I have two food science books to tell you about.  They have two different approaches and aren’t duplications of each other, but can cover similar subjects in different ways.  You could buy both (not necessary, but still), you would have two interesting but different food science books and would enjoy them both. 

The Science of Good Food - The Ultimate Reference on How Cooking Works - This is more like an encyclopedia and more comprehensive over all. It is a thick heavy juicy reference book.  The different food topics are covered in alphabetical order, they include pictures, recipes, charts, cooking tips and instructions.

Entries are broken up into 3 sections.

• What it is - a definition, with maybe some historical background and other tidbits of information.
• What it does - the significance in food preparation and cooking with practical kitchen tips.
• How it works -the science behind the item including flavor chemistry and transformations that occur during cooking. 

(more…)

You just can’t go wrong with chocolate as a stocking stuffer, well at least not for me, or my kids, or my husband for that matter.  There are two chocolate companies, that have chocolates with Holiday Themes, Route29 and Bloomsberry.

Route 29 is more retro looking, and has cool packaging ideas.  Chocolate caramel pops, and caramels in ornament boxes or peppermint bark in a store front box and even cinnamon licorice reindeer, really cool stuff.   The caramel pops are really cool peppermint caramel or gingerbread covered in chocolate for the holiday flavors, plus vanilla in milk chocolate, or chocolate in dark chocolate for all year.  The caramel tree ornaments are available in Cinnamon/Sugar Double-Up Caramel and Peppermint/Chocolate Double up Caramel.  Their caramels are so delicious, it’s difficult to describe how good they really are.  I loved the cinnamon/sugar double up myself, but the peppermint caramels are really good too.  There are also Mini-tubs with vanilla caramels, fruit caramels and vanilla and chocolate caramels.  The Uptown snackers are cute with little small business on the front.  The chocolate Peppermint Bark (White and Dark chocolate sprinkled with peppermint bits) had Dee’s Barkmint Store on the front of it.  These treats are sure to please!

Bloomsberry Chocolate is more of a message chocolate.  You can send the message you feel about the season or the holidays by the different types of wrapping on the chocolate bars.  For Thanksgiving you’d get one that says Stuff the Turkey - Eat Some Chocolate.(Hmm, which turkey are we referring to)  There’s another titled Holiday Hell or another that says Peace on Earth or  Hannakah Nosh - eight days of Chocolate.  These are thick 3.5 oz chocolate bars, most are 55 % dark unless they are milk chocolate. That’s sure to put you in a good mood, I’m sure it helped mine. Bloomsberry even has Emergency Chocolates, which is probably just what your college kid needs right before finals, right?

I’ve made great tasting jams for Christmas gifts that were much appreciated by family and friends. Jam is chunky and has bits of fruit and needs to be smashed and de-seeded and hulled or peeled.  Jelly goes a step further and you need to squeeze out all of the the juice into a bowl so you are using the juice and not the pulp.   Knudsen has sent me (and others around the web) an easy Black Currant Jelly Recipe that would make a great gift for the upcoming holidays, or as a delicious treat for you and your guests.  The recipe I’m posting is using Knudsen Organic Black Currant Juice.  This means you skip a few of the steps and go right to the cooking part.

If you’ve never canned before, this is a great way to venture into it.  If you’ve done it before, but you think it’s a lot of work, then this is a great shortcut, believe me, I know.  If you are reluctant to spend the money on canning equipment start small and just get the jars and the lids, or plastic canning bowls and instead of doing the boiling water bath, put the jars into the freezer and make freezer jelly.  Then hand them out when everyone is leaving or bring them in a cooler to hand out to family.

(more…)

 

Want to send a romantic gift to your favorite couple? Here’s my recommendation: A nice bottle of Chardonnay and Fondue for Two from The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Trust me, this one can’t miss.

My husband and I were fortunate to enjoy a nice wine and cheese night courtesy of Fondue for Two and it left us wanting more. It was delicious and a better midnight snack than our usual popcorn or chips.

