YumJimmy recently had a birthday, and to help him celebrate, I thought I'd send him off to work with some sweet treats for his co-workers. Last year's treat was an intense labor of love, so this year I decided to take it easy.

I was inspired by the million-dollar winning Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe and used it, along with a delicious peanut butter recipe from Melissa Murphy's new book, to come up with some treats. The cookies are deliciously chewy peanut butter cookies, with chocolate chips and a surprise mini Reese's Peanut Cup in the middle. To make these treats for yourself, read more

Spring is food festival season, and there's no shortage of events to attend this weekend. From California to Florida and everything in between, there's an event for everyone. If something is missing from this list, let us all know about it in the comments below!

• Beaufort, NC: Beaufort Wine & Food Weekend — April 23-27
• Dallas, TX: Dallas Wine & Food Festival — April 23-27
• Russellville, AR: Taste of the Valley — April 24
• Vidalia, GA: Vidalia Onion Festival — April 24-27
• Sarasota, FL: Florida Winefest and Auction — April 24-27
• St. Michaels, MD: St. Michaels Food & Wine Festival — April 24-27
• Mount Olive, NC: North Carolina Pickle Festival — April 25-26
• Mesquite, TX: Real Texas Festival — April 25-27
• Astoria, OR: Astoria Warrenton Crab & Seafood Festival — April 25-27



• Pompano Beach, FL: Pompano Beach Seafood Festival — April 25-27
• St. Albans, VT: Vermont Maple Festival — April 25-27
• Stockton, CA: Stockton Asparagus Festival — April 25-27
• New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — April 25-27, May 1-4
• Greensboro, NC: Taste Carolina — April 26
• San Francisco, CA: SF International Beer Festival — April 26
• Petaluma, CA: Butter and Egg Days — April 26-27
• Mansfield, IN: Mushroom Festival and Car Show — April 26-27
• Reston, VA: Uncork the Fun — April 26-27
• Lambertville, NJ: Shad Fest 2008 — April 26-27
• Hana, HI: East Maui Taro Festival — April 26-27
• Hunter, NY: Craft Beer & Fine Food Festival — April 26-27
• South Pittsburg, TN: National Cornbread Festival — April 26-27

One of the biggest expenses at a wedding reception is the drinks. Hosting a full open bar is a costly option, and if you don't have an unlimited budget, I would not recommend doing it. Instead offer guests one signature cocktail and an assortment of beer and wine. Another option is to host a day reception, because people don't drink as much when the sun's out. Be sure to ask the wait staff not to pre-open wine bottles. If they do, you may be left with a bunch of open, full bottles.

Along with the signature cocktail at Elena and Sean's wedding, guests will have a choice of Champagne, red or white wine, or a selection of local beers. The cocktail is a refreshing, delish blend of rum, cointreau, and sparkling pomegranate. It has a glorious hue that matches the wedding's color scheme.

For more wonderful wedding ideas, check out IDoSugar. To take a look at the recipe, read more

Fast-food chain Arby's has been wooing Wendy's for nearly a year, and it looks like it's finally paid off. The courtship ended with Arby's parent company Triac buying Wendy's for a $2.34 billion all-stock deal. The outcome has created the nation's third largest fast-food chain. There is talk of keeping them run independently, but there's been no official word.

So what does Wendy think about all this? (If you don't know, Wendy was the nickname for founder Dave Thomas's daughter Melinda Lou.) It doesn't sound like she's happy at all. Her sister, Pam Thomas Farber, said:

She's feeling horrible. She just is devastated. It's a very sad day for Wendy's, and our family. We just didn't think this would be the outcome.

I can imagine why the family is so bummed. Dave Thomas was the face of the company for so long, it must be awkward to see it all fall apart. So tell me, do you care about this? If your Wendy's becomes an Arby's, will it matter to you?

Source

Let me just say that taking a gorgeous, appetizing picture of nachos is hard. The image certainly does not do these amazingly delicious Italian nachos justice. They were so good that I ate an insane amount all by myself. What exactly are Italian nachos? A creation I invented based on a little web research. I took elements from several recipes to make my own version.

First I fried pieces of tomato basil tortillas. Next I made an Alfredo sauce and heated up finely chopped Italian sausage. The chips were seasoned with salt and dried oregano before being topped with the sauce, sausage, and a heavy sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. The whole thing was topped with a tomato, sun-dried tomato, black olive, and pepperoncini salsa. The final result was to die for.

For more details on how I made them, read more

Craig was this week's eliminated chef on Hell's Kitchen. His pasta making skills couldn't cut it and Ramsay sent him home. Yesterday I had the chance to chat with Craig — he was openly honest and incredibly nice — about his experience. To hear what he had to say about it all, read more

If you only learn one party snack recipe, you might as well make it these killer candied peanuts. — David Lebovitz