10 ingredients to fancy up your meals Sure, you can follow a recipe and whip up something elaborate when you want to show off. But you don’t do that every day. We don't do that every day. Nobody does that every day. We all look at what in the stores on the way home, or check out the sagging vegetables in the crisper and improvise. That's what professional chefs do, too – when they don't order take-out. Here are 10 things that you can keep around the house to make those dinners you whip up on the fly seem more like restaurant dishes.Sherry vinegar Sometime in the '80s, Americans discovered balsamic vinegar, the sweet and syrupy condiment that Italians had been enjoying for centuries. Pimentón Another Spanish import, pimentón is paprika – but not that tasteless, dusty stuff your mother sprinkled all over the chicken. Smoked sea salt Food geeks are in love with fancy salts: pink sea salt from Hawaiian beaches, hand-gathered grey salt from Brittany. Pancetta Shallots Miso Fish sauce Dried porcini mushrooms Dry vermouth
Turn your beer bottles into glass cups! (5 easy steps) Glassware can get pretty expensive especially if you’re in college and always getting sh*t faced and breaking your glasses. Start just using your empty beer bottles and turning them into your new glasses. Look dope, easy to make and cheap! Follow these 5 easy steps. The Essential Grocery List for 'Clean' Eating Man, I love shopping. Shopping for clothes, for my home, for the kids, for FOOD! Basically, I just really love spending money. Which is probably why I cry in my checkbook every week, but that’s a story for another post. But when it comes to shopping for fresh food—whether you are revamping, refreshing or restocking—it can get overwhelming in a hurry. Well, it is about to get a lot simpler because the key to a fresh pantry and fridge is “less is more.” As a busy, working mom I understand the difficulty in always having fresh on hand. What exactly is a clean diet? By the way, if something sounds unfamiliar to you, do a little research. 1. 2. 3. 4. brown rice quinoa (also a protein source)millet soba noodles (also a protein source)tahini tempehblack beans cannelini beanspinto beans lentilschickpeas raw almondsraw cashews sunflower seedswalnuts almond butter lemons avocadoapples bananasvaried other fruits (berries, melon, mango, grapes) coconut water kombucha (with chia seeds!) Happy Shopping!
How to Make Peanut Butter S'Mores Turnovers Peanut Butter- S’Mores Turnovers I’m not much of a camper. My husband often takes my son on camping trips, and I happily stay behind and thank the gods for our bug-free house, cozy bed and well-stocked kitchen. I always send them off in comfort… marinate a little meat for them to throw on the grill, pack up some convenience foods and bake a few goodies too. When they return from their camping weekends, I hear mostly about the evenings sitting around the campfire. Story telling, snuggling in blankets, singing songs and roasting marshmallows for S’Mores seem to be recurring favorites. Here’s the How To: Thaw out a box of Puff Pastry, and cut along the fold lines to make 6 large rectangles. Layer 1/4 of a whole graham cracker, a piece of milk chocolate bar and a spoonful of peanut butter on one side of the Puff Pastry. Wet the edges with water (dip your finger in water and gently touch along the edge), fold over the filling ingredients and press edges together.
Infographic: A Cheat Sheet For Grilling Out It’s surprisingly easy to cook a single piece of meat perfectly every time. If you can’t eyeball it, you can simply use a thermometer. But what can get quite a bit more difficult is juggling a few different proteins--bone-in chicken breasts, brats, and burgers--on a jam-packed grill for a bunch of friends. Click to enlarge. Luckily, this infographic by Column Five Media makes grilling as easy as looking at infographics. Rather than focusing on temperatures, it lists your favorite grillables by heat and cook times. But where it gets interesting is in the graphic’s simplicity of quick comparison. Now I know, you’re a big-time grill master. [Image: Joel Gustaffson/Shutterstock]
NVDRS Tape by Stefano Pertegato. Massimiliano Rampoldi, Eloisa Tolu, Francesco Schiraldi & Giovanni Mendini Finger Power Works The Tape No matter how much we progress as far as technology is concerned, we always look back towards retro stalwarts for inspiration in the designing field. NVDRS Tape foxes around in the Cassette Tape construction but is actually a digital player. Deceptive looks aside, the player continues to follow the 45/60/90 minutes norm, holding 10/15/20 select songs in digital format; uploaded via USB. Designers: Stefano Pertegato, Massimiliano Rampoldi, Eloisa Tolu, Francesco Schiraldi & Giovanni Mendini There are a couple of things regarding this player that really stands out. Charging it depends how good are you at …you guessed it…rotating the spools! Between the two wheels is nestled a small display that only shows you the time elapsed for the song, nothing else! Retro, green and spunky makes this my wishlist priority.
