Maggie Shi
Maggie Shi is a deputy editor at RealSimple.com, where she covers food, money, and work & life. She's never met a vegetable she didn't like and is obsessed with anything edible, which currently includes breakfast tacos, boiled peanuts, and hot lobster rolls (extra meat, lots of butter, and a toasty bun, please).



Previous roles include stints at Epicurious, the Food Network, Martha Stewart, and (oddly) MTV. She lives in New York City but fantasizes about a house on the Maine coast and hopes to fulfill her dream of going clamming someday.

Recent Posts By Maggie Shi

Jessica Seinfeld Dishes on Her New Cookbook and the Holidays

December 1, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

Attention, holiday shoppers! Today kicks off the opening of the first-ever Real Simple holiday pop-up store in the heart of Rockefeller Center (right across from the giant tree and skating rink). If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello, plus get great gift ideas and holiday tips from our team of experts who will be doing demos and offering advice each day.

One of our experts is Jessica Seinfeld, who will be demonstrating her Whoopie Pies and doing a book signing at the pop-up store this Friday at 1 p.m. I was able to catch her on the phone recently to get a little insight into her new cookbook and how she handles the holidays.

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Get Up to 25 Percent Off King Arthur Flour Products

November 24, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

Here at Real Simple, we love King Arthur Flour. The 100 percent employee-owned company has been around for more than 200 years, and its flour is used by professional bakers across the country. And now we love them even more, because King Arthur Flour is offering 15 percent off your $50 online purchase through this Friday 11/26. Better yet, if you spend $100 you’ll get a 20 percent discount; shell out $150 and you’ll score 25 percent off.

 

King-arthur-discount

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Is Jell-O Salad Really a Salad?

November 18, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

At lunch with a few of my co-workers today, talk inevitably turned to Thanksgiving…and side dishes…and Jell-O salad. Now, I always thought crazy Jell-O concoctions died out in the early ‘80s, but apparently in some parts of the country—specifically the Midwest (and no, I’m not an East Coast snob, my lovely co-worker from Kansas City is the one who brought this to our attention)—Jell-O salad is a staple on the Thanksgiving table.

 

Jello-salad

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Chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s Thanksgiving Tips

November 16, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

Once Halloween ends and the holiday season kicks in, the days start flying by. I can’t believe next week is Thanksgiving *already*. Nervous about the big day? I’ve asked chef Alex Guarnaschelli, host of the Food Network show Alex’s Day Off (as well as a regular judge on one of my favorite shows, Chopped), to share some of her Thanksgiving tips and tricks.

 

Alex-guarnaschelli 

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Would You Order a Coffee Cocktail?

November 11, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

At this very moment as I’m typing this, the main article on the NYTimes.com homepage is about a new trend in a handful of New York City bars: coffee cocktails (why this is front-page-worthy news, I’m not sure. It even has a featured video). We’re not talking about your typical Irish coffee here—there’s nothing loaded down with sugar or covered in whipped cream and maraschino cherries. Instead, these drinks include top-shelf bourbon and brandy, house-made syrups, and sustainable, carefully sourced coffee. Some are served hot, some are cold, and for now, they’re mostly being served during the day (though the article speculates nighttime service is soon to follow).

Coffee-cocktail 

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50 Holiday Cookie Recipes for Your Viewing, Baking, and Eating Pleasure

November 4, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

A few weeks ago I gave you a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of our holiday cookie photo shoot. Well, the final photos and recipes are in! Take a look at the gallery, featuring our 18 brand-new holiday cookies along with lots of old favorites, and let us know which ones you’re going to try.

Lemon-bars 

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Finally, a List I Can Get Behind: The 100 Greatest Cult Restaurants in America

November 2, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

Every year, dozens of publications and critics and “foodies” come out with a list of the Top 100 Restaurants in the World, or the Top 50 Restaurants in the U.S., or some variation on that theme. Inevitably, those lists feature high-end, ultra-expensive restaurants that mere mortals like myself can rarely (if ever) afford (Over $400 per person for a meal at Masa in NYC? Um…I’ll wait until I win the lottery, thanks), and/or restaurants in far-flung places that I haven’t traveled to yet, like Slovenia, Finland, and Macau (I know, I really need to cross some of these places off my destination list).

 

So I was happy to see that Poortastemag.com just came out with their own list: The 100 Greatest Cult Restaurants in America. But what exactly is a “cult” restaurant?

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Crazy, Creative, Fun Candy Crafts for Halloween (and All Year Long)

October 28, 2010 | By | Comments (2)

In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d give you a sneak peek of a new book that celebrates candy in its many forms—specifically, crafted into pirates, castles, cars, critters, and so much more. Candy Construction is Sharon Bowers’ new follow-up to her equally whimsical Ghoulish Goodies, which offered Halloween recipes and instructions for creepy eyeballs, cocoa bats, and monster cupcakes. While Candy Construction isn’t Halloween-themed, it still has plenty of fabulous ideas using all kinds of colorful sweet treats.

 

Candy-racecar 

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What’s Your Entertaining Style?

October 26, 2010 | By | Comments (0)

There’s something that happens a couple times a year in New York City (and other cities around the country) called Restaurant Week, in which a number of restaurants offer special prix-fixe three-course lunch and dinner menus. It’s been going on for years, and when I first moved to the city trying to score a reservation at one of the participating restaurants (many of them are high-end) was a big deal.

 

These days, Restaurant Week in NYC isn’t nearly as exciting (or as good of a deal) as it used to be. And the good old-fashioned art of eating in—the dinner party—is back in style. In fact, my friend Mark has created a series of dinner parties he holds quarterly he calls Eat In Week—a direct response to Restaurant Week’s urging for everyone to go out and eat.

 

Mango-avocado 

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What’s Your Favorite Food That Says ‘Fall’?

October 21, 2010 | By | Comments (1)

I’m a sucker for fall. It’s my favorite season by far—crisp air, sweaters and jackets, crunchy leaves and acorns underfoot, and dazzling colors (apples, pumpkins, foliage). And then there’s the food—warming soups and stews, comforting casseroles, apples pies, heartier vegetables like butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. Fall in NYC, however, can be a little bit lacking. You don’t see a lot of colorful trees, there aren’t random farm stands selling hot apple cider, and somehow picking out a pumpkin from the corner deli doesn’t have quite the same charm. Luckily for me, a recent trip to Vermont helped satisfy my fall cravings.

Pumpkins-field

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