felt the fava greens and asparagus couldn’t stand up, but I did like the plain grits after a few bites. I love corn though. Our Ad Hoc meal was better – perhaps it was just a “on” day for Ad Hoc, but it...

is – the blackened bottom occurs from the soot of the brick oven, and the oven temperature. Some pizza makers find that using corn meal is a cheatful method (to get the pie to slide on and off the peel easier).

Chinese dishes thickened with corn starch go watery if you refrigerate and reheat them; substitute arrowroot powder and they stay thickened. I also use arrowroot powder (and tapioca powder too) to thicken milk (or half-and-half,...

was young, despite (because of?) being raised on meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cream corn. There are lots of people who freak out at new foods and new ways of thinking of food. Chains are a safe haven for those folks. I know...

Some thoughts on condimentia (sort of like dementia – only tastier)- some stuff just stays fresher in the fridge – no question about vanilla extract, nuts I even freeze, curry paste, tahini, saffron, truffle oil....

we get “in season”. That juicy, meaty tomato we get in the summer is incomparable; watermelon ripened on the vine OH MY GOD; sweet Queen corn, yum! Sorry, can you tell I’m ready for summer? We’ll be back in...

have to use separate bowls for vegetables (can’t have any corn “juice” messing up those potatoes!) Once we had a guest who had a bowl for his salad, and one for his green beans, and a plate. He set the extra...

, basting occasionally. The ultimate comfort meal with white rice and butter beans. Homemade pestos and tapenades are easy and delicious. Also, play with the ingredient lists. I made a great arugula pesto last month, substituting...

not moved. At all. The problem, in a nut shell, is that whoever set-up their “system” of taking and filling orders must have died sometime in the 1940s and no one since has bothered to revisit the flow chart. A guy...

pine nuts. I liked the vibe and the food was tasty and well-prepared. RED HOOK BREWERY in Portsmouth, NH. We didn’t actually eat here, but we took the tour of the brewery, which was interesting and extensive. And we got...

and cheese – the latter, especially. I couldn’t live without cheese – which is every bit as bad. We are an overly milked culture. It’s another area, like corn, where our modern mass marketing techniques...

strip with creamed corn and an arugula salad. Yawn.

there and feel compelled to act? Also, I see this happen mostly at specialty/boutique-y type places (Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods) AND I swear to corn on the cob...I think some of the checkers know this and take advantage of...

's Market etc. I can’t imagine being truly cheap like some unnamed family members, who serve travesties like frozen microwave corn on the cob (why? It is better to just NOT EAT). I spend a lot of money on food compared to...

/kiddies. And, most places will prep 5% over the count – but not of each item. A big trend in catering now is to have the midnight snack bar- at 11:00, they roll out minicheeseburgers, corn dogs, nachos, bottled water....