Unfortunately, no one in St. Louis sells real grits, only instant grits. Our town is not southern enough to market grits! To get true grits, one must drive down south and load up the trunk or order online. If you are used to instant grits, the coarse texture and flavor of long-cooking grits is a […]

What is the signature food of St. Louis? It used to be toasted ravioli, but when was the last time you actually ate a deep-fried ravioli – especially since they are all pre-fab and frozen now. Then, St. Louisans were swept with a cheesecake craze, then a bread pudding craze, all concurrent with the spinach-artichoke dip craze. […]

Our garlic is growing! We also planted 500 seed potatoes last week, in the dirt on the right-hand side of the photo. We planted Yukon gold, red Pontiac, and cobbler potatoes. Potatoes are a 90-day crop, so we are planning to have fresh garlic-potato salad for the Fourth of July! The green plants on the left-hand […]

My freezer contains a bag of green peas, a loaf of homemade bread, several 3-pound bags of tart pitted cherries, several one-cup containers of homemade tomato sauce from last summer, and — but wait, where’s the stock!? When I got there, the cupboard was bare. I had used up all my chicken stock, so I […]

Perhaps no food strikes more fear into a cook’s heart than screwing up an expensive cut of meat. A standing rib roast is a wonderful choice for a holiday feast. Don’t let the butcher cut off the bones and “tie back.” The bones add great flavor and are wonderful to gnaw on. Since the bones are all […]

Felicia writes, “How do you make sauce Newburg?” This delicious cream sauce for shellfish is flavored with sherry. I like to add fresh artichoke hearts and mushrooms and serve the sauce over rice, pasta, or potatoes. Lobster-Crab Newburg 3 lobsters 1 onion, chopped 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced 4 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon paprika […]

“I saw the week-long cooking class for $1,000 that you offer and said to myself, that’s crazy! But I am interested in going cooking school, so I checked into some of them and realized that they cost $2,000 per week. Now your class seems like a bargain!” said Carol, who did attend our five-day Mastering the Art […]

Where to find the best burger? At home, if you make it yourself. A delicious burger is made from freshly-ground meat, lightly packed, cooked on a high heat for a short period of time, and served on a homemade bun with homemade sauce. Yes, you can make this delicious treat. Once you taste your own […]

“I made your recipe, but I changed it and now it’s better,” said a customer. How so? “Well, I didn’t read the recipe, but just put all of the ingredients together in a pot and cooked it. So I didn’t realize until later that I was supposed to roll the nuts in sugar.” Ah, the challenge […]

French foods are back in style, finally! Our historically-French city now has several French restaurants: Brasserie and Chez Leon (their chefs teach cooking classes at Kitchen Conservatory), plus Atlas, Cafe Provencal, Franco, and Pomme. Julia Child would be so happy that we are rediscovering her favorite foods (only two spots are available for our Julia class […]