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3 Costco items with heftier price tags amid inflation

As inflation and sizzling temperatures drive up food prices, even price tags at supermarkets known for their bargains and deals are getting heftier. Costco, the low-price warehouse chain, is no different. Two menu items at Costco’s food courts have gone up in price, increases…
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Why I (almost) never buy salted butter

One of the absolute simplest pleasures in the world of food is a really well made (and seasoned) bread and butter. If I’m out to eat and the menu has an $8 specialty bread-and-butter service, I’m automatically in. Some of my most wonderful food…
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How to handle yeast, “Bake Off” style

The pressure was high during Bread Week as the bakers vied for a Paul Hollywood handshake after making a variety of, well, bread. The signature challenge asked bakers to make a batch of monkey bread, a sticky pull-apart bread made…
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A Julia Child classic, remixed for fall

There are certain dishes that loom large in my mind as the real icons of the seasons — not the retail calendar of pumpkin spice and peppermint bark, but the meals that have, almost by accident, braided themselves into the…
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10 Trader Joe’s treats that scream fall

I may be vehemently lactose-intolerant, but that’s never stopped me from indulging in the cheesiest of cheesiest pastas. TJ’s Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese is exactly that — cheesy, indulgent and, yes, magical.   The pasta starts with béchamel sauce…
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Tea thrives in lunar soil, scientists find

The next revolution in beverages might be out of this world — literally. Researchers at the University of Kent have shown that it is possible to grow tea in lunar soil, a discovery that could transform how future astronauts live…
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Your Chicago dining guide, upgraded

More than 55 million people visited Chicago in 2024. I was one of them. Just 90 minutes away via my favorite mode of transportation, Amtrak, I may have made the trip once a month for the last few years. And…
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Buttery pull-apart bread, perfect for sharing

I come from a big “appetizers for dinner” family. You can see it in the little rituals: call my mom before any major event — New Year’s Eve, the Super Bowl, or just a random December day that feels festive…
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Maxwell House coffee has officially changed its name

Maxwell House is changing its name to align with the nationwide living situation amid rising home prices. The coffee giant, owned by Kraft Heinz, is rebranding for the first time in its 133-year history to “Maxwell Apartment.” “Today, Maxwell House…
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Why cakes collapse, on and off “Bake Off”

Have you ever fallen victim to a cake with a sunken center? You spend hours laboring over your batter, tirelessly whisking together your wet and dry ingredients before painstakingly pouring every last drop of the mixture into your cake pan…only…
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