In continuation of our Best of 2007 coverage, we want to know what your favorite food trends are. Is it fancy yogurt or fancy food? Vote below!
Fill a table at your Ugly Sweater party with sweet treats for guests to snack on throughout the night. Stay away from serving anything too complicated or showy that will require more than a cocktail napkin for eating. Choose your favorite classic, holiday candies — red and green M&Ms, peppermint bark, candy canes, etc. — and serve along side one homemade dessert. These chocolate-peanut bars are a no-bake, delicious dessert. The combination of chocolate and peanut is always a crowd pleaser. For the recipe, read more
Gougères
A French-style cheese puff with the same sort of dough as cream puffs. The puffs can be filled with a variety of cheeses and herbs.
CasaSugar and I recently got into a debate over who could make the best gingerbread house. I hadn't actually made one from scratch ever, and was about 10 years old when I last put one together. However neither of these things stopped me from talking up how great my house would be. I had the best plans and great ideas; only problem was I didn't have a recipe and didn't know where to begin. So I did some research, rolled up my sleeves, and started mixing. The recipe I found — from Bon Appétit — actually makes way more gingerbread than necessary for one house. With all the leftover dough I decided to make a few gingerbread men. Only problem was, I didn't actually have a gingerbread-man cutter. So I used a knife and freestyled.
The end result was a gingerbread man with one arm larger than the other. I fixed that problem by piping on an icing cast. His neck also received a hairline fracture because I moved it to the cooling rack before it was ready. I covered this up by piping a little tie on him. And since he had a tie, I felt he needed a cellphone, too. No matter what you end up doing, just have a good time. I'm going to share details on my house later this week, and now I'm off to invest in a good gingerbread-man cookie cutter!
To get the gingerbread recipe I used, read more
When you think of prosecco — Italian champagne — you may think light and bubbly. And when you think of Paris Hilton, you might also think light and bubbly. However, when you think prosecco do you think of Paris Hilton? Probably not. Well folks, that's soon going to change.
Page Six is reporting that Paris is headed to Berlin to promote the European launch of Rich, her new line of canned champagne. According to the folks at Rich, Paris is, "acting as a market ambassador in advertisements for the Rich pleasures."
The canned beverage reminds me of Sofia Coppola's canned Blanc de Blanc and I really wonder how it's going to taste. Canned wine is becoming more acceptable and I think the idea could be fun. The drink has yet to hit the US shores, but should be here sometime next year. I'm going to give it a spin — after all I love the bubbly! — how about you, are you going to try Rich?
I love pure drinking water just as much as the next person. However, I think California-based Wayne Enterprises might be taking the whole water trend a step too far with their new Holy Drinking Water. They claim that the water — which is blessed by priests in the company warehouse — makes you good. They also have a disclaimer for sinners:
Warning to sinners: If you are a sinner or evil in nature, this product may cause burning, intense heat, sweating, skin irritations, rashes, itchiness, vomiting, bloodshot and watery eyes, pale skin color, and oral irritations.
If you think that Holy Drinking Water is the only product on the market, then you may be surprised to hear that they actually have some competition. Spiritual Water — is it just me or does their website look thrown together? — is offering well-designed bottles that contain full-colored images of holy persons and symbols, along with prayers in English and Spanish. There are 10 different versions — each with its own message and image — including Balance Water, Focus Water, and my own personal fave: Formula J' Water. Spiritual Water also donates ten cents from every bottle sold to The Spiritual Foundation for children in need.
What do you guys think? Is it really necessary, or is it just some folks who found their niche market?
You know the drill, but just in case you are new around here: You are at home and hungry for food. You have to cook up something scrumptious for you and your boyfriend/ girlfriend/ spouse/ child/ friend, but the ingredients you have on hand are limited.
You have walnuts, fresh oranges, and sugar. Using these ingredients, along with whatever staples you currently have in your cupboard and refrigerator, what would you make?
To see what I would make, read more
After twelve hours, five emergency trips to the grocery store, three batches of royal frosting, and two house threatening crises, my log gingerbread snow cabin with frozen lake was completed and ready to enter the challenge. Let's hope it wins the the SugarHQ best gingerbread house contest!
It was a tough, time consuming project, but the final result — an amazingly cute gingerbread house — was well worth the effort. I couldn't have done it without the expertise of an incredibly creative friend, the support of very loving parents, and the candy from a recently opened old-school candy shop. To check out a gallery of images of The Lagito Cabin and learn more about the house making process — along with my tips for future builders — read more
If you're worried about what to get those food know-it-alls on your shopping list, then fear no more. if the foodie in your life is constantly spouting off information, then test their knowledge by getting them the Food Lover's Trivia Game. If they don't yet know everything, then get them a copy of the Food Snob's Dictionary. This way they'll be able to wow and impress everyone with food facts and terminology. If you'd rather get them something edible, try these conserves from June Taylor. Or, go crazy and splurge completely by treating them to entire Serrano Ham, complete with stand! For more choices, scroll through below.
