I genuinely enjoy my late-life, second career as a chef at Caprae Restaurant at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery, and I want to thank all the Illinois Times readers who made the long drive to Champaign for my recent low country seafood dinner. It’s been a challenging summer, and I’ve spent many nights sweating in […]
Food & Drink
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Culinary gold
With tomato season in full swing, so is the jar of rendered bacon fat that lives in my fridge. A happy byproduct of countless bacon and tomato sandwiches, this culinary gold has been finding its way into everything from salad dressing and snacks to soups and even cookies. A versatile and old-fashioned ingredient, many have […]
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Chefs solve perishable produce problem
At Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery’s Caprae Restaurant in Champaign, we have developed close relationships with our farmers. It’s truly a two-way street. Being a farm-to-table restaurant, our menu is driven by what our farmers can provide for us. Often, they go out of their way to accommodate our needs. In return, if they have […]
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Plum sauce is perfect
When my college boyfriend and I parted ways, it wasn’t the end of our relationship that I cried over – it was his grandmother’s plum sauce, similar in flavor and consistency to ketchup. She’d send us back to campus with some after every visit, the thick sauce decanted into upcycled soda bottles. Helen was a […]
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It’s a Southern thing, y’all
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, my wife, our dog and I resided in our converted school bus in different areas of the country. We made an effort to shop at local open-air farmers markets whenever possible, enjoying all the regional produce. However, my wife often said, “There’s nothing better than a good Illinois tomato!” Back in […]
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Scrumptious school lunches
Let’s be honest – packing lunches can be a drag. Whether it’s for a picky preschooler, a ravenous tween or just yourself, the daily grind of filling a lunchbox is not something many look forward to. The reality is, however, that eating fresh food prepared at home is one of the single most effective ways […]
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A culinary journey around the world
For centuries, cooks worldwide have ingeniously stuffed vegetables, a testament to how readily available ingredients can be transformed into delicious and nourishing combinations of textures and flavors. The variety of fillings is vast, ranging from savory meats and aromatic rice to creamy cheeses and fresh herbs. Mediterranean cuisine offers dolmades, grape leaves filled with rice, […]
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The solution for oversized zucchini
Anyone who has grown zucchini in a garden will inevitably end up with a few mammoth squash that seemingly appear out of nowhere, especially after a generous dose of summer rain. Too tough and fibery to sauté or grill, I’d grate the first jumbo zucchinis of the season to use in quick breads, but toward […]
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Easier to make than it sounds
Panna cotta, meaning “cooked cream” in Italian, is a wobbly, silky, eggless custard-like dessert made with sweetened cream bound with gelatin. It’s one of my favorite make-ahead desserts, especially when I need to use up leftover dairy products in the refrigerator. A panna cotta is pretty easy to make, and it lends itself to improvisation. […]
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Hot pepper vinegar
I just picked our first garden tomato of the season. Bright red and perfectly vine-ripened, it went straight into the kitchen. For this first, almost ceremonial tomato experience of the year I always keep it very simple: lightly toasted white sandwich bread, a generous smear of Duke’s Mayo and an excessive pile of sliced tomatoes […]
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Cool beans for warm days
Growing up in the Midwest, I had to attend many potlucks. These communal gatherings often featured dishes that, to modern tastes, seem pretty bewildering. My mother, by her own admission a poor cook, regularly contributed a solid block of Philadelphia cream cheese, generously blanketed with Sau-See Shrimp Cocktail – tiny shrimp swimming in a bland, […]
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Bring on the brats
We’ve been on a bratwurst kick in my house lately. It’s high season around here with summer theater and sports and way too much garden to look after, so simple meals that yield easy leftovers have been on regular rotation. Brats, once eschewed by my kids, have suddenly become the new favorite. I’ve taken to […]
