DIGEST: Boston Globe Food Section

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Boston Globe – January 10, 2007

The banana's appeal extends to the Fair Trade movement

By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff

Walk into any grocery store -- even a convenience store -- and the first thing you're likely to see is a display of bananas, sometimes on a rack close to the entrance, seductively within easy reach. Easy enough for 85 percent of American households to buy the bright yellow fruits.

Related content:

* A BUNCH OF KEY DATES

* For a fancy dessert, go bananas

Recipes:

* Banana pudding

* Banana crumb cake

* Chocolate-stuffed bananas

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This former church draws flocks of barbecue fans

By T. Susan Chang, Globe Correspondent

WEST HATFIELD -- The small church set in the picturesque rolling hills of the Connecticut River Valley is open to all on Sundays. It's also open several other days of the week. In fact, it's not a church, but an alter to pork.

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Cookbook Review: A treasure trove of homey, frugal fare

By T. Susan Chang, Globe Correspondent

Black Forest Cuisine: The Classic Blending of European Flavors, By Walter Staib with Jennifer Lindner McGlinn, Running Press, 320 pp., $35

The cooking of Mitteleuropa -- the Central European region mainly comprised of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic -- has been taking off in restaurants and on the cookbook shelf lately. Walter Staib's new "Black Forest Cuisine: The Classic Blending of European Flavors" centers on one of that part of the world's most storied neighborhoods, Germany's Black Forest.

Recipes:

* Lentil soup

* Green bean and mushroom salad

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Boston Globe – January 24, 2007

Burger crawl

Sampling some local joints that offer fun on a bun

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

We went in search of burgers that hit the mark every time, with freshly ground meat shaped into patties on the premises, were just lifted out of their fat baths onto the plate. But what’s a great burger if the setting detracts from the experience? In the end, some good burgers were a real bargain, and others — like the one at Publick House — cost a little more, but the atmosphere made up for it.

For more information:

* Some burger joints are cheesier than others

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There's nothing stale about bread pudding

By Andrea Pyenson, Globe Correspondent

It can be quite humble -- an excuse to use up stale bread -- or the grand finale to a special menu. Bread puddings, once make-do desserts, can be simple mixtures of bread, eggs, milk, and sugar. But their beauty lies in their versatility.

Recipe:

* English toffee bread pudding

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It's time to take stock of veggie stews

By Linda Laban, Globe Correspondent

To some, a vegetable stew summons thoughts of dishwater broth with mushy root vegetables and some white beans that refuse to soften. In fact, the choices for vegetarians are far more appealing , and top chefs are offering customers some fine food.

Recipes:

* Calabacitas

* Dressing for silken tofu

* Curried lentil stew with lemon balm raita

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Lavish Leftovers

When you think of a good, old-fashioned American supper, shepherd's pie should come to mind. This warming dish, which originated in Scotland or northern England, is a crustless pie filled with lamb and roasted root vegetables, and topped with mashed potato.

Recipe:

* Shepherd’s Pie

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Meal is welcome in the wee hours

By Jane Dornbusch, Globe Correspondent

Never let it be said that Swedes don't know how to have a good time. While they enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they have also designated a separate meal category, called vickning, for foods that might be consumed late at night -- past midnight, at least -- after an evening spent partying.

Recipe:

*

Swedish Hash

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Boston Globe – January 31, 2007

Around the world in 8 ways

The snacks at these Allston eateries emit an international flavor

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

There is no food on the street here, but there's street food galore. Inside dozens of colorful storefronts, little snacks and sips and quick bites are offered from around the world.

For more information:

* Snacks' eclectic flavors intersect in Allston

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Boning up on technique yields dish that's easy to warm up to

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

On frosty nights, make believe that you've just tended to your beaver and bear traps and you're trudging back to the cabin for a feast of something that has been simmering all day on the cook-stove. Braised beef short ribs with buttery mashed potatoes could be that meal. Nick Terrafranca, chef of 28 Degrees in the South End, cooks the bony beef with rich stock and good red wine in the classic Burgundian style.

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Score a touchdown with tropical tastes

By Keri Fisher, Globe Correspondent

Ignore the weather. Turn on the game and party like you're in South Florida. To transport your guests to Dolphin Stadium and a balmy 80 degrees, all you need is a Cuban sandwich and an icy mojito.

Recipes:

* Mojitos

* Cuban sandwiches

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It's the Key to a winning lime pie

By Jennifer Wolcott, Globe Correspondent

The popular dessert was invented in the middle of the 19th century by residents of the Florida Keys, then called "Conchs." It migrated onto menus far from its birthplace, as chefs became smitten with its refreshing, pungent flavor, light consistency, and simple elegance.

Recipe:

* Key lime pie

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Ward off chill winds with New World wines

his particular group is an eclectic collection with nothing more in common than their New World provenance and a robust, flavorful profile that makes for ideal winter-weight sipping -- leftovers or no.

