Lidia Bastianich, best-selling Italian cookbook author, renowned restaurateur and host of the popular Emmy nominated cooking program, Lidia’s Italy, has found a perfect partner in Lou Di Palo and Di Palo Selects (www.dipaloselects.com), the online extension of New York City’s beloved 4th generation store, Di Palo’s Fine Foods.
When Lidia wanted a reliable resource for her many hungry fans clamoring for a place to find the freshest, highest quality, Italian ingredients to use in her recipes, Di Palo Selects was the obvious choice. Now Lidia’s fans can find the essentials they need: Grana Padano cheese, fine olive oils, hard-to find cuts of pasta, and more. Lidia and Lou are a match made in heaven: They share passion, knowledge, and generosity of spirit, and they have a common goal of making Italy’s rich culinary heritage accessible to food-lovers all over the United States.
“Visitors to my website (www.lidiasitaly.com) and people who watch my show and read my books always ask the same question: ‘Where can I find the ingredients I need to try your recipes at home?’” said Lidia. “I’m now proud to be able to offer specialty food items selected by my good friend Lou Di Palo, who is as passionate about quality Italian food products as I am about Italian cuisine.”
“I have been a huge admirer of Lidia for years,” said Lou Di Palo. “She’s taught millions of Americans about authentic, high quality Italian cuisine — and that cuisine is based on the kind of quality, artisan ingredients that my family has been offering our customers for four generations.”
Di Palo’s Fine Foods has long had the reputation of importing the finest quality Italian delicacies to food lovers in New York, and Lou Di Palo has earned a reputation as one of America’s foremost authorities on the specialty artisan foods of Italy. Ruth Reichl, Editor and Chief of Gourmet Magazine calls shopping at Di Palo’s “One of the greatest pleasures of my life” and gushed to Gourmet’s readers in a recent newsletter that Di Palo Selects, is a “wonderful resource.”
About Lidia Bastianich
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is an award winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and Public Television cooking show host. Her latest series, Lidia’s Italy, was nominated for an Emmy in 2008. She is also the host and author of several earlier series and companion books including Lidia’s Family Table, Lidia’s Italian American Kitchen and Lidia’s Italian Table. Lidia’s Family Table was nominated for Best National Cooking show in 2007. Together with her daughter, Tanya, she has written Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy, due out in October of 2009 along with another 52 episodes of Lidia’s Italy.
In addition to over ten years with Public Television, Lidia is well known for her acclaimed restaurants including the three-star Felidia and Del Posto restaurants in New York, the popular theater Becco restaurant and Lidia’s restaurants in Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Lidia was named Outstanding Chef – U.S. and Outstanding Chef – New York by the prestigious James Beard Foundation.
Lidia and son, Joseph Bastianich, well known wine expert and restaurateur of multiple locations in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and beyond also produce award-winning wines at the Bastianich and La Mozza vineyards in Italy. Lidia is also active in Public Television fundraising and dedicates much of her time raising monies for organizations like Unifem as well as many other national and local charities. For more information on Lidia, visit www.lidiasitaly.com.
About Di Palo Selects
Di Palo Selects (www.dipaloselects.com), launched in the fall of 2008, carries the best artisan foods of Italy and communicates the rich culinary traditions and the story and behind each hand-selected product. Di Palo Selects offers Italy’s finest cheeses, pastas, salumi, olive oils, balsamic vinegars and more, personally selected by Lou Di Palo. “I love to visit the dedicated craftsman who make these great products, select unique items to bring back to the US, and very importantly to learn about the history and traditions of how these products are made, and what makes them so special,” says Lou Di Palo. “My passion is to share this knowledge with my customers so they feel transported to the small villages and farms of Italy where the products come from.”
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
GROW Cincinnati
GROW is a long-term program of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, developed to address the issues currently facing many individuals and families: healthy lifestyles, economic challenges, community involvement and environmental concerns. Participants will increase their knowledge of gardening and be able to appreciate how small changes in our behavior can have a significant effect on our overall well-being.
GROW kicks-off in spring 2009, providing 5,000 individuals throughout the Greater Cincinnati Metro area with vegetable garden kits (pot, soil, plant materials), everything needed for your container garden to yield fresh vegetables for at least 30 meals. By the end of the first harvest, CHS hopes to have influenced the community to be more committed to nature, healthy eating and an active lifestyle. GROW reinforces the increasing desire of consumers to eat locally grown food because it tastes better, is healthier and curbs the cost in rising groceries, demonstrating how sustainable gardening and nutrition work hand in hand, fulfilling CHS’ motto “changing lives…one pot at a time.”
GROW seeks to engage a broad audience of participants: individuals, groups, neighborhoods, schools, families, corporations, and charitable organizations. The fee for Corporate and individual participation is $15 per kit; charitable participation is sponsored by contributions from individuals and foundations.
Current list of GROW participants:
• Richards Industries
• Horan Associates
• Rookwood Pavilion & Commons & Bzak Landscaping
• The Ronald McDonald House
• The Fischer House
• Norwood Public Schools After-School Program
• Hamilton County ESC Early Learning Program
• The Cincinnati Museum Center
GROW kick-off potting events will be held throughout the city in late March through early April.
CHS encourages everyone to become involved in Cincinnati's vegetable revolution! Interested participants or sponsors for GROW can contact:
• Mary Kramer, GROW Program Director, Cincinnati Horticultural Society,
513.872.9555, ext. 17 or chsfoods@fuse.net.
GROW kicks-off in spring 2009, providing 5,000 individuals throughout the Greater Cincinnati Metro area with vegetable garden kits (pot, soil, plant materials), everything needed for your container garden to yield fresh vegetables for at least 30 meals. By the end of the first harvest, CHS hopes to have influenced the community to be more committed to nature, healthy eating and an active lifestyle. GROW reinforces the increasing desire of consumers to eat locally grown food because it tastes better, is healthier and curbs the cost in rising groceries, demonstrating how sustainable gardening and nutrition work hand in hand, fulfilling CHS’ motto “changing lives…one pot at a time.”
GROW seeks to engage a broad audience of participants: individuals, groups, neighborhoods, schools, families, corporations, and charitable organizations. The fee for Corporate and individual participation is $15 per kit; charitable participation is sponsored by contributions from individuals and foundations.
Current list of GROW participants:
• Richards Industries
• Horan Associates
• Rookwood Pavilion & Commons & Bzak Landscaping
• The Ronald McDonald House
• The Fischer House
• Norwood Public Schools After-School Program
• Hamilton County ESC Early Learning Program
• The Cincinnati Museum Center
GROW kick-off potting events will be held throughout the city in late March through early April.
CHS encourages everyone to become involved in Cincinnati's vegetable revolution! Interested participants or sponsors for GROW can contact:
• Mary Kramer, GROW Program Director, Cincinnati Horticultural Society,
513.872.9555, ext. 17 or chsfoods@fuse.net.
Dinner and a Movie Suggestions from Garofalo
Is your romance plummeting? Telling your significant other the "bad economy" is the reason yet again that you need to skip date night might not continue to fly. And dinner and a movie at home probably sounds like a poor subsitute. That is, until you do dinner a movie Italian style! For a little more than the price of a glass of wine and an appetizer at a restaurant, you can escape to Italy (ok, minus the actual air travel and language barrier!) with a simple Italian meal paired with a fine Italian wine and an Italian-themed movie that brings "La Dolce Vita" into your living room.
We know that Italian food has a prominent place in America, but Italian cinematography has also influenced Hollywood. Grab one of these Italian classics to go with your Italian food and wine and you'll have the perfect 'serata italiana'!
Try a classic like Cinema Paradiso that explores youth, coming of age, and reflections (in adulthood) about the past. Or fire up a comedy like Johnny Stecchino that stars well-known actor Roberto Benigni and chronicles his mishaps with the mafia in Sicily. Or tickle the heart strings with Life is Beautiful, a film that tells the story of a Jewish Italian who uses his immigration to help his son survive their detainment in a Nazi concentration camp. In the mood for a little mystery thriller? Try The Talented Mr. Ripley, which features beautiful Italian scenery with a psychological twist.
The Menu!
The beauty of Italian cooking is in the simplicty; a few simple ingredients make the best dishes! This translates not only into great taste, but in today's tough economy it also translates into savings. With a few simple ingredients, you too can have a fabulous romantic Italian dinner for the fraction of the cost in a restaurant. For the cost of a few items that you likely have in your kitchen already, you will be sure to wow without breaking the bank!
· Antipasto: Bruschetta al pomodoro
· Primo: Penne pomodoro e basilico
· Fruit plate: Grapes with Grana Padano
· Wine pairing: Fantinel 'Celebrate Life' Merlot
Ingredients, quantities
· 2 Ripe Tomatoes
· 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes
· 1 Can Tomato Paste
· Small Yellow Onion
· Small Red Onion
· 1/2 pound Grana Padano
· Celebrate Life Merlot
· Fresh Basil
· Italian Bread
· Small bunch of grapes
· Garofalo Pasta
· Fresh Garlic
· 2 fresh rolls
Bruschetta
· Start with some good Italian bread, ripe tomatoes and basil
· Dice tomatoes and chop some basil (rough chops are fine)
· In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to taste and mix with some Italian extra virgin olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar
· Slice the bread in two and place on a stove top grill or in the oven
· Arrange bread on a serving plate and spoon some of the tomato topping onto it
Penne pomodoro e basilico
(Garofalo Penne pasta with tomatoes and basil)
Ingredients:
· 1 lb Garofalo Penne mezzani rigate
· 2 lbs peeled or fresh tomatoes
· 2 cloves of garlic
· 1 bunch of parsley
· Extra virgin olive oil
· Salt
· Pepper
PREPARATION
Heat extra virgin olive oil in a pan with thinly sliced garlic without over browning; add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook the sauce slowly until slightly reduced. Add in parsley and cook over low flame for an additional few minutes. Cook the Penne in plenty of salted water and remove when al dente. Drain and mix with some sauce then top with an additional scoop of sauce and garnish with a whole parsley leaf.
We know that Italian food has a prominent place in America, but Italian cinematography has also influenced Hollywood. Grab one of these Italian classics to go with your Italian food and wine and you'll have the perfect 'serata italiana'!
