YumSugar

Simple Tip: Color Your Drinks With a Drop of Food Coloring

YumSugar — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:24:38 -0700

This past 4th of July, my gal TeamSugar really wowed me with a fantastic party trick. In order to create a display of red, white and blue bubbly, she used a rose champagne, regular champagne and a tiny drop of blue food coloring in regular champagne. She also said the the amount of dye was so minimal that it didn't change the flavor at all. Personally I think it's one of those "Doh! I can't believe I didn't think of that!" sort of tips. It really adds a bit of fun and completes the visual package. Oh and since today is Embrace Your Geekiness Day, I should also point out that Team's brother thought the blue concoction was similar to Romulan Ale. If you don't believe me, you can even check out a clip of the Enterprise crew partaking in some booze.

Hyper Kids? Try Fewer Artificially Colored Foods

YumSugar — Mon, 14 May 2007 06:58:31 -0700

You might want to keep your kids away from the crazy colored foods. A new British study is showing a link between artificial food coloring and hyperactivity in children. Scientists at England's University of Southampton, tested five different colorings on both three-year olds and eight and nine year olds. The amounts used in the study were comparable to that which an average child might consume in a day. All additives tested in the study are ones that are approved for use in the EU - however some of those colors are banned in the US (as well as Scandinavian countries). The full findings are not yet available, but should be published soon. Somehow I'm not surprised, a 2004 study showed similar results.

Source: Press TV

Come Party With Me: Vampire Party - the Look

partysugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:08 -0700

Black, white, and blood red are the colors that come to mind when I think of vampires and they're perfect for decorating a vampire party. Start by placing black candelabra with blood-dripping candles around the event location. Hang bats from the ceiling and stretch spider webs across the walls.

Serve the food on red platters, the soup in test tubes, and the cocktail in clear martini glasses. Sprinkle skull-and-cross-bones confetti across the tables, and place plastic vampire fangs in between the serving platters. Stack black napkins nearby. Bouquets of red roses finish the look.

Come Party With Me: Vampire Party - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:00:45 -0700

At my vampire party, I'll be offering guests dressed like Buffy and the Cullens an assortment of vampire-themed drink options.

Red wine is a no brainer: it's the color of blood. To tint beer red, I'll use the same technique I employed on St. Patrick Day's only with red food coloring instead of green.

I'll also offer this dessert cocktail. It's a mixture of raspberry vodka, white chocolate liqueur, and half and half. The dripping blood rim is made from strawberry syrup and the ingenious garnish? Plastic fangs! To get the recipe keep reading.

Must Read: New York Cooks

partysugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:15:56 -0700

Everyone knows New York City is one of the country's top places for eating, so it comes as no surprise that a new cookbook, New York Cooks ($30), celebrates the city's chefs and restaurants. Since I don't live in NYC, I was very excited when I got my hands on a copy of the book. To find out what I thought of it, read more.

Pros:

Each chef has multiple recipes. Before the recipes, there are a couple of pages that describe the restaurant with interesting quotes and details from the chef.
From appetizers to entrees to salads, there's a wide variety of dishes.
Although the cover states there's 100 recipes, because many dishes have sauces or vinaigrettes, it seems like there are more than 100 recipes.
When I dined at Casa Mono, my favorite dish was the fideos with cockles and chorizo. The book has the recipe, so now I can re-create it at home!

Cons:

It's format is hard to follow - it's broken down into section by cuisine. Instead of listing out the recipes in the table of contents, only the cuisine, chef, and restaurant are mentioned.
New York's restaurant scene is forever changing and some of the chefs, for example Anne Burrell, are no longer working at the restaurants associated with their recipes.
Some recipes are complicated with lots of steps. They seem more suited to a restaurant than a home kitchen. Also, others lack detail.
There are no desserts.

Recipes: While I've never heard of a few of the restaurants or chefs, it is the recipes that are important. Here are the ones that caught my eye.

Anne Burrell's taleggio, speck, and egg pizzetta
Mikey Price's blood orange and red onion salad
Joey Campanaro's gravy meatball sliders
Michael Lomonaco's Philly cheesesteak sandwich

Imagery: This read is full of delicious-looking food images and fun restaurant shots. However, not all of them are in color. Every recipe does not have a corresponding picture. Some of the chef's photographs seem dated. After seeing her on Top Chef Masters, it looks as if the picture of Anita Lo was taken years ago.

