An icebox cake is a cake made by freezing instead of baking. The chilled mixture of layered ingredients harden to form a solidified dessert. An icebox cake also ends up saving you from heating the house with the stove and it makes an excellent finish to a meal. The elegant Italian flavors of espresso and mascarpone are highlighted in this creamy and satisfying cake. If you are drooling over the picture and must make this recipe, read more

According to Life & Style magazine, the latest diet trend in Hollywood doesn't involve loading up on carbs or eating in the zone. It's much simpler and in my opinion, much more fabulous. It's the Red Wine Diet and the secret to Jessica Simpson's weight transformation. Lucky for me, I love red wine and already drink it on a regular basis! If you want to give this new diet a try and need a wonderful red, why not try Spain's Protos Ribera de Duero? It's fun to experiment with new wines from lesser known regions. With its velvety finish, complex aromas, and dark cherry color, this wine pairs nicely with a small portion of steak, a carving of lean pork, or slice of pizza.

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Last weekend I had a wonderfully unique opportunity to dine in the dark. And when I say dark, I mean dark, as in I was blindfolded. It was an interesting experience, if not a rather difficult one. More than once I picked up my fork and put nothing in my mouth, and I'm not even going to tell you the number of times I shoved a green bean into my eye. And because my fantastic tablemates were also blindfolded, I definitely threw social etiquette out the window, propped my elbows on the table and used my finger as a way to get my food on the fork.

The SF Dark Dining event took place at the Fort Mason Center and while the windows were blacked out, it wasn't really dark enough. So we took our dark napkins and tied them around our eyes and awaited our meal. The menu was rather ambitious for a place with no kitchen — the caterers had to prep everything before hand and finish it off in convection ovens — and it resulted in just so-so to not-so-good flavor. However, the experience was quite interesting as my sense of smell and taste were definitely heightened. Pine nuts suddenly became PINE NUTS and blue cheese was BLUE cheese.

While I wished they had paired down the meal options and went a much simpler route, it's something that I'm glad I did. The cost is currently $95 per person, and even though it's a three-course meal, I didn't feel that the food was worth the experience. However, this was their first time running the event, and they were definitely taking a lot of feed back and getting used to the "kitchen". I think the event can only get better, and if you do go, be sure to wear dark clothes (or a bib!).

To check out some pictures of the dark dining prep — I love the way the waitstaff look in night vision goggles — as well as a link to some video footage, read more

• One of the new trends at Bay Area restaurants, is the use of fake meat. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but if I want a veggie dish, I don't want it to taste like meat. - San Francisco Chronicle
• More and more city dwellers are raising chickens in their yards. It's true, my neighbor has three of them. - New York Times
• Bored by chicken? Here are 10 ways to break your chicken breast blues. - Chicago Tribune



• Find out how Rock, the latest Hell's Kitchen winner is doing as he gets ready to embark on his new life as reality tv winner. - Washington Post
• The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, and many folks celebrate by noshing down on mooncakes. - Houston Chronicle
• With a few tips, and some staples, you can create your own semi-homemade meals for busy week nights. - Sacramento Bee
• Uh-oh, another food recall. This time it's E. coli tainted salad from Dole. - Associated Press
• And finally, speaking of food you might not want to eat, here are some nasty looking scab-shaped candy. - GiggleSugar

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Have you ever had a craving for a nice cold beverage, only to realize that the only option is room temperature and there's no more ice? If you answered yes, then you'll be interested to hear about a rumored technological advancement in the beverage world.

According to insiders, a new technology will do away with the need for ice, as once opened, the bottles will be chilled from the inside out. A new drink called Sprite Super Chilled could reach the United Kingdom by next year. They will only be available via special vending machines that regulate the temperature. If successful they could reach our shores in the near future.

I don't know about you guys, but I think this sounds a little bit sketchy, and yet totally fantastic at the same time.

Source: Mirror via Spluch
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After a make your own soft taco, dinner guests at my Ugly Betty season premiere party will be ready to sit back and watch the show. However, I won't let them leave the party without a sweet treat for dessert. When Ugly Betty is over, I'll invite everyone back into the kitchen for a creamy flan. The recipe actually comes from Betty Suarez herself, complete with funny little side notes. To get this classic recipe, read more

When it came time to work on this week's baking project, I promptly thought of pretzels. My friend Molly's been bugging me all year long for soft baked pretzels, and every week I keep saying I'll do them next time. However it's her birthday this week, so I thought I would finally get around to it. I was out all weekend, so I knew I'd have to find an easy, weekday recipe. There's an hour of proofing involved, but the one I found goes together easily and tastes great too. You can get it started, and then set it aside to rise while you eat dinner. To check out the recipe for soft baked pretzels, keep reading.