yumsugar -- To die for.

Yummy Links: From Chocolate and Espresso to Cracked Crab

partysugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:45:55 -0800

Adding espresso to chocolate will enrich its flavor. — Epicurious
Ten pumpkin ales perfect for sipping now. — Chow
Meet Cookstr, the Internet's newest recipe resource. — The Kitchn
Talking turkey with Food and Wine editor Dana Cowin. — Serious Eats
Learn how to properly crack fresh crab. — 7x7

The Amazing Rice: Parmesan Crab Risotto

partysugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:15:35 -0700

With the holidays around the corner, its a good time to start bookmarking elegant and delicious recipes. A simple but stunning parmesan crab risotto is the perfect starter for an intimate dinner party. Or, pair it with a crisp green salad for a great luncheon menu. Risotto requires that you stand over the stove for 20 minutes so invite everyone into the kitchen. Use fresh-cracked crab meat for a rich, luxurious-tasting risotto. The recipe is quite basic, so feel free to get creative. Onions instead of shallots, parsley in place of sage, or sautéed mushrooms for a vegetarian version. To look at how I made it,

Noteworthy Nibbles —Oct. 7-13, 2008

YumSugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:00:12 -0700

It's the middle of Fall, and the festivities are bigger than ever. From Spencer, WV, to San Francisco, there's something for everyone, whether you've got a craving for candy or a hankering for ham. Know of something we've left out? Please feel free to add your comments below!

New York, NY: Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival — Oct. 9-12
Denver, CO: The Celebrity Chef Tour Denver — Oct. 9
Denver, CO: Great American Beer Festival — Oct. 9-11
Spencer, WV: West Virginia Black Walnut Festival — Oct. 9-12
San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Magazine's Fallfest 2008 — Oct. 9-12

To see the rest,

Yummy Links: From Tanya Steel to Olympic Diets

partysugar — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:45:02 -0700

With her new book, Tanya Steel shows adults how to feed kids without being deceptive. — The Epi-Log
What is your most-stained cookbook? — Serious Eats
A delicious combination: tomatoes and vodka. — GlamDish
Before you pack that Spanish ham leg in your suitcase, learn what food and drink can legally be brought into the United States. — The Kitchn
Go behind the scenes of the 19th Annual Pennsylvania Dutch Festival. — Slashfood
A day in the life of a top mixologist.— 7 x 7
Dunkin Donuts debuts a healthier menu. — FitSugar
Everything you need to know about ramekins. — Baking Bites
How to clean a soft-shell crab. — Chow
Eat like an Olympian. — Food and Wine

Source

Fast & Easy Dinner: Crab Quiche

partysugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:45:59 -0700

With a store bought pie crust, a quiche comes together in minutes. This quick quiche features crab meat, fresh herbs, and grated cheese mixed together in a warm, fluffy custard.

Once you have the technique down, you can make hundreds of quiche variations. Sun dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, or sautéed mushrooms would be delicious substitutes for a vegetarian version. Don't have crab meat? Stir in chunks of peppered turkey or cubes of ham.

To look at the recipe, which also makes a great leftover for lunch,

Learn How to Boil Live Crab

YumSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0700

This weekend my pal philleif invited us over for a Kentucky Derby Party, which included some super strong drinks and some very fresh crab. I had never actually cooked live crab before — although I'd watched my mom make it a billion times growing up — and thought it would be a good opportunity to get over my squeamishness. To see all the steps, and learn how to do it yourself, just click the "Start" button.

Noteworthy Nibbles — April 24-30, 2008

YumSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:11:11 -0700

Spring is food festival season, and there's no shortage of events to attend this weekend. From California to Florida and everything in between, there's an event for everyone. If something is missing from this list, let us all know about it in the comments below!

Beaufort, NC: Beaufort Wine & Food Weekend — April 23-27
Dallas, TX: Dallas Wine & Food Festival — April 23-27
Russellville, AR: Taste of the Valley — April 24
Vidalia, GA: Vidalia Onion Festival — April 24-27
Sarasota, FL: Florida Winefest and Auction — April 24-27
St. Michaels, MD: St. Michaels Food & Wine Festival — April 24-27
Mount Olive, NC: North Carolina Pickle Festival — April 25-26
Mesquite, TX: Real Texas Festival — April 25-27
Astoria, OR: Astoria Warrenton Crab & Seafood Festival — April 25-27

