Giveaway: Sargento Makes it Easy to be Cheese-y

Note: Sargento cheese products and coupons were supplied by the company for review and post.

I don't know about you but I seriously think that cheese should be it's own food group, not just part of the dairy group.  Everyone in my family loves cheese- there are usually varieties from American slices (for grilled cheese) to Tallegio to Maytag in our fridge at any given time. But with the post-holiday weigh-ins and New Year's resolutions, the time for double and triple cream is past (or at least in moderation),  the search for healthy and nutritious snack that won't tip the scales.  And with so many people trying to increase their protein intake, cheese seems like a natural... but how to deal with the fat?  Well it should come as no surprise that when Sargento- the persnickety cheese people decided to make a line of reduced fat cheeses, they did not reduce the quality and taste. 

Now I know, if you are like me you may have tasted reduced fat cheeses that were bland and rubbery.  I was skeptical too when they offered to send me some samples of their reduced fat snack sticks in Colby-Jack and Cheddar. But I have been taking these cheese sticks to work for the last few days to have as a snack with fruit or whole-grain crackers, and these snack-sized morsels have all the taste and texture with reduced fat (and consequently, less guilt!)

How does this Cuban Pressed Sandwich look as a quick dinner?

Don't believe me?  Well thanks to Sargento, you can try for yourself. I have several coupons for free Sargento cheese that I will give to  comments selected randomly - to win, Like Sargento cheese on Facebook, then leave mke a comment telling me you have done so, and I will select comments at random on February 1!!  in the meantime, check out the Sargento cheese site for great recipes using  their regular and reduced fat cheeses! And they have a special set of recipes for those of you looking for ideas for Super Sunday that you have got to check out- you can please the persnickety fans in your house, while keeping them healthy enough for a round of touch football during halftime!

Woman (and man and teen) vs Food: A Richmond Day Trip

Just a reminder that I am competing to be the Next Food Blog Star in Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog. You can check our some amazing posts from over 1800 contestants for Challenge #1: Ready Set Blog! And don't stand on the sidelines- you can be part of the Foodbuzz community even if you are not a blogger-lots of foodies do! And check back on September 20 when voting begins. If you check our my challenge post, leave me a comment- I love to hear what you have to say!!

As a blogger and a person generally interested in food, a good percentage of my TV time is spent watching food-related shows - Top Chef, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Anthony Bourdain, and even Gordon Ramsey's latest, Master Chef. It is especially exciting when a show features a restaurant or cook nearby, and that happened a couple of months ago when Man vs. Food did a feature on Richmond, VA. Several restaurants were featured in this episode but the one that really appealed to me was the feature on the "battleship" sandwiches at the Black Sheep, so when my work required me to take a day trip to Richmond, I took my husband and daughter Molly for a mini-adventure, culinary and otherwise.

The drive was pretty uneventful and we got to the Patrick Henry Building in plenty of time for me to make my meeting. The plan was for Gavin and Molly to wander around the recently renovated state Capitol building until my work was done and then we would head to the Black Sheep for lunch. I didn't know till I looked at the pictures that apparently there was a lot to see, even though my meeting was only an hour-ish long. You can see that Molly had a great time exploring(She took all the scenery pictures in this post-good,huh?)

Once I was done, we headed down near to Virginia Commonwealth University to find the Black Sheep. Once we located the small storefront, we had to circle a couple of times to find a parking space, and even though we were there before noon, we had about a 10-minute wait. Even though the restaurant was filling up, the staff was friendly and welcoming, getting us seated and giving us our menus. She also brought us our iced tea right away (it was extremely hot outside) and returned with a pitcher when she heard my husband was diabetic. We already had checked out the menu online and had a good idea what we would order. My husband and I were determined to try one of the fabled "battleship" sandwiches. I knew I would order the Virginia because I had seen this one on Man vs. Food and I am a big fan of chicken livers (I know some of you will be saying "Yuck!"), Gavin wanted to get the SS Sultana, but they were out of the lamb gyro meat, so he decided on a whole SS Congress filled with, what else but pork!! Since he had promised to take some home for Bridget who could not come, he ordered a whole battleship. Molly, who can be a fussy eater, ordered the Cuban Reuben. We enjoyed the decor, looking around at the eclectic variety of art, memorabilia, and knick knacks that adorned the brick walls (Molly particularly liked this guy, above).

