Iron Chef is one of my favorite shows. I don’t have cable so I watch it on my computer a lot. Which is also good because it means that I get to watch as many episodes as I like!
A new release today states that Bobby Flay and Mario Batali would be joined by Emeril Lagasse and White House Executive Chef, Cristeta Comerford to take part in a competition. The challenge was issued by First Lady, Michelle Obama; Use the White House kitchen garden to produce a meal for America.

The battle will premiere January 3, 2010 at 8 pm EST.
The chefs …read more

Wow, time has gone by so fast!
I just got the news this morning that the author’s copies of the book are on their way. I should be receiving them sometime in the next week.

With being just a week post thyroidectomy I am feeling overwhelmed, flustered, excited, and dismayed. How’s that for a combination? I am feeling very well but my energy drains sooner than usual and it has been hard to keep up with my writing and editing duties. Trying to behave so that I will heal properly and quickly, and I am not so great at that either.
I have …read more

O.k…I know, Saturday blogsurfing hasn’t been happening.  I miss it.  You miss it.  My schedule is packed tighter than a Pork Terrine right now. Seriously.
But, better late than never, right?
I have been hungry for sweets as you will be able to tell when you check out these amazing posts.  Sorry for the lack of commentary.

Did you hear that now the peanut butter recall has been expanded to include all peanut products, including roast peanuts, and all the way back to January 1, 2007?
I figured that I was pretty safe because I make my own peanut butter but apparently not.  How are you going to know where the peanuts were roasted? Grr…makes me mad!
But…all is not lost!
If you have a blender or food processor and a few minutes you can make some tasty alternatives to peanut butter.

My week has gotten away from me.  Personally, I would like to go back to start over again, starting with about 5 a.m. Monday morning.
Why?
Because that was the time I was at Panera Bread in Cedar Hill, Texas gnoshing on all sorts of amazing food, slurping coffee in my brand new coffee cup and chatting with Jason Russel (Gen, Mgr.), Stan Sears (comedian Bakery Training Specialist), and Krista Moberg (Marketing).  And I had a blast.
These people LOVE their jobs, and to me that says a lot about Panera.

I have to admit having a passion for historic buildings, and the Melrose Hotel is one that I have loved for over thirty years a few years.
You see, growing up in the Dallas area, being (at that time, the bohemian 1970s) rather the precocious teenage artist, and convincing people (easily) that I was a European college student on a study program in the United States meant that I spent a lot of time on Oak Lawn, at Oak Lawn parties, and taking pictures of the Melrose and surrounding area.
When I got the chance to go there the other day …read more

Imagine a crunchy snack that satisfies your sweet tooth, is totally organic and sugar free and provides the equivalent of three servings of fruit in each snack sized bag.  Now imagine you could pick it up at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or Amazon…for around $2 a bag.
So I guess this must be a dream come true, right?

I wish I could call this Calvados Chicken Normandy but I can’t.  I didn’t have any Calvados but I did have a nice bottle of Crown Royal that a customer gave to Marc a couple of years ago.  What can I say? We don’t drink very much.
I wanted to make a cider reduction for this chicken and I thought that the whiskey would give it a nice mellow depth.  I was not disappointed at all, and the Hot Pepper Jelly was a brilliant touch if I do say so myself.

I had heard of grill pans before but I figured that we had a nice gas grill, we live in Texas, and there was no need for a grill pan.
Boy…was I wrong.
You see last Fall one of the local stores gave you points for every so much spent in grocery dollars.  As you can imagine I came away from that promotion with a whole new set of nice pans..including a grill pan.

Did ya ever wake up, stumble to the kitchen bleary eyed, and wish that Mrs. Cleaver would meet you at the kitchen door, wearing a crisply starched apron, and holding a plate of steaming muffins, fragrant bacon, and fresh, seasonal fruit?
Yeah. Me too.  Is there anyone that actually likes cooking breakfast? I think not.