A Self-Confessed Foodie

YoCrunch Greek Nonfat Yogurt

2011-09-18T13:33:00.002-05:00

Today, I had the chance to try the Strawberry YoCrunch Greek Nonfat Yogurt for the first time. To be fair, I had never had any Greek yogurt before. It was much thicker than I am used to, but it helped that they included lowfat granola right there in the lid. If that granola had not been there, I don’t think I could have made it through the entire 6 oz cup.

The other thing that I should point out is that this is a fruit on the bottom yogurt. While I was mixing it up, I couldn’t find any chunks of strawberry of a good size. There were a couple there, but they were tiny. It seemed to be more of a strawberry jelly than anything else. Which, when I tasted the yogurt before adding the granola, tasted pretty good to me. Once I added the granola, though, I tasted a bit of a bitter taste, which I wasn’t too fond of.

That being said, there are some pretty good benefits to this Greek Yogurt. I was reviewing the nutritional facts. There are 11 grams of protein in the one serving, which is 22% of your recommended daily allowance. That is about a third of what is one chicken breast. It also has 25% of your daily Calcium, which, while not the most of any yogurt, isn’t too bad.

* The thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Nobody tells me what to say...ever. YoCrunch did provide the yogurt free of charge, though.

Homemade Ginger Ale!

2011-08-10T07:26:00.000-05:00

A couple weekends ago my husband and his teammates took part in a huge training weekend in preparation for fencing national championships. One of the families was kind enough to hold a barbecue for the fencers and their families after the first day. Knowing one of our friends loves ginger, I decided to try a recipe I found for homemade ginger ale!

I used this homemade ginger ale recipe from Joy the Baker. It was wonderful! Sharp and spicy, sweet and bubbly!

I cooked the syrup down a little further than she recommended and was left with an amazing sweet/spicy syrup, to which we added club soda. It was really easy to make, just a little time consuming. The trickiest part was straining the syrup - I highly recommend using cheesecloth as she suggests! I've since bought cheesecloth so I can give this another try. :)

The adults added Domaine de Canton, a ginger liqueur. This made an even stronger ginger flavor and a bit of a kick!

It's absolutely delicious and definitely something you should try if you love ginger ale!

Review and Giveaway! A White House Garden Cookbook

2011-08-09T07:22:00.005-05:00

A White House Garden Cookbook: Healthy Ideas from the First Family for Your Family by Clara Silverstein is a fun, family-friendly cookbook that help you and your children learn about growing and eating fruits and vegetables. It also contains some other White House favorites!

This book is chock-full of information. It has recipes from the White House as well as community gardens all over the United States, including serving suggestions. It has tips about growing and using different vegetables as well as some fun trivia facts - did you know President George W. Bush didn't care for broccoli and that the ancient pharaohs in Egypt loved radishes? It also has lots of information about the White House garden, including a diagram of the spring vegetable garden.

Most of the recipes in this book are simple and could easily be cooked with your kids. There are some more involved recipes but they still use simple techniques. There are recipes for almost anything you could grow in your backyard garden, from tomatoes to herbs to berries. Most of the recipes are relatively healthy, containing minimal added butters or oils. The flavors come from the fresh ingredients!

The recipes include:

Thai Style Confetti Crunch Cucumber Salad
Barack Obama's Chili
Salsa Verde
Martha Washington's Great Cake
Swiss Chard Pesto and Eggplant Pizza

This book has lots of pictures, although I so with it had a few more pictures of the recipes themselves. It shows lots of pictures of kids getting involved in cooking and gardening! I think this book would be easier to read if it were printed on bigger paper, which would allow more space between the sections.

A White House Garden Cookbook: Healthy Ideas from the First Family for Your Family is written in a style that will be easily understood by children. The writing is engaging and may encourage kids to try new vegetables or ask if they can grow something in their backyard.

Win It!

One lucky winner will receive a copy of A White House Garden Cookbook: Healthy Ideas from the First Family for Your Family

How to Enter

Tell me what you would love to grow in your yard!

Additional Entries

Do any of the following and post another comment telling me you’ve done it.

Leave a relevant comment on any non-giveaway blog post! I love comments!
Promote this giveaway in some form (suggestions: Twitter, a Mr. Linky, your blog, etc.)
Become a fan of A Self-Confessed Foodie on Facebook!
Sign up for the A Self-Confessed Foodie email or RSS feed! (you must activate your subscription!)
Follow me on Twitter!
Follow me publicly via Google Friend Connect
Add my button to your blog or blogroll (grab the code from the sidebar!)

