Al Dente

7-11 Debuts Private-Label Wine

7-Eleven, Inc., and Seven-Eleven Japan have joined forces to introduce two private-label wines--Yosemite Road Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are produced in California exclusively for 7-Eleven, and will be available in the companies' 15,000 convenience, department, and grocery stores, Denny's family restaurants, and department stores (?!) in Japan. I haven't had the privilege of trying these wines yet, but their $3.99 price tag seems like a compelling enough reason to do a little research...

--AndreaLeigh

Roofies to Get Kiss of Death?

Next time you're out for a few drinks and something tastes funny, whip out your lipgloss and test the drink for drugs. A new lipgloss from British cosmetics company 2LoveMyLips comes with a spike detector to identify GHB and ketamine in drinks. The gloss, which is already a hit in Britain, comes with a pink taper which is dipped into a drink and turns blue if drugs are present. The product claims to work on some fruit juices, soft drinks, energy drinks, vitamin water, tea and coffee, beer, wine, and spirits. Launches for the product are planned for Australia, the US, and tourist destinations in the Middle East, with plans to sell the product in vending machines in bars and nightclub bathrooms. Read more at news.com.au.

--AndreaLeigh

Le Whif: Zero-Calorie Chocolate

Le Whif, a new product that allows you to simply inhale the scent and taste of chocolate, is being marketed as a "terrific" way to curb your appetite and get a guilt-free chocolate fix. Invented by Harvard professor David Edwards at his design center in Paris, Le Laboratoire, Le Whif contains hundreds of milligrams of tiny chocolate particles that are picked up when you inhale, and land on your tongue. Available in Paris at Colette, and online at Le Laboshop (cost is about 10 Euros for a pack of six), Le Whif is just one of many cool/crazy projects being developed by La Laboratoire. Whether this new form of eating by aerosol catches on or not, I have to admit I'm really curious to know what these taste like.

--AndreaLeigh

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Cupcakes. Three of my favorite things together at last! My good friend Amanda found this recipe at picky-palate.com and I had to share. It looks so delicious!

Ingredients:
1 devils food cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
8 oz sour cream
1 small package chocolate pudding mix (4 serving size)
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 stick softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
White nonpareils for top

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand mixer, mix cake mix, eggs, water, oil, sour cream and pudding mix on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into paper lined cupcake cups 3/4 way full.

2. In a mixing bowl mix peanut butter and powdered sugar until well combined. Form 1/2 inch balls and press into each filled cupcake. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean from center. Let cool completely.

3. Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy and well combined. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until well combined. Spread over cooled cupcakes then sprinkle with nonpareils if desired.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

--AndreaLeigh
 

Chocolate Marshmallow Pizza

In an effort to combine three guilty pleasures into one superguiltypleasure, I give you the chocolate marshmallow pizza pictured below, compliments of thisiswhyyourefat.com (yep, the site's name says it all). Gross or so, so good?

 

--AndreaLeigh

Beer + Pizza + Music + Bike = Pub on Wheels

Meet Hopworksfiets, a "pub bike" built by Portland, Oregon-based bike builder Metrofiets for Hopworks Urban Brewing (Portland's first eco-brewpub featuring organic handcrafted beers, local ingredients, and a sustainable building). The bike features a metal keg bucket that holds two full-sized kegs and 25 pounds of ice, topped with a wooden bar and two taps. A rack on the rear of the bike holds a stack of pizza boxes, and below the pizza rack is a sound system to blare your favorite party anthems.

Future iterations of the bike will include a second sound system for music played in stereo, and a solar panel cover for the pizza rack that will power the music and a string of LED lights around the base of the bike's bar. The bike made its first public appearance last week at HUB's Biketobeerfest celebration, and the brewery plans to showcase its pub bike at various bike events year round.

