After drooling over PartySugar’s mojito cakes, I wanted to experiment with my own freezer pie. When searching for a recipe, I remembered one of my favorite frozen dessert cookbooks, Icebox Pies by Lauren Chattman. Since I'm crazy for Nutella, I decided to make her Gianduia Pie. Gianduia is a type of chocolate candy made with hazelnuts or almonds.
I was unable to find chocolate wafer cookies, so I substituted Fudge Stick cookies, a wafer sandwich-cookie covered in chocolate. To my delight, the creamy, chocolately, hazelnut filling and crunchy crust reminded me of delicious Ferrero Rocher chocolates, minus the gold wrapping! Learn how to make this divine yet minimal, no-bake pie when you, read more

The other night I found myself at Nopa, a San Francisco restaurant known for its great food and equally respectable drinks. My drink of choice was the pisco sour, the slightly sweet, tart, frothy lemon cocktail made with pisco, a regional South American brandy. This is a wonderful concoction and I'm excited to re-create it at home.If you don't own pisco, you can find it at a well-stocked liquor store or online. The pisco sour and its namesake spirit have been at the center of a centuries-old battle between Chile and Peru, with both countries claiming it their own.

Note that this recipe calls for Chilean pisco, which is sweeter, with slightly lower alcohol content than Peruvian pisco. If you substitute Peruvian pisco, increase the amount of simple syrup and lemon juice according to your taste. To get the recipe to this lovely Latin libation, read more

The culinary world is gearing up for Slow Food Nation. The festival, which celebrates local, sustainable farm-to-table food, is in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. Slow Food encourages people to purchase seasonal produce from farmers markets in an environmentally-friendly manner. That means toting the goods in a reusable bag rather than a disposable one. In my opinion, carrying a fabulous farmers market tote is just as glamorous as sporting a designer handbag. Currently, I'm obsessed with this large, bright-blue tote by Chronicle Books. The tote perfectly demonstrated the publisher's motto ("see things differently") because it folds up into a flat book when not being used.

To celebrate Slow Food, we've (YumSugar will share hers later this week) both taken pictures with our beloved farmers market totes. and now we want you to do the same! Snap a pic of you with your favorite reusable farmers market bag and send it to us. You can use the Look Book feature on TeamSugar, post it in a blog, or on your own website. When everyone's submitted their photos (due date: Sept. 1), I'll do a giant post featuring everyone's pictures (and you don't have to cover your face, we're just shy!)!

To be included in the roundup, notify me via email with "YumSugar Farmers Market Tote" in the subject line, or personal message me with the following information:

- Name you want me to use
- Where you're from
- What farmers market you shop at
- Details about your favorite totebag
- Link to your Look Book, blog post, or website OR photo of you holding your favorite tote
- One short sentence on why you chose that tote

After we've received all of the submissions, we'll pick one lucky winner and send her her very own YumSugar tote! I can't wait to see your favorite totes.

For many the end of Summer is a crossroads. Vacations terminate, goodbyes are said, and new beginnings — jobs, school, etc. — start. Next week my friend Kara leaves for Boston to enter grad school. To properly send her off, I'm helping plan a "Thank God Kara Is Leaving 08" barbecue. Kara's known for being incredibly sarcastic, so the theme fits her perfectly. However, if your honoree is more sensitive, host a "We'll Miss You" or "Good Luck" themed going-away party. Before recipes can be selected for the menu, invitations have to be made and sent. To see how I made the ones shown here, read more

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Aïda Mollenkamp. A girl of many talents, Aïda is an editor and recipe developer at Chow, a home cook, a passionate fan of Slow Food, and host of the Food Network's new, interactive show, Ask Aida.

Aïda took time out of her busy schedule — the San Franciscan travels to New York twice a month — to give us a tour of the Chow test kitchen. Afterwards, Aïda and I sat down for a quick Q&A session.

To take a behind-the-scenes look at Chow, and find out more about Ask Aida, watch our exclusive video below.

Source

If you're into bold meals, then this recipe won't bore you. The anchos, paprika, cumin, and coriander will bring earthy, spicy flavors into the mix. The coconut milk-based sauce mellows the heat.

If you can't locate anchos, which are dried poblano peppers, you can substitute ancho chile powder (not to be confused with chili powder, which is a mix of different spices). To enjoy this succulent pork, read more

When you entertain as much as I do, it's important to have a selection of stylish appetizer plates. From small plates to decorative trays, these serving platters are essential to displaying delicious dishes. I'm always looking for interesting pieces — like these portable, three-part servers by NapaStyle ($78.00) — to add to my collection, so let's head off to market in search of appetizer servingware. Save your finds in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Appetizer Plates. I'm excited to see what you discover!

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Find out where I like to shop online for food and entertaining accessories when you read more