Food Network Star and Red Lobster Team Up

Red Lobster Senior Executive Chef, Michael LaDuke, and “The Next Food Network Star” contestant Jeffrey Saad have teamed up and created a dish that will be appearing on all Red Lobster menus today.

In last night’s episode of “The Next Food Network Star,” Jeffrey’s dish was selected as the wood fired grill challenge winner.

“Jeffrey’s dish was particularly impressive because it used bold flavors to enhance the delicious, natural flavor of wood-fire grilled fresh fish, without overwhelming it,” said Chef LaDuke. “It’s an innovative, fresh dish that I’m sure our guests will love.”

Jeffrey’s dish is an Asian inspired fish and scallop dish with a spicy soy broth.  You can find the dish on the Red Lobster menu, for a limited time, featured in the “Today’s Fresh Fish” section.

Nutella Designer Purse

The official cook of the Italian national soccer team, Claudio Silvestri, is in charge of breakfast Friday and plans to serve a staple from Italians’ breakfast tables for nearly 65 years — Nutella. The roasted hazelnut and cocoa spread will be offered in the traditional manner on bread accompanied by milk and fruit. Fortified by this nutritious breakfast, it is hoped, the world’s leaders will be ready to tackle the globe’s pressing issues through the rest of the day.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve this special ‘world champions’ breakfast’ on this occasion,” said Silvestri. “I selected fruit and milk along with Nutella(R)
spread on bread to provide the G8 leaders with a balanced breakfast to sustain their energy throughout the day.”

In addition to its appearance on the breakfast table, the Italian Government will present an exclusive, limited edition Gilli designer handbag adorned with the Nutella(R) logo as a gift to all the First Ladies during the Summit.

I adore Nutella and try to figure out ways to sneak it in.  I made some breakfast treats with it recently, using a tube of crescent roll dough.  You can get the recipe here.

Agave Nectar - A Sweetener that's Good for You

You’ve heard it all before that you need to cut out sugar – including the white stuff, corn syrup, and sugar alcohols.  But what if I told you there is a naturally occuring sugar that’s not as bad for you?  Yep, I really can do that.  It’s called Agave Nectar.

I’m not the one in our house that has the sugar “issue.”  My husband likes to put enough sugar and half-and-half in his coffee to make it taste like a candy bar.  His family also has a bit of a history with diabetes.  Since he also has a severe aversion to needles, that’s just something that can’t happen to him.  Trust me, the needle thing is REALLY bad.

I won’t get into the whole – how is agave nectar made discussion.  But suffice it to say, it comes from agave plants.  Yes, those same kinds of plants that we make tequila from.  What I will let you in on is why you might want to pick some of this stuff up and do a little cooking with it.

Agave nectar is roughly 90% naturally ocurring fructose with the remaining 10% being sucrose.  This means that the syrup has a low glycemic index.  This can help with the control of diabetes as well as weight loss. (Talk to your dr. about the specifics…we’re not medical people…we’re foodies.)

You’ll find that there are two types of Agave Nectar, light and dark.  The lighter version has been filtered and refined more than the dark.  The light has a flavor similar to honey, but not quite.  The dark, or amber, has a bit heavier flavor reminiscent of maple syrup.  I’ve used the light to make lemonade.  I use the same amount of Agave Nectar as I would refined sugar.  Due to the sweetness of the Agave Nectar, you could actually use less of it than you would of sugar.  My husband has used both the light and dark in his coffee.  He prefers the dark, but doesn’t complain when I only have the light around.  What’s even funnier now, is that he won’t use any sweetener in his coffee if we’ve run out of Agave Nectar.

Not so Classic Cheese Gougeres

Okay, I know…you’re trying to figure out what in the world a Gougère (pronounced goo – jhair) is.  Of course, the term comes from France, don’t most fancy culinary terms come from France?  Basically what it is, is a light as air cheese bread.  Pretty simple huh?  If you think that’s simple, wait until you make these.  I swear…they really are easy to make.  And what’s even better, when you serve them people will think you are some kind of culinary genius.  So while you’re making these, practice your sincere voice for when the accolades come pouring in you can say (while keeping a straight face) oh, why thank you.  I’m soooo glad that you like them.

If you’ve ever had an eclair (no, not those torpedo shaped frosted and cream filled bombs from the local doughnut shop) or a cream puff, you’ve had something similar to a gougère.  Both of these are made from a choux paste (pâte à choux).  When you add cheese to the dough mix, to make it a savory treat instead of a sweet one, you’ve created a gougère.  I promise that I’ll share a recipe with you, later, for some awesome cream puffs.

You can make these any size you like.  You can make small ones to use as hors d’oeuvres or as small  plates for a wine tasting party.  Or you can make them larger, about the size of a biscuit and serve alongside a salad or bowl of soup for dinner.

Continue reading  Not so Classic Cheese Gougères

Spring vegetables are in. The Vegetable Garden has been planted, let the warm weather begin.

As long as I’ve been in California, and it’s been a loooooong time, I’ve always done some kind of vegetable gardening (even if it was just a couple of tomatoes in pots.  I guess it’s because growing up, my parents had a HUGE garden and I learned what a real tomato tastes like, and it’s nothing like those rubber balls they sell in the grocery stores marked ‘tomatoes’.

I know the cool thing to do now is grow your own vegetables, even Michelle Obama has started a White House garden, but even if you throw some herbs in a pot and use them in your cooking you’ll be hooked.  Gardening is not difficult – seriously, it’s  not.  Plus, if you put some tomatoes in the ground (or a pot) you’ll make lots of friends when you deliver the extras to your neighbors or co-workers.  Last summer, I had so many tomatoes I made up several bags (a great use for those extra plastic grocery bags that are lying around) and gave them to any of my neighbors that were outside.  Now I get lots of invitations to come over for drinks or receive special recipes, among other things.  Some of these neighbors I had never talked to before.

If you don’t know how to garden, it’s really very simple.  I’ll give you some of my tips, but if you want to learn more you can either ask at your local nursery or check out out some gardening videos.  I cheat a little bit… I buy plants from my favorite nursery.  I don’t have good luck with seeds and I don’t have anywhere to properly start them.  If you’re just starting to get the planting bug right now, you may also be a little too late to start seeds for your garden – so just pick up some vegetable garden plants.

• Prep your soil with chicken manure.  (You can get this at nurseries or your favorite big box store – this is not fresh/raw manure its in fertilizer form) I know, gross, and it does have a bit of a smell (your dog will love it, so make sure you fence your garden).  But this stuff has never failed me.
• Plant in full sun
• Water frequently when plants are new

San Marzano Tomato Plant

This year I’ve got 6 types of tomatoes, a tomatillo plant, a red bell pepper, cucumbers, tarragon, basil, thyme, and chives.  These are the annual visitors that join my ridiculously huge rosemary bush and lavendar plant.  I’ll give you some updates as to how the garden is progressing.  And definitely share the recipes.  Mmmmmmm I can already taste the fresh tomatoes, basil, and burrata cheese with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Now get out there and plant some herbs or vegetable plants.

Chili My Soul

You can’t get much better than a hot bowl of chili on a cold winter day, or night.  Well, I can think of one or two…but this is about food.   I use the recipe for Beef and Dark Beer Chili from the February 2007 issue of Bon Appetit.  But of course, I can never leave well enough alone, and have to add my own little touches.  Not that I’d ever had any complaints from the original version…but now I’ve found that I never have any leftovers when I serve this version.

Continue reading Dark Beer Chili Recipe