It’s been a couple of weeks since the 2013 International Food Bloggers Conference in Seattle and I finally have downloaded (or unfortunately, erased) all of my pictures. Reflecting back on the conference, here were my Top-5 favorites of the conference, in no particular order.
Back in July, Red Gold Tomatoes contacted me and asked if I’d review some of its products. I told them that I was in the middle of a kitchen remodel, but to send them on and I’d see what I could do. If you’ve been following my kitchen updates, then you know it was late August before I had running water and just a few weeks ago before the oven was ready to use. Bad timing for Red Gold, because the folks there wanted me to mention some cool summer promotions they were running. Oh well, better late than never!
Before I describe the Red Gold products, let me make my disclaimer that I am not affiliated with the firm. That said, I have enjoyed and reviewed Tuttorosso tomatoes (click here for my post), which Red Gold owns. It was because of the quality of the Tuttorosso products that I agreed to try the Red Gold products. And I’m so glad I did – so far, so good!
My friend Ronda is a great cook and luckily she loves to email her recipes to a group of us. When she sent this recipe for Honey-Sriracha chicken wings, I knew I would have to give them a try, especially when wings went on sale the other day. I use a combination of the wings and drumettes.
These wings have just enough spice in them from the Sriracha, and the honey lends enough sweetness for a great blend of flavors. This recipe is easy to prepare and the great thing is you bake the wings instead of frying them, which is healthier and not nearly as messy. Lexi and Gabe loved these wings and both asked for seconds!
For me, one of the highlights of the 2013 International Food Blogger Conference this past weekend was the Saturday night surprise supper hosted by Urbanspoon. I was quite lucky to get to eat at Michael Mina’s RN74 (1433 Fourth Avenue at Pike Street, Seattle, Wash. 98101). According to its website, “the cuisine at RN74 aims to be a perfect complement to the wines — creative, modern, but simple interpretations of regional French cuisine punctuated with seasonal, fresh ingredients and bold flavors, all executed with a signature original twist. Recently, OpenTable.com diners voted RN74 Seattle onto the 2012 OpenTable Diners’ Choice lists.” I can see why.
“I got bim bam banana pops, dixie cups, all flavors and pushups too. I’m your ice cream man, stop me when I’m passin’ by” ~ Van Halen
Last weekend an ice cream truck drove down my street, which is a rare occurrence. Maybe it was making its final rounds for the summer, since it was Labor Day weekend and school was back in session. It did take me back to my younger days, when the Good Humor® truck made daily stops in our neighborhood all summer long. It was one of the highlights of the day! I loved all of the offerings, from fruity-flavored popsicles to Nutty Buddies, fudgesicles, ice cream sandwiches, etc. What I ordered mainly depended on how much change I had saved or could talk my Mom into giving me.
One of my favorite ice cream novelties to this day is a Push-Up® (Creamsicles® are great, too.) Orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream blended together – yum! Several years ago, I stumbled upon a drink recipe that tasted just like this wonderful orange-vanilla treat. Since summer is coming to an end, I decided to make a few of these refreshing cocktails to enjoy while the weather is still warm.
Blowing Rock is a small village in the northwestern part of North Carolina. It has magnificent mountain views, excellent restaurants and shopping, a wonderful downtown area and some great accommodations.
I am particularly fond of Chetola Resort, where Brad and I got married in June, 2002, outside in the gazebo by the small lake.
For such a small town (population 1,192 at the 2010 census), there are a number of top-rated restaurants offering a variety of cuisines in different price ranges, either on or around Main Street, which runs right through the heart of this quaint town. Or you can venture out a little bit for other great dining options.
Over the years, Brad and I have dined at most of the restaurants in the area. Unfortunately, some have closed, such as Vintners, where we held our rehearsal dinner; Blowing Rock Grille, where I had the best bowl of tomato and basil soup ever; Tijuana Fats, where we enjoyed many a top-shelf margarita and great guacamole in the late afternoons; and Cheeseburger in Paradise, with its delicious burgers but, unfortunately, it burned down. Luckily, some of our favorites are still serving wonderful dishes!
