Joe Gray

Did you know? Onions, chives, garlic and shallots are all in one family--with shallots among the mildest-tasting of these alliums. Many shoppers tend to reach past the shallots for the...

WHAT IT IS: First published in Italy in 1950 as "Il Cucchiaio d'argento," this weighty tome (just over 5 pounds) is the first English translation. The publisher's hype of it...

Did you know? The bulb and seeds of fennel are well-known in Mediterranean cooking, but you may not know that they generally are harvested from different varieties. Foeniculum dulce, also...

Hold on to your wallets. This winter is shaping up to be a perfect storm of bad weather, high prices and the need to pinch pennies. December was much colder...

Did you know? Chestnuts grow in an outer casing, called a bur, with sharp spikes as forbidding as a European hedgehog. But most of us never see the bur--unless we're...

Did you know? A small winter squash with dark green skin, sometimes striated with light-colored grooves, kabocha is much prized in Japanese cooking. The squash is actually a breed of...

Did you know? Wild persimmons grow through much of the South and in southern Illinois and Indiana, but what shows up in grocery stores in October are the two most...

Did you know? When you say "heirloom" you're usually talking about an antique table or perhaps a set of dishes passed down for a few generations. In this case, we're...

What happens when "Survivor" meets "The French Chef"? Bingo! Cooking reality shows. Three of the television competition shows now airing appear on the TV Food Network: "Iron Chef," the first...

Did you know? Bite into a stalk of fresh rhubarb and you'll taste why this vegetable is often cooked with strawberries. The tartness needs tempering, and strawberries, ripe at about...