Category Archives: Uncategorized

“You eat with your eyes.” That’s what I was told by one of the chefs who first trained me. I worked under that supposition for several years. It wasn’t until I began learning about heirloom tomatoes in the early 1990s that I began to worry less about how something looks and more about how somethingContinue reading “Ugly Food”

February in South Mississippi is a strange beast. It’s 30 degrees and overcast as I type though in a few days it might be 72 and sunny. Such is life on the edge of Zone 8. Geographical location affects almost every aspect of our lives. In the northeast people are going to spend a significantContinue reading “Dispatches From Zone 8”

“He’s currently in a lemonade phase,” my wife said. She was halfway across the room talking to someone at a Mardi Gras party. I didn’t know who it was that she was talking to but I knew who she was talking about— me. I am a “phase” guy. I go on music binges where IContinue reading “When Life Gives You Lemonade”

There are several different games I play with family and friends. Most of them have to do with music or food. “Name the top three most important Beatles albums in order.” “Who is the ‘best’ American rock-and-roll band of all-time?” “Name your top three restaurant meals.” The queries are endless. Everyone has an opinion aboutContinue reading “Look Who’s Coming To Dinner”

Got Ketchup? My son and I were having lunch the other day and he asked me, “Dad, how long has ketchup been around?” I didn’t know the answer. It’s not even something that I had thought of before. So I did what any well-meaning father would do when he wants to impart wisdom into hisContinue reading “Got Ketchup?”

Croats, Oysters, and Giving  Several years ago I was talking to a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi about travel. I was beginning to prepare for an extended trip overseas and was trying to gather all of the information I could about various countries I might want to visit. “Where is the most uniqueContinue reading “Croats, Oysters, and Giving”

“One thing I like about Argentina, they only cook with salt; that’s it.” –Robert Duvall A frequent question I receive when an interview begins to wind down is, “What is your favorite spice or seasoning?” Occasionally the question is modified by asking, “If you could only live with one spice or seasoning, what would thatContinue reading “Salt”

Misconceptions abound in the culinary world. There is a strange phenomenon that occurs when I am eating in a burger joint, pizza parlor, or dive bar. People who recognize me often walk over and say, “What are you doing here?” These are obviously people who don’t know me very well because my good friends knowContinue reading “Guilty Food Pleasures”

SUNFLOWER FARM, LOUISE, MS— Mark Twain once said that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer he spent in San Francisco. I have spent a few frigid summer nights in the City by the Bay and it is certainly cold. I have walked head first against the winter wind on Michigan Avenue asContinue reading “Reflecting in the Delta”