Food Features

Untitled Document Last week I partook of an elegant picnic at Chicago’s Ravinia music festival. This week I ate at Frank and Mary’s Catfish House (world’s best catfish since 1945!). Last week I had brunch at a huge Chinese dim sum restaurant. Servers rolled endless carts that stopped at each table, some stacked with bamboo steamers […]

Untitled Document Here we go again. In 2006 it was Escherichia coli and spinach. This year it’s Salmonella serotype Saintpaul and tomatoes — and, recently, jalapeño, serrano peppers, and cilantro. It’s certainly important for public-health agencies to find the source of the outbreak and for producers, purveyors, and consumers to take the appropriate precautions. It’s […]

Untitled Document One of my kids’ friends once said that she thought I was a reincarnation of an American Indian because I routinely find a use for leftovers or odd bits and trimmings that most people throw away. I took it as a compliment. Back when most folks grew or made their own food, using […]

Untitled Document Many years ago, I bought some sea scallops. It was a cool day, and I came home directly from the store and refrigerated them, but when I opened the bag to start dinner a nauseating smell hit my nostrils. Even now, remembering that smell makes my stomach turn. I resealed the bag and […]

Untitled Document Do you have any suggestions for making barbecued ribs? Every time I’ve tried, they end up tough, dry, or both. — Ted It’s all too easy to end up with dry, tough ribs. A couple of cooking principles, however, can make the difference between succulent, mouthwatering ribs and ones that are so chewy, […]

Untitled Document You can pretty much count on at least one version showing up in at least one cooking periodical every July: a white dessert decorated with blueberries and red raspberries, strawberries, or both. It’s not hard to figure out why. Blueberries are one of the few ways to have blue food that doesn’t involve […]

Untitled Document You could say we fell in love over dinner. Of course, there was that roll of toilet paper. My husband, Peter, and I were freshmen at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Going away to college is a dramatic change for every college student, but it was more extreme for me than for most. […]

Untitled Document Recipes that call for lots of garlic are always best when they’re made with new-crop garlic, which has started showing up at farm stands and local farmers’ markets. New-crop garlic’s flavor is intense but sweeter and less harsh (especially when raw) than that of garlic available in late winter. I don’t have scientific […]

Untitled Document At last week’s Old Capitol Farmers’ Market, one question was on everyone’s lips: “Isn’t this weather great?” Everyone was just happy that it wasn’t raining. I smiled but had to reply, “Truthfully, it was nicer where I was last week.” I’d been in sunny, glorious California. My daughter Ashley and I had flown […]

Untitled Document I firmly believe that every woman should have her own blowtorch. Men, too. Few things are more empowering than having that blue-white tongue of flame under your control. A blowtorch is a handy thing to have in the kitchen. It can be used to brown the top of a casserole or meringue pie. […]

Untitled Document My husband and I always seek out new restaurants. Sure, we have favorites, but mostly we enjoy trying new places. That’s true in Springfield but even more so in larger cities, just because the selection — old, new, ethnic, upscale, downscale — is much greater. So why, on our last four trips to […]