Friday Unwind with a Chandon Brut Mojito
February 17, 2012 | by DianaChandon Mint Mojito – to help you think of summertime in the middle of winter. Enjoy!
What’s Your Favorite Flavor of Ice Cream?
February 16, 2012 | by DianaAt a conference last week (5B: Believers in Better Beer, Bites and Blogging in Cincinnati last weekend), we were chatting at lunch and one person mentioned junkets, and the discussion was followed about what a junket is… and then I threw out that I was going to Vermont for a blogging event at Ben & Jerry’s. There was agreement that this was a good thing, and I have to say I feel pretty lucky. Then the flavor talk came out – Cobert’s Americone or Fallon’s Late Night Snack - has anyone seen them or tried them? Most of us hadn’t tried either.
So, there is travel to Vermont coming up and I have a couple of days to think about it, but I want to know… If you could have any flavor combination of ice cream – what would you come up with? Would it have chocolate chunks? Would it be fruity? Herby? Have Alcohol? This is a real question, I’d like my Cookerati friends to help me out. If you could design your own ice cream, what would it be?
Updated: During the blogger trip, I tried the Americone, on the way home from the …
Food News Feb 12, 2011
February 12, 2012 | by Diana- QVC’s In the Kitchen with David and Food & Wine magazine are giving away a trip for two to New York City’s Taste NY – April 1 -4, 2012. Enter on the facebook page. One of the fun things is dinner with David Venable.
- Denby has a 50 percent off promotion going on right now. I can’t vouch for their pottery myself, but they’ve been making it for 200 years.
- Tauck’s is introducing a new river cruise on the Rhone that celebrates and explores the rich culinary traditions of France. The new 10-day “A Taste of France” itinerary begins with a two-night hotel stay and exploration of local food culture in Paris, followed by a seven-night river cruise through the Rhone Valley aboard Tauck’s MS Swiss Emerald riverboat. Departures for the new culinary cruise are scheduled for April 25, June 28, August 17 and October 20 of this year. Those interested in more information can visit their local travel professional, call Tauck at 1 800 468 2825, or go to the company’s website at www.tauck.com.
- South Carolina-based cake company Daisy Cakes and owner/cake baker Kim Adams Nelson also known as Kim Daisy will offer authentic, …
Grilled Mozzarella and Kale Pesto Sandwich
February 12, 2012 | by DianaHave you ever been thinking about how to make a dish, or an ingredient you want to use and someone posts a dish that you say – Yes, I can make my dish this way and use her idea to do it. I had some fresh mozzarella that I wanted to use, plus I had Kale. I knew I wanted a grilled cheese, but I didn’t know how to do it, until I saw @erikakerekes – tweet. She said “{In Erika’s Kitchen} My ongoing love affair with kale: Kale pesto http://t.co/bqsFCuD0 #recipe #Superfoods”. That was my trigger. I could make my grilled mozz sandwiches with kale pesto, and dip the sandwiches in pasta sauce.
Tonight for dinner we made a Kale pesto – not to exact recipe – I used kale and chard and forgot the lemon because I was making a small amount – though I think it would be good to add. I broke open a jar of homemade spaghetti sauce and we dined. My husband thought it was wonderful and suggested it would be …
Sweet Potatoes and Kale
February 8, 2012 | by Diana
I love sweet potatoes and kale, such a great healthy combination. How are your winter stores holding up? The sweet potatoes were in our basement cold storage and holding up really well. These were potatoes we grew from slips in our garden, so I’m thrilled to have them in such good shape in February.
We have been picking up a market bag from a grocer. Each week is a surprise, but usually contains greens, fruit (apples, pears, oranges) some sort of grain, and usually bread and veggies. Most of it is organic, and as much as possible local – not easy to do this time of year. Last week we received some dinosaur kale. Lovely bright and green dinosaur kale.
