FOOD FUN: Vertical Pear Salad

Jessica, from The Novice Chef Blog, isn’t such a novice. She designed this elegant pear salad that is easy in its execution, yet dazzling on the table. You can vary the filling, the color of the pear, and/or the vinaigrette. If you prefer, you can make candied nuts instead of simply toasting them. For more…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Stack Your Vegetables

[1] Stacked vegetables as short or tall as you like (photo courtesy Citrine World Bistro, late of Redwood City). [2] Stack polenta or fritters, like these from Like It Short (website no longer up). [3] If you don’t want to deal with ring molds, stack your veggies in rocks glasses (photo courtesy The Whole Gang.…
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RECIPE: Dried Fruit Tart For Rosh Hashanah Or Anytime

Dried fruit tart with Star Of David lattice. Photo © Martha Stewart Media.   What we love about this tart is that for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, the lattice crust is woven strips of pâte brisée in a Star of David pattern. If the pattern looks familiar to non-Jews, it’s because it’s the…
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FOOD FUN: National Beer Holidays, At Least One In Every Month!

Got Beer? April 7th is National Beer Day, one of many National Beer Holidays. In modern times, it all began on April 7, 1933. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Act, which legalized the sale of beer with an alcohol content of 3.2%. This was the first step toward the end of Prohibition*. On…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Purple Potatoes

Just a few years ago, purple potatoes were hard to find, especially for our Red, White & Blue Potato Salad (here’s a bonus recipe), popular fare for Memorial Day and Independence Day. Thankfully, things have changed. Once called purple Peruvian potatoes, they are now grown worldwide in response to consumer demand, so are much more…
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