Wire Food & Wine

Whether you're a beer person or a wine person - or both (they do exist) - here are some pairings for a fun summer cookout that will have something for everyone.

Part of Newton's first law of motion states that an object in motion stays in motion. Although perhaps not intended for entertaining purposes, Newton's first law fits nicely into a progressive-dinner context. Instead of a one-home dining experience, the momentum of progressive dinners relies upon several hosts, each providing a course out of individual homes. As warmer weather approaches, there isn't a better time for putting a progressive dinner into motion. Here's the formula to get dinner courses flowing and keep the party going.

I enjoy traveling. As I pen this month's BBQ My Way installment, I am sitting in a condo in Panama City, Fla. We're here for my daughter's spring break. She's our youngest and is a senior in high school. As with our other kids, we felt it was a good idea to be around when they headed south for spring break. You know, just to be there. Watch one episode of any MTV show during spring break and you will understand why we do this.

On the day devoted to mothers, a homemade brunch is a special way to show the mom in your life how much she means to you. While the thought and love will make the gesture unforgettable, you want the food to be as well! Whether you plan to host an elegant sit-down affair or a more leisurely buffet-style gathering, you can add unique touches to traditional dishes and create a meal that is specially crafted with your mom in mind.

May 5 is not just another day. Perhaps its more oft-referenced name, "Cinco de Mayo," sounds familiar. Widely celebrated in the United States and in some regions of Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is dedicated to commemorating Mexican culture and heritage. More specifically, it celebrates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over France in the 1862 Battle of Puebla during the early years of the Franco-Mexican War.

With celebrities such as Miley Cyrus touting their new gluten-free diets and celiac disease's recent rise in incidence, it's no wonder that gluten-free eating has garnered increased national attention. A recent study published in "The American Journal of Gastroenterology" found that the prevalence of celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, in North America increased between 2000 and 2010 but seemed to level off in 2004, also confirming estimates that the disease affects about 1 percent of Americans.

With warm weather (finally!) approaching, and with no apologies for the false promises of spring from that prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil, fresh peaches will soon arrive in the markets, roadside stands and u-pick orchards across the South.

It started out with a simple post on my Facebook page in January, where I noted that I had made a ham loaf with Christmas leftovers.

Three new additions to the Lean Cuisine lineup are labeled VeggieCuisine, apparently a subset of the Spa Collection. They are: Indian-style masala; Enchilada rojo with Mexican-style rice and Tuscan-style vegetable lasagna.

Brenda Cox from Raleigh, N.C., was looking for a recipe for making a baked spaghetti casserole like the one her mother used to make back in the 1950s. She remembers that her mother used tomato soup in her recipe. She has tried over the years to recreate the dish without success.

Q: I was telling my granddaughter about hot cross buns and the ditty that goes "one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns." she asked me, "just what is a hot cross bun, anyway?" I hope you can give me a recipe. I'd love to make them with her.

Rome is eternal. Tuscany's terrific. But there's lots more to Italy. And every region has its own trademark wines.

2012 Reichsrat von Buhl Pinot Noir Rose

Dear SOS: I am a former California native, having lived in Pasadena for almost 47 years. Our family used to eat at the Lawry's establishments all of the time. I am trying to find a recipe for the Lawry's chocolate Kahlua mousse. It was my family's favorite dessert, and we often ordered it on birthdays. Well, my 60th birthday is coming up on Aug. 19, and I would love to make this.

Lamb steaks drizzled with mint pesto sauce is a perfect dish for this holiday weekend or any weeknight dinner. Slices of lamb are cut from the leg to make a steak 3/4- to 1-inch thick with a round bone in the center. They are sometimes displayed in the meat case, or you can ask the butcher to cut them for you. They make juicy and tender steaks.

My family has been eating a lot less meat over the past few years. Oh, we still get nice steaks to throw on the grill, and when they show up on the table with oven-roasted potatoes and a mound of dressed arugula, the meal is cause for celebration. But more often than not, dinner will be an amply tricked-out salad with a loaf of bread, a bowl of farro topped with vegetables and a fried egg, or a spicy tofu stir-fry with rice.

It started out with a simple post on my Facebook page in January, where I noted that I had made a ham loaf with Christmas leftovers.

Easter still makes me think of vinegar. A clear wax crayon, drawn onto the white shell, not able to see the childish designs, hoping for the best. Dipping into the colored, vinegary dye with a flimsy wisp of wire shaped like a stop sign. Who decided a hexagon was best suited for Easter egg fishing?

If you're a fan of pork, you can't beat pork tenderloin as a go-to for a quick meal. Having pork tenderloins stashed away in the freezer means you can whip up a meal quickly, usually with little effort.

If the name Barilla makes you think of a box of spaghetti, you are on the right track.

In a 65,000-square-foot structure that once housed Navy fighter jets, Lance Winters of St. George Spirits makes popular Hangar One vodka, along with gin, bourbon, rum, whiskey, liqueurs and even absinthe.

When the nights are below freezing and the days are in the 40s, you'll find Teresa Marrone checking on two maple trees on her south Minneapolis property, watching for the drip-drip-drip of the sap flowing.

I have beautiful kitchen knives. I received my set of hand-forged J.A. Henckels knives on my first day of cooking school 25 years ago, and the instructor told us that if we cared for them properly we would have these knives for life.

Sometimes it's the simplest things that are the most confounding. Last year, right before Easter, I blogged about how to make a perfect hard-boiled egg. Basic? Yes. Popular? Very. This seemingly simple task received tens of thousands of page views.

Peeps, Casey Barber says, are like the "cilantro of the sweets world." You love those spongy yellow marshmallow birds or you hate them. Regardless, around Easter, you can't avoid them.

Recently at my dinner table, I witnessed an exchange between my 82-year-old mother-in-law and my 2-year-old niece about eating Peeps.

How to boil an egg is a question that seems particularly apropos of Easter and all that hoppity-hop stuff. Rose Carrarini gives it just eight paragraphs - four for soft-boiled, three for hard, one for both - in answering the question. That leaves some 132 pages to fill in her new book, "How to Boil and Egg" (Phaidon, $35). She does so rather well, with simple, delicious recipes you'll want to make year-round.

Easter ham may conjure up cozy memories of family feasts past, but for today's smaller households the traditional bone-in ham can be a challenge. Often as big as a jack-o'-lantern, a ham is a holiday treat that keeps giving, practically to Pentecost, or so it might seem to any cook overwhelmed by all the leavings.

Casting about for a meatless recipe to feature in these last few days of Lent, I set upon the idea of a pepper and egg sandwich. Brilliant in its simplicity, it features just three ingredients: scrambled eggs heaped with sauteed green bell peppers tucked into a crusty roll.

Duncan Hines is known today mainly for those ubiquitous boxes of cake mix in supermarkets. But he was no Betty Crocker. A real person, not a fictional brand symbol, he was a onetime traveling salesman with an appreciation of good food honed by many years and countless miles on the road.