Let the parties begin Time is running out. You need to step up to the dinner plate. We'll help as the festive season begins with the first of what often are many holiday meals between now and the new year.
Bacon adds clout to Brussels sprouts Like many members of the cabbage family, Brussels sprouts are at their sweetest and best when grown in cool weather. (There are those who think they're even better after a light frost.) In fact they're as good a symbol of mid-fall as exists, and in recent years they've made the happy transition to trendy: We see them cooked in stock, roasted until really browned, halved and sautéed, and now shredded.
A drink to wake the dead There I was, belly up to the bar at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans, Mardi Gras beads around my neck, shoes squishy from marching in the rain with a brass band parade through the city's narrow streets. The barkeep offered a Corpse Reviver.
An apple a day ... keeps the cook happy A dazzling array of locally grown apples halted my steps the other day at the farmers market, glistening like jewels.