Imported Italian pasta is vastly superior to domestic pasta. One is able to cook the imported pasta to that perfect degree of toothy tenderness -- al dente. It swells considerably, meaning it will go farther.

At some point, you need nourishment. Nothing heavy, mind you, but enough to keep you going throughout the day -- snack food that’s sustainable itself and that sustains you.

To celebrate the peach, I have a quartet of recipes for you – peach ice cream, a peach tart, peach syrup on waffles, and a peach crisp. Please enjoy the best summer has to offer.

Have you ever heard anyone say, “Oh, can I have your beets?” I didn’t think so. But after eating this intense and earthy concoction, you might just find yourself saying it. Try this salad with my vinaigrette dressing.

Selecting an olive oil, like picking out a wine, can be a daunting task. I remember many times standing in front of the array of olive oils at a supermarket and really not knowing what I was looking at.

If I had to pick a favorite seafood, it might just be scallops. They're sweet, tender, delicately flavored, and they're quite the versatile little bivalve. Scallops can be baked, poached, seared, broiled, fried, and ceviched.

Red beans and rice. Such a simple, basic dish. A dish with variations on a theme. And a dish with history. I love it when my food comes with a history lesson. When I think about red beans and rice, I think about New Orleans cooking.

While I was playing around in the kitchen trying to use up the odds and ends that can accumulate in one’s refrigerator, I came up with a stuffing mixture for mushrooms, using sausage, fennel, onion, and green pepper.

when we wanted a quick and special meal for a house guest who was visiting, we turned to shrimp and to Mr. Hawthorne's new favorite vegetable he recently discovered -- fennel.

The fronds can be used in salads and slaws and the bulb can be eaten raw, or grilled, braised, steamed, roasted, caramelized, candied, stir-fried, baked, sautéed, or puréed and it can be used in sauces, soups, and stocks.

This flourless chocolate cake topped with coffee mousse gives you the best of both words -- a dense fudge and intense chocolate experience, paired with an ethereal mousse flavored with coffee.

I love a good sticky, nutty, cinnamony, buttery breakfast bun. Make them the night before and truly treat yourself. Having a heavenly cup of strong coffee and this sticky bun early in the morn will give you new life.