--AndreaLeigh

Create your own pub at home with:

• Beer taps and beer tap systems like Heineken's BeerTender
• Home bars and barstools like the bestselling Winsome Wood air lift adjustable stools
• Beer mugs, highball glasses, shot glasses, and coasters (Libbey's Heidelberg beer mug set is a classic)

Friday Links for Food Lovers

It's Friday again! Here are a few tasty links the Al Dente editors obsessed about this week:

• Edible.com had me at tea picked by monkeys, then lost me with giant hornet honey.
• Shaken or stirred? Our very own A.J. Rathbun dispenses important cocktail advice on Chow.
• A fun way to test your culinary knowledge (and get recipe ideas!): check out Foodista's Escoffier game.
• Colgate's stealthy new advertising--cruel or ingenious?
• Cutest new viral video: Kids vs. Marshmallows, a.k.a. learning the ropes of delayed gratification.
• Missed the televised try for the world's largest pie fight? Serious Eats has you covered.
• In Seattle this weekend? Be sure to check out Oktoberfest in Fremont. Or, heed yumsugar's advice and throw your own beer tasting party.
• Speaking of marshmallows, these homemade ones from the salty spoon topped with caramel and crushed chili peppers look amazing:

Photo courtesy of the salty spoon

While you're out and about, reading up on food news, don't miss the party gear we're loving this week:

• Fred's design team is working overtime! Check out their Hopside Down glasses, Cool Shooters ice shot glass molds, and Finger Food plates.
• Just looking at French Bull's tableware makes me happy.
• So many beer-tap systems, so little time...

Did I miss a not-to-be-missed foodie link from this past week? Add a comment or tweet at me!

Have a great weekend!

--AndreaLeigh

Buddha Pears

According to dailymail.co.uk, a bevvy of buddha pears have been selling like hot-cakes over in China. Farmer Gao Xianzhang spent six years crafting the molds that shape the pears to look like tiny buddhas, and remarks "People seem to think they are cute or lucky and will buy them as soon as they're off the tree." Gao intends to export these cute fruits to Britain's supermarket shelves in the near future (no word yet on whether they'll be coming to the US).

--AndreaLeigh

Deep Fried Butter & Other Fair Fare

If you're a fan of anything deep fried, you're probably well aware of the plethora of crispy, artery-clogging treats to be had at state fairs. Texas, naturally, takes the cake. At the upcoming state fair of Texas (September 25 to October 18), you can delight in deep fried peaches & cream, fried peanut-butter cup macaroons, country fried pork chips, fried butter (yep, just butter), and my personal favorite, deep fried pecan pie (see below). Anyone heading to the fair to indulge? Let us know your favorite fried find!

 

--AndreaLeigh

Cool New Tableware

My most recent obsession? The Brasserie tableware collection from Pillivuyt. So simple, so cool, so French. Created in the 1920s for restaurants and cafes that wanted their menus on their dinnerware, the Brasserie collection is made in France and doesn't just look good, it's tough too--most pieces can be used in the dishwasher, microwave, and oven. The face of tableware in general has become pretty stylish lately, as evidenced by the fresh batch of new tableware styles and patterns turning up in Amazon.com's tableware store. Some of my favorites (click on the images to see entire product selection):

--AndreaLeigh

Udder-ly Tasty: Camel's-Milk Chocolates

The general manager of Dubai's Al Nassma--the world's first brand of chocolate made with milk from camels--recently announced that it is in talks to expand into new Arab markets, Europe, Japan, and the United States. Al Nassma's Dubai farm plays host to 3,000 camels, and the company sells chocolates through its farm-attached store as well as in luxury hotels and private airlines.

"We aim to be the Godiva of the Middle East," says Van Almsick. "It's a luxury product, so we will never be in supermarkets." According to Van Almsick, milk from camels is seen as healthier than milk from cows because it contains five times more vitamin C, less fat, less lactose, and more insulin, making it a good option for diabetics and the lactose intolerant. All camel's-milk chocolates are free of preservatives and chemical additives, and contain a range of locally popular spices, nuts, and honey.

