Homemade Somethin’ for Your Little Pumpkin

By Herb Gardener - The toughest food critic we will ever face — and the one whose taste goes unquestioned — wears a bib and a diaper. But there is help, friends, for avoiding consignment to the splat mat. Cook it with love and make it yourself. The reasons to eschew store-bought, pre-packaged baby-food products in favor of wholesome homemade baby and toddler meals — expense, nutrition, flavor, food additive control,...

French Women and The Food They Cook

By Anna Dantoni - American women seem obsessed with their French counterparts – what they eat, how thin they are, how they flirt, where they shop and how they manage to tie a silk scarf in 20 glamorous different ways. A new book called The Bonne Femme Cook Book by Wini Moranville promises to demystify the recipe part of the French mystique. You’re on your own with the scarf thing. The author aims to bring 250 authentic...

Winter Getaway – The Gasparilla Inn & Club

By Chef Judi Gallagher - An oasis on a Florida barrier island, The Gasparilla Inn welcomes Presidents, generations of families from Texas and Michigan to Massachusetts and Illinois, the best tarpon fishing in the world and boasts as one of the best 10 golf resorts in the world. The resort, in the city of Boca Grande, also hosts an annual food and wine weekend. There are only 60 certified Master Chefs in the world, Executive...

When it’s chilly, cook chili

By Marsha Fottler - One of America’s favorite dishes, chili, has nothing to do with the country of Chile but everything to do with the chili pepper and lots of other hot spices too. This one-pot meal is the go-to dish for home cooks needing to feed a crowd a tasty meal that keeps ingredient costs low and flavor intensity high. Condiments such as shredded cheese, sour cream or crushed taco chips make a chili meal a...

Top 5 Kitchen Tools for 2012

By Chef Judi Gallagher - Every cook looks for innovations in meal preparation convenience and time-saving kitchen equipment. Here are five on my must-buy list for 2012. It’s time for the cook to go shopping. 1.  KitchenArt Pro’s Adjust-a-Cup. It allows cooks to measure out sticky ingredients and then push them out of the device into a bowl or baking pan. An article at MainStreet.com, praises the ease with which it helps...

Edible Gifts for Any Occasion

By Anna Dantoni - Martha Stewart’s show on the Hallmark Channel is apparently being canceled because of low ratings. What are home cooks looking for creative culinary crafts to do? Well, there’s a new book that could come to you rescue. It’s called Gourmet Gifts by Dinah Corley with lovely (and useful) color photographs by Alison Shaw. The softcover book includes 100 recipes that when wrapped and boxed are meant for...