Food & Drink

Farm To Table

It sounds like such a simple concept. Farmers grow food; restaurants cook and serve food; customers eat food. If only it were that simple. Competing forces of regulation, supply and demand, transportation, reliability of source, supply-chain management and other concerns too numerous to count stand up like an endless row of sentinels blocking the way for food to get from the ground to your fork.

Pop-up in Paradise

Jimmy Buffet sang about them. Wimpy ate 'em with abandon (and would gladly pay you Tuesday for one today), and 86 percent of Americans ordered at least one last year.

‘Old Southern' Cooking with Sara Foster

Sara Foster's career has come back home. After growing up in Tennessee in a family of cooks, Foster went to culinary school in New York. She worked with Martha Stewart and owned a catering business in Connecticut before relocating to North Carolina and opening Foster's Market.

Coping with Food Allergies

About four years ago, I finally realized that the health problems I had been having for years would recur every time I ate tomatoes or dishes in which tomatoes were prominent. Salsa, spaghetti and tomato-based soups all gave me terrible allergic reactions such as swollen eyelids and stomach aches.

Royal Cocktails

You may not be royalty, but that shouldn't stop you from adding a little pizzazz to your summer wedding. Consider adding these royal-themed drinks to your bar menu. They're provided by http://www.iDRINK.com in honor of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Simple Suppers

I don't know if the sky has always been this blue, or if the long and unusually harsh winter this year has made me enjoy the sunshine that much more. But lately, I've felt very much like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" when she wakes up after the twister and finds that her life has gone from shades of gray to Technicolor in the blink of an eye.

Momma's Kitchen Wisdom

Around sixth or seventh grade, a friend's mother decided that we needed to learn how to cook. I already could prepare basics such as scrambled eggs, chocolate chip cookies and egg-drop soup (my family was a little unconventional). I was excited at the prospect of being able to cook a whole meal for my momma on my own instead of just helping her. So, on the scheduled day, I went to my friend's house for our first cooking lesson. Her mother taught us how to make fried chicken and an asparagus casserole.

Take Mom Out to Eat

Make it a day to remember for mom. Treat her to a meal at one of the metro area's eateries.

Chocolate Treats for Mom

All the women in my family share a love of all things chocolate. Mothers passed down several delicious family chocolate recipes through the generations. At my wedding shower six years ago, a cousin gave me a gift of a recipe book filled with treasured family recipes from the women who came before me.

Tasting Great

For the past four years, Jon Lansdale has been carving out his own chocolate-coated and Panini-pressed niche at Crazy Cat Bakers (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 173, 601-362-7448) in a corner of Highland Village.

Carboholics Anonymous

It's hard to admit, but it's true. I love carbs, and I am nearly powerless against them. I need a support group. Carbs are my kryptonite.

If You Can Read…

One of my nieces, who wishes to remain anonymous for reasons that will soon become clear, started showing up at family functions with amazing homemade pies. I admit that I was skeptical of her baking at first. This is the niece who recently caught her kitchen on fire while making French fries; she claims she just forgot she left the stove on.

Ellington