A couple months ago, M and I went on a wine tour of the Swan Valley which is about an hour drive Northeast of where we live. I had never be...

I grew up eating thin crust sausage and mushroom pizzas at Fox Hole in McHenry, Illinois. I'd head to Lou Malnati's for a Chicago ...

I had this idea to make a rhubarb marmalade the other day and promptly went out, bought some stalks of ruby red rhubarb, a couple Cara Cara ...

Sometimes I wonder if I need a separate refrigerator just to hold condiments. In fact, I have posted 18 condiment recipes on this blog alone...

Applesauce is one of those things that is so simple to make at home that it should be scratched off your grocery list for good. It goes with...

When I started this blog earlier this year, I did a post for Guinness Mustard that originated from Saveur Magazine . Not only was I enthusi...

Conserves, which are essentially jams containing dried fruits and nuts, have scared me for a long time. Believe me, I had clear reasons. One...

Now that September is upon us, our peppers are in full force in the garden. We grow 6 different kinds but my particular favorite are the Wen...

One of the good things about being married to a chef is that I get to occasionally hang out with other chefs. This was the case a couple wee...

I have only recently begun making my own pickles from cucumbers in our garden and since I eat so many, I haven't bothered going through ...

Us Minnesotans have been annoyed as of late that strange, Autumn-like weather descended upon us, bringing cold, cloudy gray days right smack...

I''ve been too hot to cook so thankfully Guestblogger: The Chef came through for me. How can you go wrong with some extra-fancy her...

Besides being less minty, I wonder what my life was like before I discovered Mint Sugar. Several years ago, when the Gourmet Cookbook came ...

I had taken a much needed respite from canning but now that May is almost behind us, I need to start up my least favorite hobby again. I alw...

It’s an honor to be guest Lad, so thanks to Erin for inviting me. I thought this would be an appropriate posting since it reminded me that m...

I discovered crème fraîche while enjoying a proper high tea at the Drake Hotel in Chicago when I was a child. I was initially perplexed at w...

This began as a disaster. I was all excited to whip up a curd, saw all the beautiful citrus at the grocery store and decided to do a grapefr...

As most everyone knows, Guinness is one of the 5 major food groups and should be incorporated into one’s diet as often as possible. How deli...

In the past few years I have been quite taken with Meyer Lemons. Originating from China, and thought to be a cross between a lemon and a man...