Ok, so it’s been a couple of days weeks months since I promised you a recap of the amazing time I had as the NYC Wine and Food Festival.  And while I may be a procrastinator, I’m no liar… so today’s the day I deliver! (…part one, anyway.)

But before anything, I have to give a big THANK YOU to ShopRite for sponsoring me at the event!  They did such a great job organizing, planning, and setting up great workshops and events for me and the other ShopRite Potluck Bloggers so that we could share our experiences with all of you!  (If you’d like to see what the other bloggers had to say about the event, go to the ShopRite Potluck Blog to link to their individual blogs).

Back to business:  My experience started out with a Blogger Dinner, which featured an amazing dinner prepared by the lovely Judith Choate.  The dinner took place at the De Gustibus Cooking School, which is an awesome venue that is located in Macy’s in Herald Square.

Who knew that there was a cooking school tucked away on the 8th floor?  Not me for sure, but anyone interested in cooking should check it out, because over the years so many great chefs have graced the stage there, including huge names such as Julia Child, Mario Batali, Martha Stewart, Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, and Daniel Boloud, just to name a few!

Judith Choate is an amazing chef, whose experience includes owning her own restaurant and catering business in NYC, developing several cookbooks, and working as a consultant for menu, product, and restaurant development.  Her knack for creating amazing menus was clear from the great menu she put together for our dinner.

Amuse: Quinoa Fritters with Yogurt Dipping Sauce
1st Course: Sweet Potato Quinoa Soup
2nd Course: Salad of Heart of Palm and Avocado with Tomato Dressing
Main Course: Pancetta-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce and Crispy Potatoes
Dessert: Panettone Trifle with Hazelnut Spread

Every course was seriously DELICIOUS, but my favorite was the Sweet Potato Quinoa Soup.  So much so, that I made it the very next day (with enough for leftovers) and Jake and I ate it all week!

And now you can enjoy it, too!  Here’s the recipe for you to try while you wait on the edge of your seat for Part 2 of my NYC Wine and Food Festival Recap!

If you read my post a few years back about Spicy Zucchini Soup and the summer, you know that I have some pretty strong feelings about the seasons.  Winter to be precise.  Hate. It.

Well, folks, I’ve done it again.  I’ve used a member of the squash family to highlight just how strongly I feel.  Check out my post about Vegetarian Farro Stuffed Squash on the ShopRite Potluck Blog to read all about it!

Don;t worry; you’re not hallucinating.  Your imagination is not playing tricks on you.  This is not a mirage.

It’s really me!  I’m really blogging!  And I must say, I’m thrilled to be back!  Did you miss me?  Did you?  Because I missed you.

Luckily for me you, you’re about to see a lot more of me. Starting with this very weekend!

Tonight and tomorrow I will be attending some pretty amazing events at the NYC Wine and Food Festival courtesy of Shoprite and the Potluck Blog.  I will be tweeting and blogging live from the events, so stay tuned for what’s sure to be a ton of fun, and of course, deliciousness!

And to whet your appetite (pun oh so very intended), here’s a little something I whipped up for the Potluck Blog a few weeks ago.  Just follow this link for a tasty Chicken Piccata.

Let’s face it.  There’s not much that’s better than getting a package filled with cookies in the mail.

Especially when you’re knee deep studying for finals.  And editing 30 page research papers.  And stress eating everything in sight.

That is, nothing except, of course, getting three packages of cookies in the mail.  In one week.  Can we say jackpot??

Ok, so I’m getting a little overexcited.  But seriously.  Three dozen delicious cookies!  how lucky am I?

And all I had to do to be so lucky was to bake three dozen of my own, and send them to three other lucky bloggers.  No. Brainer.

If it’s not clear from my cookie-crazed ranting, The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap took place this week.  And in exchange for sending three bloggers a batch of these Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, I received three batches from three other wonderful bakers:

Browned Butter Pecan Bars with Chocolate Ganache from Rivertree Kitchen
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies from Pink Little Cake
Cranberry Hazelnut Cookies Drizzled with Chocolate from Life Tastes Like Food

The cookies that I shared are my go-to cookies, which are (very slightly) adapted from the Toffe Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies over at My Kitchen Addiction.  I’ve actually made them a ton of times, but never shared them here, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity.  I know you’ll enjoy them as much as I do!

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon liners and set aside.

2.  Beat together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, beating for an additional minute until well incorporated.

3.  Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beating until just incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and toffee bits and stir in by hand.

4.  Use a small cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons) to scoop out cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Be sure to space the cookies out a bit since they will spread as they bake.

5.  Bake for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are golden on top, but still a bit soft. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes to let the cookies firm up, then cool completely on a wire rack.