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Boston Globe – February 7, 2007

A cut above

Rib-eye steaks are rich and juicy, but a panel of tasters finds that not all rib-eyes are equal

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

Last week we picked up rib-eyes from six markets around Boston: Costco Wholesale, John Dewar & Company, Roche Bros., Shaw's, Stop & Shop, and Whole Foods Market. We stopped by without placing any orders, looking for basic steaks, nothing prime -- except for John Dewar, which only sells prime -- or dry aged. Then a group met at The Blue Room in Kendall Square for an informal taste test.

For more information:

* Meat that makes the grade

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Restaurants know steaks have the juice

By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff

Americans are known for steak lust. Many diners swear by their favorite steakhouse, and every restaurant worth its salt offers a juicy steak. This, in fact, is an economic necessity: There's usually one customer at each table who demands steak and will settle for nothing else.

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On the Menu: Chicken ballotine

Chicken is often dismissed as dull and ubiquitous, but most chefs feel compelled to keep a version on their menu. At the understated and earnest Salts in Cambridge, chicken ballotine ($26) looks so simple when it's set at your place.

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Cookbook Review: Teacherly tome provides luscious lessons

T. Susan Chang reviews Making Artisan Chocolates, By Andrew Garrison Shotts, Quarry Press, 176 pp., $24.99.

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Pillsbury runner-up perseveres

By Lisa Zwirn, Globe Correspondent

Few cakes have a history like the 40-year-old tunnel of fudge recipe, which won second place in the 17th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest in 1966. It was submitted by Ella Rita Helfrich of Houston .

Recipe:

* Tunnel of fudge cake

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Boston Globe – February 14, 2007

Romancing the stove

Food and romance mix when couples open a restaurant

By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff

Romance is an element of any restaurant, so it's no wonder that there are plenty of couples in the business. Some of the restaurants are in the glittery high end of the business. Others, like Gulu-Gulu Cafe, in this city's gritty Central Square, are lively versions of coffee houses. Many young couples start small, bringing their hopes and love to modest storefronts.

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Sugary treats

Gaufres de Liege are crispy, caramelized sugar waffles. In Belgium, sugar waffles are street food. They are neat and portable, and not at all like the fluffy, whipped cream and fruit topped waffles on your hotel room service cart.

Recipe:

* Gaufres de liege (Sugar waffles)

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Chinese welcome new year in a whole fish way

By Kimberly W. Moy, Globe Correspondent

Whole fish will be served on most Chinese tables next weekend. (Chinese New Year, marking the Year of the Pig, falls on Sunday.) "It's traditional for Chinese New Year, with the head and tail on," says Connie Moy (no relation to writer) of Pearl Villa Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown.

Recipe:

* Steamed whole fish

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Shrimp are winter's Maine attraction

By Deborah Kops, Globe Correspondent

If you like to eat locally harvested food, the pickings are pretty slim right now. But at sea food counters, glistening mounds of tiny, bright coral Maine shrimp outshine just about everything else.

Recipe:

* Eggs on cocotte with fresh Maine shrimp

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Boston Globe – February 21, 2007

Seeing red

Enough of trendy. We want old-fashioned Italian.

By Leigh Belanger

Trendy Italian dining may shun marinara as old-fashioned these days. Still, the lure of red sauce draws us to those little, usually family-run spots that serve enormous portions of bruschetta, chicken parmigiano, spaghetti and meatballs, and frutti di mare.

For more information:

* Getting to the meat of good, hearty Bolognese sauce

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A feast fit for Oscar, cineastes, and gourmands

By Beverly Levitt, Globe Correspondent

If there were an Oscar for "best use of food in a film," Pedro Almodóvar's "Volver" would surely win at the awards ceremony Sunday. In "Volver," Penelope Cruz, who has been nominated for an Oscar for best actress, plays Raimunda, a resilient young mother with no luck but enough culinary talent to turn adversity into accomplishment.

Recipes:

* Tortilla espanola

* Pisto manchego

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A chicken in every pot

These days, humble coq au vin (French for "rooster in wine") doesn't contain a rooster, nor is it modest.

Recipe:

* Coq au vin

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Pastrami with a new twist

I'll pastrami anything," says Jason Santos, chef of Gargoyles on the Square. He features seasoned and smoked "pastrami style" duck breasts on his menu at the Davis Square restaurant, and says customers love the slightly salty taste and tender meat.

Recipe:

* Duck pastrami with tomato- molasses sauce

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A taste of home away from home

By Caitlin O'Neil, Globe Correspondent

Just ask Denyce Wicht. A Bostonian for almost five years, she hails from Milwaukee, where much of the fare draws on the native food of German settlers. To celebrate her home state, Wicht recently hosted a "Wispride" night featuring bratwurst boiled in beer and browned on the grill, with sauerkraut and German potato salad, all washed down with one of Milwaukee's many regional brews.

Recipes:

* Bratwurst in beer

* Seattle salmon dip

* California red tomato salsa

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This rich, fruity treat fills the senses

Recipe:

* Winter cake

Edited February 23, 2007 by TPO (log)

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Boston Globe – February 28, 2007

It came from the fridge

Open any refrigerator and you can tell how its users live. A casserole or a pot of soup probably means the family gathers for supper. A fridge full of beer and takeout containers can suggest bachelors with a lot of work and little free time. Four brands of nondairy milk might belong to roommates with different diet needs.

