In my opinion parfaits are a totally underrated and overlooked dessert. They can be made hundreds of ways with just as many ingredients, yet when do you ever have one? When and why did they go out of style? Think about it: when was the last time you had a delicious parfait that wasn't some generic concoction from Dairy Queen or TCBY? If you answered never to this question, then you must make this divine dessert in the very near future. In fact drop what you are doing and make it now - this way it will be nice and chilled for after dinner. Layers of chilled creamy chocolate, softly whipped cream, and crispy praline. I'm merely writing about it and my mouth is watering. The splash of bourbon gives it a New Orleans-ish underlying flavor. This recipe is a great one for a party or dinner because it can be made up to 2 days ahead of your event. For the heavenly recipe, read more

Since we're in full-blown Oscars mode right now, I thought it would be fun to highlight a few different movies, both nominees and past winners, and see what dishes I could come up with for TV Dinners. Today I decided to start things off with something from one of my favorite movies of last year, Little Miss Sunshine.
Remember the scene near the beginning where the entire family gets together for a lovely dinner? You know the one where mom Sheryl brings home an enormous bucket of takeout chicken, which causes Grandpa to burst, "Every night it's the f**king chicken!" (if you don't remember, then checkout the clip after the jump). Well, if you're a keen viewer, you might have noted that the "f'ing chicken" came from a place called "Dinah's." Now for the interesting part, although the scene takes place in Albuquerque, Dinah's is actually a small chain with locations in Southern California only. Now I've never been there, but from what I understand they have some fantastic fried chicken. Unfortunately, their secret recipe (which according to their box is "traditionally southern and so free from cooking oil) is kept under lock and key, so we won't be able to have the real thing, but I do have a really tasty one you could make instead.

For a great fried-chicken recipe and a video clip of Grandpa's colorful feelings toward the chicken, read more

Today's happy hour recipe is named after 1969's Best Picture Winner, Midnight Cowboy. The film is rather dark, somewhat sentimental and sexy (it was actually rated X when it was released - back then X meant no one under 17). Much like the film, this drink is dark and yet beautiful. It consists of bourbon, rum and heavy cream, although I think a more authentic Midnight Cowboy drink would contain coconut milk instead. After all coconut milk is one of the "two basic items necessary to sustain life."

To checkout the recipe and see a film clip about the "two basic items," read more

Every year the folks at Eleni's Bakery in New York put together several hand-crafted cookie collections just in time for the Oscars. These collections, which correlate to the nominees, are absolutely adorable and will be a hit at any Oscars party. Choose from sugar caricatures for best actor ($58.50), best actress ($58.50), best picture ($65.00) and famous Hollywood quotes ($45.00). Order your cookies now to get them in time for Sunday's big event.

Andrew is a friend of mine who lives in New York City. He is an incredible artist and man about town. When he's not building sets or making videos, he spends the majority of his time partying (you can imagine what it must be like when we get together: PartyAndrew and PartySugar...). Lately he's been into throwing sophisticated cocktail parties at his house. He has one tiny/huge problem: the cocktail shaker he stole from me years ago has disappeared. I owe him a birthday present and a Christmas present and want to send him a really cool cocktail shaker and I need you to help me find it. Andrew is the type of guy who dresses great and always has the newest phone/iPod/gadget/sunglasses before everyone else. The shaker should be functional but modern and artistic at the same time. Save the shakers you find in the Yum Market with the keyword tag, Cocktail Shaker. Thanks for your help!

What's the Yum Market? geeksugar has written a quick, easy to read guide to bookmarking on TeamSugar.

Yesterday PartySugar taught you guys all about the joys of a homemade cassoulet. Something tells me, that unless you devoured it all in one sitting (which is quite possible since it's very delicious), you've got some leftovers waiting to be reworked.

At my house, we strangely don't have a microwave (the espresso machine won the battle for the kitchen counter space), so having meals the next day is always a new treat. This time I've actually come up with two ways to make a new tasty dish. To check them out, read more

This sensational Savory Sight of Scampi and Mussels Na Buzaru, comes from reader cupcake17. She snapped this pick while she was staying in Veli Losinj, Croatia. I absolutely love the way the dish is staring back at me, as well as the colors. Looks great, thanks for sharing!

Your photo could be shown here next! Just post them in the Savory Sights Group.

To learn how to post to the group, read more

I have always enjoyed watching the Oscars ever since I was a little girl and would practice my acceptance speech for best actress. Like many little girls I was 100% certain that I would one day be standing on that stage thanking my parents, my rock star/country singer/actor boyfriend, and agent. Although I may never win a best actress award a tiny part of me hopes that someday I'll have one. Maybe for a writing award? Best screenplay?
Until that moment I'll have to warm myself in the Oscars glow that is emitted from my television. Watching awards shows are twice as fun when you watch with friends, so gather a few and host an Oscars party. Don't worry I'll take care of all of the party plans for you starting today with the invitations. The party is less than a week away so I recommend inviting your crew as soon as possible. To see my award winning invitation idea with easy to follow step by step photos, read more