“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” Whoever first uttered those words was wise, indeed. In the sweet spirit of Top Chef’s dessert-only challenge series, Chow Bella’s treating you to a profile of a Valley dessert chef each week. This week: Karl Boerner of Karl’s Quality Bakery. Walk into Karl’s Quality…

I like to make Eggs Benedict, but my eggs are either under or over done, any tips for making poached eggs? The simplest cooking techniques, like egg poaching, are often the ones that appear to be the most challenging. Here are the steps and a few tips to add to…

We know a lot of good home cooks. They clip, bookmark and try recipes, watch endless hours of food shows, love to eat out and talk about the next trend in food. Their cooking is good and they want it to be great, but something is missing. The recipe collections…

Ask the Chef: How long are my dried herbs and spices fresh? What about olive oil? Dried herbs and spices do not go “bad” — they just lose potency over time. Some manufacturers print “use by” dates on packaging, but that information often doesn’t take into account how long the…

There’s actually a name (and even an acronym!) for the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee population: Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD. The problem for the honeybee and the crops we depend on the bees to pollinate (one third of all food crops globally) is the lack of answers to the cause…

Last week,you wrote about a “frakenfish”, genetically engineered salmon. What did the FDA decide about the salmon? Will it be allowed in our food supply? What are your thoughts on this? Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration held public hearings to determine the introduction of Aquabounty Technologies’ Transgenic…

[jump] Yvonne Ruperti, a Cook’s Illustrated test cook and writer, features the no knead method in a new Idiots Guide, extending its use beyond the basic boule (traditional round French yeast bread). In the simple style and format of The Complete Idiot’s Guide series, she demystifies bread-baking basics for wanna…

Recently I was picking through a pile of prune plums at the grocery. A fellow customer asked what they were and how to use them. A signal that autumn is approaching is the sight of prune plums in the market. Ripe and ready from May through October, September is the…

​In the tradition of Sarah Ventre (Why Your Cocktail Waitress Hates You), as well as our anonymous Starbucks barista and pizza delivery guy, the quintessential busboy shares his anecdotes of restaurant service and Why Your Busboy Hates You, as told to this writer. No we are not revealing his identity, as he respects…

After visits to several knife shops you find the beauty that fits like it was made for your hand. You purchase the workhorse of the kitchen, a quality Chef’s knife. Merrily, you chop away at onions and garlic, gleeful with the ease your blade makes of the work. The question…

Sundown tomorrow evening marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the “head of the year” or Jewish New Year. Challah, traditional egg bread served on the Sabbath in the form of a loaf — plain or braided — is shaped into a round spiral for the holiday. The round shape symbolizes…