I recently saw a Dolphin Banana on a party fruit platter and was compelled to make the same out of this morning’s Banana and a Spinach Leaf. It’s not bad for a first attempt, but I think its nose is a (little) too short — Either way it made for an entertaining breakfast. Try it.
What kind of Nut are you? I’ve heard that question many of times, hahaha, and now I know. It appears I’m a Pecan for those who have wondered all these years. Fisher Nuts has developed a Personality Quiz to help you determine which Nut you’ve always been. Take the quiz now — It’ll be such a relief to finally know. The mystery is somewhat solved. 🙂
PECAN: You are generous and loyal. Friends and family love to be around you because you consider their needs first. You are a tenacious, committed team player who doesn’t require recognition. You are happiest when you share the credit with everyone around you.
This painting (if you will) is being crafted from Artichoke Leaves, Peppers, Dried Chilis and other edibles at the OC Fair. Each day it looks more and more like the real thing. 🙂 I traveled to the Louvre once and saw the actual Mona Lisa in person, if I can say that — We couldn’t get this close due to its encasement, the rope around it and the thickness of the crowd. Learn more about the artist of this creation here. This masterpiece won’t last as long.
Q: Are those Man Hands on the Mona Lisa?
We didn’t get the details on this mini-table set for Tea (sorry), but it’s a winner in the Floral Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair. We think it’s absolutely adorable. Good day!
Personally I’d never want to be on a show that places Chef Gordon Ramsay in the position of judging me — We’d probably end up in a food fight (that would hopefully end in laughs). Overall I’m not a fan of the a-hole approach, but if you’re looking to be embarrassed on television, possibly humiliated, yelled at, or have food dumped on your head, casting is now happening for Kitchen Nightmares. Not sayin’ the above will surely come to pass, but apply at your own risk and good luck! Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, hint, hint — It’s not going to be fun for you, but hopefully it will ultimately do good things. The PR is posted below:
Famed chef and Michelin Star winner Gordon Ramsay steps out of his own five-star establishments and into some of the country’s most unsanitary and unsuccessful restaurants to help them turn their businesses around or close their doors forever.
Each week, Chef Ramsay will attempt to turn one ordinary and empty restaurant into the most popular, sought-after venue in town. He reveals the behind the scenes realities of running a restaurant and wastes no time getting down to business – implementing signature menu items, modernizing décor and making the restaurant run as smoothly as possible. With his reputation on the line, Ramsay accepts nothing less than the best when it comes to the food, staff and customer service. While still prone to the explosive outbursts and spectacular confrontations familiar to fans, Ramsay reveals a sensitive and nurturing side as he coaches, cheers and challenges the restaurant staff, all the way from appetizers through dessert.
Will the restaurants follow Ramsay’s rules, or will they continue to stumble toward closure?
KITCHEN NIGHTMARES is a co-production of ITV Studios (formally Granada America) and Optomen in association with A. Smith & Co. Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Patricia Llewellyn serve as executive producers.
More funny at my expense — The Orange County Fair Competition Results are now in. My entry is the only one above without a Ribbon. Oh well, can’t win ’em all. And today I shot more video than photos, but most times when I thought I pressed record, I stopped the video (and vice versa), thus lamely captured our walking and talking most of the day, instead of the interesting, yummy stuff, haha. Duh! In defense, it was difficult to see the ‘REC’ light in the bright sunshine and I unfortunately got it backwards along the way. It won’t happen again. Gotta laugh though, which is easy since we’ll be going back soon.
Happily others we know did well in the OC Fair Competitions. Hover over the above photos to learn more about each — And get to the Fair to see the results of all competitions. Congratulations to ALL winners!
The above dish truly represents ‘The Bad‘ and ‘The Funny‘ about this blog. The Tangerine Dream Bars (wannabe) was going to be an entry in the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair, but it didn’t happen. I was gonna cover the top with Powdered Sugar, but unfortunately there’s no masking the soupy, unset middle. 🙁 I’m not exactly sure what went wrong here, since it turned out good last time. Wouldn’t you know it — Two hours before submission time I discovered it looked like this. Oh well, good thing my other entry was delicious and successfully submitted. The Orange County Fair starts this Friday, July 16th. The results will be posted opening day.
Our only entry in the Culinary Arts Competition (1st Show) is the Chocolate Layered Surprise. It’s formed with alternating layers of Milk Chocolate, Waffle Cone, Dried Cherries and Pecans, then cut in squares and drizzled with White Chocolate. We’ll be submitting (2) additional entries in August for the 2nd Show.
