GRAND RAPIDS — In Act II of “The Nutcracker Ballet,” the Prince whisks the slumbering Clara away to the Land of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy holds court in a magical land of make believe.

For kids with food allergies, dietary restrictions or Type I diabetes, Halloween trick-or-treating can put kids at risk for serious health issues.

Local restaurants pulled out all the stops in their salmon creations for this past weekend's Salmon Festival cookoff. 

People of all ages enjoyed ice cream for a cause Friday afternoon at a local senior citizen complex.

Does following a weight-loss or healthy diet mean you must swear off fast food? Not necessarily.

The rainy beginning of the summer was a downer for most people, but those gloomy days made for a bigger, better blueberry crop today, according to Chad Reenders.

FERRYSBURG — The 13th annual Smith’s Bayou Chili Cookoff is set for Saturday, Aug. 24, and it will be a benefit for Four Pointes Center for Successful Aging.

SPRING LAKE — High water levels across West Michigan have created significant problems for local farmers, preventing some crops from being planted and ruining produce already in the ground.

The winners of this past weekend’s Battle of the Bones Rib Fest were recently announced. 

Salmon are beginning to arrive in the waters off Grand Haven. 

It might seem risky to open a New Orleans-themed restaurant in Boston, but chef Jason Santos did just that in 2017 with his Buttermilk & Bourbon, and it’s been wildly successful.

Here’s a quick and easy salad supper for Memorial Day weekend or for anytime. It’s a vegetarian meal that can be made ahead and is easy to take on picnics or serve on your patio. The juicy watermelon, crunchy spiced pecans and manchego cheese lend a contrast of flavor and texture to the salad.

SPRING LAKE — Trail Point Brewing took home a pair of first-place awards at the 2019 Grub & Brew Fest, which took place April 27 at Old Boys’ Brewhouse in Spring Lake. 

Whether you enjoy eating tortilla chips plain or use them as a vehicle for dips and spreads, the crunchy snacks are a staple at every gathering. It’s so easy to run to the store, pick up a bag and have something to bring to a party. Some brands have even inspired deep, somewhat aggressive lo…

On a trip to Mexico City, I tasted these melt-in-your-mouth sopes. They’re little corn tortillas filled with a spicy black bean spread, roasted chicken, lettuce and cheese. It’s a perfect dish for Cinco de Mayo. The holiday on May 5 celebrates the victory of Mexican forces over the French oc…

Cauliflower’s moment in the sun as a food fad came to an abrupt halt a few years ago when someone sliced it crosswise and called it a cauliflower steak.

Bread, you will be thrilled to hear, is back in fashion again.

A recent column on the Environmental Working Group's list of fruits and vegetables with the most and least pesticides generated some reader comments. Most wondered if washing eliminates any pesticides residue.

SPRING LAKE — Bacon is the featured ingredient to be included in dishes prepared by local restaurants at the Grub & Brew Fest on Saturday. 

If you think about Thai food — which is something I do with alarming regularity — the Thai food you think about first is probably Pad Thai. — That is as it should be. — Pad Thai is probably most Americans’ introduction to Thai cuisine, an authentic street food that is easily accessible to th…

Many Americans pride themselves on the ability to endure a scorching hot pepper sauce, even if we’re coughing and crying while eating it over chicken wings.

Although it helps, you needn’t be an utter crackpot to believe that the prehistoric artworks adorning the caves of Western Europe are actually primitive menus. Sadly, though, those chef’s degustations at Thakk’s of Grobnork left much to be desired, as the peeps of the Pleistocene knew little…

You can get just about any fresh vegetable any time of the year, but quality can be an issue. During the winter months, fresh produce sometimes doesn’t look too inviting.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The recent polar vortex has us thinking about warm drinks.

I don’t need to spend much time examining why you should pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, do I?

Sunday is the Super Bowl, and while some people come for the football game and others crave the commercials, one thing is a constant — we’re all here for the snacks.

