Chinese Meatballs with Sweet & Sour Chili Sauce

Chinese Meatballs with Sweet & Sour Chili Sauce

Ho ho ho!  Yep, I’m gearing up for some holiday treats and this appetizer is absolutely scrumptious!  I’ve been an avid fan of Matt Armendariz (Matt Bites) for a few years now…he seems the type of person I’d want to meet and I love these two lines from his bio: I believe life happens quickly.…

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BlueStar Cookware – review

BlueStar Cookware

Two weeks ago I received an email from Wendy of SmartClick Advertising asking if I would be interested in evaluating a set of BlueStar cookware.  To be honest, my initial thought was how could this possibly compare with the set of All-Clad d5 I already use?  After doing a bit of research on the company…

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Cranberry Pecan Muffins

Cranberry Pecan Muffins

While baking these beauties, I pondered where do you draw the line between a muffin and a cupcake?  While a muffin might be considered healthier than a cupcake, once you start adding ingredients such as chocolate and streusel-like toppings or glazes it starts to resemble a cupcake.  And, when you use cupcake liners for muffins…

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Fresh Mozzarella and Roasted Tomatoes

Fresh Mozzarella and Roasted Tomatoes

I finally got the chance to make my first batch of fresh mozzarella!  Beecher’s in the Flatiron District sell kits from Urban Cheesecraft and it was in the summer that I picked one up but never got around to trying it until now.  Their deluxe DIY Cheese Kit allows you to make mozzarella, chèvre, paneer,…

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Christmas Fruitcake

Fruitcake dates back to the Roman times and in the 1400’s the British began their love affair with fruitcake when dried fruits from the Mediterranean first arrived. This cake was generally served at weddings – the dark cake was given out as the groom’s cake and the white fruitcake was the bride’s.  It was the…

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Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce

There’s something exotic-sounding about a poached pear.  It doesn’t really mater if it’s poached in water, fruit juice or wine, the presentation will make your family and friends salivate.  So simple to make and you can fiddle with the poaching ingredients to suit your taste (i.e. orange peel, star anise, ginger, lemon peel).  Poaching in…

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Feta Salsa – A Super Easy Dip!

I love it when I am able to recreate a dish that I enjoyed elsewhere.   One of the grocery stores I frequently shop is Whole Foods.  I love this place and it serves as a food inspiration for me.  They always have something new to sample and their dips of all descriptions are marketed via…

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Kale Salad with Wild Rice and Cranberries – A Vegan Delight!

How can anyone resist a salad that is popping with color?  Not only is it colorful but healthy.  Kale’s anti-oxidant health benefits means it has been studied more extensively in cancer research than any other health condition.  Kale’s nutrient richness is found in three areas: 1) antioxidant nutrients, 2) anti-inflammatory nutrients, and 3) anti-cancer nutrients…

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Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Oatmeal cookies have been around since 1896 (first published in the Boston Cooking School cookbook).  The humble cookie has been around since the end of the 14th century where little filled wafers were sold on the streets of Paris.  Renaissance cookbooks were rich in cookie recipes.  Biscuits (aka cookie) became the ideal traveling food because…

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