Contest closes Sunday August 21, 2011 at 7:00pm CST and is limited to those 18 and over in the United States!

And now for the fine print:

Open only to those 18 and over residing in the United States. Contest closes August 21, 2011 at 7:00pm CST. I will randomly select winner(s) shortly after and notify those people by email. Winner(s) have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing address. If a winner does not contact me within 48 hours of notification I will choose an alternate winner.

The product reviewed was provided to me free of charge. I am in no way being compensated for my review. I am allowed to keep the product. This review is entirely my own opinion and has not been influenced in any way. The prize is being offered courtesy of the sponsor and is the sole responsibility of the sponsor, not this blog. Links may be affiliate links. For more information see my disclosure.

The Hardest Part...

2011-08-08T19:21:00.000-05:00

The hardest part of being a food blogger is keeping a steady stream of recipes going! Between busy weeks, traveling for work and recipe flop it can get tricky!

Let me give you an example!

Recently I attempted what sounded like a great dish in my head. I had it all planned out...and then screwed it up royally.

In a dish with fewer than ten ingredients I managed to:
- Burn bacon
- Burn garlic
- Undercook fish (did I mention I picked the wrong type of fish?)
- Overcook fish
- Undercook green beans
- Fail to make enough sauce
- Over do it with the lemon juice

If ever there was proof that I'm human, you've just had it. :)

I still stand by my concept. Despite all the issues I've listed above, it didn't taste horrible. It needs a little work before it's ready to share but I'll figure it out!

Oransi Ionic Air Purifier for Refrigerator Review and Giveaway

2011-08-04T07:05:00.011-05:00

Photo from Oransi.com

Scott and I recently had the opportunity to try out the Oransi Ionic Air Purifier for the refrigerator. It's a little device that you put in your refrigerator to clean the air and reduce the odors in your fridge. It's also supposed to kill bacteria, sterilize the fridge and prevent food spoilage and mildew.

I knew it was a small device but I didn't realize just how small until it arrived! It's only 4" high and about 2.5" wide. It operates on 2 AA batteries, which are supposed to last for approximately 90 days of use. It's really easy to use - there is a power button and that's it!

The Oransi Ionic Air Purifier runs for 30 minutes the first time you turn it on and then 5 minutes every two hours. It's one of those things you can just set and forget - the light on the front will blink constantly when the batteries start to run down but otherwise you'll never notice it's there. It doesn't use a filter so it's incredibly low maintenance.

It's absolutely silent, which I love! The air purifier makes no noise whatsoever - the only way I could tell it was running was by holding my hand over the top and feeling the air it put out.

Oransi Ionic Air Purifier at Work

I put the Oransi Ionic Air Purifier in the refrigerator after we'd been gone for a long weekend. I gave it a good sniff when I put the air purifier in while it didn't smell bad, it had a definite scent. I smelled it again a few hours later and again the next morning. It really did smell a lot less! I was impressed - this tiny little gizmo really works!

It sounds like this could also be used in a closet or other small space. If you have teenagers who put sweaty stinky clothes in a hamper in a closed closet, you might want to give this a try!

Win It!

One lucky winner will receive an Oransi Ionic Air Purifier for Refrigerator! (Retail price $39!)

How to Enter

Go to the Oransi website and tell me what other product you would like to try!

Additional Entries

Do any of the following and post another comment telling me you’ve done it.

Leave a relevant comment on any non-giveaway blog post! I love comments!
Promote this giveaway in some form (suggestions: Twitter, a Mr. Linky, your blog, etc.)
Become a fan of A Self-Confessed Foodie on Facebook!
Sign up for the A Self-Confessed Foodie email or RSS feed! (you must activate your subscription!)
Follow me on Twitter!
Follow me publicly via Google Friend Connect
Add my button to your blog or blogroll (grab the code from the sidebar!)

Contest closes Sunday August 14, 2011 at 7:00pm CST and is limited to those 18 and over in the US!

And now for the fine print:

Open only to those 18 and over residing in the US. Contest closes August 14, 2011 at 7:00pm CST. I will randomly select winner(s) shortly after and notify those people by email. Winner(s) have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing address - no PO boxes. If a winner does not contact me within 48 hours of notification I will choose an alternate winner.

