Thomas Jefferson was so enamoured with Belgium waffles that he had an iron shipped from France to Monticello so his guests could sample the Brussels and Liege versions he so enjoyed. While Belgium has been famous for waffles since the Middle Ages it's interesting to note there are no Belgian waffles made in this small country. The Belgian waffle is an American creation that was introduced at the 1964 World's Fair where it was called a "Bel Gem Waffle".

Both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they are added to baked goods before cooking to produce carbon dioxide and cause them to 'rise'. Baking powder contains baking soda, but the two substances are used under different conditions.

Baking Soda

Making a hard boiled egg where the yolk is soft and creamy with no greenish-gray exterior is very easy. It only requires careful attention to time.

Start by placing your eggs in a saucepan. Add cool tap water to about 1 inch above the eggs. Put cover on saucepan. Place on stove over high heat until the water starts to boil. Let boil exactly five minutes. Then, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for exactly five minutes. When done, immediately pour off hot water and add cold water to stop the cooking process.

au jus - A French phrase describing meat served with its own natural juices. Commonly used with beef.

beef broth - A liquid resulting from cooking vegetables, meat or fish in water. The term is sometimes used synonymously with bouillon.

beef stock - Stock is the strained liquid that is the result of cooking vegetables, meat, or fish and other seasoning ingredients in water.

Created on the Sout Side of Chicago (no "h" used in South), in the Italian enclaves around the now defunct Stockyards, the classic Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich (pronounced sangwitch) is a unique, drippy, messy variation on the French Dip Sandwich. It is available in hundreds of joints around the city, and rarely found beyond its environs.

The exact origin is unknown, but the sandwich was probably created by Italian immigrants in the early 1900s as they rose from poverty and from ground meat into the middle class, where they were able to afford beef for roasting.

The same questions come up over and over again when fruit is plentiful. What is the difference between a Crumble and a Crisp? What exactly is a Cobbler? What the hell is a Grunt? We'll try to clarify what the difference is between all these related fruit desserts.

Crisps and Crumbles - A crisp is baked in a dish with the fruit on the bottom and with a crumb topping. The topping can be made with a base of bread crumbs, flour, nuts, cookie or graham cracker crumbs. A crumble is the British version of an American Crisp.

I've occasionally hear this term, what does it mean?

USDA Prime, Choice, Select? "Young beef with the most marbling is given the Prime or highest quality grade. Prime is usually sold to restaurants, but may be available in some specialty markets. Choice is the most widely available grade in the retail market. Select has the least amount of marbling, but may not be as tender, juicy or flavorful as Prime or Choice."

"Beef tenderloin steak is also called filet or filet mignon. These extremely tender, boneless steaks are cut from the whole tenderloin."