appletable80-blog

[appletable80-blog]

COMING SOON: Creamy Snickers Bars

Mars’ upcoming Creamy Snickers Bars replace the crunch of nuts that Snickers bars are known for with the creaminess of nut butters.

The new candy bars feature a thick layer of freshly ground, creamy nut butter on top a layer of caramel, all of which is coated with milk chocolate. Three varieties will be available — Almond Butter, Peanut Butter, and Maple Almond Butter.

The new bars won’t be hitting shelves until January 2019, but they’ll be available nationwide. When they do come out, they’ll be available in Single (1.4 ounce), Share (2.8 ounce), and Stand Up Pouch (7.7 ounce) sizes.

(Image via Mars.)

Here are a few posts that might interest you:

Source: https://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2018/10/03/coming-soon-creamy-snickers-bars/

[appletable80-blog]

Caesar Salad with Seared Scallops

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for a meal. Especially not in the summer, when it’s often hot and humid enough to make the stove a scary place. I seem to wind up with so many heads of lettuce in the summer, too—from my CSA or farmers markets or friends—that I have to play a version of pin the tail on the donkey with them that involves lettuce heads, not donkey tails.

You follow me? Lettuce. It’s not so much an ingredient as an ultimatum: Eat it or be left to feel guilty about it instead. While doing a pop-up cooking event one summer where I wanted to make lettuce wraps, I decided not to buy any lettuce, but instead collect as many heads as I could from friends and friendly farmers who had one too many. I quickly gathered more than a dozen in a couple days.

But due to some strange drought in my fridge recently, I went out and purchased a head of red Romaine lettuce at the farmers market. I had never seen this exact variety before, so I was smitten. Like a purple carrot or purple cauliflower, it tastes and acts just like a head of Romaine. And with that reminder, I was sold on doing Caesar salad.

There is nothing wrong with a vegetarian take on Caesar salad dressing, but the true classic involves anchovies. Garlic, anchovies, lemon and egg are whisked with olive oil until it’s a fishy aioli, and you can thin this out with more fresh lemon juice. This challenge is just what you need when it’s too hot to cook, as it’s all mincing and whisking, with inviting fragrance everywhere.

And if you must cook, make it a fresh lump of something that needs little time on the stove, like a seared scallop. Although these are rare and expensive to come by, I can’t think of anything quicker and more rewarding to brown in some butter. Big, juicy diver scallops are optimal when pinkish-raw on the inside, and just cooked on the outside. And they’re just the treat that can turn a familiar dish like Caesar salad into something special.

You can easily fill it out as a complete meal with some toasted bread to accompany it. Whereas some soft-boiled egg halves could work humbler wonders for some good lettuce and your own homemade Caesar dressing, seared scallops (fresh from my local Blue Moon Fish) can do even more. It’s weird, though, because after crowding my plate with so many lovely toasts and scallops, I was craving even more of the recipe-incentive lettuce.

Caesar Salad with Seared Scallops (makes 4 servings)

for the dressing

1 egg yolk (preferably at room temperature) 1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 4-6 anchovy fillets, finely minced 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or more to taste) 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

for the rest 1 small head Romaine lettuce 12 fresh sea scallops 1 tablespoon butter 8-12 slices of a baguette extra-virgin olive oil salt and pepper grated parmiggiano-reggiano (optional)

To make the dressing, combine the egg yolk, minced garlic, mustard, anchovies and 1 tablespoon of juice from the lemon in a small bowl. Whisk to combine thoroughly. While whisking rapidly, pour in a few drops of the olive oil. Continue whisking, and slowly drizzle in more of the olive oil. The mixture will emulsify and appear thicker as you continue incorporating more of the olive oil. Continue whisking in the rest of the olive oil until all is incorporated. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired. Add another small squeeze of lemon juice at a time to taste, if desired. Use immediately or store covered and chilled for up to a day.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the baguette slices on a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toast them for about 5 minutes, or until just slightly crisp. Remove from heat and let cool.

Rinse and pat the scallops dry with paper towels. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper around all sides. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan, such as cast iron, on high heat. Once it’s very hot, add half the butter, and as soon as it melts, place 6 of the scallops on the pan with at least half an inch in between one another and don’t move them. After about 1 minute, peek underneath, and if the bottom is golden-brown, flip. Let the opposite sides lightly brown for another 30 seconds, and transfer from heat immediately. Repeat with the remaining butter and scallops.

Break the lettuce leaves from the head, keeping smaller leaves intact and cutting large ones to evenly-sized pieces. Toss with the dressing. Arrange on plates, and top each with 3 of the scallops and 2-3 slices of baguette. Sprinkle with grated optional cheese. Serve immediately.

Cost Calculator (for 4 servings)

about 1 lb sea scallops: $24.95 1 head Romaine lettuce: $3.00 ½ baguette: $1.50 ½ tin anchovies: $1.50 1 egg yolk: $0.20 1 lemon: $0.50 1/3 cup olive oil: $0.75 1 Tb butter: $0.50 salt, pepper, 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp mustard: $0.25

Total: $33.15

Health Factor

Four brownie points: While not a superfood, Romaine lettuce has a lot of leafy-green nutrition like Vitamin K, Vitamin C as well as fiber. Pile a lot of it onto your plate. This dressing also contains valuable omega-3 vitamins from those little anchovies, a great way to sneak this beneficial fatty acid into your diet. You’ll get even more of that from the scallops, a shellfish that are more than 80% protein. Green Factor

Six maple leaves: Wild sea scallops are considered a “best choice” seafood by the Seafood Watch program at Monterey Bay Aquarium. So they’re a splurge you can feel good about. On the other hand, little fish like anchovies are incredibly cheap as well as sustainable choices—one of the most abundant fish in the ocean, they’re what many bigger fish eat, but delicious and nutritious for us, too. As for the rest of the ingredients in this salad, this recipe is a good way to use up extra lettuce you’ve got, rather than letting it go to waste (and hey, other veggies are fine to toss in as well). And it’s a great use for stale bread, too. Source: http://noteatingoutinny.com/2018/08/02/caesar-salad-with-seared-scallops/

[appletable80-blog]

Hallowe'en Scream Swirl Bread!

It's almost the season for Halloween and I've been busy baking things up in my cauldron my Dear Pretties! This Halloween swirl milk bread, with it's rather colourful and spooky shades, is made with vegetables, superfoods and natural food colouring!

This year I've gotten started a bit early on Hallowe'en. I really have to stop myself from getting into it mid year as it is always so exciting for me but I realise that talking Hallowe'en so early may peg me as a total weirdo. Not that I really care mind you.

This bread came to me in a dream like many of my Hallowe'en ideas. I wanted to make a colourful bread in vivid Halloween colours but I also wanted to avoid artificial colourings-not that I don't use them in cakes etc but I wanted a challenge. I decided to use activated edible charcoal for black, turmeric for orange, matcha powder for green and pureed steamed ube or purple yam for purple. I divided the dough into four, hand kneaded the colours in and sat back and hoped.

With the leftover charcoal I tried doing something that I had seen all over Instagram which was brushing my teeth with charcoal. I have somewhat of an obsession with having white teeth and I think my love of tea, matcha and red lipstick can often stain my teeth. I had seen lots of people brushing their teeth with charcoal so I decided to give it a go.

I found that if there are any benefits, they are outweighed by the negatives. Our white bathroom sink was splattered with black as was my top. Throughout the rest of the day I found black splashes down crevices and on my arm and I have to say that even afterwards I felt the need to brush with toothpaste.

Having wiped down and cleaned the bathroom for a good while the timer went off for my bread and I took it out and cooled it. Then I sliced into the bread. It not only was bright, the flavours came through too. And Mr NQN paid my Halloween bread the ultimate compliment. "It looks like 'The Scream' in a bread form!" he said. Music to my elf ears Dear Reader...

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried brushing your teeth with charcoal and how did you find it? And are you a Halloweenie?

