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What it is: A small, hard, tart, oval, red berry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, a relative of the blueberry.
Where it comes from: Native to North America, cranberries were introduced to the Pilgrims by Native Americans and are thought to have been served at the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Early settlers dubbed them “crane berries” after the [...]
What it is: Hearty fall and winter fare, the iconic bistro dish coq au vin is a savory French braise of chicken with wine, bacon and onions. It’s usually made with red wine, often Burgundy.
Where it comes from: Although the concept of braising goes back to antiquity, published recipes for coq au vin date only [...]
Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!
Well, nearly. On the third Thursday of each November, the new wine of Beaujolais is uncorked for the world. By French law, Beaujolais Nouveau may be released no earlier than 12:01 a.m. on that date.
More than 65 million bottles, nearly half of the region’s total annual wine production, are [...]
What it is: The sweet and juicy fruit of a vine, Citrullus lanatus, watermelon is related to cucumbers and squash. Botanically, it’s considered a “pepo,” or false berry.
Traditionally large, green-skinned and red- or pink-fleshed with plentiful black seeds, there are today seedless and white-, yellow- and orange-fleshed watermelons and all kinds of sizes. In [...]
What it is: A simple salad of juicy, ripe tomatoes, cubed leftover bread and a few vegetables and herbs. The juices from the fresh tomatoes soak into the bread, infusing them with delicious summer flavor.
“This salad is a great and simple way to utilize those tomatoes from your garden or some leftover bread,” says [...]
Each August, during La Tomatina in Brunol, Spain, near Valencia, tens of thousands of people from around the world converge to throw tomatoes at each other, splattering 100 metric tons of the fruit over the streets.
What a waste! Here in Chicago, we can do better things with tomatoes … like eat them! There’s no [...]
There’s nothing like freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, and they’re easy to find now that farmers’ market season is in full swing in Chicago and the suburbs.
One of my favorites opens tomorrow in Dunning, the Wright College-Eli’s Cheesecake World market, held 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday.
Along with its bounty of just-picked produce and [...]
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