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Archives for December 2006

So Long, Folks!

December 20, 2006 By Delia

martha-stewart-goodbye-12-20-06.jpg 

Well readers, I’m off to the land of tiramisu & pasta.  Italy is calling my name this holiday season, and pretty loudly at that!

I’m headed off today & will see you back here bright and early Tuesday, January 2nd.  I will do my best to post along the way while in Roma.

Until then, you know what to do!  Eat well & Laugh often!  And happy holidays to you & yours!

~Allison

Filed Under: Special bFeedMe News

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December 20, 2006 By Delia

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Accidental Hedonist:   Tollhouse M & M Cookies recipe 

Amateur Gourmet:   Top ten gift ideas

101 Cookbooks:  Cranberry Jam recipe, yummm  

Chubby Hubby:   Check out the 15 Courses of Yum

Eggbeater:   A day on the farm…. 

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Cashew Herb Chex Mix Recipe

December 20, 2006 By Delia

herbed-cashew-chex-mix-recipe-12-20-06.jpgTo me, nothing says the holidays like something sweet & something salty & a hot drink!  Now, we have a lot of that sweet already, let’s tackle the salty!  Say hello to a holiday tradition of mine, chex mix.  And this Cashew Herb Chex Mix recipe has just enough herb to make it interesting.  Take a stab & let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Corn Chex cereal
  • 2 cups bite-size shredded wheat cereal
  • 2 cups pretzel sticks
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce

What’s Next:

Go ahead & preheat your oven to 325 F or 162 C.

In ungreased 13×9-inch pan, mix cereals, pretzel sticks and cashews. In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in tarragon, onion powder and pepper sauce. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.

Bake uncovered about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot. Serve warm or cool. Store in airtight container. And enjoy!

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Something Salty

SPPF White Fruitcake Recipe

December 19, 2006 By Delia

white-fruitcake-recipe-12-19-06.bmpNow that we know all about the Protection and Preservation of Fruitcake society, let’s take a look at some of their recipes.  Whew!  Some of these babies make a whole lotta fruitcake!  So, if you’re feeding an army or a football team, check this one out!

I’m going to stick with a smaller yield with this White Fruitcake recipe from Kelly Wolske in the Mojave Desert.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 pounds butter
  • 2 c sugar
  • 6 eggs
  • 4 c sifted flour
  • 3 t b powder
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/2 c juice and rind of one lemon
  • 2 T vanilla
  • 8 oz citron
  • 4 rings pineapple (2 red 2 green)
  • 2 lb white raisins
  • 2 c plus coconut
  • 3/4 lb blanched almonds

What’s Next:

Cover raisins with cold water, bring to a boil, drain and cool. Dredge the fruit in 1/2 cup of the flour. Line pans with three layers of brown paper.

Reserve a cup or so of batter before the fruit goes in; smooth over the cakes before baking (this helps prevent fruit from sticking out the top and burning. Recip makes four small loaf pans. Bake at 275-300 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Sweets

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December 19, 2006 By Delia

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Accidental Hedonist:   Ice Cream Kolackys recipe 

Amateur Gourmet:   Menu for Hope III, East Coast prize

101 Cookbooks:   Jumbo Coconut Cupcakes recipe 

Chubby Hubby:   Holiday gift guide

Eggbeater:   And the next stop is Aziza  

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The Scoop on The Protection and Preservation of Fruitcake Organization

December 19, 2006 By Delia

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The year was 1999.  The setting was an office.  The plot- woman gets ridiculed for her fruitcake-loving ways.  Result- the creation of SPPF, or the Protection and Preservation of Fruitcake organization.

Wow, I knew about the Garden Gnome Liberation Front, but the SPPF was a new one on me.  The SPPF is a non-membership kind of organization, that basically has a strong love & affinity for fruitcake & a disdain for those who don’t.  On their website you’ll find some fruitcake recipes along with stories from one fruitcake lover to another.  It’s rather cute really, if you like that sort of thing.  I’m just a fence rider on this whole fruitcake thing, what about you?

