Most of the cookbooks I bought this year were written by foodies who turned their blog into a book deal. I love it. People blog about food are passionate about food and it shows in the food they make. Also, because they are regular people like you and me, they use regular ingredients. You know, [...]

I have no doubts that Iowans are generous by nature. Sometimes, however, I’m still caught off-guard by just how generous you are. Tuesday’s edition of The Gazette carried a column by our food writer, Angie Holmes, profiling a Cedar Rapids woman who was concerned about her holiday meals because she lost all of her cookbooks [...]

I’m cleaning out the inbox, here are some news releases (I’ve modified for space) on food competitions: CAN YOU CAPTURE “THE CUTEST CRUNCH”? Enter the Vlasic Pickles “Capture the Cutest Crunch” Contest and Win BIG Deadline: Oct. 31, 2009 MOUNTAIN LAKES, NJ (May 2009) – Vlasic® Pickles is in search of a photo displaying the [...]

I’ve been wanting to try this recipe ever since I talked with Iowa City author Jeremy Jackson about his collection of al fresco recipes, “Good Day for a Picnic.” That was more than 3 years ago. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who lets recipes linger that long in the corners of her [...]

  Every month, we (as in The Gazette) print a calendar of local culinary classes and events. You can find it in the Accent section on the last Tuesday of each month (i.e: tomorrow), or go to www.GazetteOnline.com/food for daily listings. As I was putting together the August listings, one event stood out from the [...]

In approximately 7 days, there will be no more baking or broiling or simmering or sauteing in my house. This is because in approximately 7 days my kitchen will be in shambles. I’ve been wanting to remodel the usable but not very attractive kitchen in my 60-year-old home since I moved in about 5 years [...]

The recipe I included in today’s column calls for 4 heads of roasted garlic. (Yum!) Here is one method for roasting garlic, as recommended by Better Homes and Gardens’ “Anyone Can Cook” — one of my favorite resources for basic cooking technique how-tos. Use a chef’s knife to cut off the top 1/2 inch of [...]

The cover story in this week’s food section discusses the advantages and disadvantages of storing your recipes online. One of the advantages, it says, is protection against food stains. But flipping through cookbooks in search of the most stained recipes is one of the most reliable ways I can think of to find the recipes my parents [...]