Food Lush

Tommee Tippee Food Pots

by Katie

We have just returned from a trip to Canada with our 16 month old daughter. It was, by my count, her 6th major plane trip in her short life, and I was reminded again of the first rule of air travel with a toddler: there is no such thing as too many snacks. We had cheerios, Goldfish, raisins, bunny grahams, on and on.

As I looked into my carry-on packed with nibbles, it reminded me that I've been meaning to tell you all about my favorite boring-but-improves-my-quality-of-life product: Tommee Tippee food pots.

(Image from: tommeetippee.us)

I bought a set of four of these for about five bucks on a whim at Target a few months ago, and have since bought a second set because I use them for EVERYTHING- storing leftover baby food, taking Goldfish in the diaper bag, storing Cherrios for plane travel so they don't get crushed. I've recenlty discovered they're great for a kid just trying to use a spoon, because they're easy for little hands to hold and the nice high sides give the spoon something to scrape against.

I also find myself using them for grown-up stuff- leftover salad dressing, taking peanut butter or hummus to work for my lunch, that sort of thing. They're the perfect size- so much smaller than those enormous snack trap things that always spill all over my diaper bag anyway. The lids snap on nice and tight and they stack nicely (good for fridge storage).

Seriously, folks: about a buck each, BPA free, check 'em out.

Handy to Have Around: Cupcake Carrier

By A'Dell

This is a cupcake carrier:

It is an extremely useful (if rather bulky) thing to own. Mine came from Crate and Barrel and cost $25 and it makes an excellent addition to your Christmas list. The thing about this item is it screams Single Use! Do Not Buy! And normally, I am all over the Single Use kitchen rule. I abhor collecting gadgets and gizmos in my kitchen that only do one thing. What a waste of space!

This baby is actully MULTI-USE. Sure, you can take cupcakes to school, work, or a party in it, but I use mine to straight up STORE cupcakes at home. It's fairly airtight and it keeps the cupcakes all separated and in their place. Both top and bottom have a generous clearance, in case you like your cupcakes with piles and piles of frosting, (ahem).

The bottom tray is also a legit cupcake pan that you can bake them in, so you get a piece of bakeware PLUS storage in this one. You can also use just the bottom portion if you only have 12 cupcakes; the second stack is an optional add that you can take or leave as needed.

It's bulky, and hard to fit into a cabinet, and it seems like a terrific waste of space, but I use mine way more often than I thought I would. I actually find myself making cupcakes more often because the problem of what to DO with all of them once they've been baked has long-since been solved. Before, it was just easier to make a cake or pan of brownies for a party, and cupcakes are just so much more FUN and already pre-portioned.

(Photos from Crate&Barrel) 

 

Gazpacho with Grilled Cheese

by Tara

The other day I really, REALLY wanted a grilled cheese and tomato soup. But it's been approximately 1400 degrees in my neck of the woods, and I didn't think tomato soup would really hit the spot. I took to Twitter, which smartly recommended gazpacho.

I've never made or eaten gazpacho, so I wasn't sure what to look for in a recipe, but I found one that looked like it would taste fresh, and went with that. This is the recipe I made (except I didn't have any tarragon so I just skipped it, and I added some Cholula sauce for some heat), and it was very, very good. Kind of had a salsa-type consistency, so I wasn't sure if I over-pulsed with my food processor or what (it looked like the picture, so I figured I was okay). But it was perfect for dipping my sandwich in.

As for the sandwich, I went for a fairly basic grilled cheese, with shredded pepper jack and mild cheddar, green chiles, and bacon. You know, the basics.

(Photo from: me)

It was a delicious and wonderful summertime soup and sandwich meal.

 

What's your favorite summer soup?

Danielle Fruit Chips: Pumpkin Flavor

By Jessica

Way back in 2011, I first told you about this brand of fruit chips. Specifically, about how much I loved their coconut and mango flavors. I left a lot out of that post, like how I actually ordered them in bulk via Amazon and may have made myself sick eating entire bags of the coconut flavor in one sitting. Even writing this post is playing a dangerous game of chicken with Amazon Prime and their one-click ordering but thankfully thinking back to how HORRIBLE the pumpkin flavor tastes might get me through without me buying any of my favorite flavors. 