(1) Super Bowl Sunday — Enjoy the game, food, halftime show and TV commercials at home, at a friend’s party or at a local establishment. Kickoff is at around 6 p.m.

SEATTLE — Does Edouardo Jordan need any introduction at this point? Now is the Seattle chef’s time: He’s got a pair of fresh James Beard Awards to top the pile of accolades accumulating around him of late, including a rare three-star review in The New York Times.

Our current food production and consumption habits are doomed to “exacerbate risks to people and planet,” according to a landmark study published in The Lancet this week. But if we make a radical change — as in, cut our sugar and red meat by half and double our vegetable, fruit and nut consu…

It’s the best week of the year for food writers.

You can never have enough sparkling wine — in any month, let alone December. Besides New Year’s Eve, you also have Christmas, Christmas Eve, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, Winter Solstice, Bette Midler’s birthday, the 200th anniversary of Illinois statehood, and probably a bunch of other impo…

Last Thanksgiving, we got a heritage-breed turkey raised by Rathbun & Moore in Outlook, Washington, east of the Cascade Mountains from Seattle.

Add some vegetables and a bought pie crust to your leftover turkey for this quick and easy Turkey Pot Pie. I find pot pies on the menus of many restaurants. They’re warm and inviting and a great way to use leftover turkey. This pie can also be made with rotisserie chicken or other cooked pou…

In a time when we know that we’re supposed to start with whole ingredients as a matter of culinary correctness, Thanksgiving presents challenges. Turkeys come pre-brined with pop-up thermometers; cranberry sauce is sometimes just disgorged from the can and sliced; the desiccated stuff in the…

Thanksgiving is all about tradition, and in my household we stick to the script. The menu is set — oyster bisque to pumpkin pie. Each recipe is printed, hole-punched and binder-bound. We amend holey binder, rarely.

Is there something wrong with a country that has suddenly decided it hates candy corn?

Once fall arrives, it’s time to look forward to comfort foods.

You will find arancini — fried risotto balls filled with cheeses, vegetables or meats — on many fancy Italian restaurant menus. But I first tasted authentic arancini at an autogrill (the Italian version of a truck stop) along the Autostrada (highway) in Italy.

LOS ANGELES — Growing up, I celebrated birthdays with Power Rangers-themed slumber parties or outings to Chuck E. Cheese’s. In my early 20s, I often spent them at a slightly too-expensive restaurant and then went and drank slightly too much at a bar or club I probably wouldn’t darken the doo…

Fall is in the air. Temperatures have cooled down, and that smell — the hints of dried leaves, pumpkins and apples — is beginning to waft through the breezes.

My pervasive Roman Catholic sense of nagging guilt has been drowned out this week by a song that peaked at No. 3 in October 1970. “Green-eyed lady, lovely lad-eh.”?Remember that one??“Green-Eyed Lady”??The band was Sugarloaf. Look it up. You’ll remember.

CHICAGO — Millions of Americans have tried a digital approach to nutrition — like the carb-counting Atkins app or Weight Watchers’ point system or the ever popular MyFitnessPal.

This Caribbean dinner calls for the popular island ingredients of rum, black beans, rice and pork. Rum mixed with brown sugar and mustard makes a perfect glaze for pork. Pork tenderloin is low in fat and cooks quickly, but you could use spare ribs if you prefer. Flatten the pork tenderloin t…

I never want summer to end, so I look on the bright side: Autumn weather practically begs for slow-simmered foods. Yum.

Aretha Franklin was known to enjoy cooking, and when she passed, her peach cobbler recipe became a popular Google search item.

Back in the ’80s, a Cajun chef named Paul Prudhomme had a hit on his hands and blackened redfish became his trademark.

To lye or not to lye? That is the question when you’re making pretzels.

FRUITPORT TWP. — Local chefs, food vendors, wineries and breweries will be part of the fifth annual Chef Prize planned for 12-4 p.m. Sunday at Hampton Green Farm, 5440 E. Farr Road.