If ever a food needed a brand overhaul, it’s salt cod. Because nothing about that name inspires cravings. It actually sounds like something you spread on an icy walkway to keep people from slipping. But salt cod actually has a rich history, especially in Portuguese and Spanish cuisine, which treat this simple ingredient with nearRead more »

If you think you’ve done nearly everything a cook can with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, it might be time to talk turkey. Other than the big bird at Thanksgiving and ground turkey when they’re craving a healthier burger, most people overlook turkey. Fair enough. Ground turkey can be dry and tasteless. And who has timeRead more »

Wild boar: a tasty way to do a good deed. It’s true — across at least 39 states there are an estimated four million feral pigs and wild boars (they are close relatives and prone to interbreeding) roaming about. And they are laying ruin to vast acres of land. The problem with wild pigs is theyRead more »

When it comes to food, “recooked” isn’t generally a term met with much affection. The dairy world, however, gives us a fine exception in ricotta cheese. Ricotta — Italian for recooked — isn’t exactly a stranger to most Americans, who tend to love it in their lasagna and stuffed pasta shells. But as cheeses go,Read more »

Let’s get the hard part out of the way. This week, I’m suggesting you eat something most people spend the better part of their adult lives trying to eradicate from their lawns: dandelion greens. Not the flowers or stems or the puffy white seeds kids love to blow (thereby complicating your eradication efforts). Just theRead more »

The problem with buttermilk is there isn’t a lot of real buttermilk around. The good news is that the newfangled buttermilk available at most grocers isn’t all that bad. Better yet, it’s easy to make the real stuff yourself. But first, a buttermilk primer. As its name suggests, buttermilk is the tangy milk-like liquid leftRead more »

The trouble with this week’s underappreciated ingredient is that for the next few days you’re going to have its only-available-on-TV jingle stuck in your head. Ch-ch-ch-chia! That’s right, we’ve wandered into the Chia Pet aisle. Because the same seeds used to grow fluffy green pets also happen to be delicious and nutritious. First, the basics.Read more »

Nothing says “yum!” like a bit of nomenclatural confusion — especially with a side of near extinction. But that’s what you get once you venture down the culinary path with bison, an alternative red meat that is showing up at more and more grocers nationwide. And these massive shaggy creatures are such a delicious —Read more »

It’s awfully hard to get excited about a food called “nutritional yeast flakes.” It sounds like something you either need a prescription to get — or a prescription to get rid of. Even worse, it resembles yellow flaked fish food. But trust me, this is an ingredient worth looking at beyond its name and appearance. NutritionalRead more »

Most of us have to be suffering from a pretty mind-blowing caffeine-withdrawal migraine before we’ll reach for instant coffee. Which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy some. Because while instant coffee makes a generally lousy cup of java, it can do astounding things for your cooking. And that is why it is such an overlooked andRead more »