* Interactive fridge

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With cookies, Girl Scouts have recipe for success

By Ryan Rose Weaver, Globe Correspondent

This year is also the 90th anniversary of the Girl Scout cookie. To mark the occasion, some of Boston's best pastry chefs will convene tonight at the Hotel Commonwealth to create desserts using the cookies.

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Choreographing a hearty, home-style meal

By Jane Dornbusch, Globe Correspondent

Sabi Varga and Gabor Kapin, who have been friends since their childhood in Hungary and are dancers with the Boston Ballet, get together often to cook food from home.

Recipes:

* Rantott hus (Hungarian breaded cutlet)

* Cucumber salad

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First Draft | location, location

The Berkshires have something for every taste. Not the mountains -- although they're nice, too -- but the portfolio of ales made by the Berkshire Brewing Company.

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Winter heats up at South End spot

Winter is a good time for heat -- not just the kind that emanates from radiators, but the warmth from the unwavering spice of chilies. The pungent pods of the capsicum family season foods with gentle -- or not so gentle -- heat that is especially satisfying at this time of year.

Recipe:

* Chipotle braised short ribs

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Boston Globe – March 7, 2007

Singling out meals to cook for just one

By Emily Shartin, Globe Correspondent

Cooking a homemade meal for one can seem like too much trouble or can seem even more expensive to make than a prepared meal. But Chef Andrew Urbanetti and others believe cooking a homemade meal for one is worth it.

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Cooking Lessons from Rome: Crostini

By Judith Barrett, Globe Correspondent

This is the first in an eight-part series on authentic Roman food by Cambridge-based writer Judith Barrett, who is living in Rome. Barrett is the author of "Fagioli," "Saved by Soup," and "Risotto."

Recipe:

* Crostini con mozzarella alla romana (Roman-style mozzarella toasts)

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For a globe-trotting chef, cooking is elementary

By Catherine Foster, Globe Staff

Luis Hurtado, known professionally as Chef Raffie, brings recipes from his travels to children in his older son's aftercare program.

Recipe:

* Black bean and ginger soup with yellow rice pilaf

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After class, teens plan on food and friends

By Cathy Huyghe, Globe Correspondent

Forget location, location, location. When teenagers are going somewhere to meet friends after school, weather and pocket change can be just as important. Sometimes, even homework figures in.

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A world of flavors from Emerald Isle

T. Susan Chang reviews Easy Entertaining by Darina Allen, Kyle Books, 304 pp., $35.

Recipe:

* Chili, salt, and pepper squid with frizzled cilantro

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Boston Globe – March 14, 2007

Staying down on the farm

A new breed of young farmers, Kate Stillman and Aidan Davin are heirs to a tradition of working on the land

By Michael Kenney, Globe Correspondent

This is the characteristic let's-make-it-work attitude that Stillman and Davin have had since they bought their 90-acre farm in this Central Massachusetts town late last summer.

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Cooking lessons from Rome

By Judith Barrett, Globe Correspondent

In mid winter in Rome, cauliflower, usually called "broccoli," is in abundance, piled high in baskets at every stall in the markets. And there are many varieties. Our familiar white cauliflower is called broccoli bianco.

Recipe:

* Pasta with cauliflower

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Simple soda bread's flavor takes the cake

By Lisa Yockelson, Globe Correspondent

Lightly crumbly, with the pleasant tang of good buttermilk, raisin-studded soda bread is an easygoing delight. In Irish homes, of course, it's a staple on the tea table, and everyone knows cooks who can make a good sweet loaf in minutes -- without measuring.

Recipes:

* Raisin soda breads

* Oatmeal-walnut soda bread

* Brown soda bread

* Irish freckle bread

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Restaurants take steps in green direction

By Meg Wilcox, Globe Correspondent

In fact, a green establishment may indeed serve healthful food and an array of fine produce, but to qualify for green certification, a restaurant must recycle waste, be styrofoam-free, complete four environmental steps, and commit to four additional steps each year, says Michael Oshman, founder and director of the nonprofit Green Restaurant Association.

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A meal that's as easy as ABC

Alphabet soup is actually a quick and easy meal, ready in less than 30 minutes, and when homemade, more nutritious than any can will offer. The key is to dice the vegetables small enough so they cook quickly (and appeal to kids).

Recipe:

* Easy alphabet soup

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Boston Globe – March 21, 2007

World's fare

A tour of ethnic markets in Somerville's Union Square goes from pasta to paneer

By Kristen Green, Globe Correspondent

Arts Union, a group that promotes Somerville's Union Square, recently compiled a guide encouraging customers to try some of the fare in the square's eight markets, owned by Brazilians, Guatemalans, South Koreans, Indians, Argentines, and Bangladeshis.

For more information:

* Find locations of ethnic markets in Somerville

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Cooking lessons from Rome: Leafy greens

By Judith Barrett, Globe Correspondent

Kale, chard, broccoli rabe (called broccoletti here), spinach, escarole, Savoy cabbage, and chicory -- all green leafy vegetables -- are an essential component of Italian cooking. They figure prominently in the main meal of the day as contorni, side dishes, but also as an indispensable ingredient in dozens, if not hundreds, of other preparations.

