Cook’s Ilustrated’s Easier, Faster Version of Stanley Tucci’s Spaghetti with Zucchini (Plus Winner of the Food Gal Giveaway)

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So thankful to come across an easier yet equally delicious version of this Stanley Tucci favorite.
So thankful to come across an easier yet equally delicious version of this Stanley Tucci favorite.

You may not remember that last year I made Stanley Tucci’s famed “Spaghetti Con Zucchine Alla Nerano,” the captivating dish spotlighted on his CNN show, “Searching for Italy,” and in his memoir, “Taste: My Life Through Food.”

But I sure do. How could I forget every minute of carefully frying batch after batch of zucchini slices in a big pot of oil over a hot stove in summer for what seemed an interminable hour?

Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely adored the resulting pasta dish. But I haven’t made it since, even though, I’ve longed for its taste again. Heck, can you blame me?

That’s why I’m so happy to have discovered Cook’s Illustrated’s version that I could have hugged and never let go of its 2022 July/August issue that it published in.

In this rendition, there no deep-frying involved. Let me repeat that: No. Deep. Frying.

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Exploring Southern Oregon: The Steamboat Inn

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Dining on beef tenderloin tips and gnocchi overlooking the river.
Dining on beef tenderloin tips and gnocchi overlooking the river.

Idleyld Park, OR — It’s here that you’ll find the proverbial secluded cabin in the woods.

Albeit one with history, famous guests, a fabulous wine list, and homemade pies that truly tempt.

The Steamboat Inn sits perched on a bluff above the North Umpqua River in the middle of the Umpqua National Forest. It is a true mecca for fly-fishing, especially for steelhead.

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn stayed here to do just that, as did Jack Hemingway. Just look for the framed black and white photos of them hanging in the lobby.

Step inside the bar-lounge-library to find a map of the world with pins affixed to indicate where guests have hailed from. Indeed, they’ve come from every state in the United States, as well as every continent, even Antarctica, when a group of scientists stayed here seeking some R&R.

The Steamboat Inn.
The Steamboat Inn.
The view from the deck of a cabin.
The view from the deck of a cabin.

From Roseberg, it’s a 38-mile drive to get here, a road flanked by majestic towering trees that take your breath away.

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Fire Up The Grill For Buttermilk Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Cherry Salad

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You won't believe how easy and fast it is to make this grilled pork tenderloin with cherry couscous salad.
You won’t believe how easy and fast it is to make this grilled pork tenderloin with cherry couscous salad.

Pork has a thing for fruit.

No matter its form, shape or preparation, pork’s wiles prove irresistible to most any fruit, resulting in a most magical coupling.

If you still have some of this season’s cherries at your fingertips, use them to make “Buttermilk Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Cherry Salad” to get the gist.

This simple grilling recipe is from the new “Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking With Fruit” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Abra Berens, a Michigan-based chef and former farmer, who definitely knows a thing or two about fruit.

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A Rice Krispies Treat of A Different Sort

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Rice Krispies and rice flour make these cookies crisp as can be and light as a feather.
Rice Krispies and rice flour make these cookies crisp as can be and light as a feather.

Meet the more elegant and sophisticated Rice Krispies treat.

Sure, there are days for the winsome nostalgia of the marshmallowy, sticky-sweet squares we all grew up with.

But there’s also a time and place for wonderful “Toasted Rice Sables” that take the puffed rice cereal and turns it into airy, crumbly, and crispy-throughout cookies that are oh-so buttery and toasty tasting. They’re also gluten-free.

This clever cookie is from “What’s For Dessert” (Clarkson Potter, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by one of my favorite baking book authors, New York City-based Claire Saffitz, a best-selling cookbook author who hosts the cookbook YouTube series, “Dessert Person.”

Her desserts are winningly approachable, designed to entice but not to cause any undue stress in their making. Instead, they are doable and delightful.

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Sunday Brunching At Be.Steak.A

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Toad-in-a-hole -- one of the many, many offerings at Sunday brunch at Be.Steak.A.
Toad-in-a-hole — one of the many, many offerings at Sunday brunch at Be.Steak.A.

Our strategy?

To divide and conquer — and not end up looking and feeling like a beached whale and her mate at the end of it.

Our mission?

To spend last Sunday morning indulging in the upscale buffet brunch at Campbell’s Be.Steak.A.

Yes, it was an assignment that my husband and I accepted eagerly after Chef-Owner Jeffrey Stout invited us in as his guests.

The brunch, which the restaurant started offering about a year ago, is available Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at $115 per person. Seatings are available both in the dining room and outside on the patio.

The dining room just before opening on Sunday morning.
The dining room just before opening on Sunday morning.
The buffet's cold dishes.
The buffet’s cold dishes.
Four types of roe to top blini.
Four types of roe to top blini.

When it comes to buffets, everyone has a game plan. Some people like to try a little bit of every single thing. Some key in on the most expensive dishes first and foremost. Many keep piling their plates over and over until deep remorse sets in as the waistband digs in mercilessly.

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