May is a big month for celebrations — and eating. Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day are just around the corner, and Memorial Day weekend will be here before you know it. Get inspiration for all three occasions, plus every day in between, from Food Network Magazine’s Color Issue! It’s filled with vibrant seasonal dishes to match the (hopefully) sunny springtime weather.
To help you decide which recipes to make first, editors and recipe developers weighed in with their favorites. Spoiler: You’ll want to host a pizza night soon. Staffers are very excited about the prebaked crust with customized toppings (pictured above). Find out below what else they’re loving.
“I am going to pace myself and try the bacon-chipotle cupcakes. Then Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers. Then the Sparkling Pink Lemonade cocktail, with pink peppercorn around the rim. Yes, you are sensing a trend: I like spicy peppers.”
— Rory Evans, Executive Editor
“I never get sick of pizza, and make it for dinner almost every week. I’ve tried lots of different homemade and store-bought doughs, but I’ve never tried baking the crust in advance as we did for the Pick a Pizza story. I can’t wait to try the Roasted Red Pepper Pizza and Arugula Pesto Pizza with Zucchini (pictured above) before the weather gets too hot for me to crank up my oven.
—Lisa Cericola, Features Editor
“My favorite was definitely the Pick a Pizza story. I loved working on that and discovering a new method for making great pizza for a crowd, which in my family is a huge bonus!
“Another fun one for me was the Baked-Egg and Canadian Bacon Sandwiches. Cooking the eggs all together in a cake pan was a new method I was playing around with, and it worked beautifully. It’s a great way to make eggs for sandwiches — especially for a weeknight dinner or brunch. When you bake them in a pan, they cook up light and fluffy, and it also frees up your hands so you can gather the rest of the ingredients. It makes assembly super easy, plus it just looks fun!”
— Claudia Sidoti, Test Kitchen Director
“Like many people, I can’t get enough avocado in my life. (I’d eat it with every meal if I could.) That’s why I loved the all-star guac story. From Marcela Valladolid’s traditional recipe to Bobby Flay’s charred corn version (pictured above), I feel like I have fresh new ways to get my avocado fix.
“My best friend and her husband like to host group date nights geared around kitchen throwdowns. Pizza is their go-to, since it’s so easy with a crowd. Thanks to the Pick a Pizza story, I’m pretty sure I know who the winning couple will be at our next cook-off … and we’ll be sure to thank the Food Network test kitchen during our acceptance speech.”
— Ariana Phillips, Senior Associate Food Editor
“One of my favorites from this issue is the recipe for Name This Dish Crab Fries! I feel like people see soft-shell crabs in the market when they are in season and are never quite sure what to do with them. Serving them as “fries” is an easy way for people to be introduced to them. Not to mention they are fried and absolutely delicious!
“Another favorite was our 50 Cupcakes insert! Who knew we were able to create soooo many fun flavors! Now our readers are able to have a cupcake for any occasion. The entire building was also super-duper happy because we shared all of them, and my nickname was born … Cupcake Fairy!”
— Vivian Chan, Recipe Tester
“I’ve been on a major pineapple kick, and I can’t wait to try the fruit dunked in tequila and chili powder (pictured above with recipe below). Now I just need to plan a party so I have an excuse to make them. …”
— Sarah Weinberg, Senior Associate Editor
Pineapple-Tequila Skewers
Place chunks of fresh pineapple in a small baking dish and add enough tequila to cover them halfway; infuse 1 hour in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, drain the pineapple (save the leftover tequila for cocktails) and dip the pieces in a mixture of kosher salt, chili powder and grated lime zest. Thread onto wooden skewers and top each with a lime wedge.
Food wasn’t the only thing editors were excited about from the issue!
“I was mixing-bowled over by the kaleidoscopic KitchenAid stand mixer that the Food Network Magazine art department whipped up on page 21, thanks to Photoshop magic. In the modest kitchen of my New York City apartment, I don’t have the counter space for a stand mixer, so I have showcased my enthusiasm for its superb design in smaller ways: by mounting this 1998 U.S. postage stamp and these brads on card stock.”
— David Cobb Craig, Copy Editor
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Food Network Magazine Staff Favorites from the May Issue