Recipe:

* Greens, the Italian way

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Maple syrup makers go with the flow

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

MONTREAL -- At the restaurant Au Pied de Cochon (the pig's foot), chef Martin Picard has at least 10 maple syrup recipes on his sugar season menus.

Recipe:

* Bellybuttons

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Muslims find more halal restaurants and food providers

By Omar Sacirbey, Globe Correspondent

Chicken tandoori, shami kebab, and lamb korma are among the exotic dishes offered at Grain and Salt, a new South Asian eatery in Allston. But Salim Nguyen, an observant Muslim from Wayland who eats only halal, the Islamic equivalent of kosher, is drawn to Grain and Salt's American fare.

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This Davis Square retail shop is always rolling in dough

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

Dave's Fresh Pasta, a shop and cafe in Davis Square, is bright and busy. Reggae music plays loud and it seems like the whole neighborhood lines up to order pasta, which Jick cuts for each customer.

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Boston Globe – March 28, 2007

A different night

A native of Turkey brings Sephardic specialties to her Passover table in Chestnut Hill

By Lisa Zwirn, Globe Correspondent

Over the next six nights of Passover, which begins on Monday, the Shapiros have another tradition. They host casual gatherings for a half-dozen or so, Valya's way of sharing the Sephardic specialties she grew up eating in her native Turkey.

Recipes:

* Prasifutcho (leeks with cheese)

* Mina de karne (beef and matzo)

* Haroset with dates

* Bimelos de Pesah (Passover fritters)

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Chickpea soup retains its primacy in Rome

By Judith Barrett, Globe Correspondent

One of Rome's most enduring primi piatti (first courses including pastas, grains, and soups) is pasta e ceci, a thick soup with origins in antiquity.

Recipe:

* Pasta e ceci (Pasta and chickpea soup)

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At home or abroad, find simple pleasures

With warm weather just a chilly night or two away, we remain focused on red wines this month.

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Maine winter treat is red, ripe, ready

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

In this paper mill town northwest of Waterville, the new greenhouse venture boasts 240,000 shaggy tomato vines drooping with fruit. Since January, the farm has been shipping all of the red orbs, called Backyard Beauties, to New England markets.

Recipes:

* Roasted tomatoes

* Baked chicken legs with tomatoes

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Seasons: Baking for Easter

If America is a melting pot of cultures, then cheesecake could be its signature dessert. There are many styles of these creamy cakes.

Recipe:

* Ricotta cheesecake

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Chinese and Indian cultures mix

By Visi Tilak, Globe Correspondent

With its robust flavors and spices, Indian-Chinese cuisine is very different from the Chinese food served in restaurants here. Beef and pork are absent because of the population of Hindus and Muslims, and spices such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, and hot chili are common.

Recipe:

* Gobi Manchurian (Cauliflower fritters)

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More from The Boston Globe Food section:

* Taste Kitchen: Matzo

* Stock up on chicken vegetable soup with matzo ball

* AROUND TOWN: Improv, art, and cookie decorating

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Boston Globe – April 4, 2007

All they're cracked up to be

Farmers say improved treatment of hens has led to better tasting, more healthful eggs

By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff

Glance into the refrigerated cases at any grocery store, and you'll find a dizzying array of eggs -- organic, Omega-3, cage-free, antibiotic-free, certified humane, 100 percent vegetarian-fed among them (some boast most of these). Add to this the eggs at farmers' markets and farm stands from small producers, and you've got a lot of choice.

For more information:

* A centuries-old symbol of rebirth

* Hard vs. soft eggs

Recipes:

* Hard-cooked eggs

* Soft-cooked eggs

* Oeufs mollets

* Spanish potato tortilla

* Soy sauce flavored hard-cooked eggs

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Roast Leg of Lamb

By Judith Barrett, Globe Correspondent

Ever since, a visit to Rome any time of year is incomplete without at least one meal of abbacchio or agnello (the two words seem to be used interchangeably), although a real abbacchio is a milk-fed baby lamb that weighs under 20 pounds and is available only in early spring.

Recipe:

* Agnello al forno (Roman-style oven-roasted leg of lamb)

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Where there's smoke, there's flavor

By Lisa Zwirn, Globe Correspondent

Bacon is never far from Peter McCarthy's reach. A thick slab of it is sometimes smoking in the alley behind his Somerville restaurant, Evoo. But t he chef and owner is more likely to buy smoked meat for the apple-bacon salsa that accompanies his signature cornmeal fried oysters and for his creamy potato bacon soup.

Recipe:

* Pork tenderloins wrapped in bacon

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Offering a taste of Athens at the dinner table

By Jane Dornbusch, Globe Correspondent

On this brisk day, Kotidis is preparing stuffed vegetables with bright, colorful bell peppers and tomatoes. Through Balodimos, who is acting as translator, Kotidis apologizes for the winter tomatoes -- nothing like what you'd get in summer, and nothing like what you'd get in Greece.

Recipes:

* Yiayia's feta bread

* Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers

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Boston Globe – April 11, 2007

Home repairs -- dinner included

To celebrate a successful kitchen renovation, two contractors make a special meal to share with their clients

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

Over the course of the renovation , the kitchen turned into a demolished room filled with tools and wood scraps. The clients ate take-out most nights in front of the TV. When it was all done, the couple are delighted with their contractors, who came in under budget, the room is way more posh than they ever thought it would be, and now they're being treated to dinner in their own home -- courtesy of their work crew.

