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Spice Up Your Summer With Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

YumSugar — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:00:01 -0700

It's a week into June, but judging by the number of San Franciscans huddled up in coats, you'd never have known it. Since it was too cold to be grilling and chilling outside, I opted for another meat-centric meal inspired by the fiery flavors of Southwestern cuisine.

This recipe calls for baby carrots and red jalapeños, but I didn't want to waste any of the resources I already had on hand, so I used conventional carrots and green jalapeños instead. Whatever ingredients you use, the end result is full of complex flavors. To make this for dinner, read more.

Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin With Roasted Carrots
Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients

Carrots:
2 pounds carrots, peeled, trimmed
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter, diced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 small jalapeño, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Pork:
2 1- to 1-1/4-pound pork tenderloins
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Prepare carrots

Prepare pork: Preheat oven to 400°F. Roast carrot mixture covered until just tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, arrange pork tenderloins on another rimmed baking sheet. Stir oregano, cumin, chile powder, smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt in small bowl; rub mixture all over tenderloins. Heat oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to skillet and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Return to rimmed baking sheet.
Remove foil from carrots. Nestle pork among carrots on baking sheet, arranging carrots in single layer around pork. Roast uncovered until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145°F, stirring carrots occasionally if beginning to caramelize, about 18 minutes. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
Transfer pork to work surface. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange carrots on platter. Top with pork slices, drizzling any pan juices over.

Serves 6.

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Starbucks Hopes to Regain Footing With Adjusted Prices

YumSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:00:08 -0700

So far, 2009 hasn't been any better for Starbucks than 2008, and the coffee giant continues to try and regain lost footing, hoping to make up for a 77 percent drop in profits last quarter. To promote value, Starbucks has announced plans to lower prices on basic drinks.

Beginning May 5, items such as the store's grande iced coffee will now retail for less than $2, giving some customers as much as 45 cents in savings. The catch? To make up for it, the coffee chain plans to increase prices on specialty drinks that are more complicated to make. Price adjustments are the latest development in a string of attempts to resuscitate sales this year. These offerings include promoting value pairings in store and tapping into the retail space with items such as instant coffee and premium ice cream. In recent weeks, Starbucks has also closed underperforming stores and announced plans to tap into the gluten-free market.

There's no question that many loyal Starbucks drinkers will be ecstatic about their morning drip getting cheaper - but I'm sure the opposite applies for steadfast specialty drinkers. What impact will this strategy have on your morning coffee break?

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Sunday Slow Cooker: Greek Stuffed Peppers

YumSugar — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:00:29 -0800

Looking for a low-key Sunday night meal? Look no further than tender, slow-cooked red bell peppers, stuffed with a Greek-inspired filling of fiber-rich cannellini beans, crumbled feta cheese, scallions, and herbed couscous.

Like many Mediterranean specialties, this meal is satisfyingly hearty, yet light and nutritious at the same time. For a low-carb or gluten-free version, consider swapping out the couscous for a grain like quinoa. To make this for your next meal, read more.

Greek Stuffed Peppers
From Everyday Food

Ingredients

4 large bell peppers
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
1/2 cup couscous
4 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Slice a very thin layer from the base of each bell pepper so they sit flat. Slice off tops just below stem. Discard stems; chop tops, and place in a medium bowl. Remove ribs and seeds from peppers.
To bowl, add beans, feta, couscous, scallion whites, garlic, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Stuff peppers with bean mixture; place upright in slow cooker. Cover; cook on high, 4 hours.
Sprinkle peppers with scallion greens; serve with lemon wedges.

Serves 4.

