I am so sorry. There are a number of posts that I promised and didn’t get posted. The week slipped away from me. I am in the midst of a very difficult situation which more or less exploded very late Sunday night. It has been difficult for me to concentrate on work. I will try to get the posts up that didn’t get posted early in the week. O.k. I hate whining and excuses so that is that end of that.
Recently I was sent a little book called, Notes on Cooking. I could make this review really short and just say …read more

I was contacted and asked if I would be interested in reviewing a new Italian cookbook that was put out by Food and Wine. Uh…of course!

The Food and Wine Quick From Scratch Italian Cookbook has amazing images. That is always the first thing that I look for. It was kind of disappointing to me that my own cookbook was to be without images (not my choice). The images in the Food and Wine cook book are big and close up. You get a good idea of what the dish should look like which is nice. Each recipe is on one …read more

Delice Chocolatier is based out of Arlington, Texas. This was interesting to me because it is close to where I live. I received the chocolate the day after I got the message that it was being shipped.

The odd thing is that even though the chocolate arrived the next day, and didn’t travel far…and even though it was wrapped in insulating material and with ice packs it was hot. It surprised me because we aren’t having a hot summer and other companies that have sent me cold items have done so successfully. Opening the chocolate I found that it was beautiful, …read more

Just before I went into the hospital for my surgery Marx Foods sent me a care package of dried mushrooms and dried peppers to try.

I know my surgery was over a month ago but I am just now beginning to cook a little. It wiped me out.

I had the opportunity to try fennel pollen. I actually received the tin just before my surgery and was frustrated at my lack of energy afterwards because I really wanted to try this stuff.
When you open the tin the whole room smells like anise. The flavor is a bit like a delicate anise and honey combination. It isn’t sweet but is the type of thing that would add a delicate flavor to almost anything.

I used it in cookies, which I will be sharing with you tomorrow. This would go in breads, baked goods of all kinds, and even vegetables and …read more

This is an interesting kit. I have mixed feelings about it and it is late, so bear with me as I more or less ramble on.
The girls were excited to see the kit. We have dvds of Ace of Cakes and love to watch them. Shiloh, my 13 year old has worked with fondant in the past so was looking forward to working  with it again. Remember this image?
So, Shiloh read the directions carefully and began to take the stuff out of the kit.

I will get back to you with all of the information about this today BUT the Ace of Cakes has partnered with Jakks to create creative baking kits for girls eight and up. They have sent me one to try with my girls and I will give you all the cool details later…
For right now, check out how popular it was when it came out of the box.

Here is a better picture of the product…

image:marye audet

I had the opportunity to try the most awesome eco-friendly disposable plates, ever. I loved these!
The plates are completely natural, organic, and biodegradable.  The are made from a completely renewable resource and hardly ripple the environment at all.  Plus they are beautiful.

I am thinking of making a notecard out of that image, by the way. I just love these plates. Ahem…O.k..
The plates are made from the Adaka Palm tree. But…and this is cool…no tree was harmed in the making of these plates. Maybe a bug or two was squished but that’s o.k..so far bugs aren’t an endangered species, right? Anyway, …read more

I was asked to review some Pourfect products and I agreed. I mean, I dont know about you but measuring cups, spoons and such disappears around here. It ends up in Kyrie’s play kitchen, or in the dirt in the driveway, or…God forbid, in the kitty litter. I ALWAYS need measuring cups so of course I said yes.

Let me just say..first of all…there are alot of them. The cup sizes are from 1/8 of a cup up to 2 cups. The measuring spoons go from unbelievably tiny to two tablespoons.
When I say unbelieveably tiny I mean it. Their specialty sizes …read more

Sometimes being a food writer is like Christmas everyday. Boxes come in the mail and are full of delightful things. The box from Dei Fratelli was like that. Two pasta sauces, two salsas. Yum.

Rather than doing a separate review for each I am just going to say that all  four of these products are delicious. The corn and black bean salsa was not too spicy, but had a very fresh flavor. In fact, all of the sauces had a good, fresh tomato flavor.They are not overly salty and all of the ingredients are well balanced. I really liked this brand. …read more