This Kiwi wannabe is burstin’ at the seams with excitement over ZESPRI’s Kiwi A-Go-Go Bloggers’ Contest. The possibility of winning a Trip for 4 to New Zealand put me over the edge. Inspired by the true stars of the contest (Kiwi and New Zealand) and by the love of board games and goofy interaction, I created a variation of an old classic game — The new sensation is called The Kiwi Game. It’s a FREE Game that comes with every 2 Kiwis and is shown in our very first VIDEO (posted directly below). It was fun making it!
This post serves as my entry into ZESPRI’s Kiwi A-Go-Go Bloggers’ Contest — In the consumer sweepstakes (selected by random drawing), readers may also enter The Great Kiwi Adventure for a chance to win a Trip for 4 to New Zealand. We’re competing for a prize in connection with our creations and mentioning this cool contest to you. Good luck ALL!
And did you know that… A two-piece serving of Kiwi (aka Kiwifruit) has twice the Vitamin C of an Orange, as much Potassium as a Banana, and as much fiber as a serving of bran flakes (less than 100 calories)?! Zespri’s nutrition information says exactly that. They also report that it’s a good source of Magnesium, it’s sodium free and a low-fat source of Vitamin E. The Kiwifruit has it goin’ on — It’s truly a special fruit. Learn more about ’em here.
In celebration of the Kiwi and to satisfy our longing to visit New Zealand, we created the pictured Kiwi Blackberry Shortcake with Whipped Cream and Toasted Coconut. It’s a beautiful combination of flavors and colors reminiscent of a coral reef. We’ve provided the recipe and step-by-step photo instructions (below) l – r working on downward.
Kiwi Blackberry Shortcake RECIPE
Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup granulated Sugar (divided)
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
8 Tablespoons softened Butter (1 stick)
3/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup shredded, toasted Coconut (toast in dry skillet until golden brown)
2 Cups peeled and quartered Kiwi (approx. 4)
1 1/2 Cups whole Blackberries
1 Cup Heavy Cream
3 Tablespoons Confectioners’ Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450° and grease an 8-inch square pan. Sift together the Flour, a little more than 1/2 the Sugar, Baking Powder and Salt. Stir in the softened Butter and Milk just until blended. Batter will be a little lumpy. Bake for 13 – 15 minutes. While baking, whip the Heavy Cream until almost stiff, then add the Confectioners’ Sugar and Vanilla. When stiff peaks are formed, place the Whipped Cream in the fridge until ready to use. Peel and chop Kiwis into slices then quarters, combine with Blackberries and sprinkle all with remaining granulated Sugar, toss lightly so not to blend the vibrant colors and set aside.
Once Shortcake has cooled, cut a square or rectangle piece and cut in half lengthwise. Place bottom half on plate and top with Whipped Cream and Kiwi Blackberry mixture, then top with the Shortcake cap, more Whipped Cream and toasted Coconut. Garnish with a sprig of Mint (optional), Kiwi slice or Blackberry.
Prep Time: 20 Minutes — Makes: 9 – 12 Servings.
Note: Since you don’t need to over mix the dough or the fruit combo, this recipe is easy and fast to make. It’s impressive looking and tasting too.
Q: Why New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty is appropriately named?
A: Because it’s currently at bay and I wanna go there plenty. 🙂
I’m not sure how to accomplish it or what will pass for looking like one, but if YOU dress up like a cow and go into a Chick-fil-A restaurant this Friday, July 9th, you’ll GET A FREE MEAL. We’re still contemplating the idea. Below is Chick-fil-A’s Press Release regarding this crazy annual event — They’re celebrating Cow Appreciation Day!
Chick-fil-A is issuing a cattle call! On Friday, July 9, Chick-fil-A® restaurants nationwide will celebrate the company’s annual Cow Appreciation Day event by offering a FREE meal to any customer who visits one of the chain’s mall or stand-alone restaurants fully dressed as a cow.
Customers dressed “head to hoof” in cow attire will be rewarded with a free Chick-fil-A Meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner), which includes an entrée of choice, a side item and a Dr Pepper® (or other beverage choice). For those “too chicken” to wear full cow costumes, Chick-fil-A will award a complimentary entrée to customers partially dressed in cow attire, such as a cow-spotted scarf, purse, hat or other accessory.
