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Today’s battle is mac and cheese.  I tried Alton Brown’s Baked Mac and Cheese and Ina Garten’s Mac and Cheese.  The only modification to these recipes was halfing them.  All other ingredients and steps remain the same.  Neither of these recipes was as delicious as my standby Smoked Gouda and Cheddar Mac and Cheese.  Each had issues that I will discuss later in this post.  Overall, Ina beat Alton hands down.  Her dish won points for presentation, flavor and texture.  Ina’s Mac and Cheese is beautiful to look at, the addition of sliced tomatoes was a delicious twist.  The tomatoes also made the dish much more visually appealing.  Her dish was a beautiful and homey version.  The flavor beat out Alton as well, although I found the use of Gruyere a little too strong.  Alton’s dish had the addition of an onion to the milk mixture.  By introducing the onion into the milk sauce without precooking it gave the dish an overpowering onion flavor.  The one piece of Alton’s dish I did like was the use of Panko breadcrumbs.  I love Panko breadcrumbs, they give any dish a nice crisp texture.  Ina’s cheese sauce was much creamier.  If you are a gruyere lover, then Ina’s dish is just right for you.  If you prefer something more subdued I suggest you check out my old post on mac and cheese.

Ina’s Mac and Cheese is today’s WINNER!

It’s been abnormally warm in New England, like in the high 80s (we don’t normally see that in the summer often).  I couldn’t stand the thought of turning on the ovens (although, I do love to have them on all the time) and heating the house up even more than it already is - so tonight, it’s grilling.  I made one of my husband’s favorites - black bean cakes.  They are absolutely delicious and easy.  I found the original recipe on the Food Network (Sara Moulton).  The truth is the original recipe was not spicy enough for us, so I changed the recipe around a bit.  We add a jalapeno with the green peppers and onions, as well as a tsp. of chili powder and a tsp. of cumin powder.  With the additions, it is one of my husband’s favorites.  I don’t do the cilantro sauce that Sara makes with it.  I choose different things each time - sometimes its veggie chili as a topper, but tonight it’s a avocado and tomato salad.  We like to treat these delicious little guys just like you would any burger.  To round out the meal I am grilling sweet potatoes and corn (with chipotle butter sauce). 

It sounds like a nice little meal for a hot New England night.  If you get a chance check out the bean cakes.  Hope your dinner was equally yummy.

Here’s the cookbook my Mom picked up over the weekend.  I went to the bookstore and looked through it again to day.  Apparently, this is a book from a series of books created by the Maran family.  Looking through the book I noticed some things that were very helpful to a new cook.  The first being a listing and explanation of cooking utensils and pots and pans.  With all the options out there, it is nice to have an explanation of what each one does when you are just starting to cook.  They also have good section on buying produce and storing it.  Each recipe has step by step instructions with lots of illustrations.

I think it would be nice to see a similar book with 50 classic recipes for new cooks.  Everything from breakfast, lunch, and dinner to dessert.  What recipes do you think should go into the ultimate starter cookbook?

Well, you guessed it as the title suggests people miss the Food TV face-offs.  So, this Friday the Food TV Face-off makes it’s comeback with battle mac and cheese.  You’ll have to check in to see how Ina Garten fairs against Alton Brown in the ultimate mac and cheese showdown.  Will Alton win with the classic Mac and Cheese or will Ina’s addition of Gruyere cheese take her to victory.  Stay tuned to find out…

If you have suggestions for face-offs please email me or leave a comment for this post!

I don’t know if you have had the chance to check out the newly updated epicurious website or not.  It looks great!  The new color scheme is actually quite reminiscent of deglazing, that’s probably a coincidence…One of the things I really like is the how to cook tab in the articles & guides section.  The how to cook section shows you how to work with a particular ingredient like dates, tomatoes, etc.  I think this is a great section if you have a seasonal ingredient you want to work with, but want to try something different than you normally make.  The how to cook section gives great tips like how to chose produce and how to store it properly.  It also gives you great recipe ideas for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner.  If you haven’t seen this section, it’s worth checking out.  Another section worth checking out is the epi-video library under the recipe tab.  This section is full of great videos from basic cooking to celebrity chef interviews.

The new epicurious website still maintains the functionality of the old site.  You can still create your own account and save recipes to your file.  They have also created new user forums for people to chat with other foodies.

Overall, I like the look and the feel of the new site.  It’s functional, it’s fun, and as always, it has tons and tons of cooking advice for foodies. 

