Category Archives: Uncategorized

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”

Over the course of the 15 years that I have written this weekly column, I have always ended the year with a list of the top-10 dining experiences I enjoyed over the previous year. Some years I am on the road a lot, others are spent close to home. The work schedule usually dictates the travelContinue reading “Robert’s Top Ten 2014”

Sometimes it’s better to receive than give. Certainly that falls contrary to everything I have been taught all of my life. In my professional career I have tried to live by a 30-year commitment of giving back, but if one is affiliated in any way with a charitable organization then being on the receiving endContinue reading “Give Or Receive?”

This children’s book stuff is a blast. It’s a welcome diversion. I have written 10 books over the past 12 years. Six of them were cookbooks and three were non-fiction. This newest book is a children’s book and I have been having the time of my life on the road touring schools, bookstores and librariesContinue reading “Notes From the Road”

Popcorn is 4,000 years old. That amazes me. If someone ever asked me when I thought popcorn was invented, I would probably answer, “In the mid to late 1800s.” That seems about right. I would have imagined that there was probably some Midwestern farmer out on the new frontier who left a few ears ofContinue reading “Food Firsts”

Thanksgiving is almost the perfect holiday. The food is good, family members are gathered, friends are always invited, and football is on the tube all day long. When I look back at Thanksgivings through the decades of my life I have nothing but fond memories. 1960s The Thanksgivings of my early youth were spent inContinue reading “Thanksgiving Through The Years”

I am in the middle of a book tour. This is the 10th time in 12 years that I have crisscrossed the state signing books at independent bookstores and gift shops. Since this is a children’s book I have also been visiting elementary schools and libraries. It has been a blast and I love reading toContinue reading “Mississippi”

The oatmeal cookie is my cookie of choice. If it has raisins in it, that’s a bonus. I was eating an oatmeal-raisin cookie the other day and noticed a strange tang in the flavor profile. I had tasted oatmeal cookies like that occasionally, through the years, but it had been a while— maybe it wasContinue reading “Coconut”