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Noteworthy Nibbles - Sept. 30-Oct.6

YumSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:00:04 -0700

Across the country this month Oktoberfest celebrations are in full force. There's something for you, whether you want to savor the last of the Summer with a seafood festival or switch your mindset to Fall by enjoying one of the many harvest celebrations. Have a tip for another event? Leave it in the comments below!

Santa Clarita, CA: Loose Goose Wine Festival - Oct. 1-5
Corinth, MS: Kansas City Hog Wild BBQ Festival - Oct. 2-4
San Francisco, CA: Oktoberfest by the Bay - Oct. 2-5
Kansas City, MO: American Royal Barbecue - Oct. 2-5
Napa, CA: Domaine Chandon Pink Party - Oc. 2
New York, NY: Plate by Plate New York - Oct. 3
Carpinteria, CA: California Avocado Festival - Oct. 3-5

To see the rest, read more.

Lincoln, AR: Arkansas Apple Festival - Oct. 3-5
Fredericksburg, TX: Oktoberfest - Oct. 3-5
Long Grove, IL: Long Grove Apple Festival -Oct. 3-5
Puyallup, WA: Oktoberfest NW - Oct. 3-5
Destin, FL: Destin Seafood Festival - Oct. 3-5
Bayfield, WI: Bayfield Apple Festival - Oct. 3-5
Doylestown, PA: Oktoberfest - Oct. 3-5
Fort Bragg, CA: Abalone Cook-off & Festival - Oct. 4
Germantown, MD: Germantown Oktoberfest - Oct. 4
Charlotte, NC: Great Grapes! Wine, Arts & Food Festival - Oct. 4
Napa, CA: Wine Country Cajun Food and Music Festival - Oct. 4
Springfield, MO: Taste of Springfield - Oct. 4
Atlanta, GA : Harvest Midtown Festival - Oct. 4
Phoenix, AZ: Arizona Irish Festival - Oct. 4
Chattanooga, TN: Wine Over Water - Oct. 4
Montrose, CA: Montrose Oktoberfest - Oct. 4
Beach Haven, NJ: Chowder Cook-Off Classic - Oct. 5
Shelton, WA: Oysterfest - Oct. 4-5
Allardt, TN: Great Pumpkin Festival - Oct. 4-5
Redwood City, CA: Arts & Olive Festival - Oct. 5
Rochester, NY: Rochester Food Fight - Oct. 6

Source

Come Party With Me: St. Patrick's Day - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:50:14 -0700

To get in the mood for St. Patrick's Day, set up a "Make Your Drink Green" bar and let the girls help themselves. Fill one ice bucket with bottles of a light Irish beer (such as Harp) and another with bottles of white wine. Arrange beer and wine glasses and green food coloring nearby. Have everyone tint their drinks green.

Also set out the ingredients for a specialty cocktail and write the recipe for the drink, so your guests can play bartender. This interesting cocktail features Irish whiskey making it wonderfully appropriate for the holiday. It combines the whiskey with fresh ginger, lemon juice, apricot jam, and orange liquor.

To look at the recipe, read more.

Tommy Gun
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 thin fresh ginger slices
1 teaspoon apricot jam
1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Ice
2 ounces Irish whiskey
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
1 lemon twist

Directions

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the ginger with the jam and lemon juice.
Add ice and the whiskey and Grand Marnier; shake well. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Makes 1 drink.

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What's With All the Different Kinds of Oats?

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:00:31 -0700

Need a little extra fiber and protein? Then reach for some oats. You can make oatmeal, use them to make cookies, add them to smoothies to thicken them up, or grind them to make flour. There are a few different kinds of oats, so how do you know which to choose? Check out the chart below.

	Steel cut oats	Old-fashioned oats	Quick oats
Description	Also called Irish or Scotch oats, these are cut, not rolled. They look like chopped up rice, take the longest to cook, and have a slightly chewy consistency.	Sometimes called rolled oats, these look like flat little ovals. When processing these oats, the kernels are steamed first, and then rolled to flatten them. They take longer to cook than quick oats, but are quicker than steel cut oats.	Also called instant oats, these oats are pre-cooked, dried, and then rolled. They cook in a few minutes when added to hot water, and have a mushy texture.

Want to know how they compare nutritionally? Then keep reading

Irish Stew Two Ways - Beginner and Expert

partysugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:01:31 -0700

Irish stew is a great dish to serve at a St. Patrick's Day dinner party. In general, stews make wonderful dinner party fare because they're a one-pot meal that must be made in advance. Originally a peasant's meal, Irish stew normally consists of lamb, potatoes, and onions. To encourage that you experiment with this traditional recipe, I've found two versions. Both are straight forward, but one cooks the stew on the stove and the other bakes it in the oven. Choose which one suits your culinary needs or combine the two to make a delicious masterpiece. For both recipes please read more.

