I found these Ile de France “Brie Bites” yesterday while grocery shopping and decided they would be the one impulse buy I would allow. I’m a big fan of The Laughing Cow Babybel cheeses as well as any brand of pepper jack cheese sticks. It’s what a I grab when I feel like I’m crashing in between meals. They’re a quick way to get back on track without indulging in scones from the coffee shop across the street or the perpetually full candy dish that sits in your co-worker’s cubicle taunting you every time a stressful email comes in.

I just tasted one of these delicate bites and I’m throughly in love. It was creamy, tangy, and seriously hit the spot. I’m a little worried though since I bought these in the suburbs yesterday and not my usual grocery store. I’m going to be very mad if I have to book a Zipcar now when I want to stock back up on Brie Bites. At only 70 calories though they might be worth the extra effort.

I also think that they would be a super cute appetizer to serve at parties. I love making baked brie for the holidays but you could definitely arrange these small rounds on a pretty crystal tray (either wrapped in pastry and hot or simply at room temperature) and allow your guests the gift of brie that they don’t have to share with anyone else.

Ile de France Brie Bites is a post from: Yummery

When I happened upon these adorable containers this morning I knew instantly that they would be item #1 on my Christmas list this year. I’m a sucker for cuteness and these colorful stoneware versions of the funky green fruit baskets that we usually toss immediately after buying cherries, berries, and tomatoes are the perfect small accessory to add to my tiny city kitchen. I love the soft pastel hues and think they would be a great option for serving individual portions of chips and crackers at your next party too. Pretty and functional — what’s not to love?!

Stoneware Farmers Market Basket is a post from: Yummery

Kitchen and kitsch are two of my favorite things so when they combine in one place I get all giggly with excitement, and this is exactly what happened when I opened up The Casserole Queens Cookbook. Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock have taken some of the most absurd (but you know you still crave them) recipes from your grandmother’s bag of tricks and upgraded them with homemade elements such as making a béchamel instead of using cream of mushroom soup, or classing up chicken pot pie with white wine and fresh tarragon. Oh cream of mushroom soup from a can…how are we still alive?!

This awesome duo have managed to dig up a veritable treasure trove of back in the day favorites including the meal I ate countless times while laying on the living room floor at my grandmother’s house and watching Brady Bunch reruns: Tuna Noodle Casserole (or as we nicknamed it: Tuna-Pea-Wiggle). But the awesome doesn’t stop there. You can also learn how to make perked up versions of Cottage Pie, Arroz con Pollo, Beef Burgundy, Peach Cobbler, and even Strata. Cook and Pollock refer to their best of the ’50s style of cooking with a modern and sophisticated twist as “sophistakitsch” and I can definitely see myself whipping up an array of their creative dishes while channeling my inner Betty Draper just as soon as I can find my pearls.

The Casserole Queens Cookbook is a post from: Yummery

Now if this brand new bean pot from Le Creuset doesn’t scream picking apples, pumpkin spice, and changing leaves (aka Fall in New England) then I don’t know what would.

Sure you can make baked beans in a regular pot but why would you? This piece also just happens to be from the Heritage collection which brings back vintage Le Creuset designs so we can enjoy them in our kitchens immediately instead of scouring estate sales and ebay for them. An extra special added bonus: it’s dishwasher safe. Huzzah! Saturday night baked beans and hot dogs for everyone!

Le Creuset Stoneware Bean Pot is a post from: Yummery

Themed cupcake kits with cute adornments are all the rage these days. They’re also extremely handy for those of you (like me) who can’t decorate baked goods to save your life. In an effort to not bring treats to parties that look like a five-year-old was getting busy in the kitchen you can still swirl on the boring layer of plain icing, but then brighten things up immensely with just the touch of a toothpick.

This particular kit is perfect for all of the lazy football filled Sundays that await us this Fall. The helmets and cheerleaders are especially fetching, and if you get bored with all the intentional grounding and first downs you can always pull off the paper footballs and flick them at other people’s heads.

Football Cupcake Decorating Kit is a post from: Yummery

I’m in the market for a new pepper mill after finally giving up on my original salt and pepper mills from Crate and Barrel. Every year or so one or the other would break and after purchasing four in a row I decided enough was enough. Normally I wouldn’t stick so adamantly with a product that possessed such a problematic shelf live but they were very elegant and honestly I figured I use a lot of pepper so the wear and tear was probably a bit much.

