Just as there’s good reason to prepare chili for Super Bowl, guacamole is practically a must-have. Maybe it’s the quantity (Mexico is in the midst of its Hass harvest) or the marketing (what could go better with chili and chips?), but Americans eat millions of pounds of avocados over Super Bowl weekend alone. I’m just [...]
Football doesn’t exactly put me in the mood for fine food, not that I haven’t given it my best shot. Last year, my husband uncharacteristically decided to watch the Super Bowl from the comfort of his own couch with only me to complete the cheering section. Because televised football can’t hold my attention for more [...]
It’s time for slaws, at least if you ascribe to the philosophy of seasonal eating. Cabbage, as one of my first Season to Taste columns noted, is available from local farmers even in the depths of winter. That column suggested using cabbage in pad thai, but slaw would not be put off another year, particularly [...]
I can attest to the deliciousness of the andouille sausage sandwich pictured on the front page of this week’s A la Carte. But as someone who doesn’t want to eat meat — even poultry or fish — all the time, I appreciate the efforts of establishments like Figgy’s Food Truck to provide tasty vegetarian options. [...]
This blog’s last post about slow-cooker meals got a few kudos on Facebook. So I figured I’d keep going on the topic, particularly since receiving a recipe today that I’ve never seen touted for a slow-cooker. Bouillabaise is the quintessential French seafood stew, not unlike American cioppino, the topic of Jan Roberts-Dominguez’s latest column. I [...]
With wintertime temperatures lower than last year’s and energy costs among the year’s highest (at least according to my power bill), the house is cold. Almost cold enough to discourage me from cooking dinner on these dark, dreary evenings. But a hearty dinner is the ultimate winter warmer with the one-pot meal a strategy for [...]
It’s always gratifying to hear when A la Carte inspires a reader to get in the kitchen. Sue Webb, an adventurer in most arenas except the kitchen, had great success with this week’s step-by-step for caramelizing onions. Then she made the onions into a meal with the additions of broth and wine for the quintessential [...]
After a year of writing a monthly column on seasonal eating and cooking for the newspaper’s HomeLife magazine, I’m almost painfully aware of which foods are freshest, most cost-effective and environmentally sound at any given time throughout the year. Occasional wintertime trips to Southern California always remind of the natural cycle of citrus, which isn’t [...]
The lapse in entries to this blog isn’t for lack of desire to start the new year with some new menus, preferably ones that leave off the butter and cream cheese of the previous month’s. It’s lack of food that’s left me short on inspiration. I’m closing in on three weeks without a visit to [...]
Elegant doesn’t have to mean expensive. You can still ring in the new year with a bit of panache if you’re smart about where to part with a few bucks and where to save your pennies. Lower-end sparkling wines put the fizz in your festive cocktails for just a few dollars, as explained in this [...]