Early this May we spent a long weekend at Chetola. I had a Living Social Coupon, which I jumped on the minute I saw it. We normally rent one of the condos, but the coupon was for the Inn with a lakeside view, which is also quite nice.
A buffet breakfast was included with our stay (more about that later.) With only three nights in town, it was hard to narrow down our choices of where to eat dinner, but we finally decided on a few favorites. Plus we finally tried a BBQ place for the first time for lunch and enjoyed drinks at one of our favorite area pubs.
In July I posted a blog entitled “Hooray for Horseradish” and mentioned that I would share my recipe for a great Bloody Mary with fresh horseradish. So here it is, and for all of you Bloody Mary aficionados, the horseradish really adds some depth to this traditional cocktail. It’s always nice when you can use a fresh ingredient instead of something processed.
I used Clamato ® juice in this recipe (thank you, Edgar!), but Spicy Hot V8® or even regular tomato juice will work well, too. I like to rim my glass with a Bloody Mary cocktail rimmer, which you can find at many grocery or higher-end food stores.
As a side note, I made this batch with Grey Goose, which I normally would not use in a Bloody Mary, but it was the only vodka I had (I know, wah, wah, wah.) Go with middle-of-the-road vodka for this recipe, but never, ever, ever use any of the rot-gut stuff. Ick! Just remember that the other ingredients, especially the fresh horseradish, are what make this drink so tasty, so leave the good vodka for martinis or sipping, etc.
If you’ve never been to Poppyseed Market Café & Wine Bar (8801 Lead Mine Rd., Raleigh, N.C. 27615) I totally recommend it – either for takeout or dine-in. Chef/owner Julia McGovern offers a number of specialty sandwiches, fresh salads, entrees, gourmet pizzas, desserts, wines, beer and microbrews in this deli/café/wine bar. In addition to the menu items, you can purchase Boars Head® meats and cheeses, wine and beer to go. There are plenty of great vegetarian selections as well.
You may know Chef Julia when she was chosen as sous chef to Angus Barn’s executive chef, Walter Royal, on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” program in 2006 — they won! That was the year she opened Poppyseed, and since then she has turned a small deli into a large sit-down restaurant (which also includes outside seating) with a great wine bar, much to the delight of those who live in North Raleigh. To learn more about the history of the restaurant as well as about Chef Julia, please go to: http://www.poppyseedmkt.com/aboutus.htm for a great read about Poppyseed’s beginnings and how it has evolved.
Poppyseed is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. I have not had the pleasure to dine there at night, but if the entrees are anything like the lunch offerings, I need to make a trip soon. There are monthly wine tastings and local musicians frequently play on the weekends. Plus Poppyseed has a thriving catering business, in case you need someone to cater your next event.
Here are some of my favorites at Poppyseed (so far). The first three I have mentioned in previous blog posts, which I think says a lot about how great I think the food is. I just wish Poppyseed was closer to my home!
I recently bought some ground turkey breast that was on sale and decided to make some burgers with part of it. I wanted something with a twist, so I stuffed the burgers with creamy and tangy bleu cheese. Great call! These burgers are moist and juicy even though the turkey is so lean – just look at that melted bleu cheese oozing out in the picture above. They have a wonderful flavor, plus they are so easy to make!
Did you know that July is national horseradish month? Well, it is, and to celebrate here is a great recipe to showcase this spicy and pungent root —horseradish mashed red potatoes (Yukon golds work well, too.) Talk about some awesome comfort food, with just a little bite!
You can buy prepared horseradish sauce at most grocery stores, where grated horseradish is mixed with mayonnaise, vinegar and spices for a great accompaniment to prime rib or other cuts of beef. Continue reading
Kel's Cafe of All Things Food 