Posts for June 19th 2012

Sugar Shout Out

Sugar Shout Out: Learn Bob Harper's Top 3 Weight Loss Moves

Bob Harper shares his top 3 moves for weight loss Take a look back at Johnny Depp's hottest loves 10 tantalizing corn recipes to experiment with What's hot now: floral garland headbands are in bloom Tori Spelling shares photos of Stella's birthday tea party Celebstyle: take a cue from Kate Moss's crisp, white Summer vest Seeing spots: dotty finds for Summer decorating Watch the latest Breaking Dawn Part 2 teaser trailer Grocery items with the longest shelf life Play your favorite Summer jams on an old-school (iPhone) boombox Denim refresh: how to add polish to your Summer cutoffs Mary-Kate lunches with her new man, Olivier, and does dinner with Ashley Hear what Emma Stone has to say about working with her man, Andrew Garfield



How To

5 Different Ways to Grill Fish

From hot dogs to halloumi and wild leeks to watermelon, just about every provision can be made more delicious on the grill.

From hot dogs to halloumi and wild leeks to watermelon, just about every provision can be made more delicious on the grill. My recent obsession is fish; a short grill takes its delicate flavor profile for a wild ride, imparting a char and an intoxicatingly smoky aroma that can't be replicated. Another reason to love fish on the 'cue: the versatile protein also works well in an extensive range of preparations. Here are five of my favorite methods with fish on the barbecue; to take advantage of them before Summer comes to a close, keep reading.

recipes

Cherry, Smoked Blue Cheese, and Almond Salad

If you can't locate smoked blue cheese or smoked almonds, substitute them for blue cheese and regular whole almonds.

If you can't locate smoked blue cheese or smoked almonds, substitute them for blue cheese and regular whole almonds. Pomegranate champagne vinegar can also be replaced with champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar.

Cherry, Smoked Blue Cheese, and Almond Salad

Cherry, Smoked Blue Cheese, and Almond Salad

Salad With Cherries

Ingredients

For dressing:
1 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate champagne vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

For salad:
1 5-ounce bag mixed greens, or a blend of baby spinach and arugula
4 ounces smoked blue cheese, crumbled
1 pound cherries, pitted
1 cup smoked almonds or toasted almonds

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  2. In a large salad bowl, combine salad greens and toss in dressing, one tablespoon at a time until leaves are lightly coated. Toss in cheese, cherries, and almonds right before serving.
  3. Divide salad between four plates and garnish with extra cheese, cherries, and almonds.

Serves 4 as a side salad.

duck fat

Andrew Zimmern Offers 3 Things to Do With Duck Fat

Considering how excited we were to see Andrew Zimmern at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, it's a good thing his cooking demo took place first thing Friday morning.

Considering how excited we were to see Andrew Zimmern at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, it's a good thing his cooking demo took place first thing Friday morning. In the Game On! seminar, the Bizarre Foods host (pictured here at Austin Food & Wine) showed the audience how to cook with game like antelope, elk, and venison, but he also prepared a Japanese yakitori-style duck breast over rice. Even more informative than his duck preparation was his discussion of duck fat, which he declared useful in just about everything. Here are a few things we discovered could be made better with duck fat:

  1. A classic French farmhouse vinaigrette — Zimmern shared his favorite recipe for us, divulging that he stole it from Pierre Gagnaire in Paris. "I use cider vinegar, peanut or safflower oil, cream, and salt and pepper," he told us.
  2. Potatoes — Duck fat fries are a thing, but if you can't be bothered to turn on the deep-fryer, then just toss roasted potatoes with seasonings and duck fat.
  3. Steak — Here's one we really hadn't thought of: to make your next aged steak really over-the-top, drizzle melted duck fat on top of it. Talk about the ultimate indulgence!

We can't wait to try the farmhouse vinaigrette. What do you do with duck fat?

giveaway

Win a Trip to the New York Wine & Food Festival Giveaway

YumSugar’s New York City Wine & Food Festival Giveaway Official Rules NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

YumSugar’s New York City Wine & Food Festival Giveaway Official Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MAKING A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ENTRIES RECEIVED. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY FORM MAY BE REQUIRED

YumSugar’s New York City Wine & Food Festival Giveaway (the “Giveaway”) is sponsored by Sugar Publishing, Inc. (owner and operator of yumsugar.com) and having an address of 111 Sutter Street, Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94104 (“Sponsor”).

ELIGIBILITY: Open only to U.S. citizens and permanent legal U.S. residents at least twenty one (21) years of age at the time of entry and physically reside in one of the fifty states (50) United States of America or the District of Columbia, excluding all U.S. territories and possessions and all overseas military installations. Employees of Sponsor and their respective parents, affiliates, divisions, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies and any other entity involved in the development or administration of this Giveaway (collectively, “Sweepstakes Entities”), and their immediate family members or household members (defined as spouses and biological, adoptive or step-parents, legal guardians, children, siblings, or grandparents, their respective spouses and any dependent under federal income tax law) are not eligible to participate in or win the Giveaway. The winner will be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and complete relevant tax forms as a condition to the delivery of the applicable prize. Void where prohibited by law. All applicable federal, state and local laws apply.