Currently I’m making do with a disposable pepper mill from the grocery store, but this perfectly pretty purple pepper mill has definitely caught my eye and I think it has the potential to add a whole new level of pizazz to my dinner table. What do you think?

Sierra Purple Pepper Mill is a post from: Yummery

I’m not a bargain shopper. I’m actually more likely than not to be the person who never finds good deals or treasures in the clearance aisles. I’m the girl who pays full price and then sees her co-worker wearing the exact same thing that they found for $4. So you’ll have to excuse me while I brag just a tiny bit. You see, I just scored 9 bottles of wine for $25 via a fantastic deal on Buy With Me.

For four more days you can purchase a $75 gift card to use at WineTasting.com for only $35. Click on the “more deals” link to find the offer.

Sorry guys…I had an additional $10 coupon code (who knows what other coupon codes you might find via google) that has expired, hence my $25 miracle, but $35 can still get you oodles of wine and free shipping if you shop from their “Gifts and Collections” section. I ended up ordering the California Cheer Collection and The French Kiss Trio. At this rate we’re going to need a bigger wine rack!

Buy With Me Deal on WineTasting.com is a post from: Yummery

I get it. Everyone hates Valentine’s Day, but if you have a significant someone in your life be it friend or lover please don’t buy them chocolates from CVS on your way home from work. Put a little thought into how you’d like to treat the special people in your life. Believe me — we know when something has been done in a half-assed manner.

Thankfully I have a solution for those of you who are truly gift giving disasters. Go buy a Valentine’s Day Handmade Food Gift Box from Eat Boutique right now! Trust me. They’re going to sell out and then you’ll find yourself embarrassingly scouring the picked over shelves full of lime lollipops and waxy chocolate hearts dreaming about all of the amazing treats you’re missing out on. Delicious things like: Salt and Pepper Chocolate, Snowball Cookies, Chocolate Raspberry Cashews and much much more.

Eat Boutique’s gift boxes are packed with a hand-written card and will be shipped directly to your recipient in time for February 14, 2011. You can thank me for giving you the scoop later.

Valentine’s Day Handmade Food Gift Box from Eat Boutique is a post from: Yummery

The next time your bar outing start to get a little to ho-hum why not break out this cute Bingo set to really liven up the table? No matter where your favorite watering hole happens to reside I can’t imagine it will take long for you to spot any of the following:

• a pickup
• public making out
• frat boys
• dude wearing sunglasses inside
• group shots

I definitely know for a fact that fifteen minutes into any night out in Boston would result in a BINGO! This game comes in a deck of 12 reusable cards and don’t worry — there’s no need for tacky bingo markers. You can simply bend back each icon’s tab to mark your discoveries. I love being able to get my snark on covertly, don’t you?

Bar Bingo is a post from: Yummery

Note: This contest is now closed. Congratulations to Nicole for winning the Ebelskiver pan!

I was very excited a few weeks ago when my friend Aaron from high school emailed to invite me to participate in a private beta of a new project he was working on. The site is called Dibbsly and it can seriously clean up the inbox of those of you, like me, who subscribe to numerous daily deal sites like Groupon, Bloomspot, Townhog etc… Instead of cluttering my inbox with 12 different product sale alerts all I need now is one update provided promptly in the morning by Dibbsly. If you’d like a little more explanation definitely check out the adorable video the team created located below the giveaway details.

Dibbsly is also sponsoring a festive giveaway for Yummery readers. If you leave a comment on this post you’ll be entered to win an Ebelskiver pan. If you aren’t familiar with Ebelskivers you can check out the Cinnamon Bun version I made last week!

You can also get up to 3 additional entries in the contest by doing the following:

• Sign-up for a Dibbsly account
• Follow Dibbsly on Twitter
• Follow Dibbsly on Facebook

Important: Don’t forget to leave additional comments on this post alerting me to each action you’ve completed. This is the only way for me to accept and keep track of multiple entries.

All winners will be selected via the nifty random number generator on Friday, December 24th at 9:00 AM EST, and then I’ll promptly arrange to have an Ebelskiver pan mailed to your home. Best of luck!

Introducing Dibbsly.com [And an Ebelskiver Pan Giveaway!] is a post from: Yummery