Shannon’s Who-Cares-About-Chocolate Lemon Crunch Sugar Cookies

Our latest Chow Bella showdown: a traditional holiday cookie exchange. From now through Christmas, we present Chow Bella’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Today: 11. Shannon Armour’s Who-Cares-About-Chocolate Lemon Crunch Sugar Cookies. I don’t make cookies. Ever. I make cakes, mini cupcakes, cheesecakes, even tiny chicken pots pies but I…

Seven Spectacular Finger Foods for Your Holiday Party

So you’re having a holiday party? Well you could just pack the kitchen counters with a bucket of some sort of vodka filled punch and enough cheap alcohol (Mad Dog anyone?) to make your frat house neighbors jealous or you could actually feed your guests. You don’t have to serve…

Third Location of Mellow Mushroom To Open at CityNorth

Mellow Mushroom, the Atlanta-based pizza chain established in 1974 and with over 100 restaurants in fifteen states, has announced it will open a third Arizona location at CityNorth, a mixed-use development at the Loop 101 and 56th Street in northeast Phoenix. Known for its pizza, beer, and funky interiors, Mellow…

In Season: Rosemary Roasted Turnips

Lately, in this In Season series, we’re taking a look at what I take home from Crooked Sky Farms each week and see what I’ve done with my CSA share, or part share. This week I’m using turnips…

Carol’s Mango-Pine Nut Rugelach

Our latest Chow Bella showdown: a traditional holiday cookie exchange. From now through Christmas, we present Chow Bella’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. We begin, technically speaking, with a Hanukkah treat:  Carol Blonder’s Rugelach It started with my first-ever holiday cookie exchange invitation. I was living in Nashville. As the only Jewish…

Meet the Men Behind Texas BBQ House

They say everything’s bigger in Texas. While Texas BBQ House may not look big from the outside, they’re still Texas to the bone: big personalities, big flavor, big ambitions. This week we headed to South Phoenix to meet with Mike Pitt and Doug Dieckmann. Their concept at Texas BBQ House…

Vegetarians and Carnivores Can Unite at Hillstone

Whether meeting family or friends, chances are good that once or twice this month, you’ll go out to eat somewhere fancy. A majority of diners settle for steakhouses, the one place that all Americans are supposed to love. Vegetarians, however, might not be too thrilled with that idea.

Crepas de Cajeta at Barrio Cafe

It’s tough to pick just one from the four desserts that Barrio Café offers, but after much debate, we landed on Crepas de Cajeta, crepes with goat milk caramel and vanilla bean ice cream. This may sound like a simple treat, but these flavors will wow your taste buds.

AndyTalk: Top 10 Things Not to Give a Cook

Last, if you live with the cook in question, don’t buy an appliance that makes something you love and want made for you. In this case, buying me a waffle iron so I can make you waffles isn’t really a gift for me – it’s for you.

Villa Peru: Other-Worldly Delights in the Latest World-Food Obsession

Is Peruvian cuisine, the intricate fusion of hundreds of years of Spanish, Chinese, West African, and Japanese immigration and native culture, the next big thing in world food obsessions? It would appear so. According to the Wall Street Journal, culinary commanders from around the globe like France’s Michel Bras, Denmark’s…

10 Gifts for the Home Gardener

The number of home gardeners/homesteaders is growing by the second and you might even count yourself among them. Here are some pretty and pretty useful food-focused gifts for the gardener or those who aspire to be one…

Chef Elizabeth Meinz of Orange Table, Part 2

This week we’re chatting with Elizabeth Meinz, executive chef and general manager at Orange Table in Old Town Scottsdale. We got the scoop on where the ham and American cheese went Monday, and today we’re talking business and community with the busy mother of two. What new projects have you done or…

Maui Dog to Close Up Shop

Sad news from the Valley hot dog scene: Maui Dog, the colorful eatery of island-inspired dogs, burgers, and sliders which opened last July on Indian School Road and 36th Street in Central Phoenix, is closing its doors for good at the end of this year. Owner John Stamatakis, who spoke…