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Ready to cook outdoors? How to clean and season your grill

Unless you are like me and grill year-round, the warmer weather signals the start of the grilling season. This spring, especially, as millions of us are told to stay home, a trip outside to the backyard or patio is a welcome change. If you have a new grill or have taken one out of winter hibernation, you'll need to clean and season it before you cook. Remember, outdoor grills are like cast-iron skillets: They get better and more seasoned the more you use them. When food cooks on the grill, the fats and juices are vaporized by the heat and create the smoke that flavors the food. The ...

Roasting vegetables is a basic of simple, healthy cooking

Cooking at home more these days? Here's a primer on a basic technique for creating simple, healthy meals: roasting vegetables. If you love ordering deeply caramelized, crispy Brussels sprouts, carrots or cauliflower from a restaurant but have never made them yourself, now is your chance to experience just how easy it is. The secret to the addicting flavor of roasted — or grilled — food is that the natural sugars in the food are browned and caramelized, resulting in great texture and flavor. You need very little equipment to roast vegetables indoors. If you have a sheet pan and ...

3 tips to planning efficient home-cooked meals

A few generations ago, dining out was an experience reserved for special occasions. However, until recently, when restaurants were shuttered in the wake of the public health crisis prompted by the spread of COVID-19, many people were dining out multiple times a week. Hospitality solutions provider Fourth surveyed 1,000 American adults in 2019 and 56 percent reported dining out at least two to three times per week. Ten percent said they ate out four to six times each week, while 6 percent said they dined out everyday. People accustomed to relying on restaurant for meals multiple ...

What’s for dinner? Depends what’s in the fridge and pantry

Just about now, you might be tired of cooking and eating what's in your refrigerator. We are all used to asking what's for dinner? What are we in the mood for — pizza, sushi, Mexican? And then going to a restaurant to get it. Now, with the coronavirus forcing many of us to stay home more, it's time to look at mealtime and cooking at home a little differently. Instead of asking, `What I am in the mood for?' I am looking more closely in my pantry and my refrigerator and letting my ingredients dictate what I make. For example, a few months ago, I was lured to purchase a big bag of ...

Virus sends a nation of restaurant-goers back to the kitchen

Last Tuesday night in Tennessee, bluegrass musicians David and Virginia Blood were busy making sandwiches. In Pittsburgh, real estate agent Michelle Bushee was stirring a pot of homemade black-bean chili in her kitchen instead of shepherding curious buyers through potential dream homes. Marty Prudenti, whose nights are usually spent working backstage at New York City's Lincoln Center, was in his Long Island backyard grilling burgers for his twins. And in Texas, Babette Maxwell — who would otherwise have been running at least one of her three teenage sons to sports practices or ...

The secret to a great Irish Coffee isn’t what you’d expect

Last summer, I traveled to Ireland to learn about Irish whiskey, a spirit I knew relatively little about. The Irish drink I knew better was Guinness, which I enjoyed occasionally and use to make my favorite Chocolate Chocolate Cake. Turns out, I am not alone in my unfamiliarity with Irish whiskey. Today's Irish whiskey industry is relatively young. It all but died out after Ireland gained independence from Britain in 1922. In 1980, there were only two distilleries, Bushmills and Midleton, makers of Jameson and other well-known brands. Today there are 31. Irish whiskey, like other ...