Cooking Articles

The Extreme Teens Taste Test

Just before school started, my son had a good friend over—they’ve been friends for about ten years now, and it never fails that, even if it’s been awhile since they’ve spent time together, they...

Hot Dogs, The Taste Test

It was one of those spontaneous happenings … and that, as you probably have noticed by now, is one of the beauties of life with kids. Especially when it involves food, cooking or any type of taste test....

Pizza Is What It's All "Crocked" Up To Be

In middle school, I had a friend who lived in Italy for three years. Her dad was in the military, and he had an opportunity to accept an assignment overseas. For three years, she sent me letters about...

Homemade Ethnic Dishes Made Easy

As the weather turns chillier, and stormy for some of us, my thoughts turn to hearty cooking and bold flavors. At the end of a long early September week of rain and unseasonably cold weather, I want to...

A New Approach For Eggplant

They’re here! And they brought friends. Lots of them. This time of year I could be talking about the bushels of zucchini or baskets of tomatoes. But I’m referring to a vegetable far more daunting:...

My Big Fat Greek Dinner

I've been eating a lot of Greek food lately. Maybe it's because I've recently discovered two fabulous Greek restaurants in my neighborhood on different ends of the Fancy Restaurant Spectrum. Maybe it's...

Pancakes, Butter . . . and Sleepovers

“There is nothing better than waking to sunshine streaming in the windows, and the smell of pancakes and bacon in the kitchen. Hurry! Climb out of bed, slip on your bunny slippers, and join your family...

Having a Life Without Bread

First it was low-cal; then it was low-fat. Then it was no-milk followed by no-bread. It seems every five years there is some new evil in our diets that is making us fat or causing headaches and fatigue...

But, Does She Cook?

Although official figures are hard to come by, my dating experience has taught me that expectations for nubile women are changing dramatically with each new generation. Over the past couple of years I...

From Freezer to Table

Can you imagine a world without frozen food? I pondered this very question after recently finishing Mark Kurlanskey’s fascinating account of the frozen food pioneer, Clarence Birdseye. This book details...

Table For One

Many moons ago I left small town-California to take my place with other like-minded young people in the coming-of-age ritual know as college. We had come from the four corners of the United States to...

Kids Who Don't Like Veggies

Okay, I’ll admit it: My kids thought it was odd that Mary Kate and Ashley were singing that if they were president, they wouldn’t have to eat their vegetables (in Our First Video, filmed circa 1993)....

Mighty Mushrooms

Brightly colored fruits and vegetables are the first to catch my eye when I’m shopping for produce. Their dazzling colors quickly grab my attention. Not so for the mushrooms. Their beige and brown colors...

A Fall Calling For Composed Salads

Salads are in order at all times of the year. Winter calls for hearty greens mixed with roasted root vegetables. Spring brings baby lettuce tossed with artichokes, peas, and asparagus. Summer is a fool’s...

Eggspert Advice, Part IV

You asked for it, so you got it: more Eggspert Advice. In this fourth and final installment, we will take a look at the art of frying eggs and the chemistry of cooking with eggs. Sunny Side Up, Over...

Garden Jewels

Toward the end of summer and into the middle of fall, my garden reminds me of a jewelry box filled with sparkling gems. The bright canary sapphire yellow and ruby red of the tomatoes, the amethyst of...