The packaging is adorable. The fondue itself is made up of a mixture of Appenzellar, Gruyere and Emantaler cheeses plus white wine and a dash of Herbs de Provance. The mixture is placed inside a garlic rubbed bread bowl ( a great crusy french roll) and packaged for shipping. All you have to do is stick it in the oven until bubbly, about 20 minutes or so. My mouth waters just remembering it. I love this job.

Fondue for Two is also affordable. It retails for $15 plus shipping. Because of the perishable nature of this item, overnight shipping is a must.  In addition to the upcoming holidays, I’m thinking Fondue for Two is the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, birthdays and a nice accompanyment to a wedding gift. I promise, the recipient won’t be disappointed. Heck, buy two so you can enjoy it yourself!

I highly recommend Emeril’s Bread and Baguette Maker for the kitchen gadget lover in your life.  There was a time when I told my husband I wanted a bread machine and he replied that people don’t want kitchen gadgets for presents and so I didn’t get one.  I discussed my frustrations with my friend the next year which she repeated to my husband .  That year I got what I really wanted for Christmas, instead of knick knacks.  My old bread machine is on it’s way out, but after researching, I found a new one that does everything except the dishes and there isn’t too much work involved in that either.  Emeril’s Bread and Baguette Maker is wonderful.

Features:

• 3 loaf sizes - 3lb, 2.5 lb, or 2 lb loaves

• 3 crust settings - light, medium, dark

• Signal for additional ingredients like nuts, raisins and seeds.

• 14 pre-programmed settings with auto shutoff. (more…)

The Walker family has been through a lot.  At a year old, Ryan Walker’s kidneys failed and his mother donated hers to him.  One year after the transplant, and with the support of a local non-profit - The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh and Lemieux Family Center, Ryan’s health is continuing to improve. The Children’s Home provided Stephanie’s family medical assistance and emotional support while Ryan was recovering from his surgery, and now cares for Ryan through their pediatric extended care center, Child’s Way. Child’s Way allows Stephanie and her husband to work during the day while having peace of mind that Ryan’s medical needs are being met and cared for by a professional staff.

This school is specifically for medically fragile children from the ages of birth to 8. Each child is assigned a primary nurse and child care workers. The staff ratio is phenomenal and the stimulation that is given to the kids is outstanding. Every child is treated with the utmost dignity and respect. They participate in all events as if they are no different than the child next to them. This facility allows parents to return to work and know that they child is in great hands.

The Walkers came up with a recipe collection from their friends and family that could be sold with all proceeds going to Child’s Way. The proceeds from the cookbook fundraiser specifically goes to caring for children whose parents can’t afford to pay to send them there. Think about picking up a cookbook to help support this worthy cause.

From the Cookbook For A Cause:

Carbonara Pasta

Paolo Bortolamasi

•6 ounces pancetta (or bacon)

•1 medium size onion

•2 tablespoon olive oil

•2 tablespoon sour cream

•1 pound linguine

•3 egg yolks, beaten

•4 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

•coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Cut pancetta/ bacon and onion into match-like sticks.

In a large skillet, cook pancetta/ bacon in hot oil until crisp. Add the onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until the onion is golden. Slowly add cream. Simmer, uncovered, a few minutes until slightly thickened.

Combine half of the cheese in the beaten egg yolks.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Remove from heat and drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot. Stir in the egg yolks and cheese. Toss to coat. Stir in pancetta/bacon mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining cheese. Season to taste with pepper if you like.

Last year while shopping the organic section of the store, I found Green & Black Chocolates.  The label Green & Black is really a symbolic name green for organic and black for the deep, rich dark brown (almost black) color of the chocolate.  Green & Black is a Fair Trade Chocolate Organization that pays cocoa farmers fair prices for their Cocoa.  My kids don’t really know anything about that - although they can read Organic on the label.  I bought the chocolates and put it in their stockings.  They liked the Milk Chocolates, not so much the Dark Chocolates.  Those are more my speed.  This year, Green & Black is introducing the Toffee Chocolate Bar.  This is the bar to get for the stocking this year.