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All the News That's Fit to Eat - Nov. 26, 2008

YumSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:30:31 -0800

Put together the perfect cheese platter this Thanksgiving. - Los Angeles Times
Turkey hotline operators reveal the biggest trends in turkey over the past 20 years. - Washington Post
This holiday season, try these gluten-free desserts on for size. - The Oregonian
Stay calm during the holidays by running your kitchen like a business leader. - New York Times
Why demand for Beajolais nouveau has been on the decline. - Wall Street Journal
A new book by British food journalist Bee Wilson uncovers the history of food fraud. - Boston Globe
A shopping list guarantees you won't miss any ingredient. - Chicago Tribune
Master these 10 techniques, and you'll be set for a lifetime of Thanksgiving dinners.- San Francisco Chronicle

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52 Weeks of Baking: Flourless Peanut Butter Bars

YumSugar — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:41:17 -0800

This weekend my friend April came over to watch the Oscars with me. Since the event goes on forever and ever, I thought it would be nice to have some baked treats to snack on. However there was one small catch, April is allergic to gluten and can't have anything made with regular wheat flour. So I went in search of something gluten-free and found a bunch of great looking recipes. However only one really stood out in my mind. It was ridiculously simple looking, required no unusual ingredients or different types of flour and contained peanut butter and chocolate chips. Talk about a no-brainer. If you want to give these a try (hey, why not celebrate National Peanut Butter Lover's Day?), then check out the recipe for flourless peanut butter bars. To see full step by step pictures, read more

Flourless Peanut Butter Bars
From Celiac Chicks

I was a little dubious about this recipe, but they turned out tasty and were super-easy. They're so simple to whip up, they'd make a great treat for any gluten-free occasion.

16 oz natural peanut butter (the kind with peanuts only, no added sugar!)
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup spun honey (aka creme honey, but regular honey is okay too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients and mix until blended.
Note: If you do not have a stand mixer, a large bowl with hand mixer will work well. If you do not have either, you can mix by hand but it will be gooey and difficult.
Pour mixture onto ungreased cookie sheet, using a spatula to spread the batter to cover entire pan.
Note: Thinking a brownie like concoction would be better than a cookiebar, I ended up using a cake pan. However the middles were too gooey for my liking. People devoured them nonetheless, but if you don't want to fiddle with the cooking time/temp, then I recommend sticking with bars.
Top with chocolate chips if desired. You could also top with peanuts, or swirl in jam.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until bars are golden brown.

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Trend Alert: Healthier Snack Chips

partysugar — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:15:22 -0800

When Oprah declared that she would stop eating organic blue corn tortilla chips in favor of sweet potato chips, little did she know that the food industry was one step ahead of her. Healthier, alternative snack chips were a huge trend at last weekend's Fancy Foods Show. With names like Corazonas and Yuka, these chips have South American roots. Corazonas the only chip made with potatoes, stood out because they actually help lower cholesterol. The rest of the chips, feature an up and coming tuber, known as the cassava. To find out more about this interesting starch, read more.

The cassava is ancient root similar to the potato. After rice and potatoes, it's the world's most widely consumed staple. Thus, it's only natural the cassava be turned into chip form.

Maxi Cassava is a gluten-free chip (and cracker) with an original flavor, while the Yuca brand's cassava was hot and spicy. Out of all the chips I tasted, Joseph Banks black pepper cassava root chips were my favorite. The crisp texture closely resembled thick-cut potato chips and the black pepper flavor was fresh and intense.

Overall, these snacks were intriguing to try once, but I won't incorporate them into my daily diet. Perhaps if I were more of a snacker, I would enjoy them on a regular basis.

Have you tried other root vegetable or cassava chips? What did you think of them?

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Pinkberry and Red Mango Go Head to Head in Ad Wars

YumSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:15:13 -0700

Green tea frozen yogurt may be cool, but the war between frozen yogurt chains Red Mango and Pinkberry is heating up. Only weeks after Pinkberry hired branding firm Bulldog Drummond, archrival Red Mango has cut a seven-figure deal with the Richards Group ad agency.In the past two years, a new kind of frozen yogurt has exploded in major American cities by way of Asia. The tart, icy treat with fruit, mochi, and cereal-flake toppings quickly gained a cult following. As a result, copycat chains have sprung up across regions like Southern California and Florida, bearing similar brand names like Blue Mango, Diet Berry, and Peachberry.

