Ingredients, Pitch

Chestnut Charlie's fires up for another season

Abbie Stutzer — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:00:00 -0600

You know what we eat here on the Plains: sauce-slathered barbecued ribs, mounds of mashed potatoes, breads of our golden wheat. Also: fire-roasted chestnuts.…

BadSeed's Thanksgiving market will help you set your table up right

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:00:01 -0600

You've got to get the turkey right for Thanksgiving to be a success. But if you have outstanding sides, you can sometimes save the holiday meal from going sideways.…

The secret to the perfect cinnamon roll

Charles Ferruzza — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:33:00 -0600

Anyone can make a good cinnamon roll. A box of Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix makes the task so easy, you could almost make a serviceable roll in an Easy Bake Oven (not the kind that uses a light bulb, however; I tried!).…

Butter it up: Shatto unveils new line of flavored butters

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:43:48 -0600

With skim milk being the Shatto Milk Company's top seller, Shatto is left with a lot of cream. This means that the Osborn, Missouri, dairy has started to get pretty creative with its product line.…

Mashed potatoes need to be an accepted part of the condiment canon

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:30:55 -0500

In an effort to discover the ultimate mashed-potato recipe for Thanksgiving, I've been whipping up batches the past few weeks. Right now, the leading contender is Ina Garten's parmesan smashed potatoes (a lot of butter, parmesan and sour cream), but there's no shortage of potential contenders for the spoon.…

Jalapeno peppers being bred to hold more cheese

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:00:21 -0600

The trickle of molten cheese inside a jalapeno pepper just became a raging river. Popular Science reports that New Mexico State University's chili breeding program has created a new "extra large, medium hot jalapeno pepper precisely optimized for jalapeno poppers."…

How to eat local for the holidays

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 11:15:33 -0600

You might not feed as many people as a Kansas farmer this year -- although preparing Thanksgiving dinner may feel like you're cooking for 129 people -- but you can feature some of what they grow on your dinner table.

The Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition has launched a campaign and corresponding Web site, Eat Local for the Holidays, which has a list of farmer's markets, local vendors and a guide to what's in season.…

Rose water: drink it, eat it, wear it

Charles Ferruzza — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:15:50 -0500

It's good for desserts...and acne!

"Fragrance is very important in our culture," says Kashif Tufial, the co-owner of the Chai Shai bistro -- which serves Pakistani fare -- in Brookside. "We don't just celebrate the sensual qualities of flowers in wreaths and garlands, but in our cuisine as well."

The essence of rose, for example, in the form of rose water, is used in beverages and desserts at Chai Shai.…

Summer Squash's short window closes soon

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:30:42 -0500

Winter squash is hardy, needing to be scrubbed, peeled and subdued on the grill after months of storage. Summer squash is more delicate.…

Why you're paying more for pine nuts these days

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:00:44 -0500

I would not want to be in charge of procurement at the Costco in Johnson County. The store currently doesn't have large bags of pine nuts in stock and after hearing a Costco employee receive a few choice words about that decision, it would seem that hell hath no fury scorned like a woman denied an oversized sack of the key pesto ingredient.…

Is that a nectarine in your pocket?

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:00:26 -0500

Nectarines are pocket fruit. Wrap one in a paper towel and you've got nature's version of a hot pocket.…

Slice up that cantaloupe for cocktails and caviar

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:45:55 -0500

Watermelons snag your eye. It's got green racing stripes and a bright red pulp that has made it a picnic staple.…

Poll: Should Heinz change its ketchup recipe?

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:00:32 -0500

In an effort to address concerns over salt content, the H.J. Heinz Company announced at the end of last week that it will change its ketchup recipe (earlier this year, the ketchup packet got a makeover). Heinz will cut the amount of sodium by 15 percent -- the first change to its iconic, market-leading ketchup in 40 years.

This decision comes in the wake of last month's news that the Food and Drug Administration hopes to work with the food industry to cut the amount of salt in processed foods and eventually regulate the amount of salt allowed legally.…

The Tasteful Olive opens in Overland Park

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:06:48 -0500

Mackey's struck oil in Overland Park

Santa Fe Drive, the main drag of downtown Overland Park, now has two businesses with the word olive in their names: the Olive Branch Art Gallery & Studios at 7915 Santa Fe Drive, which does not sell olive oil, and the two-week-old The Tasteful Olive, which does.

