Tinkering with tradition
When you start to fiddle with a recipe that is associated with a particular region or group, people take affront. I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed Twitter or Facebook comment fights about subjects like…
Antipasto
Are you a meal planner or do you just wing it?
Two cobs of corn sullenly glare at me from the bottom shelf of my refrigerator. Just over a week ago they were torn from their stalks on a farm a mere four miles away and delivered the same day to a farmers' market,…
How to outfit your pantry like a GBBO baker
As Darcie reminded us last week, Netflix here in the US is broadcasting The Great British Bake Off three days after the original episode airs in the UK. Raise your hand if you have already watched Cake Week (raise both…
When savory meets sweet
Sweet and savory generally occupy different areas on restaurant menus and different courses in our meals. But when they come together, the results can be wonderful. I was reminded of this by an article on the James…
Are green onions and scallions the same thing?
When I come across a recipe that calls for scallions, I automatically substitute green onions. I've been under the impression that these are two different names for the same vegetable. And then there are chives, which…
Let them eat cake...scraps
If you bake a lot of cakes (or even just a few now and then), you might have encountered this dilemma - the cakes are domed and won't stack, so you trim the tops off to level them. This results in small scraps of lovely…
Get your grill on with these tips
Pumpkin spice is in the air, and that can only mean one thing: winter is coming (at least in the northern hemisphere). Yes, I know, fall/autumn has not even started, but the long Labor Day weekend in the U.S. marks the…
Farmers' market advice from the pros
Farmers' markets hold such promise. Wandering through the stalls can make you feel like the proverbial kid in a candy shop. In much the same way, they can be a bit overwhelming. Sometimes it's difficult to tell which…
Food news antipasto
Time again for the food news that piqued my interest but did not warrant a lengthy post. This week we begin with a tip to prevent sogginess when baking with tomatoes. Since it's peak tomato season in much of the…
Le Creuset 2019 factory sale
If you love Le Creuset and live in the southern US, mark your calendars. The annual Le Creuset factory-to-table sale is coming to Charlotte, NC in September and Atlanta, GA in October. The sale includes special pricing,…
Dream vacations for food lovers
Imagine lounging in an Italian retreat overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, taking a private tour of Italy's best producer of buffalo mozzarella, having a guided tour of ancient temple ruins, and visiting a fig and chocolate…
Food news antipasto
It's that time of the week for a review of the items I found interesting over the past several days that did not warrant an entire post. Few things are better than a fresh loaf of artisan bread. The cracking of the…