MINNEAPOLIS -- Out with the "O" and in with the heart.

General Mills is replacing the most recognizable shape in the cereal kingdom, the Cheerios' "O", with heart-shaped pieces. It's all a part of the food maker's ongoing marketing campaign that claims its whole-grain cereals can be good for heart health.

But fret not, fans. The change is ...Read more

Free-form pies have always been a way to turn a little into a lot.

Empanadas, samosas, knishes, turnovers, strudels, galettes and even kolaches are all slightly (or not so slightly) different variations on handpies, but they all share some commonalities that Cathy Barrow explores in her latest book, "When Pies Fly."

"These are pies that you ...Read more

Christmas in Tuscany would not be complete without a slice of panforte -- the peppery, dried fruit and nut-based spice cake born in the central Tuscan hill town of Siena in the Middle Ages -- served with a glass of vin santo, a sweet Italian dessert wine.

Several legendary origin stories surround panforte. Some culinary historians believe it ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- "That is one Juicy Lucy!"

So said the rhyming-prone guy -- surely he was brandishing a thick, vowel-heavy Minnesota accent -- who bit into the first cheese-filled patty of the burger that was later christened (and spelled) the Jucy Lucy.

That's the folk legend, anyway.

The story of Minnesota's contribution to the annals of ...Read more

I know a woman whose family always left out a shot of whiskey for Santa, along with cookies. In the morning, the glass would be drained, and there would be cookie crumbs on the plate.

The booze, instead of the more traditional glass of milk, may say more about her father than the actual Santa Claus. But the important part of this story, for our...Read more

Perhaps you've always dreamed of this but didn't know it could really come true. Cask & Kettle presents the first boozy K-cups. Just pop the pod in your Keurig and out comes a hot cocktail: Hot Blonde Coffee with vodka and vanilla, Irish Coffee with Irish whiskey; Spiked Dry Cider with vodka and apple cider; and Mexican Coffee with vodka and ...Read more

Since 1913, when the first one was mail-ordered in the U.S., fruitcake has been the symbol of the holiday gift you give away as soon as you receive it.

The weighty brown cake, studded with neon colored chunks of fruit that could decorate a house if they were strung alongside some lights, has been around for centuries -- it was banned in Europe ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The palm trees on the wallpaper and the back-lit glass blocks behind the bar at Pinky's, a new cocktail bar across the alley from Atrium restaurant in Los Feliz, give major "Miami Vice" vibes. The bar is named for Pinky, a once-famous dancing flamingo at Busch Gardens in Florida, who was sadly killed in 2016.

Pinky's is the ...Read more

Timed perfectly for holiday baking, the latest cookbook from the editors of Martha Stewart Living is "Cookie Perfection."

The 100-plus recipes are loosely organized into categories; there are chapters titled "All Dressed Up," "Classics With a Twist" and "Some Assembly Required." The editors also included glossaries of essential tools and ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Tiny suburban Chicago brewery Kings & Convicts stunned the beer industry Tuesday afternoon by announcing the acquisition of California's legendary Ballast Point Brewing. Terms were not disclosed.

Ballast Point was famously bought for $1 billion four years ago by Constellation Brands, whose Chicago-based beer business owns the ...Read more