When the weather outside is frightful, nothing warms the body and soothes the spirit like a steaming cup of hot cocoa.

I rarely buy 12-packs of beer. No matter how good the beer is, after I drink three or four the rest just sit there gathering dust. There are too many good beers out there to settle on a dozen of any one kind.

It's more difficult in winter months, but eating locally can be stepped up if people learn to eat with the seasons.

Test of Dove Vitalize dark chocolate bar.

Weekly food rail, with an easy recipe for turkey biscuits, a tip on clarified butter, the latest from the Beer Nut and more.

It is a tradition to eat black-eyed peas on New Years Day. The folklore says that the eating of black-eyed peas brings prosperity to you throughout the new year!  Enjoy! And be prosperous!
Serve warm with tortilla chips.

There are many ways to prepare venison. There are roasts, steak, burger, deer sausage, jerky, soups, chili, spaghetti sauce, meat loaves, gravy with biscuits and more. Venison, if cooked properly, is better than the best cuts of beef. There are no preservatives. It is just pure, lean meat.

Americans consume about 1,200 tons of vanilla beans a year. But not all vanilla is the same, and it pays to know the different kinds before you begin your seasonal baking. Here’s a look at the two main vanilla beans available.

At holiday time, Harpoon Brewery helps customers give back to their communities.

Two of the largest health associations in the country -- American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association – partnered to produce a cookbook filled with recipes that are good for diabetics and good-tasting enough to share with loved ones who don’t suffer from the disease.

Many of us enjoy a steaming cup of robust coffee to warm the spirit and clear the mind on a brisk cold winter day. However, the selection available can be mind-boggling. Does it really make a difference if the coffee is certified organic, shade-grown or fair-trade coffee?

You already have a turkey dressing recipe, but this one is worth a try. As mom’s cooking was, it’s very simple, no oysters, no herbal remedies. It’s just good, fight-over good in fact.

Ham hock

Some recipes call for clarified butter. This is unsalted butter that is slowly melted, allowing the milk solids to collect on the bottom. The clear (clarified) top is poured off and used in recipes. Its smoking point is much higher than butter. Clarified butter does not have as rich a taste as butter.

Don’t think the Big Feed is over once you put your fork down after the last bite of pumpkin pie. It can last a few more days by creatively using the leftover turkey and trimmings.