Mango Thai Cafe

2011-08-03T10:00:00.002-05:00

One of the things I hate most about being a “critic” (and I use that term loosely) is when there are some good things about a restaurant, and some not so good. I ran into an instance of this when I got takeout from Mango Thai Café the other night.

It was a gorgeous night, one of the few that we have had recently, and as I walked up, I noticed many people dining outside, and I found myself wishing that I could be one of them. Unfortunately, I was just there to pick up takeout.

I walked in and noticed that the food coming out looked prettier than usual. There was height from the plate, the colors were bright and had good contrast, and there were people drinking wine with their Thai food, which I very rarely find. So, I placed my order (Potstickers, Massaman Curry, and Sticky Rice with Mango) all of which Jennifer and I were sharing.

Given the way things looked and smelled, I really wanted to like everything that we got. Unfortunately, I can’t say that there weren’t things that I would have changed if I were cooking. Let’s start with the potstickers. On their own, I really liked them. However, when I dipped them in the sauce that was given, I was overwhelmed by the amount of salt. That would be because the sauce was only soy sauce, as compared to the sauces that I have generally gotten with potstickers, which usually add at least vinegar, and often ginger pieces to it.

Then there was the Curry. The coconut curry sauce was both sweet and spicy, in the best combination possible. Unfortunately, though, the curry had large chunks of potato (ok – 3 large potato halves), which, as you may have guessed by what I have said so far, they were undercooked. Then there was the beef. Sadly, when I forked off a piece and tasted it, it was overcooked and dry. But, after I tossed the potatoes, the overall flavor was still great.

Finally, there was the sticky rice. I take full responsibility for not liking this dish, because as I had been finishing up my meal, Jennifer had gone up to take a bath, and by the time she came out, the rice had cooled down enough to be stuck rice. But, the mango, strawberries, and bit of sauce that came with it tasted great.

So, I guess that the real job of a critic is to recommend a restaurant, or not to. In the end, I would definitely give them another try. The flavors were spot on, while the execution of the basic things still lacked a bit.

Mango Thai Café

610 Selby Ave.

St. Paul, MN 55102

www.mangothaimn.com

Roasting Beets

2011-08-01T07:42:00.001-05:00

I found some gorgeous beets for almost nothing at our local farmer's market this week! I paid $3 for probably 8 good-sized beets. I love roasted beets, especially on salads. They have a great flavor and a gorgeous, deep red or gold color.

Roasted Beets
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the beets, scrubbing them well to get all of the dirt off the skins. Cut off the tops of the beets.

Lay them on a large pieces of foil and drizzle liberally with olive oil, tossing to coat.

Fold the foil around the beets so they make a packet. Place the packet in the oven. (I put mine in on a baking sheet to make them easier to take out.)

Cooking time will vary according to the size of your beets. For small beets, as little as 20 minutes may be sufficient while large beets may take upwards of an hour. Some of my beets were pretty large, about half again the size of my fist. They took about 80 minutes to cook. The beets are done when they are tender and yield easily to a knife piercing their skin.

When cooked, remove the beets from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them. Use your fingers to gently peel the skin off your beets.

Your beets are now ready to eat! I love chopping them and putting them on salads. They're great with such ingredients as goat's cheese, nuts, vinaigrettes, etc. Delicious!

Beat the Heat and Have Fun with Your Food!

2011-07-29T07:31:00.001-05:00

A heat wave has been gripping the Midwest, pushing the mercury up in the thermometer and making us lock ourselves in the comfort of our air conditioning.

It's time to rebel and beat the heat! Here are a few suggestions for summer fun with food!

Want to go for a picnic but it's just too warm out? Make it a breakfast picnic and go first thing in the morning when it's cooler out. Pack fresh fruit, cereal or muffins, along with juice and your morning coffee. Bring it to the local park. You can all enjoy a lazy morning in the sunshine and the kids can play on the playground for a little while before it gets too hot!

Frozen grapes or blueberries make a fantastic snack on a hot day! Simply wash your fruit, pull off the stems and spread them out on a cookie sheet (try to keep them from touching!). When they are frozen, place them in a bag or plastic storage container for easy storage.