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 45 minutes plus 1.5 hours resting time

Cooking time: 35 minutes

1/6 cup bread flour

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup milk

50g/1.7ozs butter, softened

1 egg, room temperature

1.5 teaspoons fine salt

2 3/4-3 cups bread flour plus extra for rolling

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons instant dried yeast

2 teaspoons activated charcoal powder mixed with 1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons matcha powder mixed with 1 tablespoon water

3 teaspoons ground turmeric mixed with 1 tablespoon water

75g/2.7ozs. ube or purple sweet potato puree

1 egg mixed with 2 teapsoons water for egg wash

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Step 1 - Make the tangzhong roux by heating the 1/6 cup of bread flour and water in a small saucepan on medium heat and whisk until smooth. Heat and when it gets to 65C/149F then whisk in the milk, butter, egg and salt. Set aside.

Step 2 - In an electric mixer bowl combine the flour, sugar and yeast with a spatula and then pour in the tangzhong roux and stir until combined. Then fit with a dough hook and knead on the lowest speed until you get a window pan effect-that is you can stretch the dough without it breaking (this should take over 10 minutes).

Step 3 - Weigh the dough and then divide it into four equal portions. Flour a surface and hand knead the colours into each dough portion. You shouldn't really need gloves except for the turmeric (I also roll the turmeric on parchment as it stains white surfaces). Roll into four balls and place in separate bowls and cover with cling film and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Step 4 - Oil a large loaf tin. Roll out the dough into four large (30x15cm or 12x6inch) rectangles one at a time. Place them on top of each other and roll out the stack of four a bit more to smush them (technical term ;)) against each other.

Step 5 - Roll the layered dough up and place in the prepared tin and brush with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds over it. Cover - I used a clean shower cap, a tip I picked up from my friend Sally. Allow to rise until doubled in size (around 20 minutes). Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in tin for 3-4 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack. Do not cut for an hour (it will be hard to resist).

Source: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2018/10/02/halloween-swirl-bread/

[appletable80-blog]

HOMEMADE INSTANT NOODLE MIX SERIES: INSTANT CREAM CHEESE SHIN RAMYUN/BUDAE JJIGAE MIX

–

WHY CREAM CHEESE?  BECAUSE COMPARED TO THE COMMONLY APPLIED AMERICAN SINGLES, CREAM CHEESE PROVIDES CHEESINESS AND CREAMINESS WITHOUT ADDED SALT.

WHAT:  Perhaps the most internationally embraced instant noodle of our time, Shin Ramyun, now homemade, thickened with cream cheese, and… also doubles as an instant budae jjigae mix.

WHY:  I wish to pay a tribute to the untimely passing of Anthony Bourdain, the original, the first and the last, who is perhaps, in the end, a great speculator without answers.  Here’s a dish from Korea, budae jjigae, which he had openly embraced and advocated for without irony, both being a mutated creation that exists on the tipping point of conflictions and yet, brings epiphanies and enjoyments to their subjects.  We will sorely miss him.

HOW:  The flavor profile of the base for budae jjigae and the instant noodle Shin Ramyun is, to no surprise, close siblings from the same family.  Both prominent on the fragrance and heat of Korean chili powder, smoothed by a bit of sweetness from fermented chili paste called gochujang, followed by subsequent notes of garlic, a bit of onion, and a hint of soy sauce.  By successfully creating a base for one, you would’ve done it for both.  But to aim at a higher end goal with more complexity, I like to approach the question from the perspective of budae jjigae.

There is perhaps nothing more ironical about making budae jjigae than to try to stay “authentic” with budae jjigae.  The spirit of the dish was founded on improvisation, creating something special from the givens, making lemonade.  I first set out to build the groundwork by rendering, browning and pureeing pancetta, anchovies and shitake mushroom powder, which are not traditional but they lay the common bricks for this type of Korean soup-dishes that are often a mixture of meat broth, dried seafoods and mushrooms.  Then guess what?  That’s all the cooking there is.  The only step left is as easy as blending it together with gochugaru (Korean chili powder), gochujang (Korean chili paste), garlics, onion and seasonings, then last but not least, cream cheese.  Why cream cheese?  Because compared to the commonly applied American Singles, cream cheese provides cheesiness and creaminess without too much added salt.  Not mention that it blends more effortlessly into any H2O-based substances.

From this point forward, simply simmer the mix with low-sodium beef stock for Shin Ramyun.  OR, add kimchi, SPAM, hot dogs, and just about anything that sounds really wrong to make something that tastes really right, budae jjigae.   It will be thick.  It will be spicy.  It will be heavy, and it will be enlightening.  It will be too much, and it won’t be enough.  If this can be, then what else is out there?

Go, find out.

“Move.” – Anthony Bourdain

Print

INSTANT CREAM CHEESE SHIN RAMYUN/BUDAE JJIGAE MIX

Ingredients

1 tbsp canola oil

75 grams (about 6 tbsp diced) fatty pancetta, finely diced

6 fillets of anchovies, drained

1/4 cup mushroom powder (see note *)

1/4 cup water

1/2 small onion, peeled

13 cloves of garlic, peeled

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp (69 grams) cream cheese

1/4 cup gochugaru/Korean chili flakes

3 tbsp (60 grams) gochujang/Korean chili paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sweet paprika powder

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tbsp dashi/bonito soup granule

1 tsp black peppercorns

Instructions

See note on the instruction on making mushroom powder. In a small skillet over medium heat, cook canola oil and diced pancetta until the fat is rendered out and the pancetta is lightly browned. Add anchovies and mushroom powder, mashing them into the oil with a wooden spoon, and continue to cook for a couple minutes until the mixture starts to brown on the sides and bottom of the skillet. Add the water to deglaze, making sure all the brown bits are melted into the water, then transfer the mixture into a blender.

Add onion, garlics, cream cheese, gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce, fish sauce, sweet paprika powder, light brown sugar, dashi granule and black peppercorns. Run the blender for a couple minutes until the mixture is smoothly pureed. Transfer into an air-tight jar and keep in the fridge until needed. Can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks (estimate), or divided into 1/4 cup portions each, and kept in the freezer.

TO SERVE AS SHIN RAMYUN: Whisk together 1 cup of low-sodium or unsalted chicken stock or beef stock with 1/4 cup of the mix, and simmer for 3 minutes. The consistency of the soup will be slightly thicker than commercial Shin Ramyun, due to the nature of the mix and also the cream cheese. If you like it more watery, you can surely strain it. But I usually don't. Meanwhile, cook the noodles of your choice in another pot (if you're using instant noodle bricks, you can cook it directly in the soup), then drain well and add to the soup. Serve immediately.

TO SERVE AS BUDAE JJIGAE: Whisk together 4 cups of low-sodium or unsalted chicken stock or beef stock with 1 cup of the mix, and simmer for 3 minutes. Add green onions, onions, kimchi, SPAM, hotdogs, noodles, rice cakes, tofu and etc. Keep the mixture as a low simmer as you serve.

When in doubt, always add more gochugaru/Korean chili powder.

Notes

* Mushroom powder is dried shitake mushrooms that are powderized. You can't really buy this but it's very easy to make at home. I like to store dried shitake mushrooms in the freezer whenever I buy them, which makes them extra brittle. Then I break however much I need into small pieces, and grind them in a spice-grinder until finely powderized.

3.1

http://ladyandpups.com/2018/06/14/homemade-instant-noodle-mix-series-instant-cream-cheese-shin-ramyun-budae-jjigae-mix/

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Source: http://ladyandpups.com/2018/06/14/homemade-instant-noodle-mix-series-instant-cream-cheese-shin-ramyun-budae-jjigae-mix/

[appletable80-blog]

Bacon Wrapped Pork Medallions with Feta Paté

These Bacon Wrapped Pork Medallions with Feta Paté are simple enough for any night, but also special enough for company!

It’s hard for me to believe after all these years of sharing recipes, I haven’t shared this one. These Bacon Wrapped Pork Medallions with Feta Paté have been in regular rotation here for many, many years!

While it’s a bit over-used, this is truly one of those dishes that is “simple enough for any night, but special enough for company”. It is also ready in just about 30 minutes. And it’s really, really delicious.

This one starts with pork tenderloin, cut into medallions and wrapped with bacon. Both sides are dipped in steak spice and grilled or pan seared, then finished in the oven.

The Feta Paté (that isn’t really technically a pate, but whatever ;), is my favourite part of the dish. As you can see, I put a pretty generous dollop on top. You don’t have to use that much, but honestly, once you taste it, you’ll want to.

