• Do You Know What A Jibarito Is… It’s a Sandwich In between Fried Plantains…. Yummy!

• Can Chocolate Save Your Life, It Just Might Be Able To.

• What Is The Difference Between a Skillet and Sauté Pan?

• Freezer Burn, yucky stuff… Learn How To Stop It!

• How Long Will Food Last In Your Refrigerator?

Each week we round up our most yummy posts and recipes from our friends at the Kitchn.

This week, the kitchn shows us the wide ranges of ice creams that mix-in yummy chocolate bits.

Also in the kitchn, how to eat spicy foods, a dessert version of balsamic vinegar, differences in peppercorns, and a new version of chocolate mousse.

• Can’t Take The Heat? How To Eat Spicy Foods:  Though I may not have this problem I know that some of my readers do, hope this helps!

• Ingredient Spotlight: Saba: This is found in the  balsamic vinegar family, it’s sweet and syrupy perfect to drizzle over fruits and cheeses.

• What’s The Deal With Green, Black, White, and Pink Peppercorns?:  Do you know all of the differences between all of these peppercorns?

• Recipe: Chocolate Mousse with Olive Oil and Sea Salt:  This is a perfect recipe for chocolate mousse if expecting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Who doesn’t LOVE cupcakes, especially big full of icing dripping down cupcakes.  

What about if you saw this humongous gigantic cupcake… wouldn’t you just want to dive right in.  I know I would.

Well just imagine it possible to have a 1,224 pound triple vanilla cupcake with pink frosting standing in front of you. YUMMY!

This sugary treat was unveiled Saturday at the Woodward Dream Cruise classic cars event in Royal Oak, Michigan.

This cupcake has surpassed the previous Guinness World Record holder by eight times in girth.  It stood 4 feet tall and spanned 11 feet around, and was created by Ryan Abood, owner of Manchester, New Hampshire based GourmetGiftBaskets.com. It required 800 eggs, 200 pounds each of sugar and flour, five days of preparation, and 12 hours of baking time.

Wowzer!!!!! 🙂

Slices of the cupcake were served in exchange for donations to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer organization.
Read the rest of this entry »

Follow these easy tips to keep your frozen foods fresh.

Ever wonder what those grayish, frosty spots that you find on the surface of foods,they are known as freezer burn.

Freezer burn occurs when food is improperly wrapped and exposed to too much oxygen.  This technically is a process of chemical sublimation and is done intentionally when making freeze-dried foods.  

Lucky for us freezer burn will not rot meat or produce, but has a tendency to cause items to toughen and taste spoiled.  Which if you ask me is not tasty at all… Yuck!  
Read the rest of this entry »

Auntie Anne‘s is celebrating today, August 20th, National Lemonade Day with a social media game that rewards participants with a free Lemonade Mixer.  Auntie Anne’s wants customers to learn about the different lemonade mixer flavors and to see which one fits with eachs personalities and share it on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

The first 20 Auntie Anne’s fans and followers each hour between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern time who respond to the post, “What’s your Lemonade Mixer personality?“ will receive a coupon for a free Lemonade Mixer, a line of five fruity lemonade flavors introduced on June 1.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to scientists recently, Popcorn is said to be the latest and most unlikely food to provide health-boosting properties. The traditional buttery air popped snack contains a surprisingly large amount of healthy antioxidant plant chemicals called polyphenols, scientists have claimed. 

Polyphenols, which are also found in fruits, vegetables, chocolate, wine, coffee and tea, are known to protect the heart and reduce the risk of cancer.  

US chemist Dr Joe Vinson, who made the discovery, said: “We really were surprised by the levels of polyphenols we found in popcorn. I guess its because it’s not processed. You get all the wonderful ingredients of the corn undiluted and protected by the skin. In my opinion it’s a good health food.” 

What do you think about that…. should we all go out and start ordering our favorite movie snack from now on?

Image: jmacphoto.com/Flickr
Read the rest of this entry »

Need to know how to decipher whether or not you should keep that lasagna you made a week ago?  Follow these guidelines to know what is fresh and what need to be thrown out.

These ranges of dates are based on a refrigerator with a setting of  40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Shelf life also depends on the freshness of foods at the time you bought it home from the grocery store.

Read the rest of this entry »

We all know who the famous Eva Langoria is, from her role on the infamous Desperate Housewives television show to her successful Mexican restaurant, BESO which she opened in Hollywoodwith chef Todd English in 2007.

Eva has finally announced the opening of her second BESO establishment that will open New Year’s Eve 2010, in Sin City.

Although the venue is still under cnostruction, it will feature signature dishes including flatbread, tortilla soup and guacamole, similar in design and menu to its first restaurant.

The differences will be different specials and drinks, Vegas style.  Also upstairs in the restaurant there will be a lounge called Eve.

Eva also stated that she does not plan on stopping with expansion, she’ll be opening Besitos, little besos, in airports, which will feature a limited menu.The first will debut at an undisclosed Los Angeles airport.

Have you eaten at BESO?  What do you think of the name and expansion?

Source: People
Read the rest of this entry »

Flower petals are finding their way into our favorite high-end cocktails. — New York Times

How to choose, cook and serve okra these days. — San Francisco Chronicle

To taste some of the world’s most delicious fruit Asia is the place to be. — Wall Street Journal

Piri Piri chilies can really make a out of this world hot sauce. — Chicago Tribune

Which pie crust dough is right for you? — Boston Globe

Virtual cooking is making hitting “big” on Facebook. — Los Angeles Times 
Read the rest of this entry »

This is the one pan that has the ultimate potential to last a lifetime, which is more that I can say about most.

As long as you season and clean it right!

Seasoning a cast-iron skillet is a technique in itself.  Due to cast-iron skillets not coming home with a nonstick surface, one must season or coat the skillet with cooking oil and baking it in a 350 degrees oven for an hour.  Every time oil is heated up in the skillet it, this will reinforce the nonstick coating.

Cleaning a cast-iron skillet is a little trickier.  Pre-soaking this skillet will not help in the cleaning process.  Once you are done using a cast-iron skillet, make sure to rinse the pan with hot water immediately after cooking.  If you need to remove burned-on food, scrub with a mild abrasive, like coarse salt, and a nonmetal brush to preserve the nonstick surface.  Adding a few drops of mild dishwashing soap every once in a while is ok as well.  If the pan gets a sticky coating or develops rust over time, scrub it with steel wool and reseason it.  To prevent rust, dry the skillet thoroughly and lightly coat the cooking surface with cooking oil. Cover with a paper towel to protect it from dust.

Source
Read the rest of this entry »