Make frozen fruit ice cubes with the kids! Simply wash fruit and cut it into pieces (small berries can be kept whole). Fill an ice cube tray with water and place a few pieces of fruit in each cube. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries would all be great! When frozen, serve in your favorite drink! They look gorgeous in still or sparkling water!

Too hot to go camping but still want s'mores? Enjoy s'mores in the backyard! Next time you make dinner on your charcoal grill, let the kids roast marshmallows over the coals when you're done! (Adult supervision required, of course!)

Make a chilled soup, like a fresh fruit soup or a gazpacho. They are a delicious and refreshing addition to your meal!

How are you going to enjoy food this summer?

Talenti's Cutest Moments and Gelato Memories

2011-07-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

I’ve been asked to let you know about a new contest being held by Talenti Gelato e Sorbetto!

They are sponsoring the “Talenti’s Cutest Moments” photo contest on their Facebook page. It runs from July 26th until September 2nd so you still have plenty of time to enter!

Just become a fan and post a photo of yourself or your family enjoying a Talenti product. It can be any type of picture you like - goofy, adorable, humorous or serious! Visitors will vote on the photos posted that week and the photo with the most votes in a week will get to be profile picture for Talenti for a day and be a finalist for the grand prize, a prize anyone with a sweet tooth will love - a four-pack of Talenti each month of a year!!

Drool.

Please read the complete contest details before entering - I’ve just provided a summary.

I don’t have a photograph to share but I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite gelato experiences!

I spent a summer in Germany and took care of the son of one of our professors a couple of afternoons a week. He was an adorable two-year-old with a passion for “Eis” (German for ice cream). There were a couple of great shops nearby with delicious ice cream and gelato. On nice days when Noah had been an angel we would walk down to one of the local shops.

While I picked my gelato by flavor, Noah picked his by color, choosing the brightest, most vivid blues and greens.

Thankfully his parents didn’t mind Noah coming home with neon blue or green lips and tongue and we always had a blast. It was great to be outside, eating gelato (which I couldn’t get at home back then!) and spending time with my little babysitting charge!

Hopefully someday I’ll be able to take my own children to those same little shops - and if I do I’ll definitely take pictures!

Disclosure - This is a sponsored post. I will be receiving a free container of Talenti in exchange for providing this information.

Gin and Tonic

2011-07-27T06:09:00.002-05:00

As anybody in Minnesota, or really, the country, knows right now, the overdue summertime temperatures have arrived. And with those hot temperatures, it is imperative that one has a go-to summertime drink. I have a couple of them, but one of my favorites is a gin and tonic.

The traditional Gin and Tonic (3 parts tonic, 1 part gin, lime, and ice) began, from what can tell, around 1825. It was used by British soldiers as a way to make tonic water, which contains the anti-malarial ingredient quinine, into a much more palatable form. Nowadays, the amount of quinine in tonic water has dropped significantly, which makes the gin less necessary for tonic intake

In the US, Gin is required to have 40% ABV – In the EU, it only needs 37.5%. The original gin was derived from fermented malt that was then re-distilled with juniper berries, which is the primary flavoring in gin. Some of the other flavors that are often included in gin are: Coriander seed, almonds, aniseed, cinnamon, ginger, and lemon.

There are many different types of gin on the market, each with its own secret recipe. I kind of like Tanquery 10 or Hendricks, but I am always willing to try something new, so if you have a favorite gin that I should try, let me know!

Roasted Herbed Red Potatoes

2011-07-26T07:12:00.001-05:00

I found some gorgeous red potatoes at the farmers' market last week. One evening when Scott had to go out for a while, I decided to make myself a snack of roasted herbed red potatoes, intending to save the leftovers for Scott to eat when he got home.

But there was a problem.

I ate them. All of them.

They were soft and creamy in the middle and slightly crispy on the outside with a delicate herby flavor. These are so easy to make! They are perfect as a side dish or a snack!

Roasted Herbed Red Potatoes
4 medium red potatoes, cut into roughly 3/4 inch pieces
2 T. fresh herbs (I used sage and thyme)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean up!).

Place the potato cubes on the sheet. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil.

Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper and add your chopped herbs. Toss lightly to coat the potatoes with the olive oil and herbs.

Place the baking sheet in the oven, stirring the potatoes every 10 minutes or so to allow all sides to brown slightly. Cook until potatoes are lightly browned on the outside and soft in the middle, approximately 30 minutes.

