Angelo Garro has been a part of the Bay Area food scene for years. His Omnivore Salt company has been making the world more delicious, and if you get a chance to meet him, you are in for a treat. He's one of our favorite people, and we're happy he...

  We've been following Illyanna Maisonet for years. She's an excellent food writer with a natural curiosity. Her articles for the San Francisco Chronicle were legendary. She's an odd and appealing mix of honesty, integrity, vulnerability, and maybe a touch of confidence now and then. She knows her subject, but...

As much as I love pork and chicken, some of my happiest memories have been made over a bucket of perfect shrimp. Any type of pozole is appropriate for any time of year, but I think a party with shrimp pozole, cold beers, and a fun crowd sounds like summer....

Hoppin’ John has a fascinating history, with many regional variations – too many to count. One difference is the variety of field peas used. A lot of Southerners grew up with cowpeas, or “red peas,” in their Hoppin’ John, rather than black-eyed peas. There are also different opinions about bacon versus...

Allison Robicelli is a very provocative food writer and when she's not making me laugh on Twitter, she's offering solid advice for things like cabbage. This is her technique for cabbage wedges; I think they're an ideal buddy for a bowl of perfectly cooked heirloom beans.  1 pound whole white...

Nowadays, modern cooks prepare the rice and beans together, but in the traditional Cuban manner, the rice and beans are cooked separately and the Moors (beans) don’t encounter the Christians (rice) until they meet on your plate. Both methods are great, though we prefer the sharper, more distinct flavors the...

A big bowl of sauteed greens and heirloom beans always makes me happy. One lazy Sunday l used Italian green chard and King City Pinks, and something possessed me to add a handful of dust from the bottom of a bowl of mixed nuts. It was terrific. Who knew? —Steve 1 bunch chard ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil...

Nopales are prickly-pear cactus paddles that you can find in most Mexican markets and some supermarkets. You can often buy them precleaned, but if you need to do it yourself, here are some tips.  1 to 2 cups cleaned, cubed nopales (cactus paddles) ¼ of a white onion, chopped 3...

  Our staff test kitchen tried a new version of Red Beans and Rice from the recent book, Bludso's BBQ Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, 2022). They'd made it with our Domingo Rojo beans and author Kevin Bludso's recipe. I am always happy to try a bean dish but I knew...

These open-faced sandwiches are a favorite Mexican comfort food. You can vary the type of bread, cheese, and toppings, but you'll want to use homemade refried beans if possible for this dish to really shine.    2 bolillo Mexican bread rolls (can substitute French bread or ciabatta) ½ to 1 cup refried...

We're so proud to have our polenta, grown, milled, and ground by our friends at Anson Mills. To celebrate, we asked our friend, Chef Todd Humphries of Kitchen Door here in Napa, to help us out with a twist on traditional potato gnocchi. We've even made a video so you can...

This hearty stew, based on a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, is comfort in a bowl. You can use any root vegetables you have on hand. When we tried out the recipe in the Rancho Gordo test kitchen, someone remarked that a scoop of cooked wild rice would also be a...