It’s time to take your burgers to the next level. Think you make the best burgers on the block? There’s always room for improvement. Sign up for my newsletter and receive my free guide for building a better burger, including exclusive recipes and tips for grilling, griddling and grinding your own beef blend. Subscribe to… Read More →
Austin City Bites By Bob & Sue A weekend in the country’s fastest growing city (which embraces its reputation for being weird, as well as the Live Music Capital of the World) included memorable dinners at a prominent food critic’s three favorite restaurants: Qui Credit: Nicolai McCrary Philippine native Paul Qui delivers an eclectic combination of… Read More →
How to Celebrate the Short Soft Shell Crab Season Over the years my love for crabs has grown steadily, especially fresh soft shell crabs. This is the time of year to avoid the frozen blue swimmer imports that seem to populate every crab shack and sushi bar during the rest of the year. May is… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week By Andrew Zimmern In Nicosia, Cyprus, the world’s last remaining occupied and divided city, there is a small café called the Berlin 2 Wall. They serve a simple set meal with plenty of mezze—from snails to tahini, from tomato and feta salad to brined caper branches dressed with… Read More →
The Navigator’s Table Heads to Nashville In this episode of The Navigator’s Table, I’m hosting a celebration of all things Nashville. I’ve invited Carla Hall, Rachele Lynae, Kahlil Arnold, Pat Martin and Sarah Gavigan to dish on their favorite Music City eats. From classic meat n’ threes and hot chicken to cutting edge cuisine, this city… Read More →
Rustic Perfection Chef Jonathan Waxman’s 13-year-old West Village restaurant is as casual and gorgeous as he is… no joke. My pal of many decades is in his prime, swarthy, and greyed out like a sexy Gandalf. In fact, Waxman just won a Beard Award for Best Chef NYC thanks to his culinary wizardry—you see what… Read More →
What Not to Miss in Austin The co-owner of Salt & Time, Ben Runkle is Austin’s leading meat purveyor. What was born from Runkle’s passion for Old World charcuterie, turned into the city’s first whole carcass butcher shop and salumeria when a partnership with Bryan Butler developed in 2010. The pair are committed to sourcing animals… Read More →
Cold Korean Noodle Soup By Andrew Zimmern Korean mul naengmyun (also called mul naengmyeon) has it all—it’s tart and earthy, beefy and cold, all on a field of chewy noodles and slushy broth studded with green onion and pickled radish. Naengmyun means “cold noodles” in English, and refers to chilled Korean dishes made of long,… Read More →
The Best Cookbooks of the Year It seems each year there are more incredible cookbooks published than the last; it’s a tough job to whittle down the lengthy list into a handful of my favorites. This year in particular, there are several noteworthy debuts, like Aaron Franklin’s meat smoking manifesto, Michael Solomonov’s ode to Israeli cuisine,… Read More →
Ed Lee’s Top Picks for Louisville You may recognize chef Edward Lee from his television appearances—Top Chef, Mind of a Chef (for which he earned an Emmy nomination), Iron Chef America, to name a few—but he’s more than a TV star. His brilliant cooking at 610 Magnolia has landed him four nominations for Best Chef: Southeast… Read More →
An Exploration of Bitter A James Beard award-winning author, Jennifer McLagan is known for challenging her readers, delving into topics that make us rethink what we eat and why. She’s famously covered Bones, Fat and Odd Bits, each a single subject book with recipes that aims to revive an unloved ingredient. McLagan’s latest book is… Read More →
Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen By Dana Cowin Until recently, whenever I made stir-fried chicken with vegetables, I was disappointed. It was really bland, as if all I was doing was sautéing except on a higher heat, with a splash of soy sauce at the end. Then everything changed when Bizarre Foods host Andrew… Read More →
Healthy Frozen Treats Made with pineapple, yogurt, fresh herbs and Thai chiles, these spicy frozen popsicles are not your grandmother’s popsicles. I love to make these easy after-school snacks with my son when we have fruit, vegetables and herbs that need to be used up in our fridge. So don’t feel encumbered by the ingredients… Read More →
Not to Miss in Portland A Food & Wine Best New Chef and Top Chef Masters contestant, Jenn Louis is a champion of Pacific Northwest cuisine and one of Oregon’s most beloved chefs. At her restaurants Lincoln and the more casual Sunshine Tavern, Louis strikes the ideal balance between rustic and refined with a less-is-more approach… Read More →
Madtown Recommendations By Molly Mogren Wisconsin’s capital city is also its biggest college town. While Badgers are known to party hard, this hippy-dippy town also offers up amazing ethnic restaurants, classic German bars and locally-driven fine dining. Without further ado… The Classics Tornado Steak House An old-school steak house serving up classic cuts (T-bones, ribeyes… Read More →
A Refreshing Dessert By Andrew Zimmern As Thomas Hyll wrote in his 1593 cookbook, “…[strawberries] are much eaten at all men’s tables with wine and sugar.” While cream is the traditional English accompaniment, elsewhere in Europe crème fraîche, or sour cream, is preferred. In Italy, red wine and sugar seem to be everywhere. I developed… Read More →
This Year’s Required Reading There have been too many wonderful cookbooks published in 2013 to mention, but here are 25 of my favorite. No matter what type of cook you consider yourself to be, these are cookbooks that should be in your library. From recipes for simple weeknight meals to authentic Asian dishes and impress-your-guests… Read More →
Springtime With KitchenAid at the PGA Championship What a great day to be outside in St. Louis, doing a cooking demonstration at the 74th Senior PGA Championship. Huge thanks to KitchenAid and all those who joined me. Here are my recipes: Inspirational Herb-Infused Cocktail Grilled Leg of Lamb with Bacon Fat Scallion Tortillas and Tomatillo… Read More →
What to Drink Now We are in the thick of sweater-weather here in Minnesota, time to bring out the soup recipes and pumpkin carving tools, to go apple picking and embark on fall foliage drives. It’s also the season for mulled wine, hoppy beer and hard cider and whether you’re sitting around the fire-pit or… Read More →
What to Drink Now We are in the thick of sweater-weather here in Minnesota, time to bring out the soup recipes and pumpkin carving tools, to go apple picking and embark on fall foliage drives. It’s also the season for mulled wine, hoppy beer and hard cider and whether you’re sitting around the fire-pit or… Read More →
Cutting-Edge Comfort Food By Bob & Sue Portland’s Gabriel Rucker (James Beard Rising Star Chef for 2011) pushes the envelope with pigeon crudo, artichoke and Parmesan soup with lardo, beef cheek Bourgogne, and a deep-fried braised lamb shoulder with green garlic risotto. Comfort food at its best in a funky setting so typical of little… Read More →
Cutting-Edge Comfort Food By Bob & Sue Portland’s Gabriel Rucker (James Beard Rising Star Chef for 2011) pushes the envelope with pigeon crudo, artichoke and Parmesan soup with lardo, beef cheek Bourgogne, and a deep-fried braised lamb shoulder with green garlic risotto. Comfort food at its best in a funky setting so typical of little… Read More →
