I enjoy living here in sunny Northern California, where we're spoiled by the fresh produce. I couldn't really imagine living anywhere else, especially a place as cold as the South Pole, where there's no naturally grown produce of any kind. And yet, that little fact doesn't stop the chefs down at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

Recently chef Michèle Gentille wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal, in which she recounted her Summer as a sous-chef at the South Pole station. She mentioned that they turned mostly frozen and canned products into delicious, nourishing food. Local produce was out of the question as the nearest farm was 3,000 miles away.

In October — when their Summer starts — fresh vegetables arrive from New Zealand on a weather-permitting weekly basis. They also have a greenhouse that produces enough for salad two or three times a week. Using these ingredients, along with other frozen goods, all 10 chefs aimed to cook a menu from Laurent Tourondel's New American Bistro Cooking.

To read an excerpt from her adventure, read more

The other night I got home from work and was starving. Unfortunately we had late dinner plans that evening, so I couldn't chow down too heavily. We also had limited supplies in our cabinets; there was no bread, crackers, or fruit to snack on. Oddly there were several heads of fresh endives and I figured that was a good place to start.

Endive is great in that you can trim the bottoms off and use the leaves in lieu of crackers. Sometimes I just dollop a mixture of blue cheese and candied walnuts on the ends, and other times I use a tapenade or a hummus. This time I ended up cleaning out my pantry blending canned tuna, hummus — it was a nice replacement for mayonnaise — sundried tomato/olive tapenade, and chopped cherry tomatoes into a creamy mixture. I then placed a small spoonful on each end. It ended up being the perfect snack and I was able to save the rest of the mixture — which I put on top of a bed of leafy greens — for lunch the next day.

If you've never had endive, I suggest you give it a try. The outer leaves tend to be more bitter than the inner ones, which are creamy and mild. Just think of them as carb-free savory crackers, and top them with whatever you feel like! They're a great personal snack and make for an elegant appetizer. Most people are always thrilled by them, so give it a go and let us know what you make!

Ever since I made lemon ripple bars, I've been wanting to experiment with other swirled desserts. This marbled caramel chocolate slice looks to die for. At first I thought the white swirls were cream cheese, but they are actually white chocolate, mmm! — Taste and Tell

Yesterday CasaSugar tipped us off to a great bargain on the Viva Terra Porcelain Branch Teapot. I loved the woodsy look and it got me curious about the whole branch trend in general. I've seen it in many home-decorating elements and knew that I'd find a similar pattern in kitchenware. With that in mind I went shopping and rounded up a bunch of really neat branch items. If you're into branches I've found dishware, glassware, table accessories, serving utensils, and more. To check them all out, scroll through below.

Although you can make an upside down cake with virtually any type of fruit, the most traditional is the pineapple upside down cake. This delicious cake is made by placing a layer of fruit in the bottom of the pan and then covering it with batter. After the cake is baked, the pan is inverted and the sugar and fruit juices combine to make a sweet, caramelized cake topping. This is a classic that every home cook should experience making. I've found two recipes — one that's simple and another that's more complicated — so read both and decide which one suits you and your culinary needs. For the recipes, read more

Although the fourth season of Hell's Kitchen doesn't begin until Tuesday, April 1, Gordon Ramsay has already begun hyping the show. This season the stakes are high and the competition is the most stressful to date for both the competitors and Ramsay. Unlike previous seasons, the wannabes are not competing to cook at some restaurant in a Vegas casino resort. This time around the winner will become the chef at Gordon's own, much-hyped restaurant, London West Hollywood in LA. I recently sat in on a conference call with the bad-boy chef. To hear what he had to say, read more