ArcaMax

Shawarma, the inexpensive protein beloved by young traveling backpackers all over the world, is usually prepared by stacking thin marinated slices of lamb, chicken or beef in an inverted cone on a large, upright rotisserie.

The meat gets browned and crispy as cooks occasionally shave off the outside pieces to stuff into pitas or pile onto rice....Read more

Six hours. That’s how long it took prolific pepper breeder “Smokin” Ed Currie to recover from his ultimate creation: Pepper X. Recognized in October 2023 by the Guinness World Records, it’s the hottest on the planet.

A “millisecond” of flavor followed by a quarter-day of intestinal cramping, the 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Unit fruit is...Read more

A rich, creamy sauce coats vegetables and pork chops for this one-pan dinner. I used bone-in thin-cut pork chops for this dinner. The bone adds extra flavor to the sauce and thin-cut chops take only a few minutes to cook.

Sliced red cabbage, mushrooms and shallots “smother” the chops adding flavor and texture to the dish. I like ...Read more

Come dinnertime, pasta made with corn, rice, lentils or chickpeas can be a godsend to those with gluten sensitivities. But it also can break their hearts, just a little.

Not only is gluten-free pasta super expensive when compared to "regular" spaghetti, rigatoni and other noodles made with milled durum wheat, but it's tough to find a gluten-...Read more

I am not a fan of doing stories about people I know but I held my nose the other day and met Josh Noel at a bar. He’s the former beer and spirits writer for this newspaper. I held my nose because he wrote a smart new book about Malört, a subject that requires a little nose holding. Regardless of your history with this Chicago-bred atrocity, ...Read more

I swear this was an actual conversation:

My wife: The refrigerator is a bad refrigerator. We hate it. We’re going to replace it.

Me: No, the refrigerator is a good refrigerator. We love it because it’s so wonderful and we want to keep it forever.

The conversation was, naturally, held within earshot of the refrigerator. That’s why we ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — J. Jhondi Harrell, the founder and executive director of the Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC), remembers life before food stamps.

When he was 12, his father, a long-distance truck driver, had a heart attack. That was in 1967, and the family's economic well-being plummeted as his mother became the sole provider. To help make...Read more

In caprese salad, mozzarella and basil enhance tomato slices with freshness and dairy richness. We wanted to borrow that formula but shake up a few of the traditional components.

Heirloom tomato slices, packed with ample, flavorful juice, were large enough to cut into thick slabs and shingle with salty pan-seared slices of halloumi. A simple ...Read more

Let’s face it — saying goodbye to summer can be tough. But Dairy Queen is here to soften the blow with a fall treat that might just have you cheering for cooler weather.

For two weeks (from Sept. 9-22) the dairy chain is offering a two-for-one Blizzard deal. To take advantage of this delicious offer, download the DQ Mobile App and head to ...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- Cooking every day is not easy. It’s even harder when you have to juggle school, work, extracurriculars or a full-time job with it.

While I would love to spend three hours each day experimenting with elaborate dishes, being in college or doing a full-time summer internship means that I’m always looking for quick recipes for ...Read more

Squirrels are cute and furry and absolutely adorable. But my wife calls them “little turds.”

Actually, my wife is a former newspaperwoman and she does not use as mild a word as “turds,” but it is as close as I can get in a family newspaper.

Our neighborhood squirrels dig up the dirt of all of our potted plants. They slurp up the sugar ...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- No one likes to say goodbye to summer, but there's no denying a new school year can be pretty exciting.

After chilling by the pool, sleeping in late and traveling with family on vacation, it's fun for kids to be back with their friends. And what parent or caregiver doesn't like the predictability of returning to weekday routines? ...Read more

I noticed Japanese Butter Shoyu Chicken on a restaurant menu recently and decided to learn more about it. Shoyu means soy in Japanese. Adding butter to the soy sauce adds a rich and creamy flavor and texture.

Here’s a quick and easy recipe. I flattened boneless, skinless chicken thighs to about 1/2 inch thick, so the dish takes less than 10 ...Read more