First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you that are Facebook fans. Yesterday, I broke the 4,000 mark, and I couldn’t be more honored and giddy that so many of you choose to read my blog. There are thousands of food blogs out there, and I consider myself very lucky to have each and every one of your visits.

Second, I am doing another little change.  I feel like I have been in a constant transition state lately.  I am 34 years old.  And I’m not complaining, but being 34 and pregnant is quite exhausting.  So I think that is where a lot of these changes are coming from – trying to make my life a little easier, a little more efficient.  I gave up posting on Tuesdays a few weeks back, (even though it hasn’t worked out that way until this week!), and now, I’m giving up Thursdays as well.  But don’t worry – I was posting links to different recipes I have developed around the web, and I will continue to post these – just in a different format.

If you look over to the right, you’ll see some new thumbnail photos.  Keep an eye on this new column, as this is where those recipes will be listed.  Just click on the picture, and it will take you directly to the website where the recipes are posted.

Thanks for humoring me through all my recent changes.  Who knows – maybe I’ll go back to posting Tuesdays and Thursdays when the baby comes, but for right now, we’re cutting back a bit!!

And third item of business…

Last week, I was able to visit Minneapolis for a few days as part of the General Mills blogging team.  If you’ve noticed all of the recipes I’ve done for Betty Crocker and Pillsbury lately, it’s because I was chosen to be part of a team that develops recipes for their Today’s Dish and Doughboy Dish features on their websites.  This wasn’t my first trip to the Betty Crocker kitchens, but it was such a great and informative trip – and my favorite of the two!

The first night there, we went to dinner at Cafe Lurcat, a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.  It was a fabulous dinner, and I didn’t take one single picture.  It was amazing food, and the company at our table was fantastic!

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Read the rest of Behind the Scenes with Betty Crocker (745 words)

© Deborah Harroun for Taste and Tell, 2012. | Permalink | 31 comments |

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I seem to be addicted to cupcakes lately.  I, for one, am hoping that the cupcake trend sticks around for a long, long time!!

When I was asked by the folks at Reynolds® to create a spring themed cupcake, of course my mind went immediately to lemon.  (Surprise, surprise, right??)  But instead of going with something bold – like lemon curd, which has been my recent addiction – I went with something a little more subtle.  This lemon frosting is a twist on my all-time favorite frosting.  My mom’s marshmallow frosting.  A bit of lemon extract brings on a whole new flavor profile that compliments the simplicity of the vanilla poppyseed cupcakes.

I have always been a fan of Reynolds®, but their new line of Baked For You® StayBrite® Baking Cups are awesome.  Not only can you find them at your regular grocery store, but they come in super cute designs that are designed to not fade during baking.  There is nothing worse than buying a super cute cupcake wrapper, only to not even be able to see the design after the cupcakes have been baked.  These baking cups worked like a charm, and my cupcakes baked up perfectly in them!
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Read the rest of Vanilla Poppyseed Cupcakes with Lemon Marshmallow Frosting (221 words)

© Deborah Harroun for Taste and Tell, 2012. | Permalink | 28 comments |

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Pregnancy is a funny thing.  I don’t normally get food aversions.  (Thank goodness!)  I do get cravings, but they usually aren’t so strong that I have to make my husband run to the store or to the drive through at 11pm because of my craving.  But my mood for different foods can change in the blink of an eye.  I might really be craving a scrambled egg, but by the time it finishes cooking 4 minutes later, I might not want it anymore.  Which I guess is one big reason that I don’t chase after my cravings – because I know it will probably change pretty quickly!!

I had actually put these meatloaf sandwiches on the menu awhile before I got around to making them.  First of all because I’m not very good at planning too far in advance.  I’m a girl who thinks that meatloaf is the best for sandwiches the next day.  In fact, I think I like the next day meatloaf sandwiches better than I actually like meatloaf!  So I knew that I wanted to make the meatloaf the day before we had these sandwiches for dinner.  Once I actually got my act together and made the meatloaf, I knew that we would have to eat the sandwiches the next day.  The meatloaf recipe is a little labor intensive – but then again, meatloaf usually does take a bit of time.  But as it cooked up, it smelled amazing.  I seriously wanted to dig in once it came out of the oven!

