Bertolli Soup Event – Recap!
Posted: September 28, 2011 Filed under: Events, Food | Tags: bertolli, cooking, event, foodblog, soup 14 Comments »
Last night, I hung out with Fabio Viviani. Yes, Fabio. Viviani. Of Top Chef fame.
Picture it now. Just me, Fabio, a bottle of wine, a delicious meal (which, of course, he made especially for me), and an evening of conversation about food, wine, Italy, and other things which were made even more interesting by his accent.
You don’t believe me?
Ok, well, maybe that last part was a bit of a lie an exaggeration.
But I did meet Fabio! Only the evening went more like this:
I was introduced to Fabio. He kissed my hand. I melted into a puddle on the floor.
He talked to a group of foodbloggers about the new Bertolli Soup for Two line. I smiled and nodded like a manic, convinced he was talking to just me.
I asked to take a picture with him. He agreed. I was suddenly a 12 year old girl with a crush who couldn’t say anything more intelligent than “cool yeah definitely.”
I’m so suave.
Anyway, I’m sure you’re wondering where/why/how this occurred.
The wonderful people at Bertolli invited me to an unveiling of their newest product, Frozen Meal Soups for Two, which took place at the adorable downtown cooking event space, Cooking by the Book. Not only did I get to meet Fabio, I got to meet Bertolli head Chef Michael Christiansen, a bunch of my fellow New York food bloggers, AND I got to enjoy delicious wine, antipasti, and sample each of Bertolli’s new meal soups!
How lucky am I??
Asian Style Garlic Sesame Pasta Salad
Posted: September 20, 2011 Filed under: Food, Recipes | Tags: asian, broccoli, cooking, exotic, foodblog, garlic, pasta, pepper, recipe, salad, scallions, sesame, tomato 8 Comments »
See that picture above?
It’s Asian Style Garlic Sesame Pasta Salad. It’s also delicious. And easy to make.
You want some. Trust me.
Well, good news! You too can have a taste of this goodness!
I am currently the newest member of the ShopRite Blogger Panel, and will be creating recipes like this one for their blog, Potluck. Just head on over for the recipe for this Asian Style Garlic Sesame Pasta Salad.
And don’t forget to keep an eye out… I have some more tasty ShopRite creations in the works that you don’t want to miss!
Polls Are Open!
Posted: September 13, 2011 Filed under: Contests, Food 7 Comments »
Remember last week when I posted those delectable looking Mexican Hot Chocolate Covered Strawberries?
Yes, you remember. You were scrolling through your reader, or your email box, or facebook, or wherever else you get your dose of Food-For-Thought-ness. And you saw them. And you thought to yourself, well that looks like an award winning recipe!
Well, you were right. But you were also ahead of yourself. It will be an award winning recipe. Winner of the Blogger Chile Recipe Contest, in fact. Just as soon as you head on over and vote for it!
So, what are you waiting for??
Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Spinach and Quinoa
Posted: September 12, 2011 Filed under: Food, Recipes | Tags: asian, cayenne, chili, cinnamon, cooking, foodblog, garlic, lime, lunch, quinoa, recipe, Secret Recipe Club, sesame oil, spinach, sweet, tofu 31 Comments »
Like any couple, Jake and I have nicknames for each other. But this time of year, when he’s working toward a big work deadline, there’s a nickname I’d like to borrow from another blogger. Grumpy.
I mean, it’s not that I blame him. I’d be pretty grumpy if I was working until midnight 6 days a week, too. And tired. And cranky. In fact, I’m sure Jake would have a whole slew of nicknames reminiscent of the Seven Dwarfs for me. And they wouldn’t be pretty.
But for Jake, Grumpy definitely fits the bill this time of year. (Luckily he’s more like Happy the rest of the year.)
The blog that I’m referring to, by the way, is The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch, which also happens to be the blog that I was assigned for this month’s Secret Recipe Club.
When looking through Shelby’s (aka Honeybunch’s) blog, there were so many recipes I wanted to try. From Cheesy Orzo Pasta with Basil to Mango Peach Mojitos, this blog has something for everyone.
But what really caught my eye was not a sweet recipe, a dinner recipe, or even a tasty drink. No, it was this Sweet Chili Lime Tofu that captured my attention.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Posted: September 9, 2011 Filed under: Contests, Food, Recipes | Tags: chile, chile powder, chocolate, cinnamon, cooking recipe, cream, dessert, foodblog, fruit, strawberries 13 Comments »
You know how some people can just turn off their minds?
They can just sit down on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn, turn on some trashy reality TV show, and completely immerse themselves in whatever they’re watching, without a care in the world?
Well I’m not one of those people.
Now don’t get me wrong, I certainly watch my fair share of trashy TV (hello Jersey Shore), and I have eaten more bowls of popcorn in my life that I care to admit. But for whatever reason, I can never just turn my mind off.
Sometimes this can be super frustrating. Like when I’m trying to fall asleep and all I can think about is that work email I have to remember to respond to in the morning. Or when I’m trying to concentrate in class and all I can focus on is wedding details swirling around in my head.
But sometimes it can work in my favor. My mind just keeps going and going until it comes up with something amazing. Something spectacular. Something mind blowing.
Like last week. When I was in bed, trying to go to sleep, and my mind kept wandering over to the dried chiles in my kitchen cabinet for the Marx Foods Blogger Chile Recipe Challenge.
Clearly there was no reason for me to be obsessing over chiles at 11:00 at night. But there I was, exhausted, wishing I would just go to sleep, and thinking about chile recipes.
So I started thinking about what direction I would go in. Should I use the mild chiles or hot? Should I do something sweet or savory? How can I come up with a winning recipe by next week?
All of a sudden my mind was swirling with crazy ideas. Thai recipes… Mexican recipes… chili with chocolate in it… spicy chocolate truffles… Mexican hot chocolate… and finally, after about 50 different ideas, I knew what I was making.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Covered Strawberries.
And with that sweet thought, I was finally able to drift off to sleep.
