Archive for December, 2010
Pear Jalapeno 'Honey', Spiced Coleslaw Wonton Cups, Pear Orange Butter, Blue Cheese Caramelized Onion Dip, Cranberry Cherry Sauce, Brown Sugar Rubbed Pork with Dried Fruit Sauce, Brown Sugar Ice Cream
Poultry & Pork • Tags: apples, blue cheese, caramelized onions, cherry, Christmas, Comice pears, contest, cranberry, Crave! at Work, giveaway, jalapeno, pears, pork tenderloin, produce
Well folks, the moment has come. It’s the end of 2010! This year has been another stellar year for us, and we’re immensely thankful you tune in to see what we’re dishing up each week. Right now Chrystal is enjoying a much needed vacay in beautiful Italy, but before she departed we celebrated the holidays here in LA. Like us, a few of our friends didn’t travel to their perspective hometowns to spend Christmas. So, we did what we knew best to do–we gathered together and had a grand meal celebration, which we appropriately titled “A Misfit Christmas Dinner.”
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Pancit Bihon (Filipino Fried Rice Noodles)
Seafood • Tags: Arko Foods International, coconut vinegar, Ethnic Exploration, filipino, fish sauce, Lauriat, pancit, patis, Rufina
With the holidays in full swing, this month’s Ethnic Exploration was hard to squeeze in. We have to stay true to schedule though, so here is the 2010 finale. Food can take you places, and this time, we’ve gone to the Philippines. We have made a couple of very traditional Filipino dishes before (adobo and lumpia), so maybe we are not brand new to the cuisine, but there is a lot of good Filipino food out there. We just barely skimmed the surface. A trip to a local market, and we were armed with a few must-haves to create another meal. It was easy, and it was good. And we can’t wait to share it with you.
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Not Your Mama’s Gin and Tonic
Drinks • Tags: cocktails, Guest Test Kitchen, Hendricks Gin, St. Germaine, Test Kitchen, tonic
This month’s guest blogger is our friend Jade. In addition to being an advent food and drink enthusiast, she’s also a writer. You can read more of her life happenings and short stories at her own blog. In the meantime, check out a hilarious account of how this cocktail became her fav. Here’s Jade…
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Brown Butter Walnut Brownies
Cookies & Bars • Tags: advertising, blackface, brownies, controversy, Duncan Hines, Hip Hop Cupcakes
Rarely does our blog venture into the world of relatively serious political or social commentary. This is a place to share recipes, food photos and anecdotes about the fun and funny things that happen in our lives. But there has been a bit of a controversy in the baking world, and it is something that affects both of us and maybe some of our readers. Last week, Duncan Hines launched its Amazing Glazes line of frostings with a commercial advertising campaign for “Hip Hop Cupcakes”. Vanilla cupcakes are placed on a table top, covered with a squeeze tube of chocolate glaze and then grow faces and begin to sing. It sounds very cute of course, but a large number of people found fault with this commercial almost immediately. We were in the bunch who felt a twinge of discomfort. The faces had large, buggy eyes and overgrown pink lips that harken back to the images of African-American blackface characterizations seen in the days of America’s minstrel show history. And this is where the controversy began. So much so that Duncan Hines pulled the commercial from its Youtube channel. Messy situations always leave crumbs, and many people across community lines are …
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Eggplant and Tofu Stir Fry
Vegetarian • Tags: Chinese, healthy, how to, long beans, protein, stir fry, tofu, vegetarian
Tofu does not have a good reputation amongst our circle of friends. They just do not enjoy its texture, flavor or appearance. It’s hard to even trick them into trying it! Once they see something that may even resemble a block of soybean curd, they recoil with fear and most of the time disgust. They also wonder why do non-vegetarians bother eating tofu anyways? Well, that’s a good question. A good answer is “Why not?” Tofu is easy to incorporate into millions of recipes, and it’s the blank slate that can take on any flavor. Tofu is inexpensive, and its variety of textures make it easy to appeal to whatever your tastes may be. If you treat it right, it will do you right. Then, maybe, you will become a convert like so many other folks out there.
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Cappuccino Shortbread
Cookies & Bars • Tags: cinnamon, cookbook, espresso, giveaway, holiday baking, shortbread, Tate's Bake Shop
Sometimes you just need a cookie to make things better. Several cookies in fact. Sometimes several cookies arrive at your doorstep, and all is right in the world. When the folks at Tate’s Bake Shop asked if we’d like to review a copy of their new cookbook and sample cookies, the answer was yes. The South Hamptons bakyer is located on the East coast, so we were unfamiliar with it, but it appears the New York Times, Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine and even the woman we want to adopt us–Ina Garten– have applauded their sweets. These all seemed like promising sources of recommendation. Plus, it’s the time of year when baking runs rampant, so why not add another book to the collection and hopefully a great cookie to the pile. We are often offered the opportunity to review products, but we try to stay in line with things that we would actually enjoy. Now, the Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook is on that list. It’s the season for giving, and we’d love to send a little something your way as part of the celebration.
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Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
Vegetarian • Tags: butternut squash, capsaicin, cayenne, chili pepper, ghee, ginger, Indian, soup, spicy, warm, winter
It is perfectly chilly here in Los Angeles. But we are wimps about it. We are wimps about weather in general. During the summer, we’ll tell you it’s blazing hot, the air is dry, and we can barely go outside. Let the first and only drops of spring rain hit the ground, and we turn into maniac drivers and complain about getting wet. Come fall, the cool breeze that forces us into wearing a light jacket is rather upsetting. And don’t get started on winter. Once the temperatures reach the 40s at night, you’ll hear our teeth chattering, and folks are wrapped snug as bugs in a rug when it’s time to go to bed. We are weather wimps, and it’s time everyone admitted it. One of the best ways to stay warm right about now is with soup. Soup is healthy, comforting, nutritious and, well, it’s warming. Especially if you make it spicy.
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Orange Teriyaki Chicken
Poultry & Pork • Tags: Asian, broccoli, glazed, healthy, orange, roasted, sriracha, teriyaki
Not too long ago, we celebrated two years of this website’s existence, and we opened the doors to your constructive criticism. We enjoy finding ways to make our blog stand out and also be better. To that end, we wanted to know what you enjoy, what you could do without and what dishes you’d like to see. You guys were so encouraging, which is always nice. A couple of our readers got straight to the point and asked for healthier recipes. This was valid. It’s not always cupcakes and cookies over here, but we do make a number of more decadent dishes. That being said, we’re going to try to shake in a few more well-rounded meals, so you don’t think we survive on ice cream and pop tarts alone.
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Arugula and Scallion Frittata
Vegetarian • Tags: arugula, brunch, egg whites, frittata, healthy, holidays, low cholesterol
Thanksgiving is now over, but there are still several weeks of holiday parties left in this winter season. With numerous celebrations underway or looming in the near future, it’s almost overwhelming. We both love food, and we enjoy cooking for ourselves and friends, but sometimes–just sometimes–you have to take a break and try to bring your body down from the sugar highs (and lows). Plus, if we must admit, we’ve both stored a few extra pounds from all of the sugar, flour and butter that goes into the winter time baked goods. There’s no time like today to keep your jeans from going up one size before the New Year, so let’s see what we can do.
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