In the News

Parent Company of Food Network to Launch New Cooking Channel

Scripps, the parent company of the Food Network, has announced that it will launch a new Cooking Channel in 2010.  With primetime Food Network shows sliding into the “entertainment” category, they realize that their offerings are not for serious cooks anymore (remember the original MTV - it was actually about music videos?).  They will be [...]


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Kitchen Finds

Dress Up Your Cupcakes with Cupcake Couture

Cupcakes are all the rage now, with cupcake bakeries popping up everywhere and young couples serving cupcakes at their weddings instead of the traditional cake.  So why not get in on the cupcake fun at home?  Bella Cupcake Couture has fun cupcake wrappers for every occasion.   Plus the creator of the company, Carrie Middlemiss, [...]


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Book Shelf

David Lebovitz’s Best Desserts

David Lebovitz, the former pastry chef at Chez Panisse and food blogger, has just had his latest book released and it looks like a must have for the adventuresome baker.  “Ready for Dessert” contains some creative new recipes - peanut butter and jelly linzertorte, persimmon cake with cream cheese icing, banana souffles, fresh fig and [...]


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Video

So You Think You Know How to Make Pesto. . .

This charming video of  Chef Paola Laboa at Farina shows how to make their perfect pesto with exceptional ingredients and lots of heart.  Don’t bother getting out your Cuisinart.


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Author Archive

Espresso in the Wild!

By elaine • Jul 14th, 2009 • Category: Kitchen Finds, MAIN

Can’t get along without a good shot of espresso?  Now you can have espresso anywhere you go with the Handpresso Wild.  It requires no electricity and produces a perfect cup of espresso, crema and all.  It uses a high pressure extraction system and espresso pods. You can also buy a neat little carrying case. From [...]



Porchetta in New York City

By elaine • Jul 9th, 2009 • Category: Blogs, MAIN

For award winning food writer and cooking teacher Molly Stevens, real Italian porchetta was something she always dreamed of making at home.  When she discovered New York City’s Porchetta sandwich shop in the East Village, she knew it was the real deal.  Porchetta serves up delicious fennel scented, long roasted pork, just like in Italy. [...]



Honey Drops, the Portable Honey

By elaine • Jun 30th, 2009 • Category: MAIN, Pantry

 

If you sweeten your beverages with honey instead of sugar or sugar substitutes, you might just love this product.  While you can easily carry tea bags with you, honey is another matter.  Honibe Honey Drops are about the size of a large candy and are individually wrapped.  No more messy fingers!  You can take them [...]



The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook

By elaine • Jun 9th, 2009 • Category: Book Shelf, MAIN

 

This book was a long time coming.  The Big Sur Bakery sits unpretentiously just off Highway 1 in California, along some of the most gorgeous landscape in the country.  The bakery not only serves outstanding pastries and other homemade goodies but they also bake terrific pizzas in their wood fired oven and serve amazing dinner [...]



The Trans Fat Labeling Loophole

By elaine • Jun 2nd, 2009 • Category: In the News, MAIN

 

 
So you’re buying foods that are labeled “No Trans Fats” and you’re thinking that you are avoiding this unhealthy ingredient.   Oops.   There is a well known loophole in the labeling system that actually allows trans fats to be in foods that are labeled “0 trans fats”.  No kidding.



Menu Wine Cool Coat

By elaine • May 25th, 2009 • Category: Kitchen Finds, MAIN

 

From the award winning Scandinavian designers, Menu, these snazzy wine coats will keep your wines cool.  The removable inner coat, filled with cooling gel, is stored in your freezer.  The Cool Coats can be purchased at Emmo Home for $39.95.  Makes a great gift!



Himalayan Salt Plates, Exotic Chocolates and More. . .

By elaine • May 15th, 2009 • Category: MAIN, Pantry

 

At The Meadow, in Portland Oregon, Mark and Jennifer Bitterman sell a diverse range of hard to find items.  Don’t have a resource for a Himalayan Salt Plate on which to serve your sashimi?  Now you do!  You can order salt blocks, plates, and bricks for all kinds of culinary uses.  They have a great [...]



2009 James Beard Award Winners

By elaine • May 11th, 2009 • Category: In the News, MAIN

 

The 2009 James Beard Foundation Award Winners were announced on May 4th in New York City.  The winners this year include Lidia Bastianich, Ruth Reichl, Grant Achatz, and Mark Bittman.  My favorite award, however, was for Cookbook of the Year:  Fat:  An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient by Jennifer McLagan.



Images from Alinea Dinner

By elaine • May 4th, 2009 • Category: In the News, MAIN

 

If you haven’t seen this beautiful slideshow of the famous 20 course dinner from Alinea, you won’t want to miss it.  It was photographed by Lara Kastner last December.  This was the dinner that Grant Achtaz and Thomas Keller cooked together and was $1,500 a seat.  If you’ve ever wanted a behind the scenes peek [...]



Everyone’s Drinking Prosecco

By elaine • Apr 28th, 2009 • Category: In the News, MAIN

Have you still not discovered Prosecco, Italy’s sparkling wine? Our favorite wine writers, Dottie and John, over at the Wall Street Journal, taste a variety of this wine and name a few winners.  At around $10 or $12 a bottle, Prosecco can be enjoyed often and is a great deal.