When I lived in Spain for two years, one of the things I missed most was root beer. This is quite odd because I'm not a huge root beer drinker, although I have been known to have one every few months with a hot dog or in the form of a root beer float. Anyways, when my dad became friends with a young American who worked on a US army base in Spain, he offered to buy me some root beer from the base so I could enjoy a taste of home. That night I had the best root beer float ever. The simple combination of vanilla ice cream with the sweet almost syrupy fizzy soda (I call it soda) is to die for. Throw in a few bananas and a tiny bit of bourbon and you'll have one floating sundae. Dying to dive into a root beer float? Get the recipe and read more

Did you guys know that Tara Reid is a restauranteur? She has shares in three restaurants - Bella, Geisha House and The Shore, and now she's planning on opening up her own "fast-food" joint (I put fast-food in quotes, because I'm pretty sure it's a sit-down restaurant with a "fast-food" themed menu - meaning high-end ). The restaurant, which is called Ketchup, is set to open up in Los Angeles on March 31st 21st (looks like the blogosphere was wrong on this one). Will you see Tara there?

"You probably won't see me behind the cash register. But I'll definitely be in the kitchen making sure everything is done right."

Now if you think this sounds like another way for Tara to let us all know that she's transforming into a responsible adult, you might want to know that the restaurant business is actually in her blood. While Tara was growing up, her parents owned a bar in New Jersey.

Also, according to Eater LA the last open-call for staff hiring was last Wednesday. Leaving just two weeks one week or less for staff training...

If anyone goes to the opening, or anytime after, let us know how it is! Also, let us know if Tara really is there. Do you guys think she will be?

Source: Slashfood
Ketchup Image: Eater LA

A few weekends ago Emily (my bff), Gabe, and I ran into our favorite local wine shop, Vine and Barrel, to pick up a bottle (or 2) of wine to bring to dinner at my parents house. Jason the owner, an awesome guy who is super friendly and always helpful, met us with big bear hugs. After we said our hellos we got down to business. Grilled spiced rub turkey breast and sweet potato fries were on the menu for the evening, so Jason suggested that we pair the turkey with a Rumball sparkling Shiraz. Sparkling Shiraz? A red sparkling wine? Neither Emily nor I even knew that such a thing existed and you can imagine our giddy excitement. But did Jason have a bottle chilled for us? You bet he did (gotta love this guy)! When we got to my house, Emily opened the bottle while I rounded up the champagne glasses. The wine was a beautiful, dark ruby color with teeny bubbles and pink fizz. The south Australian wine was elegant with fruity flavors, a soft smooth palate and lots of depth. I fully enjoyed this wine, it was completely complementary with the turkey and I will definitely remember to serve this next November at Thanksgiving dinner.

My cousin Alli, who is in high school has recently developed an interest in cooking! To encourage her experimentation in the kitchen, I thought it would be fun to give her a cute apron. I asked you to help me find Alli an awesome apron. You looked for aprons that are, fun, colorful, and young. I want an apron she can wear while entertaining and down the road that she can bring when she goes off to college. Her style is classic and preppy so the apron shouldn't be too flashy or out there. You guys did an amazing job, I feel like you found every cute apron out there and saved them in the Yum Market with the keyword tag, Apron. Here are three aprons that are perfect for Alli, both fashionable and functional:

A half apron that is both modern and retro I love how it's girlie. Found by rubialala, the polka-dot print is timeless, I can just see Alli baking a chocolate cake while wearing this apron.

There's more so read more

Here's what's going on in the food news around the country - and sorry, a few of these do need logins...



• Sayonara bottled water, free carafes of tap water, still or jazzed up by a soda-fountain style carbonating machine, is all the rage. It's free and helps with the whole sustainability movement. As the folks at Chez Panisse said, "shipping bottles of water from Italy doesn't make sense." - San Francisco Chronicle
• Looks like Julia may have been wrong, you don't have to use good wine to come up with some great results. Speaking of wine, the Navarre region of Spain has been producing some notable wines. - New York Times
• To some spring time means fresh asparagus, to New Englanders, it means fresh maple syrup.- Boston Globe
• So you bought a whole fish, now what? Well, you've definitely got choices, here's one fish, five ways. Plus don't miss out on these bartender tricks you can do at home.- LA Times



• Mario Batali is a busy man, he's got a new upcoming Spanish television show, and yet Mario still has time for his fans. - Chicago Tribune
• Since everyone seems to be pressed for time these days, these helpful no-cook pasta sauces will definitely hit the spot. - Houston Chronicle
• And finally, the Washington Post has revamped their food section. Unfortunately, you'll still need a login to check it all out. - Washington Post

Alright, so clothing is a bit more FabSugar than YumSugar, however something tells me Fab might not be so quick to endorse a shirt with a hamburger on it. And me, well um, hello! it is a hamburger and it's anthropomorphic (fancy way of saying it has a cute face), so of course I'm going to love it. The folks over at Threadless ran a competition in conjunction with the movie version of Fast Food Nation and this little cutey is one of the two winning designs.

Out of 222 entries, the folks at Threadless chose Inside You by Matt Palmer and Fast Food Meal by Diogo Soares. You can purchase them now, $15 guys tee and $17 girly tee, but you'll want to act fast - like all Threadless shirts, they're printed in limited quantity.

A little while ago as I was browsing through the groups on TeamSugar I was surprised to see that there was no group devoted to highlighting images of your fabulous parties. Sure there are groups that discuss wedding party plans, recipes, and wines but what about one devoted to all things party? That's why I started the Super Special Occasions group! When I host a party I love to take tons of pictures of everything from the decorations to the food spreads to the floral centerpieces and beautifully lit candles. Now we can share our pictures with each other and get inspirations and ideas from parties that you've hosted in the past. If you're anything like me and have tons of photos of events you've hosted, attended, or seen, please share them with us in the Super Special Occasions. How adorable is this table setting for lickety split's daughter's 8th birthday? To check out more images of her party (and mine!) and to share your events with us, join the Super Special Occasions group.

¡Feliz Primavera! (That means Happy Spring in Spanish) Today is the first day of spring and I am incredibly excited for warmer days, fewer clothes, and fresh vegetables. In honor of the day, I wanted to provide you all with a recipe that highlights one of Spring's most covetable vegetables: asparagus. Wondering why I highlighted that all? Tonight's quick, easy dinner meal is completely inclusive*: it's healthy, vegetarian, and dairy free. Don't have any specific dietary needs? Save this recipe in your collection to use when a vegetarian or lactose intolerant friend comes to dinner. To read the receta (that means recipe in Spanish), read more

For some reason I've been staying up late these days, it's not doing wonders for my skin, but it is allowing me to catch old episodes of Seinfeld. The other night the episode "The Dinner Party" was on and I don't know if you recall, but it's the one where Jerry and Elaine stop off at a bakery on their way to a dinner party. Their intention was to buy a chocolate babka to bring, however the couple ahead of them scores the last one and they're left with a "inferior" cinnamon babka. Now I've seen this scene before and I've never thought twice about it, but this time I stopped and wondered outloud, what on earth is a babka?

Well turns out that a babka is a polish coffee cake that is traditionally made with fruit fillings, such as raisins, and is glazed with a fruit-flavored icing. However modern day babkas are filled with cheese or chocolate. And according to Elaine the chocolate babka is where it's at.

To see if it's worth the hype, you can order a chocolate babka online, or you can check out the recipe and make one of your own.

To see the Seinfeld babka clip and get the tasty recipe, read more