Beginner Irish Stew
From Everyday Food magazine

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 pounds boneless lamb stew meat (preferably shoulder), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 cups dark beer
1 1/2 pounds medium new potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut 1/2 inch thick diagonally
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

In a large bowl, season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge lamb in flour mixture, shaking off excess.
In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Working in batches, brown lamb on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
Pour 1/4 cup water into pot, scraping up browned bits from bottom with a wooden spoon. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until water has evaporated and onion is beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
Return lamb to pot; stir in thyme, beer, and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover; simmer until lamb is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Add potatoes, carrots, and 1/2 cup water. Cook, covered, until vegetables are tender and stew has thickened, about 20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley just before serving.

Serves 8.

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Expert Irish Stew
From Taste

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs lamb neck chops, trimmed
1/2 cup plain flour
3 brown onions, chopped
2 lbs baking potatoes, peeled, sliced
2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups boiling water
3 beef stock cubes, crumbled
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped, to serve

Directions

Cut chops in half. Place flour in a plastic bag and season with salt and pepper. Place chops in bag and shake well to coat. Transfer chops to a plate. Reserve flour.
Preheat oven to 275°F.
Place onions, potatoes and carrots in an ovenproof dish. Top with half the chops. Repeat layers with remaining onions, potatoes, carrots and chops.
Whisk reserved flour, tomato paste and 2 tablespoons cold water in a large jug until well combined.
Slowly add boiling water, whisking constantly.
Add stock cubes and parsley. Stir to dissolve stock cubes.
Pour flour mixture over chops.
Cover and cook for 4 hours or until meat tender and sauce thickened. Sprinkle with mint and serve. You can also cook this stew in a slow cooker. Combine the ingredients as above and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Serves 6.

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Say Cheese! Cheddar and Guinness Welsh Rarebit

partysugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:15:41 -0700

Cheddar is a widely known, popular variety of cheese that originated in the Somerset region of England. However, the firm cow's milk cheese is now made in many places around the world. It can range in flavor from mild to sharp and in color from white to orange. Orange cheddar gets its color from a natural dye called annatto. An incredibly versatile cheese, cheddar is delicious alone, on a sandwich, or mixed in a sauce - as is the case in this recipe.

Since some of you were disappointed by a recent chicken rarebit recipe that called for jarred cheddar cheese sauce, I decided to find a homemade version and share the technique with you. Although a Welsh rarebit is a British dish, my variation uses Irish cheddar and Guinness, making it appropriate for St. Patrick's Day. This cheesy, toasty snack is comforting and simply delicious. To look at the easy recipe, read more.

Beer Cheese on Toast
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

1 pound extra-sharp cheddar, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup dark beer
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Salt
Toasted baguette slices from 2 baguettes
Sliced tomatoes

Directions

In a food processor, combine the cheddar with the beer, garlic, mustard and cayenne and blend until smooth. Season the beer cheese with salt.
Preheat the broiler. Spread the toasts with the beer cheese and arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet.
Broil the toasts 6 inches from the heat for about 2 minutes, rotating the pan, until the cheese is bubbling and browned around the edges. Top with tomato slices and serve.

Serves 6.

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Yum's March Must Haves

partysugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:50:04 -0800

Can you believe March is already here? With it comes longer days, the arrival of Spring, and St. Patrick's Day! Oh not to mention all the wonderful fresh produce - asparagus, artichokes, spring onions - that will be popping up in farmers markets very soon. To ensure that you make the most of March, I've rounded up the items I can't live without this month. To find out what they are, start clicking.

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Milk May Not Do Your Body Good

FitSugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:30:14 -0700

Many of you have tried a dairy-free diet either for ethical reasons or because it upsets your stomach. Although the message from the dairy industry is that milk does a body good, 60 percent of adults can't digest dairy. It's not that they're allergic, meaning their immune system is affected; it's that their stomachs can't digest the lactose, the sugar found in milk. The enzyme lactase is needed to break it down, and for most of us, that enzyme stops being produced when we're between 2 and 5 years old. Without the enzyme to break down the lactose, the undigested milk sugars end up in our colons and ferment, causing cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

If you have no trouble digesting milk products, you're actually in the minority. That's why scientists don't like the term lactose intolerance, because it gives the impression that it's a disease. Lactose tolerance is actually a genetic mutation. It may have to do with the fact that thousands of years ago, depending on where people lived, milk was a source of food, calcium, and vitamin D. So people kept drinking cow's milk even after they stopped nursing (breast milk also contains lactose), and their bodies continued to produce the lactase enzyme to break it down. That's why there's a connection between your nationality and your sensitivity to milk. Those of European, Irish, Dutch, and Scandinavian decent are usually more tolerant of milk, while Native Americans, Asians, and those of African and Caribbean decent are more sensitive.