The timing of this post is just perfect.

You see, it’s been just under a month since I last posted.  And I’m leaving on a work trip tomorrow, which means I definitely wont be cooking (or posting) for at least a week.  And let’s be honest.  I probably won’t be posting the week day I get back either.  And the week after that, I have a huge group project due in my Marketing class.

So, if my math is correct (heh), you probably wouldn’t have heard from me in 6 weeks if it wasn’t for this very post.

Luckily, I was forced to post today!  Well, not forced, per se.

In fact, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!  Today, I am proud to be participating in a virtual book launch party for An Edible Mosaic:  Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky.

An Edible Mosaic is Faith’s wonderful blog, which features delicious recipes of all kinds with a focus on Middle Eastern cuisine.  Every recipe she posts incudes easy to follow directions accompanied by beautiful, mouth-watering pictures of her creations.  It also happens to be one of the first blogs I started following when I discovered the food blog world, so I have a special place in my heart for Faith and her recipes.

After getting married, Faith spent six months living in the Middle East where she fell in love with the culture and cuisine. Subsequently, she returned four more times for visits, each time delving deeper into the cuisine and deepening her passion for and appreciation of the region.

An Edible Mosaic:  Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair, has over 100 Middle Eastern recipes, with a focus mainly on dishes from the Levant, but also a few recipes from other areas of the Middle East.  It is available to order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The recipe from the book that I’m sharing with you today is for Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts.  After you finish checking out her recipe below (and admiring her beautiful photography above), please head over to Faith’s blog to check out her virtual book launch party and to see the other bloggers who are participating. Also, as part of her virtual book launch, Faith is hosting a giveaway of a fabulous set of prizes. Be sure to head over and enter!

Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts (ROZ MLOW’WAN) 

Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic:  Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.

Serves 4 to 6

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes, plus 15 minutes to let the rice sit after cooking

1½ cups (325 g) basmati rice, rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 onion, finely diced
4 tablespoons sultanas (golden raisins)
1¾ cups (425 ml) boiling water
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon saffron threads (or ½ teaspoon turmeric)

1. Soak the rice in tepid water for 10 minutes; drain. While the rice is soaking, put half a kettle of water on to boil.
2. Add the oil to a medium, thick-bottomed lidded saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer the pine nuts to a small bowl and set aside.
3. Add the onion to the saucepan you cooked the pine nuts in, and cook until softened and just starting to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rice and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the sultanas, boiling water, salt, and saffron (or turmeric), turn the heat up to high, and bring it to a rolling boil.
4. Give the rice a stir, then cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to very low, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes (do not open the lid during this time). Turn the heat off and let the rice sit (covered) 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
5. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the toasted pine nuts on top; serve.

OPTIONAL Add two pods of cardamom, two whole cloves, and one 2-inch (5 cm) piece of cinnamon stick at the same time that you add the rice.

Last summer, I had a brilliant idea.  I decided that it was about time to start a garden.  And despite the fact that I live in a small apartment in the middle of Queens on the 9th floor of my building, and have no access to any sort of land at all, let alone space to create a garden, I forged ahead.  Because I’m stubborn motivated.

So, I went to Home Depot. I picked out a big turquoise flower pot.  I grabbed an enormous bag of planting soil and a little hand shovel.  I chose some organic fertilizer, and scoped out the perfect cherry tomato plant.  And $57 later, I left the store.

I went home and made a huge mess planted the cherry tomato plant in the turquoise planter.  I stored the remainder of the big bag in the limited space in my closet.  And I waited.  And waited.

And after about a week of waiting, something finally happened!

I found fruit flies.

So I went back to Home Depot.  And picked out some organic insect soap.  And another $9 later, I left the store once yet again.

For the next few days, I diligently sprayed my little plant every day.  And about a week later, I saw them.  Three little cherry tomatoes!  And another week later, they were big enough to be picked.  So I plucked them off the vine.  And I popped them in my mouth.  And, to be honest, it was pretty anticlimactic.

And so, I got less motivated.  And forgot to water my plant for a month few days.

And now, all that remains, is Jake’s occasional party story about the time that I spent $66 for a total of 3 cherry tomatoes.  Thanks, honey.

So, maybe I don’t exactly have a green thumb.  But I do know some pretty talented people that do…  In fact one of my coworkers has a huge garden in her backyard, complete with two giant fig trees that have more figs than any one family could possibly eat.

Lucky for me, she’s happy to share her bounty.  And lucky for her, I’m happy to turn those figs into a moist, delicious, lightly sweet Fig-topped Honey Yogurt Cake to share with the office.  Win-win!

