Superbowl Food!

With Super Bowl around the corner, you have to start preparing the delicious food that is a staple in the game. Of course, among these are the obvious chips and salsa and Buffalo wings, but there are always ways to get created. For example, you can make a football stadium out of food.

However, the image above requires a level of skill that most don’t have and those that do have it have no time! So below is a list with other, easier, options.

You can make:

• Buffalo Wings
• Vegetable Sticks with Dip
• Mozzarella Sticks
• Onion Rings
• Pita Chips with Artichoke Dip
• Fruit Salad
• Pigs in a Blanket
• Stuffed Jalapenos

These are just some suggestions! There are plenty more options that you can make. And when you do, share it with us with your comments below!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

It is COLD outside; so what better to do than sit by the fireplace with a delicious cup of hot cocoa after facing the painful weather outside? 

The creamy and chocolaty drink is sure to thaw you out and is the go to drink for Santa Claus.  Many people drink hot cocoa almost every day, but do you know the history of the drink? 

So here are a few, but cool, facts about the rich hot chocolate drink.

•        First chocolate beverage was thought to be created by the Mayans 2000 years ago.
•        Hot Cocoa was an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 A.D.
•        Until the 19^th century, hot chocolate was used medicinally to treat ailments such as stomach diseases.

Have any awesome facts to share? Leave us a comment and we will be sure to  use them!

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey!!!!

Thanksgiving is a week away! Bring on the food coma!

My question is, do you know how you’re cooking the turkey this year? If you don’t, no worries! Simply take a look at this AMAZING recipe by Alton Brown from the Food Network.

Ingredients
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions
2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Now, all you have to do is prepare the recipe and save me a piece of delicious turkey. 

Let us know how it goes!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Every Where!

During this time of year, pumpkin foods go on overload. It’s almost as if pumpkin wasn’t around for the entire year and it’s a limited edition fruit. 

Yes, fruit; a pumpkin is actually a fruit, not a vegetable.

Around this time of year, coffee shops like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts pull out their pumpkin best and we, consumers, go crazy. They have managed to put pumpkins into EVERYTHING, including muffins, bread, cookies and coffee. Don’t forget the donuts!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Anyone??

Not only do baked goods suddenly have pumpkin in them, beer does too. Pumpkin beer is the main ingredient in some great recipes. Click here to check out ten AMAZING recipes from last week's Parade Magazine.

Apart from food, we can find the pumpkin scent as well. For example, Bath and Body Works carries a pumpkin hand soap, hand sanitizer and candle, which smells INCREDIBLE.

So what is it about the pumpkin flavor or scent that we have correlated it to fall? Could it be its affiliation with Halloween? 

If you have any theories, we would LOVE to know. Leave a comment below and we will get back to you.

Yum Yum

I know I post something like this every year, but I SERIOUSLY love Irish Soda bread.

If you are lazy like me, Whole Foods sells really, really good bread.  But this recipe looks pretty easy too.

Let me know if you try it!

Valentine's Day Recipes

Here are some great recipes to share with your Sweetheart:

• The Pioneer Women's Chocolate Sheet Cake
• The Neely's Molten Lava Cake
• Nigella's Chocolate Cheesecake
• Sandra Lee's Chocolate Caramel-Corn Candy Cubes

Which recipe sounds best to you?

Get in My Belly!

Aren’t these cute?

Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies from Pillsbury

INGREDIENTS
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 container (16 oz) chocolate creamy frosting
Candy corn
Orange decorating icing
Black decorating gel
Miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies as directed on roll. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
2. Spoon chocolate frosting into resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut small hole in bottom corner of bag. On each cookie, pipe frosting on outer edge of half of cookie. Arrange candy corn over frosting for feathers.
3. Pipe orange icing onto each cookie to resemble turkey face and feet. Use orange icing to attach baking bits to turkey face for eyes. Pipe black gel on baking bits for centers of eyes

How To Carve a Turkey

Since next week is the big day, I thought this would be a great video to share with all of you.  I am sure there are thousands of similar videos out there but as a Turkey novice, this one seemed pretty good:

Who’s hungry?

Make Your Own Candy Corn

 

Here is the recipe that goes along with the video:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup dry powdered milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Food coloring

Directions:

1. Combine confectioners’ sugar, powdered milk, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

4. Add the dry milk mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Let mixture rest for a few minutes until it is cool enough to handle.

5. Divide dough into 3 equal parts and place each portion in a bowl.  Add coloring as desired. [This means one part yellow and one part orange!]

6. Knead each portion of dough until the coloring is evenly distributed and the dough is smooth and stiff.

7. Roll each portion into a rope about 1/2 inch thick.

8. Place the three ropes of dough next to each other to form a long rectangle. Use a rolling pin to gently press them together.

9. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into triangles and place on a baking sheet. Let set for about 1 hour.

Did you get a chance to try this recipe?  How did they come out?