Summer Whitford

Discover more than five years of Summer Whitford's work as the DC Food, Drink, and Travel Editor

If choosing a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner feels as intimidating as cooking one, relax. This guide will help you choose the right turkey for your party size, budget, palate and leftover plans.

Mastering an herby, buttery classic recipe guarantees happy guests and full bellies.

Consider serving pasture-raised turkey from a regenerative farm like White Oak Pastures for your holiday feasts.

Long before the Revolutionary War, Iberico pigs freely roamed the wilds of what's now Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. And their arrival in the current United States traces directly back to Queen Isabella of Spain, Christopher Columbus and Hernando De Soto. Learn the history of pork in America and our heritage breeds.

James Beard once said, "If I had to narrow my choice of meats down to one for the rest of my life, I am quite certain that meat would be pork." Properly raised and cooked, pork is a deliciously versatile meat that can be as elegant as a standing rib roast or as satisfying as slow-cooked pork shoulder barbecue. Learn the cuts and how to cook them.

Achieving a Michelin star is arduous and rare for any chef, but no American chef has ever received two stars at the age 30.
What makes Ratino a phenomenal chef is his passion for expressing the essence of his ingredients.

At first sight, the emerald meadows dotted with blooming rye, medium red clover and wildflowers vibrate in the sun's rays.
The scenery seems impossibly beautiful, and then you see the cloud-crowned Blue Ridge Mountains framed by an azure sky and stop to take it all in.
At the mountains' base are streams and tributaries rimmed by wild grasses and deep foliage from black walnut trees and massive oaks. The South River is just a few acres away, which forms the South Fork Shenandoah River and veer...

Feast and Field heads to Washington D.C. to explore universally loved bread. We go behind the counter at top bakery, Seylou Bakery & Mill, run by one of the D.C. area’s biggest and brightest bakers, Jonathan Bethony.

You might be everyone’s favorite friend if you master this bagel recipe, which achieves the perfect chewiness with a boiling step.

Learning how to start a sourdough starter is key to making fresh, homemade bread with a slight tang and tender crumb.

Washington D.C. food writer, professional chef and culinary instructor, Summer Whitford, says this bread is worth the effort if you love the tangy, earthy flavors of caraway, onion and rye. She suggests adding some onion on the first day of making your starter for that characteristic “sour” flavor of Jewish rye bread.
Whitford explains that rye flour comes in different styles: white, medium and dark. “The flours are different colors, flavors and weights due to the amount of endosperm, bran or...

Washington D.C. chef and culinary instructor, Summer Whitford, loves to introduce beginner bread bakers to focaccia because it is a straightforward, uncomplicated recipe that also teaches the basics of the craft.
“If you want to feed a crowd, serve this Genovese flatbread with pasta or salad, or consider making it the star of the meal,” Whitford says. “In Liguria, Focaccia di Recco is topped with pesto sauce, an ancient classic that's still a popular modern staple.”
Focaccia
Yields: 8 to 10 s...

The acclaimed food writer James Beard once said, "Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts." If you agree with this premise, why not make your own?
It might seem intimidating, but bread-baking is a delicious chemistry anyone can master, and here are some tips to get you started.
Always insist on nothing but the best, freshest ingredients for your bread, from the water (chlorinated tap water imparts terrible tastes a...

With more than 40 years working in restaurant and commercial kitchens, writing for dozens of publications reporting on food, wine and culture across the globe, and sharing her knowledge in classes and tasting rooms, one of Summer Whitford's passions is the art of bread making.
“Baking bread, like ballet, requires precision, but stellar bakers, like prima ballerinas, transcend the mathematics of weights and time signatures and develop a feel for bread,” Whitford says. “There is no shortcut to ...