Gene Burns's Page

You may have heard me mention that I am on the Cabbage Soup Diet. I've received some requests for copies, and I'm happy to share it. Given its heavy reliance on fruits and vegetables, this is the perfect time of year to give it a try. It does work, peeling… Continue

Some years ago, at the time I worked in Boston, I stopped at a produce market to buy vegetables. Among my choices were two large bunches of beets. When it came my turn to check out the clerk solicitously said: "Here, let me cut those tops off for you." My reactio… Continue

You’ll have to excuse my rather pathetic imitation/adaptation of Paul Revere’s famous warning of 1775. It’s just that juicy, fragrant, lucious tomatoes really do excite me and their arrival always triggers a flood of the most pleasant memories. At the age of six or seven I picked plum tomato…

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Having just returned from our live broadcast of Dining Around from the 30th Annual Edition of the world famous Gilroy Garlic Festival I have it in mind to make a BIG deal out of this small bulb. As a cook I think it would be hard to exist without garlic, but I want to make this unassuming staple into a star and at the same time give you a great summer meal or party idea that won’t break the bank. Further it will, encourage you to make something most people find uber-intimidating. Welcome to t…

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The owner of Monica’s Pies in Naples, New York indulges in serious understatement when she observes in her brochure that wineries in the Finger Lakes Region of Western New York lost interest in Concord grapes as their businesses sought to compete with other areas such as California.

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As you may recall I traveled back to Western New York State last month for the Celebration of my 50th Anniversary of Graduation from Hornell High School the very same school from which my mother Gladys Forness Burns had graduated twenty-five years before me in 1933. I was joined by my younger sister Roberta who has been working on the genealogy of our family. I should add that Roberta and I are the "bookends" of our family's six children, I as the eldest, she the youngest. As such I witnessed t… Continue

An overcast dawn finds us slipping back into our berth at San Francisco’s Pier 35 our ten day cruise to the stunning vistas of Alaska a fond memory. America’s 49th State did not disappoint. Its rugged natural beauty, charming seaside fishing villages, abundant wild life and even its often moody weather are all dazzling. For sure Alaska beckons the hiker,backpacker, kayaker, canoeist, angler and adventurer but it is cruising that makes this often daunting and intimidating landscape accessible…

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Although I was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, I grew up in Western New York State. My parents moved there when I was in grammar school. My father was a New Brunswick native. My mother hailed from Hornell in New York State’s Southern Tier. I graduated from Hornell High School in 1958 the year of my mother’s 25th Anniversary of graduating from the same school. We returned to Hornell in 1983 to celebrate her Golden and my Silver Anniversary and last month I made the trip again to mark my own…

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My recent trip to the Northeast required six travel legs by air and candidly I was dreading it. Unpleasant visions of fuel surcharges, baggage fees, inordinate delays resulting in missed flights and surly personnel clouded my mind.

My route of travel was San Francisco to Kennedy International in New York then to Rochester, New York then four days later from Rochester back to Kennedy, then to Portland, Maine and twenty four hours later from Portland to Kennedy and back to San Francisco.…

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This past Sunday I attended a Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary celebration at the home of friends. It was an Italian garden party in a beautiful setting. As you would expect the food and wine were plentiful and delicious. I was quite surprised when the hostess the daughter of the honorees asked me if I would like some Jello. The dish turned out to be a gelatin salad and it was very good. Not only was it refreshing on a warm afternoon but it triggered a taste memory that took me back to the 1950's.… Continue

Welcome to the inaugural posting on the Dining Around weblog. As the Host of Dining Around, I'll be the principal author, but Executive Producer Joel Riddell will join in from time to time We also hope to make this feature interactive, an ongoing conversation on food, wine and travel.

I am making last-minute preparations for a trip to the Finger Lakes region of Western New York State to speak at the 50th Reunion of my graduating class from Hornell High School. I've even pulled out the old '50…

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