Pompano Beach, FL: Pompano Beach Seafood Festival — April 25-27
St. Albans, VT: Vermont Maple Festival — April 25-27
Stockton, CA: Stockton Asparagus Festival — April 25-27
New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — April 25-27, May 1-4
Greensboro, NC: Taste Carolina — April 26
San Francisco, CA: SF International Beer Festival — April 26
Petaluma, CA: Butter and Egg Days — April 26-27
Mansfield, IN: Mushroom Festival and Car Show — April 26-27
Reston, VA: Uncork the Fun — April 26-27
Lambertville, NJ: Shad Fest 2008 — April 26-27
Hana, HI: East Maui Taro Festival — April 26-27
Hunter, NY: Craft Beer & Fine Food Festival — April 26-27
South Pittsburg, TN: National Cornbread Festival — April 26-27

Not Your Regular Nachos: Crab Nachos

partysugar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:41:19 -0700

What do you get when you combine crispy, salty chips with spicy, melty cheese and fresh, flaky crab? Some amazingly delicious nachos! Between the newly-picked crab, the homemade pico de gallo, and the pepper-jack bécamel, these nachos are more gourmet than ghetto — who said Mexican food can't be high end?

The recipe calls for blue corn tortilla chips, but any tortilla chip would work. I used frozen corn — make sure it's thawed, you don't want soggy nachos — because fresh isn't in season. These nachos were incredibly tasty and I'm definitely making them again. To look at the recipe,

Crab Cakes Two Ways — Beginner and Expert

partysugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:48:11 -0800

Crab is a lovely Christmastime luxury. While I love it freshly cracked, there is something undeniably glamorous about crispy, flaky crab cakes. Miniature crab cakes are scrumptious, bite-size appetizers and the larger version is delicious as a first course served over a bed of greens. Perhaps it's because my mother was born in Maryland, but I feel every home cook should know how to make crab cakes. For that reason I've found two recipes for you to enjoy; one is simple and the other a little more challenging. To check them out,

Come Party With Me: Christmas Dinner — Menu

partysugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:18:31 -0800

In my opinion, Christmas dinner should be an absolutely delicious, fragrant meal. At my house, we always begin our Christmas with seafood. Oysters on the half shell and crab crostini pair perfectly with bubbly, sparkling wine. At the table, serve a show-stopping pan roasted beef tenderloin with rosemary and garlic as the main course. A decadent potato gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce is luxurious along side it. Finally, round the menu out with a winter salad and pomegranate dressing. For these savory and stunning recipes,

What Would You Make?

partysugar — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:13:39 -0800

Here's the scenario: you are at home and hungry for food. You have to cook up something scrumptious for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/child/friend, but the ingredients you have on hand are limited.

You have fresh crab meat, sliced sourdough, and green onions. Using these products, along with whatever you currently have on hand in your cupboard and refrigerator, what would you make?

To see what I would whip up,

Yucky Link: Sad Times for Bay Area Fishermen

YumSugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:11:33 -0800

Oh San Francisco Bay, I hope you clean up soon. The oil spill is really hurting the local fishing industry. In fact, they've suspended all fishing and crabbing in the affected areas. — Bay Area Bites and San Francisco Chronicle

Yummy Links: From Creative Lunches to Wild Crabs

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:03:12 -0700

Bored of making your kids the same food each day? Check out these creative lunchtime ideas. - iVillage
I'm not really sure you want to know this, but just in case, here's a nutritional breakdown of fair food. 760 calories in a funnel cake?! - FitSugar
Do you know where the best pizza in America can be found? The field's been narrowed down to three finalists! - Serious Eats
Speaking of pizza, things just got a little bit crazier at Domino's. Now they're offering an Oreo Dessert Pizza. - Slashfood
I wish I had the space to collect cake stands. But since I don't, I'll just have to make my own for each party - Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen

How did we all miss an exhibition of artists using chocolate as their medium? - Will Work For Food
Don't let him order the Cosmo. Learn more about the 10 Drinks Men Should Never Order. - Chow
Specialty kiosks will allow you to get recipes while at the grocery store. - Baking Bites
Using a microwave will get you a lovely semolina-banana-coconut cake in under 15 minutes. Now if only I had a microwave... - Culinate
A moving tale about the noise a crab make when it dies. - Culinate

Off To Market Recap: Crab Tools

partysugar — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 01:18:31 -0700

For Father's Day my mom and her sisters decided to go crab crazy and get some crab-related gifts for my grandpa Al. My aunt is sending him a bushel of fresh crabs from his home state, Maryland, and I am in charge of getting all the necessary tools to enjoy the crab. Last week I asked you to head off to market in search of crab crackers, crab forks, fun napkins, and any small special extras. You saved your finds in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag Crab Tools.

