My favorite scene from Christopher Guest’s 1997 mockumentary Waiting for Guffman, is Eugene Levy talking to friends over dinner at an old-school Chinese restaurant in rural Missouri. “We have friends Barbara and Bruce who went to China. They went to Peking, where they make the ducks, and what they say is that the food over […]
Food & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink
It’s time for corned beef and cabbage
Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like corned beef and cabbage, unless of course you’re actually Irish. Although the dish has become synonymous with the Ides of March around much of the world, the Irish aren’t traditionally a beef-eating culture. In Gaelic Ireland, cattle were sacred creatures and an important symbol of prosperity, used as work […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Ugly delicious celeriac
If you’ve not yet met celeriac, allow me to introduce you. Celeriac, also known as celery root, is the ugly duckling of the produce aisle. It is a bulbous, knobby root with a rough, brown, gnarled exterior. Unlike traditional celery, which is bred for the stalks, celeriac is bred for its roots. The stalks of […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Versatile polenta, mush with sophistication
When I was a little kid we called it mush. My great-grandma would often make the hot cornmeal porridge for breakfast, served up with a rapidly melting pat of yellow farm butter in the center. Most delicious of all was fried mush: Leftovers would be poured into a loaf pan and refrigerated, then sliced, floured […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Happy new year
It’s time to celebrate the Lunar New Year and 2021 is the Year of the Ox. In Asian communities around the world, families come together and celebrate over food. Though I don’t have Asian roots, I love Asian cuisine, and though we’re not holding big family gatherings during the pandemic, I still like to celebrate. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A delicious collaboration
On a snowy evening in late January, Chef Denise Perry of Copper Pot Cooking Studio was busy ladling plump meatballs onto swirls of freshly made spaghetti while containers of crisp salad and fudge brownies waited to be packed and made ready for pickup. Down the street at Maldaner’s Restaurant, Chef Michael Higgins had steaming containers […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Easier than pie
I’ve always thought that the phrase “as easy as pie” was confusing. Pie-crust phobia is an affliction that affects many otherwise high-functioning individuals. It is probably the fear of failure and public shaming that fuels this phobia. My late wife, Julianne, was a wonderful pie-maker who mastered her craft at an early age under her […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Comfort food that’s good for you
In times of high anxiety my strong inclination is to retreat to the kitchen and turn on the stove. The practiced movements of my hands kneading dough or mincing onions helps me to process all the messy information floating around in my brain. As a bonus there’s usually something yummy produced as a result. It’s […]
Posted inFood & Drink
You can make Bread in a Can
Throughout the pandemic, I have been binge-baking, dutifully feeding my sourdough starter every day, and feeling pangs of guilt every time I scrape my extra sourdough starter “discard” into the garbage. Having trained under a Michelin-starred chef who is renowned for her perfect sourdough boules, I struggle constantly to live up to her lofty standards […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Try January dry
Dry January, or opting out of drinking alcohol for the first month of the year, is an idea that has become increasingly popular. Some folks do it to jump-start their resolution to better health, while others may be looking to reassess their habits and relationship with alcohol. Many have even made it an annual tradition. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Dr. Leslie Smith’s tips for a great new year
Drink a LOT of water The old adage of eight glasses of water a day doesn’t necessarily apply. Smith advises drinking at least half your body weight in ounces per day, so a person who weighs 200 pounds should be drinking a minimum of 100 ounces of straight up water. For folks who worry they’ll […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Craving Pop-Tarts: A reminiscence
We’ve been traveling and living in our converted school bus since the start of the pandemic, often without Wi-Fi or a decent cellphone signal. For self-amusement (or just wanting to feel I’m doing something purposeful), I’ve probably spent close to 1,000 hours standing at my bus’s kitchen counter engaged in cooking, baking and food preservation […]
