Cooking

The custom of using a celery stick as a garnish for a Bloody Mary supposedly originated at Chicago’s Ambassador East Hotel in the 1960s. As the story goes, an unnamed celebrity ordered a Bloody Mary. With no swizzle stick available to stir it, he grabbed a stalk of celery from a nearby relish tray and history was made.
Native to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, celery was first used by the ancient Greeks and Romans as a flavoring. The ancient Greeks also awarded winners of sporting events with a stock of celery. Marathon runners were often seen carrying it.

The 2012 Coastal Uncorked Chef’s Challenge took place on Sunday, April 28, at the site of the Old Pavilion in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Four area chefs competed to cook against Chef Eric Masson in the last round.
Masson, having won the title in 2011, was allowed to skip the qualifying rounds and face off with the challenger for the title of winner of the Coastal Uncorked Chef’s Challenge.

Lean and boneless, a flank steak is one of only two steaks cut from the underside of a steer, the other being a skirt steak. A thin, oblong-cut mingled with tough meat fibers, a flank steak is loaded with great flavors and responds well to marinades and to high-heat cooking, if only for a brief amount of time.
It’s best when eaten medium-rare, so be sure to take it off the heat while it’s still rare and allow it to set for a few minutes to retain its juices. For maximum “chewability,” flank steak should be cut into thin slices across the grain.

With our warmer-than-normal temperatures in recent weeks, it’s no surprise that strawberry season has arrived just a wee bit earlier this year. Strawberries typically peak during May in the South and in June in the North.