June 2008

If there’s one thing I don’t hesitate to call myself an expert on, it’s coffee. As much time as I spend in its glorious company, I SHOULD be an expert by now. If I weren’t, it’d mean I just wasn’t paying attention, and is that ever not the case!

Truly wonderful coffee begins to leave an impression on you long before you even pour it into your cup. In fact, when you open the bag of coffee beans, the aroma lets you know how special your next cup of coffee will be.

I was reminded of this aromatic truth this morning when I opened a very handsome bag of NORTHSTAR coffee. I have a special place in my heart (and pantry) for coffee beans that “reach my nose” without making me lean toward the bag. When I opened the bag of NORTHSTAR FINE COFFEES coffee beans, I noticed that the aroma came to meet me rather than the other way around. Cool, that.

A FEW FACTS:

1. All coffee is not created equal

2. There are 28 grades of coffee.

3. Most coffee consumers drink grades 15 - 28, on average.

4. Even consumers of “Specialty” or “Gourmet” coffees are being served an average specialty grade 5.

5. NORTHSTAR only offers PREMIUM GRADE 1 COFFEES - the absolute finest available in the world.

6. All coffee is not created equal.

My cups of coffee were beyond spectacular this morning. Way beyond. I was almost disappointed because another great love of mine is iced coffee. I wanted to spare enough from my morning pot to sweeten and put on ice. I could tell from the aroma that this would be ideal coffee to use for iced coffee. But, alas, there wasn’t so much as a drop left!

The coffee was luxuriously smooth and rich. It was amazingly aromatic and made the entire morning extra special. It left me looking forward to my next pot, which, incidentally happens to be brewing now. Actually, it’s ready for me to enjoy - I know, not because I heard the brewing stop, but because the whole front of my house is filled with this wonderful aroma! Even my cats are excited.

If you want similar coffee experiences, get thyself to www.NorthStarFineCoffees.com. As for me, I have someplace I have to be right now.

Listen up, boys and girls, this is important stuff here.  Our boy, Emeril Lagasse, is coming back into our living rooms, dining rooms, dens, and wherever else we have televisions to transport his smiling face into our world.

The Fine Living Network (which I was a huge fan of before, but now….off the charts) will begin showing the Emeril Live show 7 days a week @ 7pm starting July 7th.

FLN has set up a page for Emeril Live which includes Emeril’s own recipes, a blog by his culinary crew, a show schedule and some great facts about Emeril, including the origin of the “BAM!”  See http://www.fineliving.com/emerillive

The page also has some videos that’ll slap a smile on your face.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again:  Emeril is to thank for the explosion of food celebrities, the excitement of cooking shows, and the vast number of young people who think it’s totally “cool” to watch cooking shows.  I always marvel at the number of my daughter’s friends (male and female - which I love to see) who know the television chefs by name.  Emeril is always one of their favorites.

Personally, I think Emeril built the whole Food Network empire.  He was the one that the rest were built around.  Of course, to be sure - it was a two-way street, each made the other huge! 

Check out the page and be sure to invite Emeril back into your home.  Nightly.

Long live the Bam!

You know what sounds good right now - I mean really, really good?  A bowl of homemade guacamole and some really fresh, crunchy tortilla chips.  Ever since the Attack of the Infested Tomatoes started playing out, my obsession with salsa has understandably faded.  It’s been challenging to find ways to substitute what was always a frequently used staple in my kitchen.

I never really realized just HOW frequently I used tomatoes until now.  Sliced on sandwiches, cut up in salads (which my family eats just about daily in some fashion or another during the warm months), in tacos, cooked with pasta, and…sigh… in salsa and pico de gallo.

With salads, I’ve been replacing tomatoes with radishes and/or red pepper.  Some people like sun dried tomatoes in salads, but I’m still on the fence.  I think they’re amazingly good in pasta dishes, though.  They can fill the void nicely.  Then, too, there’s always the cannded tomatoes.  They mingle well with pasta. 