But I resisted, and I held off until the next night.  I made up the salad, toasted the bread, prepared the sandwiches.  And then – in comes pregnancy to ruin it all.  All of a sudden, I just didn’t want one.  I did end up eating about half of mine – because I had to know if they were even good or not! – but I just wasn’t feeling it anymore.  And I was totally bummed about that.

These sandwiches are so packed with flavor – if you prefer something a little bland or tame, these aren’t for you.  And I think that if I wasn’t pregant, I would have totally loved this and devoured every single bite.  And I actually think that the meatloaf would be pretty awesome on it’s own – perfect for a Sunday dinner.  This does make a ton (12 servings!!) so you could probably even get away with having the meatloaf one night for dinner and the sandwiches with the leftovers.  But no matter how you have it, be prepared for some serious flavor!!
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Read the rest of Hoisin-Glazed Meatloaf Sandwiches (481 words)

© Deborah Harroun for Taste and Tell, 2012. | Permalink | 18 comments |

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I promised another lemon curd recipe weeks ago, and somehow, things kept coming up that prevented me from posting these. And I almost skipped another week, because looking over my week, it has been full of oatmeal moon pies, peanut butter, peanut butter, and more peanut butter! But I am going to satisfy your sweet tooth with yet another sweet recipe, and I promise that I’ll bring something a little more savory to the table next week.

I love lemon curd in just about any way, shape and form, but pairing it with meringue cookies and ice cream? Just brilliant. These were the perfect sweet treat. Sweet, creamy and tart, all coming together in a delicious ice cream treat. And it’s getting so warm outside – you need your freezer stocked with great frozen treats to battle that afternoon sun. These ice cream cookies would be a perfect way to re-energize you any hot afternoon!

Just one word of advice on these – if you choose to brown the meringues in the oven under the broiler, keep a constant eye on them. My first batch did not go exactly as planned – unless we were willing to eat completely blackened meringue cookies. And after that happened, I was too scared to try the broiler again, so I ended up digging out my kitchen torch to brown the meringue. I’m sure the broiler works – you just need to keep a constant eye on them because they can go from browned to blackened in a matter of seconds!!
 


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Read the rest of Saturdays with Rachael Ray – Lemon Meringue Hand Pies (261 words)

© Deborah Harroun for Taste and Tell, 2012. | Permalink | 21 comments |

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I’m so excited to be sharing today’s Blogger Spotlight with you.  From the first moment I read Kristy’s (and Mike’s) blog – Eat, Play, Love – I was hooked.  This family is a great example of what I would like my family to be like.  They get their kids right into the kitchen with them, and those kids are more adventurous eaters than most adults I know!  And even though they may not always like what has been made, they pretty much always try it.  It truly is an adventure to follow them along on their adventures.  I’m so excited to have them here today – welcome!!

 

 
This is Kristy, Mike, Mr. N (7-1/2 years old) and Miss A (3-1/2 years old) and we blog our family food adventures over at Eat, Play, Love. We would like to thank Deborah for featuring our blog on her beautiful and delicious site. We’ve been following along for some time now and Deborah always leaves me drooling from her tasty and often simple recipes, to her amazing photos. Yum! Thank you Deborah.

So who is Eat, Play, Love? Well, our goal is to explore the world’s cultures with our children by cooking traditional recipes from countries all over the world every few weeks. It’s our way of opening them up to the many different cultures, religions, and ethnicities around the globe while also expanding their palates. The kids participate in the country selection as well as the cooking which is always an adventure; and as an added bonus, we’ve also found it’s been a great way for us all to learn how to really cook!
 

 
What inspired you to first start writing your blog?
My son, Mr. N and I thought it would be fun to try recipes from different countries around the world. He thought we should write a book…a blog seemed more approachable and that was the beginning.

What kinds of posts are your favorite to write?
The first post from each new country that we select is often my favorite. It’s fun learning about new countries and their unique flavor profiles. I also enjoy the posts that correspond to past vacations. The aroma and tastes of foods from vacation always bring back a sense of the relaxation too.

What do your readers seem to like the most?
 
Maple Bacon Biscuits
 
Desserts and breakfasts are always a big draw. Our maple bacon biscuits and Greenlandic cake have been the most popular, with banana breads from our contest last year following close behind.
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Read the rest of Blogger Spotlight | Eat, Play, Love (680 words)

© Deborah Harroun for Taste and Tell, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments |

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