Try a classic like Cinema Paradiso that explores youth, coming of age, and reflections (in adulthood) about the past. Or fire up a comedy like Johnny Stecchino that stars well-known actor Roberto Benigni and chronicles his mishaps with the mafia in Sicily. Or tickle the heart strings with Life is Beautiful, a film that tells the story of a Jewish Italian who uses his immigration to help his son survive their detainment in a Nazi concentration camp. In the mood for a little mystery thriller? Try The Talented Mr. Ripley, which features beautiful Italian scenery with a psychological twist.
The Menu!
The beauty of Italian cooking is in the simplicty; a few simple ingredients make the best dishes! This translates not only into great taste, but in today's tough economy it also translates into savings. With a few simple ingredients, you too can have a fabulous romantic Italian dinner for the fraction of the cost in a restaurant. For the cost of a few items that you likely have in your kitchen already, you will be sure to wow without breaking the bank!
· Antipasto: Bruschetta al pomodoro
· Primo: Penne pomodoro e basilico
· Fruit plate: Grapes with Grana Padano
· Wine pairing: Fantinel 'Celebrate Life' Merlot
Ingredients, quantities
· 2 Ripe Tomatoes
· 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes
· 1 Can Tomato Paste
· Small Yellow Onion
· Small Red Onion
· 1/2 pound Grana Padano
· Celebrate Life Merlot
· Fresh Basil
· Italian Bread
· Small bunch of grapes
· Garofalo Pasta
· Fresh Garlic
· 2 fresh rolls
Bruschetta
· Start with some good Italian bread, ripe tomatoes and basil
· Dice tomatoes and chop some basil (rough chops are fine)
· In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to taste and mix with some Italian extra virgin olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar
· Slice the bread in two and place on a stove top grill or in the oven
· Arrange bread on a serving plate and spoon some of the tomato topping onto it
Penne pomodoro e basilico
(Garofalo Penne pasta with tomatoes and basil)
Ingredients:
· 1 lb Garofalo Penne mezzani rigate
· 2 lbs peeled or fresh tomatoes
· 2 cloves of garlic
· 1 bunch of parsley
· Extra virgin olive oil
· Salt
· Pepper
PREPARATION
Heat extra virgin olive oil in a pan with thinly sliced garlic without over browning; add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook the sauce slowly until slightly reduced. Add in parsley and cook over low flame for an additional few minutes. Cook the Penne in plenty of salted water and remove when al dente. Drain and mix with some sauce then top with an additional scoop of sauce and garnish with a whole parsley leaf.
Columbus Asian Festival
Thousands of people from all over Central Ohio and the Midwest will gather in Columbus to enjoy the 15th Annual Asian Festival at Franklin Park, 1777 E. Broad Street in Columbus, on Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24. The festival is free and open to the public.
“We started the Asian Festival in 1995. Our mission was to showcase our Asian Heritage and Culture to the Central Ohio community. About 10,000 people attended the inaugural Asian Festival,” said Dr. Yung-Chen Lu, one of the founders of the Asian Festival. “Last year was a record year. We’ve grown to more than 140,000 visitors. People come not only from Central Ohio to visit, but we also have guests from across the Midwest who come to experience our Asian Festival.”
The Asian Festival will be open from 10a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 23rd and
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 24th. Admission and parking are free.
The 2009 Asian Festival will feature cultural displays, colorful entertainment, artist demonstrations, delicious food, health and wellness screenings and activities from 15 ethnic groups.
Every year the Festival highlights two countries. This year, the Asian Festival not only brings visitors entertainment from around the globe, but will also highlight entertainment and performances from Korea and South East Asia.
The Asian Festival is also teaming up with the Central Ohio Big Read Project. Amy Tan, the author of the Joy Luck Club will be on hand at the festival to talk with guests and for a book signing.
Additional Highlights:
· Cultural Activities – Each country will have a cultural booth display showcasing richness and cultural traditions in the multipurpose center Throughout the day cultural demonstrations and crafts will be featured in this area.
· Food – Restaurants and food vendors will prepare food that spans the continent from Indonesian Skate skewers to Chinese spicy home-style noodles, green onion pancakes and Philippine fried rice and pancit.
· Entertainment – Includes classical and traditional Asian music and dance to the modern. Groups from around the country state and locally will perform on stage at the Pavilion. To help showcase the festivals’ featured countries: Pak Eun Ha, a traditional Korean drummer will perform along with Pak Hwanyoung, a famous flute and changggo (hour-glass shaped drum) player. .
· Health Pavilion – This year’s Health and Wellness Program is called “Healthy Lifestyle an ounce of Prevention.” Guests will be able to get several different types of free health screenings and talk one on one with medical health educators.
· The Asian festival is once again partnering with the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Komen Race for the Cure to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. The Asian Festival will have a major presence at the Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Columbus on May 16th.
Asian Festival sponsors include the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, The Ohio Arts Council, Greater Columbus Arts Council, American Family, Nationwide Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance Company, ABC6 & Fox28 News and Radio One.
More information is available at www.asian-festival.org, via e-mail at chairperson@asian-festival.org or by calling (614) 402-3384.
“We started the Asian Festival in 1995. Our mission was to showcase our Asian Heritage and Culture to the Central Ohio community. About 10,000 people attended the inaugural Asian Festival,” said Dr. Yung-Chen Lu, one of the founders of the Asian Festival. “Last year was a record year. We’ve grown to more than 140,000 visitors. People come not only from Central Ohio to visit, but we also have guests from across the Midwest who come to experience our Asian Festival.”
The Asian Festival will be open from 10a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 23rd and
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 24th. Admission and parking are free.
The 2009 Asian Festival will feature cultural displays, colorful entertainment, artist demonstrations, delicious food, health and wellness screenings and activities from 15 ethnic groups.
Every year the Festival highlights two countries. This year, the Asian Festival not only brings visitors entertainment from around the globe, but will also highlight entertainment and performances from Korea and South East Asia.
The Asian Festival is also teaming up with the Central Ohio Big Read Project. Amy Tan, the author of the Joy Luck Club will be on hand at the festival to talk with guests and for a book signing.
Additional Highlights:
· Cultural Activities – Each country will have a cultural booth display showcasing richness and cultural traditions in the multipurpose center Throughout the day cultural demonstrations and crafts will be featured in this area.
· Food – Restaurants and food vendors will prepare food that spans the continent from Indonesian Skate skewers to Chinese spicy home-style noodles, green onion pancakes and Philippine fried rice and pancit.
· Entertainment – Includes classical and traditional Asian music and dance to the modern. Groups from around the country state and locally will perform on stage at the Pavilion. To help showcase the festivals’ featured countries: Pak Eun Ha, a traditional Korean drummer will perform along with Pak Hwanyoung, a famous flute and changggo (hour-glass shaped drum) player. .
· Health Pavilion – This year’s Health and Wellness Program is called “Healthy Lifestyle an ounce of Prevention.” Guests will be able to get several different types of free health screenings and talk one on one with medical health educators.
· The Asian festival is once again partnering with the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Komen Race for the Cure to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. The Asian Festival will have a major presence at the Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Columbus on May 16th.
Asian Festival sponsors include the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, The Ohio Arts Council, Greater Columbus Arts Council, American Family, Nationwide Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance Company, ABC6 & Fox28 News and Radio One.
More information is available at www.asian-festival.org, via e-mail at chairperson@asian-festival.org or by calling (614) 402-3384.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sweet Romance - and Sweet Wines for that Anniversary or Birthday
Along with chocolates, flowers (and perhaps a ring), Valentine's Day is a loving holiday worthy of something special - perhaps a delicious dessert, perhaps delicious, sweet wines to go with that dessert.
Quady Winery (www.quadywinery.com) has been making delightful, very creative, award-winning sweet wines in Madera, CA since 1975, shipping their wines to connoisseurs in the U.S. and worldwide.
Something Different - and Predictable - for a Change
And, unlike the uncertainly and guesswork we have all experienced opening a bottle of wine - only to find it has gone bad - these wines are consistently delicious and predictable.
Sweetness comes in many forms, perhaps as an aperitif before a great meal, wonderful as a sweet wine pairing with many desserts - and many people, regardless of age or romantic inclination - have not tasted excellent sweet wines.
There is Essensia, made from delicious Orange Muscat grapes (known in Italy as Orange Blossom Muscat), a delicious accompaniment to desserts, especially chocolate and those containing almonds, peaches, apples or apricots. With sparkling water, Essensia makes a refreshing spritzer; with sparking wine you have an Essensia Royale. Delicious.
Elysium - Made from the Black Muscat grape with a rose and litchi scent and especially appropriate for Valentine's with the heart on the label. Elysium is perhaps the best accompaniment for dark chocolate dessert. Valentine's Day made simple? A bottle of Elysium, a red ribbon and the finest chocolate dessert you can find.
Quady's Batch 88 Starboard, is, yes, Port. But, of course, it can't be "Port" because that comes from a place in Portugal, the Douro River Valley. Since "starboard" (right) is the opposite nautical direction to port (left) that's how it got its name. The grapes in this world-class port are primarily Tinta Roriz from the Madera, CA area, a blend of several vintages, 190 proof neutral grape spirits (instead of the usual 140 proof fortifying brandy) and then aged, on average, five years. Superb for those who love a great, after-dinner Port.
Deviation is a new style of dessert wine made by infusing aromatic plants into Muscat. In Deviation, Quady has infused two botanicals: Scented geranium and Damiana. The result is truly exotic, a breathtaking aroma of honeysuckle and rose. The wine tastes sweet but amazingly finishes dry. As one reviewer said: "Perhaps the most exotic beverage at this price I have ever tasted - literally breathtaking . perfect for the sweet warm shadows at the end of a long summer picnic, or any intimate occasion."
Electra, a light, very low alcohol (4%) picnic wine (with the tastes of peaches and melons) partners nicely with summer fruits (strawberries, nectarines, peaches and melons), salads, spicy Asian and Indian foods, light desserts, lovely blues skies and a day in the fresh air. It's just excellent as it is, or perhaps on the rocks or semi-frozen as a slushy.
Quady Winery (www.quadywinery.com) has been making delightful, very creative, award-winning sweet wines in Madera, CA since 1975, shipping their wines to connoisseurs in the U.S. and worldwide.
Something Different - and Predictable - for a Change
And, unlike the uncertainly and guesswork we have all experienced opening a bottle of wine - only to find it has gone bad - these wines are consistently delicious and predictable.
