Prescott; Tucson; Williams

It used to be when you got a room full of mayors from East Valley cities together a fight might break out. It was like they were maneuvering for the same slice of pie. These days a darn love fest happens when they come together. All they need are flowers in their hair.

You wouldn’t know it from all the parking lots and shopping centers in our immediate vicinity, but out on the fringe of suburbia, acres of peaches are growing fat and juicy in the warm spring sunshine.

Time marches on.

One-pot chicken that is a blast of savory goodness

This one-pot chicken dinner by Kentucky chef Edward Lee blends a staple of Southern cooking — fried chicken — with two deliciously savory Asian ingredients, salty miso and a half pound of shiitake mushrooms. Together they produce a chicken that is tender and wildly flavorful with a thick sauce that is good enough to eat by the spoonful.

Eddie Castillo said that the South American culture has the empanada, the British have the pasty, and he and his business partner Mike Caliendo are giving Arizona the hand pie.

Eddie Castillo said that the South American culture has the empanada, the British have the pasty, and he and his business partner Mike Caliendo are giving Arizona the hand pie.

When I informed The Husband that I was going to make pork with a rhubarb sauce, he dismissed the idea out of hand. He does not like sweet in his savory.

This weekend downtown Chandler will be piled high with more than 20,000 pounds of BBQ at the Great American Barbeque and Beer Festival. The roster of restaurants dishing up ribs, brisket, pulled pork and chicken includes old favorites Famous Dave’s, Honey Bear’s BBQ, Joe’s Real BBQ and Tom’s BBQ, along with some newcomers including Porkopolis.

Dean Starbuck can spin pizza dough above his head for one minute and thirty seconds. He and his co-workers from local restaurant chain Barro’s Pizza are hoping to beat that record at this year’s International Pizza Expo and World Pizza Games in Las Vegas.

Feeling like you should do something for St. Patrick’s Day but missed Saturday’s downtown parade or don’t fancy a drive all the way to Fountain Hills for a spray of green water?

There’s a simple reason why Chandler’s SanTan Brewing Company decided to build a brand new brewing facility – and it’s one that appears to be a good sign for progress of this particular East Valley beverage business.

There’s a simple reason why Chandler’s SanTan Brewing Company decided to build a brand new brewing facility – and it’s one that appears to be a good sign for progress of this particular East Valley beverage business.

At this time of year, a coffeecake is warm and inviting, cinnamon-y and rich with butter and sour cream, dotted with fruit and nuts, or plain and simply delicious.

Immigration reform, what’s being “reformed”? All I see coming from President Obama, Hispanic activists and sadly our Arizona “Republican In Name Only” (R.I.N.O.) Senators John “Keating Five” McCain and Jeff “S.T.R.I.V.E. Act” Flake is 100 percent Amnesty.

My mouth is watering, and there’s not a thing I can do about it.

Though black-eyed peas have been around forever, they generally don't get a lot of attention. But I think you really ought to give them a second look.

Love tequila? Then you will want to attend the fourth annual Phoenix Tequila Fest this weekend in Phoenix where there will be tastings and samplings of some of the world’s finest tequilas.

Let's not panic. We all know that Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Wonder bread and the rest of Hostess Brands' oddly everlasting foods aren't going away any time soon, even if the food culture that created them is gasping its last.

A few off-hand thoughts from a man who had too much pumpkin pie …