Last week I finally had the chance to visit Oliver Kita Chocolates in Rhinebeck, NY. I think he just might make the most beautiful chocolates I’ve ever seen. It’s a toss up between his work and the chocolatier from Chocolate Springs in Lenox, MA. Oliver is fantastic to talk to and clearly loves his work. I didn’t even know the shop was there until this summer (though he’s been open for a year). They’re almost too gorgeous to eat, but they really are irresistable.
Category Archives: Food & Wine
Ho Ho Ho
Truthfully I’m not really into the whole Christmas thing just yet, but I’m a little bored, and I’m sure I’d end up doing this eventually, so…
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags! They’re much less trouble, they’re faster to open, and they’re reusable. I think that between me, my family, and Drew’s family, we still have some of the same bags going back and forth that were new maybe six or seven years ago. I feel tremendous guilt on Christmas morning when there’s that big bag of wrapping paper to throw away. I hate it. We use gift bags whenever possible and only use wrapping paper for the really big stuff.
2. Real tree or artificial? Fake. Again, it’s a lot easier. You put it up when you want, you take it down when you want, no watering, and no needles to clean up. Plus, a decent one will last a pretty long time.
3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving weekend.
4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever we get around to it? Most of the time I am ready for it all to come down on December 26th, but usually we leave it up until New Year’s and take it down then or the weekend after. I am always so happy to reclaim the open space in my house.
5. Do you like eggnog? Does a bear shit in the woods? You bet I like eggnog! Throw some Maker’s Mark in there and you have one tasty way to get through the holidays.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Impossible to pick just one. The big three that stand out are my Barbie Townhouse, my ice skates with the green pom-poms, and the drafting table my dad made for me.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? We have quite possibly the most fun Nativity scene ever: made by Playmobil.
8. Hardest person to buy for? I can usually find something for anyone, mostly because I am a big fan of restaurant gift certificates. Who doesn’t like to eat?
9. Easiest person to buy for? The boys. Though if I had unlimited funds, my brother would be easy to buy for too. I know he’d love a new TV and one of those plasma tv stands. Drew is usually easy too. He’s always happy with movies or some kind of electronic gadget. Or magic tricks (seriously — you didn’t know that my husband is a musician AND a magician did you?)
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can’t really think of anything, so I must have blocked it out.
11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Nat’l Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? We shop sales during the year for the boys. Everyone else? I start thinking about them in October, and then get really serious the day after Thanksgiving.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pierogis, kielbasa, cabbage soup — growing up we did the whole big Polish dinner which was just so delicious. Of course, with my husband’s family not being Polish in the least we don’t do Wiglia, but if I’m lucky my parents still bring down some pierogis (the cabbages ones are my favorite!). I also love the spinach-gruyere strata that has become a fixture at my Christmas brunch. Lisanne gave me the recipe (she got it from a class she took at the CIA), and it is a huge hit with everyone.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear
7. Favorite Christmas song? “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (though it makes me cry every single time), “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Snoopy vs. The Red Baron,” “Come All Ye Faithful,” and plenty more
18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? We stay home!!! When Jake was two we decided that we didn’t want to tear our kids away from playing with all their new toys, but anyone and everyone is welcome to come to our house. We always have plenty of food, and I assure you there is never a dull moment. We’ll travel for Thanksgiving, but Christmas is ours.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. See?
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? A little from column A, a little from column B.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? How people suddenly forget a) how to drive and b) how to act.
23. What I love most about Christmas? I love the quiet on Christmas Eve after everyone has gone to bed, and I love the utter chaos of laughter and chatter and clinking glasses and paper and everything else the comes along with Christmas Day. And then I love collapsing with a glass of wine when everyone’s gone home and everything’s still a mess and looking at the tree and thinking about how lucky I am to have such an insane and wonderful group of family and friends.
Microwave Bacon Cooker Review
You all know that I have a weakness for kitchen gadgets, so when I was sent a microwave bacon cooker to use and review, I couldn’t wait to try it out! I often cook bacon in the microwave, just out of convenience, but one drawback is all the grease that soaks into the paper towels. Let’s face it — it’s really gross. The CrispyClean® Bacon Broiler solves this problem. It does an excellent job of cooking the bacon in the microwave 1) without burning it (a problem I often encounter when nuking bacon the regular way) and 2) by allowing all the grease to drip down to the bottom of the cooker so it’s not in the bacon.
The device was really easy to use. It came with instructions that were simple to follow. You can see all the basic steps in the image here. (By the way, if you want to view the images in details, just click on the mosaic and it will take you to my Flickr stream where you can view the individual photos.) I placed the bacon over the vanes, attatched the lid, lowered it into the cooker, secured the lid, and microwaved the unit for four minutes. The result? Absolutely perfect bacon, ready for my BLT! I think that because the bacon is almost “steamed” it keeps it from burning easily. Yet the result was still crispy! My husband and I were both amazed at how much grease was at the bottom of the container — of course, that was good and meant it wasn’t in the bacon. No other method of cooking that we’ve tried has rendered so much fat out of the bacon. It was pretty impressive.
I really liked this gadget, but I did have one concern. The plastic seemed to be a little “thin” for lack of a better word. I think the product could possibly benefit from a higher grade of plastic. I’m sure that would make it a bit more expensive, but I would be willing to pay for that if it meant higher quality. I’m not saying this was low-quality! Not at all. It’s just that with all that we hear about microwaving food in plastic containers, I’d rather use one that is a bit sturdier.