15 Basic Stir Fry Sauce Recipes I love a good stir fry and they are a great way to use up odds and ends of meat, vegetable and noodles. And let’s face it, they are a quick and easy dinner solution. Simply cook up some rice or throw in some noodles and it’s a family-pleasing meal. I rarely start with a recipe – just a pile of odds and ends. Here I’ve collected 15 great stir-fry sauce recipes that can be printed to keep handy in the kitchen (or bookmarked, if you prefer). Instructions for all of these recipes … just combine the ingredients in a small bowl, stir well to combine, then add to your stir fry. Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce – Great with seafood stir fries, such as shrimp and/or scallops, as well as chicken. 1/2 cup lemon juice 2 tsp. lemon zest 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 1/4 cup sugar Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce II – nice with chicken and seafood. 2/3 cup chicken broth 1 Tbsp. cornstarch 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 Tbsp. soy sauce 2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice (to taste) Optional: red pepper flakes 3/4 orange juice 1 Tbsp. Tips:
How to Make Red Velvet Cheesecake If you’re undecided about what sort of delicious dessert to make for Christmas this year, look no further. I found one for you… Red Velvet Cheesecake. I don’t gush about recipes all that often, and I’m a horrible critic of my own creations. I usually have to ask others what they think in order to get decent feedback to share. With this recipe, however, I sampled a piece. I wish I had committed every single decadent bite to my taste memory. Using a recipe from Southern Living, I made a few changes. Into a springform pan, I pressed an Oreo cookie crust. The batter is a classic cheesecake batter with a small amount of added cocoa, buttermilk and vinegar (which are typical in a red velvet cake). Of course you must add red food coloring to get that wonderful red hue. The key to baking a perfect cheesecake with no cracks is to bake it in a water bath. See how perfect? Mint leaves were the perfect garnish… green with the red and the white… so holiday! I ate every single bite myself.
Buffalo Wild Wings Recipes I’m more of a classic buffalo sauce(Frank’s, butter, and vinegar) man myself, but I had these recipes for my favorite wings at Buffalo Wings Wings, so I thought I would share. Some of these may seem a little labor intensive, but they definitely taste a lot better with fresh ingredients. Enjoy. updated: November 21st, 2009 Parmesan Garlic 1/2 cup butter, melted1 teaspoon garlic powder1/2 teaspoon onion salt1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated Spicy Garlic 1 Cup Frank’s cayenne pepper sauce1/3 Cup vegetable oil1 Teaspoon granulated sugar1 Teaspoon garlic powder½ teaspoon course ground black pepper½ teaspoon cayenne pepper½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce Medium Wing Sauce 1 cup Frank’s cayenne pepper sauce1/3 cup vegetable oil1 teaspoon granulated sugar1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper1/2 teaspoon garlic powder1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce1/8 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper Hot Wing Sauce Blazin’ Mango Habanero Asian Zing Carribean Jerk Cooking Instructions:
Animated Short Movies » Life-Changing Arts Movie shorts, or short animations are a unique form of art, which can inspire and enlighten just like any other art form. Sometimes even more so. Here is a selection of inspiring, or for some reason animated short movies, here shown in their original full length. Thanks to all the visitors who have contributed with their detailed suggestions! That is why there are now two pages of great animated shorts! If you think there is a short animated movie that should be added, let us know which, and why. The below movies are not sorted in any particular order. French Toast Written and directed by Fabrice O. The Lady and the Reaper Written and directed by Javier Recio Gracia Get Out By Charlotte Boisson, Julien Fourvel, Pascal Han-Kwan, Tristan Reinarz and Fanny Roche Granny O'Grimm Directed by Nicky Phelan, produced by Brown Bag Films Oktapodi By Julien Bocabeille, Francois-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier and Emud Mokhberi Big Buck Bunny Life Line Created by Tomek Ducki
100 Greatest Cooking Tips (of all time!) 1. Remember, y'all, it’s all about the prep. Take away the stress by doing the prep the night or day before. You'll look like a star.Paula Deen Paula’s Best Dishes 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Traveling in Italy and Beyond: Spiral Vegetable Ricotta Pie The first time I saw a vegetable spiral pie, I got stuck to my computer screen for a full minute before I took my eyes off it. It was so beautiful! The next thing that came to my mind was: It should have been difficult to do seeing all those swirls of thinly-sliced vegetables all lined up like soldiers standing in attention. Then the next thought: It should take a lot of patience to do that. I don't have a problem with that because eversince I was a kid, I can be lost in my own world creating little artsy projects that sometimes I would forget about food & sleep. Until I was watching one of my favorite Italian chefs demonstrating some pie recipes. I based almost the same method the chef did but after I pulled out the pie from the oven, I would suggest some changes to make it better after my husband and I tried it. About the cooking time. About the nutmeg. Oiling the vegetables. When you make your own pie, you will definitely find your own way like I did.