A couple of years ago, I hooked myself up to the world of TiVo. I had a singular goal in mind—to record PBS’ Saturday lineup of cooking shows. I watch them all—Julia Child, Rick Bayless, Martin Yan, Lidia Bastianich, José Andrés, Steven Raichlen, Christopher Kimball and his “America’s Test Kitchen” and “Cook’s Country” crew, and the revolving cooks on Martha Stewart’s “Everyday Food.” I play the ones I like several times, take notes, and absorb their recipes and techniques before I eventually delete the programs to make room for new ones

When dining out, sharing food at the table is fun. Passing dishes around or eating “family-style” are a beautiful ways to eat together. Except, it turns out, when you order better than your companions.

People spend more money on organic meat than on conventional meat for a range of health, environmental and ethical reasons. At my local store, however, none of the meat for sale is organic except the dog food. Unfortunately for my dog, I've been eating most of it myself.