First Signs of a Foodie

2011-07-21T06:29:00.000-05:00

Last night I was thinking about some of the places I went when I was a child. When I traveled with my parents they always went to fine dining restaurants to eat - and they took me with them. In fact, as a small child, my behavior in a restaurant was defined by the number of forks on the table. We would count them when we sat down and my mother would remind me what was expected of me that evening.

In thinking about this, I realized that experiences like these were the first signs that I would grow up to be a foodie...

Another one that springs to mind is the fact that escargot was my meal of choice when dining out from roughly the ages of 4-8. I would search the menu for it everywhere we went, then very clearly tell the waiter or waitress: "I would like the escargot, please".

Of course more often than not the waiter or waitress would turn to my parents and ask "is that okay? Does she know what she's ordering?".

I did. I loved it. The tender morsels dripping with garlic butter, perhaps with a squeeze of lemon.

Yum.

I think anyone paying attention back then would have guessed I'd grow up to love food. The signs were there early on and the influence of my parents made it even more certain. They loved food. They loved going out for dinner, trying new restaurants, new foods.

It's your turn - what was the first sign that you would turn out to love food? Do you think your kids are likely to be foodies?

Pork Chops with Mustard-Thyme Sauce

2011-07-20T07:22:00.001-05:00

This was an easy and delicious meal. It only took about 20 minutes to cook, which is a huge bonus on hot days like the ones we've been having! This is a dish that Scott concocted and I loved it! This recipe is definitely a keeper!

This sauce is creamy and rich. It had a wonderful herb flavor from the thyme and a brightness from the lemon.

Pork Chops with Mustard-Thyme Sauce
4 pork chops
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 T. dijon mustard
Juice from half a lemon
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste or seasoning of choice (we used Murals of Flavor from Penzey's)
Olive oil

Directions:
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper or your desired seasoning.

Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put the pork chops into the pan. Brown on one side, then flip the chop over and cook until done (140 degrees). Remove the chops from the pan and cover with foil.

Add a little more olive oil to the pan and sauté the shallot until soft. Add the chicken stock and allow it to simmer until the stock has reduced by half.

Add the cream and dijon mustard. Allow to simmer until the sauce has reduced to your desired consistency, then add in the lemon juice and thyme. Stir to combine, then remove from heat. Serve over your pork chops!

We're Girard's Epicurean Experts!

2011-07-19T07:35:00.000-05:00

I’m excited to announce that A Self-Confessed Foodie is now one of Girard’s Epicurean Experts!

Last year we had a chance to do a review and giveaway of their dressing product. We really enjoyed the dressings so we were excited to accept the offer to be Epicurean Experts!

What does this mean? We’re going to be trying some of the new Girard’s flavors before they hit the shelves! Be watching for an upcoming post with reviews of the following dressings:

Light Champagne
Olde Venice Italian
White Balsamic Vinaigrette
Greek Feta Vinaigrette

Do you have a favorite recipe that you think would be perfect for trying these new flavors? Share the recipe or the link in the comments!

A Family Birthday Dinner

2011-07-18T09:20:00.001-05:00

As you might have seen, this past weekend Scott and I were at a Family Birthday Celebration.

We had rented two houses with kitchens so on Saturday night we had a big birthday dinner to celebrate the decade birthdays in the family. One of Scott’s aunts had brought a bunch of decorations and made the table look gorgeous. Each of the families without a birthday was also asked to bring a component of dinner.

Scott’s grandmother being one of the birthdays, her kids decided that she’d taken care of everyone else for so long that on Saturday her grandkids were going to serve her. With a little direction from one of the adults, the kids, ranging in age from 10-19, served the meal that we had prepared.

We had bread, salad, an appetizer of caramelized onion and goat’s cheese pizza and lasagna for our main course. The food was great and the kids did a fantastic job serving everyone.

Scott’s grandma knew we were having a family dinner that night but the fact that they had decorated and that the kids were serving was a surprise for her. She loved it! It was such a nice way to celebrate her birthday and she loved having most of her kids and grandchildren there!

How have you celebrated family birthdays?

Healthy Options in Restuarants

2011-07-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

There have been a lot of discussions lately about having healthy meal options in restaurants. We went out to eat yesterday when something struck me and I just felt like I had to share...

