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?

My Chocolate Mistress

Most people have that one type of candy that they can't resist. No matter how full you are or how dedicated you are to your diet, you can never turn it down. For me, that evil temptress is the Fannie May Trinidad.

Its rich yellow coating mixed with crunchy toasted coconut gives way to melt-in-your-mouth chocolate creme. The balance of taste and texture is magical. I'm sure it's what spiritual enlightenment tastes like.

A few years back while living in Illinois, Fannie May closed its doors. I thought, "Holy sh*t! Where am I going to get Trinidads?!" and then I started twitching. Thankfully, I survived the eight month detox.

What candy can't you resist?

What to Cook This Weekend: Acorn Squash

It's the perfect time of year for roasting vegetables, and one of my favorites is acorn squash. Roasting any kind of squash is ridiculously easy and yields tasty results. The recipe below is from the reluctant gourmet.

Ingredients

1 Acorn squash, halved

2 pats of butter

2 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees F, and scoop seeds out of halved squash (you can save and roast the seeds on a cookie sheet as a great snack).

2. Add butter, honey or maple syrup, brown sugar, and salt and pepper to the hollow of each half.

3. Place upright on a greased cookie sheet or casserole dish and roast for one hour or until tender when flesh is poked with a fork.

The Most American Food: Ready to Eat Cereal

I've always found breakfast to be the most difficult meal of the day. We keep hearing that it's the most important yet the breakfast recipe options are atrociously lacking, so I was amused to read Salon.com's "The Breakfast Liberation Front". This line perfectly sums up a longstanding feeling I've had about cereals. "...if it weren't for the chemicals used in bleaching, you might as well tear up a couple of 8 1/2-by-11-inch sheets, add milk and slurp that down for your first meal of the day."

OK, so here's where you, the readers, can save us all from a life of paper-flavored nuggets. What are your favorite breakfast recipes?

The Halloween Horrors are Here: Peeps Spooky Friends

Want to really scare the neighborhood kids this year? Hand out Peeps Spooky Friends only, with a wicked grin dotted by little bits of marshmallow. No, no, I kid because I love the peeps (well, I at least love hiding them in my boss’ pocket for her to find weeks later, when the peep has become hard as a rock), especially the new Peeps Spooky Friends, which are now individually wrapped. No longer do you have to fear opening up a bag to be faced with an oddly mutated peep made from multiple individual ones melted together (and, the individually wrapped one leave a little less mess on your hands, too). These gooey Spooky Friends come in a bag of 54, and include the Shrugging Ghost, the Googly-Eyed Green Mummy, and the Purple-Eyed Jack ‘o Lantern. I, for one, am scared.

Happy Hour Drink Special: The Sleepy Hollow

Ideal for Halloween and other fall parties (the gin helps beat the chill), the Sleepy Hollow is a classic that needs to be brought back to spooky life.

Fast Food Roundup

In case you had problems packing in half your day's supply of calories and 100% of your day's fat before lunch, Hardees has introduced a 920 calorie breakfast burrito. It goes perfectly with their 1,100 calorie salad and 1,420 calorie "Thickburger". I just hope they keep portable defibrillators on hand.

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Taco Bell has decided to make another run at the Mexican border. Why anyone in Mexico--with access to cheap, real Mexican food--would want a horrible imitation is beyond me. It didn't work 15 years ago--why would it work now?

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Wendy's, always late to the party, plans to open more than 70 restaurants in Malaysia. McDonald's has been there for 25 years and, just this month, introduced their "Green Bean Desserts", including the "Green Bean McFlurry". Am I missing out on something?

Healthy Eating and Cancer: Take Care of Yourself

October is breast cancer awareness month--a reminder to all of us who have lost dear ones to any form of this terrible disease. While you can make a difference by monetarily supporting breast cancer research and education, why not honor those who have suffered and survived by valuing your own health and making a change in your diet?

Eating right according to Dr. Weil involves incorporating healthy fats, loads of fruits and vegetables, green tea, and fiber into your daily diet. In reality, it can be very daunting to eat these things daily because of availability, cost, time, etc. (At the end of a long day, isn't it easier to toss a $1.99 frozen burrito into the microwave for a couple minutes rather than mix up a $5.99-per pound fresh salad with a similar mouth- and flavor-appeal as the burrito?)

I'm not in favor of judging anyone's diet--we all have weaknesses. But, if you take on the challenge of eating at least one to two cancer fighting foods daily and proving that you don't take your good health for granted, it just might be the best way to show support of your loved ones. They'd want you to be cancer-free too!

