Bill Daley

Q: My health club serve a terrific tomato mushroom soup. Supposedly it has only 65 calories. Wonder if you could get the recipe out of them, I couldn't!! It's Midtown Athletic Club in Bannockburn. —Susie Sigel, Highland Park A: I couldn't get...

Robert and Margrit Mondavi personified the glamorous wine country life during their high-profile 28-year marriage. As America's most famous winemaker, Robert Mondavi proved what California vintners could achieve, while Margrit deftly wove wine, the arts,...

Q: Since milk and cream are ultra-pasteurized I am having a hard time making ricotta and Greek cheese. Do you have any suggestions or do you know where I can purchase pasteurized (not ultra) milk or cream? I know raw milk is not sold in the U.S. I hope...

Q: Can you please tell me the difference between powdered vanilla and liquid vanilla. Is one stronger? Can you only use the powdered for cooking? I ruined a "no cook" icing recipe using the powdered form and have been afraid to use it ever since. Also are...

Q: What's the difference between a calzone and a strombolli? I might have misspelled that. It's early and my coffee hasn't kicked in. —Susan Durian, Chicago The calzone is defined as a "half-moon shaped stuffed pizza" by "The Deluxe Food Lover's...

Duncan Hines is known today mainly for those ubiquitous boxes of cake mix in supermarkets. But he was no Betty Crocker. A real person, not a fictional brand symbol, he was a onetime traveling salesman with an appreciation of good food honed by many...

Q: I've decided to be more mindful about my meat and fish consumption. Can you recommend butchers and fishmongers in Chicago or the close-in suburbs that sell responsibly produced meat and fish? I am looking for more information than the animal welfare...

Q: I use to use a recipe I got from the Chicago Tribune for making your own corned beef from scratch, using whatever cut of beef you wanted. Recipe dates back to 1993 or 1994. The last time I used the recipe was 1999. I was going to try the recipe again...

Q: We like to splurge once in a while and have 8-ounce lobster tails. Because they are so expensive at the restaurant we wait until they are on sale at our local market. We put the frozen tails in boiling water then simmer for 7-8 minutes, remove them...

Bolat African Cuisine. A stunning black-and-white African-themed mural on the back wall is the first sign this Wrigleyville restaurant cares about appearances. But one spoonful of a truly peppery pepper soup shows Bolat's owners, Beatrice Hardnick and her...

Q: What are the advantages or disadvantages of condensed milk over cream? —Curtis Tuckey, Chicago A: The biggest difference, I think, between cream and condensed milk can be found in the latter's alternative name: "Sweetened condensed milk."...

Q: Since green tomatoes are never found in the supermarket, I wonder how a tomatillo would be, sliced and fried.  When I get a chance, I am going to try it. Thanks for any opinion or info. —Sylvia Nightingale, Bellingham, Wash. A: Do it: That'...