Cooking Articles

Now that spring has truly sprung here in the northeast, my daughter joyously picks blooms and green sprigs, often surprising me with fistfuls of colorful wild-growing violets, dandelion and bittercress....

Spring is a lovely time of year for many reasons. One reason is that, unlike the “holiday season” where big events pile up back-to-back, post-Easter brings a bit of a lull in festivities until the...

Mother’s Day falls this Sunday and it’s time to honor the woman who raised you. If you are still puzzled over the best way to make your mom feel special and pampered on her day, then I have a couple...

I feel as though I am always writing about the importance of inspiration when deciding what to cook for dinner. Sometimes it is as simple as a vegetable on the verge of spoiling that demands to be cooked...

Mother’s Day is said to be the busiest day of the year for restaurants. Is taking Mom out your way to say “thank you” too? Yet is there a chance you—or she—would appreciate something different...

As a food writer, it is not uncommon for people to make requests of me for recipes. It is not often however, that I get the same request from different people within a matter of days as I did this past...

"Should we order dessert?" I asked my mother as we scanned the menu the waiter handed me. We were enjoying our Saturday shopping and lunch afternoon at a favorite Italian restaurant and although we generally...

Last weekend I threw another party, and I think it is fair to say most attendees had a good time. There was dancing. There was eating. There was socializing. And more importantly, no one pranced around...

Many of us take our moms out for dinner to commemorate this special day each year. Perhaps it's our small way of saying thank you for cooking those 15,000 to 18,000 meals and packed lunches during our...

Warm weather is finally upon us and it's time to do a little spring cleaning. A couple years ago I suggested using your crockpot to help reorganize your pantry and it seems like a good time of year to...

Do you have an upcoming graduation among your family members or friends this year? This year, my family is celebrating the “graduation” of our oldest son from preschool to kindergarten. And while...

The man behind the fish counter jumped with glee when I told him I wanted 2 lbs. of tilapia. Did you know that tilapia was used in the original ceviche, that delicious dish where the fish is “cooked”...

It happened. April showers brought May flowers and now my patio garden is overflowing with bright buds. In between my cabbages and red leaf lettuce, bright egg yolk colored marigolds liven up an otherwise...

The inspiration of this week's column is my patio garden. Since moving to Austin and buying a condo, I've become the owner of a small patio. The previous owner left a few plants (all but one have subsequently...

When my brother and I were still young enough to need booster seats at the dinner table, on rare occasions our parents would take us out to eat at a local Japanese restaurant. This was a time before sushi...

Louisiana Mud Bugs

When I started writing this column I originally planned on slowly leaking out my Cajun Country standards over the course of many, many months. Although my favorite cuisine is of the Cajun, Creole, and...