A bright yellow cookbook landed on my desk the other day, with luscious ears of  grilled corn on the cover.  “I Love Corn,” by PBS producer Lisa Skye, offers a cornucopia of recipes from chefs across the country, including  Dan Barber of Blue Hill restaurant in New York state.   Having grown up in the Philadelphia area, I have always been partial to the pairing of New Jersey corn and tomatoes, which ripen I together n the humid evenings of… Read More »

      The commercial salmon season  is now open   in California, and the word  on the high seas  is that  the king salmon are practically jumping into boats  and the bodacious bounty of the good old days is back.   Having suffered through off-limits and limited seasons during the past few years, everyone from fishermen to consumers are celebrating  the return of this delicious California fish.     My favorite way to cook salmon is to slather filets in olive oil, then… Read More »

  If you haven’t made your Mother’s Day brunch reservation yet, you may want to consider a Mother’s Day dinner out.  If you’re in the vicinity of the Mendocino Coast, make a reservation at the Mendo Bistro in Fort Bragg.     Every Mother’s Day, Mendo Bistro owners Jaimi and Nicholas Petti  pay tribute to Mother’s Day  by offering  a free dinner to moms. Each mother must be accompanied by at least one paying customer, and the deal doesn’t  include the tip… Read More »

       Cinco de Mayo provides a great excuse to indulge in a few of my favorite things:  beer and margaritas, rice and beans, grilled steak and roasted chiles – what else do you need? Maybe just some warm  tortillas and Cotija cheese.      If you’re not much of a cook, you can stop by Jacinto’s Kitchen  in Oakmont, a new restaurant owned by  long-time Napa Valley chef Erasto Jacinto, who worked for 24 years with Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustards Grill in St. Helena.… Read More »