Chef Report

UZHHOROD, Ukraine - Valentyn Shtefano’s pastries were known for attracting stares and giggles as well as lip-smacking murmurs. But even his fiancee was surprised when Shtefano told her he was making her wedding dress — out of flour, eggs, sugar and caramel.

The dress — made of 1,500 cream puffs and weighing 20 pounds — took the 28-year-old baker two months to make, and by the end of the wedding reception, bride Viktoriya said she didn’t want to take it off. more…

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (weight is dependent on how many servings are required)
1 large lemon, cut into halves
sprig of rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Rub butter or oil over the skin of the chicken until it is completely coated.

Take a knife and gently separate the skin from the breast meat; slide lemon halves under the skin with the peel side up. This way the juice from the lemon will coat the breast.
Season skin of chicken to your preference; place sprig of rosemary into the chicken.

Cover and place in oven for 30-45 minutes. Remove cover and continue to roast until juices run clear, basting every 15-20 minutes, depending on size of the bird.

If you’ve followed these steps correctly, your chicken should look like the one in the picture. Bon Appetit!

When I finally talk to Emeril Lagasse at the recent Food & Wine Festival in Aspen, I skip the questions on cooking and opt for the one people have been asking since Katrina: Where was he during the perfect storm? And I don’t mean it in a kindly way.After the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast last summer, Emeril was skewered for being missing in action, notably by his adopted hometown newspaper but by other media as well. One of the most visible faces of New Orleans, he kept a low - almost nonexistent - profile. more…

A 19-year-old woman was fatally shot on the South Side Sunday evening while working at an area restaurant, and police think they know why someone killed her. more…

Just five days after flames engulfed The Pioneer Drive-In, James “Junior” Ramey III said he still is shocked. His busy, small-town family restaurant, always full of memories and often filled with the people who made them, was gone in a matter of minutes after 54 years of existence.”It was the best it ever looked. It’d been doing better than it ever had. Last month was the biggest month The Pioneer had ever had. We took in more than ever before. At this time, I had the best employees I’ve ever had, too,” Ramey said. The restaurant has been operated by Ramey’s family since his grandmother opened it in 1952. more…