January 18, 2008
My recent ambition in the kitchen has not only left me with frousse this week, but also a giant tub of homemade milk chocolate pudding!
I used this recipe from the site to whip up a batch of one of my favorite comfort snacks and I would definitely recommend you do the same!
Popularity: 14% [?]
October 16, 2007
The other day my boyfriend came home with a hilarious article that one of his students gave him. It was taken from The Onion and written by: A Pie. I thought I would share You Want A Piece Of Me with all you food lovers out there. Enjoy. I hope it brings a smile to your day.
Popularity: 5% [?]
September 4, 2007
Visiting the Renn Faire over the weekend (following Hillary’s footsteps), I noticed a theme to things beyond medieval outfits and terrible Elizabethan accents:
Sort of a…trend?
I don’t know, maybe it’s the hand-painted signs. What do you guys think?
Why are we, as a culture, so enamored with things on sticks? It’s not simply in fair food; look at the humble chicken drumstick (or, if you must, the gargantuan turkey legs available at the Renn Faire). Kids fight over it; KFC markets it; everyone loves it. I guess it all comes down to the pleasure and convenience of one-handed eating. I mean, if you only need one hand to chow down on your frozen banana, think of all the stuff you can do with that other hand: drive! Write! Hold more food!
Pratchett fanboy that I am, I kind of want to see more “___ inna bun” foods show up at fairs. Then again, given how Pratchett describes those foods, maybe I don’t.
-Jim
Popularity: 5% [?]
August 27, 2007
Sorry guys, it’s been a while since I have blogged but I am back!
So, a couple of months ago I decided to plant my first garden. Not having a single clue how it was going to turn out, I was shocked to see my little garden explode into its own little forest of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and basil.
My two tomato plants have basically taken over my garden and I have run out of sticks to prop the plant stems up. I am sad to say some of the stems have broken off due to my own lack of care. Plus the fact that a we had a terrible few days of fierce storms with extremely high and damaging winds, so this didn’t help my poor plants either.
Yesterday I decided it was time to start caring for my garden again, so I took all the broken stems out and picked the green tomatoes that never would have a chance to ripen. I used these green tomatoes to try and make Fried Green Tomatoes for the first time.
I was told by my boyfriend’s mother that the only thing I really needed to do to make Fried Green Tomatoes was just put oil in a pan (I used EVOO), bread the green tomatoes with breadcrumbs and fry them on the stove. Easy enough!
I think not! My Fried Green Tomatoes turned out mushy, slimy and hot. The bread crumbs hardly even stuck onto the sliced tomatoes.
Do any of you have a good recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes? There are a ton on Recipe4Living, but I still have about four left and I would love to try this again.
-Sarah, Editor for Recipe4Living
Popularity: 9% [?]
August 21, 2007
For many reasons, I’m having the best day ever. Here’s one:
Jim went to the bakery to buy these amazing doughnuts, and not only did he return with doughnuts for all, but he brought back two different kinds of rugalach for me to try – chocolate cinnamon and berry with powdered sugar. I once shared my rugalach with him and he was trying to repay me the favor. Whilst completely unnecessary, very thoughtful, and exceedingly appreciated, I do have to say that I derived more pleasure out of sharing my rugalach in the first place. But still, my already amazing day was beyond made, and I hadn’t even bitten into any of it yet.
Sharing food is the best thing in the world. There’s something about seeing others’ reactions to foods you already know and love, especially when they like it. And when they show up with a different variation of this already-loved food, well, that’s what makes the world go ‘round.
There is the food you grow up with, and there is the food you discover along the way. And from the Thai food that I now love and learned about from friends long ago, to my grandma’s cholent that I’ll one day continue to pass on to my family, it shouldn’t surprise you that my imaginary favorite foods list is comprised of both.
Not to get all sentimental on you folks (ok fine, I already have,) but I’m surrounded by very generous people here! Don’t think I’ve forgot about Max’s chocolate bowl that continues to be replenished as soon as it’s emptied by the pick-me-up-hungry employees at our office, or the constant sharing of cookies, cakes or bagels that commences on our breakroom table. It really is the little things in life, and in this case it’s the food!
As for the goods Jim brought back, the insanely light but cakey texture of the warm chocolately doughnut made for one of the best I’ve ever tasted. And the chocolate chips of the rugalach melded perfectly into their berry counterpart creating an amazing powdered-sugar-topped confection. Ok enough of the flowery language, they were just good. Yay for local bakeries and thanks again Jim!
-Hillary, beyond excited to meet Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto!
Editor, Recipe4Living
Popularity: 4% [?]
April 19, 2007
Oh America, we’ve had a hard week. With a full heart for those affected by the tragedy of Virginia Tech, I returned today to the purpose of this blog. But, I admit I sat at the computer for quite some time at a loss for what deliciousness to share with our readers this time. The proper answer, so perfectly comforting it’s almost hard to believe, came from a wonderful coworker passing by my desk. The absolute perfect food for such a week is chocolate-covered potato chips.
Can you argue with these scrumptious babies from Neuchatel Chocolates? I think not. I had no idea they existed before today, but I assure you I will cherish them forever after. The chocolate is rich, imported Swiss chocolate, and not overly sweet. The potato chips are thick and salty, and the ridges were a logical choice (more surface area to cover with chocolate). The pairing of chocolate with salt has been rather trendy lately and these Swiss Chips demonstrate how well the combination actually works. Here are some great articles on the salty chocolate craze:
Salty Chocolate
Sui Mai Salty Chocolate
The Rise of the Salt Tooth
I did some exploring at Recipe4Living.com and found that one of our wonderful readers discovered the fun of salty chocolate in her own quirky recipe (with potato chips to boot). Enjoy and be comforted.
This unlikely dessert ingredient adds a subtle salt element and a bit of fun crunch.
Ingredients
1 C. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 C. butter
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs, well beaten
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C. potato chips, crushed
Directions
Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Melt butter and chocolate. Beat eggs well and add sugar gradually, beating well. Add the chocolate mix and vanilla to eggs and blend. Add flour and mix well. Add potato chips. Bake in lightly greased 8-inch square pan in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. While warm, cut into squares.
Yield: 12 brownies
Popularity: 5% [?]
