Just came upon this really cool, very fun FOOD & WINE alphabetical wine pairing article by Marcia Kiesel that, though written in October, 1999, is both timeless and GREAT for anyone interested in matching wine to food.  The entries, like the A and Z pieces I've copied below, are short, too the point, uniquie and incredibly creative.  I can't wait to give some of them a try!   I've copied the whole article to keep myself, and I strongly encourage you to do the same by clicking the photo at the...

If you've downloaded video or picture book recipes from this site that require any cutting with a knife, you've probably noticed that my fingers on the hand anchoring food to the cutting board are always curled as shown here.   

The reason I do this is not to make me look like a chef - I'm not. I only do it to keep my fingers on my hand where they belong. Curlling your fingers does two...

Toasted bread, butter & cheese: that's all there is to grilled cheese sandwiches.  Gonna' talk about how to make them at 8:25pm EDT tonight on Conversations Live With Cyrus Webb. 

Grilled cheese sandwiches are quick & easy to make, a great way to introduce kids to the kitchen, and a fully satisfying, comforting way to feed a hungry family, especially when you don't have a lot of time to put together a meal.  You can have them alone for a quick bite or have them with soup (try dunking the sandwich in soup - outstanding!) or...

This ever happen to you? It happened to me just the other day. I put a pot on the stove to make tea like this…

…then left the kitchen to do some work intending to turn off the stove in 5 minutes.  About 40 minutes...

Like I mentioned yesterday, there are 3 terrific benefits to cooking bacon in the microwave oven whether you're using pork or turkey bacon:

1. Less cooking time than pan frying or oven baking.

2. Less fat (and no splatter) - the paper towel used to wrap the bacon soaks fat incredibly efficiently.

3. Less clean up - fat soaked paper towel goes in the trash.  No pan to cool, wipe clean with a paper towel (you wouldn't pour pipe-clogging hot fat down the drain anyway, right?) and then clean with soap and water.

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My passions for movement and dance often lead me to new and creative ways of keep myself doing just that, moving and dancing. Today, I got a beautiful new pair of dance skates, (that's the skates with four wheels) AKA, quads or traditionals.

I used to roller skate when I was a young girl, probably three or four days a week. Man, I just LOVED it! Bopping, rolling, gliding! Music, dance, action! Never a dull moment - all inclusive - mind, body, heart and soul involved.

Now, I'm back and ready to roll, (literally). My husband and I went downtown to pick them up and then, straight to the park. Armed with my wrist and elbow pads, I started to get my skate - legs back. Little by little, all my old moves started to magically show themselves to me (well, a few of them anyway - it'll take some time). Just as the saying goes, "it's like riding a bike". I...

All right, so here's how I wanted the microwave oven cooked bacon I wrote about yesterday to turn out.

And I found a way to do it safely (no flames) whether I wanted the bacon chewy or crispy using either pork or turkey bacon.  Before starting, though, there are 3 terrific benefits to cooking bacon in the microwave oven.

1. Less cooking time.

2. Less fat (and no splatter) - the paper towel soaks fat incredibly efficiently.

My challenge: find a safe & easy technique for cooking bacon in a microwave oven. 

 First, I do some research.  The best recipe I find calls for first cooking raw bacon in its plastic packaging (to get rid of excess moisture) and then shows how to wrap the warmed bacon in newspaper for final crisping in the microwave. 

Whoa! 

To start with, I don't like the idea of cooking in plastic after having read recent articles stating that trace amounts of plastic can leech into the foods they...

Want a quick, fun & flavorful kid-safe-to-prepare recipe to encourage your kids' "I can do it myself" spirit in the kitchen? 

Try Quick Microwave Oven Cooked Tortilla Pizzas. The thing I love most about this recipe is that I learned it from my 11 year old daughter last summer. Tortilla Pizzas take 2-3 minutes to prepare, are great for lunch, snacks or even dinner and only require the commonly found ingredients shown below.