Ann Lemons Pollack
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Soulard’s Crystal Cajun Cook-Off 2008
The Soulard Mardi Gras, a regular event on the winter dining-and-drinking calendar, kicks off its celebration with a Cajun Cook-Off a week or so before most of the events begin, and we’ve been judges (one score for the two of us) for enough years to have worn a T-shirt from the 1998 contest during the
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A Month of Soups, Part 4: Potato
Of all the Julia Child books, my favorite is my first, From Julia Child’s Kitchen. It was one of the first books that persuaded me that I could cook more than the small-town-Middle- America food I’d been dishing up until then. It became one of the books I sent with my daughter when she left
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Pork Belly and Shanks
One of the pleasures of restaurant food is trying things that aren’t available at the supermarket. But sometimes what you try is so tasty that the cooking itch sets in. Or there’s a recipe in a newspaper or magazine that sounds sooooo good but involves an ingredient you know you’ve never seen in the stores
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A Month Of Soups, Part 3: Tomato
I am not a fan of canned tomato soup, one of those remnants of my picky-eater childhood. Not even grilled cheese sandwiches could persuade me otherwise. So it’s a source of private amusement to me that this soup is one of my favorites. It’s rich, creamy, deeply satisfying and an absolutely fabulous first course for
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The Crossing
Now that the Highway 40 closing is upon us, many folks are thinking of dining closer to home, a mixed blessing for the hard-working, talented men and women of the St. Louis restaurant community. The thought does encourage folks to take a new look at spots that are close to home, or, in some cases,
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Brunch: Jimmy’s On The Park
Brunch at Jimmy’s On the Park starts slowly. The live jazz doesn’t begin until 11:30, an hour and a half after it opens, allowing plenty of time for families with children – whether small or grown — to come in and actually talk. All should take particular note of the goofily charming wall art made
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A Month of Soups, Part 2: Mushroom
This week’s soup is one that Joe salivates for. I’ve been making it for years, from a recipe developed by Margaret Fox at the sadly departed Café Beaujolais in the storybook town of Mendocino, CA. This, too, can be made with vegetable broth, although I use whatever I have in the freezer or even canned
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A Month of Soups, Part 1: Lentil
You’ve heard the phrase "a month of Sundays"? Well, this is the soup season, and I think a month of soups is a good idea. After all, with Christmas bills, New Year’s diets and dark, cold nights, it’s the right time for something that’s warm, filling and inexpensive. Once upon a time, I described this
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Tucson And More
We’ve been on the road again, this time a trip to Arizona. Neither of us had been there for a zillion years. Since then, it seems to have become the new Florida, with lots of retirees and plenty of suburbanish sprawl, golf courses and gated comunities. But the countryside manages to be both bleak and
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This Week’s Wine, December 23, 2007
Recent tastings, and highly personal opinions: Veramonte ‘06 Reserve Pinot Noir (approx. $15): This is one of the great wine values, a superb, well-balance, rich Chilean wine from the Casablanca Valley. Fine color, light berry aroma and strong flavors of cherry and strawberry. There’s a long, delicate finish, and all in all, this is a