During the spooky season, it’s fun to imagine things that go bump in the night. But literal bumps in the night — or any other unexplained sounds in your home — bring a lot more spooky tricks than sweet treats to your life. Spooky noises can give away the presence of a burst pipe, rodent invasion, or other troublesome home problem.

Art helps infuse color and energy -into a space while also serving to anchor a space. Big art can also make a bold statement. From graphic abstracts to black and white photographs, overscale artwork can add pizzazz, interest and color into nearly any space of the home.

Did you ever go on a trip and eat something so amazing that you became obsessed?

Restaurants play host to all classes of diners: the good, the grand, the gullible, the greedy and so on. However, as a consequence of the last three decades of chef-artistes, many of the most famous dining establishments in the world treat these diverse clients as if it they were an audience with a single palate and a single motive — to worship at the chopping board of the cook-auteur. There is only one magnificent tasting menu full of delights and curiosities (with, of course, adjustments for allergies and some degree of protein preference, though these polite accommodations rarely equaled the innovative originals).

Father Dominic Garramone knows all about pizza snobs, people who loudly insist that only certain ingredients belong on a pizza. He is not a pizza snob.

While Amsterdam’s popularity is well-deserved, travelers who don’t venture outside the city are missing out on some of Europe’s most charming countryside.

One of my favorite corners of France is bucolic Burgundy, a region overflowing with imbibable and scenic delights. Crisscrossed with lazy canals and dotted with quiet farming villages, it’s easy to like — and its sunny hillsides produce the superior wines and fine cuisine that say “French.”

Here are some tips for a beautiful and festive table this fall holiday season.

Chicken Korma is an exotic, South Asian dish with a creamy sauce with aromatic spices. It’s a comforting meal that can take several hours to make. I love the flavors but wanted to make it for a weeknight meal. Here’s a simple version that captures the flavors without the hours of marinating and slow cooking. Once the ingredients are assembled it takes less than 15 minutes to cook this meal.

From a recipe for Emergency Chocolate Chip cookies to an ode to Girl Scout Cookies, Edd Kimber understands what we want to bake right now.

Lunch is undeniably tough. I am often too busy or distracted to take that noonday pause: Trying to make and take time for a nutritious, delicious meal can feel like a battle.

Jostling through crowds of Germans and tourists in the Rhine River village of Bacharach, I climb to the sun deck of the ferry and grab a chair. With the last passenger barely aboard, the gangplank is dragged in and the river pulls us away.