Chick-fil-A has launched a special website dedicated to the occasion, http://www.cowappreciationday.com/. In addition to providing further details about the event, the site offers cow costume ideas and tips, as well as downloadable cow spots, masks and other bovine-themed accessories for customers to use to create their costumes. For the first time, the Chick-fil-A “Eat Mor Chikin®” Cows will embrace social media by tweeting, checking in on Foursquare and providing Facebook updates throughout the day from their profile pages.
Two online photo contests are also part of the festivities. A photo contest for adults is hosted on the Chick-fil-A Facebook page. A second photo contest for kids 10 and under called Show Us the Cow is available at http://www.showusthecow.com/. Both contests will award free Chick-fil-A products for a year to the best cow-dressed customers, and children will also have the opportunity to win a $1,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond and a digital camera through the “Show Us the Cow” photo contest.
Now in its sixth year, Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day continues to build momentum. Last year’s event – and the resulting turnout – confirmed that Chick-fil-A has a strong following of customers willing to go to great lengths to show their appreciation for cows. More than 300,000 cow-clad customers stampeded Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country. Costumes ranged from simple cow-spotted t-shirts to full cow suits complete with furry ears, cow bells and homemade sandwich boards with personalized renditions of the “Eat Mor Chikin®” Cows’ quirky messages.
“Cow Appreciation Day continues to be one of our best indicators of the great passion our customers have for our brand,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “It takes a loyal fan to dress like a cow for a free meal and, based on the stories we hear from our restaurant Operators around the country, we have quite a large – and growing – base of Chick-fil-A fans. Cow Appreciation Day is our way of thanking them for their loyalty, not to mention a day simply to have fun!”
The additional excitement around Cow Appreciation Day each year offers further proof that the passion for Chick-fil-A’s beloved bovines is stronger than ever. For the past 15 years, the renegade “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows have entertained consumers with their desperate, self-preserving antics in an effort to convert beef eaters into chicken fans. The Chick-fil-A Cows and the “Eat Mor Chikin” campaign have enjoyed such widespread public success that the chain has evolved the campaign into a fully integrated marketing program. In addition to clever roadside billboards, the “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows are the focal point of Chick-fil-A’s in-store point-of-purchase materials, promotions, radio and TV advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales.
Why did we feel guilty eating these Carrots? It’s probably because they seemed to be in love. We got ’em during our tour of Tanaka Farms. Carrots are one of the amazing clues left by God — Read more about that here.
It’s a Marble Rye [whose] purchase was inspired by a Seinfeld episode. We still love Seinfeld and need a laugh as we continue to work with Network Solutions on a few nagging technical issues. In searching for the above link, we stumbled across a blog named after the famous episode — Very cool, we might have picked that ourselves. Each morning this week we’ve enjoyed Marble Rye Toast while thinking about Jerry mugging an old lady for a loaf — Shut up y’old bag. 🙂 Next we want to bring a loaf to a dinner party and then take it back when the hosts aren’t looking.
Note: This site is safe, has always been safe and will continue to be safe as we work through current technical issues. This post is a break from the madness — There’s a lot of interesting reports coming down the pike.
Marie Callender’s Classic Combo — 1/2 a Turkey Sandwich, French Fries and a Cup of Soup for $5.99 is a good deal, although you hardly get any Fries. I jokingly accused the Waiter of eating my Fries on the way over, haha. It just looks funny. It’s two ounces they say. Perhaps one more ounce might look a little better.
Aside from the lack of French Fries, I left full and satisfied. The service is always good at the Marie Callender’s 17th Street location in Costa Mesa. I love their Potato Cheese Soup with Tabasco.
For a school project, Chef Lexi from Kids in the Kitchen made a State Cookie. How fun is that! The kids loved shaping the Cookies into their chosen states. Lexi picked South Dakota, since she traveled there in a motorhome for vacation last year. It’s a little hard to tell, but Mount Rushmore is made of a mound of Frosting with 4 Marshmallows on top. She drew on the faces with a marker. Too funny — I love it.
Note: Enlarge photo to see the South Dakota Cookie details better.