Some restaurants have been good about getting nutritional information on their menus or at least marking some of the “better” options on the menu. A few recent examples that come to mind are Panera, which marks their calorie count right on the menu, and Ruby Tuesday, which puts an icon next to some of the lower calorie menu options and also provides a separate section spotlighting their lower-calorie options

Yesterday, however, we went to The Cheesecake Factory. Home of the yummy book-length menu and portions large enough to feed me for a week.

I was hoping to find a number of well-marked options that would be at least somewhat healthy. I found a few...but it was done in such a way that I would be embarrassed to order them. The Cheesecake Factory has several “Weight Management Salads (TM)” and a “Weight Management Grilled Chicken (TM)”.

Don’t get me wrong, they looked tasty. It’s just the names that bother me. I don’t mind obviously ordering something healthy. I just object to the name “Weight Management Grilled Chicken (TM)”.

It implies that I am eating this because I am on a diet and trying to lose weight, not that I just want a healthy and light option. I don’t mind being seen as a healthy eater but I resent the implication that I’m choosing an option purely because I need to manage my weight.

My preference is to have an icon on the menu indicating that an option fits certain criteria, such as under 350 calories. I’d like to be able to easily identify the healthier options and make educated choices without feeling like I’m being judged by what I order.

What are your thoughts on displaying healthy options on restaurant menus?

Scallops with Grand Marnier Honey Sauce

2011-07-12T07:28:00.003-05:00

This is an amazingly simple dish. It only takes a few minutes to make and it's absolutely delicious. My mother came up with the idea and it's very versatile! Consider using another liquor or adding some fresh lemon juice to brighten it up!

For one reason or another, usually fencing-related, there are sometimes evenings when I have to fend for myself for dinner. I will often go to the grocery store and pick out some nice scallops and cook this meal for myself. It makes it easy to have a home-cooked meal without too much fuss or mess. I usually steam a vegetable to go with it.

Scallops with Grand Marnier Honey Sauce
6 oz. sea scallops
Salt and pepper
Butter or olive oil for cooking
Flour
2 T. Grand Marnier
1 tsp. honey

Directions:
Wash the sea scallops to remove any sand. Pull off the little foot of the scallop (the little white "tag" on the edge of the scallop - this has a tough texture).

Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Dip one side of the scallop in flour.

Heat some butter and/or olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place the scallops in the pan to sear, flour side down. Scallops cook very quickly so watch them carefully! Remove the scallops from the pan when they are cooked to your taste (I prefer my scallops medium rare). Tent the scallops with foil to keep warm.

Turn the heat off under the pan and use the Grand Marnier to deglaze the pan. Use a spatula to scrape any little bits off the bottom of the pan.

When the Grand Marnier has stopped boiling, add the honey to the pan and stir. Pour in any juice that has collected on the scallop plate and stir in.

Place the scallops on a plate and drizzle with the sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Raising the bar

2011-07-11T10:00:00.002-05:00

Last week, while I was in Reno for a fencing tournament, I went shopping for food for the competition. I came across a new feature of Whole Foods that I had never seen before.

I have seen many different kinds of bars. There are salad bars, dessert bars, olive bars, and many others. However, this is the first time I have ever seen a Trail Mix bar, which I thought was an excellent idea.

There were about 14 different choices, everything from honey-roasted peanuts to dried pineapple, chili-rubbed dried mango to the usual chocolate chips and M&Ms.

My question for you is this: What is the strangest kind of a bar that you have seen?

What's Your Fallback Position?

2011-07-08T07:43:00.000-05:00

No matter how much I want to try new recipes or make an elaborate dinner, sometimes life just gets in the way. Those are the nights when I need to go to my fallback position, my never-fail dinner options that are quick, easy or both - but always delicious!

A few of my favorites are:

Chicken Piccata

Maccheroni alla Bolognese

Greek Steak Pitas

Another favorite is Chicken with Dijon Mustard Sauce - recipe coming soon!

What's your fallback position?

Parmesan-Herb Crusted Chicken

2011-07-07T07:44:00.007-05:00

My mother thinks these should be called adult chicken fingers. We were looking for something easy and tasty for dinner so we decided on this. It's a jazzed-up version of the Parmesan breaded chicken she used to make for me when I was younger.