I serve with roasted potatoes generally, and garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary. I’ve included the easy instructions for the potatoes in the recipe card notes below.

Cook’s Notes for Bacon Wrapped Pork Medallions with Feta Paté

I love Montreal Steak Spice for this one, as it is more pepper than salt. Any steak spice will work here, though.

Speaking of salt, this dish can easily tip over to overly salty, with the bacon, feta and steak spice. I suggest a steak spice with more pepper than salt (as noted above), reduced salt bacon and no additional salting of the meat or feta paté.

I used Goat Feta here, which I’m just slightly obsessed with lately. It’s like regular feta but with a little goat cheese tang thing going on.

I find the extra little bit of time to pre-cook the bacon well worthwhile. The 15 minutes in the oven just isn’t enough to really cook it well and there’s really nothing worse than half-cooked bacon :)

I use my large cast-iron skillet to cook the potatoes in the oven and start them cooking first. I sear the medallions in my non-stick skillet on the stove-top. I find it’s best, so that all the steak spice doesn’t end up stuck to the pan. Then I transfer the medallions to my small skillets and pop them in the oven, alongside the potatoes, for the last 15 minutes of the potatoes cooking, so that everything is done at the same time. Simply transfer the potatoes to the little skillets to serve.

I love little cast iron pans! They are perfect for oven-to-table dishes like this one. They are perfect for individual desserts, as well! These are the ones shown here …

  Disclosure: Seasons and Suppers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Medallions with Feta Paté

Easy enough for any night, and special enough for company! 

Print

Ingredients

For Pork:

2 lb. pork tenderloin

4 slices bacon 1 slice for each medallion

1/4 cup Montreal Steak Spice or other steak spice mix

For Feta Pate:

1 cloves garlic finely minced

3 Tbsp butter softened

2 oz. cream cheese (1/4 block), softened

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

1 dash hot pepper sauce e.g. Tabasco™, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Feta Pate: Combine the garlic, butter, cream cheese, feta cheese, sour cream, chives, hot pepper sauce and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine well. (I fink a fork works well at first, to press it together, then stir). Set aside or cover and refrigerate if making ahead. Remove from fridge 15-20 minutes before serving.

For the pork medallions: Pre-cook the bacon slightly by layering in paper towel and microwaving about 1:15-1:30 minutes. Alternately, simply cook slightly in a skillet until some of the fat is starting to cook off. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Remove the silverskin and any visible fat from the pork tenderloin. Cut the tenderloin into medallions, about as thick as a slice of your bacon. Wrap each medallion in cooled bacon and secure on the side with a skewer, threading it through where the bacon overlaps and into the pork slightly.

Pour some of the steak spice onto a plate. Dip both sides of the pork in steak spice by pressing down into the spice.

For the BBQ: Grill on the BBQ until internal temperature of 140F internal temperature. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

For the oven: Preheat oven to 425F. Sear the medallions on both sides on the stove-top in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Transfer to an oven-safe skillet or pan and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, turning the medallion over once about halfway through cooking, or until 140F internal temperature.

Remove skewers from meat. Serve with a dollop of feta pate on top of pork.

Recipe Notes

If you'd like to serve with potatoes, as shown in the recipe photos, simply dice up some potatoes and onion and toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring often, until tender and lightly golden.

  Source: https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/bacon-wrapped-pork-medallions-with-feta-pate/

[appletable80-blog]

A Magazine Feature - What fun to be included in this premier issue of OUR TABLE from Where Women Cook!

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I am honored to have several recipes included in the premier issue of the gorgeous magazine, Our Table. It's a special autumn issue of Where Women Cook. An abundance of fabulous recipes from 16 accomplished chefs and bloggers fill the 160 pages along with beautiful photography and heartwarming stories. Each article is a celebration of the ingredients and traditions of the season. The magazine is available on newsstands in the U.S. and Canada through the end of November. (Barnes and Noble is a good source. I've also seen them at Costco.) Better yet, consider a subscription to this stunning magazine. It's like no other out there. Each issue is a work of art. Seriously!  SUBSCRIBE HERE

On page 143, you'll find an article about me, my blog, and the important role of food and tradition in my family life, along with a few favorite recipes.

My easy, Make-Ahead Sticky Buns recipe is included. I've been making these for every holiday breakfast for 38 years. Now that's a tradition!

Another family favorite is Grandma Marie's Molasses Cookies. My mother-in-law always had these in a cookie jar for her grandkids to raid when they visited. My nieces Michelle and Melissa rediscovered this recipe after Marie passed away. Thanks to them, her cookie tradition lives on.

My mother, Grammy Pat, created a granola recipe many years ago that became a staple in her kitchen. It's great for snacking or as a topping for yogurt. Now affectionately known as Grammy's Granola, Mom often gave jars of this granola as gifts when she visited neighbors; now I do the same. It makes a great homemade holiday gift for teachers, co-workers, neighbors, and party hosts.

Recipes galore! The magazine includes so many amazing autumn recipes from other chefs and bloggers. Here are a few on my "must make" list:

Apple Cider Cake

Three-Ingredient Tomato Sauce

Paleo Crock-Pot Sweet Potato Chili

Skillet Baked Apples

Garlic Cheese Buns

Lemon Butter Brussel Sprouts

Browned Butter Roasted Carrots

Cream Black Bean and Roasted Poblano Soup

Simple Fig Jam

Baked Pears

Cheddar Waffles

Butternut Squash Soup

And many, many more!!!

Watch me flip through the stunning pages of the magazine:

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A big shout out of thanks to my friend Sheri of The Loopy Ewe for introducing me to the magazine's creator and editor-in-chief, Jo Packman. And, thanks to Jo for reaching out and choosing to include me in this beautiful magazine. It's been a thrill!

Make it a Yummy day!

Source: https://www.theyummylife.com/Magazine_Where_Women_Cook

[appletable80-blog]

A Stop at The Dolar Shop, Haymarket

The Dolar Shop is not a discount variety shop, rather it is the latest outpost from the Chinese Macanese hot pot eatery chain. Located in the 1909 dining precinct of Market City it offers people a large hot pot menu with 6 soup bases and a range of items to dip into the pots.

The response came fast from Mr NQN after I sent him the calendar invitation. "Why are we going to a dollar store for my birthday dinner with your parents?" he asked. The name does suggest otherwise but the sleek, glam booths of the month old Chinese hot pot restaurant belie this. The Dolar Shop service is very friendly and sweet from the all female service team - not words usually used to describe service at Chinese restaurants (curt or perfunctory comes to mind). You can also book here.

There is a list of three warning tips for diners: be careful of high heat from broths, be careful of ball shaped items (!!) due to heat build up in the centre and please inform your waiter of any allergies, consuming raw or undercooked food may increase your risk of food borne illness. The ball one is a new one to me!

Although it says Chinese Macanese, there aren't any Macanese dishes and it seems more Sichuan hot pot than anything else. We choose one soup base per person: for my chilli phobic father it's the mild chicken consommé with carrot, leek, celery, onion, potato and lemon. For Mr NQN it is the tomato and oxtail broth with tomato relish, beef oxtail, green onion and wedges of tomato. For me I have the pork leg bone broth with green onion, bamboo shoot and bean curd strips while my mother has a combination with spare rib broth and a Szechuan hot and spicy broth in medium heat.

Snacks and drinks for people waiting

They suggest that we order the soups first as they take some time to heat up and then place our order for the meats, seafood and vegetables. These are sliced and served from the kitchen and from the centre open kitchen area.

You've got to love a menu broken into sections like "Balls" "Broth" Asia's Favourite" "Fungi" and "Starch". All of the items with an award symbol are recommended dishes. "Do you really want three starches?" they ask and I nod yes but refrain from extolling my love for carbs, carbs and more carbs.

We try each other's broths and they're all very distinct although the Szechuan hot and spicy and pork spare rib broth is the favourite while the tomato and oxtail is surprisingly good. The chicken is true to form and soothing while the pork is probably my least favourite in that it is so mild but indistinct. During the night they top up the bowls with more broth.