As I mentioned, in that original post, I couldn't WAIT to get my hands on the pumpkin flavor. I was ALL CAPS excited about it. Unfortunately, the contents not only did not live up to the hype (of my mind) but let me so far down that I didn't even finish the bag. I think I was expecting crispy pumpkin pie. Wouldn't that be amazing? Pumpkin pie in a chip? Oh man, now I'm getting disappointed all over again.

(Photo from: Amazon)

Summer Party: Sundae Bar

By Erica H.

Summertime in central Texas can often be a bit of a struggle. What seems to be a time of freedom and outdoor fun for many areas of the country feels more like a prison sentence--too hot for a walk, too hot for the park, too hot to leave the house unless absolutely necessary. In a (valiant!) effort to take the edge off of this miserable, broiling sesason, I have been attempting to cook all 60 "SUMMER RECIPES" in the June edition of Bon Appétit (starting here). There have been some high highs and some low lows, but I think I finally hit summertime gold with the Sundae Bar Party.

It's simple, it's fun, it's sugar-packed, and it's indoors. I made all five toppings/sauces recommended:

Hot fudge sauce. A classic. I'm pretty sure hot fudge and ice cream are the only true requirements for a sundae. When I asked my daughter which ice cream she wanted, she kept pointing insistently to this bowl. "THAT ONE."

Marshmallow Sauce. I could take or leave this, but it garnered the most comments and questions from my guests. If you're into corn syrup, there are worse applications for it.

Sweet-and-salty peanut butter sauce. Ah, here's the one for me! A splash of this on some chocolate ice cream is heaven. Or you could follow my lead and spend all day dipping pretzel sticks in it.

Cherry compote. This is easy and lovely and allows you to tell yourself "At least I ate some fruit today."

Wet walnuts. Haaaaa! Wet walnuts.

The party I hosted was child-oriented, but I promise adults will go for this as well. BONUS: leftover toppings provide an excellent excuse to make pancakes the next day.

24 hours of eating in New Orleans

by Elissa

Recently I was lucky enough to travel to New Orleans for work. While work kept me busy, I made sure to squeeze in some serious eating. Here are some of the highlights.

My one night in New Orleans I had dinner at Herbsaint. The softshell crab that I had as my entree was probably the best thing that I ate on this trip.

The fried crab was served on top of a cabbage salad with a sweet-hot chili sauce. The flavors were perfectly balanced and this dish was a perfect mix of hot, cool, crunchy, spicy, salty and sweet. I'm still thinking about it a couple of weeks later!

Breakfast was the quintessential cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde.

And for lunch just before my flight home I hit Cochon in the Warehouse District. My favorite part of this meal was the pickled shrimp appetizer (shown here with a housemade pork pate amuse bouche that was also pretty memorable).

The shrimp were pickled in a brine with some hot chilis and accompanied by fresh corn and fresh herbs. Totally refreshing and delicious.

Obviously I barely scratched the surface of the New Orleans restaurant scene, but I feel like I did very well (and I definitely did not leave hungry). Now I just need to figure out a way to get back for a longer visit!

Snacks for Hitting the Road

By Julie

In the near future, my family and I will take off on a summer vacation road trip. Inevitably, this will involve many pitstops at McDonalds across the country, and as many local treats as we can find at any given time. But what to do about the in-between stop times, when you’re actually trapped in the car for miles on end?

My mother taught me well over the years, and as such, I always have plenty of road snacks available. My rules are simple: individual packages when possible (to reduce pouring and portioning), nothing that crumbles (I’m looking at you, innocent-looking cereal bars), and minimal meltables (I gotta have some chocolate, but I try to keep it to the least melty versions possible). I also look for things that don’t crush too easily, in case they get trampled or squished in our limited space.  My favorites are dried fruit mixes, yogurt-covered raisins (while still slightly melty, much less of a problem that the chocolate-covered variety), bags of goldfish or pretzels, and my beloved peanut/raisin/M&M trail mix. Hey, I never said road snacks had to be strictly healthy. It’s vacation!

