This recipe is too great to ignore, and looks like an easy and tasty re-introduction to the world of Pop Tarts. That being said, I'm not talking about your box kind. I'm talking fresh, easy-to-make pastries with jelly inside.
Pim has thrown up a recipe for her style of Pop Tarts. They not only look tasty, but have a ridiculously simple list of steps that I just might have to break out the rolling pin later. Her recipe is just pie crust, jam, and a little bit of finagling. She outlines each step with a picture guide, but really, there's not much to it at all. In a world where food prices keep rising, there's nothing like a quick, cheap, and tasty way to make kid-friendly treats right in your own home.
I first experienced the combination of hazelnut purée and dark honey at Slow Foods' cheese festival in Italy. The Piedmont region of Italy is known for its hazelnuts. You can find the most succulent rich hazelnut cakes and cookies. My favorite hazelnut concoction was hazelnut purée and dark honey. My first taste on toast brought about a dionysian state of gastronomical enchantment. The sweet nutty flavors and intensely smooth creamy buttery texture were all so overwhelmingly perfect!
When I returned from my trip, I looked all over NY for another hazelnut and honey mixture. And, I was surprised by the many shops that carried this delicious treat. Recently, Time Out New York had an article about one in particular from southern France called Avelline. This was probably my favorite one that I tried.
How does one enjoy hazelnut purée and dark honey? Besides eating it plain on toast, you can use it as a condiment with cheese. I suggest you pair it with Montgomery's farmhouse cheddar or Stilton Colston Bassett. You can even pair it with a variety of nutty pecorinos.
It's been 38 years since Boy first asked Mr. Owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. And for the past 38 years, Mr. Owl has unflinchingly maintained that it only takes "...a-one ...a-two-hoo! ...a-three." But as we all know, Mr. Owl is a filthy cheater who bites on three.
Tootsie Pops' new "How Many Licks" sweepstakes asks you to submit your own confection calculations. Just visit AskMrOwl.biz and fill out a short entry form with your lick estimate. One grand prize winner will receive $50,000 (and a bonus $5,000 if they guess within 3% of the average licks calculated from all entries combined). Sweeter odds lie in monthly drawings which award five entrants with 27 pounds of assorted Tootsie Roll goodies.
Keep in mind, owls usually only live until 40, so this may be your last chance to prove Mr. Owl wrong before he bites it for the last time. Have any of you (other than Sisqo) conducted the "How Many Licks" experiment?
I've always had a weird obsession with all things gummy. I was thrilled when my friend returning from Berlin brought me gummibonbons courtesy of Bear's and Friends Fruchtgummi, and told me, 'you must go to Berlin, it's the gummy capital of the world!" Before I knew it, I had entered the magical realm of digital gummy love, complete with sing-a-longs and frolicking gelatin.
Bears and Friends is apparently a revered mecca of gummy-ness in Germany. The website welcomed patrons with dancing bears and a synthesized gospel choir rejoicing gummy... and miraculously the experience got even better. After some translation difficulties, I stumbled across the diversified melange of products, and squealed. My findings:
- Playboys and Playgirls for only 5.90 euros per kilogram. - White Mice, only available in Vanilla and Citrus, obviously - Some variously sized gummies that appear to have the words 'Wine' and 'Bum' printed on them (?) - Some cowboy looking nuns holding produce (???)
Okay, I'm taking a big risk here. In addition to showing off my unattractive, massively egotistical side, I'm also going to put myself in danger of a little self-incrimination. Here goes:
When I'm sober and clear-headed, I'm a pretty decent cook, but when I'm seriously impaired, I am a culinary god. In all honesty, imagine Drunken Master with a baking sheet. I'm that good.
I've allowed my skills to deteriorate since I left grad school, but, once upon a time, my addled forays into the kitchen were widely regarded as moments of pure magic. Admittedly, impaired kitchen godhood wasn't a quick process: after mastering the beer-and-cabbage ramen dish that my friend Julie was famous for, I played with various crudite, cheese, and dip combinations before moving on to seriously impaired baking.
While I won't endorse BWI (baking while intoxicated) on the grounds that it is incredibly stupid, I have to admit that the biscotti that I produced at 3:00 in the morning with a houseful of goofy friends were truly amazing. Perfectly crisped, with just the slightest touch of anise, they were a great late-night snack, and the perfect accompaniment to the coffee that I would inevitably be guzzling the next morning.
Admittedly, my forays into the world of BWI were not without their dangers: piles of filthy bowls and measuring tools were common, as were flour-covered counters. More important, although I never burned a biscotti, there were a couple of times when it got pretty close. With that in mind, I was particularly impressed by Dizzy Dee's Five-Minute Chocolate Cake. A mix of six simple ingredients, the recipe uses a mug as both the mixing bowl and cooking vessel, which makes clean-up a lot easier. Also, the cake cooks in the microwave, so you don't have to worry about torching your dessert!