When our food came we were blown away. Even though Gavin was having half of his battleship wrapped for Bridget, they insist on presenting it to you whole first. You can see the effect!!
The SS Congress is piled high with honey & chipotle roasted pork shoulder topped with a tomatillo barbeque sauce, grilled pineapple & mexican style pickled cabbage salad. The combination was traditional enough to please a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but with unique flavors that really pulled the different ingredients together.

My SS Virginia featured an unusual combination of fried chicken livers loaded into a toasted french baguette with shredded cabbage, green onions, granny smith apple & remoulade sauce.It is also offered with chicken for the less adventurous. I wasn't sure about the fried liver and apple combination, but it really worked- this was one of the best sandwiches I had ever had!

Molly's Cuban Reuben was served on a ciabatta roll with thinly sliced pastrami cured roasted pork loin, chorizo sausage, pink saurkraut, swiss, pickles and a special house sauce, pressed in the style of Cuban sandwiches. Even though this was a regular sandwich, it was piled with ingredients and Molly ate half and decided to take half home.

The staff at Black Sheep was very friendly and solicitous, making our lunch more like a meal with friends than a restaurant meal. Black Sheep has an extensive menu (I want to go back for their breakfast roast duck hash or green eggs and ham!) While it takes awhile to find, this little place is well worth the trouble!

Fabulous Food Destinations in the Outer Banks

When we planned for fun in the sun in the Outer Banks, while we planned dinners, we left some days free to give us some flexibility to go out or get takeout, or whatever struck our fancy. While the Corolla area is full of the typical sub shops, pizza joints and barbecue stands, we found several culinary jewels during our stay. Our first night, since it was breezy and cooler we went to Steamers to Go and got one of our favorites- their clam chowder, which they sell by the quart. It is a little pricey, but delicious and combined with some mahi mahi en papillote, it made a great dinner on the screened porch! Steamers has all kinds of seafood, and other great pre-made foods meant to make your stay at the beach easier, even if you are the cook!

During our two week stay we had pizza twice trying both the recommended Tomato Patch and Corolla Pizza, a place with local flavor in a little strip mall north of the Currituck Lighthouse. Tomato Patch is popular since it is a family-friendly sit down restaurant as well as pizza take out. Since our children are grown, we care primarily about the pizza. The Tomato Patch makes good pizza, but I have to say that the pizza at Corolla Pizza was my favorite of the two. The shop itself reminds me of our own neighborhood pizzeria where you can watch the dough being tossed. The crust was just the right thickness to please my thin-crust loving husband, with a crisp bottom and freshly-made taste. The sauce was not too sweet or acidic and the toppings were fresh and delicious. As a bonus, they had Mexican Coke, which I had read has real sugar like the Coke of my childhood, so I got two for the girls to try.

Before we left to go on vacation, I had seen something on Food Network about Tullio's Bakery in Duck, and we definitely put it on our list of places to try while we were there. We were not disappointed. Tullio's is a dieter's nightmare- the cases were full of all manner of treats. Cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, cupcakes, muffins, scones and desserts that were so tempting. We got a dozen assorted goodies for breakfast one morning and by noon, there was only an empty box (and the added pounds) to remind us of our stop there. Tullio's also offers half a dozen assorted bagels at a very reasonable reduced price and the bagels are amazing! So what if we had to do a few more laps in the pool? Tullio's was totally worth it! (Actually, writing this post has made me want to make the drive back down just to go there and try more of their breads and desserts!)

Next post- an elegant meal out in the Outer Banks

The Icing On The Cupcake - Romance Mystery & Cupcakes??

Romance Mystery Revenge & Cupcakes??? It all sounds confusing, right? But that's precisely how it all comes together in Jennifer Ross's latest cookbook The Icing on the Cupcakes. Yes, I am talking about an actual cookbook about cupcakes, complete with tonnes of beautiful and unique cupcake recipes that will win your heart over. But rather than creating yet another cupcake cookbook that lists page after page of recipes, Jennifer Ross takes cookbook writing to an altogether new platform, by presenting it in the form of a Novel!

