WEST HOLLYWOOD — Like any good chef about to open a restaurant, Andrea Drummer wants to get her pairings just right. But her lamb chops with plantain-mango salsa won’t be matched with wine or beer. Read More ⇒

An icebox cake, for the unfamiliar, is an easy summer dessert that comes together in the chilly confines of your refrigerator. The oven plays no role in the making of an icebox cake — and that’s a good thing when temperatures are high and something cool, creamy and sweet seems like just abou… Read More ⇒

When you stroll through a farmers market during peak tomato season, you can almost feel the yearning. One table after another burns bright with the fruits of the season, nature’s true eye candy. Everything about these plump orbs invites you to take them home: their juicy colors, like prism l… Read More ⇒

The tastes of Tennessee are much more than its iconic confectionary delights of Goo Goo Clusters and Moon Pies and the savory taste of Bush’s Baked Beans, all of which originated and are made in the Volunteer State. A Southern meal is a special thing, and finding unique places with great pla… Read More ⇒

MEXICO - Celebrate Oswego County agriculture and all the local food it provides at 6:15 p.m. Sept. 27 at the 10th Annual Oswego County Harvest Dinner. Read More ⇒

Nothing disappoints me more than a dry sandwich. So here is a recipe by my friend Pati Jinich, host of the public-television series “Pati’s Mexican Table,” that has you bathe grilled vegetables in a tart cilantro vinaigrette before piling them between ciabatta rolls and topping with cheese. Read More ⇒

MASSENA — Lunch snacks were a little buggy at the Nicandri Nature Center on Thursday, as guests dined on Cricket Chirps, Cricket Bites, Scorpion Suckers, Mealworm Bites and Cricket Flour Brownies. Read More ⇒

Anybody who’s read much of anything about food over the past few years has surely heard the maxim “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” Read More ⇒

Need something easy to add to an otherwise mundane menu? Or something simple to take to a potluck, cookout or another social occasion? What you need is a good quick bread. They’re called quick breads because they’re quick to make, at least compared to yeast-risen breads, and they fall halfwa… Read More ⇒

Blueberries give this lip-smacking barbecue sauce multiple levels of fresh appeal. One hits you at first glance upon seeing its unexpected indigo color. Another — its flavor — is fresher than a traditional sauce, with the fruit lending its gentle, nuanced sweetness to the tangy-savory mix. T… Read More ⇒

1. Corn on the cob with old bay and lemon Read More ⇒

Here’s a delightful, nibble to pop in your mouth as you sip rosé by the pool or lounge at home with the air conditioner at full blast. Read More ⇒

This time of year, tender herbs grow like weeds in gardens and come cheap in markets. The only downside is needing to use them up before the plants go to seed or before grocery store bunches go slimy. The most obvious options are pesto and tabbouleh, but meatballs are my favorite way to fini… Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Key lime pie is typically a collection of convenience foods: canned condensed milk, bottled lime juice, premade graham cracker crust. That’s why chef Nicole Rucker didn’t intend to serve it at Fiona, her Fairfax bakery and restaurant. Read More ⇒

A blender was one of my first countertop appliances, proudly displayed in my first apartment. That’s more years ago than I prefer to calculate at this point. Even now, though, as I’ve acquired many (too many?) more appliances and gadgets, a blender — that original one did eventually burn out… Read More ⇒

MASSENA — Banana boats and cinnamon rolls, campfire style, were on the menu Monday morning at the Nicandri Nature Center. Read More ⇒

No matter how old I get, I will always have a childlike enchantment with summer and all its joys: jumping waves in the ocean, biking around town, biting into big wedges of watermelon, watching the fireflies come out at dusk. Read More ⇒

Anna Gass, author of “Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes and Family Stories From The Tables of Immigrant Women,” recently joined the Washington Post Food section staff in answering questions about all things edible. Here are edited excerpts from that chat. Read More ⇒

My parents just sold our family house of 31 years. One of my earliest memories there — food-related memories, anyway — is of my dad making barbecue chicken on his old Weber kettle grill on our driveway while my brothers and I played in the backyard. Even now, I can practically smell it. It w… Read More ⇒

