Volunteering at the Hurley Corn Festival

By Lori Powell

Every year on the third weekend of August, I volunteer to help run the food stand at the Hurley Corn Festival from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. The festival is held down the road from my house in Upstate New York.

This was the 32nd annual festival and each year, it helps to support the Heritage Society. (I was a board member until I moved to Pennsylvania.) I used to also process the vendor applications, find new vendors and then place them at the festival. Not an easy task. I was happy to give up those duties, along with my seat on the board, to Mr. Eric as he is known to his students (he teaches seventh grade history at a local school in Ulster Country).

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Caramel Sauce – it’s Easy!

By Sandy Hu

There’s nothing like a bowl of frosty ice cream to cool down on a warm day and nothing more decadent than adding a drizzle of warm caramel sauce on top.

Caramel sauce is surprisingly easy to make and much more delicious than store bought. Try Katie’s recipe from her blog post early this year. I’ll walk you through the steps in today’s Video Friday demo.

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The More Things Change…

By Marilyn Hunter

In this ever-changing world of food, ingredients and philosophies about how we eat, very few recipes withstand the test of time. But old-school garlic bread, in my opinion, should stay the same forever.

One of my favorite stories is about Rose Pistola, a beloved icon of San Francisco’s North Beach Italian food culture. Rose is said to have passed away peacefully with a wedge of good Parmesan and a cup of olive oil on her bedside table. She was a master of “red gravy” and San Franciscans loved dipping crusty Italian garlic bread in her tomato sauce.

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Inspired by Peaches

By Katie Barreira

This past weekend I embarked on a fly-by-night getaway to Cape Cod with a group of fabulous lady food editors. As you might imagine, there was a lot of eating and we definitely disproved one old adage: there is no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen.

The meals we planned were delicious, but it was a spontaneous moment of culinary inspiration that provided the most memorable dish of the trip. Sunday morning, still in our PJs, we surveyed the remaining food and started on a fruit salad, but those squat little donut peaches were just too cute to cut up. When pitted, dipped in a thick batter and fried, however, the peaches became dead ringers for the confections after which they were named, but instead of a doughy center, you bite into warm, juicy peach flesh.

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How to Make Croutons

By Zoe McLaughlin

Have day-old bread and don’t know what to do with it? This recipe shows you how easy it is to make homemade croutons. Croutons only take a few minutes to make and can be used for a variety of dishes. The most classic is for Caesar Salad but croutons are a great addition to many soups, as well as tossed greens.

Depending on how you plan to use the croutons, cut them to the size you need. Small croutons are great on soups such as gazpacho, a cold refreshing summer soup. They add a nice, crunchy texture.

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