Food Features

“Stop the car!” my daughter Ashley exclaimed. I hit the brakes and anxiously looked around. We’d gone to see how high the creek on the other side of our road had risen after the heavy rains that Hurricane Ike sent our way. “I saw sulphur shelves!” Ashley said. Anticipation replaced my anxiety. Turning the car […]

Q. I wondered if I could get some input with a dish I’m trying to replicate. Did you ever try the tenderloin sandwich at the [now closed] Sportsman’s Lounge? The tenderloins were pounded out (you could hear them pounding in the kitchen) and breaded. How would I go about this? I’m assuming you’d purchase pork […]

When I wrote about St. Louis Chef Gerard Craft earlier this summer [“Finding a Niche in St. Louis” June 12], I had no idea that it would be the first in a series. But when I opened the invitation to this year’s Hope School Celebrity Chef Benefit and saw its Celebrity Chef, I knew I’d […]

Untitled Document Q. Why can’t a decent steak be found in either store or restaurant in Springfield at any price? Springfield businesses are fond of complaining about locals shopping out of town, but no one listens when it is explained that I would rather buy my dry-aged USDA Prime beef locally, but I can’t find […]

Some call it liquid salad. That’s understandable, but there’s a lot more to gazpacho than a glass of V-8, though you might never know it from some of the gazpachos that show up on summer menus all over the world these days: a bowl or glass of cold, seasoned tomato juice, garnished with bits of […]

Summer is a great time for vegetarians. It’s also a great time for omnivores like me to entertain vegetarian friends and family. I’ve had fun using summer’s bounty to make creations as sophisticated as any meat preparation and found inspiration from some top chefs who are using produce, grains, and legumes in innovative ways far […]

Most vegetables are suitable for grilling, though there are a few delicate exceptions. Densely textured vegetables usually need to be partially or wholly cooked before grilling, and all should be brushed or tossed with oil or butter and salted before being put on the grill. Other flavorings such as herbs, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar […]

Alan Pearl, D.D.S.: We had friends who went to China . . . . They went to Peking where they make the ducks, and what they say is that the food over there is not as good. You can’t get a sauce as thick and sweet over there. They don’t make it like that — […]

Untitled Document Legend has it that Marco Polo brought pasta home to Italy after his travels in China. Like so many legends, however, this one doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny: Marco Polo returned to Venice in 1295; the Roman gourmand Apicus described a broad noodle, laganon (ancestor of our word “lasagna”), in the first […]

When my husband, Peter, and I were recently invited over by longtime friends Phil and Pat Wheat for a glass of wine at sunset, we accepted eagerly. The Wheats’ modern home is situated on Lake Springfield’s eastern shore, so gorgeous sunsets are practically guaranteed. Pat is a talented interior designer, and usually when we visit […]