PIE-A-DAY #26
I have a friend named Grace.  She’s 12.  I’ve known her since she was a little one.  She has been lucky enough to grow up in a family where her parents cook.  Her Dad is one of the most passionate and talented hobby cooks I know.  She was never shooed out of the kitchen or told that she wasn’t ready to participate.  As a result, she’s a pretty passionate cook herself.
Last week, I was cooking at their house and Grace showed up with Rainier Cherries and Yellow Nectarines …

This week on Good Food, we’re tapping into our archives for the holiday weekend; the theme is traveling.  A segment that I love is Evan’s conversation with her good friend Elizabeth Minchilli, a writer living in Rome.  They talked about artichokes and the hundreds of ways that Italians eat them.  One way that Romans enjoy artichokes is fried: Carciofi alla Giudea.  Below is Evan’s recipe for the dish, which first appeared in Bon Appetit.

Keep reading for the recipe…

Every Tuesday I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s question comes from Simeon:

I just tried something that didn’t quite work. I have access to an obscene amount of mulberries, and I tried to combine them with rhubarb (which I also grow) because I thought that the bland sweet of the one and high acid of the other would balance well together as a pie filling, or maybe in a …

My head is spinning with the number of events we’re doing here on Good Food.  Honestly, I don’t know how Evan does it!  (Of course, she is the woman who actually DOES all the events).  Here’s what’s in store for us:
Taste of the Farmers Market
When: Tuesday, July 12 5:30 pm
What: Evan will be dipping chocolate, making ice cream and cooking chicken with some of our favorite Original Farmers Market Vendors like Little John, Bennett’s Ice Cream and Puritan Poultry.  Eddie Lin will emcee and will host a lively raffle.
Eat …

PIE-A-DAY #18

Sometimes you find fruit in the strangest place.  Like a supermarket.  Imagine that!  I was doing a top speed run through of the Whole Foods produce section to make dinner for a client when I saw it.  A cart of blackberry boxes piled high wheeled by.  I looked at the top of the tower and there they were, plump, ripe Boysenberries, one case atop dozens of ollailies from an organic California grower. My relationship with Boysenberries developed when I was a kid.  To me a great blackberry is …

Every week I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s question comes from Tony:

There is a sale on lobster tails. I love lobster but have no idea what to do with the tails. Any ideas?

Run and buy them! The tails are the home cooks bonanza of easy and impressive meals. Once you have the tail, cut it with a sharp knife down the back. Make a small …

Today I was editing Russ Parsons’ conversation with Evan for this week’s Good Food, and I just had to share this excerpt.  Russ tells us his foolproof method for making hard boiled eggs.  Enjoy!
How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs by KCRW

Every Tuesday I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s question comes from Betty:

Do you have a favorite preparation for purple asparagus?

I love this question and I really really love those Zuckerman’s Purple, nearly-jumbo asparagus.  Almost anything you do will be wonderful, but I think they’re at their best simply prepared.  I think roasting brings out the best in asparagus. 
You’ll want to peel the lower third of each spear since …

PIE-A-DAY #8
This recipe is one of Evan’s from back in 2009. She made it again recently and rediscovered just how yummy it is!
I originally made this pie on August 8, 2009 during my first round of Pie-a-Day, but I never actually wrote out the recipe.  Since it was house consensus that it was the best pie of that summer I really had to make it again and see if it was, in fact, that good.  Whoa boy, is it ever!
Your lesson to learn from this pie is
A.  How …

Every Tuesday I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s question comes from Nancy.  She asks what this kitchen tool is used for: