You’ve got to love beans.

The crab feed is the local tradition but here’s another idea for easy entertaining for a crowd: Boil everything in one pot, and when it’s done, drain it and tip the contents out onto a table and let the guests fill a plate. Tongs are optional.

When Hurricane Katrina forced Mary Prater to flee New Orleans, she left much behind, including cherished family heirlooms.

The most important thing to remember about healthful cooking — if it doesn’t taste great, it doesn’t get eaten.

Once so costly and rare that it was reserved for czars and emperors, now fresh caviar is often farm-raised and can be enjoyed by the masses — at least on special occasions, like Valentine’s Day.

Generally, I shy away from any menu item modified by “deconstructed.”

LOS ANGELES  — A Colorado man who bilked millions of dollars from clients for wine futures was sentenced Monday to five years of probation, two years of home confinement and ordered to pay $11.2 million in restitution.

The Napa Valley Grapegrowers present “The Future of Napa Valley: Beyond Hang Time,” a seminar for the winegrape industry March 8, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Copia.

What, exactly, is a Napa Valley wine?  It’s difficult, if not impossible, to define, because all 14 of Napa Valley’s American Viticultural Areas, or sub-appellations, as they are often called, produce wines with different characteristics.