It doesn't take a lot of complicated ingredients to make something delicious! This chicken has a gorgeous, crunchy outside and a warm, juicy inside. The herbs give it a great flavor but still keep it family friendly.

This would make a great base for Chicken Parmesan - just add your favorite sauce, mozzarella cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese is golden brown!

Parmesan-Herb Crusted Chicken
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 heaping tablespoon fresh herbs, chopped (I used sage and thyme)
1/2 lb chicken breasts
1 egg
3-4 T. milk
Flour, for dredging
Butter and/or olive oil for cooking

Directions:
1. Cut the chicken breasts into halves or thirds, depending on size. Pound the pieces to be of equal thickness.

2. Mix the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and herbs in a large, shallow dish or on a paper towel. Place the flour on its own in a similar size bowl or paper towel.

3. Scramble the egg in a shallow dish and mix in milk to make a thin liquid.

4. Dredge the chicken in flour, then dip in the egg mixture. Remove the chicken from the egg and coat in the bread crumb mixture. Place into a pan.

5. Place the butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Place the chicken pieces in the pan and cook until the bottom is well-browned. Turn the chicken over and cook until the other side is browned and the chicken is cooked through.

Tips and Tricks - Lemons

2011-07-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

It’s grey and cloudy as I write this so I figured I’d give you a few bright and sunny tips. What better than tips and tricks regarding lemons?

Want to get the most juice out of your lemons?
Before cutting them, put them on your counter and roll them back and forth, applying heavy pressure with the heel of your hand. This will help break down the lemon and make them easier to juice! Use a tool like a citrus reamer to get out more juice than you could squeezing with your bare hands.

Need lemon zest?
Wash your lemon first, then zest with a zesting tool or fine grater (I love my Microplane graters). Make sure you only use the outermost layer of the lemon - the white inner pith is bitter!

Want to make a great sugar cookie recipe even better?
Add lemon zest to the cookie dough! It will give it a unique and delicious twist! It would also be great in blueberry muffins!

Want to avoid lemon pips in your dish?
There are lots of options! Squeeze the lemon into a dish first, squeeze it through a small strainer or use Rachel Ray’s tip - squeezing it cut side up!

Need a really easy fish recipe?
Wash a lemon and slice it. Place the lemon slices on top of a piece of fish and add some fresh dill. Place in a baking dish (or wrap in parchment paper) and bake. Here’s a recipe for Salmon en Papillote I shared a while back!

Do you have a favorite lemon tip? Share it in the comments!

Restaurant Review - Trattoria da Vinci

2011-07-05T07:25:00.000-05:00

Jennifer’s note: I’m posting this one for Scott.

I like to think of myself as a fairly polite person, but I found myself with a conundrum of etiquette last night, and I need your help with that. But, we’ll get to that later.

First of all, the restaurant. Trattoria da Vinci is located just off Mears Park in St. Paul. It is located at 400 Sibley St, in the same building as Bin Wine Bar and a number of offices. The inside of the restaurant reminded me of a neon garden, complete with semi-live music, and all (a live guitarist playing along with pre-recorded music. To be honest, he was pretty good).

We started sitting down at our table, and Jennifer noticed that her fork was dirty. Since Jennifer was sending back one utensil, she decided to throw her knife on the floor so that it would have company on its trip back to the dishwasher. (Jennifer: it was an accident! It was under my menu and I didn’t realize how close to the edge of the table it was!) Unbeknown to us, this process of getting replacements would take a good 15 minutes. In the mean time, we received the bread for the table, a soft-crusted white bread, along with a very salty butter.

Our first course was the Prosciutto E Mozzarella, which was billed as “Pan seared fresh mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto di Parma”. To me, this means that the mozzarella is seared, and then wrapped in prosciutto. Unfortunately, that is not what came out. What we got was a mass of prosciutto sitting on a piece of bread. When I took a bite, I was very disappointed. Apparently, they wrapped the mozzarella and then seared it. Only, I think they forgot to sear it, because the mozzarella was very cold. Of the three pieces that came out, we were only able to finish 1 ½ of them, and neither of us could eat the last little bit.

When the waitress asked us if there was anything wrong with it, we mentioned that it was cold, and she said that she would take it off our bill. Cool, I thought.

