A Matter of Taste Archives - Pittsburgh Quarterly

I’ve loved cookbooks for as long I can remember, long before I ever fried an egg or roasted a chicken. I would take one off the shelf at my house while growing up, and leaf through it, absorbing the stories, places and foods, many of them foreign to me. One of the first cookbooks I remember …

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Food & Wine

Warm the Cockles of Your Heart with Chestnut Soup

by Lidey Heuck

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” — it’s an image that instantly evokes crackling logs and the warmth and cheer of the holidays. But how often are chestnuts actually on the menu? In Italy, where many of the chestnuts sold in the U.S. are grown, they’re popular in the fall and early winter, roasted by …

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Food & Wine

Fall in the Apple Orchard

by Lidey Heuck

Apple orchards have always been a part of my family’s life. My dad grew up on an apple orchard in Cincinnati, helping to pick bushel baskets of apples each fall. My grandfather used an old cider press to make gallons of fresh cider, and my grandmother baked apples into pies and other treats. I never …

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Food & Wine

A Simple Summer Treat

by Lidey Heuck

Farm fresh cherry tomatoes are one of summer’s most special and fleeting treats. It’s tough to beat eating them straight from the vine, but when I want to dress them up for company, I make these roasted tomato crostini, with creamy fresh ricotta cheese and a hint of heat from calabrian chili oil. While these …

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Food & Wine

Buckle Up!

by Lidey Heuck

Pie, crisp, cobbler, crumble, betty or buckle, the most beloved summer desserts are the ones that highlight ripe summer fruit, with a little bit of butter, sugar and flour to bring everything together. (And most, if not at all, are made even better with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.) Versions of …

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Food & Wine

Spring Greenery

by Lidey Heuck

After a long winter, the arrival of early spring, however damp and cool, is always welcome. This year especially so, as warmer weather on the horizon promises a reprieve after another pandemic winter. What better way to celebrate the cheerfulness of spring than with a pasta bursting with the bright, crisp flavors of spring’s early …

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Food & Wine

A Cozy Winter Dinner

by Lidey Heuck

It’s been the year of cooking at home. When COVID hit, there was a mad dash for canned items and other pantry goods. We cooked and cooked and cooked, then went out and restocked, and cooked some more. Sourdough, banana bread, homemade pizza, the list goes on. And yet after so many months and so …

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Food & Wine

A Hearty Fall Favorite

by Lidey Heuck

The arrival of autumn means cooler nights, shorter days and the return of warm, comforting dinners. Few dishes fit the bill better than risotto, especially when made with a favorite fall vegetable: butternut squash. Traditional Italian risotto is made by slowly cooking the rice, adding broth as the rice absorbs it, and stirring frequently. When …

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Food & Wine

Here’s to a Summer Night

by Lidey Heuck

The long, rainy spring is finally gone, the sun is shining and summer’s here. It’s still unclear how much we’ll be able to socialize this summer, but rather than dwell on all the things we may not be able to do in the coming months, I’m reminding myself of the summer traditions we can still …

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