Fig-topped Honey Yogurt Cake
(slightly adapted from Mi Piace Kate)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups yogurt
2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup raw honey
3 Tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Handful of large fresh figs, sliced lengthwise in thin slices

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan lightly with baking spray or oil, and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, honey, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and nutmeg into the liquid mixture and stir just until no lumps remain.

3.  Pour the batter into the cake pan. Carefully arrange sliced figs on the top of the cake batter.  Bake for about 60 minutes, covering with foil toward the end if the top is browning. When a tester comes out clean, transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

4.  Slice and enjoy!

Are you sick of all these desserts yet?  You know, the pound cake.  The sundaes.  (And, if you’re my facebook or twitter follower, you may have seen a picture or two of cookies and cake this weekend.)

No?

Good. Because I have another one for you!  Except this one is a little more… shall we say figure friendly?

Let’s face it.  We can’t just go around eating all these decadent desserts without exercising some sort of moderation.  (Well, I guess we can.  But we certainly wouldn’t like the results.)

Luckily, I was recently chosen to participate in the Sweet n’ Low Tastemaker program through DailyBuzz Food.**  It was just the inspiration I needed to create a delicious guilt-free dessert to share.

So today I present to you this delicious Guilt-Free Coffee Shake.  It’s low cal, low fat, sugar free and DELICIOUS!  It doesn’t get much better than that, folks. See for yourself!

Guilt-Free Coffee Shake

Ingredients

3/4 cup very strong coffee, cold
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
4 packets Sweet n’ Low
2 cups ice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth (about 30 seconds). Pour into two tall glasses and enjoy with a friend!

** As a a participant in the Sweet n’ Low Tastemaker program through DailyBuzz Food, I received compensation and product samples, however, all opinions are my own.

New posts two days in a row?  Insanity!  I know!

Well, no need for alarm.  Just think of today’s recipe as an extension of yesterday’s.  You know.  Just one more reason to make that delicious Chocolate Pound Cake.

I know what you’re thinking.  What reason could you possibly need to make chocolate pound cake other than the fact that it’s delicious?  I’ll give you four words: Pound Cake Parfait Sundae.

I think I’ve made my point.

Just head over to Nutmeg Nanny’s Ice Cream Social for the recipe!

Ok.  I know that everyone makes mistakes.  I do.  You do.  We all do.  We are human, after all.

But sometimes, even though we know that, it’s just SO HARD to forgive other people’s mistakes.

Like, for example, the girl that shaped my eyebrows this weekend.  And made them look like two different people’s eyebrows.  With a hole in the middle of one.

Yes.  That, my friends, is what we call a mistake.  A big one. And, call me crazy, I’m having trouble… forgiving her.

But then, who I am I to say anything?  I, too, made a mistake this weekend.

I accidentally made a Chocolate Pound Cake when I was actually attempting to make a Chocolate Marble Pound Cake.

Her mistake resulted in a 26 year old woman throwing a tantrum on her car ride home.  My mistake resulted in a delicious pound cake with a light chocolate flavor.

That’s almost the same.

Anyway.

Let’s focus on the positive:  pound cake.  When you accidentally mix the vanilla batter with the chocolate batter when making a chocolate swirl pound cake, you still get pound cake.  And that’s a win in my book.

In fact, the result may even be better than marble pound cake.   Because it’s easier.  And just as tasty.  And, let’s be honest, once you take a bite you can’t tell if the cake is marbled or not.

So make this cake.  Marble it.  Don’t.  Just make sure you make it.  It may be just what you need to get past someone else’s mistake.

Chocolate Pound Cake
(adapted from Food & Wine)

Ingredients

Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup half and half
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray the paper.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

3.   In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the softened butter with the granulated sugar. Beat for one minute.  Add the eggs, one by one, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition.   Add vanilla and continue to beat until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add the cream and continue to mix until smooth.

4.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake the pound cake for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325° and bake for 25 minutes more. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until the cake is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Let the pound cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then unmold and let cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

** This cake can be wrapped in foil and refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.

Remember that post I wrote about the Pasta with Mini Spicy Turkey Meatballs that I made for the Potluck Blog a few weeks ago?  You know, the easy, tasty meal that was Nonna-approved*?

What’s that?  You have no idea what I’m talking about?

Well of course you don’t.  I never told you!

My bad.  

Anyway, I’m making up for forgetting to tell you about this recipe by… uh… telling you about it now!   Just pretend I didn’t have a total brain fart, and head over to ShopRite’s Potluck Blog to check out my recipe for Pasta with Mini Spicy Turkey Meatballs.

It’ll be totally worth it.  As all my fellow procrastinators smart people say: better late than never!