HOW TO ENTER: No purchase is necessary to participate in the Giveaway. To enter you must navigate to the Giveaway entry post (http://www.yumsugar.com/23563381) and submit your email between 4:00am PT on Wednesday, June 20, 2012 and 11:59pm PT on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 (the “Entry Period”). By entering online, you will be agreeing to receive Sponsor and Food & Wine emails. ]

Alternative Method of Entry (AMOE): You may also enter the contest by mail as follows: On a plain 3” x 5” index card, legibly handprint or type you first name, last name, date of birth, complete address, city, state, zip code, home phone number (including area code), and email address 9if any) and mail your completed 3” x 5’ card to: YumSugar New York Wine & Food Festival Giveaway 111 Sutter St, STE 850, San Francisco, CA 94104. To be considered eligible in the contest, AMOE entries must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 and received no later than Friday, July 13th, 2012.

Regardless of the method of entry, there is only one (1) entry per person.

Normal time, toll, connection and usage rates, if any, charged by your Internet service provider will apply. All entries become the property of the Sponsor. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means are void. By submitting your email in accordance with the entry process, you will be agreeing that your registration and any other information collected in connection with the Giveaway may be used by Sponsor in accordance with Sugar Inc. Privacy Policy, a current copy of which can be found here: http://www.sugarinc.com/privacy. Not withstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, information collected from entrant will only be used for direct marketing purposes if entrant consents to use in such manner. Sponsor expressly reserves the right to disqualify any entries that it believes in good faith are generated by an automated program or via scripts. By participating, all entrants agree to abide by these Official Giveaway Rules.

PRIZE: At the end of the Entry Period, there will be one (1) drawing in which one (1) potential Grand Prize winner shall be selected from all eligible entries received during the Entry Period by employees or representatives of the Sponsor to receive the Grand Prize of Two (2) round trip coach airfare tickets to New York City. If winner lives within 150 miles of New York city, ground transportation will be provided instead of the airfare tickets. (Value $1,200), Hotel accommodations for two (1 single room double occupancy) for two (2) nights in New York City. (Value: $600), One (1) $200 American Express Gift Card, and Two (2) Weekend Passes to the New York City Wine & Food Festival ($2,300). Total Retail Value of Grand Prize: $4,300. If potential Grand Prize winner forfeits or does not claim the prize, prize will be re-awarded, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. Other restrictions may apply. Decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding with respect to all matters related to the Giveaway. All prizes will be awarded. In no event shall the Sponsor be obligated to award more prizes than the number of prizes stated in these Official Giveaway Rules. No substitutions (including for cash) are permitted, except that Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. All prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians on their behalf. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize. If required by Sponsor, the winner must complete and return to Sponsor an IRS Form W-9 that reflects winner’s taxpayer identification number or social security number. The winner will receive from Sponsors an IRS form 1099-MISC at the end of the calendar year, and a copy of such form will be filed with the IRS. To receive a complete list of winners or a copy of the Official Giveaway Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Prize Fulfillment, Sugar Inc., 111 Sutter Street, Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94104. Specify winner's list or rules on your request. Please allow 6-8 weeks for prize delivery.

SELECTION: The winning entry will be chosen at random. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting the entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the e-mail account is registered. The Giveaway will be conducted under the supervision of the Sponsor. The decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding in all matters relating to this Giveaway. Sponsor reserves the right to determine the method of notification. Winners must claim their prize within two (2) business days (48 hours) after the date of notification of such prize. A Giveaway winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified two (2) business days will be considered such Giveaway winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. Sponsor reserves the right to ship prizes directly to the email and/or mailing address provided by winners during their entry to the Giveaway. Each entry submitted in response to the Giveaway and in accordance with the rules will constitute an official entry. One (1) entry per person. Duplicate entries will be void. All entrants agree to abide by these Official Giveaway Rules. All entries become the property of the Sponsor.

GENERAL CONDITIONS AND RELEASES: An entrant or winner may be disqualified from the Sweepstakes if he or she fails to comply with each provision of these Official Rules, as determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor. Participation in the Sweepstakes is at entrant’s own risk. By receipt of any prize, the applicable winner agrees to release and hold harmless Sweepstake Entities. Releasees shall not be liable for 1) failed, returned or misdirected notifications based on inaccurate information provided by the winner on the on the contest entry form) entries and responses to winner notifications which are lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, postage-due, misdirected, damaged or otherwise not received by the intended recipient in whole or in part or for computer or technical error of any kind, 3) any electronic miscommunications or failures, technical hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit an entrant's ability to participate in the Sweepstakes, 4) any technical malfunctions of the telephone network, computer on-line system, computer equipment, software, program malfunctions or other failures, delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human, mechanical or technical in nature, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from downloading any part of this Sweepstakes or 5) any warranty of fitness or merchantability of any prize or the function or operation thereof. Releasees do not make any, and hereby disclaims any and all, representations or warranties of any kind regarding any prize. Unless prohibited by applicable law, the acceptance of the Grand Prize by the winner constitutes his/her permission for the Sponsor to use his/her name, address (state) biographical information and testimonials for advertising and/or publicity purposes in connection with this Sweepstakes only, worldwide and in all forms of media now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity, without further compensation. 
By entering or accepting a prize in the Sweepstakes, winner agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and to conform to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. The winner will be required to execute and return to Sponsor within five (5) business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and (where imposing such condition is legal) and any additional documents required by Sponsor in connection with the possibility of receiving the Grand Prize. Winner may be required to furnish proof of identity, address and birth date in order to receive a prize. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Sweepstakes will be ineligible for prizes and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Sponsor reserves the right to modify these Official Rules in any way or at any time. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend this Sweepstakes should viruses, bugs or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control corrupts the administration, security or proper play of the Sweepstakes, or for any reason that Sponsor believes in good faith would be fair to the entrants and the conduct of the Sweepstakes. In the event of cancellation or suspension, Sponsor shall promptly post a notice on the Contest entry page to such effect. This Sweepstakes shall be governed by California law. By participating in this Sweepstakes, entrants agree that California courts shall have jurisdiction over any dispute or litigation arising from or relating to this Sweepstakes and that venue shall be only in San Francisco, California.

