Recipe and tips to make Shrimp Bisque after the jump. Post contributed by Lisa Dacundo. Image from Wikimedia Commons. For more of her writing, visit her blog, http://www.transplantedtastebuds.blogspot.com. ...

Wait--can you hear that? No? Close your eyes and listen carefully: A warm breeze gently rustles the palm trees and drifts over your tan skin. Sparkling blue waves crash into stark white sand; in the distance you hear hula music and laughter. Aloha! You've arrived… Ok, so maybe you can't hop a plane to Hawaii today, but you can take a vacation from the beef stew and pasta you've been eating all winter. This Mahi......

Meet our new food columnist, Lisa Dacundo of "Transplanted Tastebuds." She'll bring you food ideas for the weekend, such as this comforting pasta meal. Growing up in New England, many of us know what it's like to endure bitter cold winters that seem to last well into April. When we were kids, a little tomato soup from a can somehow melted away the chill that crept into our bones during the hours of sledding, snowmen......

Mike of The Food Monkey shares his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to the Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page. Chef Rebecca Newell from The Beehive in Boston’s South End, has sent me the recipe......

Mike of The Food Monkey shares his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more on consuming the opponents and other food news, go to the Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page. After a long hiatus filled with flurries, football, food, and fireworks, I resume my series......

Mike of The Food Monkey has joined Bostonist to share his thoughts about cooking, food history, restaurant trends, and any other Epicurean issues. He promises to discuss what tastes good, but not always what is in good taste. For more, go to the Food Monkey website. To contact Mike, go to the Food Monkey's contact page. In friendly competition, one attempts to best one’s opponent–so long as it doesn’t happen to cause too much of......

One of the best things about Thanksgiving is the leftovers, no doubt. But this year, Bostonist roasted its own 19 pounder, leaving, oh, about 10 pounds of turkey left over. There are only so many gobbler sandwiches we can stuff into our maw, so we started to look for other ways to make sure we left no bird behind. Turkey pot pie seemed to fit the bill—we could put just about any leftovers in......

As the nights get colder and we slog through another sleepless Red Sox postseason, Bostonist starts thinking about squash. Butternut squash soup, to be precise. Warm, comforting, and economical, it makes an excellent one-pot meal. One of our favorite recipes is from Jack Bishop’s A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. Bishop’s butternut squash soup with chipotle chiles and garlic really packs a punch—you’d never guess that it contains only a handful of ingredients. (Plus a......

Don’t let the heat wave fool you: It’s pumpkin season. If you need proof, you can find it tomorrow at the Topsfield Fair, where dozens of farmers will haul in Jabba-the-Hutt-sized gourds as part of the fair’s Giant Pumpkin Contest. Last year’s winner tipped the scales at 1,347.5 pounds—about half the weight of a Mini Cooper. (Bostonist also recommends checking out the fair’s birds of prey, chick hatchery, and racing pigs.) But if you can’t......

Recipe for a most excellent Sunday: 1 invigorating hour - MIT Flea 1 generous heap - B-side brunch 2 folded bundles - Sunday papers 1 shared pint - fro-yo at Café Kiraz Prep your appetite with a stroll through the Albany Street garage during one of MIT’s legendary swap-fests. Who can pass up a cache of vintage Furbies for five bucks apiece? The Flea does offer sustenance by way of sausage sandwiches, chili, and hot......