Eric Akis' Skillet Mac and Cheese (yes, I know, I used penne and I served it in ramekins; I am quirky like that). It is interesting how the world works sometimes. Just before our household grew from three to four , I was offered the opportunity to review not one, but two books on the subject of quick meals for busy cooks. Everyone seems to be talking about how hard it is to find the time to cook.  read more »

I grew up in the 1970s in Dallas, Texas, at a time when processed food was the hot new thing (think Funyuns , Cap’n Crunch and Velveeta , and the list goes on…). So you can imagine what I must have been surrounded by foodwise. Fortunately, my mom was a foodie at heartshe baked loaves of bread, cultured her own tangy yogurt, and not only grew a good-sized vegetable garden, but maintained a healthy compost pile. She was no doubt considered “weird” for the time and the place, and I for one have never stopped appreciating her weirdness. My mom’s garden was really sweet, and gave me a whole new appreciation of fresh vegetables as a kid. I remember once she grew a cucumber that was nearly as tall as my younger brother. We were in awe. I also remember stealing plenty of tomatoes, fresh off the vine and warm from the sun. And I still think that there is probably no better thing in the world that you can eat than a freshly-plucked tomato at the peak of ripeness. Up until now, I haven’t really been in a place where I could easily grow my own vegetables. So, a few weeks ago, on a whim, I decided to buy a few half wine barrels and start my own urban garden. I managed to find 4 barrels for only $20 each with free delivery on craigslist . What a steal!  read more »

The day: 28 th June, Dinner. The place: 185 Route de Lyon Illkirch Graffenstaden (Strasbourg, France) The venue: Restaurant a lAgneau Closest airports: Strasbourg , Basel The food: Fine modern French The drinks: French, not too long but interesting,. Oh well, we are falling into the habit of stopping by in Alsace on our way back to London . Our designated victim this time is Restaurant a lAgneau, on the high street of the small village of Illkirch-Graffenstaden (how much history in these German sounding names), in the outskirts of Strasbourg .  read more »

Salads are your friend. They really are - and I'm glad I discovered this at a relatively early age.If it were up to my father, I don't think salads would ever have graced our table. He has a long-standing and deep-rooted suspicion for all things green and crunchy and I remember my mom serving him ratatouille by spooning some onto his plate and then carefully carefully picking out the greenery, leaving only the tomato and mushroom/aubergine bits!  read more »

I remember seeing the sign, just minutes after disembarking off the ferry that sailed from southern Italy to the Greek port town of Piraeus . We were bleary-eyed from a restless night spent in the hold of a ship, sleeping on rows of dirty reclaimed airplane seats that made up the low-priced passenger seating on this particular boat. My friend and I were young, twenty or so, and on a budget. But my head was filled with the images of the Greek myths I had loved as I child and I wanted to go to Greece. Neither of us had anticipated how uncomfortable the passage would be. When we stumbled off the boat, blinking in the suddenly bright sun, we were cranky and tired, hungry too.  read more »

Alright, we're still in Chicago and we still have six more chefs to sort through, several of which I hadn't pictured making it past week two, much less week ten. Here's who's left, with a cheat-sheet in case you still don't have the names straight: Lisa (pierced eyebrow), Antonia (unflappable expression), Stephanie (curls) , Richard (fauxhawk), Dale (headband, grimace), Spike (hats), Andrew (beard, crazy eyes). As we head into the Top Chef kitchen for the Quickfire, we see that this week's guest judge is Sam Talbot, a popular finalist from Season Two. He and Padma introduce the opening challenge, which is to make an innovative salad, or as they embarassingly put it: "bring the sexy back to salad." [Insert eye-roll...Harold Check

Like any good movie director, Top Chef decided to create some drama in the very first scene of tonight's episode. They introduced the idea that Jen and Zoi have an advantage because they're not separated from their loved ones. They even set it up with a sound-bite from Jen herself, talking about keeping some distance to defuse any suggestion that she and her partner are giving each other unfair support. Spike, always good for a snide comment or two, offered his assessment that the couple have a "slight advantage" and, in the Top Chef competition, that could make all the difference. It was the laugh-out-loud line of the show, for sure. Of course, part of me hoped it was true,...Harold Check

From the people who brought you The Week in Craig, one of the all time great uses of the internet, comes Eater's newest feature: The Week in Yelp, wherein Amy Blair takes aim at the ridiculousness that is the world...Lesley

From the people who brought you The Week in Craig, one of the all time great uses of the internet, comes Eater's newest feature: The Week in Yelp, wherein Amy Blair takes aim at the ridiculousness that is the world...Amanda

Other than a knife and chopping block, this basalt stone mortar and pestle is the single most important tool of the Indonesian kitchen. The mortar, called cobek in Indonesian and penyan tokan in Balinese, is wide, shallow, and heavy, with...Robyn Eckhardt