How about a trip for 2 to Bologna, Italy and a private tour of a La Vecchia Dispensa’s factory? A little birdy told me that if you are creative,  you could be there.

As part of their annual Balsamic Blowout, my pals at Zingermans have schemed up a fun contest.  First, make a video about Balsamic Vinegar.  That’s right, any type of video, even with your iphone or low budget camera.  Upload it it YouTube and you could win a trip for two to Bologna, stay in a 4-star hotel and enjoy a private tour of a balsamic vinegar factory.  Some contests feel like a long shot… this feels possible.  Come on gang… you KNOW you have some funny, clever idea for a balsamic video.   You can find details and your competitors here. If you make one, let me know and I’ll help get out the votes!

Getting edible green things into a toddlers mouth can take the stealth and creativity of a secret agent.  Mission accomplished!

A few weeks ago, this recipe was passed from a mommy friend to her sister to me.  It is easy to get stuck in a major rut with a toddler’s food since little ones tend to promote habit.  

My husband read an interesting tidbit a year or two back that I remember often.  It said that toddlers are picky eaters due to an innate survival instinct.  From the time that they can walk until they are old enough to make their own, reasonable decisions about food, they do not like to eat things that they don’t recognize. In primitive hunting and gathering days, this instinct kept toddlers from eating poisonous things. It makes sense and gives us a little reason to cut the tiny tykes some slack.
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A favorite recipe from a favorite new cookbook that was a gift from a favorite friend puts this Irish Soda Bread with currants, caraway seeds and orange zest at the top of my heap.

In the past, I have sung the praises of Grand Central Bakery.  When I visit my best pal in Portland, Oregon I always find myself at the bakery ordering a cup fragrant, locally roasted coffee and about 10 other treats from the menu.  For Christmas, my bestie proved that she knows me well by gifting me the Grand Central Bakery’s new cookbook.  Since their bakeries are only on the West Coast, I can now get a little fix of Grand Central goodies in my own Chicago kitchen.
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This week, I received a few unexpected gifts from friends and I am still flying high on the wings of their good deeds.

At the beginning of the week, a friend stopped by after work to share a cocktail and visit my (somewhat) new house.  She brought with her this bunch of yellow tulips.  They have been a source of bright, happiness all week long and a reminder that my own tulips should peek their little heads out of the ground in just a few short months.  The end of February can be pretty brutal in Chicago.  Yellow tulips from a friend put a BIG band aid on my winter blues.
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Just when takers are relaxing into the comforting nostalgia of deviled eggs, a surprising zing of horseradish and ancho chili powder will wake the palate.

In the past year, I brought Deviled Eggs to two different potluck gatherings.  Like bright, beckoning eyes,  they stood out on the table surrounded by baked dips, layered Mexican creations, chips, pretzels and hummus plates.  Partygoers were excited and eager, the eggs disappeared fast.
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Some basic lessons fall through the cracks. You take certain information for granted until one day, you go to access it and you realize, it isn’t there. 

For me, one of those lessons was how to make a hard boiled egg.  When I went to college, there were a number of times I found myself in the kitchen at a standstill, lacking basics.  A quick call to mom or a flip through the index of a general cookbook (this was before days of laptops and wireless internet access in kitchens) and my Cooking 101 knowledge was slowly filled in.  

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Thanks to a few new fans in my Greek Food Fan Club and my immediate response to praise, there has been a lot of Greek food coming out of the Whipped kitchen of late.

Spinach and cheese pies, zucchini fritters, meatballs, baked feta topped with oregano and tomatoes, fried peppers, peasant salad and a new one to Whipped… Melitzanosalata or Greek Eggplant Dip/Spread.  (find the other Greek recipes here.) I once found a similar recipe on another blog and he had titled his recipe Eggplant Crack.  Indeed, if you like eggplant and garlic, this stuff will have you hooked after just one touch to the tongue.
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I prefer hearty, steel cut oats to old-fashioned oats but I don’t prefer them enough to launch a 45 minute cooking endeavor in the morning.  Some things require a good short cut.  And, I have found one.  The guys at The Bitten Word suggested a little “night before” prep followed by only 10 minutes of cooking in the morning.   It worked!

I then got greedy and tried to find an even EASIER method.  Some say that a rice-cooker is fool proof for almost any grain. Wake up, put the water and oats in, go take a shower while oats cook.  Unfortunately, I came down this morning to find a gloppy, sloppy mess on my counter from a rice-cooker, bubble over mishap.  It may have been the small size of my rice-cooker that was to blame but the oats were still a little too chewy and the bottom layer of oats was stuck on the rice-cooker creating additional ugly clean up.  I’ll stick to the overnight soak.

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I have been dancing the tango with Red Velvet Cake for some years now.  Just when I think I can turn my face away and retire my quest for the perfect recipe, the scarlet vixen has me pressed to her cheek striding across the dance floor once again.

Our love affair is always reignited in the month of February.  The marketing machines of the world are pressing Valentine’s Day upon us and my palate cannot resist cupid’s arrow.  Festive, moist, red cake topped with classic cream cheese frosting… I am dazed with desire.
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I am lucky in that many of my clients have become good friends. It makes for especially enjoyable client entertaining. During the holidays, I invited my pals from Revel along with my talented photographer friend for a dinner party. (side note: check out this yummy website I was lucky enough to help them with) Since one of the guests is a vegetarian, I decided to broaden my horizons and comprise a three-course vegetarian meal.

Deer in headlights.

How could I not have presentable vegetarian recipes in my dinner party repertoire?! I am a Midwestern girl born and bred on meat and potatoes married to a Greek who eats lamb on a spit but still, not one pretty, make-ahead main dish?! Disgusted by my limited range, I set out to devise a delicious vegetarian spread.
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My bran muffin kick continues. While preparing a “mise en place” of muffin ingredients on Sunday evenings, I calmly consider the week ahead and before any anticipation of stress takes over, I happily remember that I will inaugurate the workweek with a healthy, warm baked good.

I found this recipe on the back of my Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Bran package. I was drawn to it for its list of natural ingredients and lack of processed and refined items. Together, these ingredients produced a pretty solid muffin. After my first bite, I was hesitant and worried that they were a bit too dense but both my husband and Mini Whipped showed immediate approval. The little tyke had such continued enthusiasm for these muffins that it made for a difficult photo shoot:
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Jicama is not something that is usually on my radar. I’ve eaten it before but just never think to buy it. A friend suggested some sort of a jicama slaw to go with steak tacos she was making and in development of this side dish, I was reminded what a soft spot I have for this colorless, homely vegetable.
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