I also stir the petite diced tomatoes into taco meat for tacos.  They’ll do in a pinch for salsa, too.

But back to my overwhelming desire for guacamole.  I love this stuff and can’t get enough of it.  At the moment, I want it to show up for lunch with it’s tortilla chip friends, but it’s versatile enough to show up with a lot of other sidekicks.

For Example, you have to try the following:

1. Lightly toast some quality bread.  Spread the inside with guacamole.  Add a few sliced of smoked turkey, a slice of swiss cheese (optional), shredded lettuce, and a few slices of bacon.
2. A South of the Border Burger:  Grill, fry, or bake your burger patties.  Lightly toast your buns.  In no particular order, add your meat, sliced onion, a dollop of guacamole, jalapeno peppers if you’re brave, and a teaspoon or so of store bought picante sauce (I usually get Pace.)  Serve with fresh tortilla chips and enjoy being alive.
3. Toast a wheat english muffin.  Spread on some fresh guacamole.  To this you can add either a little picante sauce or hot sauce, if desired.  Now top it off with a poached egg.  Oh, come on now!  It’s good, I promise.
4. Cut up some cooked chicken.  I most recently used mesquite roasted chicken (YUM!), but grilled or baked chicken are delicious, too.  In a bowl, combine the chicken, some guacamole, and a little bit of salt and pepper.  Add as little or as much guacamole as you desire.  Use your chicken mixture to stuff lightly toasted pita pockets or wrap a warmed tortilla around and create a delicious wrap.
5. Serve guacamole beside your grilled steak or chicken.
6. Use guacamole as a potato topper - give sour cream the night off.
7. Slather on top of baked potato skins.
8. Serve with the Ruffles Pinch of Salt Chips and/or Frito Corn Chips I told you about in the last post!

Did you know that early Spanish settlers called guacamole the “butter of the poor?”  It got the name because it was flavorful, could be used a lot of different ways, and was inexpensive to make.  At least it’s still diverse and flavorful!

Not long ago, my doctor told me that my blood pressure was a little higher than normal.  The result, I’m certain, of tons of allergy pills necessitated by May and June.  She said it wasn’t any cause for alarm (after all, mine is normally low, so “normal” would be high for me).  She did say, however, that I’d be wise to cut back on salt.

My inner coffee addict raised her mug and yelled, “Yeah, baby! She didn’t even mention caffeine!“  But just behind her, my chip fanatic cluched her Frito’s behind her back as a tear trinkled down her little cheek.

Bitterly, I stopped buying as many Frito’s, Ruffles, Dorito’s and Cheese Puffs (Chester Cheetah called to see if I was still alive.) -  I still bought them, of course, but I did try to cut back.

Recently, however, the inner chip fanatic had cause to wipe away the tears and smile again!  Frito Lay has come out with a line of “Pinch of Salt” chips.  They’ve cut waaaaay back on the sodium, ditched the cholesterol altogether, and have even used an All Natural Oil for these snacks. 

I first tried the Ruffles Pinch of Salt chips.  I have to admit, I opened the bag half-expecting to laugh the chips to scorn, but instead of laughing, I just reached for more.  These chips are absolutely delicious!  I honestly like them better than the regular chips - you taste the wonderful potato chip and realize they are made out of potatoes, after all!  I promise you, these are incredibly good.

After discovering that Frito Lay was onto something, I tried the Fritos Pinch of Salt Corn Chips.  Even better!  I’ve been a fanatical Fritos eater since I carried lunch boxes (The Hair Bear Bunch…remember them?) - my mommy put Fritos in there along with my Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches, Dr. Pepper, and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.  Awwww.

I was even more skeptical of the Corn Chips weathering the salt reduction but, yet again, it actually improved the chip.  Just like the Ruffles Pinch of Salt Chips allow you to focus more on the potato flavor, the Fritos Pinch of Salt Corn Chips, allow you to totally enjoy the delicious corn-ocity.  Yes, I made that particular word up for the occasion. 

