Food Connections

Conquering the Poached Egg Just before Easter, anticipating a crowd for brunch, I began practicing poaching eggs. I've tried many methods over the years, none of which I found particularly reliable. That brunch came and went and the eggs turned out just fine. But...

Feeling a litle crabby? Some people hate to grocery shop. My friend, Ann, would do just about anything, if she could avoid the whole business. But I love grocery stores. Each time I enter a store, it seems that I stumble upon another interesting...

Pumpkin Part of the fun of eating seasonally is looking forward to foods and flavors that are associated with a particular time of year. In the summer, we eat gazbacho, for instance, not because we can't make it in winter, but...

Sourdough Starter They've been running an old cooking series on PBS here in Denver-- Julia Child with Master Chefs. I'd seen most of these back when they ran this program in 2000 and even purchased a companion cookbook when I ran across...

Zucchini I used to have an aversion to zucchini. I blame this entirely on my upbringing, where zucchini equaled a slimy, mushy dish that made me literally gag. It was a vegetable that I couldn't bring myself to eat for years,...

Pastitsio Greek food can feel a bit intimidating to anyone who hasn't been exposed to it's delicious flavors. I'm a big fan, particularly because I love lamb, but also love other things common in Greek cooking: lemon, garlic, artichokes, oregano, wine....

Smoked Salmon Seafood is one of my passions. Particularly salmon. There seems to be no end to the ways to prepare it, but smoking it is my current favorite. Unlike pork butt, which takes 13 hours to prep, smoke and shred, salmon...

Carnitas and refried beans It was Saturday afternoon. Charlie and I had just finished with our gig for Project Angel Heart, a terrific organization that provides meals for people living with life-threatening illnesses, and it was 74 degrees out. That's right--winter in Colorado and...

Southwest Pork Chops with Spicy Pumpkin Sauce Do you remember the pork chops of your childhood? Dry. Tough. Tasteless. Did I say Dry? Barely edible? My husband has long held a special place in his heart for pork, in particular, pork chops. My early impressions of pork...

Lamb Shanks with Orange, Wine & Rosemary I'm a fan of lamb. I grew up eating leg of lamb, which my parents roasted with cloves of garlic. They served it with rice and a delicious gravy made from the pan drippings. Really yummy. Since then, I've eaten...

Chicken, chicken and more chicken Costco can be a dangerous place. Anyone who shops there knows how easy it is to arrive with a list of 5 or 6 things, and leave with a trunk full of great deals, new things to try or just...