Section: FNW

Crafting artisan pizzas at home

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00

In recent years all manner of unassuming foods have endured high-end makeovers. Mac and cheese was spiked with lobster and truffles, hamburgers got serious slider treatment, and cupcakes morphed into an industry dripping with retro-cuteness.

Now pizza is enjoying its own artisanal moment.

Though high-end pies aren't entirely new, their number - as well as that of pizzaiolos, the de rigueur term for those who craft rather than ...

Locally Grown: Great food, good causes

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00

A lot of people believe that the quickest route to a person's heart is through the stomach. With that in mind, three local groups have planned fundraisers, hoping to tickle your tastebuds enough to loosen your purse strings.

Chefs by the Bay

Chefs by the Bay 2010 is a gourmet tasting gala featuring local chefs, live entertainment and silent and live auctions. Hosted by the Junior League of Annapolis, it is from 6 to 10 p.m. ...

Wine, Etc.: Reader shares some of his favorite wine bargains

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00

Several weeks ago we reviewed some inexpensive wines and asked our readers to offer their own recent discoveries. You responded!

Tom Handel was quick to write with a list of his favorite bargains. He said he scours the stores for sale wines and sets $8 as his limit. He said he patterned his philosophy after that introduced to him by his best friend's father, who set a $4 limit back in the 1970s.

Wrote Tom, "He believed th...

Locally Grown: Potluck of the Irish

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00

It is appropriate that my first exposure to Irish cuisine came via a newspaper article.

I was working at The Macomb (Ill.) Journal, on my first job after graduation from college. My meager salary as an entry-level reporter barely covered my necessities like rent, car payments and college loans, so most of my meals centered around ground beef and were stretched with some kind of pasta. Still, I thought it a step up from the ramen noodles...

Wine, Etc.: Recommendations from the Concannon Winery

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00

Located 20 miles from San Francisco Bay in the once-rural Livermore Valley is the Concannon Winery. The 200 acres of vineyards and winery are now surrounded by commercial interests and housing developments that threatened the low-density, agricultural nature of the land. Instead of bowing to commercial pressures, Concannon and other surrounding Livermore vineyard owners put their land into a conservancy trust that forbids commercial exploitati...

Rise of the romaine empire

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00

A lot of times when food writers praise an old-fashioned ingredient such as romaine lettuce, they do it with a nod and a wink and more than a hint of condescension, like fashion critics chortling when a Parisian couture house sends its models out dressed in gingham and lace - "Oh, how very droll!"

Not me. If food is good, it's good and fashion be damned. And romaine is good.

Don't get me wrong. I like my fancy me...