When I was a child, we would make fried eggs by filling a cast-iron skillet with about 1/4-inch of vegetable oil. We'd heat it until it was very hot. Then, we'd crack open an egg and carefully drop it ...

No shade to butter, but I think it’s high time we acknowledge the power and versatility of regular old vegetable oil in cake baking. Don’t get me wrong: Butter is bomb. It’s what makes some of our ...