It may not have been the most entertaining season, nor did I think it was the best culinary expose, but Top Chef has wrapped up another solid season. Along with many viewers, I breathed a sigh of relief last night when the winner was announced. Lisa came dangerously close to winning but to me that would not have been justified based on her past performance over the course of the season. She simply wasn't as consistent as Richard and Stephanie.

Alas, Richard's consistency failed him at the worst possible time. Fortunately, Stephanie delivered a solid, if not awe-inspiring, performance and claimed the title of first female Top Chef. This seemed to be the first season where the judges appeared to overtly consider past performance in making elimination decisions. There was no clear indication that it was a factor in the final challenge, but one must imagine that it could not be entirely disregarded given the closeness of the battle.

I, for one, am a huge proponent of factoring in past performance. In fact, I would be supportive of each week's challenge merely being one more factor to consider, rather than the overriding concern. Would it take away some of the weekly drama? I doubt it, particularly because you could still use the challenge to see who ends up on the chopping block. But I think the overall skill and execution of each chef should be factored in. Even the best chefs have off nights. And despite what the judges may say, some of the chefs are demonstrably better than others, even if Top Chef does a better job of assembling a quality cast than say Hell's Kitchen.

In any case, congratulations to Stephanie. A job well done. I look forward to another season of Top Chef next year.

The recipe? Buy a cookbook. Follow a recipe. Take a picture. Blog about it. Repeat.

That's the latest trend in food blogging identified by the Wall Street Journal's Lee Gomes in a piece today that talks about several people who have done just that. It notes that the most famous case was Julie Powell who cooked from Julia Child's epic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Of course, that blog subsequently became a book and is now slated to be a movie

Today, bloggers are cooking everything from Thomas Keller masterpieces to simple baked bread. Riding the coattails of a popular cookbook can certainly be a good way to generate traffic, at least for the short term. In Powell's case, she turned it into a long-term success, but others will have to chart their own paths.

Obviously, this delivers a clear benefit to the cookbook authors themselves, as it prolongs the publicity for a project. Of course, if the recipes turn out disastrously, that may not be beneficial, but in most cases it seems these blogs are started by fans who are far less likely than others to be truly critical of the cookbook.

Certainly a notable phenomenon and one to watch to see how it stands the test of time.

It has been a while since I last had more than one meal in the same week in Portsmouth, NH, the small town where I grew up on the coast of the Granite State. I live only an hour away, yet I tend to drive an hour in a different direction to go to Boston when I want to explore the region's restaurant scene. To be honest, when I was younger, the Port City didn't have the reputation as a culinary destination, and I never bothered to see if that had changed.

Last week I found out that it has indeed changed -- for the better. Over the course of three days I explored a number of downtown eateries and came away with a serious appreciation for the city as a proper food destination. You will likely hear more about some of the chefs and restaurants I encountered in these pages in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, I can unhesitatingly recommend three restaurants I tried out on my recent adventure. These establishments are all no more than a few years old, but all managed to make a real impression with me on my initial visits.

The Dunaway Restaurant in historic Strawberry Banke recently underwent an ownership change, but the old staff remains. And that's a good thing as Chef Ben Hasty brings big city cuisine to this town of just over 20,000 people. The 23 year-old Hasty's time as an extern at the famed French Laundry in California clearly influences his attention to detail, both in each dish's composition as well as in the meticulous appearance of each plate. The fact that he brings in produce from his family's nearby farm only adds to the allure. You may choose to explore one of the chef's tasting menus or dine a la carte. Either way you will enjoy a fine dining experience in an atmosphere reminiscent of an old New England tavern.

Right around the corner from The Dunaway is Victory 96 State Street. The name's a mouthful, but the food is what you will find most satisfying. Chef Duncan Boyd brings considerable experience, having worked for some of the great chefs of the past several decades, including Jasper White at that chef's fine dining restaurant in Boston called Jasper's. The Maryland native moved on to spend considerable time working in the nation's capital before heading to Portsmouth to be closer to his wife's family. The menu is relatively brief, but the dishes I tried were all well-executed and quite seasonal. There was plenty of asparagus to be had, one of my favorite springtime vegetables, along with a nice spring garlic soup -- something I have seen with increasing frequency on restaurant menus this year. Alas, the menu changed the day after I ate there, so you will have to find your own gems.

Last, but not least, may I suggest the Black Trumpet on Ceres Street. Barely a year old, this establishment seeks to fill the shoes of some pretty lofty former tenants, including the Blue Strawberry and Lindbergh's Crossing. I never had a chance to dine at either predecessor, but their acclaim is widely touted within the local community. Chef Evan Mallett takes a bit more creative approach to his dishes, likely a result of a diverse career that started as a line cook, took him into food writing, and back to cooking. Along the way he and his wife operated a Cajun restaurant and gourmet food store in Mexico when he wasn't working in Portsmouth kitchens. Today, Chef Mallett brings that experience to the diner in the form of an eclectic menu that incorporates Mediterranean, African, and New England influences with French technique. And for a peak inside the Evan's personality, you can check out his blog, a bit of a rarity for a chef.

For a before or after dinner drink, I found the Green Monkey to be an enjoyable pit stop. The bartender I encountered was just as comfortable mixing old-time classic cocktails as spinning up the creative concoctions that most bars become known for today.

I guess this all proves that you can go home again. And in my case, I know this visit makes me want to go home again and again to sample the culinary pleasures of the town where I grew up.

Chef David Ross of Lucca Restaurant in Boston has assembled a pretty nifty web site that tracks news about the cost of ingredients frequently seen in fine dining establishments. But for the foodies among us -- admit it, you're probably one if you're reading this -- he has another great resource that he just created.

It's a simple page that shows headlines from the food sections of major newspapers, constantly updated. If you want a quick look at what's being talked about by the major dailies, there's no easier place to go than this. I know it will be a frequent stop for my own reading pleasure.

Tim Carman came up with a great idea for his Young & Hungry column with the Washington City Paper. He's inviting professional chefs in the area to visit local kitchens and come up with gourmet meals based on whatever may be on hand.

The inimitable Gary Vaynerchuk tastes some wine in kegs -- I kid you not -- on a recent episode of Wine Library TV. It's an intriguing concept, and I encourage you to check it out. For some reason it doesn't turn me off like the idea of screwtops does.

Let's face it, you're reading Cork & Knife for the same reason that we all produce content for it. We love fine food and drink.

One of the things that I have really enjoyed about the social media world is the ability to connect with smart, interesting people in the real world. Even though Cork & Knife straddles the line between traditional and new media, we want to make sure we're still fostering that sense of community.

I'm definitely coming late to this party, but I just read Phoebe Damrosch's Service Included, a book about the author's time working as a back server and captain at Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York. The subtitle of the book "Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter" is enticing yet also a bit deceptive. While Phoebe does share some tales of overheard conversations and observations of diners, the book is largely about service in a just-opened four-star restaurant as it intertwines with her personal life.

I recently had a reservation at Radius, a well-regarded restaurant in Boston. I had been looking forward to dining there for some time because I have heard from a number of former cooks there how good it is. (I put a lot of faith in recommendations from industry people and am usually well-rewarded for it. More on that later.)