At the end of April, I will be attending a picnic down in Bakersfield on a friend's family ranch. Every April Laura and her family invite all of their friends out to their ranch for some frolicking in the sun, and every August they invite the same people to a reggae party at their beach house on the strip in Hermosa. Last August I spent the weekend at their house and had the most amazing time. So much so that I do not want to show up empty handed to their picnic. That's why I asked you to search the web for the perfect picnic basket. You saved your baskets in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag Picnic Basket. Here are the baskets that I think the Cattani family would enjoy the most:

How cool is this backpack picnic basket that SU3 found? Part basket, part backpack, part cooler, this unique and functional rattan food transporter takes picnicking to a whole new chic level. Includes an insulated wine tote, food compartment and blanket holder.

Two more so read more

Yesterday I told you what I did with an excess of lime juice while making my Easter lime tart...but you may have been wondering, what about the lime tart? Well here it is! My original plan was to make a lemon meringue pie, but when I saw that my brother's kitchen lacked everything from a hand mixer to cookie sheets to a large mixing bowl, I realized such an extravagant dessert would have to wait. I still wanted something refreshing, light and citrusy, so I decided to come up with a simple variation of a lime tart meets key lime pie. The crust had to be graham cracker based and the filling blitzed in the blender (which ended up only half working). Overall the pie came out with a delicious lime flavor and smooth creamy texture. It's a simple recipe and a good one to have in your list of desserts, especially if you end up in a poorly stocked kitchen and are in need of a sweet treat. Read the recipe and read more

This weekend Jimmy and I headed to our friend's house for a night of poker, wine, cheese, snacks, home brew and more. We all bought in to the game at $20 a piece and I was out way sooner than I anticipated (I had 2 kings and there was nothing but junk showing, what were the odds that the other guy would have 2 aces, especially since another guy had 2 aces in the hand before?!?), which was maddening, but did allow me to take the time to peruse the wine and snacks selection. One of the wines, Dr. Beckermann Piesporter Michelsberg Qualitätswein which was picked up at Trader Joe's for under $5, ended up being super nice and refreshing. It was definitely one of the sweeter rieslings, but nice, not syrupy. It had hints of pears and peaches, but was lacking a mineral/acidic quality. I felt that it would pair well with a spicy dinner, and luckily there wasn't that much left, as I probably would have unknowingly drank the entire bottle. Not worth going out of your way to track down, but if you see it, definitely pick up a bottle (or two).

It's that time of week again -time to round up the food sections, here we go!

• Grating your own coconut is an interesting exercise, but will it really result in better tasting dishes (like homemade lemongrass-scented coconut rice)? - San Francisco Chronicle
• Local LA artisans are pouring more heart and soul into gelato and ice cream, making them the new shining stars at the dessert table. - LA Times
• Speaking of desserts, my fluffy chocolate square, look at you now. The brownie is all grown up and infused with fancy chocolates. Plus, the best way to learn about wine is to just take it home and taste it. - New York Times



• If I ever have a kitchen of my own that needs renovating, I am definitely going to call these guys. These contractors celebrate a successful kitchen remodel by making a special meal for their clients. - Boston Globe
• When you think of Texas you don't really think of cheese. However the Houston Dairymaids are hoping to change that. - Houston Chronicle
• And finally, if you're planning on going to Chicago any time soon, you may want to check out this insider's food guide to Chicago. - Chicago Tribune

Yesterday, Paula Deen and her lil' angels (aka her boys Jamie and Bobby) were on hand at New York's davidburke & donatella for a Deen Bros. book launch party. The book, Recipes from the Road, is intended to bring the reader on a virtual road trip with the Deen Bros. One where they can learn how to make over 100 tasty regional recipes inspired by foods the lil' angels tasted during their travels.

However, if you're more interested in juicy details than juicy recipes, you may want to check out mama Paula's recently released tell-all autobiography, It Ain't All About the Cookin'.

And finally, I hate to sound superficial, but doesn't it look like Miss Paula has lost a lot of weight lately? It looks to me like she may be laying off of the fried butter balls (Thanks to Serious Eats for this link).

To see more images of the Deens celebrating the book launch with their pals (including Gordon Elliott), read more

The other day one of my sister's friends stopped by with a bouquet of pretty pink flowers from her garden. They were ranunculus (pronounced ran-UN-kew-lus) a small camellialike bloom that ranges in color from red to yellow to pink and white and grows here in the Western United States during springtime. Wildly popular, there are over 400 different species.


When planting ranunculus, monitor the soil's moisture and handpick away slugs and snails. These bulbs grow in full sun to partial shade, spread naturally, and do best with cool night temperatures and slightly warmer days. When cut, a ranunculus can last over a week, making them an ideal choice for a bride's bouquet, a wedding centerpiece, or a mailed gift. They combine well with pansies, sweet alyssum, and other early spring blooming flowers.

I thought it would be fun to give away another piece of YumSugar swag, so yesterday I had the Sugar Network geeks run a few reports. I was curious to see which one of you lovely users commented on YumSugar the most during the month of March and I thought it would be cool to reward the top talker with a little reward. Turns out the big talker in March was none other than mandiesoh! Congrats mandiesoh, we'll be sending a YumSugar t-shirt your way!

Want your own YumSugar gear? Start leaving comments, the top talker for April will receive some YumSugar swag too! Too shy to talk? Buy your own tee from our YumSugar store.

Part French toast, part ham and cheese sandwich, the classic Monte Cristo Sandwich is an excellent quick dinner dish that will use the last bit of leftover Easter ham. A sweetly glazed ham is paired with swiss cheese in this Americanized version of the ultimate French ham and cheese sandwich, the croque monsieur. Since it's Wednesday night and we do sandwiches at my house on Wednesdays I thought this would be a taste treat. The origin of the name of this sandwich is unclear and debatable. For a heartier meal pair with a green salad, or a bowl of your favorite store bought tomato soup. I like mine alone with a bag of crinkle cut potato chips. For the recipe, read more

This week's TV Dinner is a little bit spectacular, and unfortunately one that you're not going to be able to make at home (at least not easily and not without getting the health board, peta and animal control upset at you).

I have a thing for older cookbooks, and recently I came across one by food historian Esther B. Aresty called The Delectable Past (1964). In it, Aresty shares several recipes from her collection of rare and collectable books - including recipes dating back to the middle ages. While reading it, I came across a recipe for a pie that would have birds fly out of it (just like the nursery rhyme). I thought it was pretty interesting, but didn't think I'd ever have any reason to bring it up. I was wrong.

This week I was watching the second episode of The Tudors and during the episode Jonathan Rhys-Meyers presents the king of France with a large tart. The king doesn't seem that amused until he begins to cut it open and PWHOOSH! out flies a bunch of birds. When I saw it I honestly flipped out and got really excited, I honestly had to rewind it and then squeal, "Wah! I just found the next TV dinner!"

To check out the ye olde recipe for live birds in a pie, and get a link to a video clip, read more

Although the guest of honor at a baby shower is not allowed to drink (for obvious reasons) that doesn't mean it's ok to deprive the other guests from toasting the unborn baby. Per your requests, I am planning a baby shower for the pregnant actress Naomi Watts this week for you to use as an inspiration to create your own baby showers for your friends and family. Baby blue and pale pink are the source of inspiration behind this spring time luncheon. I've made the invitations and proposed a menu and now it's time to talk about the aforementioned drinks including a refreshing non-alcoholic option, so read more