In Memoriam: Don Warren, 1928-2019 I'll begin with a confession: I have not spoken to Don Warren for probably five, maybe seven years. Not since before or shortly after my family and I picked up stakes after 11 years in Chicago, Don's nearly-lifelong stomping grounds, and trekked west to South Dakota. "You're WHAT?" I can... Continue Reading →
In Praise of: First Grilled Meal of the Season Box up the snowboots. Mothball the parka. Trap that waddling prognosticator, Punxsutawney Phil, and stuff him for a fuzzy warm hat. Or, better yet, grill the meddling sonofagroundhog. Hibernation's over, bomb cyclones are spun out. Springtime is here and it's time to fire up the barbecue... Continue Reading →
In Praise of 5th Avenue, Best Intersection of Peanut Butter & Chocolate As a man in his (early) 40s, I've put quite a few of the bad habits of my youth behind me. Never one to guzzle pop in the first place, it's such a rare presence in our fridge at home, the kids don't... Continue Reading →
In Praise of Laphroaig Scottish Whisky My father-in-law had a saying that perfectly encapsulated the sense of adventure we unbottled every time we cracked open a new whisky: "It's single malt. How bad can it be?" The answer, usually (several rare varieties of "sheep dip" notwithstanding): not half bad at all. But the best for... Continue Reading →
In Praise of Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue I've devoted a fair bit of digital space here praising barbecue, and meats, and smoke, and especially, smoky barbecued meats. Whether giving due props to the men who made me into a man who makes meals; or sharing the tricks I've picked up to prepare killer crock pot... Continue Reading →
Do it Right: BBQ Pulled Pork in the Crock Pot I come from a long line of tinkerers in the kitchen. Or at least, I'm a direct descendant of the tinkerer extraordinaire. So I don't take too seriously the category "Do it Right" that I put a lot of my recipe posts in. This just... Continue Reading →
Making the World Safe for My Father's Chili On this post-Thanksgiving, football-rich weekend, let's throw back to a column I wrote in 2008 to capture one of my family's culinary obsessions: Cincinnati-style chili spaghetti. Be sure to read to the end for the recipe. This article originally appeared in the Youngstown Vindicator on Feb. 27, 2008: I... Continue Reading →
Back to the Future: Thanksgiving Slideshow Some of the power inherent in family traditions is their timeless pull -- no matter how many years have passed, you feel like you could dust off the old recipe and serve it up that day to acclaim and applause, or creak open an old family album and step... Continue Reading →
Dadtritus: On the Road and On My Wrist This blog has been on a bit of hiatus as work and family and, well, just life has conspired against my healthy outlet, ruminating on the perfectly grilled meal, ridding myself -- virtually -- of a stack or two of dadtritus, poking fun at myself for the... Continue Reading →
