Panini Press Recipes from the Road: Brunch of Leftovers

One of the only things that’s tough for me when I’m on an epic road trip is that I don’t always have the opportunity to cook. I have been in Boise, Idaho for the better part of a week at a very cute AirBnB whose only deficiency is that it has no kitchen (though it…

My Smoky Pilgrimage to Helen’s BBQ Fewer than 10,000 people live in dusty Brownsville, TN. It would be easy to blow right past downtown if you were, say, trying desperately to find anything at all worth listening to on the radio. But even if you did, you still wouldn’t miss the town’s biggest attraction, Helen’s…

Postcard: Free Movies and Sunsets at Open Space, Traverse City Film Festival

Traverse City, MI – It didn’t matter that I failed to bring a chair to “test night” at last week’s Traverse City Film Fest. Even for an introvert like me, it was near impossible not to get up and dance through a big-screen showing of “Stop Making Sense,” a joy-factory of a rock movie released…

Deli, Birdwatching and a Great Coffee Shop: One Perfect Day in Ann Arbor, MI

ANN ARBOR — I came to Ann Arbor to volunteer for the spring breeding bird count, which, for you non-birders, is a delightful way to spend a morning — or a full day, in the case of the more hardcore birdwatching addicts. Take for example, whoever they talked into pulling an all-nighter on owl patrol….

Postcard: Shirley’s Cafe, Mancelona, MI

Have you ever eaten a meal that was too good to leave but too big to finish. My agony at Shirleys Cafe in Mancelona, MI.

Postcard: NOLA, Five Southern Foods and a Sazerac Cocktail Recipe at Rosedale

On my Southern Food Road Tour, I asked everyone who would talk to me to name five foods and beverages that are most expressive of “southern food,” and the answers varied a lot more than I thought they would. Louisiana in particular was out there on its own, and some of the answers I had…

Postcard: Elk Rapids, Michigan Wild-Foraged Botanical-Infused Booze at Ethanology Distillery and Spirits House

Ethanology in Grand Rapids, Michigan, makes one of the only hand-foraged gins on the market, deploying a state-certified forager to the woods for ingredients like Michigan juniper, staghorn sumac and burdock root.

Oh, Boise!

There is a lot to love about Boise, Idaho. Unfortunately it’s about to get hugged like Portland and Seattle.

Panini Press 2: Grilled Vegetables and Bumpy Brown-butter Omelette

The Panini Press is the gourmet prepper’s rocket stove. Sure, the omelettes are a bit bumpy. Get over yourself, there’s been an apocalypse.

Paella and Pinxtos at the Basque Market in Boise, ID

[Editor’s Note: This is one in a series of articles about the foodways of the Basque immigrants who settled in the West and Northwest, including Boise, ID, whose population of 16,000 is the highest of anywhere in the US.] Tony Eiguren spins his paella, which he makes outdoors every Wednesday and Friday at the Basque…

A Delicious Day in ‘Swissconsin’

Immigrants made Wisconsin the Cheese State. You’re welcome. Everyone knows that Wisconsin is the epicenter of the US cheese universe, but did you ever stop to think why that is? If I ever thought about it, I probably just thought ‘Hey it’s a huge dairy state and cheese is a value-added product.’ But look a…

Southern Cake Recipes: Hummingbird Cupcakes

Hummingbird Cakes are as Southern as they come. A butter cake that enfolds banana, coconut, pineapple, and pecans, it is topped with cream cheese frosting.