Goats On Boats

By Katie Barreira

The 80 some-odd members of Catapano Farm’s dairy herd in Peconic Long Island, are some darn lucky goats. According to co-owner Dr. Michael Catapano (formally an M.D., but also a doctor of cheese), raising happy, stress-free goats is the key to great-tasting milk. And if the quality of Catapano’s handmade cheese is any indication, these are some seriously contented goats.

This theory was confirmed within moments of meeting the merry ruminants. Trotting over to greet each guest with a friendly head butt, these goats were more interested in a good nuzzle than a handout. And their spacious pen more resembled an inspired playground meant for children, rather than kids.

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Basic Knife Skills Mom Never Taught You

By Craig Deppe

We've all been wowed and amazed by the lightning-fast blur of a master chef’s knife as they deftly dispatch a defenseless mushroom or innocent onion.

There's no doubt we all would love to have such talent but the truth is, the home cook simply needs to know a few basics to make life easier at the cutting board.

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The Giving Pumpkin

By Marilyn Hunter

Once there was a pumpkin…a bright orange pumpkin with dimples, scratches and shine. She loved the two curious little boys who had plucked her from the pumpkin patch. Everyday the boys would come and play with her; pick her up by the stem and gently place her back on the hearth.

They would draw silly faces on her, pretend she was guarding a fortress filled with smaller gourds, and move her to shady spot when the sun shined bright in the room. And one day, near Halloween’s eve, they helped carve her into a spooky Jack O’ Lantern.

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Easy Caramel Corn for Ghosts and Goblins

By Sandy Hu

I’m probably the only kid in America who never went trick or treating. Well, my sister. My mom was the overprotective type who imagined danger lurking in every dark doorway of family-friendly Hilo, Hawaii.

So to compensate, I’ve always made sure my kids did the rounds Halloween night. When David was in pre-school, we lived in a condominium with almost no other children. To ensure that he had a real trick-or-treat experience, but also, to keep from being a nuisance to neighbors, I put a decorated sign-up sheet in the laundry room and we visited only those apartments that were willing to welcome a little ghost or goblin.

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A Spa Day for Your Wok

By Katie Barreira

This week in the test kitchen, we were working on recipes that required a wok. Even in professional kitchens, less frequented equipment have a way of hiding best when you need it most. A fly on the wall that day would have heard,

“Do we have a wok?”
“Yeah, I know I’ve used it before, but I haven’t seen it recently.”
“Do you remember packing it? Maybe it got lost in the move.”
“How do you lose a wok?!”

Once unearthed and inspected for quality assurance we concluded that our carbon steel wok had received no love. But that was about to change. A bit of research in our cookbook library uncovered an excellent wok priming primer by Chinese cookbook author and wok connoisseur, Grace Young. Armed with good counsel and some steel wool, we undertook a transformation on par with Michael Caine’s makeover of Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality. Our wok has never looked, or cooked, better.

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