To learn more about the Nutrition Facts, you’ll want to pay a  visit to  http://www.fritolay.com/.  This website is absolutely gorgeous.  You feel as though you’re looking out a farmhouse window.  There’s a tractor going about its chores, birds flying by, a flag waving in the breeze…  Cool stuff.  There’s also a section on Being Green - My inner Environmentalist chick loves them for that.  She frees one arm from the tree she’s hugging to give them a thumb’s up.

You HAVE to try both of these chips!

I’m hooked on the Lean Cuisine microwavable meals.  My daughters are at the age where they’re running in and out just about all day long, so I like to keep things on hand for them to grab a meal whenever they need it.  (Okay, I’ll be honest, I actually heat the meals up for them - my girls are nothing if not spoiled.) 

I also keep them on hand for myself.  I work from home, so I have the luxury of taking my lunch break whenever I want to (generally, whenever I Love Lucy comes on TV Land).  One of my favorites, in fact the one I enjoyed today, is the Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans. I like to eat it with either a heated soft tortilla or some tortilla chips on the side.  My middle daughter, Brittany, who happens to be a vegetarian, loves this one too.  My youngest daughter, Stephany’s favorite is the Spaghetti & Meatball’s meal and my oldest, Emily, is just like her mom… we love them all so much, it’s just too close to call.

Emily, Stephany, and I love seafood as much as we love any food, so we’re TOTALLY excited about the new Lean Cuisine line of Seafood Delights.  Each has 350 or less calories and will be available in July.

The newbies are: Parmesan Crusted Fish, Shrimp Alfredo, Tortilla Crusted Fish and Szechuan Style Stir Fry with Shrimp. 

Shrimp?  Sign me all kinds of up!

The Lean Cuisine meals are perfectly healthy alternatives to fast food lunches.  They’re surprisingly filling, too.  While we only eat them for lunch, they could just as easily be used at supper.  Served with a little bread and a bowl of salad or cole slaw, they’d be delicous and satisfying.  And best of all, they’re healthy!

Denny’s Potachos!

Look alive, night owls, Denny’s has come courting!  They “get” that we night owls have unique eating habits.  So they’ve come up with a great new menu to thrill our taste buds.

Potachos – Freshly fried and seasoned kettle chips topped with crumbled sausage, bacon, bell pepper and onion mix, cheese sauce and shredded Cheddar cheese. (Picture at the top of the post - Yum!)

Sweet Ride Nachos – Freshly fried flour tortilla chips tossed in cinnamon sugar, then topped with strawberry topping, raspberry sauce, seasonal fruit, hot fudge, caramel, white chocolate chips and whipped cream. (Sitting deliciously at the bottom of the post!)

Smokin’ Q Four Pack –Four mini burgers topped with sweet & tangy BBQ sauce, crispy onion rings, Cheddar cheese and bacon. Served with a double portion of onion rings. (Pictured Below)

Smokin’ Q Four Pack!

Cheesy Four Pack – Four mini burgers with American cheese, ketchup, mustard, grilled onions and pickle chips. Served with a double portion of onion rings.

Denny’s Sweet Ride Nachos!

The ridiculously delicous items in this post will be available exclusively from 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. The creation of the late-night menu was based on feedback from focus groups and taste test studies with consumers ages 18-24. Denny’s also kept the consumer’s pocketbook in mind with the inclusion of 4 “value items” starting at $3.99.

What do you excpect from a company known for its Southern hospitality? Denny’s is based in Spartanburg, SC. - so they know a thing or two about the trait southerners are famous for. Fortunately they know about another thing the south’s known for… great food!

Somebody notify the Smokin’ Q Four Pack and Sweet Ride Nachos that I’m coming for them.

Okay, how delicous does Chocolate Cake look?!!

The Paula Deen 32-oz. Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake is waiting for you - all chocalatey, gooey, nutty, and delicious! Cooking.com ships this glorious cake frozen, so all you have to do is meet it at the door and invite it in for dinner!

