How America’s Food System Could Change Under Biden
New school meal standards? Help for small farmers? Maybe, but first the new administration has to deal with hunger, food safety and a diminished U.S.D.A.
“It’s like, we know you want us to jump from serving meat to going vegan,” Mr. Nischan said. “But man, we got to get the stove fixed first.”
By Kim Severson

IN THE GARDEN
The Year-Round Garden
As one intrepid gardener in Nova Scotia discovered, you can extend the growing season more than you may think — if you have the right tools.
By MARGARET ROACH

FRONT BURNER
Marcus Samuelsson Talks Food at the Whitney

The chef joins the museum’s director, Adam D. Weinberg, for two discussions about the intersection of food and culture.
Food, Culture and What’s Next talk, 6 p.m., Feb. 9, whitney.org.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Message in a Chocolate Box
Truffolie’s Valentine’s Day chocolates carry a customizable secret message, revealed once all the pieces are eaten.

Truffolie chocolates, 12 for $40, 24 for $75, truffolie.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
A Food Course for Home-Schooling
Spoons Across America has created a nine-class Food Exploration Project, suitable for students ages 8 to 11.

Spoons Across America, spoonsacrossamerica.org.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

These Recipes Are So Smart
Cook with a few sharp shortcuts, clever techniques and ingredients in new contexts.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

A Rare Menu That Tells the Truth: The Pork? Greasy. The Beef? Meh.
A Montreal restaurateur’s self-lacerating style has drawn worldwide attention, perhaps striking a collective chord of humility in the pandemic.

Feigang Fei’s Montreal restaurant, Cuisine AuntDai, got a welcome lift this month after a tweet about his bluntly honest online menu went viral.
By Dan Bilefsky

Tet Is Full of Traditions, but You Can Have It Your Way
Plenty of rule-bending and innovation has been brought to Vietnamese Lunar New Year feasts as the diaspora has grown.

Bright pickled shallots and crisp scallions balance the richness of suon kho, northern Vietnamese pork ribs that are grilled then braised in a savory caramel sauce.

‘Christina Nguyen, 36, the chef of Hai Hai in Minneapolis, went rogue during Tet even as a child. When she was young — and picky — she avoided the requisite sticky rice cakes at big family feasts and ate only her favorites, like fried cha gio spring rolls and tender steamed banh beo rice cakes. At those gatherings, Ms. Nguyen gambled away her li xi, small red envelopes containing crisp new bills, in a popular dice game called bau cua tom ca. That childhood food and rebellious fun now inspire her restaurant’s Tet menu, which last year included fried spring rolls filled with venison, a nod to the stag that appears on the dice and mat in the game.’

As a child, Nguyen Phan Que Mai celebrated Tet in southern Vietnam, where the golden flowers of Mai trees bloom around Lunar New Year.

Family elders hand out li xi, envelopes filled with money in the form of fresh new bills or coins, to children who offer them New Year’s wishes.

Bau cua tom ca, which means “gourd crab shrimp fish,” is a Vietnamese game where players bet on which dice images will match the pictures on the board.

Four generations of the Tran family celebrate Tet in Oregon, including Lisa Tran, right; her paternal grandmother, Chau Thi Nguyen, center; and her mother, Mai Nguyen.

For southern Vietnamese thit heo kho trung, boiled eggs simmered with the braised pork, are served whole to diners who then split them in their bowls of rice.

By ANDREA NGUYEN
Recipes: Thit Heo Kho Trung (Pork and Eggs in Caramel Sauce) or Pressure Cooker Version | Suon Kho (Pork Ribs in Savory Caramel Sauce) | Dua Hanh (Pickled Shallots) | Dua Gia (Pickled Bean Sprout Salad) | Keo Lac Vung (Peanut and Sesame Candy)

Now’s the Time for Homemade Dumplings
For Lunar New Year, shape savory and sweet Chinese dumplings at home.

Chile crisp, a spicy-crunchy condiment originally from China’s Guizhou Province, seasons the tofu-and-vegetable filling in these dumplings and the accompanying dipping sauce.
By GENEVIEVE KO

A GOOD APPETITE
There’s Nothing Better Than This Cheesy Potato Soup
Silky-smooth and simple to make, it gets verve and heat from homemade pickled jalapeños.

You don’t have to add the pickled jalapeños, but they really take the soup over the top.
By MELISSA CLARK

CULINARY ARTS
The Story of John Young, the Original King of Buffalo Wings
His restaurants closed and his glory faded, but a historical reclamation effort is bringing new attention to the secret sauce he perfected.
Text by Rachel Wharton
Illustrations by Koren Shadmi

EAT
Saying Goodbye With Beans
In her final column for the magazine, Samin Nosrat makes the case for cooking beans the old-fashioned way.

By SAMIN NOSRAT

America’s First Moonshine, Applejack, Returns in Sleeker Style
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to Vermont, new distillers are reviving a drink that vanished during Prohibition, giving it the age and polish of a fine brandy.

Chris Montana of Du Nord Spirits, in Minneapolis, said the pandemic poses an existential threat to craft distilleries across the United States. Some have survived by producing high-alcohol hand sanitizer.
By JULIA MOSKIN

20 Wines Under $20: Postcards From Around the World
In a pandemic era, when traveling is largely out of the question, these wines, good values all, can take you on a trip around the globe.

Artomaña Arabako Txakolina Xarmant 2019 $19.99
Alkoomi Frankland River “Black Label” Riesling 2018 $19.96
Maître de Chai Clements Hills Red Table Wine 2018 $19.99
Odoardi Calabria Vino Rosso 1480 L’Inizio 2015 $14.99
Cacique Maravilla Pipeño País 2019 1 liter $18.99
Feudo Montoni Sicilia Catarratto Masso 2018 $19.99
Patrick Jasmin Collines Rhodaniennes La Chevalière 2016 $19.99
Argatia Macedonia Haroula 2017 $18.99
Ver Sacrum Valle de Uco G.S.M. 2018 $19.96
Weszeli Kamptal Langenlois Grüner Veltliner 2019 $19.99
Domaine Tatsis Macedonia Limnio 2018 $19.99
Château de Villeneuve Saumur Champigny 2018 $19.99
Fattoria San Lorenzo Marche Bianco di Gino 2019 $17.99
Haarmeyer Clarksburg St. Rey Chenin Blanc Sutter Ranch Vineyard 2019 $18.96
Grosjean Vallée d’Aoste Torrette 2019 $19.96
Cascina Fontana Dolcetto d’Alba 2019 $19.99
Elizabeth Spencer Mendocino Sauvignon Blanc Special Cuvée 2019 $16.99
Von Winning Pfalz Riesling Winnings 2018 $18.96
Casa de Saima Bairrada Baga Tonel 10 2018 $19.96
Toro Albalá Montilla-Moriles Eléctrico Fino del Lagar Saca de Primavera NV 500 milliliters $18.99
By Eric Asimov