Our Banana Split Cake started out as a fun idea, but unfortunately it didn’t quite cross the finish line. Good thing we’re testing out recipes before entering ’em into the 2010 Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competition — This one certainly wouldn’t win a ribbon. The concept is entertaining and it tasted really good, but one can’t submit a Cake looking like this. 🙂
With ripening Bananas and Strawberries on hand and the recent receipt of Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook, we created a Banana Split Cake. We started with a prepared White Cake Mix evenly divided into 3 round baking pans — Then mashed a Banana, pureed a few Strawberries and got out the Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. As shown below, we added each respectively to the divided mix.
We baked the Cakes, then set them aside to cool completely — We did get that part right, although it may not look that way. We made an amazing Cream Cheese Frosting from the Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook. It’s called Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting (p. 37). Before adding the Pecans that are called for in the recipe, we reserved and divided a portion of the Frosting to mix pureed Strawberry into one and Chocolate Syrup into the other, and then added Pecans to the remainder and chilled all in the fridge.
To build our Banana Split Cake, start with Chocolate Cake on the bottom, then add a layer of Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, followed by Banana Cake, Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting, and ending with Strawberry Cake on top. We then smothered the assembled Cake with Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting. It held together at first, but then you see what happened. We ultimately separated the layers and frosted each separately with the Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting. Office co-workers usually don’t care what it looks like.
Next time we’ll add less Strawberry puree and Chocolate Syrup to the Frosting and less Frosting in between the layers. We might also want to chill the Frosting a little longer or make more Cake, so the layers aren’t as thin. Perhaps we’ll add sliced Strawberries and/or Bananas in between the layers to avoid sliding Cakes. Again, it tasted pretty good, therefore it’s worth another try.
Note: So far we like what we see in Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook by Southern Living and look forward to making the recipes we’ve tabbed in it.
My Brother-in-Law just told me a funny story. One of his co-workers learned that purchasing a maximum of (5) Green Beans at one time doesn’t weigh anything, thus he’s usually not charged for them at the checkout stand. After fine tuning his discovery, he went to the supermarket daily for a week, until he had enough Green Beans to make a meal. Can you believe it? It’s true. And he’s not poor either — He owns two houses and has a great job. I’m still laughing about this. In some ways it’s moderately inspiring (haha), but I certainly wouldn’t want to go to the supermarket every day. Hope he doesn’t stumble upon this blog or my Brother-in-Law is in trouble. 🙂
Note: Photo is of Fava Beans, which are generally more expensive than Green Beans.
The post title is inspired by The Naked Gun, since we love Leslie Nielsen, and by our recent numerous Cheese & Wine parties. Here we finally summarize our favorites and the consensus is unanimous. For our slew of parties, we purchased (6) different Cheeses from Trader Joe’s. They have an excellent selection. Before the first party, we tested the Cheese to spare guests from potential scary flavors, which is highly recommended and turned out to be necessary, since we quickly ruled out the TJ Morbier (France). It tasted awful, thus we replaced it with another. It’s a better party when all tastes good.
And the winners are… (1) Toscano Cheese With Black Pepper (Italy), (2) Blue Catello (France), (3) Italian Truffle Cheese (Italy), (4) Gouda Cheese With Olive Oil (USA), (5) Kiwi Swiss Cheese (New Zealand), and (6) Smoked Cheese (Holland). All are Cow’s Milk Cheeses. The first three listed are definitely worth buying again — Everyone particularly loved the Toscano Cheese With Black Pepper (back row right). And the Italian Truffle Cheese deserves a special mention too, as it includes actual Truffle pieces throughout (front row left).
Our final Cheese & Wine Par-tay included a few Mezzetta products that went well with the Cheese and other accompaniments. We dipped Olive Bread in the Pesto Sauce and the Roasted Red Peppers and Pepperoncinis were a compliment to all. Thanks Mezzetta — We’ve enjoyed many of your fine products over the years and the arrival of the (3) above surely came at the right time. We liked the Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio had with all, but have no elaboration on ’em. They sufficed.
Note: What makes a Party a Par-tay is your own personal Wine opener. Thanks T.