While we are waiting, my mother and I go up to get sauces while we leave my father and Mr NQN to catch up on the gossip. Just kidding, I'm pretty sure that my hard of hearing father and shy husband just sat there in amiable silence nodding at each other occasionally taking sips of water.

The condiment station has a slogan that reads, "The most exciting and comprehensive sauce bar to hot pot that you have ever seen" and I read this with a Trump voice in my head (try it, it's scary). You also have to pay $3 extra per person to have the sauces but sauce is life for me and it also comes with watermelon and honeydew melon cubes, a gingery kim chi, peanuts and an odd sort of couscous, corn, pea and carrot salad.

We take a few of the sauces including a peanut sauce, sesame sauce, XO sauce, chilli sauce, chive sauce, mushroom sauce, garlic, peanuts, shallots and they come up to us at the table and offer some of the Dolar Shop's sauce mixture with green onion, garlic, coriander and chilli with soy sauce.

The Dolar Shop Banana Egg Pancake $11.90

The egg pancakes are best eaten hot and they're like a banana and egg roti. I like them dipped in the peanut sauce but I wished they were hotter as they were just warm by the time they reached us. Everyone else seemed to really like them though.

The shrimp pâté comes out as a large ball of minced prawns with water chestnut and celery. They help us by taking a long spoon to this and depositing some spoonfuls of this into each of our hot pots. It's very good-fresh and flavoursome especially with the mushroom sauce and chilli sauce.

The Dolar Shop Shrimp Pâté $16.90 (front), Veggie Basket $17.90 and sweet potato pappardelle $5.90 (right)

Which brings me to two other favourite items. Now a huge bowl of salad doesn't usually excite many people but I loved having all of these vegetables on hand because sometimes hot pot feels too meat heavy. This is a lot of vegetables, even for four people and they do take a while to cook but it's nice to follow the meat with something healthy. In the basket are a napa cabbage, lettuce, watercress, spinach, tong ho and purple lettuce. They're all mild greens that cook up well without going slimy.

The sweet potato pappardelle was another item that I really liked. I think it is sweet potato mixed with a flour to form a pasta style dough that cooks super quickly in the pot. It has a slightly springy texture like rice flour and it slippery and full of carby goodness.

Selected platter $19.90

we also tried the signature shrimp balls, fish roe balls, cuttlefish balls, cheesy beef balls and beef balls. It's not so much a platter but more a plate with 11 balls on it and so not everyone got to try everything although the fish roe balls were a favourite. You're probably better off ordering them separately if there are more than two of you.

M6+ Wagyu Boneless Short Ribs $32.90 for 150g

We ordered two types of meat, the first was the wagyu boneless short rib slices, paper thin and served over ice. They're fast to cook and wonderful dipped in the sauces of your choice.

Kurobuta Pork $12.90

We also loved the pork which really melted in the mouth and cooked quickly too.

Hand crafted noodles $5.90

The noodles come in three bundles and they're fine but they do make your soup a bit cloudy. Honestly I preferred the sweet potato pappardelle because it was much more interesting and had a better texture.

Shrimp won ton $9.90

Another delicious morsel are the shrimp and pork won tons. These are particularly good dunked in the chilli sauce.

There's no dessert (although perplexingly there is a picture of a soft serve on the menu) but we are full to the brim. The birthday boy Mr NQN happily eats his fill of watermelon and honeydew which they have brought to the table.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like hot pot? Which broth would you have chosen? And are you cautious of hot ball shaped items?

This meal was independently paid for.

1909 Dining Precinct level 3 Market City 9-13 Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000 Open 7 day 11am–10pm Phone: (02) 9281 2617 Free parking if you enter the car park after 6pm

Source: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2018/10/03/the-dolar-shop-haymarket/

[appletable80-blog]

Checking in on the LA Food Scene

This post originally appeared on April 27, 2019, in Amanda Kludt’s newsletter “From the Editor,” a roundup of the most vital news and stories in the food world each week. Read the archives and subscribe now.

Last week I went out to LA and managed to fit in some good eating. Some notes from the road:

I would like to pretend I’m more sophisticated than this, but chef Mei Lin’s tom yum onion (a play on the Bloomin’ Onion) has haunted me ever since I saw it on Instagram. I had to try it. I did try it. And it was so much better than the original that inspired it.

That said, my biggest takeaway from Lin’s restaurant, Nightshade, is that Max Boonthanakit, just named an Eater Young Gun, is putting out the most innovative and delicious desserts I’ve had in a while. If you find yourself nearby, I highly recommend stopping by for his guava, cream cheese, and white chocolate trompe l’oeil (innovative!) and coconut mousse with lime coconut granita (most delicious).

I would eat this Sonoratown chimichanga every day of my life if I could.

The Row development is pretty nuts. It’s a giant collection of warehouses close to Skid Row (one of the largest encampments of homeless individuals in the U.S.) and the Arts District downtown that developers are trying to turn into a destination with restaurants, retail, gyms, spas, and office space. I visited the 45,000-square-foot (!) Tartine/Chris Bianco compound called the Manufactory, which includes a roastery, commissary, market, casual cafe, and dinner-only Italian restaurant. On the Tuesday night we went, the whole place felt like an eerie ghost town. That’s allegedly the vibe on most days and nights, with the exception of Sundays, when hundreds of people flood the complex to visit Smorgasburg there.

The Chris Bianco-Tartine partnership unfortunately doesn’t feature his famous pizza — it has some flatbreads in the cafe — but the food at its Alameda Supper Club is pretty solid. Get the bread and butter and his crab spaghetti if you go.

Spoon By H is everything that everyone hyped it up to be.

I got to be one of the first paying customers at the Firehouse Hotel, a stylish, new nine-room spot in the Arts District. I didn’t get the chance to try the food, but I would be down to throw an event by the backyard fire pit.

Get to Fiona and get a fruit pie.

Porridge and Puffs has this miso caramel mochi thing that just blew my mind. The porridge is also wonderful.

Porridge from Porridge + Puffs

Amanda Kludt

Not a food thing, but one stray thought: does LA make you into a worse Lyft rider? Anywhere else I would never take a meeting, listen to a podcast, or eat a scone in a ride share, and I did all of those things — constantly and sometimes all at once — in LA because I had to spend so much time in a car on this trip. Who knew LA could turn a New Yorker into an even worse person?

Opening of the Week: Dear John’s

Wonho Frank Lee

This is one of my favorite restaurant stories of the year, and I keep seeing it pop up at the top of Eater LA’s traffic reports, so I feel like Angelenos must be into it too.

Basically, two major LA players — Josiah Citrin and Hans Rockenwagner — are reviving a classic Culver City martini bar and steakhouse called Dear John’s. The twist here is a developer is going to knock down the building in April 2021, so there’s a built-in expiration date. I love that they are giving the old gal the swan song she deserves. And also, I figure it must be compelling to enter a project knowing you don’t have to sustain a long-term business.

On Eater

Intel: Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar is suing an operation in Chicago that seems to be ripping off both Tosi and Black Tap in one fell swoop; McDonald’s will roll out some of its international items to U.S. locations this summer; Seattle empire builder Renee Erickson opened her newest spot, Bistro Shirlee; a bar that looks like it was designed by Lisa Frank opened in Philly; following the backlash against credit card-only businesses, Sweetgreen accepts cash again; Brooklyn’s Five Leaves opened an outpost in Los Angeles, and it looks better than the original; Olmsted’s Greg Baxtrom opened a casual follow-up restaurant called Maison Yaki in Brooklyn; high-end Italian restaurant chain, and subject of many lawsuits, Scarpetta is expanding to London; Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s 7,300-square-foot seafood restaurant the Fulton AND his JFK restaurant in the old TWA terminal building both open in New York next month; Houston don Bobby Heugel and star chef Justin Yu opened their pretty new venture, Squable, this week; all three restaurants going into a new Chicago food hall are black-owned; the Standard hotel group announced the dining and drinking operations for their first London outpost; the Michelin Guide reached out to over 100 California restaurants on Instagram to get photo rights ahead of their big California guide announcement in June; Gotham Bar & Grill’s Alfred Portale will open his first restaurant in 34 years; lauded New Orleans sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf has a new restaurant in the works; the people behind one of London’s best restaurants will open a follow-up ”inspired by the buvettes of Paris and the pintxos bars in San Sebastián”; Momofuku’s new CEO is 29 and from the Zabar family; and Stephen Starr will open a restaurant in a new photography museum in Manhattan this fall.

