The pot of polenta cooking on the Lantern stove would seem large in front of any of the Chapel Hill restaurant’s staff, but to see a fourth grader push her wooden spoon through it like an oar in water ...

What does it mean to be a good cook? Sure, there’s the technical stuff: the knife skills, the timing, the intuitive moment when you know a chicken breast is cooked through but not yet dry. Beyond that ...

If a recipe has "magic" in its title, there's a reasonable expectation that the finished product will turn out like a charm.