Cooking

Mounds of food on the dinner table, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys football on the television, boisterous children running about, grandpa asleep in his easy chair. These are some of the images many of us associate with Thanksgiving celebrations.

Food and lifestyle content creator Chadwick Boyd knew from about the age of 8 that Thanksgiving was his time to shine. His passion for cooking was clear back then when, as he helped his grandmother prepare the holiday meal, he began to see it as “the quintessential day to do what I love in a grander way.” Now, nearly five decades later, he has perfected the art of this feast.

The word “pancakes” may trigger thoughts of sweet, fruity breakfasts for most, but there is a whole world of savory dinner pancakes beckoning more attention, and I am personally smitten with them.

Regional baker Casey Bates landed a dream stint on Food Network's "Christmas Cookie Challenge" that airs Thursday night for a $10,000 prize. Fittingly, the show's farm theme of "Christmas on the North Pole Farm" made her feel right at home, because Bates runs her cookie business – Casey Bates Creates – from her home in Colton, Wash.

As the holiday season approaches, many have begun planning gatherings with family and friends. A special dinner is often the centerpiece of these festive occasions. Anyone who has hosted a holiday dinner knows what a challenge they can be.

Q: When cooking meat on the stovetop or grill, do I need to switch out my cooking utensil when the chicken is cooked before continuing the rest of the recipe? I have several recipes, such as stir-fries, that say to cook the chicken or other protein first in a skillet, then add the remaining ingredients. Since the spatula touched raw chicken, should I switch to a clean spatula before adding the other ingredients? Or should I make the switch after flipping the chicken but before touching it again to stir-fry?

“Do you still enjoy cooking?” I’ve been asked this question regularly throughout my career as a food blogger, line cook and now food staff writer. It happened again recently when I spoke to students in a college food writing course. And, for better or worse, the answer is a mixed bag.

With life as hectic as it is, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with the same shopping list and a handful of go-to dishes week to week. But enjoying more variety not only makes life more interesting, it is a good idea nutritionally.

A week after my garden began to almost flourish last month – daisies blooming, tomato stalks fruiting – the temperature dropped, and my plants’ leaves started to wither. Every few days, I harvested a handful of something. The day I snipped my broccolini stalks out of their pot, I decided it was brisk enough outside to make soup. This Broccolini Parmesan Soup is my take on broccoli cheddar.

A Wild West legend once said, “Wish I had time for one more bowl of chili.” I often think that when a pot of good chili is nearby. When the weather turns chilly outside, it’s a good time to have a steaming bowl or two of chili inside.

Nini Nguyen is loudly and proudly embracing her Vietnamese culture now more than ever before. The Vietnamese American chef, who grew up in New Orleans and moved to New York City to further her career, gained national exposure as a contestant on “Top Chef” in 2018.

Are burgers made from plants really better for you than real beef burgers?

The Inland Empire’s fair season has closed for the year, with the Central Washington State and Lewis County, Idaho Fairs concluding the weekend before last. The Spokane County Interstate Fair finished a couple of weeks earlier.

Q: I want to learn to cook meat, but I don’t like touching it, and I always overcook it because I’m worried about getting sick. Where do I even begin with this?

“What did you put in the ricotta?” Ann Maloney asked me.

I’m not a perfect role model for a healthy or sustainable diet.

The memories consumed her.

Watching news reports of Haitian kids being forced to stay home from school to prevent violent attacks in Springfield, Ohio, makes me cry about my own childhood in New York.

I adore beets of all kinds: the earthy sweet, the lurid magenta, the striped pink and the goldens. Sure, they’re not to everyone’s taste, but their strong character stands up to a range of intense flavors – vinegar, horseradish, mustard, piquant dairy sauces, vinaigrettes, smoked fish.