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Hamantaschen, Purim’s best-known treat, are the M.I.A. of pastries — many controversies, some political and some trivial, swirl around them. I would prefer to sidestep most of these controversies. Let’s not talk about the unsavory, genocide-friendly implications of the Purim story. Let’s not argue about what exactly hamantaschen are supposed to symbolize, either. (The word means “Haman’s pockets,” a nod to the corrupt nature of the villain of the Book of Esther, but the triangular pastries are also said to resemble Haman’s hat, or, more abstractly, the three Israelite patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.) Let’s not even enter into the...

Three eateries in Chicago's River North neighborhood highlight robatayaki. Yet one has kicked things up a bit on the robata grill, venturing into the realm of delectable and unusual food for Chicagoans. What Is Robatayaki? What exactly is robatayaki? Robatayaki is Japanese-style barbecue -- seafood, meat, and vegetables are grilled over a hot flame of charcoals, called the robata grill. Folklore chronicles this food preparation back to the 1600s in northern Japan. 

 River North Restaurants Trending With a Robata Grill In Chicago's River North, a trio of Chicago restaurants within a 1-mile radius proffer sushi and foods prepared on...

Spicy Soup Burns Hole Straight Through Man's Stomach Doctors in China were dumbfounded after seeing the case of a 26-year-old man whose spicy food burned a hole in the wall of his stomach. For some more adventurous eaters, spicy foods are often an exciting dish to try. After all, though urban legends had proclaimed that eating spicy foods could give you an ulcer, the credit for that belongs to the Helicobacter pylori. That is why doctors in the Hubei province of China were dumbfounded after seeing the case of a 26-year-old man whose spicy food, they say, burned a hole...

The following thread is a listing of every recipe posted on the Free Republic Recipe threads for the past year...since our last online cookbook posting from 2011. Postings by scores of FReepers on the weekly threads over the last year have collected 380 recipes and they will all be listed on this post with an (hopefully)easy way to quickly link to the recipes on the different threads for the year.

Saké is a drink that comes mainly from fermented rice. But to start talking about this drink that so popular in Asia, we must go back to the first recipes in the history of saké. It is said that the first saké was called “kuchikama no saké,” which means “mouth-brewed saké.” It was called so because it was prepared with chewing rice mixed with herbs, like chestnuts, millet, and acorns. All this was spit-chewed and then the whole mixture was put in a barrel. Although the procedure seems unappetizing, it was done because thanks to the enzymes in saliva, rice...

Welcome to the FReeper Recipe Thread. Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or three- for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' Recipe Stack of Family Favorites! Here's the place to share and explore your latest and greatest favorite recipe.

Welcome to the FReeper Recipe Thread. Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or three- for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' Recipe Stack of Family Favorites! Here's the place to share and explore your latest and greatest favorite recipe.

Thanksgiving Day is a favorite. Not only for all the wonderful memories and experiences we have gained and shared over the years, but for such a special time to give thanks for all our blessings. Families will be reunited; friends will gather. The joy of being together is evident. The house will be filled with conversations catching up on the latest of events and activities. The flow in the kitchen will be filled with laughter and smiles as family members begin preparing and serving their specialties. And the feast begins. But when the holiday feast is over, there’s still something...

1. Buy a turkey 2. Have a glass of wine 3. Stuff turkey 4. Have a glass of wine 5. Put turkey in oven 6. Relax, have another few glasses of wine 7. Turk the bastey 8. Wine of glass another get 9. Ponder the meat thermometer 10. Glass yourself another pour of wine 11. Bake the wine for 4 hours 12. Take the oven out of the turkey 13. Floor the turkey up off the pick 14. Turk the carvey 15. Get yourself another wottle of bine 16. Tet the sable, and pour yourself another glass of turkey 17....

About a half-million Minnesotans will hit the woods and fields for this weekend's start of the firearms deer hunting season, the biggest annual outdoors event outside the walleye fishing opener. It's more than a hunt. It's a prelude to a feast. Roughly 8 million pounds of meat will be harvested from the state's robust deer herd this season, the vast majority of it Saturday and Sunday. It's lean, high-protein and free-range.

EARLIER this year, when asked what Italian cuisine he’d like to see better represented in New York, Mario Batali said, without hesitation, “the food of Apulia.” The rustic cooking of the region in the heel of Italy takes a distant back seat to the food of noble Tuscany and lusty Naples, and is represented on few menus in New York. Nicola Marzovilla, who is from Polignano a Mare, a coastal town in Apulia, and owns I Trulli in Manhattan, attributes that to the region’s cuisine being “the ultimate home cooking,” he said. “It’s not easy to do the food in...