Why you’re seeing blowfish tails everywhere.

NYC’s 12 top restaurants serving the underrated food of Puebla.

A look inside Houston’s very pretty restaurant Vibrant. Have we hit peak terrazo or is this just the start?

We might not have to worry about the Game of Thrones dragons and their loss of appetite.

Review: Brooklyn’s coolest new bar that also happens to have a good chicken sandwich, the Fly.

Please welcome a whole new slew of writers and editors to Eater: Madeleine Davies, Jaya Saxena, Jenny G. Zhang, and Osayi Endolyn.

What does it say when people stan their local grocery stores?

Watch: Lucas Peterson explores the significance and history of rice in a new Eater mini-series, Rooted. Episode 1: Farming, cultivating, selling rice at Koda Farms in California. Episode 2: How Anson Mills saved ancient grains of rice from extinction. Episode 3: Gullah legend Mrs. Emily Meggertt explains the importance of her traditional rice dishes.

Finally, let’s all remember that the World’s Best Female Chef Award (brought to you by people behind the eurocentric and male-dominated World’s 50 Best List) is absurdly sexist.

Off Eater

From the Editor

Editor-in-chief Amanda Kludt’s favorite food news and stories from Eater and beyond each week

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy.

Source: https://www.eater.com/2019/4/29/18522817/from-the-editor-notes-from-la

[appletable80-blog]

Turntable Kitchen’s Guide To The Best Record Players & Turntables

Several years ago, we put together a post about how to select the perfect turntable for your home. This was based on my own personal experience, hours and hours of online research, and even more time visiting hi-fi shops and experimenting with different turntables and setups.

We did make a recommendation for our favorite turntable at the time but what I’ve come to realize in the years since is that there is no one size fits all “best turntable” to satisfy all budgets and all consumers. Different people want different features and, obviously, different people have different budgets.

For that reason, we’ve decided to revisit that theme in a more comprehensive way to highlight what we believe are the best record players based on numerous criteria. In order to come up with our categories I’ve taken in mind the most common requests that I’ve seen over the years and used that to create our categories: Best High End Record Player, Best Record Player For Under $500, Best Record Player For Under $100, and Best Record Player Under $100 With Built In Speakers.

In making our selections, we’ve considered 50 total turntables. That list includes specific turntables I’ve been asked about, the turntables that we own in our home, and numerous turntables that I’ve experimented with directly. If you’re wondering, we have no less than seven permanent turntables in our home. Three of them are used weekly or better and have each been used for hundreds of hours of, ahem, “testing.”

In addition to testing each of these turntables ourselves, we’ve read dozens of other sites’ recommendations and reviews (The Wirecutter, What Hi-Fi?, Tech Radar, and actual customer reviews on Amazon) taking all of that feedback into account when preparing our own recommendations. My goal is to save you time by doing the research for you.

As a side note, if you’re wondering, we currently have a Pro-Ject Classic SB turntable set up in our living room (this is my favorite turntable I’ve ever owned/listened to). We have a Gramovox Floating Record Player set up in our bedroom (we use this one when listening to records quietly after putting the kids to bed). And we have a U-Turn Orbit Special set up in our media room (a.k.a. my office) that I use during the day while working. We also have a Crosley Executive and ION Max that we use for events and for when we want something portable.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that for our guide we use the terms record player and turntable interchangeably in the post. I think most people use the words interchangeably as well although, technically, I believe the difference is that a record player is typically thought of as a standalone unit (plug and play) whereas a turntable is often a component in a larger home audio system.

Best High End Turntable / Record Player

Our Top Choice: Pro-Ject The Classic SB Turntable ($1499)

This one was easy for me. The Classic SB is one of the cleanest, clearest, highest-performing record players I’ve ever listened to. Period. And, from a visual perspective, I absolutely love the beautiful wooden base. It’s available in your choice of Eucalytpus, Rosewood or Walnut . Style matters, and this one absolutely hits the mark for my taste.

More importantly, it’ll make your records sing like never before. It offers crisp, clean sound separation (i.e. instruments all sound crisp and distinct from one another) and offers exceptional performance whether you’re listening to Spoon’s Gimme Fiction, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN., James Blakes’ self-titled, or Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain.

A few features worth highlighting, aside from the wooden base, include the Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 cartridge, electronic speed control, a Leather It mat, and an included Clamp It. The bottom line? I’ve listened to many high end turntables with significantly higher price tags that can’t beat The Classic SB. As Steve C. explained in a comment on Music Direct, “It’s a beautiful turntable and the sound is exquisite. Pro-Ject has taken the award-winning Classic and added so many features that I don’t know how it can be sold for $1,500.”

If you can live without some of the frills (such as the electronic speed control, Sumiko cartridge, leather mat, etc) the standard edition of the Pro-Ject Classic is available for $400 less ($1099). If you can afford the extra cash though, the upgraded cartridge and electronic speed control alone are worth the money.

Get our recommendation, the Pro-Ject Classic SB, from Amazon.

Runner Up: Clearaudio Concept ($1800) 

The Clearaudio Concept is an absolute monster of a turntable. The sound production and performance are every bit the equal to The Pro-Ject Classic SB.

So why is this the runner up? Three reasons. First, I personally prefer the wood base of the Classic to the more modern style of the Concept. Second, the Concept is $300 more but didn’t provide a significantly better listening experience in my tests. Finally, I’ve read a great many reports to suggest that the magnetic bearing arm is very susceptible to footfall and skipping problems. Basically, this means that if you have wood floors, for example, the vibrations from walking in the vicinity of the turntable can cause it to skip. To get around this you’ll need a wall mount or concrete base. Any turntable is susceptible these issues but the Concept appears to be a little more susceptible than most.

Still, if you have the money to spend and prefer the aesthetic, it’s a beautiful sounding turntable. This review from Joe A. on Needledoctor pretty much sums it up, “It’s dead silent in operation, has a clear, agile sound that seems to pick the details right out of the mix without sounding thin or bright. One point to keep in mind when setting up the ‘table (and this may be due to the magnetic bearing arm) is that it is most definitely sensitive to footfalls.”

Get the Clearaudio Concept now from Amazon.

Best Record Players / Turntables For Under $500

Option 1: U-Turn Orbit Plus / U-Turn Orbit Special ($479)

I absolutely love the U-Turn Orbit. As noted above, it’s the turntable I use in my office and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a turntable in this price range. From a design perspective, I love the solid wood plinth and acrylic platter of the Special. More importantly, from an audio perspective, it’s a total champ. As Donald S. explained in a comment on Amazon, “There is zero motor noise, cartridge sounds clear, and this heavy platter has no resonance or feedback, even with very loud bass drum passages (Rush). It also looks beautifully made.”

My only gripe is that the belt does get stretched out easily if you move the belt by hand at all and you need to move the belt regularly if you go back and forth between 33rpm and 45rpm records. Aside from that, this turntable looks great and sounds great. And I’m happy to heartily recommend it to anyone.

Get the U-Turn Orbit Special from Amazon.

Option 2: Pro-Ject Debut Turntable ($399) 

The Debut line was our own entryway into audiophile turntables and it’s a widely loved deck. I’d rate the audio performance as slightly inferior to the U-Turn Orbit Special but if you add on a couple of optional upgrades such as an acrylic platter, Pro-Ject Speed Box, and so forth, it’s pretty much on par (or, arguably, better) than the U-Turn. After more than 8 years with my Pro-Ject I can also say I’ve not had the same issues with the belt that I’ve experienced with my U-Turn.

Thus, the Pro-Ject is a great option if you’d rather save a little money up front and then upgrade some of your components over time. Unless you pick up the Speed Box, you’ll still have to move the belt to switch between the 33rpm and 45rpm, but I’ve found that the belt packaged with the Debut maintains it’s elasticity much better. In a review on Amazon, GB says, “This turntable presents an unbeatable value for any audiophile. Sure, this is an entry-level piece, but you will be amazed how clear and crisp those records will sound.”