My obsession for those heavenly creamy, crispy, sweet French pastries, called macarons, began when I lived in Paris. I would go to the Ladurée, the pastry-shop and tearoom, almost every week to sit down like an old woman and drink tea and snack on a macaron. Ah, the wonderful gastronomic moments spent at Ladurée! It deserves its own blog post.
Recently, I discovered another incredible pastry-shop in Paris, Pierre Hermé, where you can try some interesting flavored macarons, such as caramel with fleur de sel and passion fruit with chocolate. The tiny store, located at No. 72 rue Bonaparte on the Left Bank, almost always has a quick moving line started out the door. As you enter this chic pastry boutique, your eyes are automatically drawn to the many gorgeous fruit cakes on your left. And then, as you get further into the store, all your senses are overwhelmed by the beauty -- the fresh aroma of baked sweets and the stunning displays of various cakes and macarons.
My experience at Pierre Hermé was like a glance into heaven. By the time it was my turn to order, I was speechless. I had spent the entire time in line absorbing the smells and the delicious goodies instead of figuring out which macarons I wanted to order. One of the shopkeepers gave me a menu of macarons. I studied it closely and finally bought a box of 16. Check out my favorite flavors and more after the jump.
Are high gas prices getting to you? Jack in the Box wants you to know that they sympathize. On Thursday, June 26 the restaurant chain will be giving out two free tacos when you show them a recent gas receipt.
That's it. Just show the cashier a recent receipt from any gas station and you can get yourself two free tacos. The deal runs all day and you don't have to buy anything else. However, the receipt must be original, no copies allowed. Also, only one order of tacos per gas receipt.
If you live near a Jack in the Box, keep your gas receipts and have a free snack on Thursday. I'd probably do that if I lived anywhere near a Jack in the Box, but I don't think there are any of them on the east coast.
Are you an avid tea drinker looking for a different way to enjoy your tea this summer? A lot of tea drinkers go iced in the warm summer months, some even adding lemonade to their iced tea, but there is an even colder way to enjoy your tea in the summer months if you enjoy green tea: smoothies!
Below you will find the recipe for my personal summer tea concoction, which will require matcha (powdered green tea). Matcha is high in caffeine content compared to regular steeped tea, so you may not want to indulge in one of these smoothies too late in the day.
INGREDIENTS 1 tsp matcha (powdered green tea) 4 oz. cup of fruit-flavored yogurt (Light 'n Fit works well, low in sugar) frozen strawberries (or other desired fruit) frozen peach slices (or other desired fruit) apple juice
During my visit in Dubai, I did what almost every tourist there does. I went to the lavish, semi-futuristic, Vegas inspired malls where you can not only go shopping, but also indoor skiing. While at the Wafi mall, an ancient Egyptian inspired building shaped like a pyramid, I made sure to stop into Wafi Gourmet, a Middle Eastern specialty food store. The selection of dates looked gorgeous.
Wafi Gourmet has a counter full of chocolate covered dates, dates stuffed with oranges, and dates stuffed with pistachios and dipped in chocolate. I started off with a tasting of their plan dates. Their juiciness, freshness, and intense sweetness satiated my palate. I couldn't imagine eating the ones covered in chocolate, but, I'm so glad I did!
Dates are one of the few fruits in Dubai that come from the United Arab of Emirates, and, at the moment, they're in season. At Wafi Gourmet, they sell a few different aged dates. Since I have a sweet tooth, the fresh ones were naturally my favorite. The ones that are aged are more savory. Currently, I'm on a quest to find the same succulent dates in NY. If you know where I can find them, please let me know.
It is a well-known fact that, whether they be made of corn, potato or other variety of vegetable matter, chips aren't a health food. However, they are delicious little buggers and so despite the danger that they present to the waistline, many of us keep on crunching away.
The Frito-Lay company, in an attempt to respond to some of the health concerns related to the high levels of salt in their chips, has recently released a line of chips that they're calling "A Pinch of Salt." They've reduced the level of sodium in several of their most popular chip lines between 30 and 50%.
I had the opportunity to taste chips from the two bags you see above and I must say that I was really impressed by the flavor of both products. While I've never been one to avoid salt due to health concerns, I don't like to eat overly salty foods because while a little salt can enhance flavor, too much of it can mask the natural flavor of the food you're eating. I found when the amount of salt was reduced I could really taste the corn and potato from which the chips were made. Whether you like less salty foods, or are trying to reduce the amount of sodium in your diet, this new line of chips could be a good choice.
There used to be a restaurant in Philadelphia called Treetops. It was several floors up in the Rittenhouse Hotel, looked out onto the park, was pretty fancy and was one of my grandmother's favorite places to eat. She was a pretty fancy woman, so she and the restaurant went well together.
