The Great Stuffing Debates

By Chef Judi Gallagher - Friends, I can’t believe it, Thanksgiving is almost here. Wasn’t it just the Fourth of July? I swear it was yesterday that I was freezing homemade popsicles and making batches of potato salad for summer picnics. But now the November and December holidays are looming, and I’m about to navigate one of foodies’ favorite — and most contentious — holiday subjects: stuffing. I’m not sure...

Rice And Lots More

By Marsha Fottler - Even when I could have owned one for free, I resisted acquiring a rice cooker. To me it seemed just one more single-use appliance that would take up too much room on the kitchen counter and would gobble up way too much real estate in the pots-and-pans pantry. Then, my bachelor son (who loves to cook) asked his sister for a rice cooker for Christmas and began using it like crazy. I have to say I’ve become...

The Kindest Cuts for Flavor and Profit

By Herb Gardener - Depending on the context, a butcher can be “one who slaughters and dresses animals for food or market”; or, it can refer to “a bungler.” The Art of Beef Cutting (ABC) by Kari Underly emphasizes the finer points of butchering techniques, bovine anatomy, merchandising and the like in order for meat professionals, culinary students and the ardent amateur carver to avoid the latter definition. The...

So-Simple Summer Picnic

By Alec Harding - Living as I do, in Florida, tends to make the idea of a summer picnic seem ludicrous at best but such was not the case when my wife and I lived in Santa Fe New Mexico, with the Sangre de Cristo mountains at the very edge of town, and the weather sublime, for three months of the year anyway. Being as most of our regular group of five worked in theater, the concept of an early start for a picnic was somewhat...

The No-Grill Steak

By Chef Judi Gallagher - Steak on the grill is an American classic and when most of us buy a steak, we assume it’s going straight to the gas or charcoal grill. But, I know from years of cooking in my own restaurants and eating in other quality chef-owned establishments that grilling is just one option for cooking the perfect steak. There are no culinary rules that mandate all steaks have to be grilled for perfect flavor and...

GOURMET HIGHWAY: The Great Football Feast

By Doc Lawrence - Opening day is approaching and anticipation grows from Pensacola to Miami. Football season is exciting, particularly the pageantry and rivalry colleges provide. But tailgating, the food and beverage ritual held annually in the parking lots outside stadiums has taken on a life of its own. Gone are the days of just flipped burgers and cans of cold beer. Now, there are elaborate casseroles, grilled delicacies,...