Red Mango wants to respond by giving its gluten-free, certified kosher, high active-culture count yogurt an extra edge. "There are so many copycats out there. We wanted to educate customers on why Red Mango is different," the company's USA president, Dan Kim, said. He wants Red Mango to be the Starbucks of the frozen yogurt world.

Have you tried the "new" style of tart frozen yogurt? What do you think of it? Do you have a preference in brands? With aggressive branding and advertisements, which company do you think will come out ahead?

Source and Source

Top 10 Food Trends for 2007

YumSugar — Wed, 02 May 2007 08:57:32 -0700

The Institute of Food Technologists (yep such a place exists) has come up with the Top 10 Food Trends for 2007. From upscale at home, to snacking on your own, the 2007 trends are definitely diverse and definitely speak to our ever changing society.

Since the IFT document is actually 39 pages long, I thought I'd help you out by giving you a general overview.

Dining at Home - 75% of people polled said that they preferred to eat in (at least 5 nights a week). They liked this because they thought homemade food to be healthier. However the rise of take out and to-go meals are on the rise too.
Food as Fun - 8 out of 10 diners "trade up" when dining out and splurge on premium, gourmet and exotic foods. Plus, celebrity chefs are just as famous as some movie stars.
Convenient Products - With schedules getting busier and busier, people are looking for fresh, ready-to-eat food such as salads, precut veggies, pouches of tuna, skillet meals, single servings and more.
Food "Sense" - Expect more foods with strong aromas, bigger crunch, crispiness, and freshness.
Kids Rule - Parents are becoming more aware of the growing obesity rate in children. More companies are working on new and healthy snacks created just for kids.

To see the other 5 Food Trends, read more

Free, Free, Free - I'm talking about fat free, caffeine free, sugar free, gluten free, etc. The market for "free" products has been going strong and continues on for 2007.

Eating Local - The slowfood movement is gaining momentum. People are eating locally, seasonally and are watching their "foodmiles" - the new buzzword that means the number of miles food travels from field to table.
Just What the Doctor Ordered - More than 1/3 of Americans are now basing their food purchases upon advice from their doctors.
Unique Beverages - What have I been telling you guys all along? Flavored waters, innovative teas and new energy sodas are all the rage this year.
Snacky Snacks - Snacks and mini-meals are the biggest trend in the restaurant world. Taco Bell has even launched a campaign promoting the "Fourth Meal" - the one between dinner and breakfast. Plus traditional snacks are changing too, instead of cheese flavor, we'll now have three cheese flavored items.

So what do you guys think of this list? Is there anything you think should be here?

Source: Food Mall

Yummy Link: Apple-Huckleberry Peace Pie

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 04:28:39 -0700

My friend Jessi bakes a really mean pie. This time her Apple-Huckleberry Peace Pie won her best in show in a San Francisco "American Pie-dol" contest. I'm sad I didn't get to see it, but am thrilled that I finally got my hands on her fabulous recipe (a gluten-free version is available too!). - Readymade Magazine

All the News That's Fit to Eat - July 5

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:25:38 -0700

I think it might be safe to say that homemade ice cream is the coolest new trend. - San Francisco Chronicle
Coca-Cola is considering whether to acquire the Snapple tea brand or start their own. - Seattle Times
The groundbreaking Silver Palate Cookbook is 25 years old. - Chicago Tribune
Which potato chip is the best one? How about the first one out of the bag. - New York Times
This summer pies are showing off their inner beauty with woven lattices, stylish cut-outs and golden crusts. - Los Angeles Times
American consumers are loving salmon now more than ever. - Boston Globe
Kick up your fried chicken with flavored fried chicken: flavored with chiles or herbes de Provence. - Houston Chronicle
Love blueberries? Try gluten-free blueberry-raspberry streusel bars and more. - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune