Food - Marblehead Current

26 Sep

Food 101: A meal from the Greek isles

Linda BassettFood

A meal from a carry-out shop is fine in a pinch. But many order-in meals taste better made at home. You get larger quantities and use pantry ingredients. Yes, there’s the clean-up afterwards (the only offensive part of cooking), but I enthusiastically congratulate the cook when I do it myself. To get veggies into the family, I put out a bowl of hummus or tzatziki with pita triangles and an alphabet of fresh veggies from broccoli to zucchini. (Either dip can be storebought, but it’s…

11 Sep

Pies for a purpose: Local woman finds delicious way to give back

Saoirse StallingsCommunity Service, Food, Local News

Once a month, you may notice something unusual outside 204 Atlantic Ave. It’s a line of people outside a garage, waiting their turn for some coveted pies from Diana Breed, Marblehead's own “Pie Lady.” Breed and her friends started a pie club this summer. The first sale in July and featured all blueberry-flavored pastries. Each month focuses on an ingredient: In August it was peaches and this month it’s apple. Diana Breed delivers money raised by pie sales to Ray at the Marblehead Food Pantry.…

05 Sep

Food 101: Summer’s not over! Check out these secret ingredients for hot days

Linda BassettFood, Linda Bassett

When it’s warm outside, all ingredients are called on to enhance food flavor. Familiar foodstuffs used in surprising ways. Or unsuspected ones added in rare abundance. Here are my new favorites: pink peppercorns, lemon zest, flaky sea salt and microgreens. PINK PEPPERCORNS: My favorite steak place put a tantalizing twist on steak au poivre on the menu. It’s crusted with black and pink peppercorns. Obsessed, I started experimenting with the rose-colored nuggets. I tried them on my own steak recipe with cognac sauce, on roasted…

23 Jul

FOOD 101: How to decode egg labels and elevate your breakfast game

Linda BassettColumns, Food

Eggs have been in the headlines for months. When something becomes rare or costly, it forces a closer look. Similar to Marblehead’s ups and downs of lobster. Linda Bassett, the Current’s food columnist, writes about understanding egg labels and preparing chef-style scrambled eggs with caviar. CURRENT PHOTO / LINDA BASSETT To better understand eggs, first read the box. Lots of verbiage. Some significant, some meaningless, some misleading. Here are a few translations and definitions. “Natural” means nothing. Eggs are always naturally manufactured by chickens. “Cage…

03 Feb

CURRENT EVENTS: Marblehead’s best bets

Leigh BlanderArt, Community Resources, Entertainment, Environment, Food, Local News

Current Events spotlights exciting happenings in the coming days. If you’d like to contribute a listing, please email Current Editor Leigh Blander at lblander@marbleheadnews.org. Social media’s impact on kids and teensWednesday, Feb. 5, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Hear Jill Walsh speak at the Tower School, 75 West Shore Drive, about the impact of social media and devices on children and teens. Walsh is the founder of Digital Aged, a consulting group that educates students, families and educational institutions about positive technology use Walsh will discuss ways that…

20 Jan

CURRENT EVENTS: Marblehead’s best bets

Leigh BlanderArt, Culture, Food, Local News

Current Events spotlights exciting happenings in the coming days. If you’d like to contribute a listing, please email Current Editor Leigh Blander at lblander@marbleheadnews.org. Rock out to True NorthThursday, Jan. 23, 7-9 p.m. Come out to The Landing Restaurant for live music in the old pub. Local band True North is performing. *** Improve your emotional fitnessSaturday, Jan. 25, 1 p.m. Start the new year with positivity with Shaun Zetlin of Zetlin Fitness at Abbot Library. Learn how fitness can help treat anxiety, depression, stress…

17 Jan

Marblehead restaurants play musical chairs

Leigh BlanderBusiness, Food, Top Stories

Some of Marblehead’s most popular restaurants are on the move, but don’t worry — they’re all (or almost all) staying in town. Fen Yang House on Atlantic Avenue bought Caffe Italia’s building on School Street last year. The Italian eatery is reportedly closing March 15 and moving into Soall Viet Kitchen’s space on Bessom Street (Village Plaza) this spring. Soall, which announced it was closing in November, will be moving to the former A&D Clam Box on Pleasant Street. A&D closed Dec. 31, with no…

04 Sep

Culinary producer shoots new cooking show in her backyard

Leigh BlanderEntertainment, Food, Top Stories

If you smelled some delicious scents wafting out of a Humphrey Street backyard last month, there’s a good reason why. Resident Alli Berkey is a culinary producer for “America’s Test Kitchen,” and she filmed a new series called “Grill Next Door” over three weeks in her backyard this month. “It’s a new show about outdoor grilling, and it’s based around Morgan Bolling,” Berkey told the Current. Bolling is the executive creative director for Cook's Country Magazine. There are eight episodes of “Grill Next Door,” and…

26 Jun

FOOD 101: Putting a twist on classic peach dishes

Linda BassettColumns, Food, Linda Bassett

A blueberry cobbler recipe, famously created by Alice Waters, has long been considered the gold standard of that dessert. The West Coast chef reduced the amount of sugar in a traditional cobbler highlighting the fruit's natural sweetness. On the opposite coast, John Martin Taylor, king of the peach cobbler, does not shy away from sugar. He includes a full cup to his dough — and he's sticking to it. Surely their surroundings and culinary heritages influenced their choices: Waters is a Mediterranean-influenced Californian and Taylor…

19 Jun

FOOD 101: Baking classic chocolate chip cookies

Linda Bassett0 CommentsColumns, Food

This summer, defying 80th birthdays, the Rolling Stones are performing their classics from Boston to Atlanta, from Chicago to Denver. Their decades-younger backup musicians breathlessly try to keep up on "Satisfaction," "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash." Current food columnist, Linda Bassett, writes about baking the perfect classic chocolate chip cookie. CURRENT PHOTO / LINDA BASSETT Seems the classics are up for a summer revival. Shakespeare in the Park. Bach and Beethoven alfresco. "Casablanca" and "Rear Window" under the stars. Chrome-embellished convertibles parading at festivals.…