A Mojito With a Little Less Mojo

Havana Cola's Mojito soft drink is a caffeinated soda designed to resemble the flavor of a real mojito--a classic Cuban cocktail. The drink combines 100% pure cane sugar with natural mint and key lime juice to provide the great taste, but leaves out the pesky addition of alcohol. According to Havana Cola, "Billfish of the Gulf Stream have challenged legendary pescadores (fishermen) for decades. The refreshment of choice after a long day on the water is the Mojito--key lime, crushed mint, sugar, and rum. Havana Mojito brings these ingredients to you--minus the rum--and invites you to celebrate your Freedom and take to the Seas!"

A natural choice for a friend who's already had a few too many, or for those of us who happen to be abstaining from booze at the moment, the taste of Havana's Mojito cola may just help draw out Summer a tiny bit longer.

Arby's Sauce: The Monogamous Condiment

For me, Arby's presents a fast food conundrum. They have dry, mediocre roast beef and an unclassifiable sauce that doesn't taste right on most foods. Separate, they're nothing special. However, if you put them together you get a surprisingly delicious combination.

Arby's sauce is the perfect compliment to their sandwiches. I can't imagine putting anything else on them. Alternately, I can't think anything else Arby's sauce is as good on. It's so perfect for Arby's shaved "meat" that the taste, let alone the thought, of Arby's sauce on any other meat just isn't as appealing. In my mind it's a sin. Call it culinary adultery.

What to Cook This Weekend: Pumpkin Gingerbread

This is one of my favorites to make during the fall, despite the wheat allergy. It comes from Breakfast in Bed Cookbook: The Best B and B Recipes from Northern California to British Columbia. I was dubious about the taste and texture before I made this because every other pumpkin bread I'd made seemed too dry and bland. But, this recipe is definitely a winner. Head Chef suggests topping this with small chunks of candied ginger. Yum!

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice and cinnamon.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about one hour.

Does Baby Food Taste Like the Real Thing?

Having yet to go through the process of childbirth, it's probably a bit early for me to start thinking about feeding my infant solid foods. But after reading this Culinate article on a mother's struggle to decide on homemade, organic, or regular old baby food, I'm wondering if others have tried all three and discovered organic or non-organic brands that actually taste like real food. After all, it seems like a given that a baby's first taste of carrot puree should taste like an actual carrot. How else do you get a kid to eat his vegetables in later life?

Furthermore, is organic baby food really that much better than regular baby food? I've read and heard from pediatricians that the FDA guidelines for growing food to be processed for consumption by infants is pretty stringent. I couldn't find the actual guidelines anywhere on the web so if a friendly reader could pass that along I'd be grateful.

As for making one's own baby food, I can honestly say I haven't seriously considered the possibility. We'll be a two-working-parent household, so I'm thinking there won't be much time for steaming veggies and milling the food. But I must admit I'm curious if there are experienced parents out there who find the time to do this. Please share your secrets.

Yet Another Reason for Drinking

A recent report (seen on Science Daily--yes, we’re interested in science as well as food) from researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia points to a discovery made that shows that red wine, beyond the numerous current known health benefits, probably can work to protect humans from a number of common food-borne diseases. The researchers have found that, “red wines--Cabernet, Zinfandel and Merlot in particular--have anti-microbial properties that defend against food-borne pathogens and don’t harm naturally useful bacteria like probiotic bacteria.” The pathogens investigated include E. coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes and H. pylori. With all this science behind it, I think my boss should stop looking at me funny when I have a glass of red wine every day with lunch. I’m only being healthy. And isn’t a healthy worker a productive worker?

Picky Eater? Blame Mom and Dad

Remember when you'd spend more time picking onions out of your dinner than actually eating it? Turns out it's your parent's fault. Somewhere in your DNA, there's an "onions are icky gene". Researchers have found that food aversion is 78% genetic and 22% environmental.

So what are parents to do when a child won't eat what they're given? Some give up and make three or four different meals. Some parents, like Jerry Seinfeld's wife, get sneaky and hide good-for-you food in mac 'n cheese. Other parents, like mine, don't take any crap and make you eat your onions. This is a controversial parenting style where the adults are in charge and the kids do what they're told.

Luckily, your tastebuds die over time so onions may eventually be the only thing you can taste. Ironic, eh?

