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Kitchen Call: Fresh mint takes the heat off

Midsummer. My basil plants are flourishing on the deck. Pots of dill generously season my potato salads and stuffed eggs. Hearty sprigs of oregano add the perfect depth to my tomato sauces. But I have no mint. An essential hot-weather herb, mint's freshness makes cool seem cooler.
Linda Bassett More Content Now Jul 27, 2016 10:40 AM
Ask Lisa: Any truffle oil OK, as long as it's real

Q: I have a recipe for truffle mashed potatoes. Wow. The recipe calls for white truffle oil, which I have found online but is outrageously expensive. It is olive oil with artificial truffle essence. I have found black truffle oil for less cost. Can I use the black instead of the white, which is an investment? -- Laurie Alexander, Columbus, Ohio
Lisa Abraham More Content Now Jul 27, 2016 10:09 AM
Breaking Bread: Steeped in fun: Herb group hosts tea in gardens

Most tea parties don't begin with a trip to a hen house to gather eggs for egg-salad sandwiches. But the annual children's tea at the Stratford Ecological Center in Delaware isn't the ordinary kind; it's the garden variety.
Lisa Abraham More Content Now Jul 27, 2016 10:01 AM
Kitchen Call: Plan a saucy burger party

Hamburgers are always a hit. Especially in summer. Especially on an outdoor grill. On a rooftop. At sunset. In a foreign country. Last week, some young professionals invited friends, neighbors and officemates to celebrate an American holiday. Working at a foreign outpost, the American hosts of the party were craving a bit of home. They dressed casually, in red, white and blue, carefully, no over-the-top stars and stripes, except on the baby's bib. They decorated by planting tiny American flags in the potted plants around their roof deck. Invited guests from England, Suriname, Argentina and Italy arrived eager to see how the holiday was celebrated. Wary of dietary or cultural restrictions, the hosts added chicken and vegetarian items to the menu. The American elder statesman designated to work the grill made an executive decision to add an extra dozen burgers.
Linda Bassett Jul 20, 2016 10:39 AM
Ask Lisa: Blue garlic is safe, color change common

Q: I found a way to preserve whole garlic cloves online. I followed the directions: Garlic cloves peeled and well rinsed and put into a jar. Poured boiling distilled white vinegar over them and closed the lid. They were to come to room temperature overnight. To my amazement, this morning most of them are blue on the stem end. The only thing I did differently was to pack the cloves in a sterilized jar. What went wrong and are they safe to eat? -- Sally Hess, Marietta, Ohio
Lisa Abraham Jul 20, 2016 10:27 AM
Breaking Bread: Good culinary reads go far beyond cookbooks

Heading to the beach this summer? Or maybe you're planning a stay-cation on a lawn chair in the backyard. Either way, a new crop of books makes for perfect summer reading for the food enthusiast, starting with "Ingredienti: Marcella's Guide to the Market" (Simon Schuster, $20).
Lisa Abraham Jul 20, 2016 10:18 AM
Kitchen Call: Only one more bottle of beer on the wall?

Beer is something that shows up in my house in the summertime. It seems to go with hot weather and cooking over fire. Whether painting the front stairs or cooking on the grill, at the end of the day I will find one straggler, that last beer, left unopened under the melting ice. I tuck it onto the bottom shelf in my refrigerator. (Everyone knows that you can't store chilled beers in a warm place for later.) Needless to say, weeks later, I find a collection of orphan beers in my fridge. I can save them up until I have enough to serve up a "mixed grill" of beers in a bucket of ice at the next cookout.
Linda Bassett Jul 13, 2016 10:16 AM
Ask Lisa: Use less powdered herbs in place of fresh

Q: When I cook for myself, I like to rely on my 50-year-old Pillsbury cookbook. However, its recipes always used dried or ground herbs, which were popular then. Recipes now use fresh herbs. I have kept my dried herbs and spices fresh and have a good variety of them. Is there an equivalent for using dried instead of fresh? -- Lila Edwards, Columbus, Ohio
Lisa Abraham Jul 13, 2016 10:06 AM
Breaking Bread: E. Coli bacteria a reason to skip raw flour

I'm here to spoil your fun. Don't eat raw cookie dough.
Lisa Abraham Jul 13, 2016 9:59 AM
Kitchen Call: Lobster, beyond steamed

Nothing better than lobster "in the rough" on a summer day. Outdoors. On the beach or at a picnic table. With piles and piles of napkins for the messy stuff. A whole boiled or steamed lobster can get very, very messy. All that claw cracking of claws and pulling out meat causes juices and bits of claw to scatter. The dining room floor is not the place for the mess. Lobster is usually a bit on the costly side, even right now during high season. I'm not begrudging lobstermen their due. Theirs is a physically difficult job; they deserve to be paid what they are worth.
Linda Bassett Jul 6, 2016 9:56 AM

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