Sweetness comes in many forms, perhaps as an aperitif before a great meal, wonderful as a sweet wine pairing with many desserts - and many people, regardless of age or romantic inclination - have not tasted excellent sweet wines.
There is Essensia, made from delicious Orange Muscat grapes (known in Italy as Orange Blossom Muscat), a delicious accompaniment to desserts, especially chocolate and those containing almonds, peaches, apples or apricots. With sparkling water, Essensia makes a refreshing spritzer; with sparking wine you have an Essensia Royale. Delicious.
Elysium - Made from the Black Muscat grape with a rose and litchi scent and especially appropriate for Valentine's with the heart on the label. Elysium is perhaps the best accompaniment for dark chocolate dessert. Valentine's Day made simple? A bottle of Elysium, a red ribbon and the finest chocolate dessert you can find.
Quady's Batch 88 Starboard, is, yes, Port. But, of course, it can't be "Port" because that comes from a place in Portugal, the Douro River Valley. Since "starboard" (right) is the opposite nautical direction to port (left) that's how it got its name. The grapes in this world-class port are primarily Tinta Roriz from the Madera, CA area, a blend of several vintages, 190 proof neutral grape spirits (instead of the usual 140 proof fortifying brandy) and then aged, on average, five years. Superb for those who love a great, after-dinner Port.
Deviation is a new style of dessert wine made by infusing aromatic plants into Muscat. In Deviation, Quady has infused two botanicals: Scented geranium and Damiana. The result is truly exotic, a breathtaking aroma of honeysuckle and rose. The wine tastes sweet but amazingly finishes dry. As one reviewer said: "Perhaps the most exotic beverage at this price I have ever tasted - literally breathtaking . perfect for the sweet warm shadows at the end of a long summer picnic, or any intimate occasion."
Electra, a light, very low alcohol (4%) picnic wine (with the tastes of peaches and melons) partners nicely with summer fruits (strawberries, nectarines, peaches and melons), salads, spicy Asian and Indian foods, light desserts, lovely blues skies and a day in the fresh air. It's just excellent as it is, or perhaps on the rocks or semi-frozen as a slushy.
FoodieBytes
An innovative technological twist is adding some
new flavor to the online restaurant search engine market. FoodieBytes.com is
a uniquely-niched restaurant and food search engine that allows people to
search, not just by general cuisine or general restaurant category, but by
specific dishes to find the restaurants in their area that offer the best of
those menu items. FoodieBytes sports one of the largest collections of
restaurant menus in the country and helps diners discover the best food
items at those restaurants.
"Most restaurant sites on the Internet today are focused on reviews," says
FoodieBytes Co-Founder Amit Khetan. "We were tired of reading reviews and
wanted to create a site that offers much deeper content on a restaurant,
particularly on their menus. Our site offers the details that no one else
offers and in the process fills in the gaps for consumers who want to either
find good items on a menu or discover restaurants with the best menus."
FoodieBytes makes it easy for consumers to view a restaurant's menu,
top-rated food items, descriptions, price and even photos of menu items.
The site has an easy-to-use "Food Search" option which lists restaurants in
that area who serve the requested food item. Food Search also helps
consumers with dietary restrictions by helping them find options like
gluten-free or low-carb items. FoodieBytes also provides "Menu Item
Ratings" that help people find top-rated items on a given menu.
Khetan and FoodieBytes Co-Founder Manoj George intend to make FoodieBytes
the leading site for finding restaurant menus and top-rated menu items in
the United States. FoodieBytes is also currently working on offering dining
certificates from leading restaurants in some of the larger cities across
America to make it easy for consumers to try out new restaurants. In the
future, FoodieBytes also plans to provide nutritional information on menu
items served by restaurants.
For more information go to: http://www.foodiebytes.com
new flavor to the online restaurant search engine market. FoodieBytes.com is
a uniquely-niched restaurant and food search engine that allows people to
search, not just by general cuisine or general restaurant category, but by
specific dishes to find the restaurants in their area that offer the best of
those menu items. FoodieBytes sports one of the largest collections of
restaurant menus in the country and helps diners discover the best food
items at those restaurants.
"Most restaurant sites on the Internet today are focused on reviews," says
FoodieBytes Co-Founder Amit Khetan. "We were tired of reading reviews and
wanted to create a site that offers much deeper content on a restaurant,
particularly on their menus. Our site offers the details that no one else
offers and in the process fills in the gaps for consumers who want to either
find good items on a menu or discover restaurants with the best menus."
FoodieBytes makes it easy for consumers to view a restaurant's menu,
top-rated food items, descriptions, price and even photos of menu items.
The site has an easy-to-use "Food Search" option which lists restaurants in
that area who serve the requested food item. Food Search also helps
consumers with dietary restrictions by helping them find options like
gluten-free or low-carb items. FoodieBytes also provides "Menu Item
Ratings" that help people find top-rated items on a given menu.
Khetan and FoodieBytes Co-Founder Manoj George intend to make FoodieBytes
the leading site for finding restaurant menus and top-rated menu items in
the United States. FoodieBytes is also currently working on offering dining
certificates from leading restaurants in some of the larger cities across
America to make it easy for consumers to try out new restaurants. In the
future, FoodieBytes also plans to provide nutritional information on menu
items served by restaurants.
For more information go to: http://www.foodiebytes.com
Father's Day WHISKY GIFTS for Every Budget!
Mentor – Baseball coach –Friend. These are just a few of the roles our fathers played which continue to sculpt us into the individuals we are today.
As June 21st approaches, we reflect on the times we’ve spent together, the memories we’ve shared, and experiences to come. A toast is in order.
Please find delicious whisky gifts below for a variety of palates and budgets.
Under $25
Tullamore Dew – The original Irish Whiskey, known the world over for its smooth and gentle flavor. This pale amber blended whiskey has spicy, lemony and malty overtones with charred wood undertones giving a soft, buttery, rounded and complex flavor that lingers in the mouth. SRP: $23.00
Under $35
Tullamore Dew 10-Year Old is the newest addition to the TD family! Whether sipped straight or on the rocks, this 10-Year Old blend displays a fresh, malty, and slightly woody nose with intriguing citrus notes. It derives its complex flavor of malt and spice, wood and vanilla from long aging in Spanish and American oak casks. SRP 10-Year Old: $34.99.
Under $45
Yamazaki 12-Year Old - Imported from Japan, Yamazaki 12-Year Old has a rich and sophisticated character that’s bound to please the most discerning connoisseur. . With a rich, sophisticated character all its own, Yamazaki’s secret lies in the harmonious marriage of single malt matured in three different oak casks – American, Spanish and Japanese -- giving it its unique blend of spicy, yet sweet flavor. SRP 12 Year-Old: $44.99
The Glenrothes, the award winning Speyside single malt offers Select Reserve, its first non-Vintage selection, hand-picked by the Malt Master from the very finest casks and produced to the same high quality standards and style as the prestigious Vintages so well known to single malt aficionados. SRP Select Reserve: $44.99.
Under $125
The Glenrothes Vintage 1985 - This expression has a rich, fruity nose of raisins and sultanas but also plums, prunes, vanilla and chocolate. The soft, smooth palate features oak, vanilla and sultanas and has the creamy, mouth-filling texture of a café latte. This expression has a long, medium sweet finish with an emphasis on coffee and cocoa. SRP 1985 Vintage: $120.
With aromas of dried fruits and honey, Yamazaki Single Malt 18-Year Old Whisky has a delicate, mellow taste with a lingering, woody, dry finish. Yamazaki uses selected barley strains and peating levels, along with the legendary, ultra pure waters from the outskirts of Kyoto to produce its smooth, honeyed taste. SRP 18-Year Old: $119.99.
As June 21st approaches, we reflect on the times we’ve spent together, the memories we’ve shared, and experiences to come. A toast is in order.
Please find delicious whisky gifts below for a variety of palates and budgets.
Under $25
Tullamore Dew – The original Irish Whiskey, known the world over for its smooth and gentle flavor. This pale amber blended whiskey has spicy, lemony and malty overtones with charred wood undertones giving a soft, buttery, rounded and complex flavor that lingers in the mouth. SRP: $23.00
Under $35
Tullamore Dew 10-Year Old is the newest addition to the TD family! Whether sipped straight or on the rocks, this 10-Year Old blend displays a fresh, malty, and slightly woody nose with intriguing citrus notes. It derives its complex flavor of malt and spice, wood and vanilla from long aging in Spanish and American oak casks. SRP 10-Year Old: $34.99.
Under $45
Yamazaki 12-Year Old - Imported from Japan, Yamazaki 12-Year Old has a rich and sophisticated character that’s bound to please the most discerning connoisseur. . With a rich, sophisticated character all its own, Yamazaki’s secret lies in the harmonious marriage of single malt matured in three different oak casks – American, Spanish and Japanese -- giving it its unique blend of spicy, yet sweet flavor. SRP 12 Year-Old: $44.99
The Glenrothes, the award winning Speyside single malt offers Select Reserve, its first non-Vintage selection, hand-picked by the Malt Master from the very finest casks and produced to the same high quality standards and style as the prestigious Vintages so well known to single malt aficionados. SRP Select Reserve: $44.99.
Under $125
The Glenrothes Vintage 1985 - This expression has a rich, fruity nose of raisins and sultanas but also plums, prunes, vanilla and chocolate. The soft, smooth palate features oak, vanilla and sultanas and has the creamy, mouth-filling texture of a café latte. This expression has a long, medium sweet finish with an emphasis on coffee and cocoa. SRP 1985 Vintage: $120.
With aromas of dried fruits and honey, Yamazaki Single Malt 18-Year Old Whisky has a delicate, mellow taste with a lingering, woody, dry finish. Yamazaki uses selected barley strains and peating levels, along with the legendary, ultra pure waters from the outskirts of Kyoto to produce its smooth, honeyed taste. SRP 18-Year Old: $119.99.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Midwest Culinary Dean Gets Promotion
The board of trustees of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College has approved an administrative restructuring plan developed by Interim President Dr. John Henderson.
As part of that plan -- which Henderson said is motivated largely by new standards and goals articulated by the Ohio Board of Regents -- the College has established the position of Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Entrepreneurial Development. Named to fill that post was Dan Cayse, former dean of Business Technologies at Cincinnati State.