Eventually, our entrees came out. I ordered the Linguine Al Gorgonzola (minus the mushrooms) and Jennifer had the Penne Alla Contadina (minus the asparagus tips) – yes, we can both be picky about what we eat. We were both much happier with our entrees than with our appetizers. Mine came with five very large shrimp, amongst wilted arugula and cherry tomatoes. There were two things that could have made my food better. First, chop the tomatoes better. The tomatoes provided a perfect burst of acid amidst an otherwise overpowering richness and creaminess. However, some of the times I went for a bite, I got a quarter of a tomato, as I was supposed to, other times I got all four quarters of the tomato, attached by a little bit of skin.

Jennifer’s dinner was good…nothing too exciting, and much better than the appetizers. So, finally dessert came around. I had the Voglia di Cioccolata, which was basically an attempt at a chocolate lava cake. It reminded me of a chocolate cupcake complete with an inch of frosting…made of whip cream. The cake itself wasn’t bad, the center was definitely more moist than the rest but I don’t know that I would call it molten chocolate. The whipped cream on top was way too thick for me, though, and I had to leave most of it sitting on the plate. Jennifer ordered the raspberry sorbetto, which was okay, but not homemade.

10 minutes later, we got our check. With the appetizer still on it. This is where the etiquette comes in. We ended up just ignoring it and paying our bill. Should we have? Or should we have argued it? Let us know!

In the end, we paid about $80 for dinner for two, with one glass of wine each, and I would not go back again.

P.S. I couldn’t stand the menu on the website when I looked at it in Safari. It totally messed with my cursor by causing it to move at 1/3 of its normal speed.

Jennifer’s Take: Scott covered most of it so I won’t say much. My entree was edible but this restaurant doesn’t rank high on my list of Italian restaurants in the Twin Cities! There are several others we’ve been to since (reviews to come!) that I would prefer to return to.

I do want to point out the decor - the place was decorated with art reminiscent of what you see in books about da Vinci, including a replica of one of his flying machines and some sketches by da Vinci (copies, of course!). I thought the decor was actually pretty cool!

A note of disclosure: this is not a sponsored review. We chose and paid for this restaurant ourselves and we are sharing our personal opinions on the restaurant and the food we ate. Your opinion may differ - and we’re okay with that!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!!

Tilapia with Lemon Sage Brown Butter Sauce

2011-07-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

Alright, I admit it. When I was a kid I hated fish. I started to become more adventuresome in my eating when I lived in England and when I came back I was willing to try fish. I love this lemon brown butter sauce on any white, flaky fish. The splash of lemon helps cut the richness of the brown butter.

Tonight I added sage, the first “harvest” from my new herb garden! It added a delicious, earthy flavor to this rich sauce! I know it sounds unhealthy but a little goes a very long way with a delicate fish!

Tilapia with Lemon Sage Brown Butter Sauce

1 pound tilapia fillets or any white flaky fish
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour (cake flour if you have it)
Olive oil
4 T. butter
8 large sage leaves, chopped
Splash of lemon juice

Directions:
Season the tilapia with salt and pepper. Dredge the fish in flour to help create a slightly crispy crust on the fish.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the fish. Cook for several minutes on a side or until the fish is cooked. Remove the fish from the pan and tent with foil. Wipe out the pan to remove any fragments of fish.

Over medium high heat, melt the butter with the the chopped sage. Heat until the butter starts to turn golden brown (it will have little brown bits in it). Be careful - once it starts to brown it goes quickly! Remove from the heat and add a splash of lemon juice.

Pour a spoonful of the sauce over each piece of fish. Serve and enjoy!

Farmers' Market

2011-07-01T07:03:00.000-05:00

One of the perks of my job is it's location. Every Thursday there is a large farmers’ market just a few short blocks from my office. It makes it so easy to buy fresh, locally produced vegetables, honey and a bunch of other goodies, including baked goods! It also miraculously makes me want to eat more vegetables, which is always a good thing - I'm picky!

Spring came very late to Minnesota this year so there really aren't a lot of locally produced vegetables yet. My last trip to the farmers’ market saw lots of sugar snap peas and greens, some rhubarb and some deliciously juicy strawberries.

I came back to the office loaded down with bags of bright green sugar snap peas, ruby red rhubarb, pickles and my prize, locally made tamales!

It's so much fun to browse the booths and see what people are offering. I love to see the vegetables change as the summer goes on and I'm excited that I'll be able to easily visit the farmers’ market this year!

What do you love about the farmers’ market?