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Filed Under: Tid Bits & News

Make Your Own Kettle Corn Recipe

December 18, 2006 By Delia

kettle-corn-recipe-12-18-06.jpgYou know, why rely on Crate & Barrel for that fun Reindeer Food when you can stitch up a bag real fast & make your own Kettle Corn?  This recipe is very simple & quick, so get to it & enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup corn oil
  • 1/4 cup popcorn
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Salt

What’s Next:

Use a decent size pot (with a lid) and pour in enough oil to have about an 1/8″ covering the bottom. Don’t use too much oil. Too much oil will sog the popped popcorn and you’ll probably get sick to your stomach when you eat it.

Dump in enough popcorn to make a single layer in the pot. Put the pot on medium high heat. When you see the corn start to get excited but before it starts to pop, quickly pour in the sugar as evenly as you can across the top.

Cover and shake back and forth to pop (like Jiffy Pop). When you pull it off you need to slightly salt it. You can’t pop every single kernel because you would scorch the popcorn. Also pouring in the sugar too soon tends to make the popcorn scorch more easily. If you pour it in too late, the sugar stays granular and grainy. Also get the popped popcorn out of the pot as quickly as possible to prevent scorching.

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Recipe

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December 18, 2006 By Delia

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Accidental Hedonist:   Dark Chocolate Brownies recipe, yum! 

Amateur Gourmet:  Snacking 101   

101 Cookbooks:   Very cute Snow-Topped Holiday Cupcakes recipe 

Chubby Hubby:   Donate to Menu of Hope & feel good about the holidays 

Eggbeater:   Some culinary career advice 

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Crate & Barrel Bring Us Reindeer Food

December 18, 2006 By Delia

reindeer-food-12-18-06.jpg 

You gotta love Crate & Barrel, they’re just a great company full of fabulous products & ideas. 

This year Crate & Barrel are bringing you a surprise, Reindeer Food!  This cute stocking suffer idea is sweet & salty kettle corn packaged in an adorable felt bag.  I’m thinking Christmas Eve treat, right?  What a great idea for kids, though.  Can you image it?  “Look what the reindeers left you, little Timmy!”  How great is that?  Cost, $12.

Filed Under: Tid Bits & News

Christmas Fruitcake Recipe

December 15, 2006 By Delia

fruitcake-recipe-12-15-06.jpgFor those of us who still have an affinity for fruitcake during the holidays, here is this beautiful Christmas Fruitcake recipe.  May you enjoy eating eat, or using it as a doorstop!

Ingredients: 

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 pounds currants
  • 1/2 pound golden raisins
  • 1/4 pound dried cherries
  • 1 teaspoon cassia
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 cups white flour

What’s Next:

Go ahead & preheat your oven to 325 F or 162 C. 

Cream butter & brown sugar together until well-blended.  Add the remaining ingredients & mix well.  That’s it!

Now just bake for 30 minutes, or until comes clean with a toothpick.

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Dessert Recipes

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December 15, 2006 By Delia

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Accidental Hedonist:  Helpful hints & tips for cooking peas  

Amateur Gourmet:  Check out the Turkish cuisine  

101 Cookbooks:   Yummm, Drinkable Chocolate

Chubby Hubby:   Celebrity Spoons? 

Eggbeater:   The scoop on Beets 

 

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Christmas Memories: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Holiday Cooking

December 15, 2006 By Delia

christmas-memories-12-15-2006.bmpI think this morning we should share some of our Christmas memories; from the good to the bad to the ugly of holiday cooking.

I know in my Aunt Ginny’s household they make fruitcakes not because they enjoy the flavor of this holiday treat, but because it’s a tradition going back generations.  They actually don’t even eat the Christmas monstrosity, my relatives use them for doorstops for a while, then give the rest to any dogs that happen to be on hand.

Now, my grandmother is a different story all together.  She makes these delicious oatmeal cookies & chocolate chip cookies right around the holidays.  Gmom usually does freeze the majority so we can all eat them together on Christmas Day over a nice steaming, hot chocolate.

Now it’s your turn, what is the best & ugliest of your holiday season?

