A Savory Moment by Life At The Table

Flatbread Pizza Crust Carries Good Things Crust. That word conjures up all kinds of imagery and thoughts. The Earth’s crust. A pie crust. My favorite image of crust is a flatbread pizza crust. The crust on any pizza is a foundation. Just like the Earth’s crust which carries civilization, pizza crust is the carrier of toppings. You could cook all your pizza ingredients, plop them in a bowl and call...

Got a hankering for hot wings and want an effortless recipe and tips on how to make them?   Americans Love Hot Wings You’re not alone in your cravings and certainly not alone in your love for one of America’s most beloved foods. It’s projected that Americans will consume 1.42 billion wings for this year’s Super Bowl. Considered a classic American comfort food, hot wings got their start in Buf...

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies Make the World Go ‘Round It’s the treat realtors tell their sellers to bake when they have an open house so the house smells like a home.  And it’s what Cookie Monster has been chomping on for 50 years.   Yes, it’s the revered chocolate chip cookie. The old standby.  The standard bearer of cookies. This cookie is such a special treat that it has its own National Day...

  What’s flat, round, has a long history with mankind, and whose name in Spanish means “ cake ”. The tortilla of course.   The Humble Tortilla is Big Business The humble tortilla is big business. In 2021 the tortilla market was valued at $45.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to around $70B in 2026. Why such growth you may ask? Because tortillas are versatile, easy, and inexpensiv...

Ah, the juniper berry. It’s a bit of a mystery in the culinary world and what complicates it more is it’s not a berry at all. It’s a female seed cone of the juniper tree, of which there are many species. The juniper berry is round and fleshy, and does look very much like, well, a berry. Traditionally chefs have used juniper berry in cooking game meats like wild boar to mask it&#8...

Looking to feed a gathering with little effort and a big flavor payoff? You can easily fan the flames of community with this simple, easy, and delicious paella recipe. You may think paella is unapproachable in the home kitchen and left best as a dish to be ordered out. No so. Let’s peel away this shroud of mystique around paella.   Where Paella Came From With its roots in Valencia, Spain, far...

    Man has been making goat cheese for thousands of years. Goats were one of the first domesticated animals in Middle East, raised primarily for their meat. The Moors took goats to France in the 8th Century AD where the French were the first to embrace and perfect the deliciousness of transforming goat milk into cheese.   Kick Up The Presentation Factor: Goat Cheese and Pistachio S...

Four Tips To Pick a Watermelon Hey y’all! It’s summer and I’m craving a watermelon. I’m off to the grocery store to pick the juiciest, best-tasting watermelon there is. Come with me and learn how to pick your own. Here are my four tips for picking the sweetest, juiciest watermelon you can.     Tip #1 Look For a Large Field Spot Number one, look for a large field spot ....

  “I live on good soup, not on fine words.”     Those are words of wisdom from the 17 th  Century French playwright, actor, and poet, Moliére.   But he’s a thoroughly modern man and incredible visionary when it comes to soup.     Modern Goodness One of the easiest weeknight meals to make is soup, but our culture seems a bit disinclined towards this almost ancient...

  Homemade Granola What do you think of when you hear the word granola? Do you think California? Hippie movement? Health food?   Granola has ties to all three.   The Fun, Recent History of Granola Two Californians emerge as the modern-day proponents of this crunchy, delectable food.   Wayne Schlotthauer in Chico, CA, was making a wheat-based granola as far back as 1957 using hi...

History and Health Benefits of Pure Maple Syrup From trees to jars and jugs, maple syrup is a sweet yet surprisingly healthy addition to recipes and breakfast meals. Because of its price tag, you may have bypassed this beautiful, remarkably good-for-you syrup in favor of a cheaper imitation.   Read the label.   That imitation syrup is filled with high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colorings, and...

  Pistachio Crusted Chicken with a Mustard Cream Sauce Did you know that pistachios sold in the United States used to be dyed red? This practice began in the 1930s.   California processors began dying pistachio shells red to hide blemishes and stains that occurred during harvesting. Today that practice has all but disappeared. And that makes me happy. Those bright red shells did nothing...

A Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe Fit For a King   A friend of mine got a job in a biscuit factory. He kneaded the dough. Ok, that pun’s not mine but it’s a fun way to talk about one of my favorite subjects – homemade buttermilk biscuits.   The Biscuit Lady My last rotation in culinary school was working the pizza station in the school restaurant.   Yes, what a way to end my edu...

