What's your favorite food on Valentine's Day? For many, it's chocolate. Yes, chocolate is a food group all its own -- any chocoholic knows that.

Super Bowl parties are all about excess. Sunday's championship game, when the New England Patriots meet the New York Giants, has been building up for months, and football fans want food that has some gusto -- pizza, chili, barbecue and wings.

A recent email from Colleen Elliot Dennis brought back memories. Dennis was a friend and neighbor of McCallie School's French/German teacher Pierre Wagner and his wife, Sarah.

My father and grandfather were born in China. One of my first cousins married a Chinese man, so through their daughter I have a Chinese blood relation.

Beef stew is one of my favorite comfort foods. I've made it off and on for years, always delighting in trying recipes that add new flavors to the mix.

The first Side Orders column in January is always a favorite because it gives me a chance to look at food trends -- what has come and gone in the previous year and what we have to look out for.

I've always heard that eating pork on New Year's Day will bring money and happiness. I'm not going to deny superstition. Even if I don't wake up to be a millionaire some morning in 2012, I still would have had an excellent meal to ring in the new year.

When was the last time you had a bite of peanut butter pie you didn't like? I never have. And if it's good peanut butter pie, we're talking more than a bite.

It may sound hard to believe, but I didn't have my first taste of lasagna until I left home for college. Other Italian favorites -- spaghetti and pizza -- were often on the table, but never lasagna.

If you're looking for the perfect gift for the person on your list who loves to eat out, this year's Adventures in Dining coupon book is ready for a place under your tree.

It's amazing the transformation that can be made with new kitchen cabinets. It's not for the fainthearted, though, as the process tears up your entire kitchen.

There are two types of cranberry-sauce lovers, the purists and the pragmatists. I fall in the former category, my husband in the latter.

It's just a week before Thanksgiving, and while many people will be gathered for a home-cooked feast next Thursday, there also are many who would rather have someone else do the cooking.

Doors open bright and early Friday for the annual Greek Bake Sale at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. I have visions of baklava and other sweet and savory favorites dancing through my head as I write this column. In addition to perennial favorite bakla

I really look forward to my daily walks. Not only do I feel like they're doing me some good -- I've actually come to believe there is a muscle in my derriere, not just a blob of blubber -- they also give me time to consider whatever thoughts cross my mind.

Friday will be exactly one year since my precious father went to receive his heavenly reward.

The first nip of fall in the air always readies my tastebuds for comfort foods. One of my favorites is a good grilled cheese sandwich.

You can expect to find some of the best chili in town this weekend during the ninth annual Firehouse Chili Cook-Off, but you'll find it on a different day and in a new venue.

This Saturday, college football fans will be gearing up for the annual game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs.

I've been a fan of Paula Deen's since I first saw her make real comfort food loaded with real butter and other things delicious. There was just something about her Southern charm mixed with a good knowledge of how to cook down-home favorites that made me want to jump through the TV and join her in her kitchen.

Home grills may be put away for the season, but things are just starting to smoke at Crabtree Farms. The Pig Roast, an annual fall barbecue celebration, happens Saturday, Oct. 8. Featured again this year is the Hittin' the Sauce contest for those who think they can make some darn good moppin' sauce.

Hamilton Place's annual food sampling event happens this Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. inside the mall. A benefit for the Center for Childhood Cancer at Children's Hospital at Erlanger, Taste of Hamilton Place features foods from area restaurants, caterers and bakeries, as well as live entertainment by local musicians.

Like most baby boomers, I don't have to worry about school-age kids anymore. I'm 53, and my daughters are all grown. Even my baby is getting her doctorate and planning her wedding. It doesn't seem like that long ago, though, that I was trying to figure out what food I would put in her lunch box.

Planning a trip to Florida over Labor Day weekend? If so, don't forget to swing by the Forgotten Coast if you're in the area (about 25 miles east of Panama City).