Get the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon from Amazon.

Best Turntable / Record Player For Under $100

Winner: Audio-Technica AT-LP60 ($99) 

What I like about the Audio-Technica is that it’s fully automatic and includes a switchable phono pre-amplifier. That built-in pre-amp means that, along with a pair of speakers, it’s ready to go straight out of the box. What’s better though is that it’s still compatible with higher end equipment since you can switch the pre-amp off if you have a nicer piece of gear to use instead.

The sound quality is also very impressive for a turntable in this price range which is more than enough to satisfy many listeners. Yes, it’s not nearly as impressive as the Pro-Ject Debut or U-Turn Orbit in terms of sound quality, but it’s much cheaper.

Here’s a summary from Amazon reviewer Scolfaro, “All I can say is wow. Super clean, full sound from the preamp in the unit, very good signal to noise ratio (barely audible hissing and crackling between tracks, not really perceivable when there’s any kind of music going on). Let’s see if it runs this well over time, so far I’m very impressed.”

Get the Audio Technica ATLP-60 from Amazon for $99.

Best Budget Turntable / Record Player Under $100 with Built In Speakers

Let me preface this by saying I’m not aware of any turntable by any manufacturer with high performing built-in speakers. You’re just not going to get audiophile sound out of a built-in speaker (unless you’re looking at $3k+ pieces).

There are a few turntables with built-in speakers (the Gramovox Floating Record Player comes to mind) that are more than a couple of steps above your laptop’s speakers but even then I’d highly recommend getting a pair of good bookshelf speakers at a minimum to get the best experience. So I’ll preface this section by saying this: if you’re really looking for a hi-fi experience, your best option on a budget is to start with the best pair of book shelf speakers you can afford and a budget turntable with a built-in preamp to go with them. You can always upgrade to a nicer turntable down the road.

With that said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a inexpensive turntable that is plug-n-play with built-in-speakers just for casually listening to your favorite records. In fact, for quite a few people I’ve spoken with over the years – this is the best option for them. In addition to the turntables we’ve mentioned above, we also own both a Crosley Executive and an ION Max and we use them both. Which is the best option for you really depends on your taste.

Option 1: Crosley Executive ($79.99) 

One of the things I really like about the Crosley Executive Portable Turntable with Bluetooth is how portable it is. You can bring it with you anywhere you have a power outlet or battery pack.

We’ve brought it out to the backyard so we can play records while grilling out and also to Turntable Kitchen events when showcasing our own releases. The faux-leather exterior is quite handsome and the speakers are better than you’d expect for such a reasonably priced unit. Plus, thanks to the built-in Bluetooth, you can always pair it with any Bluetooth speaker if you want to step up your game.

Amazon reviewer angeredmanatee says, “As someone who has spent months searching for a cool record player and didn’t want to fish out the big bucks this is a definitely worth the money!”

You can grab the Crosley Executive turntable from Amazon.

Option 2: ION Max ($78.02) 

We also have an ION Max in our home and it’s been the budget turntable of choice from several of our friends. What we like about it is the “natural wood finish” and overall stylish design.

It’s less portable than the Crosley Executive and lacks the Bluetooth feature, however, the built-in speakers offer better sound quality and it’s arguably the better turntable (bonus features aside). Even better it’s also available in a glossy piano black color that’s also quite nice but, more importantly, is available for a mere $44.99 from Amazon at the time of writing. That’s by far the best deal I’ve seen on a budget turntable making this an easy recommendation for someone on a budget.

As Amazon reviewer Kells explains, “I love this turntable  . . . I wanted something simple, plug it in, turn it on and not have to deal with speakers or a receiver. This one fit the bill.”

You can grab the ION Max from Amazon.

Tips For Selecting Your Own Turntable

Not interested in any of the ones I recommended above?  Maybe you just want to hit eBay to buy a vintage turntable. No worries, here are some tips to help you select your own. Note: This section originally appeared (with some small edits) in our original turntable guide.

Belt-drive vs. Direct-drive

I recommend belt-drive turntables particularly for beginners. If you aren’t a DJ, the advantages of direct-drive turntables are insignificant, but there are disadvantages – especially if you aren’t ready to dive into the high-end market (and even then, I generally recommend belt-driven turntables).

This is because direct-drive turntables can transmit noise from the motor and bearing to the stylus, which means the sound produced isn’t as clean as it could be.  Many direct-drive turntables also can have issues related to speed that cause pitch variations in playback (a.k.a. wow and flutter). Conversely, the belt on a belt-driven turntable absorbs vibrations that may otherwise be picked up by the stylus.

I’m not arguing that direct-drive turntables are bad! They’re not. It’s just that the technology is often more expensive meaning you’re going to pay more for the same quality of sound production. However if you’re buying a vintage piece or find a deal then by all means go with the direct drive turntable.

Built-in amplifiers

First, let me say that I have no intention of getting deep into a discussion of preamps, integrated preamps, and amplifiers.  There is a lot to cover on the topic, and I want to keep this about selecting a turntable.  However, when selecting a turntable, you’ll need to decide whether you want to purchase a turntable with a built in preamp or not.

I’m going to try to keep this as straightforward as possible, which means I’m glossing over a lot of stuff here. With that said, here is the basic gist of it: without a preamp, the output from your turntable won’t be loud enough to be picked up through normal stereo equipment/speakers.

Personally, I don’t like turntables with built-in amplifiers and I’d rather buy my own.  With a built-in preamp you are stuck with the quality of the preamp built-in to the turntable, which probably isn’t very good.  Audiophile equipment generally won’t include that option anyway. However, buying a turntable with a built-in preamp saves you the cost of having to buy a separate preamp.

Thus, the bottom line is this: if you are on a tight budget, go with a turntable with a built-in preamp; if you are going middle of the road on a system you can improve over time, I’d recommend buying a separate integrated amp (combines the preamp and amplifier)(hint: you may find cheap “vintage” equipment on eBay to get you started); and if you are looking to build the perfect system you’ll probably want to go with a separate preamp, amplifier, turntable, and phono-in.  As I mentioned above, I started my system with a Cambridge Audio Azur 340A integrated pre-amp, a Cambridge Audio phono-in, and a pair of PSB speakers.

If you’re looking for preamps, speakers, or phono stages check out this older guide we’d prepared about building a turntable stereo system with some still relevant recommendations: https://www.turntablekitchen.com/2014/10/turntable-kitchens-top-6-recommended-turntable-systems/

Source: https://www.turntablekitchen.com/2018/09/best-record-players-turntables/

[appletable80-blog]

Food Shirts, Cheese Knives, and More Things to Buy This Week

This post originally appeared on February 12, 2019, in “Add to Cart” — the weekly newsletter for people who love shopping (almost) as much as they love eating. Subscribe now.

“I could make that” is a sentence I frequently hear while dining out (usually uttered by my fiance, whose confidence in his own culinary abilities is inspiring, if occasionally overstated). “I mean, the ingredients are all right here!”

Yes, most restaurant menus list out several ingredients for a dish, making it clear to diners that their mackerel is coated in lime and peppercorns or that the risotto includes smoked eel and mushrooms. But actually making one of those dishes involves a lot more than raw ingredients; it includes technique, precision, intuition, and sometimes — unfortunately for the ambitious home cook — expensive tools.

Case in point is the piece we published today on making falafel. Mashing together spices and chickpeas isn’t itself super challenging; but when it comes to equipment, Einat Admony of NYC favorite Taim uses a pricey professional Hobart meat grinder, while Caitlin McMillan of Goldie (aka purveyor of arguably the best falafel in Philadelphia) uses a big falafel machine that will set you back $3,200. Which, realistically, you will never own! And that’s okay! There’s magic that happens at restaurants, an alchemy of professional skill, creativity, and yes, professional-grade tools, that make it oh so worth it to dine out.

That doesn’t mean I don’t plan on attempting my own falafel (especially since there are cheaper tools out there). But there’s also something nice about taking a bite, sitting back, and being able to say, “I couldn’t make that.”