Tell me, where do you stand when it comes to sensitivity to milk?

Do You Enjoy Nightcaps?

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:15:18 -0700

On Sunday night I sat down to watch the season premiere of Mad Men with complete elation. The show is a wonderful glimpse into the 1960s, not only society and fashion, but also food! On this episode, Don (aka Bill), Salvatore (aka Sam), and a couple of cute stewardesses finished their fine dining experience with nightcaps. Nightcaps are essentially an after dinner drink, like a brandy or Irish cream. While I am not a huge brandy drinker, I love to finish a rich dinner with a dessert wine like port. Do you occasionally indulge with a nightcap? If so, what is your drink of choice?

Photo courtesy of AMC

'Wich of the Week: Sweet Summer Grilled Cheese

YumSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:00:50 -0700

Grilled cheese sandwiches are typically a wintertime comfort food, but add some summery farm-stand flavor, and this favorite sandwich adopts an easy, breezy attitude for the warmer months. I got the idea for this recipe when I scored a jar of delicious strawberry and meyer lemon marmalade from Blue Chair, which has an effervescent citrus flavor and a hint of rosiness. With fresh green pea sprouts, it transforms the grilled cheese from classic cold-weather meal into a tribute to Summer farmers markets.

If you can't find this brand of jam, try mixing a lemon or orange marmalade with traditional strawberry jam for a similar fruity flavor. The aged Irish cheddar provides a perfect salty counterpoint. To get the recipe and step-by-step photos, read more.

Sweet Summer Grilled Cheese
Original recipe

Ingredients

2 slices honey wheat bread
Butter for spreading
3 tablespoons strawberry-lemon marmalade
3-5 slices aged cheddar cheese
1/4 cup pea sprouts

Directions

On one side of each slice of bread, spread desired amount of butter. Place bread slices butter-side down on work surface. On the unbuttered side of each slice, spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of marmalade.

On one slice of the bread, place enough cheddar to cover the marmalade. Top with pea sprouts. Cover with second marmalade-coated slice.

In a skillet over medium heat, grill the sandwich for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Makes 1 sandwich.

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St. Patty's Day Treats For Your Four-Legged Friends

PetSugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Although Samson isn't Irish (obvs), that didn't stop LilPeaPod from making her little guy some special St. Patrick's Day treats to enjoy so he wasn't left out of the celebration fun. She sent in a few photos, and describes how she made the Irish bars with one of my household's favorite ingredients: peanut butter! She writes:

After attending the St. Patrick's Day parade this weekend in San Francisco, I had enough Irish treats and Guinness to last me a week! Since this was Samson's first St. Patty's Day, I didn't want to leave the little guy out of the fun, and decided to make a green-themed treat for him. I took the Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookie recipe you posted last year, and cut them into small, bite sized bars. As you can see, I added to the recipe by topping the cookies with a cream cheese and honey frosting. With just a few drops of organic food coloring that I found at my local Whole Foods, I got the nice green tint. It was super easy to make, and my little guy gobbled them up!

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Those cookies definitely look good enough to eat! Check out the full cookie and frosting recipe when you read more.

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies For You and Fido
Petville

Great tasting cookies that are safe for your pup, and will appeal to your palette as well.

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil
1 cup peanut butter-creamy or chunky
1 cup low-fat milk
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups of uncooked oatmeal
Honey (no more than 1/2 cup) – as a yummy extra

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease cookie sheet(only 1 needed)
3. Put 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of oil in a bowl, mix well.
4. Heat peanut butter and honey(together) in microwave for 30 seconds and mix into bowl mentioned in #3.
5. Pour 2 cups of oatmeal into bowl and mix well.
6. Pour and spread into cookie sheet.
7. Take 1/2 cup oatmeal and spread on the top and tap down with fork to make it stick when done cooking.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, longer if you want them crispy.
9. Hot or cold, cut treats into 3-inches by 1 1/2-inches and store in sealed container.

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Doggie Friendly Cream Cheese Frosting
Original Recipe

Great topping for your pet-friendly cookies!

Ingredients

5 ounces of low fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of honey

Directions
Mix cream cheese, canola oil, vanilla, and honey in a bowl. For color, use one or two drops of food coloring. Frost cookies with mixture and enjoy!

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