MISCELLANEOUS: The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules will not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision of the Official Rules is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, the other provisions will remain in effect and will be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules will not constitute a waiver of that provision. When terms such as "may" are used in these Official Rules, Sponsor has sole and absolute discretion. Entrants agree to waive any rights to claim ambiguity of these Official Rules. Headings are solely for convenience of reference and will not be deemed to affect in any manner the meaning or intent of the documents or any provision hereof. In the event there is a discrepancy or inconsistency between disclosures or other statements contained in any Sweepstakes-related materials, privacy policy or terms of use on the Website and/or the terms and conditions of the Official Rules, the Official Rules shall prevail, govern and control and the discrepancy will be resolved in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion.

Facebook is not affiliated with this Giveaway.

chefs

Food & Wine Best New Chefs Show Aspen Their Top Dishes

The Best New Chefs Dinner is a highlight at the annual Aspen Food & Wine Classic, but for the festival's 30th anniversary celebration, Food & Wine switched things up, showcasing this year's award winners at a Grand Tasting booth throughout the weekend.

The Best New Chefs Dinner is a highlight at the annual Aspen Food & Wine Classic, but for the festival's 30th anniversary celebration, Food & Wine switched things up, showcasing this year's award winners at a Grand Tasting booth throughout the weekend. Take a look at what they offered — and what we devoured.

Photo: Donna Lee

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Join Emmanuelle Chriqui in Green Works's Reverse Graffiti Project

Actress and EMA Young Hollywood Board member Emmanuelle Chriqui recently partnered with Green Works to bring awareness to The Reverse Graffiti Project, an epic urban cleaning initiative that reaches beyond the surface.

Actress and EMA Young Hollywood Board member Emmanuelle Chriqui recently partnered with Green Works to bring awareness to The Reverse Graffiti Project, an epic urban cleaning initiative that reaches beyond the surface. Armed with the plant-based Green Works products, Japanese muralist Mr. Kiji transformed a busy (and very dirty) LA underpass into a beautiful work of art. If Green Works products can erase years of pollution to reveal eye-catching works of art, then imagine what it can do in your home.

Check out the Q&A below with Emmanuelle to learn more about this revolutionary project.

The campaign is all about small, everyday choices making a big impact. What are some of the ways you do this in your day-to-day routine?
I think small changes can be the most realistic because it can ease people in if they are just taking their first steps to be more environmentally conscious. I drive a hybrid car, recycle, take my reusable shopping bags to the store, buy organic and local, avoid using bottled water, among other steps.

The Reverse Graffiti Gallery includes installations from a LA underpass to the Broadway Tunnel in San Francisco; which is your favorite?
I think they are all pretty amazing, and I love the fact that you created art by removing the dirt from the walls in an environmentally sustainable way.

Do you have any tips for people who are wanting to make a change but don't know where to start?
Everyone should try the things they are comfortable with – and home is a good place to start. We have daily green tips on www.ema-online.org to help get you started.

Want more info on The Reverse Graffiti Gallery? Like Green Works on Facebook and watch the video above to see Mr. Kiji in action.

summer

What's in Season: Borage

While not in the cucumber family, borage, a Mediterranean herb, has a strikingly familiar cucumber taste.

While not in the cucumber family, borage, a Mediterranean herb, has a strikingly familiar cucumber taste. With its fuzzy buds and vividly blue star-shaped flowers, borage can be grown in your garden or found at the farmers market all Summer long. The buds, flowers, and stems can be tossed raw in a salad or chopped up and used as a garnish to cold soups like gazpacho. Muddle the buds and stems with sugar to give a refreshing cocktail a hint of cucumber. The flowers can even be candied as you would with rose petals or pansies for a striking cake decoration.

In medieval times, the leaves and flowers were tossed in wine for medicinal purposes. At the time, drinking borage-spiked wine was thought to cure melancholy and sadness. Today, borage tea is commonly used in alternative medicine as a detoxifying tea. Keep reading for a borage recipe.