“I love this can,” my 19-year-old daughter exclaimed when she opened the refrigerator. She grabbed the 250 milliliter can of Lil Fizz, from No Fine Print Wine, and caressed it in her hands, like a TV model showing off an expensive face cream. Read More ⇒

We don’t just use creamy white ranch dressing for our vegetables. Oh, no. We use it as a dip for our pizza, wings, chips, cheese curds and egg rolls; as a marinade for meats to throw on the grill; and as a topping for nachos, burgers, wraps, sandwiches and potato skins. The dressing has beco… Read More ⇒

Alternatives to plastic straws are proliferating, and more permanent materials than paper are being used: stainless steel, sterling silver, glass and ceramic, sometimes equipped with carrying cases. Read More ⇒

It started with an Instagram post. Two of the world’s most prominent chefs, Éric Ripert and José Andrés, stood smiling on camera to proclaim a new holiday. “On June 25, we all are going to celebrate the birthday of our dear friend and beloved Anthony Bourdain,” Ripert says in the post. Read More ⇒

These four recipes will get you into the in-season, in-the-moment vegetable. Read More ⇒

PHOENIX - Even with a spring that’s kept Central New York guessing – temperatures and precipitation rolling all over the spectrum – come heaven or high water, those summer days are rising bright on the horizon ahead. As the community gets more active with boaters and de-hibernation, those mo… Read More ⇒

Pink is having a moment again thanks to a new trendy fruit. The Starbucks Dragon Drink is a bright bubble gum pink, the color of the Barbie Dreamhouse. It is not exactly the same shade as the ruddy pink peel of dragonfruit (also called pitaya), a tropical fruit grown in the Caribbean and Sou… Read More ⇒

Summer cocktails careen toward the frozen, the slushy; the ultra sweet, the too, too fruity. Enjoy the warm weather, or the cool, with these three refreshing, refined alternatives. Read More ⇒

When was the last time a pasta salad made you swoon? Read More ⇒

When salad season heats up, one thing keeps my kitchen humming: a good homemade dressing. Sure, I’ll throw together a makeshift vinaigrette here and there, combining the bits from almost-used jars of condiments with vinegar and oil. I also adore creamy dressings — green goddess, ranch and th… Read More ⇒

CARTHAGE — Lessons abounded during Children’s Day June 7 at Carthage Farmers Market. About 230 Carthage Elementary students along with children from child care descended on the market. Mother Nature cooperated so the students had a nice walk from the Beaver Lane school to the market on River… Read More ⇒

Few things have come and gone through my kitchen that I have loathed as much as my late grill pan. Designed to stretch over two burners, its size and large handles made it unwieldy and hard to store. It was allegedly nonstick, but food still burned and stuck, and yet I couldn’t scrub it for … Read More ⇒

Neapolitan Bistecca alla Pizzaiola (Steak with Spicy Tomato Sauce) is a dish that Dad will love for this Father’s Day or any day. The spicy tomato sauce was originally used to disguise the poor quality of meat in this region of Italy. Today we can enjoy excellent meats with this sauce for a … Read More ⇒

Think again before you order a small pizza. The folks at Groupon analyzed data from 230 plain, specialty and one-topping pizzas from six national chains to find the best value. Read More ⇒

GUIGLO, Ivory Coast — Five boys are swinging machetes on a cocoa farm, slowly advancing against a wall of brush. Their expressions are deadpan, almost vacant, and they rarely talk. The only sounds in the still air are the whoosh of blades slicing through tall grass and metallic pings when th… Read More ⇒

We’ve all been there: You go out to dinner with a set budget, having already decided what to order and set aside the perfect amount for a tip. Then, your bill comes at the end of the night and you’ve somehow spent way beyond your limit. Read More ⇒

CLAYTON — The Great New York State Food and Wine Festival was so crowded Saturday afternoon that it was difficult to slip between the residents sipping local wines, sampling fudge, cheese and waffles, or trying a shot of locally produced absinthe. They had plenty of choice among the more tha… Read More ⇒