The mantra is freshness at Jamil Kadoura's restaurant, Mediterranean Deli, or "Med Deli" as the locals call it in Chapel Hill.

This holiday weekend, depending on where you live in North Carolina, the hot dog peeking out from under your mustard, chili and slaw is likely to be bright red.

If you think you have an unbeatable tip for grilling pork, you could become the "Next Pork Personality" for the National Pork Board.

Q: Can lime juice and lemon juice be used interchangeably in recipes? The taste will be slightly different, of course, but beyond that, there shouldn't be any reason why you can't make the swap.

Specialty of the House:Just finished one of my best lunches at the new Backyard Bistro. I love blue cheese dressing, and this has to be my favorite, hands down! I had the lettuce wedge, which comes with the blue cheese vinaigrette.

These hot dog joints build on the all-American theme.

Epicurean:Can't decide where to eat in and around Cary? Your decision just got harder.

Do you have family members coming over to eat this holiday weekend but are stumped about what to serve beyond the typical burgers and dogs?

The hot dog chili was one of our family obsessions.

On the Table:Have you dreamed about going to culinary school?

For many years, my pizza stone languished on the top shelf of a closet with the other one-trick kitchen tools: a wok and the canning utensils. The $14 stone was there because it had failed me.

At a friend's Easter Sunday pot-luck lunch, there was no grilled chicken, steamed spinach or dairy-free lime sorbet.

Here in the South, we have a long tradition of putting our money where our mouth is. We love good food and know there's no quicker way to open someone's pocketbook for a good cause than to work a great meal or fine wine into the request.

I read recently that you can lose weight by sleeping. Finally, an exercise program I can get behind. No waiting for the treadmill at the gym and no exposure to people who really should have thrown away those track shorts from the '70s.

My husband enjoys making bread, an impulse I have encouraged by buying him any equipment he might need, from a stone for the oven to a peel for removing the loaves to lint-free linen towels.

Are y'all tired? I mean, tonight's the big night, but the work still isn't done. It won't end until the all-important Santa Snack has been prepared, displayed to best advantage and settled near the tree. (Sources tell me that the fat m

During the 20 years I've lived in Raleigh, I've been frustrated at how hard it can be to find North Carolina oysters. Now that it's oyster season, we get great oysters from other places, but where are the best from our own coast? Recently,