modern twist. At the time, I was unfamiliar with Dominican cuisine, so I immersed myself in research by visiting local neighborhood establishments and seeking out the limited cookbooks available.

If you aren't familiar, a ham hock is a cut of pork that comes from the pig's leg, where the shank meets the foot. It's not a very meaty cut, but that's not the point. Ham hocks are heavy on skin, bone, and fatty connective tissue, which are all rich in collagen, which is basically an all-purpose soup enhancer. It affects both texture and the taste of soups, thickening them and adding body,

The humble tortilla is an iconic food staple in Mexico. Everyone eats them, regardless of age or income. The ingredients for the tortilla I was frying in this photo have been fermented to include probiotics and prebiotics for gut health. My research focuses on developing such fermented nutraceuticals - nutritious products with pharmaceutical benefits - to help improve people's metabolic health and combat the malnutrition prevalent in some of Mexico's poorest communities.