"PickyEaters" news and stories

Farmer's market stand. Photo: NatalieMaynor, Flickr

• Farmers' Markets, excess produce and the thrills and regulations of selling prepared foods.
• After winning a recipe contest, two home cooks get a turn on the line in the restaurant kitchens of Portland chefs Sam Hayward and Jeff Landry.
• The French may have rejected Malbec, but it's doing good business in Argentina.
• The joys of picky young eaters and standing your ground at the dinner table.
• A rundown of the "Perfect Scent Dinner," where foodies get sniffy and try to name the foods they're smelling.
• HP Hood is sponsoring an inaugural New England Dairy Cook-Off in Portland this Nov. 1.
• Recipes: Pancetta & Red Pepper Penne, Broccoli, Ricotta Salata with Fusilli, Braised Fennel, Onions, Goat Cheese with Farfalle, Creamy Sausage and Broccoli Rabe with Fettuccine, Fusilli with Mexican Corn-and-Tomato Sauce, Zucchini Custard.

I know that it's impossible to please everyone, especially at a wedding, but you can try, right? Maybe, maybe not. I've recently run into some issues with picky eaters and new vegan friends and family members in terms of what they will or will not be able to eat at our wedding. Luckily, I can count the fussy eaters on one hand and there are only two vegans attending, so with the small number, should I cater to them?

I've gotten some mixed advice. Since we're doing a cocktail reception, it's not as easy as having a different dish available for their dinner, such as chicken fingers and fries. Adding an extra reception station would cost too much money. While the picky eaters have several munching options, including roast chicken, salad and risotto, there's not a ton. We're also a little worried: are summer vegetable rolls and a salad station filling enough for a vegan?

Please vote below, share your thoughts with me in the comments section and follow me on Twitter!

• Hmm... Is the secret to curing picky eating having family dinners 5 or more times a week?
• What's more appropriate for a St. Patty's Day dinner than a recipe from an Irish grandmother, born in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day? The meal: Swiss Chard and Potato Soup, Lamb Pot Pie and Irish Cream Cheesecake.
• Forte Bistro at Richmond and York in Toronto: Inconsistent cooking for the Bay Street types and ballet and opera lovers.
• Beppi Crosariol shares the rising world of Irish whisky love and how it might be connected to hard times and The Wire, as well as a talk with Jeff Arnett, master distiller of Jack Daniel's.
  
• Chef David Lee talks about the joys of teaching kids the world of food.
• Parsimony: How to make the most of your chicken, shrimp, eggs, stale bread, cakes and brownies, rice, cheese, vegetables and wine, as shared by Canadian chefs.

• Adam Leith Gollner and his fresh for good fruit.
• Toratatsu in Vancouver offers sweet tastes and great dining on foods like "unbelievably tender pieces of free-range chicken ... pickled in a citrus marinade, lightly dredged in cornstarch, flash fried, splashed with more marinade and served cold."
• Be still my taste buds: Recipe for Local White and Green Asparagus Tart with Maple-Cured Bacon, Morels, Ramps, and Fifth Town Goat's Cheese.
• It looks like dry rosés are the new wines of choice.
• Tequila -- it's so hot right now, and pricey.
• Recipes: Healthy Chicken Tenders, Fish Tacos, Buckwheat Banana Pancakes, and Daf's Homemade Granola.
• Fix your picky kid eater by teaching them to cook.

• In the wake of John and Cindy McCain's "family" recipe blunder, here are some of the other candidates' favorite dishes
• Food detectives solve your kitchen mysteries, from the Puzzle of the Unmelting Mac 'n Cheese to the Riddle of the Ooey Gooey Zucchini Bread
  
• Food TV's Hearty Boys dish about their two year-old son, Nate, who, despite his parents' food-centric lifestyle, is a picky eater. (Read their tips on how to get your own picky eater to eat).
  
• A short history on fricassee
  
• Check out the winners of the paper's 8th Annual Good Eating Awards, which features businesses around the Chicago area who have contributed significantly to the food scene