It's a sunny storefront at 7945 Santa Fe, owned by Jeanne Mackey.…

Crab meat: Today's the day, folks

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:30:30 -0600

Go ahead and be crabby today

Go ahead and take your lumps -- as long as its lump crab. March 9 is official National Crab Meat Day, which is reason enough to go out and order something with crab meat as an ingredient.…

What's in season: Rutabagas

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:30:18 -0600

Winter is about root vegetables and one of the hidden gems is rutabagas. The cross between a cabbage and turnip -- also known as a Swedish turnip -- it's slightly sweeter than a turnip with less water (which means it can sometimes be woody if not cooked properly).…

Holiday recipe: Cognac baked sweet potatoes

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:00:08 -0600

Sally Calvin, the doyenne of Widgeonwood Farm in Columbia, Missouri (which she operates with her manly hunter husband David) is best known in Kansas City for her Saturday-only outdoor market, Widgeonwood in the Village, held in the courtyard of Prairie Village Shopping Center from early spring to mid-October. Last Saturday Sally hosted her annual holiday market, selling her jams, jellies, baking mixes, syrups, salsas and gift items -- and copies of 2004's Widgeonwood: Finally the Cookbook, which includes a recipe for sweet potatoes baked in cognac.…

DIY Holidays: Roasting local pecans

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:45:58 -0600

Roasting pecans is like roasting pumpkin seeds: You never know how easy it is until you sit down and do it. And after you taste them, you'll want to open up a toasted nut cart to spread the joy.…

What's in season: Squash

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:15:21 -0600

Squash is abundant, cheap, and a good base for a number of winter recipes. You can easily get a lot of squash and you'll likely be sick of it by the end of the season, so you might as well enjoy it now.…

Prepare for a peppermint invasion

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:15:49 -0600

The cool rush of peppermint always accompanies the onset of winter, so be ready for the invasion of peppermint-flavored drinks and eats at fast food spots around the city.

Dunkin' Donuts, which just opened in Overland Park, has a chocolate mint donut and peppermint mocha latte.…

A guide to smoking a Thanksgiving turkey: Part 2

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:15:26 -0600

The bird has been purchased, brined and brushed with olive oil. It has a healthy coat of rub.…

A guide to smoking a Thanksgiving turkey: Part 1

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:15:20 -0600

Fat City decided to take advantage of having an American Royal Grand Champion in our backyard and turned to Bob Denner -- who with his brother Don makes up the Boondoggle BBQ team -- and knows a thing or two about the process of smoking.

Denner agreed to walk us through the steps of preparing and smoking a turkey on Thanksgiving.…

Time to retire the pomegranate

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:30:52 -0600

Are some fruits just not worth the trouble? I believe that the time has come for us a society to agree to retire pomegranates -- which started popping up at grocery stores over the past two weeks.…

Goodbye to salt?

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:36 -0600

Salt alternatives aren't common yet, but three new salt substitutes have been launched in an attempt to take advantage of several major food corporations' announced intentions to reduce sodium in their products.

NutraSalt 66, SaltPro and SaltWise are all being billed as salt alternatives -- the kind that may be needed by Unilever and ConAgra if they are to meet their stated goals of reducing sodium content in their packaged goods by 2010 and 2015, respectively.

Reducing sodium intake is likely to be the next major health trend, although that will require a paradigm shift. Most people still associate less

salt with less taste -- when was the last time you saw someone ordering the unsalted

soft pretzels at Kauffman Stadium?

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Yes we pecan

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:15:21 -0600

November is National Pecan Month -- so, it's your obligation to give pecans a try in either all their raw glory or via the traditional intake: pecan pie.

Earlier this year, pecans were the inspiration for a limited-edition Ben & Jerry's flavor, the Obama tribute Yes Pecan! This January featured flavor consisted of "amber waves of buttery ice cream with roasted non-partisan pecans." Here's how you can make your own butter pecan ice cream at home.

Even though they work well in ice cream, pecans feel like they were a nut meant to be roasted.…