My Greek feast is taking place on Saturday after a day of wine tasting, but our Dionysus-themed girls weekend begins on Friday night. To kick start the event, I'll greet each girl with a cocktail when she arrives. My sister has purchased golden Greek laurels for everyone to wear in their hair, so my cocktail is inspired by this party gift. It's called a Lemony Laurel and is a sunny, refreshing concoction that combines a lemon and bay leaf syrup with citrus vodka and Galliano. It sounds like a heavenly beverage that would be delicious enough for a goddess to drink! Get the recipe I'll be using when you read more

Here, OnSugar blog Fresh Tart teaches us how to make simply delicious cream biscuits.I'm serious - I've made buttermilk biscuits a few times and while they're not difficult, they require...buttermilk...which I don't consistently have in my fridge. They also require cutting cold butter into flour, which again is not difficult, but is just fussy enough to prevent me from whipping them up on some random Sunday morning. Which is probably a good thing, given that biscuits are neither particularly nutritious nor light.

But whatever, I'm not going to make them every day, or even every week, and despite hailing from the not-South, I love biscuits, oh my goodness do I love them. Forget honey and jam, I don't need them sweet (although they're lovely that way), I crave them with eggs or sausage or bacon, oh yeah. Rib-stickin', with hot black coffee, ready to work on the ranch. Or to grab my camera, take a few pictures, sit down, and write about it all.

Learn more about her ridiculously easy Southern treat, which doesn't require buttermilk, after the jump.

Kale is one of Winter's most common greens and it's usually enjoyed cooked. But did you know that raw kale actually makes an amazingly delicious salad? When tossed with a flavorful dressing like the raspberry, mustard, apple cider vinaigrette in this recipe, the kale tastes crisp and healthy. Shredded beets, sliced radishes, and roasted pumpkin seeds add crunch, heft, and salt to the salad. Serve a piece of crusty bread slathered with creamy goat cheese, and you've got a satisfying and light meal. Look at the recipe after the break.

It's that time of year again, when the culinary cream of the crop gears up for the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard Awards. This morning, the James Beard Foundation debuted its long list of semifinalists.

The semifinalists were announced for the following restaurant and chef categories: outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant, outstanding service, best new restaurant, rising star chef of the year, outstanding pastry chef, outstanding wine service, outstanding wine and spirits professional, and best chef for the following regions: Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Great Lakes, New York City, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, and South.

To find out which big names made headlines, read more.

A couple of weeks ago, I didn't understand the allure of a crockpot. I was hesitant to try one, but ended up making this chili with Breville's machine. It's the perfect dish for a crockpot novice. All I had to do was dump the ingredients into the pan, turn the gadget on, and voila: hours later my house smelled wonderful and a scrumptious, filling bowl of spicy, chunky chili was in my hands.

The thing I love most about this recipe is its easy adaptability. The original version calls for black beans, but I had pinto and used those instead. Oh and did I mention that you can add the dried beans directly to the crock? They require no preliminary soaking! Seriously, if you have a slow cooker, make this chili — you won't be disappointed. Here's the recipe.

Maybe it's because PartySugar's moving, but lately I've been obsessing over all the things I want that my kitchen doesn't have. Last night, I apparently had nothing better to do than to salivate over the die-cast food processor, cinnamon-colored Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, cast iron Dutch oven, and large oval platter that exist only in my fantasy kitchen. I think it might be time for me to create my own culinary fund. What kitchenware have you been lusting after?

Source: Flickr User BenFrantzDale