To round out my celebration of National Chocolate Day (really, who does make these things up?), I've decided to share with you a great, light chocolate treat. I found this in a book I picked up at a garage sale called 365 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes. Now, I'm usually not one to count my calories (I've decided if it tastes good I'll eat it, now if I could only learn moderation...), but this recipe is so simple and tasty, that you won't even realize it's low-fat. To learn how to make yummy Chocolate Ice, read more

You're working on your latest baking project and you've headed to the baking aisle to pick up all of your ingredients. You look at the chocolates and see semisweet, bittersweet, milk, white, unsweetened. The choices can be overwhelming, but what's the difference? Is bittersweet sweeter than semisweet? Is white chocolate even chocolate? How can chocolate be unsweetened? If any of these questions have ever crossed your mind, you're not alone. To check out my mini-chocolate primer, read more

Since today is National Chocolate day I decided to overdose on all things chocolate. If I don't have a drink before dinner or a glass of wine during, I like to treat myself to a dessert cocktail. Yes, you know what I'm talking about...a chocolate martini! It's like heaven in liquid form. Drinking these consecutively is definitely not a good idea (and a sure bet for a hangover the following morning) but here's what makes them so worthwhile: you can have one for dessert and allow yourself to enjoy it to the absolute fullest. To make this divine drinkable dessert, read more

When I woke up this morning, I had a sudden urge for Cajun food. After all of the richness of the holidays, I longed for something spicy and hearty yet without any gravy, cream or cheese. Something like good old rice and beans with a few hot sausages and veggies thrown in the pot. If you're in the mood for an easy Southern inspired meal tonight, read more

Last week I challenged you guys to come up with great recipe ideas featuring peppermint. This week it was definitely a tough decision, there were a bunch of fantastic entries, such as Molten Chocolate Cakes with Mint Fudge Sauce, Peppermint Oreo Balls and super Cute Peppermint Pigs. However, since I sort of overdosed on sweets this past week, I've decided that the winner of this week's challenge is 3Sweeties with her entry of Chicken with Tabbouleh. It's a light summer inspired main dish that will be a nice change from all the hearty meals during the winter. Congrats 3Sweeties and great job everyone, keep the recipes coming!

The next secret ingredient is oranges. Any kind of oranges, orange juice, orange peel, orange soda, whatever strikes your fancy, go crazy and submit your best recipe to the Secret Ingredient Group. You have until next week. Good luck and good eats!

The day of a party is always packed with excitement and millions of last minute details to complete. Once the candles are lit, the drinks on ice, and the party outfit gracefully draping your body, the last thing to do is to turn on the tunes. Music is a vital component to any party and like everything else involving your event (the invitations, the menu, the decorations), you should plan ahead. Lucky for me (and you!) I asked BuzzSugar to help me come up with a play list for my New Year's Eve bash. To see her picks and my tips, read more

So you've gone all out and made a great recipe that called for egg yolks only. It came out great, but what did you do with all the egg whites? If you normally toss them in the trash, then it's time to rethink your strategy. Egg whites can actually be frozen for future use. Simply take a clean, empty ice cube tray and put one egg white per cube. When they're frozen, take the cubes out and put them all in a ziploc bag. They will last about 3 months, and need to be defrosted in the refrigerator before using (about 8 hours).

If you have leftover egg yolks, you can freeze those also, however a lot of chefs don't recommend it. If you do freeze them, you will have to stabilize them first (if you don't, they may become too thick to use). To do so add 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey per pint of egg yolks or 1 teaspoon of salt per pint of egg yolks. You can decide on sugar or salt depending on what recipe you're going to use in the future. If it's a savory dish, then add salt, if it's a sweet dish, add sugar. The stabilized yolks can then be frozen like the whites (1 tablespoon = 1 egg yolk). To use the yolks, remove from freezer and let them thaw in the fridge for about 8 hours. They will also last about 3 months.

Note: These will not look the same as fresh eggs, but with proper storage and handling, your results should be the same.

Today is National Chocolate Day. Actually chocolate is such a loved commodity that it happens to have three "national days." I'm not sure who comes up with these fun food celebratory days, but I do love observing them.

Although I don't really need an excuse to have a decadent piece of chocolate, it's nice to have one for today. So open up a box of chocolates or if you're in the mood for baking, try out this Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake. I made it recently and it was absolutely to die for.