Treetops made their own, deeply ruffled potato chips that they served with every sandwich. The first time I had one of these hand cut, freshly fried chips, the top of my head nearly flew off with the amount of flavor and crunch that the single chip delivered. While the chips pictured above don't have the same ridging as the chips from Treetops, they look like they have similar heft and flavor. I'd like nothing more than to be able to reach through the computer screen and grab a few to crunch on right now. For those of you who'd like to try making these at home, you can find the recipe here.
It's obvious after reading posts like Marisa's ode to Philly Water Ice that the treat is a well-deserved one after a long, hot day in the city.
But should we be using it - along with pizza and candy - to bribe Philly youth?
In West Philly's 19th District, police will begin an initiative called "positive ticketing," in which they will award prizes (see: candy and junk food) to kids they see doing "good deeds" like helping elderly citizens across the street, or cleaning up a neighborhood block. So far, local businesses like 7-Eleven, Applebee's, Lucky Pizza, and Rita's Water Ice have donated food or gift certificates to the program.
It's important to encourage kids to do good deeds. But there are several problems I see with this method.
I am all about pickles. One of my favorite eating sensations is when you chomp into a kosher dill and the sweet-salty brine makes your cheeks cave in. Yeah, that's good stuff.
Y'know what else I like? Kool-Aid. Because even hyperexaggerated interpretations of fruit deserve their own flavor palette. That, and I have no shame.
There was a point in my life when these two snack joys maintained independent existences. It was a simpler time. But then someone pointed me to Alton Brown's recipe for Koolickles and my world was upended. Apparently, these are standard fare in the Mississippi Delta, and the trend picked up steam when the New York Times ran a piece on them last year. So now I must ask: Who here has tried these? What are they like? Are they the solution to all of my Kool-Aid-pickle-pairing problems? Or are they hell in the form of an cylinder? I demand answers.
For me, the beginning of every season conjures up images from my childhood. The changing of the seasons makes me sensitive to the passing of time. And so, while opening the freezer door on a recent particularly hot June evening, I remembered the orange popsicles I'd make during the summer. I romanticized those blisteringly hot summer days as a 7-year-old boy with both of my sisters sitting outside by our inflatable "kiddy" pool. At that moment, I felt compelled to make the same super sweet, mildly acidic, and juicy ice pops.
I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase the identical plastic popsicle molds I used as a child. On the side of the plastic mold is a straw so that you can drink the orange juice that melts to the bottom. For some reason, I remember that being the most enjoyable part of the treat. As a child, creating these orange juice popsicles –pouring orange juice in the molds and placing them in the freezer-seemed so thrilling.
I highly recommend these orange juice popsicles! They're a great way to keep children excited and hydrated during the sizzling summer days. Find out some wild and crazy ice pop ideas and check out the gallery of popsicles of different shapes and sizes.
Fruit has overtaken cookies as the most popular snack for children under the age of 6 according to a study from the NPD Group. Back in 1987, cookies held the top slot according to a similar study done by the market research firm. The study also found that kids are less likely to partake of carbonated soft drinks, ice cream, candy and cakes than they were 20 years ago.
Back when I was a lad, a bit more than 20 years ago, we kept soda in the house, but I didn't drink it all that often. I have fond memories of saving it as a summertime treat for ice cream sodas. I would enjoy these in a Coca-Cola logo glass. My folks usually bought C&C Cola, but my concoctions were usually pretty tasty anyway. I haven't thought about that in a long time. It's funny how childhood memories about food bubble up to the surface of my consciousness. I also used to make my own marshmallow sauce for homemade sundaes.
My own childhood taste in treats aside, it's a good thing that young children these days eat less pie, cake and ice cream than they did 20 years ago. The one thing that surprised me about the study is that milk has maintained its third-place slot since 1987.
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Okay, I'm taking a big risk here. In addition to showing off my unattractive, massively egotistical side, I'm also going to put myself in danger of a little self-incrimination. Here goes:
Are high gas prices getting to you? Jack in the Box wants you to know that they sympathize. On Thursday, June 26 the restaurant chain will be giving out two free tacos when you show them a recent gas receipt.
Are you an avid tea drinker looking for a different way to enjoy your tea this summer? A lot of tea drinkers go iced in the warm summer months, some even adding lemonade to their iced tea, but there is an even colder way to enjoy your tea in the summer months if you enjoy green tea: smoothies!
Fruit has overtaken cookies as the most popular snack for children under the age of 6 according to a study from the NPD Group. Back in 1987, cookies held the top slot according to a similar study done by the market research firm. The study also found that kids are less likely to partake of carbonated soft drinks, ice cream, candy and cakes than they were 20 years ago. 
Chocolate-stuffed bananas on the grill
Tyler Florence welcomes new daughter
Beware kids' menus!
