The Hallmark Channel has created a new cookbook from firehouses, to go along with an original movie they recently produced. Some of the recipes come from a Philadelphia firehouse. - Center City Philadelphia is now bursting with sidewalk cafes, with more than 200 on the books just seven years after they were legalized.
- In the Market Basket there are wooden salad servers, salad bowls and Made in Napa Valley curry sauce.
- Use leaves (banana, fig and grape to name a few) for wrapping food for cooking instead of aluminum foil.
- Local politics gets in the way of the sales of the Italian Market Cookbook.
- Grilled pizzas make for easy, crowd-friendly meals.
- Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan selects the two-year-old Swiss Gruyère from Emmi as the cheese of the month.
The Philadelphia Inquirer in 60 seconds: Firehouse cookbooks, sidewalk cafes and cooking in leaves
The Baltimore Sun in 60 seconds: School lunches and crowded farmers' markets
- Tips on packing healthy lunches for your kids.
- A new restaurant row is popping up in a neighborhood of Baltimore.
- Rob Kasper light-heartedly complains about the crowds and prices at his local farmers markets.
- Punch up morning meals with tangy orange marmalade.
- A corrected Grape Crisp recipe, as the one printed a few weeks ago had the wrong amount of melted butter.
- Buy the family packs of meat at the grocery store for good value and quick meals.
New York Times Dining & Wine in 60 seconds: New restaurants, corn, Slow Food
A preview of the new NYC restaurants opening this fall. NYC restaurants take cost-saving measures to keep afloat. Smaller lobster?
The Minimalist takes on the chickpea.
Recipes for end-of-summer corn: chowder, corn bread, fried corn with bacon and chipotle.
The Slow Food movement throws itself a party in San Francisco.
Eric Asimov talks Côtes du Rhône.
The Toronto Star in 60 seconds: Kids' lunches, Thomas Keller and penne
- While it might still be a challenge for the pickier kids out there, deli meat issues opens the door for other tasty ingredients like edamame.
- Chef Thomas Keller went north to the land of Quebec to cook for Quebec City's 400th anniversary.
- Eat tongue in cheek -- literally -- at Niagara Street Cafe.
- Wines to indulge in as summer wraps up: Pacific Rim 2006 Dry Riesling, Flat Rock Cellars 2006 Seriously Twisted, Konrad 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Luigi Bosca Reserva 2005 Malbec, and Bodegas Carrau Ysern Blend of Regions 2004 Tannat.
- Recipe: Penne with Asparagus, Oyster Mushrooms and Goat's-Milk Cheese.
The Oregonian in 60 seconds: Slow cookers, girl scouts and gala apples
When the weather gets too hot (and we've still got a few potentially hot weeks left before summer is officially over) pull out your slow cooker so that you can get dinner on the table without heating up your kitchen (it's also great for cooking down those summer fruit butters). - When shopping for a slow cooker, make sure to check out all the options before committing to a particular brand (the programmable ones are more expensive, but particularly useful).
- Girl Scout Mary Catherine Muniz spent her summer gathering and testing inexpensive, family-friendly recipes for her cookbook, Delectable Dishes for Less.
- Pete Peterson digs into the Pacific Northwest lineage of the sweet Gala apple (tracking a particular variety back to the Walla Walla Valley, near where I went to college).
- The Forest Grove farmers' market hums with Mexican foods and specialties.
- Fit for Dinner punches up a pork tenderloin with Chinese 5-Spice powder and orange juice.
- Turn to a cold noodle salad for a quick dinner on these hectic, back-to-school nights.
- Looking for a way to trim your food expenditures? Try packing a lunch instead of buying.
- Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the PBS show, The Victory Garden. The newest season begins this weekend (check your local public television station for schedule times).
The Toronto Star in 60 seconds: Pork, Japanese treats and pho
- Be still my tastebuds! It's a pork-tasting showdown, to determine the best porcine rump.
- Recipes: Shellfish with Lemon Grass, Chili-Lime Crab Salad, and Smoky Pork Pappardelle.
- Ever wonder what exotic Japanese goods were worth your money? Check out this list.
- Many strong-tasting beers come with a big alcohol content. Not Brakspear Bitter.
- Yams make super-fast lightning bolts.
- South American wines worth mentioning: Chile's Terra noble Vineyard Selection 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Carolina Barrica Selections 2006 Petit Verdot, and Terra Andina Altos 2005 Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Argentina's Finca Flichman Expresiones Reserve 2006 Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon and Trapiche Broquel 2006 Malbec.
- Dig deeper and move beyond Vietnamese Pho.
The Globe and Mail in 60 seconds: Insect ingredients, wild nibblets and wine pricing
- Mmmm insects. Some eat them outright, some ground them up into meals, and some grow their own for eating.
- For Northern Italian fare, try Vancouver's La Quercia.
- With the lunch meat crisis, what on earth is left to feed the kids in this no-peanut butter age?
- Go here for a list of wild foods that are currently in their prime.
- Recipes: Dave Seidler's Best Pancakes Ever, Sausage Topped Cornbread, and Julia Aitken's Braised Lamb and Lentils.
- Tasting wines, and the world of pricing.
The Baltimore Sun in 60 seconds: Cheap meat and Maryland's best eating month
As the economy tightens and people look for ways to fight back against rising grocery prices, one thing consumers can do is select cheaper, flavorful cuts of meat. - Rob Kasper announces that the very best eating month in Maryland is September, especially since the tomatoes came late this year.