Funny story… A friend and I were walking around Corona Del Mar hungry one day. First we learned all the restaurants we wanted to eat at didn’t open until 5PM, then remembered Zinc Cafe & Market. We’d heard a lot of remarkable things about it, but still hadn’t been there. Finally made it there and enjoyed looking at all the fabulous stuff — Cheese, Sandwiches, Soups, Salads, Pastries and Market Items galore! We were paralyzed with indecision and also learned one must order food at the register, while staking out a coveted table at the same time. All will be fine for another visit and the proprietors seemed friendly too, but we wanted to kick it and be served at the time. Thus the story continues…
After another 5 or 6 block walk, we ended up at CoCo’s for ease, nourishment and familiarity. And it was interesting to learn that CoCo’s Restaurant & Bakery is currently offering a Wine & Appetizer Selections Menu. We were impressed with the progressive offerings and opted to try the Brie Appetizer Platter (one small Brie wedge served warm crusted with Macadamia Nuts and another topped with a Jalapeno Raspberry Sauce) and the Crispy Green Bean Sticks. All sounded fun and good, but yuck — Sorry.
The Macadamia Nut Brie was okay (mostly tasteless), and the other microscopic sized Brie wedge was stone cold, seemingly direct from the fridge with the flavor to prove it. The Grapes didn’t look good and the Bread was sparse. The Green Beans were tolerable, but better re-heated in my toaster oven until extra crispy, with real Ranch Dressing, instead of the lumpy version we were served at CoCo’s. We laughed thinking about the quality Cheese and Bread we could’ve been enjoying at Zinc Cafe. 🙂
My adorable Chef Nieces, Lexi on the left and Bailee on the right, have prepared a fair amount of treats for Nibbles of Tidbits — We’ve posted all in Kids in the Kitchen. They recently attended a church camp, Forest Home where they learned how to make homemade Pasta Noodles, Parmesan Chicken and Dessert Crepes. I still haven’t made Pasta Noodles from scratch and now must ask my Chef Nieces to teach me. What kind of Foodie do I think I am? 🙂
Inspired by the Cheese & Charcuterie we saw at SideDoor in Corona Del Mar, we’re testing Cheese to select the best for a Cheese Tasting Party I’ll be hosting. The goal is to make our platter as special as theirs. We learned the importance of preliminary testing by quickly ruling out the TJ Morbier from France, Cheese #1 (Above). It was awful. I don’t like having to write this because it’s not appetizing, but it smelled and tasted like stinky feet — Not good! I definitely wouldn’t want to serve it to guests, as it could be a turn off from the rest.
I ultimately decided on 5 – 6 Cheeses from Trader Joe’s and can’t wait to plate them with Calabrese Salami and Black & Green Olive Bread, with a complimentary selection of fresh Pears, dried Montmorency Cherries, Pecans, Garlic Stuffed Olives, Red Grapes, Mustard, Club Crackers, Pita Chips, etc. Check back to see how our Cheese & Charcuterie measures up to the platters at SideDoor.
Next time I’ll have to pin this note to my shirt instead of posting it on my office door. 🙁
As far as packaged Hot Dogs go, Hebrew National is our current favorite. We recently bought a pack and made some funny dogs. 🙂 Above Octopus Hot Dogs dodge a wave of Chili and Mustard — They’re crispy, tasty and cute, and should technically be in the Chili/Mustard water instead of the invisible sand, ha. And below (l-r) we made a Chili Cheese Dog, a Deluxe Dog (Mustard, Tomatoes, Dill Relish & Onion), a Francheesey (inspired by Katella Deli’s menu), and a Kraut and Mustard Dog.
And mustn’t forget the Mummy Dogs below, made from Bread Dough that’s stretched and rolled around each Hot Dog like a Mummy, then baked in the oven. Hebrew National Hot Dogs are always good well done and kids especially love to eat ’em in the form of an Octopus or Mummy.
Hebrew National reports to have no fillers or by-products, nor artificial colors or flavors, and are made with premium cuts of Kosher Beef. We’ve enjoyed them for years and provide fun ways of doing so above.
Happy April Fools Day! This day always creeps up on me without enough planning. Darn. And I’m quite the practical joker too. I suppose future joke ideas will be best reserved for the rest of the year, when people aren’t expecting ’em. 🙂 Until then, enjoy the Chicken Cordon Bleu.
Would you believe ALL the food pictured in this post is fake? It’s true — It’s all phony baloney! Some of it looks close to real and some obviously counterfeit. Nonetheless, it’s the best forged food we’ve seen. It goes well with our favorite Twilight Zone episode titled a Stopover In A Quiet Town. In it a couple wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings (a doll house) after a night of partying. They then discover that everything in the house and town is a prop and that they’re now living dolls for larger people on a different planet. These party platters would be served there.
All photos were taken at The HoneyBaked Ham Company in Corona Del Mar.
11/09/11 Update: The Corona Del Mar location is now closed.
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