Overall: This book is a wonderful collection of recipes. It would be an excellent gift to a foodie moving to or from New York. Any well-respected home cook who loves to dine out while vacationing in NYC will also enjoy this tome.

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Say Cheese! Nacho Cheese Dip

partysugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:15:39 -0700

If someone were to ask me, "what is your guilty pleasure food?" there is only one thing I can honestly answer. Velveeta. It's so bad, but it's so good! Technically Velveeta isn't a cheese, but a "processed pasteurized cheese product" that has a creamy texture, mild cheddarish flavor, and characteristic artificial-orange color. Velveeta's most endearing quality, however, is its wonderful ability to melt - it becomes as smooth as velvet. Since 1928, when Kraft first introduced it to America kitchens, Velveeta has been used to make macaroni and cheese and my personal favorite, nacho cheese dip. To see how I make this gooey, insanely delicious dip, read more.

While I enjoy the traditional queso dip (a mixture of Velveeta and Ro-tel, a line of canned tomatoes and green chiles popular in Texas), I prefer this jazzed-up rendition. The refried beans provide a nice meatiness and the cumin gives it an element of smoke.

Nacho Cheese Dip
Modified form Bon Appétit

Ingredients

1/2 cup beer
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, minced
1 16-ounce can refried beans
1 10-ounce can Ro-tel
1 16-ounce package Velveeta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Tortilla chips

Directions

Combine beer, cumin, dried oregano, garlic, and jalapeño in heavy medium sauce-pan. Bring to simmer.
Add beans and Ro-tel; stir until heated through.
Add Velveeta cheese; stir until cheese melts and liquifies, about 5-8 minutes. If the dip is too thick, thin with a little beer.
Stir in cilantro. Transfer to bowl. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Makes about 3 cups.

Print recipe with images | without images

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Food Section Sampler - Aug. 26, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:50:07 -0700

Hotdogueros, or Sonoran hot dogs, are going to be the next big thing. - New York Times
College administrators are in upheaval over Bud's new cans in team colors. - Wall Street Journal
What's next for retired food critic Frank Bruni. - Boston Globe
Gearing up for school lunch with a Black Forest ham taste test. - San Francisco Chronicle
Sparkling coffee is like bubbly for javaholics. - Washington Post
Most of the general public is on board with heavily taxing junk food. - Los Angeles Times
Vefa Alexiadou, author of the new Vefa's Kitchen, is Greek food's answer to Julia Child. - Chicago Tribune

Source: Flickr User stu_spivack

Do You Know What's Cooking This Week?

YumSugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:30:57 -0700

This week seemed to fly by. Wasn't it Monday yesterday? In the kitchen, we were all over the food map, whether it was making syrup for sour cherry gin slings, grilling squid and Spanish-style sardines, or channeling the flavors (and colors) of Italy in a breezy Caprese salad.

Were you around for all the delectable tidbits? You'll know when you take our quiz.

Take the quiz

Must-Read: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

YumSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:40:24 -0700

"The best food doesn't have to be challenging in its preparation, but should recall our fondest food memories," Melissa Murphy writes in The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. That pretty much sums up the philosophy of this cookbook ($17.82), penned by the brainchild of Brooklyn's popular Sweet Melissa Patisseries. Here, the French Culinary Institute-trained pastry chef reveals the secrets behind the refined, yet homespun, baked treats that the bakery's known for. Was the tome a sweet success? Find out when you read more

Happy Hour: Sabai Sabai

YumSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:18:09 -0700

A friend recently returned from Thailand with tales of lush beaches, charming fire dancers, and fragrant food. She fondly recalled extravagant full moon parties on the beach, where the country's official spirit, an amber-hued liquor known as Mekhong, flowed freely.

At this point, I can only dream of an escape to Ko Samui - but I can get a tiny taste of Thai nightlife through Mekhong, which became available Stateside last year. The spirit ($16.99), which is 35 percent alcohol, is made from distilled sugarcane and rice, then infused with a blend of Thai herbs and spices. When it launched in 1941, Mekhong was Thailand's first domestically branded alcohol - and remains the most popular brand in Thailand to this day.

Mekhong's slightly sweet flavor and distilling process might be reminiscent of rum, but it also channels whiskey, with its burnt-red color and slightly smoky bouquet. It adds balance in the Sabai Sabai, a Thai cocktail with fresh lemon juice and sweet Thai basil. See the recipe.