In his new role, Cayse will be responsible for developing fresh revenue streams for the College, and for increasing partnerships with other educational institutions and with regional businesses. Cayse will also be responsible for Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center in Evendale, the Overlook Food Service Department on the main campus in Clifton, and the Midwest Culinary Institute’s auxiliary enterprises, including The Summit (a fine dining restaurant on the Clifton campus), Bakery Hill (a retail bakery that serves students, faculty and the general public), and “The Dish” (a weekly television show taped at the Midwest Culinary Institute.)
Henderson named Peggy Harrier interim dean of the Business Technologies division until a search is completed to fill the position.
Another part of the reorganization, Henderson said, will find Douglas A. Heesten, Vice President/Institutional Advancement, moving into a leadership role for a major three-year campaign to build the college’s endowment and raise new funds to support academic programs and student scholarships. This campaign will be formally launched later in 2009, Henderson said.
“It is very important that the College community comes together to work toward the goals outlined in the University System of Ohio strategic plan,’’ Henderson said. “We are working in a different political and financial environment now. Our past greatness does not insure future support. We must stay focused on our mission and our importance to the economic development of the region.’’
As part of that plan -- which Henderson said is motivated largely by new standards and goals articulated by the Ohio Board of Regents -- the College has established the position of Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Entrepreneurial Development. Named to fill that post was Dan Cayse, former dean of Business Technologies at Cincinnati State.
In his new role, Cayse will be responsible for developing fresh revenue streams for the College, and for increasing partnerships with other educational institutions and with regional businesses. Cayse will also be responsible for Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center in Evendale, the Overlook Food Service Department on the main campus in Clifton, and the Midwest Culinary Institute’s auxiliary enterprises, including The Summit (a fine dining restaurant on the Clifton campus), Bakery Hill (a retail bakery that serves students, faculty and the general public), and “The Dish” (a weekly television show taped at the Midwest Culinary Institute.)
Henderson named Peggy Harrier interim dean of the Business Technologies division until a search is completed to fill the position.
Another part of the reorganization, Henderson said, will find Douglas A. Heesten, Vice President/Institutional Advancement, moving into a leadership role for a major three-year campaign to build the college’s endowment and raise new funds to support academic programs and student scholarships. This campaign will be formally launched later in 2009, Henderson said.
“It is very important that the College community comes together to work toward the goals outlined in the University System of Ohio strategic plan,’’ Henderson said. “We are working in a different political and financial environment now. Our past greatness does not insure future support. We must stay focused on our mission and our importance to the economic development of the region.’’
May Is National Strawberry Month
The sun is shining, the flowers are blossoming and berries are a plenty.
Celebrate the arrival of pleasant weather in good health - with a fist-full
of deliciously ripe Strawberries!
Loaded with nutritional vitamins and antioxidants, Strawberries
are one of the most health-conscious berries around. Just a one-cup serving
of the red berry provides 93% of your daily supply of Vitamin C, 16% of your
daily supply of Fiber and 20% of your daily supply of Folic Acid! Not to
mention the added benefits of Iron, Calcium and a bounty of antioxidants.
How sweet is that?
This May, pay homage to the irresistible Strawberry and pump up your immune
system by adding to your diet. Enjoyable ³a la carte² or paired
with yogurt, salad, cereal, ice cream, etc. Strawberries are
the ideal springtime sweet treat.
Note and Recipe Courtesy of Driscoll's:
STRAWBERRY AVOCADO SALSA
Yields 3 ½ cups
Ingredients:
1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks or tidbits
1 small avocado, pitted and diced
1 1-pound package Driscoll’s Strawberries, ¾” cubed
½ to1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon onion salt
Method:
Drain and reserve 2 tablespoons pineapple juice*.
In glass or pottery bowl, combine pineapple, reserved juice, avocado, strawberries, jalapenos, balsamic vinegar and onion salt.
Let stand 5 to 10 minutes for flavors to blend.
Serve with chips, or over grilled halibut or chicken breasts.
OR instead of pineapple, peel and chop 1 medium mango and add to remaining ingredients with 1/3 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
*For a simple marinade for chicken breasts combine remaining juice from pineapple, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Pour marinade over 2 large (or 4 small) halibut steaks/fillets or chicken breasts. Marinate 20-30 minutes; drain. Grill or bake until meat is done.
Celebrate the arrival of pleasant weather in good health - with a fist-full
of deliciously ripe Strawberries!
Loaded with nutritional vitamins and antioxidants, Strawberries
are one of the most health-conscious berries around. Just a one-cup serving
of the red berry provides 93% of your daily supply of Vitamin C, 16% of your
daily supply of Fiber and 20% of your daily supply of Folic Acid! Not to
mention the added benefits of Iron, Calcium and a bounty of antioxidants.
How sweet is that?
This May, pay homage to the irresistible Strawberry and pump up your immune
system by adding to your diet. Enjoyable ³a la carte² or paired
with yogurt, salad, cereal, ice cream, etc. Strawberries are
the ideal springtime sweet treat.
Note and Recipe Courtesy of Driscoll's:
STRAWBERRY AVOCADO SALSA
Yields 3 ½ cups
Ingredients:
1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks or tidbits
1 small avocado, pitted and diced
1 1-pound package Driscoll’s Strawberries, ¾” cubed
½ to1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon onion salt
Method:
Drain and reserve 2 tablespoons pineapple juice*.
In glass or pottery bowl, combine pineapple, reserved juice, avocado, strawberries, jalapenos, balsamic vinegar and onion salt.
Let stand 5 to 10 minutes for flavors to blend.
Serve with chips, or over grilled halibut or chicken breasts.
OR instead of pineapple, peel and chop 1 medium mango and add to remaining ingredients with 1/3 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
*For a simple marinade for chicken breasts combine remaining juice from pineapple, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Pour marinade over 2 large (or 4 small) halibut steaks/fillets or chicken breasts. Marinate 20-30 minutes; drain. Grill or bake until meat is done.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Message to Obama from The Cornucopia Institute: Please Fix the USDA's Organic Mess
President Obama and new USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack are being urged to take immediate action to repair the USDA’s increasingly dysfunctional National Organic Program (NOP). Suspect imports of grains, nuts, and vegetables from China and other countries, questionable organic milk, beef, and eggs from giant factory farms, and the erosion of opportunity for family farmers are plaguing the organic sector.
Consumer demand for organic production has skyrocketed in recent years, propelling organics into an over $20 billion dollar a year business. That same hunger for organics has encouraged some large corporations, factory farms, and foreign producers to move into the U.S. organic business—but without upholding federal organic production standards.
On February 12, The Cornucopia Institute, a national organic watchdog representing family famers, sent a formal letter and briefing paper to President Obama and Secretary Vilsack specifically asking that they take “a very strong and proactive posture in turning around management at the National Organic Program,” which they described as being “Katrina-ed” by the Bush administration.
“The stewardship of the organic program at the USDA has been an absolute abomination,� said Mark A. Kastel, Cornucopia’s senior farm policy analyst. “It was not just management by neglect—it was an intentional monkeywrenching of the Department's oversight of the industry.”
In the last several years, audits prepared by the American National Standards Institute and the Inspector General's office have blasted the NOP for failing to ensure that independent certification agencies, which verify organic farming and production practices, are competent and properly performing their jobs. A Peer Review Panel—fundamental to ensuring competent certification—has never been established.
Technical Advisory Panels, crucial to the evaluation of specific materials and ingredients used in organic food and agriculture, remain underfunded or unused. Furthermore, dozens of policy resolutions adopted by the National Organic Standards Board, the expert citizen advisory panel to the NOP, have never been reviewed or implemented. �In addition to starving the organic program for adequate funding, the political environment at the USDA has always been hostile to the industry,�� said Kastel.
During the Bush administration political appointees at the USDA had also significantly softened penalties for organic lawbreakers, overruling stiff enforcement actions recommended by career civil servants, for factory farms that were found willfully violating federal organic standards. Other complaints detailing abuses on factory farms were quashed or went uninvestigated.
“If organic food production and eating had not caught on so well, we wouldn't see these scofflaws doing their thing,” observed Merrill Clark, a certified organic livestock farmer from Michigan and former member of the National Organic Standards Board. Clark added, “It��s time to change the culture at the USDA.”
The Cornucopia Institute has launched a “Change@USDA� campaign and is helping stakeholders in the organic community to unite for rehabilitation of the NOP. The farm group intends to hand-deliver letters to both Mr. Obama and Secretary Vilsack from farmers and consumers supporting a sweeping management shakeup at the National Organic Program.
In the first sign that the new administration at the USDA is taking the concerns of organic and sustainable farming interests to heart, yesterday [on February 23], Secretary Vilsack announced the appointment of Dr. Kathleen Merrigan, a Tufts University assistant professor, as USDA Deputy Secretary. “I cannot think of a more qualified public policy expert to take on this important role at what Abraham Lincoln referred to as the ‘people's department, ’” Kastel affirmed. The Cornucopia Institute, and many other farm organizations, lobbied hard for Merrigan's appointment. �I hope this is representative of President Obama and Secretary Vilsack subscribing to the old adage that, ‘good government equals good politics,’” he added.
However, with sectors of the organic industry in crisis, stakeholders are hoping the new appointees at the USDA take swift action. “The certified organic label belongs to the thousands of ethical organic family farmers, and their consumer allies and patrons, who have built the vibrant organic agricultural and food market,” said Peter Wiesner, General Manager at the Hungry Hollow Co-op in Chestnut Ridge, New York. “We need new management at the National Organic Program if we are to reclaim the organic label,” Wiesner said.
As questions swirl around the handling of organics by the NOP, a true crisis is unfolding in the organic dairy sector. Ethical organic dairy farmers, and the co-ops and family-owned businesses they partner with for processing and marketing, are getting hammered by cheap, phony "organic" milk from giant factory farms and alleged predatory pricing by the $11 billion agribusiness behemoth, Dean Foods.
Dean Foods, owner of 50 different milk brands including the nation’s leading organic dairy label, Horizon Organic, has heavily discounted their retail pricing, driving down market prices for all competitors. Dean/Horizon gets a large percentage of their milk from their 8000-cow industrial dairy and from many other mega-farms they contract with.
The majority of the bogus private-label, or store-brand, milk (which is usually cheaper than branded organic milk) marketed by Wal-Mart, Costco, Safeway, Target, and other grocery chains comes from the controversial Aurora Dairy, operator of five giant factory farms in Texas and Colorado.