The crucial question must be asked of President Obama and Mitt Romney during the live telecast of next week's town hall-style debate at Hofstra University. Is “sausage or pepperoni” the new “boxers or briefs”? Pizza Hut is offering free pies for life to the brave voter who asks the White House contenders which of the two favorite toppings they prefer during the next presidential debate. "We recognize there are a lot of serious issues to be debated, but we also know a lot less serious — but no less important — ones are being discussed every night inside houses across...

Best I can tell, the former South Korean minister of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries is trying to convince me that fermented cabbage could be sold at Sephora as a regenerative skin-care product. “I’m 73 years old,” says Sung-Hoon Kim, standing under the Gwangju World Kimchi Culture Festival tent in Bull Run Regional Park last Friday in Centreville. “Do you see any wrinkles on me?” As I inspect his round, friendly, bespectacled face, I have to admit that I don’t. Well into his eighth decade on Earth, Kim has no crow’s feet around his eyes and no apparent worry lines...

Had an interesting morning, late last eve I was at the supermarket and thought about buying a steak. Yurns out they had some nice buffalo sirloins that were cheaper than beef, so I figured time to try it... Steak and eggs for breakfast. I fried it in olive oil w/onions. Delicious! But one thing I would note is I cooked it about as rare as I would cook a beefsteak, yet the inside parts were still a bit too rare for me, so I put that back on for a few minutes. Experiences? Recipes? Recommended cuts? I can plainly see...

NEW DELHI, India (BHN) - An effort to create the world's largest toaster failed in India Monday, when the device mysteriously stopped working only 30 seconds into its first test. The giant toaster was designed to brown over four million loaves of bread at a time, in an attempt to meet the demands of one of the world's most populated countries. "Instead of having to manufacture millions of individual toasters, it seemed smarter to produce one really large one," said project head Puhlma Fingha. "We are still working out the details." My comments: Wow, that's a shame. Indian Giant toaster...

TRAVELING in the United States, one often encounters food proudly touted as authentically “New York,” including pizza, hot dogs, cheesecake, Manhattan clam chowder, pastrami and loaves of rye. Sadly, such honorifics almost always prompt invidious comparison, resulting in a good laugh if not a few homesick tears. I still recall biting into a bialy about 15 years ago at the Broadway Deli, a favorite in Santa Monica, Calif., that closed in 2010. I was doing research on that scrunchy, savory Jewish-Polish onion roll. Identified as a “New York bialy,” its rubbery, pale appearance was fair warning. It came as no...

Prep Time: 15 Min Cook Time: 15 Min Ready In: 30 Min Ingredients 1/2 pound peppered bacon, diced 2 tablespoons chopped green onion 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon salt ground black pepper to taste 1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Directions Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving drippings, and set aside. Saute green onion and garlic in bacon drippings over medium heat for one minute. Stir in tomatoes, basil, salt and ground black...

I came across Dr. Maurice Codd’s rib recipe and tried it. Codd was a nobel prize winner in chemistry so I would imagine he understands the chemistry of this better than I do. But the ribs are amazing. Enjoy! I am quite certain that after a long development process I have finally reached the perfection point in pork rib bbq. For years I hated rib recipes that slather ribs with gooey sweet sauce, and I preferred the dry rub ribs. Now, after countless hours in the “lab” I have captured both the crunch and tang of the dry rib, and...

As a fifth-generation, family owner of Omaha Steaks, I literally grew up grilling. It’s my heritage. My great, great-grandfather started the company and for nearly 100 years, we’ve been working to help our customers to master the art of grilling the perfect steak. I had great teachers in my dad and other family members, but I have had my share of grill disasters, too.

....There is nothing remotely Mexican about Potato Olés—not even the quasi-Spanish name, which has a distinctly Castilian accent. The burrito was more insulting to me and my heritage than casting Charlton Heston as the swarthy Mexican hero in Touch of Evil. But it was intriguing enough to take back to my hotel room for a taste. There, as I experienced all of the concoction’s gooey, filling glory while chilly rain fell outside, it struck me: Mexican food has become a better culinary metaphor for America than the melting pot. Back home, my friends did not believe that a tater tot...