You found everything necessary to enjoy crab to its fullest, from a crab cake cookbook, to individual butter warming bowls - there was even a silly crab hat that I totally can see Al sporting. The crab tool set with easy grip handles is just the thing he needs to eat that bushel of fresh crabs. Thanks for finding the perfect crab tools mellie_608! To look at all that was found, scroll through the images below.

To learn more about the bookmarking feature of TeamSugar please read geeksugar's explanation.

Off To Market: Crab Tools

partysugar — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:01:18 -0700

Father's Day is just around the corner and I promised my mom I would help her find a present for my grandpa Al. My aunt is sending him a bushel of fresh crabs from his home state, Maryland, and I am in charge of getting all the necessary tools to enjoy the crab. Let's head off to market in search of crab crackers, crab forks, and fun napkins. Any extras, such as small personal bowls for butter, are welcome as well. Bookmark all utensils in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag Crab Tools. Thanks for your help, happy hunting!

To learn more about the bookmarking feature of TeamSugar please read geeksugar's explanation.

Dinner In 15: Chinese Corn and Crab Soup

partysugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 09:03:18 -0700

Take that Rachael Ray! You can do dinner in 30 and I can do it in half the time. With Ms. Ray as inspiration, I set out to make a quick meal that is tasty and takes a lot of help from the supermarket. Canned crabmeat - Costco sells a really delicious one in the refrigerator section - combined with canned corn and store bought chicken broth are the ingredients that make this super simple, incredibly easy dinner. Very little prep (grate some ginger, chop a few green onions) is important to creating swift dinners like this one, so when browsing recipes for quick fix dinners be sure to check out how much chopping, grating, and squeezing is involved. Great for a light and fresh meal or to be served as the first course at a Chinese themed dinner party. Want the recipe? Well,

Secret Ingredient: Crab for Tofu

YumSugar — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 07:52:14 -0800

The next secret ingredient is Tofu.
So join the Secret Ingredient Group and post your best tofu recipe there!

This week's winning Secret Ingredient recipe comes from reader mandiesoh. Just in time for the Lunar New Year, mandiesoh has provided us with a fantastic recipe for Singapore Chili Crab. It looks absolutely great and I can't wait to try it. Thanks for posting! Next week it could be your recipe here for everyone to see.

To learn how to post to the Secret Ingredient Group,

Today's Special: Spicy Crab Stew

partysugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:58:11 -0800

Cioppino is a slow cooked fish stew with a tomato based broth. Although the name sounds Italian, the stew actually was born here on the piers of San Francisco. At the end of a smelly day selling fish, the men (many of whom were of Italian descent) would throw the unsold fish into a big pot to make a hearty and hot stew. A quick stew is a food oxy moron (stew is usually considered to be left over the stove for several hours), but this dish can be prepared in 45 minutes. The key to making this version so rapidly is to use a really good fish stock that will flavor the fish while it is poached in the liquid. To take a peek at the recipe,

Secret Ingredient: Arugula for Crab

YumSugar — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 08:13:27 -0800

It's no secret, at our house, we really enjoy pasta and are always looking for a new way to serve it up. So when I went looking for my favorite Arugula based secret ingredient recipe, I was thrilled to see an Arugula Pesto from LadeeVolFan. It sounds great and will be tasty on pasta or on bread. Also, it's always great to have a backup recipe when basil is out of season. Thanks for sharing LadeeVolFan!

Next up is Crab!
Crab season is upon us, so get those recipes out and post them into the Secret Ingredient Group. My favorite recipe will be highlighted here next week!

What's In Season: Dungeness Crabs

partysugar — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:01:13 -0800

Dungeness crab is the pride of the Pacific coast, and can be found all the way from Alaska to Mexico. It is a large crab that can range from 1 to almost 4 pounds. Its pink flesh is succulent and sweet. The season for the tasty crustaceans starts in mid November and lasts until about May or June, although the best time is in December and January when supplies are plentiful --meaning prices fall -- and the meat is sweetest. Dungeness usually runs from $5.90 per pound to almost $8 per pound, although it has been known to be as low as $4 per pound in recent years.

The common name of Dungeness crab comes from the town of the same name on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. It was in turn was named after a point on the English coast near the strait of Dover.

This year promises to be one of the best crabbing seasons. It's hard to beat Dungeness crab in its plainest form, just plucked from the shell and eaten with good bread and white wine.
But there are plenty of other ways to use the delicious meat, such as in my appetizer for Crab Salad on Tiny Toasts.