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Tid Bits & News

Christmas Baklava Recipe

December 14, 2006 By Delia

baklava-recipe-12-14-06.jpgWith those 2006 Food Blog Awards, I better get a move on!  I know Christmas means different things to many people, and that goes as well for what’s cooking in the kitchen.  What I love to enjoy next to the fireplace on Christmas Eve is a nice mug of hot chocolate & some Christmas Baklava.  I wasn’t born into a Greek family, but I have such a strong affinity for this delicious sweet treat, I have integrated it into our holiday traditions.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds phyllo dough (approx. 40 sheets)
  • 6 ½ cups finely chopped walnuts
  • 1 ½ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ pound unsalted butter (melted)
  • 2 ½ cups honey
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

What’s Next:

Grease a 13×9 pan (bottom & sides) and set aside.

Mix well the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 300 F or 150 C. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack.

Note: When working with phyllo be sure to work fast and keep the unused portion covered with plastic wrap at all times, as it tends to dry out pretty fast. Also, be sure to carefully follow the defrosting instructions on the phyllo.

Set aside one full-size sheet of phyllo dough. Cover with plastic wrap.

Cut remaining phyllo sheets into 13×9 sheets. Actually, measure your pan and cut the sheets to match the actual inside dimensions.  With a big sharp knife you should be able to cut all of the phyllo at the same time. You will most likely have a lot of left over phyllo – consider finding another dish where you could use the smaller pieces of leftover phyllo dough.

Carefully lay the full-size phyllo sheet into the greased pan, folding over the pan edges. With a pastry brush, liberally apply melted butter.

Lay a cut sheet of phyllo into the bottom of the pan, and with a pastry brush liberally apply melted butter. Repeat 9 more times, so that you have the one full sheet and 10 smaller sheets as your bottom layer.

Sprinkle 2 cups of the walnut mixture into the pan. Lay 6 more sheets of phyllo on top, making sure to liberally apply the melted butter between each sheet. Repeat this 3 more times, so that you have 4 separate layers of the walnut mixture. For the top layer place as many phyllo sheets on top as you have remaining, again making sure to liberally butter between each sheet.

Using a sharp plastic spatula, carefully fold over the large sheet of phyllo that should still be extended over the edge back onto the top, so that you can see down the inside edges of the pan. In effect you now have one big baklava package wrapped with your initial phyllo sheet.

Using a very, very sharp serrated knife, carefully score the baklava into whatever shape you want. A diamond pattern is the traditional shape. Try to cut about half-way down into the baklava when you do this.

Bake for 2 ½ to 3 hours at 300 degrees until nice and brown.

About 5 minutes before removing the baklava from the oven, combine the honey and lemon juice and heat over a medium heat until runny. Do not boil it, just heat it well so it has a consistency more like water.

Remove the baklava from the oven and very carefully drain the butter that it will no doubt be floating in.

Set the baklava on a cooling rack, and pour the honey mixture completely over it.

Cover the baklava and let sit for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best (if you can wait that long!)

When you are ready to cut the pieces, cut through the score marks with a sharp knife, and use a spatula to remove the pieces. Have patience with this step, if you are not careful here you can make a real mess of it!

Whew!  That’s it, you’re done & so is that baklava.  Take a break & enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Sweets

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December 14, 2006 By Delia

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Accidental Hedonist:   Gingerbread Man Cookies recipe, the holidays aren’t waiting for you! 

Amateur Gourmet:   Wow!  They do really eat like pigs over there!

101 Cookbooks:   Cooking, the Natural way 

Chubby Hubby:   Great Holiday Gift ideas 

Eggbeater:   Dontating to help Menu for Hope 

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2006 Food Blog Awards Announced

December 14, 2006 By Delia

food-blog-2006-awards-12-14-06.jpgThe call for nominations for the 2006 Food Blog Awards has just been announced.  These awards were originally started to honor those in a very small niche of the blogging world, that has now become a wee bit larger!

From very humble beginnings, the 2006 Food Blog Awards now boast several categories that include Best Writing, Most Humorous, Best Photography, Best Restaurant Reviews, Best New Food Blog, Best Original Recipes, Best Recipes, Best Blog by a Chef & Best Overall food blog.  This is a great way to show your favorite food blog, and hence the bloggers, how much you appreciate them & their hard work.  Nominations will close on Friday, December 15 at midnight EST, so make sure your nominations are in!