Recipe:

* Cumin-crusted tilapia with saffron risotto

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Puntarelle con la salsa gets to the heart of Roman fare

By Judith Barrett, Globe Correspondent

The food of Rome is strong, asser- tive, and straight forward, never bland . The dish that to me best exemplifies la cucina Romana, surprisingly, is a salad called pun- tarelle. Made with a particular variety of chicory, Catalonian chicory, it is always served with a strong, piquant, garlicky, anchovy salsa, or dressing.

Recipe:

* Puntarelle con la salsa (Chicory salad with anchovy dressing)

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Marathoners think outside the pasta box to cook up meals rich in carbohydrates

By Clara Silverstein, Globe Correspondent

What really gives them the stamina to go 26.2 miles is the nutrition plan they follow in the months leading up to the 111th Boston Marathon. Despite a tantalizing array of energy drinks and bars formulated for endurance athletes, the elements of a healthy diet remain quite basic.

Recipes:

* Lemony oven-roasted potatoes

* Chicken sausage, mushroom, and raisin risotto

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Middle Eastern salad

Most people unwind the coil and eat the cheese as strands. But it is especially delicious warm; heating takes string cheese to another level.

Recipe:

* String cheese and avocado salad

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'Japanese Cooking' is still the master

Debra Samuels reviews Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, By Shizuo Tsuji, Kodansha International, 507 pp., $45.

Recipe:

* Pan-broiled salmon

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Getting these pastries right is serious business

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

At Ice Cream Works here, pastry chef Christophe Marquant is churning out these glossy, fruit-filled rounds and they fill his handsome case.

Recipes:

* Fresh fruit tart

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Boston Globe – April 25, 2007

Naughty & nice

Noodle house chain brings buzz to Boston

By Sheryl Julian, Globe Staff

Wagamama has so many devotees in Boston that the London group that owns this wildly popular chain decided to open its first US outpost here, in Faneuil Hall.

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Good growing season boosts quality

The calendar says 2007, but in wine time it's really 2005, since many reds appearing on shelves now will be of that vintage. Lucky for us, because 2005 was a pretty terrific growing season in Europe -- the second in a row.

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Ring-shaped cookies

By Judith Barrett, Globe Correspondent

At the end of a meal out, I rarely order dolci, sweet desserts, but after a long, leisurely Sunday lunch of tuna carpaccio and spaghetti alle vongole (with clams), at the restaurant Pierluigi in Rome's Centro Storico, we happened upon ciambelle, a sweet cookie with a distinctive shape.

Recipe:

* Ciambelle (Ring-shaped cookies)

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Bastianich, Lynch cook their way through 'Lidia's Italy'

By Emily Schwab, Globe Correspondent

When Lidia Bastianich and Barbara Lynch cook together, good food is bound to be on the menu. Last Sunday night was no exception.

Recipe:

* Sausages with potatoes and hot peppers

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Seasons

Milk lovers know that spring milk tastes and looks different than winter milk. "When the cows switch from hay to grass the color of the milk changes right away," says Lawton. "It gets yellower and oranger." It's not as creamy as winter milk, but the farmer prefers to drink from cows that have been on grass. "It's another way of connecting to the change of the seasons," she says.

Recipe:

* Kulfi

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Boston Globe – May 9, 2007

From India, by way of Trinidad

At local roti shops, key ingredients are flatbreads, curries, and authenticity

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

Roti has several variations, all made with flaky flatbread (the word roti means bread), curried meat and vegetables, and pickles, all rolled together. The dish comes from India by way of Trinidad and dates back 150 years.

Recipes:

* Curried chicken

* Buss-up-shut roti

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Everywhere in Morocco, tagines are family fare

By Sheryl Julian, Globe Staff

This is the land of tagines, a word that applies to both the conical-topped pots, which go directly on the flame, and the food cooked in them, a dish of meat, lamb, or fish that is as important to Moroccan cuisine as couscous.

Recipe:

* Chicken tagine

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Time to picnic

At Nashoba Brook Bakery in the South End (617-236-0777) and West Concord (978-318-1999), curried chicken salad has been more than just the standard from the beginning. Their salad is studded with red grapes, pecans, and cilantro, and served as a sandwich with greens or on its own.

Recipe:

* Curried chicken salad

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A meal the kids can make will make her day

This menu starts with an easy cinnamon roll recipe that uses a simple homemade refrigerator dough -- the kind that might make biscuits -- rather than a time-consuming yeast dough.

Recipe:

* Asparagus and Gruyere frittata

* Easy cinnamon rolls

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Boston Globe – May 16, 2007

Buy me some Pocky and Onigiri

There is a Boston boom in Japan and an increase in Japanese visitors to the Hub since the Red Sox acquired a Japanese pitcher. This interest is opening up a world of new foods.

