We are thrilled to announce that Elle Magazine's veteran advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is joining forces with the Sugar Network! She'll be lending her no-nonsense advice and witty sense of humor to our advice site, DearSugar.

Tune in every Thursday to read E. Jean's responses to your burning questions. Check out the first installment here. Your anonymous questions will be chosen at random by E. Jean herself, so ask a question here.

Can't wait for E. Jean to respond? Check out the Ask E. Jean question box located underneath the "Editor's Picks" on DearSugar to get an instant hilarious and fun video response your question!

Yesterday I brought you the first part of our Mother's Day gift guide and today I'm finishing it off with a few more great ideas. This first one is for the mom with all the recipes in her head. Don't you think it would be a nice gift for her (and you) if you helped her get them put on paper? The personalized recipe gift set from William-Sonoma will help you do that in a classy and personal way. The set comes with a personalized wood box and embosser ("Kitchen of Mom's Name") as well as 100 cards (the box holds 500). It'll be lovely now, but can you imagine it getting passed down through the generations? Available for $69.

Two more gift ideas (including a great wine set and a cute cupcake idea), so read more

Ok, I'll admit it: I've gone strawberry crazy. It's just that I love strawberries so much that I want to take full advantage of the fact that they are in season (not to mention good for you). I've used them in salads and made the classic shortcake, but now I'm (as Emeril would say) kicking it up a notch. The weather has been so beautiful that I've been dying to take the old ice cream maker out of hibernation. You know where this is going: I want to make strawberry ice cream! Making ice cream at home is no harder than making a custard, pudding, or pastry creme and the end result is pure, creamy heaven. If you are loca for fresas (translation: crazy for strawberries, read more

PartySugar mentioned that we were fortunate enough to meet Michael Chiarello last week - she also mentioned that we got to taste the wines from the Napastyle Wine Club. What she didn't mention was that one of the wines really stood out from the rest. I even had to take a picture of the bottle and remind myself to look it up when we got back. The wine was a 2004 Ars Nova from Tandem winery in Spain's Yerri Valley. It was a smooth rustic red blend consisting of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. According to Napastyle's website the "Fancypants Adjectives" (their wording!) associated with the wine are "dry and lean with cherries, violets and cedar hints." I couldn't have agreed more. It had a nice fruity taste, reminded me a bit of chocolate and was incredibly smooth. And although it could be consumed perfectly on its own, I want to get my hands on a bottle to pair with grilled lamb chops!

Contact your local wine merchant to locate a bottle of your own, or order it online at Oddbins (UK) for £9.49.

Last Thursday evening, YumSugar and I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with one of my favorite Food Network chefs and the creator of Napastyle, Michael Chiarello. Michael specializes in homey Italian influenced Northern California cuisine and has been the host of many television shows including Season by Season on PBS, Easy Entertaining on FN, and Napastyle on Fine Living. I love Michael for his friendly, easy going approach toward food and his fresh, delicious, recipes. In October of last year Michael opened his first store, Napastyle, in Berkeley - which is where Yum and I spoke with him. The event was a private party, tasting, and demonstration. In person, Michael is a lot like his TV personality: charming, welcoming, laid back and surprisingly he's more charismatic, incredibly personable, and quite funny.

Before the demonstration began, guests were invited to taste wines from his wine club (if anybody wants to surprise me and get me a subscription to it I would be ecstatic), sample homemade sausages and dips from his store, and to mingle with Michael. Once everyone had passed by the sample table (my favs: the parmesan dip & the rosemary garlic salami), the demonstration began.

For Michael's philosophy on food and life, the difference between taste and flavor in a dish, what he has to say about fellow Food Network celebrity chefs and our interview (including a video with a fantastic Julia Child impersonation), read more

• Everyone always asks me, what do you really need in your kitchen. Mark Bittman (aka The Minimalist) says you can outfit your kitchen (by buying generics from a restaurant supply store) for $300. Plus, food scientist Harold McGee examines the five second rule - New York Times
• Creating nutrious meals isn't always easy when kids are involved, but here's how four different moms have come up with inspiring ways to feed their families. - San Francisco Chronicle
• Rhubarb makes for great sweet pie, but have you ever thought about rhubarb's savory side? - Chicago Tribune
• To celebrate Mother's Day, over 160 readers sent in their mom's best recipes. That large list was narrowed down to seven great mom hits and six not-so great misses. - Houston Chronicle



• A meal fit for a queen... literally. Four-star chef Patrick O'Connell accepted the challenge in preparing a light menu for Queen Elizabeth. - Washington Post
• Join the green party. Spring has sprung and veggies such as peas and morels, are ready please. - LA Times
• Two words: chicken tagine. I really don't have to say anything else, do I? - Boston Globe

As you all know I am planning a super special breakfast for my oh-so-fabulous mother to celebrate el dia de la madre (translation: Mother's Day). Unfortunately I've turned the only breakfast tray we own into a crafting station for my invitation making hobby. The face of the tray is covered in glitter, glue, and paint - that's why last week I asked you to help me out and find my mom a beautiful breakfast tray. It should be pretty, elegant, and easy to eat off in bed. You saved your terrific trays in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword Breakfast Tray.

Cravinsugar found this pretty pale blue tray that just screams Mother's Day. It's so cute I definitely can't ruin it with crafting glitter. Look at more and read more

I love bacon, there's something about the smell, texture and flavor that just makes me drool, drool, drool. And as much as I love the fatty portions of the meat, we all know it's about how well they combine. You need a good proportion of meat to fat in order to make it work well. Every person has their own personal ratio, but something tells me that this obviously fatty ratio isn't going to become many people's personal favorite. I mean check it out, this piece of Jamestown Brand bacon is what? 90% fat? Oh god, I think my arteries have just hardened...

Source: The Consumerist

Take that Rachael Ray! You can do dinner in 30 and I can do it in half the time. With Ms. Ray as inspiration, I set out to make a quick meal that is tasty and takes a lot of help from the supermarket. Canned crabmeat - Costco sells a really delicious one in the refrigerator section - combined with canned corn and store bought chicken broth are the ingredients that make this super simple, incredibly easy dinner. Very little prep (grate some ginger, chop a few green onions) is important to creating swift dinners like this one, so when browsing recipes for quick fix dinners be sure to check out how much chopping, grating, and squeezing is involved. Great for a light and fresh meal or to be served as the first course at a Chinese themed dinner party. Want the recipe? Well, read more

My mom is a super hard working school teacher. I try to help her out as much as I can because she is always there for me when I need motherly support, but I worry I never help her enough. That's why this Mother's Day, I'm making her a glorious breakfast in bed just for her (ok dad you can have some too!). I already made her a memorable handmade card and surprised her by leaving it underneath the covers of her bed. I came up with a simple yet delicious menu consisting of easy breakfast recipes that I'm positive my mom will devour. Next up on the party plan to do list: the drinks. My mom prefers beer and margaritas, but since those are a little inappropriate for the morning I'll be making her a strawberry bellini. We often order mimosas when we go out to brunch which is why I chose the bellini to make it seem more like a celebration. The only wine she'll drink is sparkling, so the prosecco based bellini is the ideal brunch drink. I've also found a great pomegranate orange juice recipe for all of the mom's out there who don't drink. Nothing beats fresh squeezed oj! Although this time of year the pomegranate juice will have to be from a bottle, but it still tastes absolutely divine. Please, for the recipes read more