(more…)

I travel for the holidays sometimes, plus I work.  Finding time to make a dessert not always possible.  Traveling from my in-laws to my family makes it even more difficult to bring a dessert.  I make treats and small things, but it’s not easy.  Carousel Cakes and Graeter’s both deliver, and it stays frozen even if they leave it on the porch and it sits.  Carousel and Graeter’s both use dry ice to keep it frozen and they do an excellent job of packing it so it arrives in perfectly delicious holiday dessert ready condition.  You can even send these cakes and ice creams to friends and relatives for their birthdays and holidays that you won’t be able to attend or as a dorm treat for a college kid. 

(more…)

 

Let me start by saying that my son wants everyone to know he is a BOY and only tried the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker because his mom asked him to. Not because he wants to use girl’s stuff. Once again he is a boy and does BOY stuff.

Ok disclaimer over.

The Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker is akin to the Easy Bake Oven in that make and decorate a real cake. Unlike the Easy Bake Oven, the cupcake maker doesn’t actually make the cupcake, it only decorates it. To make the cupcake one simply adds the cake mix and some water to the baking dish, covers and microwaves for the alloted time. Then the fun begins.

The Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker actually comes with a machine - looks like a little stand mixer - that you add icing to and it decorates the cupcake with a swirl. Well, that’s what it’s supposed to do. Our swirls looked nothing like the ones on the box, that’s for sure.

My son loved this toy. Is something that makes cupcakes a toy? Whatever it is, my son loved it. He enjoyed mixing and then “baking” the cake in the microwave.  The best part was the decorating part. I even got out some icing tubes so he could write his name on it. And of course, the second best part was eating the cupcake - which was lopsided and sloppy, but to him it looked appetizing and glamorous. I found the cupcakes flavorless and the icing overly sweet. My son found it all deee-licious.

As much as my son loved the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker, I hated it. It’s not a terrible product, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t like any toy that makes more work for me.  It was messy and sloppy and there were all sorts off components to clean after it was all over. (I don’t even want to tell you what my kitchen table looked like.) If that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, this is probably the perfect gift for the gourmet in your life. Personally, I dread the times my son takes it off the shelf to make cupcakes. Not because it’s a terrible product, but because it makes a lot of work for Mommy.

I know. I’m a bad mom. All that aside, your child will love it. The Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker is from Jakks and retails for about $30. I’ve seen it at WalMart, Target and Toys R Us so I’m sure you’ll find it at a popular retailer near you.

 

Christmas came early to the Ng household once again. First is was coffee, now this. Yes folks, it’s a tough job but someone has to do it. I took one for the team to review a wonderful line of baking tools for you courtesy of Wilton. Yes, I know. I’m a giver.

All joking aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the Wilton line. Many times we receive products to review and they’re mediocre at best. The baking tools I received are sturdy, non skid and incredibly useful. Allow me to share!

Tilt & Mix Bowls: The mixing bowls impress me the most. The non-skid legs stay on your counter throughout all your whisking, stirring and folding. You can even stand the bowl on it’s side to scrape up all the stubborn bottom bits. That’s not my favorite part though, what I like the best is how each bowl has a spout to better pour cake batter into the pan.

 Measuring Cups and Spoons: The handles of the measuring cups and spoons are made of the same, sturdy no skid material as the bottom of the mixing bowls which means they stay in the hand no matter how messy.  Like the mixing bowls, they cup with a pouring spot so liquids glide out into their intended destination. They’re all attached to a ring for convenient storage, but detach as needed. Good stuff.

Rolling Pin: OK, so I haven’t had a chance to use this yet, but again with the no-skid. Plus it’s submergable and you can remove the handles and we like that. A lot. We’ll have to talk more about the rolling pin after the holidays!

Cyclone Whisk: This is actually a whisk within a whisk. No. Really. On the outisde it’s your traditional whisk, on the inside another “cyclone” shaped whisk. I use it for my Sunday morning pancake batter and it getser done quicker and less lumpy. (more…)