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Tid Bits & News

Sugar Pea & Jerusalem Artichoke Saute Recipe

December 13, 2006 By Delia

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Now, we can’t allow the Nobel Prize Award ceremony to have all the yummy eats, we have to come up with some ourselves!  This delicious Sugar Pea & Jerusalem Artichoke Saute recipe combines two distinct flavors & melds them perfectly.

The Jerusalem artichokes, or sunchokes, are not really artichokes- they are the root of the sunflower.  Isn’t that a beautiful thing to eat the root of the sun?!!! Enjoy this wonderful recipe from Better Homes & Gardens. 
 
Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces fresh sugar snap pea pods (with pea shoots, optional)
  • 8 ounces Jerusalem artichokes or one 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
  • 2 teaspoons margarine or butter
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper 

What’s Next:

Remove and discard strings from pea pods. Rinse pods under cold running water. Drain. Set aside.

Using a peeler or a paring knife, peel sunchokes. Cut into 1/4-inch pieces. In a large skillet heat the margarine or butter over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sunchokes, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Stir in peas.

Cook mixture, covered, for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes or until the peas are just heated through but still crunchy. Transfer to a serving bowl or individual bowls. Top with pea shoots, if desired. Serve immediately. Makes 4 side-dish servings.  And that’s it!

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Recipe

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December 13, 2006 By Delia

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Accidental Hedonist:   Yummy No-Bake Cookies for the holidays 

Amateur Gourmet:   Menu for Hope prizes

101 Cookbooks:   Take a look at these Pangea Organics 

Chubby Hubby:  Get your Sugar High on here  

Eggbeater:   Some Cheesecake Mysteries are revealed 

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Nobel Prize Award Ceremony Dinner Menu

December 13, 2006 By Delia

nobel-prize-menu-2006.jpgOn the evening of December 10, the 2006 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony took place at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden.  The illustrious event awards the best achievements of the year in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, Economics & Literature.  But what was on the menu for dinner guests in the beautiful Swedish concert hall?

Well, we found out & it looks like it was a celebration not worth missing!  The three-course meal included a panoply of smoked salmon with scallops & Kalix bleak roe, a lovely herb-basted lamb; mashed potatoes & Jerusalem artichokes; olive oil vegetables with port sauce & a pinapple parfait dessert with salad & mint.  The wines sereved were none other than Veenwouden Classic 2002 Paarl & Château Haut-Bergeron 2003 Sauternes.

Wow, what a meal to be had!  Check out the list of Nobel Prize Award Winners here.

Eat well & Laugh often!

Filed Under: Tid Bits & News

How We Can Help: A Menu for Hope III

December 12, 2006 By Delia

a-menu-for-hope-12-12-06.gifIt’s the time of year for giving from the heart & that’s just what Menu for Hope means.  This is the time that we set aside the rushing-about holiday gift list & concentrate on something a little more serious.  It’s time of year to help the United Nations World Food Program.

Food bloggers everywhere are trying to make their voices hear this year, to be able to make a difference in the worldwide food crisis.  Last year, those folks located in California, met over at Chez Pim’s place to hand out raffle tickets & hold a festive Menu for Hope event.  But this year, the whole thing has grown up.  If you’re in CA, head on over to Becks & Posh to see what they’re getting themselves into this year, or read about that Pim has up their sleeve.  If you’re not in CA, check out these other links & make sure to give from the heart this year to a Menu for Hope.

US West Coast: Becks and Posh
US East Coast: The Amateur Gourmet
US (the rest): Kalyn’s Kitchen
Canada: Cardamom Addict
Europe and UK: Davidlebovitz.com
Latin America: The Cooking Diva
Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand: Grab Your Fork

Eat well & Give often!

Filed Under: From the Heart

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December 12, 2006 By Delia

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Accidental Hedonist:  The Well Fed Network taking best food blog award nominations, awww- you shouldn’t have! 

Amateur Gourmet:   New York in a box

101 Cookbooks:  Make sure to be a part of the Menu for Hope fundraiser

Chubby Hubby:  A great Holiday Gift Guide!

Eggbeater:   Cornmeal & fruitcake?

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