Chicago Sun-Times

How food color can warp time when you’re cooking

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:57:30 -0500

Anytime you cook light-colored food with high heat, inattention is a recipe for disaster. Here’s how to avoid that from happening.

Jazzing up the classic campfire treat — s’mores

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:55:35 -0500

Three simple ingredients — a marshmallow, a piece of chocolate and two graham crackers. There are so many ways to change it up and give it a different twist.

Want a healthy quesadilla? Use full-fat cheese

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:35:54 -0500

SARA MOULTON: It doesn’t take a ton of cheese to flavor — and glue together — the fillings of a quesadilla. as long as you use full-fat cheese. I tried using 4 ounces of reduced-fat cheese, but I found the flavor to be so weak that my tasters didn’t know there was any cheese in the recipe. A second attempt using 2 ounces of full-fat sharp Cheddar was an immediate hit.

Smoked food products growing in popularity

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:03:50 -0500

Americans are eating a lot more smoked seafood than they used to, which has resulted in a larger trend of infusing everything from salts and cocktails to fruit and teas with a kiss of smoky flavor.

A leaner, foolproof barbecued chicken

Wed, 08 May 2013 10:23:16 -0500

SARA MOULTON: I set myself the task of coming up with a recipe for a leaner version of barbecue chicken that somehow still boasted the most lovable aspects of the classic version — a mouth-watering sauce and an element of crunch.

Making quiche is too complicated? No way!

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:37:31 -0500

Quiche is a simple dish that is both versatile and forgiving. Not even the least skilled home cook has an excuse for skipping it. Especially come Mother’s Day. Quiche is perfect for breakfast in bed. It’s easy enough for the kids to help with. It even can be prepped the night before.

A mousse for mom the kids can make

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:38:28 -0500

It doesn’t matter how skilled — or not — your kids are in the kitchen. This easy, fruity mousse parfait is a great Mother’s Day project they can help with.

Putting other senses to work when taste is compromised

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:01:38 -0500

FOOD DETECTIVE: Taste is obviously important, but focusing on flavors, we easily neglect other food-related sensations.

Learn to make tres leche cake

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:01:25 -0500

SWAP SHOP: Company-perfect or family-fabulous, Tres Leches Cake — for B.W. of Chicago — and Brown Sugar Refrigerator Cookies — for P.G. of Crystal Springs – are two of the sweet treats included in the new Betty Crocker Cookbook Newlywed Edition (Wiley. $29.88).

Modern takes on your retro food favorites

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:05:08 -0500

Bust out those faded cookbooks and get in the game: modern versions of retro dishes are popping up all over town. Whether you appreciate the dose of nostalgia or simply revel time-honored eats, a payoff awaits.

Blackbird’s Paul Kahan shares James Beard Award for outstanding chef

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:59:04 -0500

Chicago chef Paul Kahan shares the prize of outstanding chef with David Chang of New York. The Aviary wins top national honors for its bar program, and Girl & the Goat’s Stephanie Izard takes the top regional award.

Steamed clams deliver big flavor

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:41:13 -0500

SARA MOULTON: Certain ingredients — including clams, mussels, rack of lamb, skirt steak and dark chocolate — make meals delicious with very little effort on your part. Really, you’d have to be an idiot to screw them up. Clams and mussels are especially generous, delivering a one-two punch of taste thrills: the succulent bivalves themselves and the deeply flavorful juices that stream out of them when they’re cooked.

Coconut pie, almost like mom’s

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:03:58 -0500

I don’t know when or why Coconut Pie became my Birthday Pie. I remember that my mother made complicated pink and white checkerboard birthday cakes, multi-layer showstoppers, some with jelly beans on top if my birthday coincided with Easter, as it often did. Maybe it was because March always was Birthday Month in our family. Blessed with plenty of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, many of whom had March birthdays, it meant that a special cake was part of a celebration almost every day during the month. I thought every family must have Birthday Month. Although I was an only …

THE F WORD

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:01:43 -0500

Tessa: Wow, thanks. [That cake] looks delicious. Lisa: Oh, it’s not. My mom stopped keeping sugar in the house. I had to use cumin. — Lisa’s (Allie Grant) admission on “Suburgatory.” …

Survey shows need for healthy options

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:29:03 -0500

SHOPPING SMART: Last week I released the findings of this year’s benchmarked National Grocers Association|SupermarketGuru Consumer Panel Survey and lead a discussion of the findings with industry leaders including two industry leaders from Chicago — Mark Batenic, chief executive officer, IGA, Inc.m and Art Potash, chief executive officer, Potash Market.

Forget frozen; learn to make a homemade pot pie

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:01:04 -0500

If you thought frozen pot pies were good, you need to try making a homemade one. It’s surprisingly easy to make a pot pie from scratch, and I can guarantee it will be infinitely better than any store-bought version.

8 ways to up the calcium in your diet

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:01:09 -0500

Here are eight ways to add calcium.

Tastings Around Town

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:03:25 -0500

Find a wine event happening in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs.