“I lost my wife a few months ago,” said the polite, older gentleman. “She always made the Thanksgiving turkey, and I want to cook a nice dinner this year. As a gift to my kids, in memory of their mom and my wife. But I need some help.” While the caller took notes, Bill Nolan walked the man through the fine points of cooking a perfect Thanksgiving turkey. Step by
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Colorful trees, crunchy leaves, pretty mums on doorsteps… When the calendar flips to October, I turn to all-things pumpkin. I love the cozy and delicious smells of cinnamon and nutmeg and vanilla warming up our home. Even if it is still 80 degrees outside! Here are five of my favorites. Pumpkin treats from recipe developers who come up with wonderful food combinations again and again. Enjoy – and I’d love
At the height of the pandemic, when grocery staples were in short supply, my husband returned home from the market. He plopped three packages of chicken wings on the kitchen counter. “They were out of breasts and thighs. It was wings or nothing,” my husband said. But how do you make chicken wings into…. dinner? Ashlea Carver Adams, and her foodie site – All the Healthy Things – to the
In my hunt for entertaining shows to stream, I stumbled upon a gem. V is For Vino features an affable host, unpretentious wine speak, lush vineyards, and a glimpse inside the kitchen of a local chef. Available on Amazon, the trio of first season episodes gives me the urge to pack a bag and head west to California. The lead vocalist for a rock band, Vince Anter landed in Los
A man smiled and handed a crisp $100 bill to the young woman doling out maple and blueberry and key lime doughnuts to the early morning risers. Nodding at the long line of folks behind him, he wanted to buy breakfast for all of them. “My eight-year-old son recently passed away,” he said quietly, “and this was his favorite place to go at the beach.” Surrounded by beautiful white homes
Whether exploring a new city or tracking down a coffee shop in my own town, I prefer to park my car and set out on foot. When I meander through a neighborhood, I notice flowers and window displays and people I don’t see from the backseat of an Uber or behind the steering wheel of my car. And – even more fun still? – wandering through a community while devouring
Thomas Persinger’s love affair with Alaska – its glaciers, volcanoes, captivating wildlife – began a dozen years ago. Celebrating his dad’s 50th birthday, the family travelled to Anchorage and Seward and Port Alsworth, a tiny fishing village in the Alaskan bush. What was not to love? “We ate breakfast, hopped in a float plane, and caught fish all day,” Thomas remembers. And he was determined to return. Studying at Auburn
Feeling like old friends, Mark Bilbrey greeted me with a big smile, a warm hug, and invited me behind the cheese case at Porter Road Butcher in East Nashville. We spent the next two hours laughing and talking and comparing varieties of cheddars and goudas. Tragically, 3 months later, on November 6, 2018, Mark lost his life in a one-vehicle auto accident on rain-soaked streets. For his family, friends, colleagues,
Strolling into the Rayback Collective on a bright, sunny morning, I spot an eclectic array of food trucks, bikers sipping coffee around a fire pit, folks clicking laptops at community work tables, and a vegan ice cream cart. Combined with a lounge, live music, and an adjacent multi-use trail, this place may be too cool for me…..
According to Matt Russo, “a gambling stick is an old Appalachian name for a stick used to hang a pig from the limb of a tree. Threaded through the heels of the pig, the stick supports its weight while the animal is harvested.” The gamble, and hope, is the stick can handle the pig’s weight, and the animal will not come tumbling down. In a parking lot in trendy East