Yes, you read that title correctly.  I had very bad luck with stand mixers last year.  As many of you know I got a new KitchenAid stand mixer last year, well last spring my contractor allowed mold to grow in the basement of my new house and I lost a lot of stuff.  My stand mixer was destroyed.  You don’t want to see the photos, yuck!  The bio-hazard people thought it was a good idea to get rid of all of my kitchen equipment and so my stand mixer and processor both had to be discarded.  Probably, one of  the worst days I’ve had in a really long time.  Well, the good news is I now have a new stand mixer and I just love it.  I upgraded one more size from the last one.  I couldn’t believe that Kitchen Aid sold refurbished mixers and I was delighted to find the Professional 600 Kitchen Aid with 575 watts for $239.  This mixers usually sell for $500.  I have had pretty good luck with factory refurbished items before, so I thought why not. 

Well, I am very happy I got it.  It’s a great mixer - just like the others I have had before.  I know Cuisinart and Viking make stand mixers too, but I am just hooked on KitchenAid mixers.  I have had them since my earliest adult baking days and they haven’t let me down yet.  I tried a Viking mixer at a friend’s house, but I just didn’t like it as well.  The motor was suppose to be a lot stronger, but I didn’t really notice it.  The head tilting mechanism is strange.  I just didn’t see what the fuss was about.  I have yet to see a Cuisinart, but it reminds me a lot of the Viking, at least in looks.  Do you have a favorite stand mixer?  What do you like about it?

As most of you know I am an avid tea drinker.  I love the stuff, even more so as the weather cools.  My absolute favorite is Earl Grey, there is something so comforting about the smell of bergamot.  I even like to add a little more lemon to punch up the flavor.  Not many tea companies let you buy in bulk, but The Republic of Tea does.  They used the bag you see above for years, but it wasn’t resealable.  Anyone who drinks tea or coffee understands the importance of having fresh coffee or tea.  Well, The Republic must have gotten some suggestions because the newest round of bags is resealable.  So, kudos to The Republic of Tea for making it easier for tea drinkers everywhere to savor their tea from start to finish of a bulk bag!

  This weekend I had a very interesting conversation with my Mom.  Mom has never really liked cooking all that much, but wanted to start learning a few of the basics.  So we went to Borders to check out some beginner cookbooks.  I was surprised by how few and far between good beginner cookbooks there are in bookstores.  The two that I have seen that I thought were pretty good were How to Boil Water from the Food Network and the new Williams Sonoma Tools & Techniques.  But…the funny thing was how my Mom saw them.  We had a great conversation and I could hear what she was saying loud and clear.  These two books are great for explaining the terms, tools, and tricks, but when it comes to making the recipes they are limited.  Well, the Williams Sonoma one isn’t really about the recipes, but How to Boil Water definitely is.  The issue my Mom had is they didn’t give photos or step-by-step instructions for new comers.  Mom said it was difficult as a new cook to understand the terminology and reading the glossary was a big help, but it really worked much better if she could see the actual recipe as it was being made.  We wound up finding a book for her, but I still thought it was limited.  It didn’t have the classic recipes that everyone wants to know.

I never really thought about how the lingo in cooking really makes it difficult for new cooks to start out.  I have taught myself that basics along the way, but I did it so long ago that I can’t remember how I got there in the first place.  My first food memories are from when I was very small child and I decorated cakes with my much older best friend.  I know cookbooks have been a great help to me, but trial and error is probably your best teacher.  I know when I royally screw stuff up I learn not to do it again the next time.  What suggestions do you have for someone just starting out?  Do you have any really great basic cookbooks to share with beginner cooks?

The latest thing to strike my fancy is amateur cooking contests.  I am entering a bunch of recipes as we speak.  I never really realized how many food contests there are available to individuals just like you and me.  Here are a couple of the one’s that caught my eye.  Here in the New England region there is a baking contest being sponsored by Hannaford grocery stores.  The grand prize winner receives a $1,000 gift card to the store.  Here’s a link if you want more information or contest rules.  http://www.hannaford.com

One of the national contests that I’m also entering is the “Your Chocolate Adventure” contest that Scharffen Berger is sponsoring.  This one is for dark chocolate lovers.  You have to use 62% to 99% cacao chocolate and one of the adventure ingredients from a list of 20.  The winner of this contest gets $5,000 and their recipe is being served at Cafe Cacao in Berkeley, CA for one month.  Here’s a link if it sounds like something you might be interested in - http://www.chocolateadventurecontest.com/Prizes.aspx.

And, of course, the biggie right now - Rachael Ray’s contest - So You Think You Can Cook?  They are currently taking video submissions for a chance to be one of five finalists.  Check out www.rachaelray.com to find out more information.

Okay, so I promised some new things coming up.  Here is one of the them.  I know that I love Euro stickers, can’t get enough.  But no one really had one that said much about cooking and well, that’s my life.  I just love these new stickers, I am plastering all of my vehicles and friends vehicles with them!  Nothing like a little word of mouth to get new readers.  If you love these stickers as much as I do, you can get your very own.  Just email me for details on how to get one.