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Epicurious

Allison Robicelli

Allison Robicelli has worked in and around the food industry for over 20 years as a food writer, cookbook author, chef consultant and small business owner. She is a regular contributor at the Washington Post, where she launched the paper's bi-monthly non-alcoholic beverage feature. She has also written for Bon Appétit, the Takeout, Food & Wine, Eater, Food52 and other publications. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she now resides in Baltimore, Maryland with her two teenage sons who eat with the ferocity of ten grown men.

Allison Robicelli has worked in and around the food industry for over 20 years as a food writer, cookbook author, chef. consultant and small business owner. She is a regular contributor at the Washington Post, where she launched the paper's bi-monthly non-alcoholic beverage feature. She has also written for Bon Appetit, the Takeout, Food & Wine, Eater, Food52 and other publications. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she now resides in Baltimore, Maryland with her two teenage sons who eat with the ferocity of ten grown men.

Shopping

The Best Food Processor for All Your Kitchen Prep Tasks

Why spend all that time chopping when a good food processor can do it for you?
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The Best Carbon-Steel Pans for Pro-Level Cooking Without the Weight of Cast Iron

Carbon steel is a favorite of professional kitchens for good reason: It can sear, roast, and perform as a nonstick all-in-one pan.
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The Best Sauté Pans, Tested and Reviewed

The do-it-all piece of cookware could be the only pan in your kitchen if you absolutely needed it to be.
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Best Boning Knife for All Your At-Home Butchering Needs

Breaking down chicken? Filleting fish? Get yourself a boning knife.
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The Best Bundt Pan, Tested and Reviewed

Cake pans are more than just round and square.
Expert Advice

The Best Stainless Steel Pans for Everyday Use, Tested and Reviewed

There's almost nothing you can't do with a stainless steel skillet, so why not buy the best one?
Recipes & Menus

French Buttercream

French buttercream eschews meringue in favor of pâte à bombe, a combination of whipped egg yolks and sugar, for the ultimate lush frosting.
Shopping

The Best Springform Pan for Cheesecakes, Quiches, and So Many Beautiful and Delicate Treats

No leaks allowed.
Shopping

The Best Cake Pans for Birthday Cakes, Wedding Cakes, and Cakes Every Day

Cake pans may seem like they’re all the same, but that isn’t even close to true.
Expert Advice

The Best Grocery Store in America Is the Market at Highlandtown

This Baltimore supermarket doesn't advertise the wonders that lurk within.
Recipes & Menus

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcakes

The first cupcake Matt ever added to the Robicelli's repertoire was "The CPB": chocolate cake and peanut butter buttercream topped with roasted peanuts and rich chocolate ganache. Sounds awesome, right? Of course it's awesome—how the hell can you screw something like that up? Of course, we eventually tired of awesome and needed to go past that to "mind blowing." So we decided to roll the entire damn thing in crushed-up pretzels and pour more chocolate over the top. You're welcome.
Recipes & Menus

Tarte Bourdaloue

When we were first dating, we would stay up in bed for hours trying to come up with new interpretations of classic desserts. Bird chile and passion fruit pavlova; Stilton mousse with walnut Florentine; apple, currant, and Brie pot pie. But some classics we knew not to amp up with "bold flavors" because they were sacred. Such is the tarte bourdaloue. This was one of the first desserts Matt and I were both taught to make in our classical pastry training; it is the pride of any French patisserie worth its (artisinal) salt, and you will treat it with some goddamn respect! Traditionally, it's a buttery tart crust filled with poached pear and luxurious almond cream. However, no matter how mind blowing the tarte bourdaloue is, almost no one in this country knows what it is. French Matt Says: You uncultured American swine! So, in an effort to make this winning flavor combo a bit more popular this side of the pond, we broke tradition and messed with it a little to turn it into a cupcake¿I mean, what's more American than cupcakes? Besides bald eagles, of course, but then again, you can't eat those (yet)!