- Digging deep into the science of menu design.
- Make gazpacho a day or two ahead for best flavor.
- Make and freeze potstickers for quick meals during the week.
- A local church tries to help their neighborhood by buying and giving away $30,000 worth of groceries.
The New York Times Dining & Wine section in 60 seconds: Supper clubs, lavender, fortune cookies
Underground supper clubs - half dinner party, half restaurant - are in.
Low alcohol beers gain popularity.
Thinking of opening a restaurant? Think twice. Then think again.
Memories of teenage boy food.
The Minimalist shows us how to cook with lavender without making the dish smell like your grandmother's powder room.
Artisanal cocktails are here. Of course.
Fortune cookies are not Chinese.
The Philadelphia Inquirer in 60 seconds: Cold soups and edible bugs
As we near the end of summer, the Inquirer wonders if you've gotten tired of firing up the grill yet. If so, their answer is soup! Yes, that's right, chilled summer soups!- Joyce Gemperlein ponders how to beat the late summer dinnertime malaise.
- This week, the Market Basket is full of recycled wine glasses, goats milk cream cheese and LushLife sponge gloves.
- Bug cuisine was the special du jour at a recent Creepy Crawly Cook Off at the Academy of Natural Sciences.
- The Rush Hour Gourmet is cooking up grilled oysters this week.
The Baltimore Sun in 60 seconds: Frozen desserts, blue crabs and rum
Keep things cool in these waning days of summer with chilly desserts. - World traveling sailors learn how to eat that Maryland delicacy, blue crabs.
- Burdick Chocolate in Walpole, New Hampshire, offers a line of politically oriented chocolates and candies, just in time for the conventions.
- Rob Kasper reviews an assortment of artisanal rums.
- Have pie for every meal at the Dangerously Delicious Savory House.
- Laura McCandlish reviews Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food: An Opinionated History and More Than 100 Legendary Recipes By Arthur Schwartz Stewart.
- What to do with self-rising flour? Make biscuits!
The Toronto Star in 60 seconds: From the perfect corn dog to slow service
- From corn dogs to cheesecake, get a run-down of concessions at the Ex with boss Mike Knott.
- What happens when a restaurant critic tries to eat and live like Michael Phelps?
- Udupi Palace has a spicy food-eating competition to help Sick Kids.
- Wines of unusual names: Girls' Night Out 2007 Chardonnay, Zuccardi Fuzion 2007 Shiraz Malbec, and Mommessin 2006 Chardonnay Grande Reserve.
- Recipes: Spicy Daikon Salad, Veal Piccata.
- Organic blooms hit the farmers' markets.
- More wines: St. Hallett 2004 Semillon, Stadlmann Zierfandler Classic 2006, Tawse Sketches of Niagara 2007 Riesling, Kenwood 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, and Ogier Caves des Papes Les Truffiers 2005 Vacqueyras.
- A questionable outing to Madeline's.
The New York Times Dining & Wine section in 60 seconds: Mocktails, tomato jam, raspberry figs
Eric Asimov discusses the new breed of lighter, subtler Napa Valley Cabernets.
Applebee's moves beyond the riblet in an effort to save itself from Bennigan's fate.
The Hamptons get real Mexican-style tacos. Yay?
The Minimalist makes tomato jam.
Recipes for icy summer mocktails. And not just virgin daiquiris - think homemade tonic with lavender, chamomile, fresh herbs and lime juice.
Meet the raspberry fig.
The Oregonian in 60 seconds: Neighborhood dinners, mini-pies and summer sandwiches
Looking for a new way to bond with your neighbors? How about hiring a caterer to cook up a weekly neighborhood dinner for you and the folks on your block!- The chef who cooks those weekly dinners draws inspiration from her Southern roots, cooking up Southern "Dolmas" With Brown Rice, Dates and Pecans, Savory Blueberry Sauce, Corn on the Cob With Ivy's Zippy Mustard-Lime Glaze, Southern-Style Peach Cobbler and Coconut Whipped Cream. When she needs a little extra inspiration, she turns to an arsenal of cookbooks.
- The test kitchen defines diet names.
- The FoodDay staff take inspiration from Not Martha and Lloyd and Lauren and whip up those cute pies in jars.
- In the summer, sometimes a light sandwich is all you need for dinner. These Savory Summer Vegetable Sandwiches could easily fit that bill.
- The Market Basket is green today, filled with cork cutting boards, recycled food storage containers and Magic Sheet organic cleansers.
- Pair halibut with flowers for a delicious dinner of Herb- and Flower-Crusted Halibut.
The Philadelphia Inquirer in 60 seconds: Loose leaf tea, lunch trucks and Le Bec Fin
Cynthia Wahl imports teas, but she's not a purveyor, she's a tea sommelier and she wants Americans to eschew the bag for loose leaf. - If you want to give up the tea bag, here are some local spots to buy loose leaves, a primer on how to brew your new tea and a piece about Japanese tea ceremonies.
- Le Bec Fin, the restaurant widely acknowledged to have started Philadelphia's restaurant revolution in the early 1970s, is remodeling.
- Maria Yagoda takes us on a tour of University of Pennsylvania lunch trucks, and admits that it's better eating in the summertime, when the lines aren't so long.
- In 'Good Tastes' Karen Heller briefly reviews Jose Garces' newest spot, Distrito, and calls it a winner.
Chocolate-stuffed bananas on the grill
Tyler Florence welcomes new daughter
Beware kids' menus!