What to Drink This Weekend: Pear Thyme Sparkle

This recipe was featured in the Seattle Times this week, and is a creation of Kathy Casey, local culinary wizard extraordinaire. It sounds delicious all on its own, but extra tempting alongside a frittata for Sunday brunch. Plus, it seems that pear cocktails are all the rage these days, and it's a great reason to pick up a bottle of Absolut's new pear-flavored vodka.

Pear Thyme Sparkle

1 large sprig fresh thyme

1-1/2 oz. pear vodka

3/4 oz. simple syrup

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

Splash chilled soda water, dry sparkling wine, or Champagne

Garnish: fresh pear slice and small sprig of fresh thyme

Bend large thyme sprig and drop into a cocktail shaker. Add vokda, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Fill shaker with ice, cap, and shake vigorously for six seconds. Strain into a large martini glass and top with a splash of soda or sparkling wine. Float pear slice and thyme in drink.

Note: If you don't have simple syrup on hand, simply combine 2 cups sugar with 2 cups water in a saucepan. Boil for one minute. Let cool. Bottle the syrup and store it at room temperature. Use as needed, in this drink and many other concoctions!

Midweek Happy Hour: The Commando

I recently came down with the latest cold circulating the office, and everyone's been telling me to have some whiskey. While I've never been one to turn down alcohol, I've never been a huge fan of whiskey. However, mixed with Cointreau and Pernod in the very palatable-sounding Commando, I think I could make the effort. This recipe comes from the book Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist. Drinking this while watching the movie Commando is optional, as is removing your undergarments.

Ingredients:

Ice cubes

2 ounces whiskey

1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 ounce Cointreau

1/4 ounce Pernod

Directions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the whiskey, lime juice, Cointreau, and Pernod. Shake well.

2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass.

Is There a New Champ in Town?

As a challenger to George Foreman’s long reign as champion-boxer-turned-kitchen-product-endorser, Evander Holyfield has just unveiled his own countertop contact grill. Carrying the Real Deal Grill moniker (as he was once called “The Real Deal”), this cooking machine has 1,800 watts of power, dual temperature controls, top and bottom heating elements, adjustable floating hinges, and a $99 price tag. Of course, it’s also designed to drain off grease and fat (these boxers are looking out for your waistlines people). Where they once fought in the ring, now they’re going to take the scrap to the kitchen--but the question is, who will get the knock out as they try to knock the fat out of meals? By the way, if you like your countertop grills with a little more acting and a little less heavyweight action, Hulk Hogan is also coming out with one.

Leonidas Chocolates (Psst...They're on Sale!)

I know product pushing isn't popular. But, I'm willing to take the chance today and write an unpopular post to let y'all know that Leonidas Chocolates are on sale. I have wanted to try these chocolates for over a year now because they get such rave reviews. Admittedly, I have been deterred by the price. Let me just say that they're worth the premium price.

The DHL delivery man brought these Belgian beauties to me on Monday night. Fitted tightly in a perfectly protective Styrofoam-lined box, the Leonidas box was wrapped nicely in gold paper--fitting for what lay inside. Head Chef and I eyed each of the three layers in the one-pound box, but decided to be patient and start with the top layer. And, as enthusiastic Seattle Mariner's radio announcer Dave Niehaus would roar, "My, oh my"!...these chocolates are amazing. So, if you're in the market for a gift, some chocolates, or just want to try something new, don't miss this sale.

What Does Sweet Victory Taste Like?

Big Seahawks fan? Then you'll be psyched about Jones Soda's new Seahawks Collector Pack. According to Jones, "If you think you're tough enough to play in the NFL, then you'd better step up and have a little taste of what NFL players experience throughout their entire careers." This translates to a pack of drinks with such appetizing flavors as Natural Field Turf, Sports Cream, Perspiration, Dirt, and Sweet Victory. I imagine the Perspiration flavor will taste somewhat salty like Gatorade, but Sports Cream? I don't think I want to know...

What to do with Leftover Marinara

If you're like me, you always make way too much marinara for just two people. Plus, your wife thinks you drink too much red wine.

Here are a few idea for all that extra delicious marinara.

Dipping

Fried/toasted ravioli (see previous post)

Garlic bread

Mozzarella sticks

Topping

Meatball sandwich

Italian beef (with provolone, onions, and peppers on toasted wheat)

Italian sausage (with provolone and peppers on a toasted bun)

Chicken sandwich (with provolone and a little oregano on sub roll)

Other

Lasagna

Neopolitan pizza

Eggs in Purgatory

Got any other uses for leftover marinara? Please share.