Philly Phlavors...

By Marsha Fottler. Visitors by the thousands travel to Philadelphia and famous surrounding communities every year to experience America’s dramatic struggle for independence in the places where it happened more than two centuries ago. But they also come to discover great art, world-class gardens, historic homes, major league baseball and, of course, exceptional regional food. As early as the 1780s Philadelphia was the...

WELL BEING: The Skinny on Cocktail Calories...

By Chef Judi Gallagher. Maybe it’s TVs Mad Men or the fact that vodka and gin makers are turning out fabulous fruit-infused liquor, but cocktail hour is back and you don’t have to be left out just because you’re dieting. And you don’t have to run four miles to burn off a mixed drink or two if you stock the bar with new, lighter sipping mixes that are minus the sugar (but not the flavor) of traditional happy hour. It...

Summertime and the Cooking is Easy...

By Judi Gallagher. I love to cook and eat year-round, that’s no secret. But, since we’re deep in the heat of high summer, I’ve been having fun trying new recipes and paying attention to new summer food trends. My indoor kitchen and big gas cooktop have limited appeal and are on vacation this time of year. We’ve been spending a lot of time eating in my new outdoor kitchen, experimenting with the new grill and enjoying...

GOURMET HIGHWAY: North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley ...

By Doc Lawrence. The Andy Griffith Museum is in Mount Airy, North Carolina, a lovely place that the actor called home through high school. It’s also the place where you can still rub elbows with cast members. The museum houses an impressive collection by Griffith’s close friend Emmett Forrest. “Andy Griffith Show” fans marvel at the memorabilia like the iconic signs from the show’s courthouse doors along items...

Fire Up Those Grills And Get Creative With Barbecu...

By Chef Judi Gallagher. For me, there’s nothing like grilling in the summer. It is truly the American way to celebrate the Fourth of July with grilled ribs, burgers and yes, the quintessential hot dog. After all, there’s nothing that proclaims summer like barbecue sauce or a perfectly grilled steak, right? True lovers of barbecue know that barbecued meat is cooked low (temperature) and slow (time) and that wood smoke...

WELL BEING: Our Best-Ever Diet Tips...

By Marsha Fottler, Editor. Several years ago while doing an interview with a famous fashion designer who is petite, thin, always traveling and thus a potential victim to bad food, I asked about her dieting secret. She surprised me by saying, “Eat only what is delicious.” “If it’s not the best potato chip in the world or the most flavorful piece of steak or the most wonderful granola bar I simply don’t bother...

When Life Hands You A Surprise Pie...

By Chef Judi Gallagher. National Pie Championship 2010 When the American Pie Council called and asked me to be a judge at the 2010 pie competition at Champions Gates in Orlando, Florida I was elated. I love pie; my lifetime culinary goal, in fact, is to discover America’s best apple pie. So far, Mom’s Apple Pie in Sebastopol, California is number one on my list. I obsess about crust. My preference is for a flaky lard...

Suddenly Succulents...

By Marsha Fottler. Suddenly, succulents are everywhere. For years these tough and textural plants were consigned to residential patches of dessert that couldn’t support a stick. You’d see them in the Southwest as clustered borders (echeveria) and tall sculptural foundation plants (aloe, senecio, agave). In the South and Northeast hardy clumps of rubbery sedum poke through stone walls or rocky garden pathways. Succulents...

GOURMET HIGHWAY: Chef John Folse, America’s Amba...

By Doc Lawrence. “Wine is sure proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” - Benjamin Franklin Chef John Folse is revered as one of the great American chefs from Louisiana. His eight cookbooks spread the gospel of indigenous Louisiana cooking to the world. The PBS mainstay, “A Taste of Louisiana,” is Folse’s masterfully produced international television series. The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute...

Two Cakes That Welcome Spring...

By Chef Judi Gallagher. There is something about presenting a homemade cake that brings joy to your guests because it’s a dramatic demonstration of hospitality; you cared enough to make a special cake from scratch. Walking into a room with a gorgeous cake on a plate or cake stand is one of those culinary “ta-da” moments that every hostess should experience. My mother often made an applesauce-walnut cake and every...