From the Website:
Paula’s Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake is made with only the finest and the freshest ingredients using Paula’s “signature” recipe. This dense chocolate cake, with soft walnuts and crusty topping, is richly enhanced with gooey chocolate filling.

Shipped to arrive during the business week–orders placed on Fridays and the weekend are not shipped until the following business day.

This cake and a little vanilla ice cream (extra points if it’s homemade) could spell out a ridiculously delicious way to end a meal.  Oh, heck, it could spell out a ridiculously good reason to just skip the meal and pig out on cake!

I am so there.

The tomato scare is certainly getting a lot of attention, isn’t it?  I don’t remember the FDA being quite this cautious with foods in the past.  Tomatoes are being pulled from restaurant menus as well as grocery shelves.  This particular, and unusual, type of salmonella is called salmonella saintpaul.

Monday morning, the FDA reported there have been 145 reported cases of salmonella saintpaul since mid-April. It’s been identified in Washington, Oregon and 15 other states. Twenty-three people have been hospitalized. 

By day’s end, though, the number shot up to 166.

Federal officials have said that cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and homegrown tomatoes are likely not the source of the outbreak.  It seems to me that most people are avoiding ALL tomatoes, just to be safe.

I really, really, really  feel badly for farmers.  The economy’s bad enough without them having this hit them.  What a terrible waste.  It makes me want to go to the Farmer’s Markets and buy even more of everything else.  Oh, yeah, I see me spending a lot of time at roadside stands - even more than usual.

Thursday afternoon I had something that I hadn’t eaten in a long time:  A good, old-fashioned, flashback to grade school peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich.  None of that healthy ”adult” thinking of putting it on whole wheat bread - oh no, it was built on white Bunny bread.  I didn’t even mentally calculate the calories of the Peanut Butter as I spread it out, either.  So, yeah, it was a little heavy-handed.  Or knived. Peter Pan, Bunny Bread, Smuckers, and I made a masterpiece.

Since then I’ve been thinking about just how universally loved peanut butter is.  It’s one of everyone’s favorite comfort foods.  I guess it all goes back to the fact that most of us ate peanut butter sandwiches while growing up, so they’re associated with Saturday afternoons, school lunches, and laughs at the kitchen table.

Plus peanut butter’s just plain delicious!

Elvis Presley absolutely loved fried Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches and had a particular fondness for Peanut Butter on Crackers.  It apparently was his number one comfort food.  We all know how close the “King” was to his mother, I’d be willing to bet that his love of PB went back to her fixing sandwiches for him as a child. 

We can all agree that Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches and Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches are pretty normal.  But if you want to take a “not so normal” look at peanut butter, I have a website for you:  http://www.peanutbetter.com.  Peanut Better offers the following “Savory” varieties for the peanut butter lover with an adventurous streak:  Onion Parsley, Rosemary Garlic, Hickory Smoked, Tai Ginger and Red Pepper, Spicy Southwestern.

For those with a sweet tooth (you rang?) they have:  Cinnamon Currant, Deep Chocolate, Vanilla Cranberry, Sweet Molasses, and the one of all of them I know I’d like:  Peanut Praline.  I say “I Know I’d like” rather than the one “I’d touch with a ten foot knife” because, hey, you never know.  Generally, I don’t like for my food to have identity crises of any kind.  If it’s corn, I want it to taste like corn - if it’s peanut butter, I want it to only have peanut butter on its mind.  But, I love food, so even if its getting all experiment-y and wacky, I’ll go along for the ride.

At least once.

From a link on Peanut Better.com, I found a site that sells peanuts, apparently it’s where Peanut Better gets their peanuts.  I’ll bet when these peanuts were growing up they never imagined they’d possibly land in a jar of Tai Ginger and Red Pepper Peanut Butter! Spicy? Yes.  Nice-y?  I dunno.

Anyway, the website has some AMAZING Peanut Recipes I know you’ll want to check out.  Recipes like:  Mexican Peanuts, Sugar Coated Peanuts, Peanut Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Balls, Peanut Banana Shake, Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich, Peanut Butter Popcorn, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, Choco Butter Combos, and more!

