kelsie dewar At the most basic level, the purpose of food is to provide us with life-sustaining nourishment. But it’s much, much more than that. It brings us together. Whether it’s time spent cooking or enjoying a meal around the dinner table with the ones we love, food often serves as ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN With its juicy oranges, tender chicken and a crunchy topping, Chinese chicken salad offers an enticing variety of tastes and textures. But many versions seem to have lost their way, weighted down with gloppy sauces, lackluster chicken, sugary canned orange segments ...

MARQUETTE — As the Downtown Marquette Farmers Market wrapped up another season in December, the market’s manager says it was another successful and exciting year. The farmers market is sponsored by the Marquette Downtown Development Authority, with the goal being to support local farmers, ...

MARQUETTE — Two established bakers from different Upper Peninsula businesses recently teamed up for a new Food Network series called “Winner Cake All.” Premiering Monday at 10 p.m., “Winner Cake All” is a 13-episode series where four teams made up of two bakers demonstrate ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN This classic New Orleans specialty is built on a roux_a cooked mixture of fat and flour that must be stirred constantly, sometimes for an hour or more, until it is deep brown. To get the same depth of flavor with much less hands-on work, we turned to a dry ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN The delights of classic chicken pot pie are many_from the burnished, flaky crust to the luscious, savory filling. But putting it together can be a chore: Between making pie dough (which often requires pulling out a food processor), poaching chicken in one pot and ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN Spinach dip can feel like the responsible, healthy choice on an appetizer buffet but that doesn’t mean it has to be bland or boring. For a spinach dip to really taste good, we found that both the ingredients and the method were key. We packed tons of flavor ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN Incredibly rich and impossibly smooth, flourless chocolate cake is elegant, refined, and universally beloved. But recipes for this intense, deeply chocolate dessert typically require complicated techniques. Our take on this indulgent cake minimizes fuss without ...

ISHPEMING — Volunteers are busy preparing for the 12th annual Community Christmas Dinner in Ishpeming to ensure everyone can enjoy a hot meal for the holiday, free of charge. The event will be held Christmas Day at the Ishpeming Elks Lodge, 597 Lakeshore Drive, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. ...

MARQUETTE — Currently 1 out of 3 adults and over 50 percent of seniors have pre-diabetes, a condition that often leads to type 2 diabetes if not treated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Mayo Clinic reports that type 2 diabetes develops when the body ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN White chicken chili is a fresher, lighter cousin of the thick red chili most of us know and love. Its appeal is not surprising because it is a healthier alternative and, when made well, packed with vibrant flavors and spiciness. All too often, however, this ...

By AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN Naan is an Indian flatbread with a chewy texture and a puffed, slightly charred crust. Brushing the baking sheet with olive oil and then baking the naan on the lowest rack in a 400 F oven gives it a crispy texture_just like pizza crust. This recipe can be doubled. ...

By CANDICE CHOI AP Food & Health Writer NEW YORK — Many companies including McDonald’s and Kellogg are purging artificial colors from their foods, but don’t expect your cheeseburgers or cereal to look much different. Colors send important signals about food, and companies ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN Traditionally, Italian porchetta is a whole pig that is spit-roasted to produce fall-apart tender, rich pieces of slow-cooked pork, aromatic with garlic, fennel seeds, rosemary, and thyme. It’s served with pieces of crisp skin on a crusty roll. Seeing as ...

MARQUETTE — Irish Whitetail Distillery, founded by Marquette native Nickolas Boyle and his wife, Violetta, made its debut last month at Ireland’s premier whiskey tasting event. Whiskey Live Dublin attendees had the opportunity over the course of two days to sample the distillery’s 12 ...

MARQUETTE — Now in its seventh year, Ore Dock Brewing Company’s annual community fundraiser continues to grow. Each year the brewery, with help from local bars and restaurants, offers patrons the opportunity to spread goodwill within their community by donating one dollar from every pint ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t love a bowl of spaghetti topped with meatballs and marinara, but stovetop versions are often messy (between the spattering oil from frying the meatballs and the sputtering tomato sauce), and the sauce requires a long ...

MARQUETTE — For the second time, home cook Brenda Washnock of Negaunee made the top 10 of her category in the World Food Championships last month. Every year, thousands of chefs and home cooks from all over the world compete for more than $350,000 in cash and prizes. The November ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN Most glazed roast chicken recipes offer some variation on these instructions: Roast a chicken as you would normally, painting on a sweet glaze 15 to 30 minutes before the bird is done. It sounds simple, but following these recipes actually turns up a host of ...

By AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN Also known as posole, this fragrant and spicy New Mexican stew combines toothsome hominy and tender chunks of pork in a mildly spicy, verdant base. We wanted to use the multicooker to make a streamlined version that would maintain the stew’s characteristically ...