Each year, Cinco de Mayo festivities take center stage in town squares across Mexico. But you don’t have to be south of the border to join in the fun. Follow the lead of area restaurants and consider throwing a little fiesta of your own!
Traditional Cinco de Mayo gatherings are abuzz with music, laughter and vibrant […]

When you fire up the barbeque your goal is often to cook a fine piece of meat. You’ll prepare a fine sauce and monitor the procedure carefully to ensure the best outcome. But that result is only possible if you start with a great chunk of beef. Here are some tips on how to recognize […]

Right: Wine map of France
The Rhone Valley, looks very much like a miniature Italy as it stretches 200km (125 mi) from south of Lyon to just south of Avignon. Along this course the climate varies from the Rhone’s cold winters and warm summers to the classic Mediterranean where winters are mild and summers hot.
The relatively […]

A great variation on the barbeque grill is a smoker. Smokers cook meat by enclosing it in a container that produces medium temperature smoke, hence the name. That heat from the smoke cooks the meal while various components of the vapor add flavor.
Like grills, smokers come in a wide variety of types: charcoal, gas, electric, […]

Barbecuing brings to mind sunny days, delicious odors and fine food eaten in good company. You’ve chosen a day to relax and impress your friends and family with fine cooking skills. You can enjoy an experience that at least in many parts of the country is only available for a few months. Make the most […]

Right: Wine map of Italy
Chianti — the name says ‘wine’.  A mere 300 square km (115 square mi), in the center of Tuscany between Siena and Florence, Chianti overlooks the Elsa Valley. Hilly, the terrain varies from green forests to stony meadowland. The rows of wine grape vines share the land with olive groves and […]

Using a thermometer to measure the temperature of the oven and the food is a practice with a long history now. For over 50 years instruments have been sold that allow cooks to add a little science to their art. Today, the variety of meat thermometers is greater than ever.
The traditional meat thermometer is a […]

Which tools you find essential and which merely ‘nice to have’ depends on the type of barbecuing you plan to do. But there’s a list of tools that most backyard chefs will find come in handy much of the time.
Sometimes it’s best to start with the end in mind and the end of every barbeque […]

Right: Wine map of France
Champagne is not just a sparkling wine, but the region from which the famous drink derives its name. The climate of the area is cooler than that of the southern French vineyards, making for a shorter growing season.
Almost a hundred miles (144km) northeast of Paris near the Belgian border, it’s usually […]

Right: Wine map of Canada
Most of Canada’s winemaking is associated with British Columbia, and justly so. In the last 20 years the wines of British Columbia have become world-class competitors. But wine is almost made in all of Canada’s provinces, often under much more difficult conditions. And many of these small family businesses are beginning […]