Food & Drink

Grill Away Winter's Chill

When it's cold outside, I crave comfort food: macaroni and cheese, pot roast, soups and stews that warm you from the inside out. But it's inevitable, after two months of overindulging and several weeks of chili, soups and stews, I start fantasizing about summer food.

Letting a Little Luck In

What do good-looking men, lentils, no housework and kissing all have in common? According to superstition, they all bring good luck in the new year.

Soda for Tea

As 2011 marches on, our well-intended New Year's Resolutions can gradually fall by the wayside. I have found that when my New Year's goals are broad and vague— "Be healthier! Lose weight!—I quickly give them up. When my goals are small, specific and attainable, I'm more likely to keep going.

DIY (WLOH*) Wedding Food

*With Lots of Help

Asking me about "do-it-yourself" wedding food is about the equivalent of asking Dr. Peter Casano about how to pull off a DIY removal of nasal polyps, but I'll give it my best shot.

I Heart Lasagna

Good lasagna is meaty, drips with rich tomato sauce and oozes with gooey cheese. It's a meal where you can really stretch your dollar. I have yet to come across a lasagna recipe that doesn't make at least three or four meals for two people. Lasagna is filling and comforting at the same time.

Just the Flax, Ma'am

I have never been one for modern medicine. I do not enjoy doctor visits or prescription medication. When I get a cold, I eat chicken soup. When I have a cough, a tablespoon of honey cures it every time. When I burn myself, I always turn to my aloe vera plant.

Family Traditions

The smell of garden-fresh butterbeans and field peas simmered in a dollop of bacon grease and smooth, sweet corn picked, shucked and scraped off the cob was thickened with a little white flour. Fried cornbread dressing was served from a speckled metal roaster pan and hidden under a simple metal cover sat everyone's favorite, grandmother's chocolate cake.

[Stiggers] The Good Foot

Mr. Announcement: "Welcome to ‘Cooking with Fat Meat,' the culinary arts television show that adds a whole lot of flavor to your life. On today's show, Chef Fat Meat presents foods that might bring good fortune into the new year."

Recipe from the Heart

In October, my son's Cub Scout packmaster had a baby. Within a few days of her giving birth, I received an e-mail alerting me that a meal schedule had been set up to keep hot meals on her table as she adjusted to having a new little one in the house.

From Scratch

Instead of taking store-bought cookies or making rice out the box, consider making both from scratch.

Take Them a Meal

Prior to October, I had never heard of Take Them A Meal. The free site provides sample schedules, schedule ideas, recipes and tips. It allows you to either create a meal schedule or search for existing ones. As the meal coordinator, you set up the account and choose the date range for the meals. From there, you can add information about the family: any likes, dislikes and allergies, the family's phone numbers, address and driving directions. Once completed, you enter the e-mail addresses of potential meal providers and that's it.

Festive Nights

A mouth-watering drink recipe is the perfect excuse for a night in. With hot chocolate or spice tea to tempt your palate and keep you warm, it's easy to forgo a trip to the mall or to a fast-food joint. Not only are these drinks delicious, they can help you remain frugal this holiday season.

[Vegan Delights] Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Lemon-Herb Rice

A savory, main event dish that will put in the ho, ho, ho into your holiday.

Holiday Cheer(s!)

Some holiday get-togethers are light-hearted and festive, and booze flows freely among friends. Other gatherings are a bit more begrudging, and alcohol becomes the lubricant for surviving hours of enforced frivolity without stabbing Uncle Charlie with a meat fork when he makes the fatal mistake of bringing up politics at the dinner table.

A Bit of Christmas Drama

When I was a little boy, my father commenced our family custom of preparing a standing rib roast with Yorkshire pudding for our Christmas meal, along with mashed potatoes and butter-boiled lady peas. The whole thing was a production rivaling the best West-end dramas.

Ellington