I love to travel. One of my favorite pastimes when traveling is to visit food markets and grocery stores to see what our world neighbors are eating. While the food in some locations is more "exotic" than others, I still find food items and eating habits to differ significantly ...
balsamic vinegar
Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese
I realize that many people have mixed emotions about beets. For many years, I would take a pass when offered them because I didn't like their texture or taste. Sure, I would eat them pickled at Thanksgiving, but I always found the cooked variety served warm rather ...
Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms with Balsamic Vinegar
Spring is a wonderful time to enjoy fresh asparagus, particularly with aged balsamic vinegar. In a recent Food and Wine magazine, I discovered a wonderful recipe for roasted asparagus and mushrooms from Sarah Grueneberg. We had an opportunity to sample this delicious recipe ...
Red Cabbage, Apples, Bacon by Jamie Oliver
My husband adores the recipes of Jamie Oliver. Personally, I find that he is a bit footloose with the measurements, but his insistence on using fresh seasonal products makes all of the difference in his cooking. I particularly like his "heavy" vegetable recipes. Let's face ...
Seared Salmon with Fennel and Balsamic Lentils
We recently came across this wonderful recipe for salmon with roasted fennel and balsamic lentils from the New York Times. It is a superb recipe to add a culinary high-note to the Mediterranean diet. More importantly, it features olive oil and balsamic vinegar and ...
Helpful Hints for a Perfect Prime Rib Roast
I serve a prime rib roast once a year and, as such, have become a bit obsessive on how I source the meat and - most importantly - how it is roasted. I recently came across a wonderful article by J. Kenji López-Alt entitled the Perfect Rib Beef Recipe on Serious ...
Balsamic Vinegar Infographic: A Useful Tool
Buying most anything at a grocery store - particularly olive oil and balsamic vinegar - has become increasingly complicated. I am constantly amazed at the number of choices available. While I know that roughly 75% of labels are misleading - if not fraudulent - I generally don't ...
White Balsamic Vinegar and Jicama Slaw Salad
Balsamic vinegar is frequently used in Italian cooking. In fact, many restaurants will often bring a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to your table when dining. White balsamic vinegar is found less frequently, but is often used in preparing foods where the ...
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar: Don’t be Conned!
Traditional balsamic vinegar specifically refers to balsamic vinegar that consists ONLY of wine must that has been barrel-aged for more than 12 years. Traditional balsamic vinegar is VERY EXPENSIVE and sold ONLY in distinctive 100 ml bottles. Typically, a 100 ml bottle (a ...
New FDA Label Requirement for Balsamic Vinegar
The FDA will be introducing new food labeling requirements to take effect this month, but implemented over the next two years. Some will argue that these new labeling designs are long overdue, but others suggest that the FDA is introducing new labeling requirements that are ...
Paleo Skillet Chicken Mediterranean Diet
During winter, it seems like one's batteries run down quite a bit quicker than they do on a warm summer's day. This is certainly true in my kitchen where I try to focus on hearty meals that I can prepare and then serve on more than one occasion. Certainly, stews and soups can ...
Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar from Mark Bittman
Brussels sprouts is not everyone's favorite vegetable. For many years, it certainly wasn't mine until I learned the proper technique of cooking them - roast them, don't boil them! Sadly, many of us have been brought up in the midwest where over-cooked and unappetizing Brussels ...