{The Diavolini sausage at Salume Beddu typically comes with a warning: It’s super, crazy spicy. That’s no problem in my house, though, where Sriracha is a stand-in for ketchup. I like to crumble and saute this chile-and-pimentón-laden charcuterie into fresh pasta with garlicky greens, shallots and a little fresh cheese, but you can roll it into breakfast tacos, use it to spike a homemade tomato sauce or even brown it with veggies. However you prepare it, this spectacularly spicy sausage is proof that great meals start with great ingredients. * Besides, Salume Beddue, you can find the Diavolini at Schnucks in Des Peres.}
{In the mornings, I try to stick to something that wakes up my eyes and my metabolism. This bowl o’ steamy goodness does the trick. I combine ½ cup of old-fashioned oats with ¼ cup of cold water and a pinch of salt, and pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes. A pinch of cinnamon, a dash of chopped nuts and a handful of pomegranate seeds – aka my juicy little jewels – and I’m sated until the day’s first taste test.}
{I’ve always read The New York Times, but these days, I’m loving anything by Hungry City columnist Ligaya Mishan. Her description of food is so engaging, it always leaves me with a “Why didn’t I think of that?” feeling. To her, shrimp isn’t plumping as it grills, it’s “placidly curling;” chicken wings aren’t crisp, they’re “blistered and coppery;” and “scarlet ribbons of meat” aren’t dancing atop a hot griddle, their fat is “hissing and collapsing.” Read a story; she’ll either inspire you to get writing or get eating.}
This article appears in February 2013.