Kettle Corn Style Pistachios

By Andrew Hunter

I remember as a kid eating pistachios by the sacksful. In those good old days, my fingers, palms and face would be as red as the pistachios. It simply didn’t dawn on me that pistachios weren’t naturally red. Now I know that in fact red pistachios should be avoided like the plague. Why, because inferior and even moldy nuts are dyed to hide any number of impurities.

Recently, we were wandering around a farm in Northern California and got lost in the pistachio groves. The nuts hung in bunches with split creamy beige shells exposing the tender green and rosy hued kernels, waiting to be shaken from their branches, roasted and sold at farm stands and country markets along the roadways.

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Frittata – the Perfect Last-Minute Dinner

By Zoe McLaughlin

This dish is as simple as it gets. With just a few pantry staples, you'll have a delicious and satisfying meal in minutes.

Growing up in a household where both parents worked outside the home, this dish was perfect for the nights when we all got home late. We served it with a simple green salad.

A frittata is essentially an open-faced omelet. It's prepared in one pan so clean up is easy. I used a nonstick sauté pan but you could also use a cast iron skillet and finish the frittata off in the oven at 375°F for about 10 minutes, instead of cooking it on the stovetop.

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It’s Asparagus Season!

By Lori Powell

Spring brings asparagus season and with it the many ways of cooking and serving the lovely stalks. I eat so much of it in season that I have to start pacing myself early on.

The great thing about this versatile veggie is that you can steam, boil, grill, broil or roast it to perfection – just make sure that you don’t under or over cook it.

Asparagus have a natural break in the stem between the tough ends and the tender stalks. To trim, simply snap off the end and it will break in just the right place. Discard the stems or use them to flavor broth or soup; they’re tough, so remove them before serving.

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Exploring Black Garlic

By Katie Barreira

This week I picked up a head of black garlic. I had never cooked with this type of garlic before, but had tried it in some great dishes (including a dessert panna cotta!) and I couldn’t wait to taste the unique, fermented ingredient on its own.

I knew that the aged head would be softer than raw garlic, but I wasn’t prepared for the plump, gummy clove that emerged from the flaky skin. I took a bite; the texture was smooth and toothsome, like that of a cooked beet and the flavor was much more mellow than raw garlic, with a licorice-like sweetness and just a hint of pungency.

A little pressure under the flat side of a knife and the clove yielded into thick paste that could be stirred into all sorts of things, so that just what I did!

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A Simple, yet Sophisticated First Course

By Sandy Hu

I love to start a diner party with a first course already set at each place when my guests come to the table. Of course, it has to be something easy to make, since there’s the rest of the meal to tend to.

This fennel salad is a lovely starter for a romantic dinner for two; you can double or triple the recipe for a larger group.

If you don’t have a mandoline to slice the fennel bulb, try using a sharp potato peeler or a sharp knife to create thin, almost-transparent ribbons.

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