Recently I saw an episode of The Chew where Michael Symon attempted a 5 in 5 – which he failed to complete on time, but it had the ingredients I love together – sweet potatoes and swiss chard. I took his idea of grilling the sweet potatoes and sauteeing the chard, but substituted kale. …
Red Pepper Lentil Dip
February 5, 2012 | by Diana
Here’s a really fast and I think pretty healthy dip. Unlike sour cream dips, legume dips fill you up faster so you’ll eat a little less of the not so good stuff. My suggestion is to start with the bean dip with veggies to leave a little less room for those fattening things. You can revisit last years dip suggestions to see healthier alternatives for your gatherings.Lentils – are a type of legume, and are very high in proteins. They cook relatively quickly and when mashed are similar to chickpeas used for hummus. You can substitute lentils for chickpeas in your hummus, or use it instead of refried beans in your bean dip. The red lentils have more of a mild flavor and aren’t as high in protein as the dark green, but I used them because I thought they would go well with the red peppers. Use this dip for crackers, raw veggies, pita or just chips. Serve warm or cold and to keep from drying out you can pour a thin layer of oil over top …
A Tale of Two Soups
January 31, 2012 | by DianaCold season is here – and we were bit. Two soups this week. I made Chicken soup for my husband on Sunday and he returned the favor on Tuesday. I returned home from work feeling clogged and gunky. My handsome knight in shining armor, the one who is slowly adding to his cooking repetoire, made some chicken soup for me. We’re big believers in those natural remedies. What about you? What do you do when you are feeling all clogged?
Sunday’s Chicken Soup…
Tuesday’s Chicken Soup…
Albondigas (Mexican Meatball) Soup
January 28, 2012 | by DianaWe were supposed to go to our friends house for a potluck dinner last weekend. Then there was an ice storm, and the dog was ill and didn’t eat for days. The dog also injured her spine and had much difficulty sitting and walking. Plus I was had a rumbly tummy on Friday night, and by the time Saturday came around my stomach muscles were too sore and not into food too much. Before you ask – the dog is fine. She is on a little medicine for her spine and an infection, but many vet visits later, she is doing well. I’m fine too. But we were very sad to miss out on a friendly gathering.
Anyway, these really cool friends sent a batch of this incredible Albondigas meatball soup home from work with my husband. So for a few evenings we reheated the soup, plus I took some to work for lunch. What didn’t I do? I didn’t take any photos darn it. My friend was cool enough to share her recipe with us. I think this would make a great superbowl entree. It’s not finger food, but the meatball and the peppers …
The Healthy Way to Get Through That Superbowl Party
January 27, 2012 | by DianaSuperbowl and healthy eating don’t seem to go hand in hand. We associate this testosterone infected party with fried finger foods covered in cheese, things you can toss back and swallow with beer – though in my case it would be wine or a cooler. The truth is, though I bring healthier foods, there will be other things there that I should stay away from. I’m going to try and give us some great ideas to help us get through this fat laden party in the next week. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat some of the bad stuff, but if I fill my plate with the good stuff, and just leave a little spot here and there for the other stuff that will be okay.
Tosca Reno the queen of the Clean Eating recipe books has produced a small guide book. It’s small in size, and you can stick it in your laptop case or your briefcase to reference whenever you need a little help. Tosca calls it “JUST THE RULES: TOSCA’S GUIDE TO EATING RIGHT
” – I think it’s a strong name for …
Genius Choppers – Great Tools When You Have a Lot of Chopping To Do
January 25, 2012 | by DianaRecently I came home to baked fries, that my son made and put into the toaster oven. No oil, not deep frying, just baking and they were fantastic tasting. He decided to use the Genius Nicer Dicer to cut the potatoes into uniform size – and I think it did the trick. Since the potatoes were uniform in size, they took the same amount of time to cook and were perfect. Because he used herbs, salt and pepper, they were tasty even without the oil.
We’ve been trying out the Genius Salad Chopper and the Genius Nicer Dicer, two chopping tools that are sold on QVC. They’re mostly self contained because you can store the blades, and slicers inside the container the Chopper sits on top of. It’s both a work and serving station.
The salad chopper bowl is huge, which will come in handy when you have a really big gathering and want to serve a big group though, t’s a bit oversized for a family of four. The Salad Chopper comes with two different sized blade inserts, an insert with two graters and a cleaning tool. The …
