Al Dente

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.