Author Archives: Robert

WATERCOLOR, FL— The older I become the more I appreciate substantive dinner party conversation. I am on the second leg of a Spring Break sandwich that started in the rapidly melting Spring snow of Colorado and has ended on the sugar white sands of the Florida Panhandle. I am here with my family on aContinue reading “Dinner Party Conversation”

Salads The weather is warming and salad sales in the restaurant are booming. I like salads, but I am not an entrée-salad eater. I like a salad as a small course or as a component or accompaniment to a main course. When I am entertaining friends at home, I rarely serve a salad. Sometimes atContinue reading “Salads”

ASPEN— The question of the day is: How far will a man travel for a Quiche Muffin from Paradise Bakery? The answer: 1,362 miles. Well, actually, I was out her on Spring Break with my family, but we’re staying in Snowmass, 12 miles away. I had a craving for a Quiche Muffin from the ParadiseContinue reading “Quiche Muffins”

St. Patrick’s Day is a paradox. It’s an annual feast day set in the middle of a season in which people are supposed to be fasting. During my childhood in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, St. Patrick’s Day was nothing more than a small mention in my elementary school classroom and the opportunity to pinch someone if theyContinue reading “St. Patrick’s Day”

The Lenten Season has begun. In most Christian denominations, Lent is the 40-day period of fasting and prayer before Easter. Growing up, I attended church, religiously. If the doors were unlocked at Main Street United Methodist Church in my hometown of Hattiesburg, I was usually there— Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Wednesday evenings, Thursday night youthContinue reading “Lent”

Cocktail Sauce Yesterday, I was watching my 11-year old daughter eat Chargrilled Oysters at Drago’s in New Orleans while my seven year-old son ate fried shrimp. Oysters and shrimp are the foods from my youth which still lease a substantial plot of real estate in my heart. While we were sitting at the counter inContinue reading “Cocktail Sauce”

Four Diamonds I am currently in my 10th year of writing this weekly column. For the last decade I have written approximately 750 words every week, 52 weeks a year, without ever missing a column. Over the course of those 520 columns, 352 recipes, and roughly 390,000 words, I have written about strange foodstuffs, quirkyContinue reading “Four Diamonds”

The First Presbyterian Church in my hometown asked me to serve as a judge in their first annual chili cook-off this weekend. After some persistence, I agreed. I have tried to wean myself off of judging cooking contests. Several years ago I was asked to judge an out-of-state cooking contest where the contestants were askedContinue reading “The Good, the Bad, and the Spicy”

What’s In A Name? Whenever I give a speech or speak to a classroom full of students, I always solicit questions. It’s my favorite part of the process. I am much more interested in responding to issues people are interested in than trying to decipher what they want to hear. One of the most commonContinue reading “What’s In A Name?”