Things to buy

Even with the rise of cheese plate influencers (!), most cheese knife sets still consist of three squat, not-so-sharp blades that are poor matches for a cheese plate favorite: brie. And if this week’s episode of How to Make It taught me anything, it’s that soft cheese requires a long, thin, super-sharp Brie knife. Boska Holland’s Brie knife is a favorite, with a steel or chic wooden handle; buy it on its own or, miraculously, as part of this set.

Despite all the chatter about viral recipes, I still have not made #TheCookies. But I have discovered a local store-bought cookie that manages to compare on a few fronts: Whiskey and Rye Chocolate Chip cookies by Jane Bakes are dense and buttery, boast big chocolate chunks and salt flakes, and have squared-off edges to boot. Nothing can match the homemade thing, but my lazy self prefers to buy than bake.

A less-lazy purchase is the KeepCup, the reusable coffee cup profiled on Eater last week. The petite glass is more attractive than any “travel mug” I’ve ever owned, meaning there’s a chance I’ll actually remember to take it with me and use it on a regular basis.

Things to know

There’s nothing better than great restaurant merch, whether it’s a cheap screen-printed tee from a local diner or a piece of bona fide streetwear. For inspiration slash envy, the account @FoodShirtFriday (which, full disclosure, is co-run by Eater’s Patty Diez and former Vox Media staffer David Yee) curates excellent food shirts — you guessed it — every Friday.

If you’ve been in the market for a new water bottle, this very extensive Twitter thread is a great place to start. Relatedly: To stay on top of products and trends, follow lifestyle reporters directly on Twitter. Before they write, they usually tweet.

A growing fixation of mine and of the cookware world: Teflon. The synthetic black material that’s synonymous with nonstick is falling out of vogue, as cookware upstarts cite it as harmful to the environment and human health. It doesn’t help that it’s not super pretty. Great Jones and GreenPan (which has a Goop collab, FYI) both use ceramic coatings on their nonstick (and very attractive) frying pans, and now I’m itching to ditch all of my black-bottomed cookware...

Add to Cart

Shopping intel and product picks for food lovers

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Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

Source: https://www.eater.com/2019/2/12/18222287/eater-shopping-newsletter-product-recommendations-weekly

[appletable80-blog]

Food Styling, Photography & Cooking Workshop In Charleston SC, May 16th-20th 2016

Super happy to announce that I will be teaming up with Chef John Ondo for a food styling, photography & cooking workshop in Charleston SC, in a beautiful beach home located on the Isle of Palms, May 16th-20th 2016. The 3 day workshop will be geared toward food, prop styling, photography, cooking demos and lots of hands on practice.

I will focus on my photo, composition and styling processes, from basics natural light manipulations to more advanced ones. Cooking sessions with Chef Ondo will punctuate the mornings and afternoons where he will share his love of Mediterranean cuisine and creativity cooking with locally sourced ingredients.

Together, we will guide you to create an edible narrative with your photos, and share current food styling and propping trends, etc... Nothing is off limits with questions, from how to pick ingredients, how to cook them, how to manage your cooking/photo time efficiently, knowing about photography for blogging or professional work, cooking for photography, photo as a hobby or how to get started in the business.

All this right by the ocean.

  The workshop will start by a casual meet & greet at the beach home, followed by dinner prepared by Chef Ondo. Three days of photography and cooking follow.

Attendees will have a morning free to wander about Charleston get some personal work done or just chill. A trip to the docks to get fresh fish and a visit to a favorite antique store are also on the itinerary. 

The workshop includes:

3 days of photography, composition, food styling and cooking sessions

4 nights accommodations 

One on one photo sessions with Helene

Cooking demos with Chef Ondo

Breakfasts, lunches and dinners

Refreshments and snacks

Most rooms are shared - there is opportunity for single rooms on a first sign up basis

To register, please go HERE.

Workshop is limited to 8 people.

Fee is $1850 (does not include travel fares to and from workshop)

There will be no refunds for this workshop – please know you can attend before registering. Full payment due at time of registration, no deposit required.

  Source: http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2016/03/food-styling-photography-cooking.html

[appletable80-blog]

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Great Value Danish Butter Cookie Flavored Coffee Creamer

It never occurred to me that this could be something in my life. But now that I know it exists, I want it in my life. I want it in my coffee. (Spotted by Kayla L at Walmart.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

Here are a few posts that might interest you:

Source: https://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2018/10/11/spotted-on-shelves-great-value-danish-butter-cookie-flavored-coffee-creamer/

[appletable80-blog]

Happy Holidays to You!

I write this post every year as a virtual holiday card to all my readers. Isn’t it ecologically correct? No tree was harmed for the creation of this card.

I started off wanting to share my favorite part of the holidays and then I realized that I was creating a Hallmark version of what can be a very challenging part of the year.

This is my fireplace and I decorate my mantle to celebrate. I call it my “shrine to Santa”.

It is very New England, isn’t it? We use a wood stove to heat our house - approved by the EPA (ecologically correct). I got most of the decorations at various tag sales and I inserted some fun photos of my children at different ages sitting on the laps of mall Santas.

I absolutely love the fun of the holidays - such as cookies, parties, presents, and listening for hoof beats on the roof.

But, I would not say that my holiday looks anything like a Hallmark card. It gets absolutely nuts around here.

When I saw this - I laughed so hard that I couldn’t speak:

There is so much truth in this parody of a family’s Christmas. There are moments when Christmas is fun and moments when it is torture.

One year, when my son was 3, Santa brought him a ceramic piggy bank. He picked it up to look at it, it slipped from his hands and shattered all over absolutely everything. He just stood there screaming and crying while his parents rushed around ensuring all the pieces were off the floor and some unwrapped presents.

Way to go, Santa!

This is just one tiny example of a holiday moment gone wrong. I don’t want to go on about the mess we create when we set unattainable expectations. I suppose I should be grateful we didn’t end up at the hospital with piggy shards sticking out of a foot.

Here is my favorite ornament on my tree right now. I bought it at my local church’s holiday fair.

Isn’t he cute?

I love how his face is hidden behind his beard.

If you can grasp onto the fun of the holidays and accept that things can go very wrong - you are doing well.

My wish for you is many moments of fun and not too many of torture during this holiday season. Here's to that!

Lots of LOVE, PEACE, and LAUGHTER to you and yours,

Lisa (AKA Snack Girl)

Source: https://snack-girl.com/snack/happy-holidays-you/

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SIBO Made Simple: My New Podcast is HERE!

It’s here, it’s here!

After 6 months of hard work in the background, my new podcast has finally hit airwaves with its first three episodes.

If you’re not familiar with the premise of SIBO Made Simple (or don’t even know what the acronym means), I’d highly recommend listening to the trailer here.

About a year ago, after succumbing once again to some pesky gut symptoms, The Wellness Project 2.0 found me: Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth. After my diagnosis, I spent the following 12 months going down the SIBO rabbit hole.

What I discovered was a mountain of options, many of which contradicted one another. As I researched, I curated and I synthesized. And as always, I shared my findings with you all here on Feed Me Phoebe. The response was instantaneous and overwhelming.

After receiving hundreds of your emails, comments and messages, I decided to start this podcast as a new way to help you build your SIBO self-care toolkit. My goal is to give you a clear picture of how to choose your own SIBO adventure without it feeling like a complete, social-life-killing drag. And enlist the help of incredible experts to help answer some of your biggest SIBO questions.

The first three episodes that went live today feature some incredible SIBO Amigos and take us through many important pieces of the puzzle.

In episode 1, I interview the Queen of SIBO, Dr. Allison Siebecker. If you’ve fallen down the same rabbit hole as myself, you’re likely already familiar with Dr. Siebecker’s work and her fabulous website, siboinfo.com. In our conversation, we cover a TON of ground. It’s just the kind of episode I was hoping to offer someone who was recently diagnosed and not sure what to do next.

You’ll learn what the connection is between SIBO and IBS, how to tell if you have SIBO or another type of overgrowth, the main underlying causes, how to choose the right breath test and type of treatment, and how diet factors into all this.

Listen to Episode 1: Root Causes, Testing & The IBS Connection with Dr. Allison Siebecker

In episode 2, we move onto some of the 2.0 elements of treating SIBO naturally with your whole microbiome in mind. Of all the posts I’ve written on SIBO so far, the topic of natural treatments has by far been the most commented on and shared. To help flesh out the options further, I turned to Dr. Will Cole, who is an all-around holistic medical wiz.