It's amazing the number of okra lovers out there. A recent column proved it, with several readers hoping to prove me wrong about my hatred for boiled okra. This is one of my favorite responses:

I'm sure many of you have heard tales of non-Southerners trying grits for the first time. My favorite is the one about the visitor who said he didn't know exactly what they were and wasn't sure if he would like them, so he just wanted one grit! Trying to

As I’ve aged, by tastebuds have matured, and I’ve learned to like a number of foods that I couldn’t stomach as a youngster.

How many times have you opened the freezer door and just stood there looking, wishing you had thought ahead and left something in the refrigerator to thaw for dinner? To hurry things along, maybe you've submerged your still-frozen entree in hot water to thaw it.

I don’t get downtown nearly as often as I used to, but a recent trip for lunch at Blue Plate Diner showed me what I was missing.

We're right in the heart of summer, and veggie and fruit lovers know what that means: fresh tomatoes, corn, okra, cantaloupe and peaches. You name it, it's yours for the picking.

Congratulations are in order for Frank Bell and his son, Mitchell, who were named this year’s Sweet Peppers Franchisees of the year. I just love their restaurant, and if you haven’t paid them a visit since they opened a couple of years ago, it’s time to go and try one of their incredibly good sandwiches. Being a fan of Reubens, I can highly recommend theirs.

A recent trip to Memphis took me into a downtown area where I’d never been. I’ve stayed in Beale Street hotels a couple of times, such as the famous Peabody Hotel, but on my last visit, I depended on priceline.com to choose a four-star-plus hotel.

Like many of you, I’ll be doing my best to make a tender rack of ribs on my grill this July 4th, though I’ve never quite mastered the technique.

Like any lover of summer’s vine-ripened tomatoes, I can’t wait to pick the first one off my vines.

It’s interesting how menu offerings on Father’s Day, when beef, pork and barbecue are the norm, differ from Mother’s Day, when chicken, fish and light salads abound. Here’s a sampling of places to take your dad this Sunday.

Her name was Lee. I never knew her last name. We all just called her Lee, the camp cook at High Rocks, a summer camp I attended for years in Cedar Mountain, N.C.

I love salt, and salt hates me. Give me a potato chip, and I want the whole bag. Put Chex Mix in front of me, and I can munch on it all day. But I’ve learned my lesson about my favorite salty treats.

Grilling season is here. Or did it ever go away? Memorial Day was once the traditional startup to meals prepared outdoors. Over the past decade, grilling has become a year-round hobby, even a passion for some.

The Creative Discovery Museum is cooking up a sweet event that everyone can bite into. Through the end of May, museum officials want you to cast your vote, letting them know which restaurant in town makes the best cobbler. It can be peach, cherry, blueberry, blackberry, apple — whatever you decide.

I love my mail carrier. Even during the snowstorms last winter, she managed to get down our little dead-end country lane in Soddy-Daisy when I couldn’t even get down our driveway.

Lesley Dale Greenfield has a new reason to celebrate Mother’s Day.

It has become a tradition in this space before the second Sunday in May to let readers know what restaurants are doing to celebrate mothers.

It won’t be long until our gardens will be bursting with fresh produce. I’ve already planted my tomatoes, onions and lettuce, and I can’t wait until they’re ready to pick.

For every restaurant door that closes, another opens. But we often harbor memories of a few favorite places long after they’re gone.

It’s hard to picture the Scenic City with just a handful of restaurants, but any Chattanoogan over age 40 has witnessed a remarkable transformation of the dining-out scene.

For many families, Easter is a day to make memories as children traipse through yards in search of prize eggs and everyone gathers for the holiday meal.

I’ve read about Doe’s Eat Place online and in novels, magazines and newspapers. The original is in Greenville, Miss., the heart of the Delta, and it’s well-known for its hand-cut steaks and hand-rolled tamales. My first visit was a meal I’ll never forget.

I’m not much of a golfer, but this time of year, my thoughts turn to The Masters. I’ve been able to attend this tournament of champions at Augusta National Golf Club many times.

After reading worstpizza.com’s list of the best places for pizza around the country, local pizza lovers weighed in with where they find slices that satisfy.

Chattanooga’s restaurant scene continues to grow. Greg Adkins, CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association, said restaurant owners across the area are reporting business gains in 2011.