Paper Palate

I have a problem: I am easily distracted by large quantities of something I love. My eyes glaze over, I am unable to keep a train of thought going, I begin to mumble and I lose all sense of time. Put a plate of cookies in front of me mid-conversation and words […]

Cream cheese and hot dogs? Sounds odd, but apparently many Seattleites are addicted to the combination! A recent feature in the Seattle Times by reporter Karen Gaudette named favorite hot dog condiments by region. New Yorkers tend to favor mustard, red relish, and sauerkraut. While in Chicago, ketchup is considered sacrilegious. And Southerners prefer a […]

(photo from www.gatewaygrizzlies.com)
In last week’s Chicago Sun-Times, Dave Hoekstra introduced us to “Baseball’s Best Burger,” as declared by the Gateway Grizzlies baseball team in Sauget, IL. Served in a Krispy Kreme paper hat, the large cheeseburger consists of Black Angus beef, two slices of bacon, and sharp cheddar cheese, all layered between a sliced Krispy […]

The Frenchman living in Vietnam is a difficult concept for tourists to grapple with. The confused conclusions of western tourists are likewise hard to make sense of. Those who think the Frenchman is an outrageous example of imperialism whose very presence pollutes Vietnamese culture might as well pack their bags, go home, and […]

A new food magazine is hitting newsstands: dazzling delightful delicious. The magazine ($3.99 per issue) is published by Reader’s Digest, which also publishes Taste of Home and Everyday with Rachael Ray. Based on an award-winning Australian magazine (Delicious), dazzling delightful delicious is the same size as a Reader’s Digest.
According to the Miami Herald, […]

Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, published by Artisan, New York, in 2000. Hardcover, $45.00.
At first glance, cooking and travel might seem to have little in common. Cooking is part of the domestic sphere, a “nesting” activity devoted to enhancing a happy home […]

Can you name the four healthiest foods? One of them is kimchi, the fermented cabbage staple of Korean cooking. According to a 2005 study done by Health magazine, kimchi shares its healthiest food designation with soy, yogurt and olive oil. And people certainly believe in it. When a minor study showing that kimchi was […]

Seattle Times staff reporter Nicole Tsong and Seattle mixologist Ryan Magarian want us to think outside the box this summer when it comes to gardening. Instead of planting ruby red heirloom tomatoes or mounds of zucchini, they urge us to choose a few select herbs, specially tailored to mixed drinks, and reap the social […]

In this month’s issue of Martha Stewart Living, we are reminded that, along with corn, cherries are currently in season. Martha’s “Gentle Reminders” offers a brief explanation of the primary differences between the two main varieties of cherries: sweet and sour. Sweet cherries are those which are large, heart shaped, and perfect for eating “out […]

The July issue of Woman’s Day includes a feature entitled “Dishing with the Queen of Quick.” Not surprisingly, said Queen is Rachael Ray. She explains her cooking philosophy in the article, which is uniquely written in the first person. Rachael comes across as self-effacing with statements like, “You’re not going to learn a […]