• Grilled cheese sandwiches made easy
  The mantra of every master of the grilled cheese sandwich should be "Slow and low." That means to cook it on heat low enough that the bread doesn't burn and give it enough time for the cheese to melt.

Heat plus sweet
The news at this year's Fiery Foods show: Mouth-numbing hot sauces lose popularity as salsas with fruits such as blackberries and peaches put the flavor back in hot pepper products.

We tried, and it was true
Culinary success can be found with the oddest ingredients.

• Tried and True: Quirky recipe, intense flavor
  Oona Fessenden of Tampa has been making this strange and wonderful recipe since her friend Roxane Fletcher shared it with her 15 years ago. Fletcher found Chicken Pepitoria in a Bennington (Vt.) College recipe collection. Indeed, a chilly Vermont night might be the perfect time for this hearty dish.

You asked for it: The South gave the world spoonbread
Southern spoonbread is one of the delights of the western world. Lloyd Murphy, obviously a Kentuckian, puts it so well: "In that blessed quadrant of the U.S.A. lying south of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River, the world's best spoonbread is served in the dining room of Boone Tavern, a small hotel owned by Berea College and staffed by the students."

Food File
Special events and food tastings

dish
deconstructing