15 Olives is a Tampa-based specialty food brand pressing extra virgin olive oils and bottling balsamic vinegars from California and Florida orchards. They sent three of their 2025-harvest bottles to test. I added a fourth from their lineup once I started planning summer cooking from my just-planted chef's garden.
- Details
- Written by: James Hills
Chicken and dumplings is the kind of weeknight comfort meal that takes care of dinner without much thought. Cold day, busy schedule, you want something hearty that beats another sheet pan of roast chicken thighs. This recipe leans on one smart shortcut - refrigerated biscuit dough flattened into dumpling strips - that takes it from a two-hour project to a 35-minute weeknight workhorse without losing the texture of a proper dumpling. It also happens to be relatively healthy as comfort food goes: lean chicken, low-sodium broth, real vegetables, and you control the salt at the table. Here's how I make it, plus a quick aside on chicken quality - the part of the meal most of us don't think about until we should.
- Details
- Written by: James Hills
Cinco de Mayo at home doesn't have to mean a pitcher of frozen margaritas and a bag of tortilla chips. The brands and bartenders below sent over the recipes they're pouring this year, and the lineup runs from a smoky mezcal mule to a rosé-mezcal hybrid to a paloma built on bird's eye chili syrup. Mix a few, fire up the flat-top for fajitas or carnitas, and let the backyard sound like a fiesta.
- Details
- Written by: James Hills
Hemp-derived THC drinks have quietly become one of the more practical additions to the outdoor lifestyle - and if you haven't tried one on a camping trip, a beach day, or a backyard cookout with the guys, you're missing out on something genuinely useful. Here's why they're worth adding to the rotation.
- Details
- Written by: James Hills
There's almost no better feeling than a hot summer afternoon with the grill going, the cooler loaded, and the guys showing up in rotation. The one thing that trips most of us up is the drink part — nobody wants to be the guy stuck muddling herbs and measuring bitters while everyone else is already a beer in. You need cocktails that come together in under a minute, taste like you actually put thought into them, and don't pull you away from the fire for long.
Smirnoff sent over two recipes that land exactly in that zone. Both run on Smirnoff No. 21, both need four ingredients or fewer, and both taste better than they have any right to for how little work they take.
- Details
- Written by: James Hills
- Bear Fight Whiskey Flips the Script by Finishing Bourbon in Tequila Barrels
- Three Spicy Cocktails to Shake Up National Cocktail Day
- Three Dos Hombres Mezcal Cocktails Worth Making for Guys Night
- What Coffee Actually Does to Your Brain, Your Workout, and Your Long-Term Health
- The Best Ways to Brew Real Coffee While Traveling
- Premier Protein Caramel Coffee Creamer Replacement Hack
- Five Casino Restaurants That Are Shaping Modern Dining Experiences in the United States
- Many Men Love To Eat Beaver - Yes, You Can Eat Beaver Meat!
- Date Night Wines: 11 Bottles That Will Set the Mood for Valentine's Day
- 30 Exceptional Spirits to Sip and Share With a Buddy This Holiday