--AndreaLeigh

Pie Lollipops

Love pie but hate its un-portability? Leave it to the folks at Luxirare to give us lollipop-pies. Not only do they look delicious, but the accompanying photography that shows the lolli-pie-making process is really neat. Yum!

 

--AndreaLeigh

Futuristic Kitchen Gadgets: A Smart Measuring Cup

Not long ago, Priority Designs revealed their SmartMeasure Cup, which features an angled display on the handle so you won't need to hunch over to read measurements on the side of the cup (although they're still there too for you traditionalists). A backlit LCD displays measurements (and does unit conversions for you!), intuitive controls provide easy navigation, and pre-set ingredient measures for common recipes are at the touch of a button. The best news? Taylor Kitchenware has picked up the design, and it's now available for pre-order on Amazon.com! Welcome to the future.

--AndreaLeigh

Dog Food for Humans

Jealous of Fido's kibble and Milkbones? Head on over to Amazon.com and pick up a batch of Kooky Chew, a bowl of crunchy cookie kibbles & bits and a candy bone that looks just like dog food. Extra points if you can eat it without using your hands.

--AndreaLeigh

Panda Bread

Create some panda-monium in the kitchen and whip up a batch of Panda bread! The recipe can be found over at perfectpandas.com, but be to sure to check out cookpad for pictures of readers' hits and misses making the bread (and the original recipe in Japanese, if you so desire).

--AndreaLeigh

Spaghetti Ice Cream

Courtesy of wikipedia, a delicious shot of Spaghettieis--a brilliant German creation that looks like a plate of spaghetti, but actually consists of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and white chocolate or coconut flakes. It's a sultry 80-something degrees in Seattle today--I think I need this!

 

--AndreaLeigh

Vegetarians Are Weaklings

Okay, that's only partially true. According to a recent joint Australian-Vietnamese study of more than 2,700 people, vegetarians were found to have bones five percent less dense than meat-eaters. The difference was most notable in vegans, who exluded all animal products from their diet and whose bones were six percent weaker. This suggests that vegetarian diets, particularly vegans, are at a greater risk for osteoporosis and an increased risk of bone fractures. The study did note that there was very minimal difference in the bone density between meat-eaters and ovolactovegetarians, who exclude meat from their diets, but eat eggs and dairy. So, next time you're thinking of denying yourself that double-bacon-cheeseburger, think about the possibility that it could be strengthening your bones. Read the full article at Yahoo news.

--AndreaLeigh

Fancy Fast Food

The pictures at fancyfastfood.com beg the question--does fast food taste better when it looks like a more expensive meal? It certainly looks more appealing, and has me reconsidering where I'll get my next bite. According to the site, the photographs illustrate "extreme makeovers of actual fast food items purchased at popular fast food restaurants. No additional ingredients have been added except for an occasional simple garnish." Case in point: the Tapas de Castillo Blanco (Fancy White Castle) below. And seriously, their BK Quiche (made from a Croissan'wich and a ham, egg & cheese biscuit meal) looks pretty tasty.

 

--AndreaLeigh

Japanese Cat Cafes

What to do if you love cats but work long hours, have a no-pets-allowed apartment, or are constantly traveling? In Japan, you'd go to Calico, a cafe in Tokyo that lets customers have a cup of tea and play with the feline staff. According to a writer at globalpost.com, when Calico first opened in March 2007 it was "an oddity and the preserve of lonely women and cat fanciers. It is now staggeringly popular. This March it opened a second branch in the high-rent Shinjuku business and shopping district. Last October it published a glossy coffee table book featuring its "feline staff." The original branch is so packed that reservations are recommended on weekends." The cafe charges about $9 for an hour of fur-fueled catisfaction.

--AndreaLeigh

Hamburger Shoe

Does this hamburger shoe count as a health-conscious meal? Or just fast food? Dinner on the run? Anyone?

 

--AndreaLeigh