My printer is doing it’s deep breathing exercises, it knows it’s about to get a workout.

Speaking of workouts, I see a lot of peanut yumminess in my near future, so I’d better go walk off some calories to make room for more.  I’ve got it down to an art.

I like the way the month of June thinks. Petunias, walks in the park, yards filled with birds, lots of baseball, grilling… Now, she’s gone and topped herself. June has declared herself to be National Tea Month. Are you kidding me? I’m SO there!

You name the tea and I love it dearly. Black tea, white tea, green tea (!!!), red tea (although it actually took longer for me to get used to than green tea), Chai tea - my mouth’s watering just thinking about all of that goodness.

Being from the south, I naturally prefer my tea sweetened. I’ve always sweetened my iced tea with white sugar and my hot tea with honey. Hot tea and honey were just meant to go together. Like a good marriage, they bring out the best in one another. Recently, though, I’ve been sweetening my iced tea with honey as well. I love the special little zing and swagger that it gives the tea - especially green tea. You just try it without honey… you’ll be sorry, it isn’t for the faint of heart.

Below are three AMAZING recipes for Iced tea using my new sweetheart, honey. They are courtesy of the National Honey Board and I thank them very much - for the recipes, of course, but even more so for honey. Sweet stuff. Mmmm… I just thought of something else that I love honey on: Peanut butter, toast, and bananas. I toast the bread, usually wheat, spread on the peanut butter, add a sliced banana, then (this is where it gets sticky) drizzle my honey on top of the bananas. I top it off with the other slice of toast, sit down and enjoy life.

Try it sometime, you’ll be impressed. Also, give these recipes a try. You’ll make them over and over and over again.

Honey Mint Iced Tea
-Makes 4 servings-

Ingredients:
4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tea bags, green or black
1/4 cup honey*

*Suggested pairing: Wildflower honey. Wildflower honey is amber to dark amber in
color with mild floral overtones. Extremely versatile, it is delicious in fruit
and vegetable salad dressings, excellent in baked goods and makes a delicious
table honey. Clover honey may also be substituted for wildflower.

Directions:
In large heat-proof pitcher, pour boiling water over mint and tea bags. Whisk in
honey. Let steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags; cool. Refrigerate until ready to
serve. To serve, pour over ice.

Icy Fruit Tea
- Makes 6 servings -

Ingredients:
4 tea bags
1 cup boiling water
1/2 honey*
1/4 cup crushed, packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 fresh lime juice
Ice cubes
1 1/2 quarts carbonated water

*Suggested pairing: Orange blossom honey. Orange blossom honey is a white to
extra light amber honey with a pronounced aroma of orange blossoms. It has a
sweet, fruity taste and is a great table honey. Orange blossom honey also excels
in fruit and vegetable salad dressings, and in marinades for fish and poultry.

Directions:
For concentrate, place tea bags in medium bowl. Add boiling water and steep 10
minutes. Remove tea bags. Add honey and mint; mix well. Mix fruit juices in
1-quart container. Add tea mixture and refrigerate until ready to use. For tea,
fill 12-ounce glass with ice cubes. Add 1/2 cup each concentrate and fill glass
with carbonated water.

Serving Suggestions:
Garnish with a pineapple spear and mint sprig.

Honey Raspberry Iced Tea
- Makes 4 Servings -

Ingredients:
2 cups freshly brewed tea
2 cups cranberry-raspberry juice
1/4 cup honey*

*Suggested pairing: Raspberry honey. Raspberry honey is light amber in color
with a mellow, smooth flavor and unique raspberry finish. This sweet honey pairs
well with vanilla flavors, champagne, chocolate and with fresh fruit, such as
pears and peaches. If raspberry honey is unavailable, clover honey may also be
used.

Directions:
In a large, heat-proof pitcher, whisk together all ingredients until thoroughly
combined and honey dissolves. Chill until ready to serve. Pour over ice to
serve.