Yes, I know, that is not a picture of a gigantic espresso cake, but here's what happened. I went to the store, bought all of my ingredients, got home and realized that it wasn't just a 4 layer cake with two normal layers each cut in half, but it was actually a 4 layer cake - as in 4 cake pans! Since my kitchen is rather urban (aka small), I don't have the luxury of having the space for 4 cake pans. I'm borrowing two more so that I can make the cake on Saturday (which actually works out better, because this creation is going to take more than an hour or so after work), but this meant there would be no baking for this week! When I realized that, I looked through the pantry and discovered that I had all the ingredients for the Cheese Popovers (the second place choice) and went with them instead. To see how my popover adventure went (and I'll fess up now and say it was a bit flat), read more

• Don't miss this interview with Mario Batali. I especially love his quip about Food TV. - Serious Eats



• Now when Rachael says EVOO, you'll know that she means her own brand of EVOO - Slashfood
• I love lychees and am thrilled that they're becoming so hip. Now you can even order Lychee Botanical Brownies in a gift box. - For the Love of Dessert
• Does the Kronik Chill Freezer Cup really work? - Liquor Snob



• If you need a new dinner party recipe, try Clotilde's Spoon-Tender Braised Veal Shank. - Chocolate & Zucchini
• Feel like pho, but don't have any ingredients? Why not create your own Faux Pho? - Needs More Garlic

My guy is addicted, and I mean ADDICTED to coffee (in fact, we had to lose the microwave to make room for the espresso machine). When we go out he's always looking for a drink that involves coffee, Kahlua, espresso, etc. So yesterday, when I asked him to choose a drink for today's happy hour, it really should have come as no surprise when he said, "how about an Espresso Martini?"

Go figure! But, at least he's got good taste and found a delicious recipe for all of us.

Espresso Martini
From Drinks Mixer

1 1/2 oz vodka
1 1/2 oz Kahlua (or any other coffee liqueur)
1 oz Bailey's Irish cream
3 oz espresso - the stronger the better!

Brew espresso fresh.
Pour into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes and add other ingredients.
Shake well, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

With Valentine's Day narrowing quickly in, it's time to start thinking about what sort of baked goods you're going to make for your loved ones. I'll be making heart shaped chocolate cookie and strawberry ice cream sandwiches for my dad and shortbread hearts dipped in chocolate for my mom. Of course I'll need some specialized Valentine's Day bakeware to make these delicious dream desserts reality. I'm the eternal single girl and know that the only way I'll get a gift on Valentine's Day is if I buy it for myself. I'll splurge for fabulous moi (hey, if you can't love yourself you'll never be capable of loving that special someone) on love themed bakeware. Buy these items as gifts for yourself so you can make tasty love treats for those you love.

There is no better way to show someone how much you care for them than with a sweet edible homemade heart. A heart shaped cookie cutter is a must for making ice cream sandwiches and shortbread hearts. You can purchase a copper heart cookie cutter set for $24.95.

Three more, so read more

One of my closest and oldest friends is in her final year at college in southern California. Her name is Sonia and she is a lot like me - I even consider her my protégée because she loves to cook, host parties, and mix cocktails. She is super sophisticated and seems older than a senior in college. The other day, Sonia called me up and asked me if I could suggest some simple, quick one person dinners for her to make. Like I did in college, she lives alone in a fabulously decorated quaint little studio apartment, so on most nights she cooks for herself. She enjoys fine dining, but as of late, her meals have consisted of grilled cheeses and pasta with Parmesan cheese and butter that she pairs with a nicer bottle of wine. Sonia is obviously in need of some off to market love! Please add your best recipes for simple yet glamorous one person dinners to the recipe database on TeamSugar. Tag your recipes with the keywords: Dinner For One.

To learn how to post your dinner for one recipes in the recipe database, read geeksugar's easy to understand guide.

It has only been two weeks, but I feel like I've been talking about the Winter Fancy Food Show for months now. If you're bored of it, don't worry, this is the last one and if you're afraid you've missed some of the coverage, then fear no more. I've got one final recap that rolls all the other recaps into one.

The Winter Fancy Food Show was a "gorge yourself silly, check out our new products and taste our old ones too" sort of an event. With over 1,000 vendors and 80,000 things to eat, it was a bit overwhelming, by day three I was tired of walking the aisles and needed to take a long nap (that happens after a sugar crash).

While there we ran into a few celebrity chefs:

• Paula Deen
• Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contessa) - be sure to see our video interview
• Martin Yan - he was also kind enough to do a video interview

We also identified some major food trends:

• Teas - blooming teas, organic teas, fair trade teas - be sure to check out our video interview with Ineeka's Shashank Goel
• Superfruits - who doesn't love anti-oxidants?



• Infused Waters and Sodas - apparently if your water doesn't give you something else, it's just not good enough
• Infused Alcohols and Mixers - a drink is no longer just a drink - be sure to check out our video with TMD's enthusiastic Michael Ward
• Goat Dairy Products - Move over cows, goats are taking over!
• Real wasabi - okay, this one isn't a food trend, but I forgot to mention it anywhere else and wanted to share this picture with you

If all of that is overwhelming, then check out this video clip to get the complete idea:

To check out a LARGE gallery of images, read more

Valentine's Day is a great excuse to spice and heat up an otherwise bland and stale relationship. Take your erotic sexy side to the next level by inviting your partner to a game of strip chocolate. Yes, you heard me right, strip chocolate. Clothes come off, chocolate goes on, chocolate gets licked off...I think you get the idea. Looking for something a little more intellectual, how about strip chocolate checkers? Lose your clothes when you lose your chocolate checkers. If you're like me and single and fabulous (!) get together your girlfriends and play a game of truth, dare, or chocolate. Remember if you do play one of these aphrodisiac adult oriented pleasure games, be sure to wear your sexiest lingerie underneath your outfit for when that strip down finally does happen. If anybody has played any of these seductive games please do dish on all of the delicious details!

These and several other sensual chocolate products are available from the folks at Chocoholics.

I used to think that risotto was a fearful and extremely difficult dish to make - one left only for the expert chefs of several starred restaurants. Then I went to dinner at my aunt's house where my cousin, Sarah, had successfully mastered and produced a delicious wild mushroom risotto. She said it was easy, you just have to make the time to stir the rice. With her as inspiration, I made my first risotto and I've been making them every since. I actually find the 15 minutes spent stirring the rice to be quite soothing; to me cooking is comforting. Plus it'll wow your family when you tell them risotto is on the menu for dinner. Technically a rice dish could hardly be described as refreshing, but this scrumptious simple vegetarian dinner is just that: refreshing. The flavors of mint and lemon meld perfectly to create a bright and clean taste for your palate. To see the recipe, read more

You guys really went to town with the parmesan cheese challenge. The Secret Ingredient group is full of delicious sounding treats that I am going to have to try. However, this Easy Tofu Parmesan from mandiesoh sounds like a nice simple vegetarian meal. Also, anything covered in that much cheese has to be delicious! Way to go mandiesoh, thanks for sending in the recipe.


This week's secret ingredient is arugula. This leafy green is a great way to add greens to your meal and was once actually considered an aphrodisiac. So submit your best arugula recipes to the Secret Ingredient group. I'll put my favorite recipe up next week!