If you’re confused by the various treatment options out there, this episode is a must-listen. We talk about whether you should take probiotics while using herbs to kill your SIBO, biofilm and how to fight it, die-off symptoms  and how to know if this is what you’re experiencing versus an intolerance of something in your treatment, what supplements to take to prevent relapse and so much more.

Listen to Episode 2: How to Treat SIBO Naturally with Dr. Will Cole

The third episode is one that’s near and dear to my heart–also, one that I think should be a prerequisite for anyone with Hashimoto’s or hormonal imbalance. Dr. Jolene Brighten really knows how to make all the various connections and motherboard adjustments that need to be made, a lot more simple. So I am THRILLED to have her on the show to talk about the thyroid-gut connection.

We go over how hormonal birth control leads to leaky gut, the issue with women and stress/self-care and why that makes women more prone to gut issues, how insufficient thyroid hormones contribute to the risk of food poisoning, and how a SIBO diet dovetails with a diet to support your thyroid.

Listen to Episode 3: The Thyroid Thread & What Women Need to Know About SIBO with Dr. Jolene Brighten

In addition to listening to these first three episodes, here are some more ways to get involved in the new SIBO Made Simple community:

Share the show with friends–especially those who have their own gut baggage or hormone issues. I can’t tell you how many people have written me to say they’d never heard of SIBO, but after reading my posts, decided to get tested. It’s a real answer in the darkness for many people, and my only hope is that this show helps grow awareness for this complicated condition.

Subscribe! You can find the podcast on your favorite podcasting stations here: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play.

Rate and Review: Especially on iTunes, the number of reviews you get can make or break a new podcast in the first few weeks. I would be honored and so appreciative if you could take a minute to leave a sentence about the show or my work here.

Join the community! Since I pre-recorded the whole season this past fall, I wanted to make sure there was a way to have a conversation in real time. That’s why I created this closed facebook group. More importantly, I’ll be doing a special bonus episode at the end of the season called Ask a Doctor. In it, I’ll have past experts answer all of your questions throughout the season. Simply leave them in the facebook group or comment below as they come up.

Sign-up for the FREE transcripts! To make it easier for you to follow along and take notes to discuss with your health team, subscribers to the Feed Me Phoebe newsletter will also receive free copies of the transcript for every episode! Sign-up below.

Click here to download a free e-book + transcript of the episode

A huge thank you to everyone here who has supported each and every new venture of mine. Of course, any time I try a new skill and put the project out in the world, it fills my tummy with anxious butterflies (even more than there are already!). But I mean it when I say: this one is for YOU. Being able to put this information out into the world really helps turn my own health lemons into lemonade. I hope you find it as helpful in your own journey as I have in mine.

Now…GO LISTEN!

With health and hedonism,

Phoebe

Source: https://feedmephoebe.com/sibo-made-simple-my-new-podcast-is-here/

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Jamie’s Pork Ramen | Jamie Oliver

Source: http://www.youtube.com/oembed?format=xml&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1ZLBkhNDjqU

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Gwyneth Paltrow will co-host a Goop Netflix docuseries

Goop, the lifestyle and wellness website started by Gwyneth Paltrow, is making the leap to video with a Netflix docuseries. The 30-minute episodes will start airing on the streaming service this fall, hosted by Paltrow along with Goop’s editors and chief content officer Elise Loehnen, according to Variety.

The Sorta Weird Eating Habits of Your Favorite Celebrities

Additionally, the Goop podcast hosted by Paltrow and Loehnen, which began in 2018, will be streamed on 600 Delta Airlines flights starting in February. Listeners will get to hear a discussion between Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey in one of the new episodes. Goop is also developing a food program with an as-yet-unnamed award-winning chef, a podcast with beauty expert Jean Godfrey-June, and a book club.

Loehnen praised the Oscar-winning actress and cookbook author, telling Variety, “Gwyneth is a highly visual, tactile person. The quality of everything that we produce is very important to her… With this show, I think she’s only really interested in opportunities where we can uniquely be ourselves and do things potentially disruptive.”

Paltrow, 46, will host the brand’s next wellness summit, In Goop Health, in New York on March 9; the conference will feature talks by doctors and scientists, plus “healthy snacks” and meals. The Summit Pass costs $1,000 and includes B12 shots, while the Weekender Wellness Pass option ($4,500) includes a private book signing with Paltrow, among other perks.

While we don’t know further details yet about the content of these new ventures, the Goop podcast has covered a range of food trends, including intermittent fasting, detoxes and cleanses, and has interviewed celebrities such as “Cravings” author Chrissy Teigen.

Goop, whose tagline is “making every choice count,” has many ardent fans, but has also come under fire from advertising watchdog groups for “deceptive” health claims. The site recently recommended a $135 coffee enema, and has published a fast food guide, so we’re curious to see what kinds of suggestions they’ll be offering when it comes to healthy food. To get a head start on smart dining choices, check out these 50 foods that are good for your heart.

Source: https://www.thedailymeal.com/gwyneth-paltrow-goop-netflix-podcast/020819

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Healthy Shamrock Shake (Dairy-free!)

This healthy Shamrock Shake is bright green with a sweet and minty flavor. I love that this version is naturally-sweetened with fruit (not banana!) and gets its vibrant hue from spinach, instead of food dye.

What’s really in a Shamrock Shake?

Did you know there are 54 ingredients in the shamrock shake from McDonald’s? These ingredients include artificial dyes and preservatives, along with high fructose corn syrup, and a medium-sized drink will run you 660 calories. (Which is more than a Big Mac!)

How to make a healthy Shamrock Shake

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to make a healthy Shamrock Shake at home. This version gets its green hue naturally, thanks to a handful of fresh spinach (which you can’t taste!) and a touch of avocado, which makes it ultra-creamy.

Paired with naturally sweet and fiber-rich dates, plus a splash of pure peppermint extract, this shake tastes as wonderful as it will make you feel. The dates add a nice, neutral flavor to this drink, unlike a smoothie that is sweetened with banana, but if you don’t have a blender that can break them down, try using a splash of pure maple syrup for sweetness instead. (In that case, you could add some frozen cauliflower to thicken up the drink instead– you can’t taste that in smoothies, either!)

Healthy Shamrock Shake Recipe

To make this healthy shake thick & frosty like the original drive-through version, I recommend blending the first 5 ingredients together first, until the dates are totally broken down. Then add some ice and blend again until you achieve an ice-cream-like texture!

What I love about making smoothies at home like this one is that YOU are in control of the final flavor. If you want it sweeter, add another date! Or more peppermint flavor? Add an extra drop of the peppermint oil. Feel free to keep adjusting until it’s perfect for you.

Healthy Shamrock Shake (Dairy-free!)

This HEALTHY SHAMROCK SHAKE recipe is a delicious way to make a minty green milkshake at home. Dairy-free and naturally-sweetened with fruit. (No bananas!)

3/4 cup almond milk (or water)

1/4 avocado , pitted

1 handful fresh baby spinach

1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

5 Medjool dates , pitted

1 to 2 large handfuls of ice

Combine the almond milk, avocado, spinach, peppermint extract, and dates and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the any flavoring as needed, but keep in mind that the flavor will be diluted slightly when you add the ice in the next step.

Add the ice and blend again, until the smoothie is as thick as you'd like. Serve right away.

Per Serving: Calories: 412, Fat: 7g, Carbohydrates: 94g, Fiber: 11g, Protein: 3g

Recipe Notes:

If your blender doesn’t handle dates well, try using 1 to 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup instead.

If you can’t have avocado, leave it out and add a spoonful of nut butter for extra creaminess.

Since the flavor of peppermint extracts vary, you may want to start off with just 1/8 teaspoon, and add more to taste. They can be very potent!

You can make this shake sugar-free by omitting the dates and using stevia, to taste.

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Reader Feedback: Are you a fan of minty milkshakes? Mint chocolate ice cream used to be my very favorite, so this shake is right up my alley. (Especially with a few dark chocolate chips blended in!)

Source: https://detoxinista.com/healthy-shamrock-shake-vegan-paleo/