In this delectable novel, which also features delicious cupcake recipes, intertwined with the story of a young woman, Jennifer introduces us to someone who takes upon the challenge of being successful and fulfilling her dreams, one delicious cupcake at a time.

This is a story about Ansley Waller, who is a typical Southern belle from Dallas, with the ultimate goal of getting married to a rich and loving husband, raising his kids, and gracing parties and banquets in Southern style. But when her fiance unceremoniously kicks her to the curb and cancels their upcoming wedding, Ansley's world is all topsy-turvy, and she decides to head to New York City to live with her recently widowed and wealthy grandmother, Vivian, so she could forget her sorrow and get rid of ugly memories. But in turn, Vivian gives Ansley a no-nonsense ultimatum: Rather than wallow in misery, either get a job or go back home.

Then begins Ansley's journey to gather her nerves, put her MBA coursework to practice, and find a place for herself in this world. She decides to open a Cupcake shop with an endearing wish to bake the most exquisite cupcakes that any New Yorker has ever had! But unfortunately for her, New York is not a safe haven as Dallas - everything here is different, and Ansley has to go through her fair share of hard work, misery and sleepless nights before she can fulfill her dream, not to mention the fact that someone might be trying to sabotage her business, even before it opened!

Amidst this chaos, Ansley also has to find out why her grandmother had estranged her daughter, Ansley's mother at the tender age of 5, and never came back for her! Vivian is a great baker too, and Baking helps the two women to come closer and forge the bond that they never knew existed. What's the dark secret of Vivian's past? Who's trying to ruin Ansley's life? Was Ansley able to open her cupcake shop? You'd have to read this book to find out the answers.

All I can say is, Ross does a beautiful job of developing her characters and creating suspense in this book, finding space to end each chapter with an appropriate cupcake recipe. Plus, read the pages carefully and you'll also be able to find some serious baking tips that could turn a novice baker into a chiseled one!
The Icing on the Cupcakes is a lovely book that marries drama and cooking in an enticing way. For a small price tag of 11 bucks, this is one book that you'd love to add to your cookbook/novel collection.

About the Author: Jennifer Ross is a former Wall Street Journal and Dallas Morning News reporter, and the co-founder of the movie production company Brick House. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, children, and her two Papillions, Navette and Ruby. You can find more about her on her website, or check her out on Twitter

What is wrong with this picture?

While it doesn't happen every day, I occasionally am approached to review new food and food-related products in exchange for a sample. Right before the holidays I was approached by a representative from Emily's Chocolates asking if I would like to try and review their chocolates. Well, that was a no-brainer. However, holiday mail played havoc and I didn't get my package, so when they found out, a new box full of Emily's Chocolate was at my door in no time. I unpacked the box and set the containers on the table until I could get around to photos, tasting and posting. I honestly thought my chocolate samples would be safe since chocolate covered nuts and fruits are more my thing than that of other people in my household.

So imagine my surprise when I came downstairs to find that three of four of my Emily's packages had been raided!! In a house with three women, the idea that someone would hit the chocolate is not really surprising, but I was shocked to find that the real perpetrators were the male members of our household! Now that is an endorsement for chocolate.

My son Andrew was drawn to the milk-chocolate covered graham crackers, which came individually wrapped (like that would help your self-control!), while my husband headed for the dark chocolate covered cherry-hazelnut mix, very strange since he normally is not a big fan of chocolate-covered fruit. This alone was enough to make me take my own taste test, and I was so impressed! There was just enough chocolate to compliment the nuts and fruit inside. The chocolate had just the right amount of sweetness, and was wonderfully creamy. My favorite was the pecans that were covered in chocolate and dusted with cocoa- they were sophisticated chocolate perfection!

Needless to say, with so many fans, Emily's Chocolates did not hang around very long, and I have to admit, I have already hit the website to try the chocolate-covered blueberries... and the chocolate-covered fortune cookies... or maybe the cranberries bathed in chocolate... Anyway, check out Emily's for yourself, her chocolates can be your chocolates at their website, at amazon.com, and a variety of retail partners (if you can't wait for the mail). And don't forget, Valentine's Day is just around the corner.