“These unethical competitors are squeezing and undercutting other brands and the family farms that supply them,�� stated Cornucopia’s Kastel. Kastel added that “Stonyfield, Organic Valley, and other smaller marketers have had to let some of their family farmers go and/or cut prices paid to them.”
Despite their rhetoric supporting family farmers, Dean/Horizon has used strong-arm tactics in attempting to terminate ties with some of its farmers—this, sadly, as the company continues to expand its use of industrial-scale dairy operations.
Don Halverson, a family-scale organic dairy farmer near Rupert, Idaho, recently saw Dean refuse to buy his milk. “We thought we were dealing with ethical people,” said Halverson, who milks about 50 cows. �My family and I hitched our wagon's future to the commitments we received from the Horizon folks.” His family now faces financial ruin without a market for his organic milk.
Cornucopia is calling on the USDA to enforce federal organic regulations that would control abuses occurring in the organic dairy sector. Enforcement has been spotty, at best, at the USDA. A number of legal complaints filed by Cornucopia documenting alleged violations of organic law on factory dairies were never investigated by the Agency.
Consumer demand for organic production has skyrocketed in recent years, propelling organics into an over $20 billion dollar a year business. That same hunger for organics has encouraged some large corporations, factory farms, and foreign producers to move into the U.S. organic business—but without upholding federal organic production standards.
On February 12, The Cornucopia Institute, a national organic watchdog representing family famers, sent a formal letter and briefing paper to President Obama and Secretary Vilsack specifically asking that they take “a very strong and proactive posture in turning around management at the National Organic Program,” which they described as being “Katrina-ed” by the Bush administration.
“The stewardship of the organic program at the USDA has been an absolute abomination,� said Mark A. Kastel, Cornucopia’s senior farm policy analyst. “It was not just management by neglect—it was an intentional monkeywrenching of the Department's oversight of the industry.”
In the last several years, audits prepared by the American National Standards Institute and the Inspector General's office have blasted the NOP for failing to ensure that independent certification agencies, which verify organic farming and production practices, are competent and properly performing their jobs. A Peer Review Panel—fundamental to ensuring competent certification—has never been established.
Technical Advisory Panels, crucial to the evaluation of specific materials and ingredients used in organic food and agriculture, remain underfunded or unused. Furthermore, dozens of policy resolutions adopted by the National Organic Standards Board, the expert citizen advisory panel to the NOP, have never been reviewed or implemented. �In addition to starving the organic program for adequate funding, the political environment at the USDA has always been hostile to the industry,�� said Kastel.
During the Bush administration political appointees at the USDA had also significantly softened penalties for organic lawbreakers, overruling stiff enforcement actions recommended by career civil servants, for factory farms that were found willfully violating federal organic standards. Other complaints detailing abuses on factory farms were quashed or went uninvestigated.
“If organic food production and eating had not caught on so well, we wouldn't see these scofflaws doing their thing,” observed Merrill Clark, a certified organic livestock farmer from Michigan and former member of the National Organic Standards Board. Clark added, “It��s time to change the culture at the USDA.”
The Cornucopia Institute has launched a “Change@USDA� campaign and is helping stakeholders in the organic community to unite for rehabilitation of the NOP. The farm group intends to hand-deliver letters to both Mr. Obama and Secretary Vilsack from farmers and consumers supporting a sweeping management shakeup at the National Organic Program.
In the first sign that the new administration at the USDA is taking the concerns of organic and sustainable farming interests to heart, yesterday [on February 23], Secretary Vilsack announced the appointment of Dr. Kathleen Merrigan, a Tufts University assistant professor, as USDA Deputy Secretary. “I cannot think of a more qualified public policy expert to take on this important role at what Abraham Lincoln referred to as the ‘people's department, ’” Kastel affirmed. The Cornucopia Institute, and many other farm organizations, lobbied hard for Merrigan's appointment. �I hope this is representative of President Obama and Secretary Vilsack subscribing to the old adage that, ‘good government equals good politics,’” he added.
However, with sectors of the organic industry in crisis, stakeholders are hoping the new appointees at the USDA take swift action. “The certified organic label belongs to the thousands of ethical organic family farmers, and their consumer allies and patrons, who have built the vibrant organic agricultural and food market,” said Peter Wiesner, General Manager at the Hungry Hollow Co-op in Chestnut Ridge, New York. “We need new management at the National Organic Program if we are to reclaim the organic label,” Wiesner said.
As questions swirl around the handling of organics by the NOP, a true crisis is unfolding in the organic dairy sector. Ethical organic dairy farmers, and the co-ops and family-owned businesses they partner with for processing and marketing, are getting hammered by cheap, phony "organic" milk from giant factory farms and alleged predatory pricing by the $11 billion agribusiness behemoth, Dean Foods.
Dean Foods, owner of 50 different milk brands including the nation’s leading organic dairy label, Horizon Organic, has heavily discounted their retail pricing, driving down market prices for all competitors. Dean/Horizon gets a large percentage of their milk from their 8000-cow industrial dairy and from many other mega-farms they contract with.
The majority of the bogus private-label, or store-brand, milk (which is usually cheaper than branded organic milk) marketed by Wal-Mart, Costco, Safeway, Target, and other grocery chains comes from the controversial Aurora Dairy, operator of five giant factory farms in Texas and Colorado.
“These unethical competitors are squeezing and undercutting other brands and the family farms that supply them,�� stated Cornucopia’s Kastel. Kastel added that “Stonyfield, Organic Valley, and other smaller marketers have had to let some of their family farmers go and/or cut prices paid to them.”
Despite their rhetoric supporting family farmers, Dean/Horizon has used strong-arm tactics in attempting to terminate ties with some of its farmers—this, sadly, as the company continues to expand its use of industrial-scale dairy operations.
Don Halverson, a family-scale organic dairy farmer near Rupert, Idaho, recently saw Dean refuse to buy his milk. “We thought we were dealing with ethical people,” said Halverson, who milks about 50 cows. �My family and I hitched our wagon's future to the commitments we received from the Horizon folks.” His family now faces financial ruin without a market for his organic milk.
Cornucopia is calling on the USDA to enforce federal organic regulations that would control abuses occurring in the organic dairy sector. Enforcement has been spotty, at best, at the USDA. A number of legal complaints filed by Cornucopia documenting alleged violations of organic law on factory dairies were never investigated by the Agency.
Monday, February 23, 2009
p.i.n.k. dessert cocktails
p.i.n.k. Tiramisu
1 ½ oz p.i.n.k.® vodka
1 oz Baileys® irish cream
1 oz Starbucks&trade coffee liqueur
1 oz Starbucks&trade cream liqueur
½ oz half & half cream
Combine p.i.n.k.® vodka, Baileys® irish cream, Starbucks&trade coffee liqueur, Starbucks&trade cream liqueur, and half & half cream over chipped ice and shake well. Rim a well-chilled martini glass with heavy chocolate syrup and strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Garnish with a ladyfinger cookie.
p..i.n.k. White & Blue
2oz p.i.n.k. vodka
1scoop vanilla ice cream
1oz wild strawberry liqueur
Large dollop of fresh whipped cream
Combine p.i.n.k.® vodka, vanilla ice cream, and wild strawberry liqueur with one scoop of chipped ice in a blender and blend until creamy. Pour into a well-chilled martini glass. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with a fresh blueberry placed on top of the whipped cream.
p.i.n.k. berry cake
2 ½ oz p.i.n.k.® vodka
2 oz white crème de cocoa
1 oz Frangelico®
5 fresh blackberries
Combine p.i.n.k.® vodka, white crème de cocoa, Frangelico® and 4 blackberries over ice and shake well. Strain into a well-chilled martini glass. Garnish with 1 blackberry.
p.i.n.k. mint condition
2 oz p.i.n.k.® vodka
1 ½ oz irish cream
¾ oz green crème de menthe
Swirl chocolate syrup inside a well-chilled martini glass. Combine ingredients over chipped ice and shake well. Strain into glass.
1 ½ oz p.i.n.k.® vodka
1 oz Baileys® irish cream
1 oz Starbucks&trade coffee liqueur
1 oz Starbucks&trade cream liqueur
½ oz half & half cream
Combine p.i.n.k.® vodka, Baileys® irish cream, Starbucks&trade coffee liqueur, Starbucks&trade cream liqueur, and half & half cream over chipped ice and shake well. Rim a well-chilled martini glass with heavy chocolate syrup and strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Garnish with a ladyfinger cookie.
p..i.n.k. White & Blue
2oz p.i.n.k. vodka
1scoop vanilla ice cream
1oz wild strawberry liqueur
Large dollop of fresh whipped cream
Combine p.i.n.k.® vodka, vanilla ice cream, and wild strawberry liqueur with one scoop of chipped ice in a blender and blend until creamy. Pour into a well-chilled martini glass. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with a fresh blueberry placed on top of the whipped cream.
p.i.n.k. berry cake
2 ½ oz p.i.n.k.® vodka
2 oz white crème de cocoa
1 oz Frangelico®
5 fresh blackberries
Combine p.i.n.k.® vodka, white crème de cocoa, Frangelico® and 4 blackberries over ice and shake well. Strain into a well-chilled martini glass. Garnish with 1 blackberry.
p.i.n.k. mint condition
2 oz p.i.n.k.® vodka
1 ½ oz irish cream
¾ oz green crème de menthe
Swirl chocolate syrup inside a well-chilled martini glass. Combine ingredients over chipped ice and shake well. Strain into glass.
Former Ketel One Vodka Executives Concoct Ultra-Premium Azuñia Tequila
Kirk Gaither and Jim Riley today announced the launch of their latest venture, Intersect Beverage. This spring, the company is set to bring to market a line of authentic, ultra-premium tequila: Azuñia Tequila.
Gaither, former Vice President of Sales for Ketel One Vodka, and Riley, former Vice President of Public Relations and Events for Ketel One Vodka, have secured a deal with Sergio Partida Zuniga and Liliana Partida, two members of a respected tequila-making family in Amatitan, Mexico. They have signed a contract for 20,000 acres of Weber Blue Agave fields in the Jalisco region that includes established distillery resources. This coalition will put them at the forefront of the ultra-premium tequila import market.
"This is the next step natural in our careers. Being well-acquainted with the Partida-Zuniga family as well as their fields and facilities in Amatitan, we could not be more elated with the business arrangement and the products that we have developed together," explains Riley.
Intersect Beverage's initial imports will include Azuñia Tequila made from 100 percent Weber Blue Agave in the following varieties: un-aged Platinum; Reposado—aged six months in American Oak barrels; and a 12- to 18-month aged Añejo. All three tequila varieties will be available in 750 milliliter and one liter sizes.
As for distribution, Gaither comments, "We will partner with those distributors best positioned for the launch of an ultra-premium tequila brand. Our preferred pricing, marketing strategies and nimble approach to the industry put us in a perfect position to launch Azuñia Tequila today."
"My family and I are extremely excited about this new partnership. Jim and Kirk are exceptionally well-suited to carry the passion, heritage and tradition of my family to the United States through Azuñia Tequila," remarks Liliana Partida.
Gaither, former Vice President of Sales for Ketel One Vodka, and Riley, former Vice President of Public Relations and Events for Ketel One Vodka, have secured a deal with Sergio Partida Zuniga and Liliana Partida, two members of a respected tequila-making family in Amatitan, Mexico. They have signed a contract for 20,000 acres of Weber Blue Agave fields in the Jalisco region that includes established distillery resources. This coalition will put them at the forefront of the ultra-premium tequila import market.
"This is the next step natural in our careers. Being well-acquainted with the Partida-Zuniga family as well as their fields and facilities in Amatitan, we could not be more elated with the business arrangement and the products that we have developed together," explains Riley.
Intersect Beverage's initial imports will include Azuñia Tequila made from 100 percent Weber Blue Agave in the following varieties: un-aged Platinum; Reposado—aged six months in American Oak barrels; and a 12- to 18-month aged Añejo. All three tequila varieties will be available in 750 milliliter and one liter sizes.
As for distribution, Gaither comments, "We will partner with those distributors best positioned for the launch of an ultra-premium tequila brand. Our preferred pricing, marketing strategies and nimble approach to the industry put us in a perfect position to launch Azuñia Tequila today."
"My family and I are extremely excited about this new partnership. Jim and Kirk are exceptionally well-suited to carry the passion, heritage and tradition of my family to the United States through Azuñia Tequila," remarks Liliana Partida.
Pastry Chef Is Preparing for a National Stage
Megan Ketover never got an Easy Bake Oven when she was a girl. Instead, when the baking bug bit, her mom told her to use the big old gas oven in the kitchen.
Good move, Mom.
Ketover, you see, has turned out to be an accomplished pastry chef.
Indeed, at the tender age of 29, Ketover – an adjunct faculty member at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College – has just been named Regional Pastry Chef of the Year for the Northeast Region of the American Culinary Federation.
She will now compete in July in the Federation’s national competition in Orlando.
Ketover’s path to the pastry kitchen at Cincinnati State was as circuitous as it was fortuitous.
After graduating from Cincinnati’s renowned Walnut Hills High School, she enrolled at Sam Houston State University in Texas, with plans to major in business. But Ketover started working in the retail industry during school – so much so that she began to win promotions even though she hadn’t finished her degree. She was on the eve of another promotion when she learned that the Midwest Culinary Institute was starting a pastry program. It occasioned a big decision.
“When the pastry program opened here, I thought, ‘Hmm, I wonder if I could do that for a living?’’ Ketover recalled.
It turned out she could.
Ketover left retailing -- and any plans she might have entertained about returning to school in Texas -- and enrolled at Cincinnati State. She graduated summa cum laude from the Midwest Culinary Institute in 2007.
After working at several restaurants and hotels in Greater Cincinnati, Ketover came back to the Midwest Culinary Institute as an adjunct instructor. She also helps out as a prep chef for the weekly television show, The Dish, that’s filmed in the MCI studio kitchen. And she spends a fair amount of time helping out with Cincinnati State’s retail bakery.
But where Ketover has really made a name for herself, at least at MCI, is her cakes. Luscious, elegant, whimsical cakes – the sort that look too good to slice, but taste too good to not eat.
Flip through a montage of photos of the cakes she’s done and you’ll find the monkey guards from Wizard of Oz. A Cincinnati chili dog. A disturbingly realistic catfish. And example after example of elegant wedding cakes in subdued shades of white and beige.
Ketover credits her mother’s artistic inclination and her father’s discipline as an engineer for her approach to designer cakes. The first part of her DNA helps with the inspiration and design, the other with the execution.
She’s also picked up a bit from the Midwest Culinary Institute’s library. “I’ve read every cookbook we have,’’ she admits.
It turned out that the author of one such cookbook, chef Francisco Migoya from the Culinary Institute of America, was her competitor at the American Culinary Federation’s recent Northeast Regional Conference in Boston. “He wrote a lovely book – it’s down in our library,’’ Ketover remarked.
Migoya and Ketover were invited to participate in the ACF’s head-to-head regional competition on the basis of detailed applications they and others submitted. For Ketover it was a first – never before had she entered a culinary competition, much less one this prestigious.
She packed up all her equipment – mixing bowls, whisks, blenders, ingredients, just about everything she’d need besides an oven and a refrigerator -- and flew it all to Boston. Then, with a little help from her mother, she hauled it all from her hotel to the venue the day of the event.
Once there, she had an hour to prepare and present a hot desert for four. She made a Brown-butter almond cake, with passion fruit caramel, rum, blood orange, whipped mascarpone with a ginger-pineapple compote, from recipes she’d developed herself and then refined through weeks of practice. The judges responded by awarding her the top regional prize.
Now she gets to do it all over again, on a national stage. Ketover is clearly excited by the challenge, but seems as well to be keeping everything in perspective.
Said the young West Chester resident: “I just keep trying to learn as much as I can.’’
Good move, Mom.
Ketover, you see, has turned out to be an accomplished pastry chef.
Indeed, at the tender age of 29, Ketover – an adjunct faculty member at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College – has just been named Regional Pastry Chef of the Year for the Northeast Region of the American Culinary Federation.
She will now compete in July in the Federation’s national competition in Orlando.
Ketover’s path to the pastry kitchen at Cincinnati State was as circuitous as it was fortuitous.
After graduating from Cincinnati’s renowned Walnut Hills High School, she enrolled at Sam Houston State University in Texas, with plans to major in business. But Ketover started working in the retail industry during school – so much so that she began to win promotions even though she hadn’t finished her degree. She was on the eve of another promotion when she learned that the Midwest Culinary Institute was starting a pastry program. It occasioned a big decision.
“When the pastry program opened here, I thought, ‘Hmm, I wonder if I could do that for a living?’’ Ketover recalled.
It turned out she could.
Ketover left retailing -- and any plans she might have entertained about returning to school in Texas -- and enrolled at Cincinnati State. She graduated summa cum laude from the Midwest Culinary Institute in 2007.
After working at several restaurants and hotels in Greater Cincinnati, Ketover came back to the Midwest Culinary Institute as an adjunct instructor. She also helps out as a prep chef for the weekly television show, The Dish, that’s filmed in the MCI studio kitchen. And she spends a fair amount of time helping out with Cincinnati State’s retail bakery.
But where Ketover has really made a name for herself, at least at MCI, is her cakes. Luscious, elegant, whimsical cakes – the sort that look too good to slice, but taste too good to not eat.
Flip through a montage of photos of the cakes she’s done and you’ll find the monkey guards from Wizard of Oz. A Cincinnati chili dog. A disturbingly realistic catfish. And example after example of elegant wedding cakes in subdued shades of white and beige.
Ketover credits her mother’s artistic inclination and her father’s discipline as an engineer for her approach to designer cakes. The first part of her DNA helps with the inspiration and design, the other with the execution.
She’s also picked up a bit from the Midwest Culinary Institute’s library. “I’ve read every cookbook we have,’’ she admits.
It turned out that the author of one such cookbook, chef Francisco Migoya from the Culinary Institute of America, was her competitor at the American Culinary Federation’s recent Northeast Regional Conference in Boston. “He wrote a lovely book – it’s down in our library,’’ Ketover remarked.
Migoya and Ketover were invited to participate in the ACF’s head-to-head regional competition on the basis of detailed applications they and others submitted. For Ketover it was a first – never before had she entered a culinary competition, much less one this prestigious.
She packed up all her equipment – mixing bowls, whisks, blenders, ingredients, just about everything she’d need besides an oven and a refrigerator -- and flew it all to Boston. Then, with a little help from her mother, she hauled it all from her hotel to the venue the day of the event.
Once there, she had an hour to prepare and present a hot desert for four. She made a Brown-butter almond cake, with passion fruit caramel, rum, blood orange, whipped mascarpone with a ginger-pineapple compote, from recipes she’d developed herself and then refined through weeks of practice. The judges responded by awarding her the top regional prize.
Now she gets to do it all over again, on a national stage. Ketover is clearly excited by the challenge, but seems as well to be keeping everything in perspective.
Said the young West Chester resident: “I just keep trying to learn as much as I can.’’
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monettes at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii Names Executive Chef
Monettes, a new fine dining restaurant at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel founded by the owners of the award-winning Flagstaff House Restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, welcomes Matt Zubrod as Executive Chef.
“Chef Zubrod has an enthusiasm for cuisine that is both playful and very well crafted,” said Mark Monette, Owner/Chef of Monettes. “He has a wealth of experience in hotel restaurant management, and has a true passion for the art of cooking. We look forward to his influence on the overall dining experience we will be providing at Monettes.”
Chef Zubrod brings to Monettes nearly 20 years of culinary and hotel restaurant management experience in various Mobile Four-Star and Five-Star properties in the U.S. and Paris.
“Opening a restaurant in Hawaii is an exciting culinary adventure for two of Colorado’s most esteemed chefs. They are combining a bit of refined rocky mountain cuisine with fresh island specialty foods,” said Scott Monette, Owner of Monettes.
Prior to joining Monettes, Chef Zubrod was Executive Chef and Managing Partner at DishAspen in Aspen, Colorado, where he was featured in various publications including Wine Spectator, Esquire and USA Today.
Other experience includes:
15 years with the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company where he served in several Mobile Four-Star and Five-Star properties, including Ritz Carlton-Boston, Ritz Carlton-Naples and Ritz Carlton-Aspen Highlands;
Executive Chef at the Vail Cascade Club and Spa, where he was awarded the AAA Four Diamond Award;
Stagiere at The Chanticleer Restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts and in Parisat Michel Rostang and Philipe Groult’s Ampycles.
In addition, Chef Zubrod was recognized twice as one of America’s Best Hotel Chefs by the James Beard Foundation; one of the highest honors for food professionals. He was also a competitor on Food Network’s Iron Chef America in 2007.
Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Chef Zubrod spent most of his life in Kennebunkport, Maine. His culinary training began with an apprenticeship program with The Ritz-Carlton, Boston in 1989, where he received certification and further education from Newbury College in Brookline, Mass.
About Monettes
Located at the prestigious Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii, Monettes was founded by brothers Mark and Scott Monette, owners of the award-winning Flagstaff House Restaurant in Boulder, Colorado. Monettes offers American French cuisine with island influences combined with the world-class, award-winning service that the Monette family has become known for over the past 38 years. Monettes also offers a more casual dining experience in an outdoor setting at the Bar M Café. For more information about Monettes visit www.monetteshawaii.com; for more information about Flagstaff House Restaurant visit www.flagstaffhouse.com.
“Chef Zubrod has an enthusiasm for cuisine that is both playful and very well crafted,” said Mark Monette, Owner/Chef of Monettes. “He has a wealth of experience in hotel restaurant management, and has a true passion for the art of cooking. We look forward to his influence on the overall dining experience we will be providing at Monettes.”
Chef Zubrod brings to Monettes nearly 20 years of culinary and hotel restaurant management experience in various Mobile Four-Star and Five-Star properties in the U.S. and Paris.
“Opening a restaurant in Hawaii is an exciting culinary adventure for two of Colorado’s most esteemed chefs. They are combining a bit of refined rocky mountain cuisine with fresh island specialty foods,” said Scott Monette, Owner of Monettes.
Prior to joining Monettes, Chef Zubrod was Executive Chef and Managing Partner at DishAspen in Aspen, Colorado, where he was featured in various publications including Wine Spectator, Esquire and USA Today.
Other experience includes:
15 years with the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company where he served in several Mobile Four-Star and Five-Star properties, including Ritz Carlton-Boston, Ritz Carlton-Naples and Ritz Carlton-Aspen Highlands;
Executive Chef at the Vail Cascade Club and Spa, where he was awarded the AAA Four Diamond Award;
Stagiere at The Chanticleer Restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts and in Parisat Michel Rostang and Philipe Groult’s Ampycles.
In addition, Chef Zubrod was recognized twice as one of America’s Best Hotel Chefs by the James Beard Foundation; one of the highest honors for food professionals. He was also a competitor on Food Network’s Iron Chef America in 2007.
Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Chef Zubrod spent most of his life in Kennebunkport, Maine. His culinary training began with an apprenticeship program with The Ritz-Carlton, Boston in 1989, where he received certification and further education from Newbury College in Brookline, Mass.
About Monettes
Located at the prestigious Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii, Monettes was founded by brothers Mark and Scott Monette, owners of the award-winning Flagstaff House Restaurant in Boulder, Colorado. Monettes offers American French cuisine with island influences combined with the world-class, award-winning service that the Monette family has become known for over the past 38 years. Monettes also offers a more casual dining experience in an outdoor setting at the Bar M Café. For more information about Monettes visit www.monetteshawaii.com; for more information about Flagstaff House Restaurant visit www.flagstaffhouse.com.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Disney-themed Breyers Yogurt Fun, Tasty Way To Introduce Kids To Healthier Eating
Disney Consumer Products and Breyers® Yogurt Company have teamed up to create Disney themed Breyers®Yogurt; a new kid-focused, swirled, low-fat yogurt that moms appreciate and kids love. Since the line is still going strong and since parents are on more of a quest than ever to find healthier food their kids will actually eat.
Available in a convenient six-cup multi-pack, Disney themed Breyers® Yogurt provide an excellent source of calcium, a good source of Vitamin A & D, contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors and only 110 calories per cup.
Featuring the Disney characters and great taste kids love, the new line is available in the following flavors (all featuring colorful flavor swirls):
§ My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Strawberry Vanilla and Peach
§ Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Super Strawberry and Blazin’ Strawberry Banana
§ Disney Fairies, Cherry Blossom and Pixie Hollow Orange
§ Hannah Montana, Super Star Strawberry and Rockin’ Berry Blast
This Disney themed Breyers® Yogurt is sold for an SRP of $2.79-$2.99 for each multi-pack of six 4oz cups.
Available in a convenient six-cup multi-pack, Disney themed Breyers® Yogurt provide an excellent source of calcium, a good source of Vitamin A & D, contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors and only 110 calories per cup.
Featuring the Disney characters and great taste kids love, the new line is available in the following flavors (all featuring colorful flavor swirls):
§ My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Strawberry Vanilla and Peach
§ Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Super Strawberry and Blazin’ Strawberry Banana
§ Disney Fairies, Cherry Blossom and Pixie Hollow Orange
§ Hannah Montana, Super Star Strawberry and Rockin’ Berry Blast
This Disney themed Breyers® Yogurt is sold for an SRP of $2.79-$2.99 for each multi-pack of six 4oz cups.
Americans Celebrate World Fair Trade Day May 9
Americans across the country will gather in unison on Saturday, May 9, to surpass last year's largest Fair Trade coffee break to support the growing popularity of Fair Trade in the United States. Large cities and small towns, faith-based groups, businesses, neighborhoods and interested individuals can take part by participating in many planned activities throughout the country to help highlight the benefits of Fair Trade to farmers, producers, consumers and the environment.
WHO: Fair Trade supporters, retailers, and consumers across the United States
WHAT: "World's Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break" to help set the record straight: Everything is Better When It's Fair
Simultaneous Fair Trade coffee breaks throughout the country to celebrate Fair Trade's accomplishments, enjoy many Fair Trade products, and join the movement to improve the lives of farmers & artisans in developing countries.
WHERE: Local organizers will host Fair Trade "breaks" in hundreds of towns and cities across the U.S., from Milwaukee to Media, PA, Chicago to Taos, NM, and San Francisco to New York. Event locations & details can be found at www.FTRN.org.
WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 2009, World Fair Trade Day
Hundreds of events are being planned on or around May 9th. Please check the Web site for details on exact dates & times.
WHY: Americans are participating in World Fair Trade Day to set the record straight - Everything is Better When It's Fair.
The Fair Trade movement is about treating people and the planet with respect and dignity. Buying over $1 billion of Fair Trade products annually, U.S. consumers are supporting millions of farmers and artisans who make the goods we consume and enjoy. Fair Trade ensures they are paid a fair wage, and work in healthy conditions. Additionally, choosing Fair Trade products benefits the environment since Fair Trade supports sustainable practices which minimize our environmental footprint.
The Fair Trade Resource Network (FTRN) coordinates World Fair Trade Day in the United States and acts as an educational resource on Fair Trade for the general public. FTRN will be providing promotional materials, educational resources and ideas on how to celebrate and organize a Fair Trade break in local communities. The non-profit group has also teamed up with various partners to help make World Fair Trade Day 2009 a success. Major sponsors of World Fair Trade Day 2009 include Catholic Relief Services, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Fair Trade Federation, Gifts With Humanity, Global Crafts, Handmade Expressions, Jamtown, Lutheran World Relief, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, TransFair USA, & Wholesome Sweeteners. Regular sponsors include Adina for Life, Cooperative Coffees, Equal Exchange, Fair Trade Sports, Green America, Handcrafting Justice, Larry's Beans, and WorldofGood.com. For more information on World Fair Trade Day 2009, please visit www.FTRN.org.
WHO: Fair Trade supporters, retailers, and consumers across the United States
WHAT: "World's Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break" to help set the record straight: Everything is Better When It's Fair
Simultaneous Fair Trade coffee breaks throughout the country to celebrate Fair Trade's accomplishments, enjoy many Fair Trade products, and join the movement to improve the lives of farmers & artisans in developing countries.
WHERE: Local organizers will host Fair Trade "breaks" in hundreds of towns and cities across the U.S., from Milwaukee to Media, PA, Chicago to Taos, NM, and San Francisco to New York. Event locations & details can be found at www.FTRN.org.
WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 2009, World Fair Trade Day
Hundreds of events are being planned on or around May 9th. Please check the Web site for details on exact dates & times.
WHY: Americans are participating in World Fair Trade Day to set the record straight - Everything is Better When It's Fair.
The Fair Trade movement is about treating people and the planet with respect and dignity. Buying over $1 billion of Fair Trade products annually, U.S. consumers are supporting millions of farmers and artisans who make the goods we consume and enjoy. Fair Trade ensures they are paid a fair wage, and work in healthy conditions. Additionally, choosing Fair Trade products benefits the environment since Fair Trade supports sustainable practices which minimize our environmental footprint.
The Fair Trade Resource Network (FTRN) coordinates World Fair Trade Day in the United States and acts as an educational resource on Fair Trade for the general public. FTRN will be providing promotional materials, educational resources and ideas on how to celebrate and organize a Fair Trade break in local communities. The non-profit group has also teamed up with various partners to help make World Fair Trade Day 2009 a success. Major sponsors of World Fair Trade Day 2009 include Catholic Relief Services, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Fair Trade Federation, Gifts With Humanity, Global Crafts, Handmade Expressions, Jamtown, Lutheran World Relief, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, TransFair USA, & Wholesome Sweeteners. Regular sponsors include Adina for Life, Cooperative Coffees, Equal Exchange, Fair Trade Sports, Green America, Handcrafting Justice, Larry's Beans, and WorldofGood.com. For more information on World Fair Trade Day 2009, please visit www.FTRN.org.
OU Passover Guide 5769, 2009 Now Available
hock full of information about the latest Passover products, Jewish law guidelines, and interesting features, the annual OU Guide to Passover not only possesses a wealth of useful information but also offers varied reading material as a special issue of the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Action magazine. The Passover Guide for 5769/2009 is now available.
Passover is celebrated this year from April 8-16.
The Guide is no longer a mere gray and white compendium of which foods are and are not permitted for Passover. It has evolved into a full-feature, color magazine, an annual special of the renowned Jewish Action Magazine that is distributed to tens of thousands in the OU community each year.
David Olivestone, National Director of Planning and Communications, declared, “Since the annual OU Guide to Passover is one of the major ways in which we reach the public, even beyond the membership of our synagogues, we realized it offers a great opportunity to provide informative articles about how to observe Passover. There are a lot of important guidelines there that can help a family enhance their enjoyment of the holiday.”