What are your favorite travel snacks?

My Current Food Obsession: Grilled Pizza

By Nora

During the summer, i'd say that we grill our dinner four out of seven days a week. However, it does get difficult to come up with new, exciting recipes for the grill other than the standard steak and burger fare. I had been wanting to try to grill pizza for a while, but it seemed, well, intimidating and I just couldn't understand how the dough would actually cook on the grates. My desperation for something other than meat from the grill finally won over my reluctance to try pizza, and a few weeks ago we took the plunge. 

Verdict? BEST. THING. EVER. No kidding, since we discovered that grilling pizza is actually quite easy and also FREAKING DELICIOUS, we've made it at least a dozen times. And i've since perfected my technique so that the pizzas turn out perfect every time. FIrst, I use this dough recipe from Bobby Flay (I correctly assumed since he is a grillmaster, that he would have a good dough for the grill), but you can certainly use store-bought dough, although in my experience it's not as easy to work with and not nearly as tasty. One VERY important tip I have about the dough---make sure it is chilled in the fridge right up until the point you are ready to use it. This will make it much easier to work with, because once the dough gets to room temperature, it can rip and be very hard to stretch out to the desired size. 

Once you get your dough to the desired size (we usually make two individual sized pizzas so we can choose our own topping), put it on a floured plate and spread some oil on the side you are going to grill first. Then slap the oiled side on the grill, cook for 4 minutes over high heat, oil the exposed side in the meantime, and then flip. Turn the heat down to low and put your toppings on the already grilled side. I usually go in this order: sauce, toppings, cheese, and then any herbs/spices you want to add.  The cheese will hold the toppings in place for an optimal eating situation. Cover the grill and cook for 8 minutes on the lower temp. Then open the cover and revel in glory of your grilled pizza.

(This was a three-cheese pizza, and I definitely recommend using fresh sliced buffalo mozzarella if you can swing it.)

Recipe Round Up!

By Nicole

[photo via Buttermilk Blackberry Crumble Muffins by Scarletta Bakes]

Check out some of the most enticing recipes posted around the web this week. They look delicious and are surely worthy of a whirl in your kitchen and mine.

Potato, Avocado and Pickled Jalapeno Salad by Fuss Free Cooking

Baked Penne with Silky Fennel in a Hot Pink Sauce by Dana Treat

Buttermilk Blackberry Crumble Muffins by Scarletta Bakes

Baked Grapes, an Olive Alternative by Sodium Girl

Bee Sting Pie by Summer of Pie

Breakfast Lasagna by PaleOMG

Peach Doughnuts with White Chocolate Glaze by Girl vs. Dough

Summer Berry Dip: Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

By Dani

I shop at Costco, which means that I buy roughly 10 pounds of strawberries every time I think "hey, a strawberry sounds good!"

Maybe I should work on that. 

Anyway, I had a ton of strawberries in my fridge and so I made this tart for a party the other night, but it seemed a little boring. 

So, in a spirit of adventure, I poured a couple of cups of Balsamic Vinegar into a saucepan and started heating it up with about a half-cup of brown sugar and a tablespoon of honey, having read somewhere that it might be tasty. (If you can tell, I'm not very good at thinking through my cookery before getting after it. I just wing it and pray for luck most of the time.)

After about 20 minutes at a gentle simmer, I had a thick, sweet and sour syrup that punctuated my tart nicely and now has become my favorite dipping sauce for all my summer berries. My recipe made plenty extra, so I've been drizzling a bit over fruit salads and dipping my strawberries into it and wondering where it's been all my life. 

Try it. Easy, delicious and perfect for summer desserts. 

My after-dinner treat: strawberries and glaze in a teacup. Photo by me.