I'm about to pick a major bone, so if you're not in the mood -- and I'm not talking about steak for dinner -- turn away now. There's been a media pig pile on Paula Deen this week and I've got to get...

The countdown to Thanksgiving has begun, and all over the country cooks are daydreaming about their menus. I don't want to dampen your spirits, and I do realize that this is a time to throw caution to the wind and loosen your belt, but...

the maitake motherload

You've probably heard already what a banner year this has been for wild mushroom foraging. In the wake of Hurricane Irene there was a ridiculous abundance popping up deep in the woods, in people's back yards and on suburban lawns....

Visiting traditional food markets in foreign countries is one of the best ways to peer into everyday life and understand the appetites and traditions of the local people. I recently spent some time in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, commonly known as Jogja, the second most important...

I've spent quite a lot of time ruminating over the notion of eating meat. Like a cow chewing its cud, I have tried to carefully digest what I've gleaned from reading Fast Food Nation, Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food, Eating Animals and Food...

I'm definitely a food snob of sorts. I've been known to get all uppity about faux this and that, things masquerading as other things. Margarine. Tofurkey. Miracle Whip. Why bother? (In truth, I once loved Miracle Whip on a tomato sandwich.) But sometimes a...

If you're not already familiar with the craze for super-large cubes of ice in cocktails, let this be your introduction. I guess you can't call them ice cubes if they're round, huh? Although I'm no expert in the matter, I believe this concept originated...

With the recent salmonella scares, and all I've learned about factory-farmed meat from watching Food, Inc. and reading Jonathan Safran Foer's "Eating Animals," I feel especially lucky that I have access to Dickson's Farmstand, a purveyor of locally sourced, humanely raised animals. Their shop in New York City's Chelsea Market...

Some people get all excited about the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. I anxiously await the appearance of the first Concord grapes from the farm nearby. Those gorgeous purple-black clusters are a sure sign that fall is nigh. A cultivar derived from the Vitis...

If you buy your chicken stock in a box or a can--even it it's the organic stuff--you'll be amazed by the difference when you make your own. Time-consuming? Not so much. Plus it's cheaper, more environmentally friendly and a lot more nutritious. You can make...