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Somewhere between hyperrealistic cake, ice cream coffee, and midnight margaritas, fall has gotten a little weird. This week, Josh Peck is asking contestants to bite the décor, Nigella Lawson is settling into the Bake Off tent, and a new cookbook is making vegetables feel like the main event.
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Bite First, Ask Questions Later
Building on the “everything is cake” trend, Food Network's Sweet Deceit premieres tonight (and streams the next day on HBO Max) with Josh Peck hosting the hunt for hyperrealistic sweets hiding among everyday objects. Teams bite into their best guesses to prove they've found the cake, competing for $12k. The first episodes go full Halloween, sending Peck and the contestants through haunted houses, a movie-set morgue, and the Magic Castle in search of something edible.
Cook This Book
Veg Everything
by Tanya Sichynsky
The New York Times Cooking editor behind The Veggie newsletter, Tanya Sichynsky, has curated Veg Everything, a collection of 101 vegetable-forward recipes for weeknights, parties, and everything in between. Here are three of our favorites:
→ Zainab Shah's Boran Banjani gets the Afghan eggplant classic on the table in about 30 minutes, layering caramelized eggplant with garlicky yogurt, sweet-and-sour tomatoes, and pomegranate seeds. It's a lot of payoff for one skillet.
→ Sarah Copeland's Green Shakshuka with Avocado and Lime sends the usual tomato base packing in favor of Swiss chard, onion, and garlic, finished with soft eggs, Cotija, avocado, lime, and smoked hot sauce. Breakfast for dinner has rarely looked greener.
→ Vegan Salted Maple Ginger Pie is the only recipe Sichynsky contributed herself, and she made it count: silken tofu and Japanese sweet potato meet fresh ginger, maple, and a salty gingersnap-pecan crust. Thanksgiving pie table, take note.
Nigella Takes Her Seat
Nigella Lawson has officially joined Paul Hollywood at the judging table on The Great British Bake Off, replacing Prue Leith after nine seasons. The new season is now underway every Friday on Netflix, with Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond back to shepherd 12 new bakers through signatures, technicals, showstoppers, and the occasional Hollywood handshake.
Fine Dining, Now in a Box
Daniel Humm has gone from Eleven Madison Park to the boxed-pasta aisle. His new brand, Riff, pairs pasta with seasoning mixes and crunchy toppings, with flavors ranging from creamy Parmesan cavatappi to coconut curry noodles. The $6.99 kits are now on shelves at Target nationwide, for anyone who has ever looked at a box of mac and cheese and thought: What would a Michelin-starred chef do with this?
Reel Meals

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Last Bite
This Week in Potentially Questionable Coffee Decisions
Java Factory is spending a year releasing one new flavored coffee every Monday, and this week's drop turns the Good Humor Chocolate Éclair bar into a cup of coffee. It's part of an entire ice cream truck run that has already included Klondike and Popsicle Firecracker, with Toasted Almond and a mystery Halloween flavor still to come.
Reel Meals Revealed
Practical Magic! The Owens sisters' midnight margaritas return in Practical Magic 2, and Bon Appétit has joined the coven with a blackberry-and-coconut-water version inspired by the original movie's most famous kitchen scene.



