Having a great pound cake recipe in your repertoire is a must for the avid baker. It's highly versatile and can be jazzed up with a ton of different things: chocolate, whipped cream, fresh fruit, syrups, jams, and glazes to name a few. Or you could enjoy a slice of pound cake, in all its simple glory, as an afternoon snack with a frothy cappuccino - like I plan on doing when I make this treat. To make this cake, which is almost as easy as making a cake from a box, read more

In order for me to fully provide you with the most informative advice on everything that has to do with parties, I'm writing a new feature entitled, PartySugar Behind The Bash where I'll give you the scoop on San Francisco's hottest parties and most outrageous nightlife. I'm attending the events, speaking with the party planners, and getting the recipes so you can incorporate the up to the minute trends, decor, and dishes into your fabulous parties. After fretting about what to wear, I attended the opening party for Couture & Cocktails Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years in Fashion, an incredibly fashionable exhibit at the de Young museum. Despite the fact that I didnt see Ms. Westwood, the party was totally oversold and overcrowded with about 2300 people in attendance and lines, lines, lines everywhere, the majority of the people looked amused, satisfied, and enlivened by the party and the atmosphere was like an old school rave with a grown up make over. For the menu, look, music, an interview with the event planner and lots of pics, read more

Attention New York readers, forget those trendy tees stating which borough you're from, there's now a tastier way to represent. 5 Boroughs Ice Cream is a new brand born out of a hobby turned obsession. Made from local ingredients, there is a handcrafted flavor for each borough (and then some, including one for NY's finest called NYPB: chocolate with a peanut butter swirl and fudge filled chocolate hearts). I personally can't wait to try the Jackson Heights inspired Mangodesh: mango ice cream spiced with cardamom. However it looks like I'll have to wait a while, 5 Boroughs is currently only available in New York.

I read on another blog (apologies, I forget which one now...) that the South Beach Wine & Food Festival is like Spring Break for the food industry. I wasn't there personally, but from the pictures I've seen, I'd have to say it seems pretty accurate. There was sun, sand, booze and partying. One of the events, After Hours at 212 Access House which took place on the same night as the Food Network Awards, had everyone partying down on specialty Gran Centenario Tequila cocktails. One of the cocktails was called the Gran Tangria (a tequila based take on Sangria), and I'm pretty sure I'm going to mix up a batch of this for my next party. To check out the recipe and see more pictures of chefs partying hard (including Tom Collichio, Katie Lee Joel, Bobby Flay, and Mikey "Top Chef" Midgley), read more

Doesn't this look absolutely delicious?

TeamSugar member abbeycamp posted it in the Savory Sights Group and boy oh boy it looks delicious. Thankfully she's also posted a recipe for this raspberry, white chocolate, and almond trifle.

Now it's time for you to share! Next time you go out to dinner or make a fancy creation, snap a picture and post it in the Savory Sights Group.

To learn how to post to the group, read more

I am an avid traveler and fly often, sometimes shorter flights from Oakland to San Diego and sometimes longer flights from San Francisco to exotic international destinations involving Spanish speaking countries.

If you fly like I do, you'll have noticed a dramatic difference in air travel recently. Gone are the free food and meals! Sure if the flight is a quick one and under two hours, no free food is necessary. However if the flight crosses the nation, that's six hours with nothing but a tiny bag of peanuts. In a few weeks I'll be visiting my friend Andrew in NYC and I need your help readers! I want you to send me your best ideas for airplane snacks. The food can be premade at a gourmet supermarket or recipes of your own for travel friendly snacks. Save your finds to the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Airplane Snacks. Likewise, add your recipes to the recipe database, once again tagged with Airplane Snacks.

To learn more about the Yum Market and posting recipes to the database, please read geeksugar's detailed description.

This weekend I was at a nine-course Chinese banquet (yum!) and the last dish that they brought out ended up being pork fried rice. I think they do this so that those who didn't get enough to eat will be able to fill up on mounds of delicious, steamy rice. Be sure to check out the recipe if you made last night's pork tenderloin with Asian glaze, and are looking for a good way to serve the dish up again - or if you just want to learn how to make terrific fried rice. To view the recipe in full, read more

I like to consider myself a hard core partyer, however there comes a time when even I, PartySugar, need a break. February was packed with a whirlwind of parties and after creating my own wine club, cooking up some intense intricate recipes for my Oscar party, hosting a quick dinner for Chinese New Year and throwing a Mardi Gras blowout bash, I am absolutely exhausted! I was thinking about going all out this week again before I realized that both my half birthday (yes I celebrate my half birthday!) and St. Patrick's Day are just around the corner and I'm going to need next week to focus on making these events as incredible as they can possibly be. That's why this week I am throwing a different kind of party, a party for one! That's right I am throwing a party where I celebrate myself and I want you to do the same. Think about it, how often are we allowed to celebrate ourselves? Sure once a year on our birthdays (and our half birthdays!), and for special occasions like a graduation or a promotion or an engagement, but after all of the hard work you do, don't you think you deserve more than a couple of parties? Why not throw yourself a party in which you celebrate the most important person in your life: YOU! It's time to get planning and first things first we have to figure out who to invite so read more