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The top chef brings the changeup

By Emily Shartin, Globe Correspondent

The former chef de cuisine of Icarus in the South End is now executive chef at Fenway Park. That means he's left one small kitchen to oversee six, and serves food to fans in the stands, in the luxury suites, in the park's private EMC Club and State Street Pavilion, even some of the players in the clubhouse.

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Reflections of a bad boy chef

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

When he was 38 years old, the London-based White retired from the kitchen and now oversees more than 20 restaurants, including Frankie's and Luciano . His memoir, "The Devil In The Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef," has just been published.

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Something Old, something New

By Stephen Meuse, Globe Correspondent

Today, with winemakers and their technologies migrating from one continent to another, it seems fair to ask whether New and Old World can still serve as meaningful reference points. When we learned that French-born enologist Stephen Carrier, who recently moved from chief winemaker at Bordeaux's famed Chateau Lynch-Bages to a similar position at Napa's Newton Vineyards, was coming through town, we de cided the time was right to convene a tasting to shed light on the subject.

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For the buffet

A flavorful fresh salmon mousse makes an elegant addition to the buffet table or offer it as a spread during the cocktail hour.

Recipe:

* Salmon mousse with sour cream dill sauce

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To this cook, a good meal is in the can

By Emily Schwab, Globe Correspondent

Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton made her name in the shop La Brea Bakery, which she sold recently. Now she's given up baking baguettes and is concentrating on making crostini and things to spread on them.

Recipe:

* Fennel, treviso, and prosciutto salad with anchovy-date vinaigrette

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Out of the garden with just the right touch

T. Susan Chang reviews Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells, William Morrow, 324 pp., $34.95.

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Boston Globe – May 23, 2007

Fired up for fish

Jasper White knows a thing or two about grilling to perfection

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

This is White's kind of food, what he grew up with and what he loves to cook. It is, explains the New Jersey native, shore food. Lately, White has been grilling all kinds of fish -- not just clams but oysters, lobsters, squid, swordfish, sardines, and sea bass -- from his new "The Summer Shack Cookbook" (W.W. Norton).

Recipes:

* Grilled oysters with lemon butter

* Cold cucumber sauce

* Aji verde (Yucatan green sauce)

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Bartender, we'll have a round of beeritas

By Ann Cortissoz, Globe Staff

Instead of the triple sec that is an integral part of the traditional margarita recipe, Moran was using light beer. She was making a cocktail that she calls a beerita. She first encountered beeritas at a party in Minneapolis, where she lives.

Recipe:

* Beerita

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She cooked, therefore she blogged

By Emily Schwab, Globe Correspondent

French food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier never imagined what chocolateandzucchini.com would lead to. The 4-year-old blog has just become a book. Where most authors write books and then establish a blog, it has worked the other way for Dusoulier.

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There aren't plenty of fish in the sea

By Bob Frost, Globe Correspondent

Douglass, who has studied the sustainability of fish, knows that the bluefin tuna he's looking at are threatened by overfishing. His remark about "serious seafood," he says, is actually a joke, though he's quick to note that the depletion of the world's seafood supply is no laughing matter.

Recipe:

* Porcini-crusted halibut with cabernet-butter sauce

[TPO]

Boston Globe – June 6, 2007

Tiers of joy

Wedding cake bakers bring a personal touch to their creations

By Leigh Belanger, Globe Correspondent

This month, thousands of brides and grooms will feed each other slices of the cake they picked out months ago with the help of bakers and designers like Bruce. Choosing the grand, multi-layered confection is one of dozens of decisions couples face after announcing the engagement. While many have a distinct idea of the style of a cake they want, others are happy to leave the details to experts.

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Rations from Natick center have familiar quality

By Sheryl Julian, Globe Staff

The peelable seal on the top of the tan plastic bag is so difficult to open that I decide to use scissors. Inside are a half-dozen smaller bags, some containing multiple items, including salt. This military-issue Meal, Ready- to-Eat, Individual -- known as an MRE -- has chicken fajitas as its entree.

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Stalking spring's colorful bounty

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

Rhubarb stalks look like pink celery and taste like the tartest gooseberries. Like mysterious foraged morel mushrooms, fussy fiddleheads, and ephemeral asparagus, cooking with local rhubarb means it's spring in New England.

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Newlywed, newly equipped with top-quality cookware

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

After years of suffering through dreadful first-apartment cooking equipment like flimsy nonstick skillets and gouged-up plastic cutting boards, couples get married and get the good stuff. Retro bar blenders, copper saucepans, countertop espresso machines, Japanese knives, and all kinds of French, Italian, and Asian cookware aren't unusual gifts right now.

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Wrap up some fish

A classic in landlocked Mexico City is tacos al pastor, which consists of a small, freshly griddled soft corn tortilla topped with spicy shredded pork, a few diced onions, chopped cilantro, and slivers of warmed pineapple, accompanied by an assortment of hot sauces and salsas.

Recipe:

* Fish tacos

[TPO]

Boston Globe – June 13, 2007

Got a cellphone? Make a video.

The newest way to learn cooking is from a genre called vlogs (that's video + blog). These cooks are getting into the act.