Easy Weeknight Chili Recipe Ready for a bowl of weeknight goodness? Give this easy chili recipe a try that’s perfect for a weeknight. What does a German immigrant who owned The Phoenix Saloon in a central Texas town to have to do with a red, spicy powder that’s a base ingredient in chili? Everything.     William Gebhardt’s Obsession With a Good Bowl of Chili Located in downto...

Brown Rice With Sage and Walnuts If you’re someone who thinks “I gotta eat brown rice, because it’s healthier for me, but it’s not my favorite,” today’s recipe is for you. In addition to possibly thinking that brown rice is a drudge to eat, there are two additional challenges to overcome to select it as a part of your weeknight menu.   Why Brown Rice Takes Longer to Cook Than White Rice First...

Sage Advice: Try This Trusty And Flavorful Herb A sage can be defined as a person of profound wisdom.   And who knows? You may be considered one if you decide to serve a meal with this aromatic and flavorful herb.     Wisdom of the Ages The word sage is derived from the Latin word salvia which means “to heal.”   The Romans recognized sage as a “holy herb” in religious rituals and they co...

Cook More: Reduce Food Waste. Save Money What is the single largest stream of waste hauled into our landfills everyday? Is it paper and cardboard? Plastic? Or glass and metal?     Rotten and Uneaten Food is Flowing Into and Filling Our Landfills It’s food. Are you surprised? According to the EPA, 21.9% of all waste carried into municipal landfills every year is food.   By weight, the largest...

Fresh, Healthy Fruit and Yogurt Salad Forget the fruit salads of the past.   It’s time for an upgrade!   Remember school lunches with those little single-serving cans of fruit cocktail?   And then the inevitable “bland from a can” fruit salad at every family potluck? Every bite tasted the same, didn’t taste much like fruit, and probably scarred you for life from any type of fruit salad. Leave behi...

Easy Weeknight Beef and Beer Stew Sometimes it’s the simple flavors and preparations of food that are the most near and dear to our hearts. This is how I think and feel about Easy Weeknight Beef and Beer stew.   Stew is full-flavored comfort food that’s simple enough for a busy weekday or a lazy weekend.   Brief History of Stew History tells us that mankind has been making stew for eons of ti...

Behold the onion – a bountiful bulb of delicious, versatile flavor.   It may not be the prettiest veggie in the garden, but this kitchen staple has layers and layers of history, culture and culinary significance.   Peeling Back the Layers of Time The consumption of onions goes back more than 5,000 years. Many experts believe that they originated in Asia, around Pakistan and Iran.   This...

Auld Lang Syne: Not Just For New Year’s Eve With the beginning of a new year, we often pause to reflect on the past year. What was, what could have been, but wasn’t.   Origin and Meaning of Auld Lang Syne There is a sweetness in reflection.   On New Year’s Eve we sing Auld Lang Syne , words penned by Scottish poet Robert Burns . It’s a song that makes you feel nostalgic even though you...

Gingerbread: Simple and Delicious When you hear the word gingerbread what happens? Does your mouth water? Can you taste and smell the sweet, spicy notes of molasses, ginger and cinnamon? You also might be thinking of the gingerbread house that’s glued together with icing and decorated with candies.   The Guiness Book of World Records Gingerbread House Did you know that the largest gingerbread...

Gingerbread: A Delicious Legend and Lore   “Run, run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” Gingerbread is the stuff of legends and lore.   The Gingerbread Legend But before the gingerbread as we now know it came to be, the word gingerbread was used to describe preserved ginger root. It was even used to describe an ancient Roman honey cake that didn’t contain...

Sweet Potato and Poblano Gratin    Why did the sweet potato hesitate crossing the road? Because it saw a fork up ahead! It’s time to raise our forks in saluting this versatile and yummy offering when it comes to preparing a feast any time of the year. Over the last ten years the per capita sweet potato consumption has increased almost every year. In contrast overall potato consumption has rem...

Is That a Sweet Potato or Yam On Your Plate?   “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would be just as sweet.” When Shakespeare wrote this now-famous line from the classic play “Romeo and Juliet,” he probably wasn’t thinking of sweet potatoes.   What’s In A Name?   So what does Shakespeare and sweet potatoes have in common? On the shelves and in the vegetable...