Not too long ago I was a bittersweet chocolate snob. I would only eat
chocolate bars with a very high percentage of cacao, the higher the
better. But I've discovered some milk chocolate recently that I really
love. If you only eat high percentage cacao, I urge you to try some of
the more exquisite milk chocolates on the market. They may surprise
you. They certainly surprised me.
Milk chocolate has milk
powder or condensed milk as an ingredient and generally has much lower
percentages of cacao. Having tasted lots of chocolate, I am still very
fussy about what I like and what I don't like. Regardless of the cacao
content, good chocolate has to have clean flavors, it can't be too
sweet, too salty or overwhelmed by flavorings such as vanilla. It
should melt smoothly without a hint of graininess. It should be so good
that even a little bit satisfies.
Comfort Foods and Indulgences
Comfort Foods and Indulgences
Kicked-Up Tuna Melt
Every Friday growing up I had a tuna sandwich in my lunch box. The bread was usually soggy by the time lunch came around, caused by the use
of too much mayonnaise and sweet pickle relish. Friday was also the
only day I was allowed to have a soda pop accompany my lunch. It was
usually RC Cola in the can, wrapped in tin foil to keep cold. The RC
Cola also kept my sandwich cool, a bonus as far as I was concerned.
While I still love tuna with mayo and pickle relish, I like the idea of
capers, lemon and oregano taking the tuna to a different level. Add the
sliced tomato and provolone cheese blistered by the broiler....whoa,
now that's a sandwich.
You must try this, it was quite a hit around here!
Favorite Find - Le Bon Garcon
I lost my sweet tooth long ago. Except for one thing. Caramel. I just can't resist it. That doesn't mean I always love it though. Plenty of people are trying to capture my heart and tastebuds, but few rarely capture my imagination. Le Bon Garcon is one of them. Though apparently they captured Oprah's love first. I didn't know that when I got the opportunity to try Justin Chao's creations. Originally an architecture student, he traded in the drafting table for a kitchen one and found his passion in pastry. After studying in Paris and returning to Los Angeles, he formed Le Bon Garcon, which uses Plugra butter and no preservatives in their hand-crafted and wrapped caramels. You may think you've had amazing Salted Caramel. You'd be wrong. But I wasn't surprised I LOVED that one, I mean come on. It's salt and butter, people. I was intrigued by the Rosé (a seasonal flavor only available until 9/15), as I didn't know caramels came with other flavors and this blend of raspberry, lychee and rose essence just sounded so perfectly ethereal. And it is. Light and lingering, perfectly summery. I was going to skip the Mango, which is blended with cardamom and ginger. Even though I like all those things, I couldn't wrap my head around mango caramel; however, it is one of his signature flavors, so I gave it a shot. Holy cow! This one blew my mind. It's so intense, like a Starburst from my youth, but so much more classy and luscious and mangorific. The Macadamia was also good, but I like my caramel unadulterated by nuts. The Man thought it was great. To each their own. Even the packaging was lovely - simple yet colorful and fun. If you have a caramel lover in your life, they need to know about Le Bon Garcon. Excuse me while I go get another piece. http://www.lebongarcon.com |
Creamy Shrimp Creole Soup with Bacon-Cornmeal Dumplings
If you are looking for the perfect Mardis Gras inspiration, Creamy Shrimp Creole Soup with Bacon-Cornmeal Dumplings could not be a more perfect choice to round out your celebration.
The gorgeous color is the first giveaway to the over the top flavor. By using all the right ingredients, salt and pepper aren't even necessary...it tastes fantastic as is, and by the way, it is spicy.
We always have a few Mardis Gras dishes this time of year but don't nearly indulge in all the flavors of the South often enough. They really awaken your taste buds.
Don't worry if you've never made dumplings before, they are so easy to throw together, a couple imperfect rolls and they are good to go.
The dumplings take on the color of the soup and have a nice smoky flavor with the addition of bacon. I hope you'll give it a try!
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
To make amazing buttermilk biscuits, you don't have to make them by
hand. Using a stand mixer is the way to go when changing up a few
ingredients that yield tender, flaky biscuits everytime.
This recipe also calls for cake flour which is not the norm for
biscuits. However, cake flour has a lower protein content, allowing
the dough to withstand more mixing without overworking it and
developing gluten, which will ultimately toughen the biscuits.
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