Just In

It's still February, but April's issue of Cook's Illustrated is out, with articles on how to make the best beef chili, scalloped potatoes, maple-glazed pork roast and carrot cake, a rating of rubber spatulas and a taste test of mayonnaise. (Take a wild guess on which brand won.) $4.95. www.cooksillustrated.com.

Greg Grisanti of Batavia makes his "debut" at 8 p.m. tonight on the Food Network's Emeril Live. Grisanti is one of the four guys sitting up front, near host Emeril Lagasse, wearing a white polo shirt, eating "everything set in front of him." A research chef who works for Mane flavor company in Milford, Grisanti went to the New York show taping in November. Lagasse chose him to sit up front after hearing Grisanti went to his alma mater, Johnson & Wales University.

Market Scan

Field-grown rhubarb is usually available from late winter until early summer, while hothouse rhubarb is grown nearly year-round. The field-grown variety has cherry-red stalks and usually a brighter, more pronounced flavor. Choose crisp stalks, wrap in plastic, refrigerate and use within three days. Most rhubarb recipes call for plenty of sugar to tame the vegetable's tartness. Americans usually pair rhubarb with strawberries; the British prefer ginger.

Sips

Warsteiner $13 (12-pack): If you haven't tried Warsteiner in a while, you should. These days, it's almost always fresh, the packaging protects it from harmful light, and it's available almost everywhere. In either the regular or the dunkel (dark) version, it's one of Germany's best.

Ed Westemeier

Hot Date

Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine celebrates Mardi Gras beginning 10 a.m. Saturday with Cajun music by Lagniappe and Robin Lacy and DeZydeco, food and demonstrations by chefs Julie Francis, Ron Wise and Jackson Rouse. Information: 665-4839 or www.findlaymarket.org.