For more:

* Simonds is the life of this video party

* A former home ec teacher puts her cooking tips onto a videocast

* Two young sisters are teaching kids to cook on their site

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Not-quite-reds work with summer meals

Real deal pink may be called rosé, rosado, or chiaretto depending on whether it's made in France, Spain, or Italy. Except in Champagne (a whole other story) these pale, dry beauties are never made by mixing red and white wines, but by draining off juice early in the fermentation of red grapes.

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Strawberry season: a matter of time

By Diana Burrell, Globe Correspondent

April may be the cruelest month, but talk to local strawberry growers and they'll assure you that May runs a close second. Unseasonably cool, wet springs in recent years have the season in flux. This May, it was the rain that left farmers guessing.

Recipes:

* Strawberry napoleon, deconstructed

* Strawberry-cardamom cream cake

* Strawberry sour cream muffins

* Strawberry shortcakes

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For Father's Day, food for thought

By John Burgess, Globe Staff

This dad's day, the much wised-up parent of two teenagers, I look back to the bottle feedings and the 3,000 peanut butter sandwiches that followed. And ahead to -- well, I'm not sure; for some time now, the girls have remained a step or two ahead of me in their likes and dislikes.

Recipe:

* Vegetable soup

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Author stresses appeal of being 'Flexitarian'

By T. Susan Chang, Globe Correspondent

A review of The Flexitarian Table, Inspired, Flexible Meals for Vegetarians, Meat Lovers, and Everyone in Between, By Peter Berley with Zoe Singer, Houghton Mifflin, 352 pp., $30.

[TPO]

Boston Globe – June 20, 2007

Roaming charges

By Alison Arnett, Globe Correspondent

A push to sell humanely raised veal is winning fans and influencing people. Karen Rowley and more than 20 other producers in New England are growing bull calves for veal.

For more information:

* In Vermont, farmers' market cultivates a sense of community

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Oh, pie goodness, do they make it look real

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

The pies in "Waitress" may look delicious, but much of what you see is Hollywood smoke and mirrors. During the 30 days of shooting, two "pie wranglers" and a "pie mistress" made 250 pies -- everything from cherry pie to spaghetti pie to Mermaid Marshmallow Pie, whatever that is.

Recipe:

* Lattice-topped cherry pie

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Brewers welcome natural competition

By Ann Cortissoz, Globe Staff

Since Morgan Wolaver and his brother founded their organic beer company in 1997, the New England market for all things organic has exploded.

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Strawberry season: a matter of time

By Diana Burrell, Globe Correspondent

April may be the cruelest month, but talk to local strawberry growers and they'll assure you that May runs a close second. Unseasonably cool, wet springs in recent years have the season in flux. This May, it was the rain that left farmers guessing.

Recipes:

* Strawberry napoleon, deconstructed

* Strawberry-cardamom cream cake

* Strawberry sour cream muffins

* Strawberry shortcakes

[TPO]

Boston Globe – June 27, 2007

Fry, fry again

A survey of several chefs reveals a variety of ways to prepare chicken in a pan

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

New England isn't fried chicken country. Around here the best fryers are more likely to focus their talents on breaded or battered seafood. But fried chicken can be as simple as cut-up pieces dredged in flour and cooked in oil, easy enough to make at home if you don't mind a little splattering around the stovetop. It's also worth seeking out at the few restaurants that know how to do it right.

Recipe:

* Fried chicken

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Telling a 'Fish' story

By Alison Arnett, Globe Correspondent

Trevor Corson is the author of "The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, From Samurai to Supermarket," a book about America's embrace of this Japanese specialty.

For more information:

* In 'The Sushi Economy,' a magazine writer takes the financial measure of the perfect sushi roll

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Site Inspection

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

San Francisco-based food blogger Heidi Swanson recently had a post about potato gnocchi on her blog, 101cookbooks.com. Swanson learned to make the dumplings from her friend Francesca's mother, who was visiting from Genoa in the spring. The recipe, appealing, personal, and tested to perfection, is typical of what goes onto Swanson's blog. "I post the food that I love and the recipes that intersect my life," she says.

Recipe:

* Ravioli pasta salad

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Student chef's cake is as easy as A-B-C

By Jane Dornbusch, Globe Correspondent

Krista Burgoyne, who graduated earlier this month from Minuteman Regional High School in Lexington, has something that makes her the envy of many seniors, not to mention their parents: a full college scholarship.

Recipe:

* Chocolate peanut-butter cake

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They're around food all day, and they watch what they eat

By Clara Silverstein, Globe Correspondent

Being a chef means having to taste everything, which is a mixed blessing. There's all that good food, of course. But the downside has to do with calories. They do add up. In the course of Peter McCarthy's workday, he might taste cornmeal-fried oysters and creme brulee and more than a dozen other things in between. The chef never considered this a hardship until one day he found himself on the verge of buying size 40 pants.

Recipe:

* Asian noodle salad

* Whole-grain spaghetti with poached eggs

[TPO]

Boston Globe – July 12, 2007

Got a bone to pick?

By Sheryl Julian, Globe Staff

Because diners generally don't want to work that hard, restaurants have historically shied away from whole fish. But now they're showing up everywhere.

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Boot camp takes author back to baking basics

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

Darra Goldstein is the editor of the scholarly food journal Gastronomica, and her latest effort is "Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at The Culinary Institute of America."

