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Dear Eric: Can you tell me how to make strawberry shortcake? Would like to serve it at a dinner party. Sarah Dear Sarah: I’ve held on to your question until local strawberries were in season.

If you love to cook and explore the tastes of the world, you’ll no doubt have a drawer full of little bottles of herbs and spices. I know — I’m one of those people and my collection of little jars numbers in the dozens.

The key to making it tender and tasty is to use a good marinade, to avoid overcooking the meat and to carve it against the grain

It’s June and our cooking has switched to summer mode. You may have noticed this, but many foods we enjoy during this season taste better accompanied or slathered with a sauce. Today I present four examples.

This grilled cauliflower dish is adapted from a recipe from the Wallace restaurant in Culver City, Calif. Owner and executive chef Michael Teich said: “The real key to this recipe is having a very hot grill and allowing the cauliflower to cook.

Dear Eric: I have an amazing crop of spinach this spring and I would love to try some new recipes.

Spring is time to try something new and unfamiliar such as cardoons or zucchini flowers

Coming soon to a freezer aisle near you — balsamic vinegar ice cream. Plus, hot sauce ice cream. And maybe even tomato.

Dear Eric: Why do beets — and some other vegetables — sometimes taste like dirt? Pat Dear Pat: The beet is sometimes classed as being like cilantro in that people seem to either love it or loathe it.

I discovered the joys of oysters fresh off the flames at a recent food and wine festival in Florida. This recipe was originally created by Hung Huynh, the chef at a Miami restaurant and winner of the third season of Bravo’s Top Chef.