Lemonade
I am powerless over several things— the movies “The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II,” and “Almost Famous,” donuts, babies, French fries, and Beatles music. Whenever I am flipping channels and one of...
View ArticleHoneysuckle Sorbet
CHAPEL HILL, NC— Many argue that the Southern culinary renaissance originated at Crook’s Corner restaurant in this North Carolina town, and that the movement was forged by one chef, Bill Neal. I...
View ArticleBuying In Bulk
The Italian method of going to the market on a daily basis holds great appeal to me. It’s how they’ve done it for centuries. There are staples in the kitchen, but the perishables are purchased in the...
View ArticleRepayment
In the late 1970s my mother asked me to accompany her to New Orleans. “What are we going to do?” I asked. “It’s a surprise.” She said. Three days later we hopped into her car and headed south. It was...
View ArticleJumbo Lump Crabmeat
Three of the most beautiful words in the English language are “jumbo lump crabmeat.” Taken on their own the words are nothing special. If one were playing an association game, the first thing that...
View ArticleThe Age of the Servant Restaurateur
Over the course of a 30-year career in the restaurant business I have met a lot of caring, generous, and talented people. One of the great opportunities the restaurant business affords is the...
View ArticleLeatha Jackson
This is going to be a hard one to write. Sometimes I sit at my computer before the sun rises on Monday morning and the words flow freely and easily for this 750-word column. As a matter of fact, most...
View ArticleHunger and Obesity
While at a cocktail party a few weeks ago I mentally checked out of the conversation I was a part of and started listening to a conversation between two couples standing behind me. Eavesdropping...
View ArticleRarified Air In the Steak Universe
The most popular interview question I encounter is “What is your favorite dish or meal?” I was asked that question in an interview last week and I did what I usually do, which is divert the question...
View ArticleBirthday Meal
“My grandmother was the best cook, ever.” That is a testimonial I hear all of the time. It’s usually delivered as a cold, out-of-the-blue opening statement. Someone will approach me at a book...
View ArticleMilestones
Someone once told me, “You have to be a masochist to be in the restaurant business.” The guy who said it owned a small cafe for a brief stint and was holding a fire sale of his furniture, fixtures,...
View ArticleAn Italian Palate
Two years ago today I was in Italy. My wife, daughter, son, two good friends and I spent 10 weeks covering the boot from the southernmost tip of Sicily to the Alps. My wife homeschooled the kids...
View ArticleAn Italian Palate Book Signing Schedule
October 27 Mississippi Museum of Art 1:00pm Jackson, MS October 29 Oddfellow’s Gallery 5:00pm...
View ArticleZing Zang Vegetable Beef Soup
I’m not a soup guy. I didn’t grow up in a soup family. We were devoted disciples of all types of gumbo, but that’s where it ended. My only exposure to soup as a kid was mostly the chicken-noodle...
View ArticleNotes From the Road
The book-signing tour for the new book “An Italian Palate” is in fourth gear and we won’t be downshifting anytime soon. Between this writing and mid December Wyatt Waters and I are traveling to 30...
View ArticlePancakes Are Love
I’ve been running hard for two weeks. The book-signing tour for “An Italian Palate” is different than ones in years past in that it is concentrated into a jam-packed four-week period, and is more...
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Food & Art
Some consider food to be a form of art. I don’t take food that seriously. I think food can occasionally be artistic, but I’m not sure if I buy into the whole “chef is an artist” thing. To me, a chef...
View ArticleExtra Table Christmas
The season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is often reserved as a time when we count our blessings. I am blessed in many ways. I have a dedicated and loving wife, healthy children, loving family...
View ArticleFluidity In Food Development
Food development is fluid. Many times a new dish starts as one thing and ends up being something entirely different. I was working on a baked crabmeat dish 15 years ago hoping to offer a feature that...
View ArticleClementino
“Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine.” I spent a few months in Italy a couple of years ago and that song was stuck in my head the entire time. It came into my consciousness as...
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