DavazNet

Grilling makes a good dish even better

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:34 GMT

Ratatouille, a vegetable stew from the south of France, is traditionally cooked on top of the stove, but grilling the vegetables adds even more flavor to the mix. The amounts of each vegetable are very flexible, but try for balance of flavors. Make more than you need because the leftovers get better and better. It's important when grilling to make sure the items are secure on skewers. If you use two parallel skewers, whether metal or soaked bamboo, the vegetables will stay more stable on the grill and will behave better when turning. Vegetables on the same skewers should be of…

For pasta perfection, top with vine-ripened tomatoes

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:34 GMT

When you can get great tomatoes, they don’t need much to improve on their flavor: a little salt, a little pepper, maybe a drizzle of olive oil, not to mention in a BLT with avocado. A cheesy pasta topped with uncooked tomato sauce is an easy main or side dish. Adapted from a Bon Appétit magazine too long ago to remember, this has been a family favorite from the first try. When my younger daughter was in kindergarten and was asked (as they all were) to name her favorite food, she said, quite rapturously, “Pasta With Four Cheeses and Tomato Basil…

Get the most out of everyday cooking

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:34 GMT

Eating in should be at least as good as eating out, and maybe even better. There can be pleasure in the choosing and preparation of ingredients in order to end up with something you’ll proudly share. That’s the premise behind Eating In, our new Oregon Life column. In this column, we’ll explore how to get the best food on the table without unreasonable effort. This isn’t the place to learn how to bone a turkey or make tofu. While from-scrach is a good ideal, there are quite good prepared foods that deserve notice. And we’ll notice them. We’ll talk about techniques…

Spice Dreams

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:24 GMT

Make sweet and spicy summer dreams come true By Kim Davaz On a really hot day, the only thing that sounds good to eat is something cold from the freezer. Sarah Engram and Katie Luber, owners of the Seasoned Palate, which produces spice blends, have raised the flavor bar for frozen treats. In “Spice Dreams: Flavored Ice Creams and Other Frozen Treats,” they (with Nancy Meadows and Kimberly Toqe) combine ice creams, sorbets and frozen yogurts with toppings and baked items to make an almost never-ending combination of treats. The first and easiest recipe for spiced ice cream is to add…

Recipes From an Italian Summer

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:24 GMT

Silver Spoon Kitchen invites cooks to take an Italian holiday By Kim Davaz I have a friend to whom Italy speaks. They have not been formally introduced and he doesn't speak Italian, but she speaks to him, inviting him to visit. "Recipes from an Italian Summer" from The Silver Spoon Kitchen will have Italy inviting you to vacation there, with many of the recipes from Sicily, Sardinia, Campania, Tuscany and the mountains of northern Italy - favorite places for Italians to go on holiday. The book begins with a guide to Italian food festivals from the first week of May in…

Bon voyage

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:59 GMT

Janet and Sally bid adieu outside of their hangout at Turtles Bar and Grill on Willamette St.

A nice day for a track meet

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:32 GMT

Tyson Gay is consoled by Ryan Bailey after the men’s 200 meters where Walter Dix held off Gay to win in 19.72 seconds at the 2010 Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field.

Steak With Friends

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:30 GMT

Steak is all about celebrating the good things in life Rick Tramonto’s latest book doesn’t hold back from splurging on ingredients for special occasions By Kim Davaz Steak is, of course, the main focus of Chicago chef Rick Tramonto’s seventh cookbook, “Steak With Friends” written with Mary Goodbody, but this cookbook is not only about steak. It’s about what steak represents, which is a celebratory meal. Steak means good times, a bit of a splurge, and good friends and family to share it with. It’s a happy food. This attitude of largesse spills over onto the other foods in “Steak With…

Baby hats, 2003-2010

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:54 GMT

A collection of baby hats and other knitting projects by Kim Davaz over the last few years.

Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:30 GMT

Yearwood family takes readers to a country kitchen By Kim Davaz If what you’re looking for is good old down-home cooking, you can’t get much more good old down-home than “Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share With Family and Friends.” Trisha Yearwood, her mother, Gwen, and her sister Beth have brought together even more of their family’s favorite recipes in their second cookbook, combining them with family stories and cooking tips. They have everything from spring strawberry shortcake to wintery stuffed cabbage, from blueberry pancakes to a low-country boil. There’s even a Southern version of hummus made…

Oregon welcomes Katrin and Tom

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:07 GMT

The chilled and shoeless Reiners spend time walking along the Pacific Ocean on their vacation journey from Vancouver, B.C. to San Francisco.

Life’s a beach

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 01:46 GMT

Moments and memories from Sarah and Jeff’s wedding weekend

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 00:00 GMT

Sarah Keller and Jeff Newcomer were married on June 5, 2010. Family and friends from all over joined in to celebrate at the rehearsal dinner at the Jada Vineyard in Paso Robles, Calif., and the wedding at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. Follow this link to purchase prints of these photographs.

Olivia’s first flight

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:04 GMT

Olivia was beside herself with excitement as United 6400 prepared for take off, heading from Eugene to San Francisco. She was way back in row 16, but she had a window seat and a pretty good view.

Good to the Grain

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:30 GMT

Baker finds whole grains add whole lot of flavor By Kim Davaz Whole-grain baking is an excellent way to introduce new grains into your diet, whether for health reasons or to try new flavors. If you’re used to baking with wheat flour, these other grains may feel similar in the bag, but they taste and react differently. You can’t just substitute teff or amaranth flour for wheat flour, any more than you can interchange white flour for whole-wheat flour and expect to get the same results. Pastry chef Kim Boyce has done the hard experimenting part, and with Amy Scattergood has…

BBQ 25

Wed, 19 May 2010 07:30 GMT

‘Hands-on’ instructions for serious barbecuing Little grilling book is packed with recipes and information By Kim Davaz If you find yourself drawn to the outdoor grill when you should be shopping for sandpaper or light bulbs; if the aroma of your neighbor’s grill has you up against the fence; if you find yourself looking for a hat that includes an umbrella so you can grill in the rain; then Adam Perry Lang’s “BBQ 25” has your name written all over it. Lang calls “BBQ 25” the “backbone of barbecue” that includes his best recipes with the least fuss for the foods…

In the Green Kitchen

Wed, 05 May 2010 07:30 GMT

Alice Waters gets back to basics Anyone who is new to the kitchen would appreciate the step-by-step instructions By Kim Davaz It’s not that I don’t want to cook on Mother’s Day. It’s that I don’t want to decide what to cook, shop for it, cook it and then clean it up. “In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn By Heart” by Alice Waters is a cookbook from which I’d like to be presented a meal. The book includes photographs and short presentations on basic cooking techniques (many by Waters’ friends who are well-known in the cooking world) that were part…

The Best Simple Recipes

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:30 GMT

Make quick work of family or company meals The editors at America’s Test Kitchen have found easier ways to get sophisticated dinners on the table By Kim Davaz Needing to put a meal on the table fast doesn’t mean sacrificing great taste and an element of sophistication. Those busy and prolific editors at America’s Test Kitchen know that you might want to cook a meal nice enough for company (but not too out there for a regular family dinner) without spending the whole day in the kitchen. “The Best Simple Recipes: More Than 200 Flavorful Foolproof Recipes That Cook in 30…

Mother’s Best

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:30 GMT

Chef compiles dishes Mother would have made A Portland restaurant owner fills her book with recipes from “Mothers of the Month” By Kim Davaz The lack of good home-style cooking in restaurants led to an epiphany for Lisa Schroeder. What the world needed was good food like mothers used to make (or you wished they did). She studied at the Culinary Institute of America; slaved away at the very posh, very well-starred Le Cirque in Manhattan; then traveled through France, Italy, Spain and Morocco. In Morocco, she realized there weren’t many restaurants because Moroccans eat the foods their mothers and grandmothers…

View from a seat behind the wing

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:23 GMT

Had a few minutes in a row 40 window seat on Delta flight 43 from Paris to Cincinatti. Flying about 35,000 feet a little southwest of Iceland over the North Atlantic.