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He brings a quirky playfulness to his food

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

For two nights, Frenchman Michel Richard, a restaurateur and author, cooked at Sandrine's Bistro in Harvard Square. Recently, Richard has become a full-blown celebrity.

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Tastes of India and America in one chip

By Emily Schwab, Globe Correspondent

Paul Jaggi's recent food venture is a product named for his mother, called Baji's. Last summer he launched it with a line of papadum chips in flavors inspired by Indian cuisine.

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Some cool updates to basic lemonade

By Jean Kressy, Globe Correspondent

Add fresh herbs, other fruits, and edible flower garnishes, and lemonade starts to change quickly. In fact, versions of it are on the menu at some top spots around town.

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Site Inspection | cookingwithalicia.com

By Karoline Boehm Goodnick, Globe Correspondent

Alicia Shea's recently conceived website is the offspring of 25 years of dinner parties and thousands of hours logged in front of a computer. Based in her Belmont kitchen.

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Eggplant

By Jill Santopietro

It may not be beluga or osetra sturgeon roe, but when eggplants overflow in local gardens, poor man’s caviar should be on the menu. Pair it with pita and an aperitif.

Recipe:

* Poor man's caviar

[TPO]

Boston Globe – July 18, 2007

Off the land and into the pan

Nearby farms keep restaurant's menu down-home

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

Now in his second summer at Route 7 Grill, owner Lester Blumenthal (above, left) visits local farms several times a week to stay in touch with what's in season.

For more information:

* A push to sell humanely raised veal is winning fans and influencing people

* Finding Azuluna veal

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When getting the blues is a good thing

Like many cooks, the chef prefers whole fish to fillets because the bones add so much more flavor to the flesh. Customers who once wouldn't touch fish on the bone are now conceding that bone-in fish tastes better.

Recipes:

* Bluefish with mustard marinade

* Grilled whole bluefish with cucumber relish

* Sea scallops with asparagus and sugar snaps

* Trout almost-amandine

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Baby, baby, stick your fries in gravy

By Luke Pyenson, Globe Correspondent

Mouth-watering but off-putting. Perfect but excessive. Crispy but soggy. How can one dish have so many contradictions? Poutine, Quebec's most diabolically unhealthy culinary ambassador, is at once several opposite things.

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Huevos rancheros wake up the taste buds

By Lisa Zwirn, Globe Correspondent

Huevos rancheros are like breakfast and lunch stacked into one meal, the components designed to stimulate your taste buds, not comfort them.

Recipe:

* Huevos rancheros

[TPO]

Boston Globe – July 25, 2007

To get to the other side

By Diana Burrell, Globe Correspondent

How do you make chickens lay richer eggs and produce tastier meat? Let them graze in a pasture and eat organic grains, say Jen Hashley and Pete Lowy of Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds.

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Tribe's chefs go beyond traditions

By Mara Zepeda, Globe Correspondent

On this Sunday afternoon at the Mashpee Wampanoag Pow Wow, a bustling staff of relatives and "pow wow kids looking for work," as Sherry Pocknett calls them, congregate, awaiting instructions. They're in an airy, shaded outdoor kitchen, outfitted with two grills, a stove, refrigerator, and hand-woven baskets brimming with corn, squash, peppers, and kale.

Recipes:

* Corn cakes

* Smoked mussels

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On the list: cooking up a great vacation

By Jill Santopietro, Globe Correspondent

Summer meals are no fun in a new rental in a town you don't know. If you haven't thought ahead, suppers aren't fun even if you've owned the house for years. But with a well-stocked pantry, grocery shopping can be as simple as a quick trip to the fishmonger or farmer s' market.

Recipes:

* Too-simple- for-words roasted peppers

* Salad dressing

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So nice, they named it twice

By Jennifer Wolcott, Globe Correspondent

You would never call a dish "shrimp shrimp." But that's what you're saying if you call the classic Italian specialty shrimp scampi.

Recipe:

* Shrimp scampi limoncello

[TPO]

Boston Globe – August 1, 2007

One cousin catches, the other cooks

By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent

In Maine, Mark Sewall catches lobsters for his cousin Jeremy Sewall, who features them on his menu daily in Brookline.

Recipe:

* Cousin Mark's lobster with tarragon stuffing

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Mussels' versatility is apparent on menus

By Elizabeth Field, Globe Correspondent

You might see Spanish-influenced mussels with tomato, calamari, and smoky chorizo at Beacon Hill Bistro or garlicky mussels with black bean sauce at China Pearl in Chinatown.

Recipe:

* Mussels with a splash of wine

* Steamed mussels with saffron and tomatoes

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They share their love of pastry and prose

By Diana Burrell, Globe Correspondent

Don and Samantha Hoyt Lindgren's storefront shop, which opened in April, specializes in new, out-of-print, and rare books on food, wine, and the arts.

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Old-fashioned condiments are best

By Mara Zepeda, Globe Correspondent

Virginia Taylor, a museum interpreter at the Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm, leads workshops on old-fashioned ways to do things, including how to make condiments.

Recipes:

* Ballpark mustard

* Plum ketchup

Edited August 7, 2007 by TPO (log)