The heart of the Guide features food and other products that are approved for Passover use. The OU has compiled two basic lists:
• Items that must have an OU P appear on the label, such as baking mixes, baked products, beverages, candy, condiments, dairy products, matzah products, meat and poultry, olive oil, snack food, wine and liqueurs;
• Items that do not require special Passover certification such as aluminum foil, candles, cleansers, and paper goods, as long as they still have the regular OU certification.
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President of the OU, noted, “Once again, the Orthodox Union is bringing a vital service to the Jewish community and to the Jewish homemaker in particular. The preparations for Passover are complicated and sometimes onerous. The OU Guide to Passover provides real help and guidance for Passover preparation, and is an aid to both efficiency and kashrut observance. Many thanks to all the many contributors to this Directory, which has become an integral part of the Passover holiday for so many thousands of Jewish homes.”
Once again, this year’s edition includes guidelines concerning the use of medicines on Passover; Passover recipe substitutes; a koshering primer for preparing your home for Passover; and a brief guide to the Passover seder.
Interesting features in this year’s issue include “Getting to Know Your Matzah,” an account of the matzah-baking process and all the intricacies involved; “From Grapes to Kosher Wine,” on how wine is produced from grapes, and the Jewish laws involved; and “A Question of Kitniyot,” an in-depth look at kitniyot (loosely translated as legumes) another food category prohibited by those in the Ashkenazi community.
Additionally, the Guide contains essential information for observing the holiday and articles on making a kitchen kosher for Passover, as well as the counting of the Omer, the 49 days that lead to the Festival of Shavuot. Listed in the Guide are the latest possible times to eat leavened bread (chametz), and for burning chametz, as well as candle lighting times for Passover in major cities across the United States and Canada.
The Guide will be available at ShopRite at the customer service desk and at many smaller kosher supermarkets as well. OU synagogues and Yeshiva/day schools have also received copies of the Guide, and it will be directly available through the mail to all OU members and Jewish Action subscribers. It can be accessed on the OU website, http://www.oupassover.org. To order individual copies for $3 each, contact Roberta Levine at roberta@ou.org or 212-613-8125.
Passover is celebrated this year from April 8-16.
The Guide is no longer a mere gray and white compendium of which foods are and are not permitted for Passover. It has evolved into a full-feature, color magazine, an annual special of the renowned Jewish Action Magazine that is distributed to tens of thousands in the OU community each year.
David Olivestone, National Director of Planning and Communications, declared, “Since the annual OU Guide to Passover is one of the major ways in which we reach the public, even beyond the membership of our synagogues, we realized it offers a great opportunity to provide informative articles about how to observe Passover. There are a lot of important guidelines there that can help a family enhance their enjoyment of the holiday.”
The heart of the Guide features food and other products that are approved for Passover use. The OU has compiled two basic lists:
• Items that must have an OU P appear on the label, such as baking mixes, baked products, beverages, candy, condiments, dairy products, matzah products, meat and poultry, olive oil, snack food, wine and liqueurs;
• Items that do not require special Passover certification such as aluminum foil, candles, cleansers, and paper goods, as long as they still have the regular OU certification.
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President of the OU, noted, “Once again, the Orthodox Union is bringing a vital service to the Jewish community and to the Jewish homemaker in particular. The preparations for Passover are complicated and sometimes onerous. The OU Guide to Passover provides real help and guidance for Passover preparation, and is an aid to both efficiency and kashrut observance. Many thanks to all the many contributors to this Directory, which has become an integral part of the Passover holiday for so many thousands of Jewish homes.”
Once again, this year’s edition includes guidelines concerning the use of medicines on Passover; Passover recipe substitutes; a koshering primer for preparing your home for Passover; and a brief guide to the Passover seder.
Interesting features in this year’s issue include “Getting to Know Your Matzah,” an account of the matzah-baking process and all the intricacies involved; “From Grapes to Kosher Wine,” on how wine is produced from grapes, and the Jewish laws involved; and “A Question of Kitniyot,” an in-depth look at kitniyot (loosely translated as legumes) another food category prohibited by those in the Ashkenazi community.
Additionally, the Guide contains essential information for observing the holiday and articles on making a kitchen kosher for Passover, as well as the counting of the Omer, the 49 days that lead to the Festival of Shavuot. Listed in the Guide are the latest possible times to eat leavened bread (chametz), and for burning chametz, as well as candle lighting times for Passover in major cities across the United States and Canada.
The Guide will be available at ShopRite at the customer service desk and at many smaller kosher supermarkets as well. OU synagogues and Yeshiva/day schools have also received copies of the Guide, and it will be directly available through the mail to all OU members and Jewish Action subscribers. It can be accessed on the OU website, http://www.oupassover.org. To order individual copies for $3 each, contact Roberta Levine at roberta@ou.org or 212-613-8125.
Roni Piterman, CEO of gfMeals Wins Award
The San Fernando Valley Business
Journal has awarded Roni Piterman, CEO of Your Dinner Secret, a "40
Under 40" award for leadership in business. This is an annual award
presented to 40 young leaders, under the age of 40, in the San
Fernando Valley.
Roni and her sister Ari Kosmal started Your Dinner Secret in January
of 2007. The company started out as an independent meal assembly
business, but quickly morphed into the premiere supplier in the
country of frozen, ready-to-cook, gluten-free, casein-free entrees,
sides and baked goods, shipped directly to your door.
They market their food under the gfMeals™ brand name. It can be
ordered at the website www.gfMeals.com, or directly from their retail
store in Woodland Hills, CA.
The primary markets for this delicious food are: people with celiac
disease; families recovering children with autism, aspergers, ADHD and
other autoimmune disorders; and people who lead a healthy gluten-free
lifestyle.
Journal has awarded Roni Piterman, CEO of Your Dinner Secret, a "40
Under 40" award for leadership in business. This is an annual award
presented to 40 young leaders, under the age of 40, in the San
Fernando Valley.
Roni and her sister Ari Kosmal started Your Dinner Secret in January
of 2007. The company started out as an independent meal assembly
business, but quickly morphed into the premiere supplier in the
country of frozen, ready-to-cook, gluten-free, casein-free entrees,
sides and baked goods, shipped directly to your door.
They market their food under the gfMeals™ brand name. It can be
ordered at the website www.gfMeals.com, or directly from their retail
store in Woodland Hills, CA.
The primary markets for this delicious food are: people with celiac
disease; families recovering children with autism, aspergers, ADHD and
other autoimmune disorders; and people who lead a healthy gluten-free
lifestyle.
Gourmet Conversation
TableTopics Conversation Starters are cubes are filled with mini cards each with a different question. They are fun, thought provoking and guaranteed to propel your conversations to new heights. Discover something new about your family, friends and even yourself!
Sample questions:
What piece of kitchen equipment do you covet?
If you could only use one cookbook for the next year which would you choose?
WhatIf you had your own cooking show what would be your theme?
Click on this link to see a photo and learn more.
www.tabletopics.com
Sold At: Retailers nationwide and on www.tabletopics.com
Retail Price: $25.00
Sample questions:
What piece of kitchen equipment do you covet?
If you could only use one cookbook for the next year which would you choose?
WhatIf you had your own cooking show what would be your theme?
Click on this link to see a photo and learn more.
www.tabletopics.com
Sold At: Retailers nationwide and on www.tabletopics.com
Retail Price: $25.00
Food & Wine Classic Contest
Green & Black’s is a chocolate that makes no compromises. The great tasting chocolate made from the world’s finest organic ingredients also gives back to the environment. Now Green & Black's Organic chocolate wants to find out how others live green & black – making eco-friendly choices while not compromising on life's every day indulgences.
We invite your readers to submit an original story (200 words maximum) on how they balance both the green & the black – the eco-friendly and indulgent – in their life. Some ideas to get you started:
-Since hot water accounts for about 90 percent of a washer’s energy, I only use it on my toughest stains. An added bonus, laundering in cold water helps keep the colors of my favorite outfits from fading.
-I really take an interest in what I eat and where my food comes from, so I go to DineGreen.com to determine how eco-conscious my favorite restaurants are. The Green Restaurant Association offers various certification levels, based on criteria like whether a restaurant buys locally or composts its waste, so it helps me feel great about eating out.
The winner will receive an exclusive guest package for two (2) to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 19-21, 2009. This year’s Classic will include culinary favorites Giada De Laurentiis and Mario Batali, cooking legend Jacques Pépin, grill master Bobby Flay, along with Michael Symon, Michel Richard, and many more. The perennially sold-out event will support Food & Wine’s Grow for Good campaign benefiting Wholesome Wave Foundation, a national initiative dedicated to supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture
The winning “Live in the &” entry will be awarded the following:
• Guest passes to the Classic in Aspen Grand Tastings
• Insider access to the exclusive Grow for Good Dinner
• Passes to select seminars
• Round trip airfare for 2 to Aspen
• Accommodations for 3 nights
To enter the Green & Black’s “Live in the &” Contest presented with Food & Wine, visit www.foodandwine.com/greenandblacks. Entries are being accepted now through April 30, 2009.
We invite your readers to submit an original story (200 words maximum) on how they balance both the green & the black – the eco-friendly and indulgent – in their life. Some ideas to get you started:
-Since hot water accounts for about 90 percent of a washer’s energy, I only use it on my toughest stains. An added bonus, laundering in cold water helps keep the colors of my favorite outfits from fading.
-I really take an interest in what I eat and where my food comes from, so I go to DineGreen.com to determine how eco-conscious my favorite restaurants are. The Green Restaurant Association offers various certification levels, based on criteria like whether a restaurant buys locally or composts its waste, so it helps me feel great about eating out.
The winner will receive an exclusive guest package for two (2) to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 19-21, 2009. This year’s Classic will include culinary favorites Giada De Laurentiis and Mario Batali, cooking legend Jacques Pépin, grill master Bobby Flay, along with Michael Symon, Michel Richard, and many more. The perennially sold-out event will support Food & Wine’s Grow for Good campaign benefiting Wholesome Wave Foundation, a national initiative dedicated to supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture
The winning “Live in the &” entry will be awarded the following:
• Guest passes to the Classic in Aspen Grand Tastings
• Insider access to the exclusive Grow for Good Dinner
• Passes to select seminars
• Round trip airfare for 2 to Aspen
• Accommodations for 3 nights
To enter the Green & Black’s “Live in the &” Contest presented with Food & Wine, visit www.foodandwine.com/greenandblacks. Entries are being accepted now through April 30, 2009.
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