B2
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Anyone who’s ever dined at a restaurant with my family and I has experienced the fine art that is “ingredient and recipe figuring outing”. My mom and I are particularly intense at this, and have been able to successfully identify some of the most obscure ingredients in some of the most delicious foods. Think the Top Chef ingredient taste challenge times ten. We’ll sit there, dipping the tines of our forks into droplets of marinade, bits of sauces, and crumbs of dry rub. We’ll allow flavors to linger, and then analyze.
What's For Dinner? — I cook it, I eat it, you read about it!
Chocolate Report | Chocoholics welcome!
This is a premium bar of chocolate, make no mistake! Theo Chocolate is a Seattle-based chocolate maker, specializing in small-batch organic and Fair Trade specialty chocolates. Theo Chocolate is peerless as a company, the first American chocolate company to operate fully organic and Fair Trade, supporting local artists and artisans, and with a real passion for their product which shines through every aspect of the production, from sourcing to packaging. Case in point: this bar, which is part of their "Fantasy Flavors" line, features a gorgeous and adorable illustrated wrapper designed by www.kittenchops.com . Says so right there on the label!
Just two weeks after Willow, we have now lost Toby too, also aged 13. There he is in the ‘hot place’, so named due to it’s sheltered nature making it a lovely place to sunbathe at all times of year. Happily we’ve all been out there quite a bit recently enjoying the sun together.
Among the trees… | blog of the Vegan Family House
I ride my bike like a stone-cold maniac. I tear through the streets, whip around corners, weave through cars, and am otherwise reckless. If I look cocky on my bike… that’s because I’m usually listening to Jay-Z rap me things about being super rich and super awesome… and it translates into my pedal. There comes a time in every bike ride when I have a decision to make. I’m probably tired.
Joy the Baker —
I was in Chicago last weekend for the Home and Housewares Show . It was incredible and so fun to come back to the city. I’ve only been one other time and it was very cooold. But thankfully this weekend was filled with unusually warmer weather.
bakerella.com
What does every beer drinker dream of? A cupcake that’s titled after their bellies – check out this recipe from the Food Network courtesy of Jennifer Burke for beer bellies chocolate cupcakes . In a saucepan bring stout to a boil and continue boiling for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut butter to melt. Add lemon juice and allow to cool slightly, until mixture is lukewarm.
Beer Report
Purchased wonton wrappers make these Pork and Sweet Potato Pierogi (left) and Apple and Goat Cheese Pierogi quicker to assemble and deliciously light and crispy. Recipes below. Marion grew up eating pierogi. I had never heard of them until we met. So this week, I’m turning the kitchen over to her, so she can share her modern take on these delicious dumplings. W hat culture does not approve of a stuffed dumpling?
Blue Kitchen — Good food. Great stories. I swear.
Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases
Looking for some easy holiday cocktail and martini recipes? Mix Partida Tequila (Blanco, Resposado, and Anejo) and Godiva Liqueur together for a Chocolate Peppermint Cookie cocktail, coconut rum and Frangelico for a Toasted Macaroon cocktail, Bailey's Irish Cream and Amaretto for a Seven Layer Cookie mixed drink, and hot apple cider for a Heated Affair! When Partida approached me with the possibility of sampling a variety of their ultra smooth top-of-the-line tequila in some very unique holiday cocktail recipes, it didn't take long to respond with a resounding YES!
Saturday, I attended a day-long Celebrating Food event organized by Le Dames d'Escoffier . Not only did I get to hear Sara Moulton, I also took a class on making pasta from Domenica Marchetti and learned how to make avocado soup from Patricia Jinich . Add multiple food samplings, a panel on food writing and Philippine cuisine, and it was one delicious day. {I might do a quick write-up about this later.} The day ended with chips & salsa and pistachio ice cream with my friend Cecilia . Sunday, I got together with Eat Write Retreat crew to discuss new and exciting workshops, dining experiences, and speakers that will be part of our food blogging conference in May.
Mango & Tomato
I've been thinking a lot about the flavors apricot and ginger and how well they go together. My next door tasting room neighbors, Republic of Jam , makes this amazing Apricot-Ginger Jam . It's vibrant, spicy and zingy, just a really interesting flavor.
Noble Pig
Janet Is Hungry
A few weeks ago I posted the recipe for my Sourdough Pizza Crust . This was more of an experiment than anything else. An experiment that went very well for a change. I've been working on a little project to develop a sourdough starter for about a month now, and I've baked with it a few times. Enough to know that I have a good starter going. In addition to the sourdough pizza crust, I've made sourdough cornbread, sourdough pancakes, sourdough crumpets, sourdough blueberry muffins, and a sourdough paperweight.I made my very first Matzo Ball Soup yesterday. In the crockpot. I called my friend Jennifer and she talked me through how to make the broth and Matzo dough--she's not gluten free, but after a lot of googling and texting to confirm my hard-core journalistic researching I figured out what I should do. Use a 6-quart slow cooker.
A Year of Slow Cooking
Zefina, like Alder Ridge, Six Prong, and Sawtooth, was once owned by Corus Estates and Vineyards, a small company making wines in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Corus has close ties to the early history of Washington winemaking , when Associated Vinters was started by a group of Washington university professors interested in growing traditional European grapes. Associated Vintners became Columbia Winery in the 1980s, and in the 1990s, began acquiring other wineries, including Idaho's Ste. Chapelle, Pintler (renamed Sawtooth) and Covey Run (Columbia Winery, Covey Run and Ste. Chapelle were later sold to Constellation). Associated Vintners created a company called Corus to oversee these wineries, and, as Corus, created a large new vineyard in the eastern Columbia Gorge called Alder Ridge.