However, I think that the benefits outweigh this slight negative and this is a brand-new invention, so it might not even be a concern in the future. To my knowledge, it’s the only completely self-contained bacon cooker out there. There’s no grease splattered around the inside of your microwave, the bacon was incredibly tasty, and it was probably better for you than traditional cooking methods. The CrispyClean® Bacon Broiler retails for 14.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. Or you can purchase a twin pack for $24.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. Visit baconcleanlycooked.com for more info.
Sugar & Spice: a food blog
Ta-da! (Sorry Jess! I was feeling much the same way you do — just keep all the content in once place, but for various reasons I’ve decided it’s worth my while to keep up with a dedicated food blog). Anyway. Carry on.
Flea Market Finds
Yesterday morning on the way to breakfast I commented to Drew that I wish we’d see some tag sale signs. I really felt like spending the day looking for treasures, so to speak. And that’s just about when we passed the billboard that advertises what’s going on at the fairgrounds. As luck would have it, this was the the giant indoor fleamarket weekend! Perfecto! So, after some French toast and a quick run to Target we headed back to the fairgrounds (accident-free this week, thank goodness!). I could have spent hours upon hours going through books and glass and dishes. The boys were slightly less patient, so we did the best we could do.
Drew scored on comics and came home with a stack. He should be good on bedtime reading for a while now. I hedged over some vintage Pyrex because I wasn’t sure if it was a good price for a particular divided dish, and now I’m wishing I just bought the damn thing. I did hold back on milk glass and didn’t buy any. There wasn’t anything really calling out to me, anyway. I did, however, score some vintage tablecloths:
I have a couple of these at home and I love them! I actually use them because, well… why not? That’s what they were meant for. (I am very big on using the things I love, including my good china.) These tablecloths were priced between $3 and $5, but the vendor sold them to me for $1 each. There was one more on her table, but it was a Mexican motif and I prefer the florals. They’re stained, but I’m going to give it my best shot to clean them up.
I also found two vintage books that I just could not leave there, The American Woman’s Cookbook (1940) and A Guide to Good Wine (1973):
The American Woman’s Cookbook has some great stuff in it — lots of molded salads, a chapter on packing lunches, menu suggestions, fabulous dessert recipes, and even a chapter on “Cooking for Invalids.” Ah, those pre-PC days. But it stresses the importance of using whole grains, “succulent” vegetables, and sparingly using fats and sweets. I love those period cookbooks. I don’t know how anyone could pass it up! Next week I’m going to try a few recipes from it. I can’t wait.
Chasing Away The Chill
Well, it looks like my wish for some honest to goodness fall weather was granted! Yesterday was cold and rainy, and today is still chilly, though the sun has come out (at least for now). The 10-day outlook shows high mostly in the upper 50s, so I really can’t ask for anything more! Maybe I can finally put away my t-shirts… what do you think? At any rate, since today is also Slow Cooking Thursday, hosted by Sandra of Diary of a SAHM as always, I wanted to submit a recipe that would be a real chill-chaser. While looking through my recipe binder, I found this one for Taco Soup. I have no idea where I originally got it from. (Something tells me it might have been on the Paula Deen show, but I’m not sure). At any rate, it’s easy, it’s yummy and makes a ton so it’s great for tailgating or when you have everyone over on Sunday to watch the game — a fun alternative to chili. I hope you enjoy!
Taco Soup
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnishBrown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.
It’s Not Like I’m Not Busy Enough
But let’s just say that I started a focussed, dedicated food blog. No knitting, no pet peeves, no family rambling, just food, wine, restaurants, recipes, that kind of thing. Would you read it? Or should I just keep that content here?
Mmm. Drinks.
Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a little early to be thinking of Christmas, but at work we have catalogs from the distributors showing of all the holiday gift sets and there are so many cool ones this year. I just saw one for Van Gogh Espresso Vodka that comes with four espresso cups. I could be inspired to take out my espresso machine again! Then there are all the typcial martini/margarita glasses, shakers, flasks, etc. Some are pretty nice but really, year to year they’re basically the same thing. One of the brands of Absente has a set with a glass and sugar spoon, which is a cute idea. And then of course they still have the bottle of Jagermeister with the pewter deerhead shooter. I swear this is one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen. Plus, the antlers break off really easy. Trust me on that one. Oooh, and then there is a sake sampler. I always thought that I didn’t like sake because when I was in college I tried it at a Japanese restaurant and hated it. Chances are it was something like Gekkaikan, which is made in the U.S., not in Japan. I’ve recently tasted several different sakes at tastings and I’ve really fallen in love with it. (Which is why you should always give things a second or even third chance, LOL!) Anyway, so many cool little things that will be out for the holidays!
What’s Cooking, Baby
Remember my whole Crock Pot dilemma a while back? Well, I’m still giving it a go (I’m nothing if not determined). The butternut squash soup I made last week was pretty good, but if I try it again, I think I’m going to roast the squash beforehand to give the soup a little more depth. In the meantime, I’ve continued my search for Crock Pot Recipes and found a section on the MomsWhoThink Web site. There are actually quite a few that I think I’m going to try. Maybe this weekend I’ll make the recipe for Breakfast Cobbler (there doesn’t seem to be a way to link to the recipes directly, but it’s the first one on the breakfast recipes page). I never really think of using my Crock Pot for breakfast but that might be a fun and easy treat for Sunday morning. Anyway, I just wanted to pass on the site! Let me know if you make anything that comes out really yummy.
What We Eat
If you haven’t already seen it, you should check out these photos, which are a representation of what families around the world are eating. I don’t really think I’m a food snob (though some people might disagree), but isn’t the lack of fruit & vegetables on the tables of the families from California and North Carolina just slightly disturbing? And then there’s the abundance of soda. Plus there are the pizzas, fast foods, processed foods… When it’s all out on a single surface it’s really eye opening, isn’t it?