Al Dente

Always On My Grocery List: Salt and Vinegar Chips

A couple of years ago my wife forced me to eat a salt and vinegar potato chip. Now I'm addicted. We go through a least a bag of Tim's or Kettle a week. I've tried Lay's, but they're not thick enough. Supposedly they have a kettle cooked version, but I can't seem to find it at my local supermarket.

A good salt and vinegar potato chip has the right balance of saltiness, tanginess, and crunchiness. It's one of those products that, just by the title, I wouldn't normally try. This might be because people often clean coins with salt and vinegar. I guess that's why it took me so long to find potato chip heaven.

It was totally worth the wait.

Midweek Happy Hour: Gin, Lillet, and Orange Bitters Martini

Let's get the apologies out of the way first. I don't have a good Halloween cocktail for you. But, I think this is a brilliant fall drink so I'm posting it anyway.

On the good advice of Sous-Chef on the Run, I took a trip to the Eastern Washington town of Walla Walla and ate at Whitehouse-Crawford Restaurant. The meal was quite good, but the highlight of my evening was my first sip of a Gin, Lillet, and Orange Bitters Martini. I know some purists who will tell you that a traditional martini isn't really a martini unless it includes orange bitters. Generally speaking, I'm a 3:1-ratio-with-an-olive girl. That's gin to vermouth, none of this vodka martini nonsense. But sometimes you have to try something new and the Lillet seemed like a reasonable and refreshing substitute for vermouth.

Ingredients:3 parts gin
1 part Lillet
Dash of orange bitters
Orange twist

1. Fill cocktail shaker with ice cubes.  Add the gin, Lillet, and orange bitters.  Shake vigorously.
2. Garnish a martini glass with an orange twist.  Strain mixture over the top.

Note: I tried substituting Angostura bitters for the orange bitters and was disappointed. The Lillet really benefits from the aroma and flavor of pure orange.

¡Yo quiero...Taco Bell?

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart weighed in on the fact that Taco Bell has just opened their first store in Mexico, and wonders if they'll keep their slogan "Run for the border...."

Always On My Grocery List: Dannon Coffee Yogurt

For the past 20 years, coffee-flavored Dannon yogurt has been on either my grocery list or my parent's grocery list (on my behalf). It has the perfect mix of sweetness with a mild coffee flavor. One of the main reasons I continue to buy it is that it doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup. As far I know, it has always been made with cane sugar.

Dannon's coffee goodness also provides a nice pick-me-up with its 36 milligrams of caffeine (Coke has 46).

What to Cook This Weekend: Candied Walnuts

These walnuts are like Halloween treats for adults: really easy to make and super tasty. I suggest a double batch (but that may just be me). If they don’t get gobbled up at the party, take them to work on Monday and watch your co-workers get excited—I know mine did.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups walnuts

Directions:

1. Mix the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, and then raise the heat and boil until a candy thermometer says 238 degrees. 

2. Remove the mix from the heat and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon. Mix with the walnuts and turn out on to wax paper, pulling the nuts apart while they’re cooling.

Foodies and Gamers, Unite!

Finally, a video game for us foodies! Soon, you too can experience the madness of Gordon Ramsay--right in your own living room!

Because, you know, what I really want is to spend time making virtual food--I'm sure that will go over well at dinnertime. And for the serious, but non-foodie, gamers, the game will entice with "recipes that players can print out and try to cook in the real world." Definitely a highlight for those households.

The Ultimate Cheeseburger/Chicken Nugget/French Fry Pizza

Here's the final product--along with a 9mm and a large knife. I'm not sure why anyone would want to steal a piece, but you can never be too careful.

Potential Pasta War?

According to a BBC news article, Italian authorities are investigating members of the Industrial Union of Pasta Makers for price collusion, after “a warning from the federation in July that pasta prices would surge by 20% by the autumn.” As someone who eats pasta three or four times a week, this is sad news. I’m happy to pay a little extra to be honest, but am disturbed about the idea that the dollars, or euros, are actually going to fund a cartel of greedy manufacturers, instead of the artisan pasta creators I imagine. Oh, Barillo, Morelli, Rusticella, and De Cecco, can this be true? Most of all, though, I hate the idea of folks spending time in pasta lawsuits and possible pasta litigations, instead of spending time eating a well-made bowl of pasta (I, for example, would much rather be eating pasta right now).

Midweek Happy Hour: Spiked Coffee

From everyone's favorite, Giada De Laurentiis comes this recipe for your Halloween party--spiked coffee. Not quite as theatrical as a flaming Spanish coffee, this spiked coffee still has enough espresso in it to haunt the adults at your Halloween party long after they head home. Be sure to allow enough time for this to get cold enough in the freezer after brewing the espresso.



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
1 cup dark creme de cacoa
1 1/2 cups vodka
1 cup espresso, cooled
1 orange wedge
Orange sugar crystals
12 ice cubes

Directions:
1. Mix the coffee liqueur, creme de cacoa, vodka, and espresso in a small pitcher. Cover the pitcher with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer until the mixture is very cold, about three hours.

2. Meanwhile, rub the rims of eight martini glasses with the orange wedge. Dip the rims in the sugar crystals to coat lightly. Place the glasses in the freezer.

3. Add the ice cubes to the vodka mixture and briskly stir the mixture until the ice begins to melt. Strain the mixture into the prepared glasses, and serve. Serves 8.

Note: For kids, Giada recommends serving hot cocoa with sugared rims.

The Vending Machine Diet

At a recent snack-machine vending expo, Kraft Foods, Inc., announced a South Beach Diet-branded snack machine and one that stores cold and frozen items. The South Beach Diet machine offers only items that comply with the diet program such as nuts, low-fat cottage cheese, Crystal Light drinks, and Jell-O sugar-free gelatin snacks. The cold and frozen machine will let you buy garden salads and ice cream sandwiches from the same machine. The machines come with a setting that lets parents limit the amount of any particular item a child can buy with a payment card, and it determines if a student's choices meet U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements for subsidized lunches.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I want anyone telling me how many ice-cream sandwiches I can have, but more importantly, how did I not know about snack-machine vending expos?