Food & Drink

My fourth year of working in restaurants and living in a school bus is coming to a close. For the last few Decembers, I’ve relocated my bus to Florida because I swore I’d never suffer through another Midwest winter. This year, however, my position in the R & D and Fermentation Lab at Audrey Restaurant […]

Anyone who’s checked out the cocktail menu at a posh restaurant lately may have noticed that classic cocktails are very of the moment. Perhaps we have Don Draper to thank, the enigmatic leading man on the TV show “Mad Men.” It’s hard not to thirst for Draper’s drink of choice as he sips from a glass […]

With groceries more costly than ever, let’s talk about how to make the most out of what’s in season and in your pantry. Produce is still available at many local farm stands like Suttill’s Gardens and Jefferies Market through Thanksgiving, with prices that often rival grocery stores, especially for items like broccoli, squash, cabbage and […]

A fall frost warning announces the end of the road for most of the garden vegetables we’ve enjoyed over the summer. Happily, there are a few vegetables that reach their pinnacle of deliciousness when the cold weather arrives. Winter sweetening is a phenomenon that enhances the flavor of cole crops such as kale, collards and […]

Popcorn may not be what comes to mind when most folks think of healthy food, but I’ve found a renewed love for the crunchy snack in recent years. Some time ago a friend who specialized in integrative medicine suggested that I try giving up gluten in an attempt to reduce inflammation. I was suffering from […]

Local activists Shymeka Kerr-Gregory, Ron Doyle and Sadie Davis are bringing a “Taste for the Homeless” to Springfield on Oct. 22.   The Chicago-based nonprofit was founded by Chicago native, Michael Airhart. A self-described “kid-chef,” Airhart started cooking when he was just 8 years old growing up in Altgeld Gardens Project on the South Side. “A […]

The R&D and Fermentation Lab at Chef Sean Brock’s Audrey restaurant in Nashville is one of only three of its kind in the whole world, the other two being in Copenhagen. My job in the lab is to find ways to unlock hidden flavors from foods through ancient food preservation practices like lactic acid and […]

Whether you’re looking for that perfect game-day recipe or dish to take to a harvest cookout, hearty dips are a party essential that deliver lots of flavor with relatively little effort or expense. Hot or cold, creamy or spicy – there’s a dip for every taste and diet.  Some of the best preparations don’t even […]

As I write this column, the first day of fall is just a couple days away, yet it’s still feeling like summer. The afternoon temperature has climbed into the 90s and the tomato vines are still bearing fruit, but I know that somewhere around the corner, a killing frost is coming. According to the National […]

Pears are perhaps one of the most underrated fruits of the fall season. While apples and pumpkin spice may steal all the autumnal fanfare, pears are as delicious as they are versatile and nutritious. Popular varieties of pears available in most markets include Anjou, Bartlett, Comice and Starkkrimson, all varieties that will be tender and juicy […]

When folks ask me what I do at my new job, I like to steal a line from Egon Spengler (played by the late Harold Ramis) from the 1984 movie Ghostbusters: “I collect spores, molds and fungus.” I’m working in the glass-encased, high-tech Research and Development Lab of Chef Sean Brock’s Audrey and June Restaurants […]