Food! Glorious Food!

By MELISSA CLARK
Italy to Brooklyn, Fig by Fig
Published: August 28, 2012

THIS morning, I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, went outside and picked my breakfast of fresh figs. Moar

Recipes
Lamb and Fig Kebabs with Honey and Rosemary
Fig-Hazelnut Financiers

Charlotte Wakes Up Bankers’ Taste Buds

In Tampa, a Fusion All Its Own

Magic Measured in a Pile of Salt

Emmanuel Mercier uses a skimmer to harvest salt from the surface of his ponds on Île de Ré. More Photos »
By ELAINE SCIOLINO
Published: August 27, 2012

EVERY August when we rent a little house on Île de Ré off the west coast of France, I find myself drawn to the island’s most famous agricultural product: salt. Every grain, every crystal, is cultivated naturally, harvested by hand and marketed pure and unrefined. Moar

Forget Coffee, I’ll Have This Brew
By ERIC ASIMOV
Published: August 23, 2012

IN the heat of a waning summer, when half the world seems to have taken off on vacation, a late-morning glass of wheat beer can be another sort of pleasurable departure. In Bavaria, home of the hefeweizen style of wheat beer, such refreshment is an essential component of the brotzeit, or second breakfast. Moar

Shuck and Awe

I don’t need to tell you that there are alternatives to eating corn straight from the cob: you’ve probably adored creamed corn for most of your life. (Possibly you’ve never made it from scratch, and if that’s the case, throw some kernels in a pan with some butter, and after a little while, add some cream along with seasoning. Heat. Eat.) But it’s equally probable that you haven’t done much else with corn kernels taken off the cob. This isn’t a revolutionary process (it’s as old as corn), nor is it difficult: Stand shucked corn upright in a bowl and use a paring knife to cut down along the kernels, as close to the cob as you can. Really dig that knife in — you want everything you can get from the cob. Corn kernels are a revelation, assuming, of course, that the corn is good to begin with. And right now, it should be (and it should be just fine raw, as it is in the first three of these ideas). So before corn costs $6 an ear next year, go for it. Moar
Recipes: A dozen Recipes for Corn Off the Cob

Aperitifs From Oregon Vineyards

By FLORENCE FABRICANT
Published: August 28, 2012
The business of making spirits in America is constantly finding new niches. The latest are aperitif concoctions, like vermouth, that are inspired by venerable European models. Imbue, a fledgling Oregon company owned by three entrepreneurs, all of whom have worked in wineries, breweries or restaurants, has introduced a vermouth it rightly calls bittersweet. Instead of the austere herbaceousness of a classic French dry vermouth, it has a mellower flavor, without being sweet. Though the company says it was designed to go with new American gins, it seems better suited for what is called a perfect manhattan, which is made with half sweet, half dry vermouth. It’s also elegant on its own, over ice. An aperitif wine called Petal and Thorn is pale rose, fragrant with orange blossom and mimosa up front, but grips with a bitter finish. Serve it on the rocks as you might Lillet. Both products are made from Oregon pinot gris wines that are distilled and blended with eau de vie and botanicals. Moar