By Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Author of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes>

I would like to extend my thanks to Caitlin Price of FSB Associates for making this piece available to the readers of CBSOP.  It’s a valuable article and one that I hope you enjoy!

There is no more appropriate time than now to think about how and why we cook. Food is a way of connecting with the people who surround us. Through it, we communicate emotions like love, compassion and understanding, and there is no better opportunity to communicate with our children than at the table. It’s where we can discuss our values of life that are important to us as individuals, as a family and as a part of the world we live in.

As overconsumption and greed have come to haunt us, now is a time for reflection. We should be looking back at the generations before us to understand their approach to the table. Growing food, shepherding animals, foraging for the gifts of nature is all part of respecting food. Nothing needs to be wasted. Bread can be recycled and used in soups, casseroles, lasagnas and desserts. Water is carefully conserved as in the pasta recipe I share below where the same water in which vegetables are cooked is used to cook the pasta that follows, and then that is saved for soups or for making risotto.

When one respects the food we prepare, it also leads to a more sensible and balanced intake of proteins, legumes and vegetables.

So “waste not, want not” and make it delicious!

Excerpt from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009)

FRESH CAVATELLI WITH CAULIFLOWER
Maccarun ch’I Hiucc

Serves 6

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, and I regret that many people don’t sufficiently appreciate its unique flavor and nutritional value. This is not the case in Molise, where it is cooked often and creatively, as exemplified by the following two simple vegetarian pasta dishes. The first recipe, maccarun ch’i hiucc, is zesty with garlic and peperoncino.

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta pot

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

7 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 large head cauliflower, cut in small florets

1 batch (11/2 pounds) Fresh Cavatelli (preceding recipe), or 1 pound dried pasta

1 cup freshly grated pecorino (or half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for a milder flavor)

Recommended equipment: A large pasta pot; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12 inch diameter or larger

Fill the large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt), and heat to a boil.

Pour the olive oil into the skillet, set over medium-high heat, and scatter in the sliced garlic. Let the garlic start to sizzle, then toss in the peperoncino and parsley; stir and cook for a minute. Ladle in a cup of the pasta cooking water, stir well, and adjust the heat to keep the liquid in the skillet simmering and reducing gradually while you cook the cauliflower and pasta.

With the pasta water at a rolling boil, drop in the cauliflower florets, and cook them for about 3 minutes, until barely tender. Drop in the cavatelli, stir, and return the water quickly to a boil. Cook another 4 to 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is fully tender and the pasta is al dente (if you are using dried pasta, it will, of course, take longer).

Lift out the florets and cavatelli with a spider or strainer, drain briefly, and spill them into the skillet. Toss well, to coat all the pasta and vegetable pieces with the garlicky dressing, then turn off the heat,

sprinkle over the skillet the grated cheese, and toss again. Heap the cauliflower and cavatelli in warm bowls, and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE BREAD PARFAIT
Pane di Cioccolato al Cucchiaio

Serves 6

This recalls for me the chocolate-and-bread sandwiches that sometimes were my lunch, and always a special treat. And it is another inventive way surplus is used in Umbrian cuisine, with leftover country bread serving as the foundation of an elegant layered dessert. Though it is soaked with chocolate and espresso sauce and buried in whipped cream, the bread doesn’t disintegrate, and provides a pleasing textural contrast in every heavenly spoonful.

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

8 ounces country-style white bread, crusts removed

1/2 cup freshly brewed espresso

2 tablespoons dark rum

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Recommended equipment: A large rimmed tray or baking sheet, such as a half-sheet pan (12 by 18 inches); a spouted measuring cup, 1 pint or larger; 6 parfait glasses or wineglasses, preferably balloon-shaped

Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl set in a pan of hot (not boiling) water. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir until completely smooth. Keep it warm, over the water, off the heat.

Slice the bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and lay them flat in one layer, close together, on the tray or baking sheet.

Pour the warm espresso into a spouted measuring cup, stir in the rum and sugar until sugar dissolves, then stir in half the melted chocolate. Pour the sauce all over the bread slices, then flip them over and turn them on the tray, to make sure all the surfaces are coated. Let the bread absorb the sauce for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form, by hand or with an electric mixer.

To assemble the parfaits: Break the bread into 1-inch pieces. Use half the pieces to make the bottom parfait layer in the six serving glasses, dropping an equal amount of chocolatey bread into each. Scrape up some of the unabsorbed chocolate sauce that remains on the baking sheet, and drizzle a bit over the bread layers. Next, drop a layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using up half the cream. Top the cream layer with toasted almonds, using half the nuts.

Repeat the layering sequence: drop more soaked bread into each glass, drizzle over it the chocolate sauce from the tray and the remaining melted chocolate. Dollop another layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using it all up, and sprinkle the remaining almonds on top of each parfait. This dessert is best when served immediately while the melted chocolate is still warm and runny.

©2010 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, authors of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

Author Bio
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, is the author of five previous books, four of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, and can be reached at her Web site, www.LidiasItaly.com <http://www.lidiasitaly.com/>

Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia’s daughter and coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, received her Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art history from Oxford University. Since 1996 she has led food/wine/art tours of Italy. She lives with her husband and children on Long Island.

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

As cooks we’ve known for years that in most cases the less expensive store-brand products on the shelves above and below the big name brands were just as high in quality as their more expensive brethren.  The difference in pricing is almost entirely due to a far lower advertising budget and the ability to sell a product to multiple big chain retailers under their own label rather than to have to market the product themselves.

Store brands go through exactly the same inspection processes and quality assurance checks that name-brand products do.  All of these things are mandated.  We also have to assume that the manufacturers of these products are just as proud of their work as are the employees of major brands.  if they weren’t, they’d be out of business.

But what happens when a big company tries to tell us that their product is better?  That’s the name of the game in advertising, right? Of course it is, at least until you go too far with it.

Going too far is jut what Mead Johnson did when it ran an advertising campaign for its Enfamil® product line that also suggested that using store brand formulas might actually be harmful to your childs’ health and well being.

Needless to say, the folks at PBM Products, who manufacture store brand infant formulas for such major players as Wal-Mart and Kroeger’s were more than a bit miffed.  In th end they were miffed to the tune of $13.5 Million dollars, which is what a jury ordered Mead Johnson to pay in damages due to their ad campaign.

not only did this court case prove that store brands are nearly always equal in quality to major name brands, but that you can’t believe everything that an advertiser decides to tell you is true.  do your research, make sure that what you’re feeding your kids is just as good as you can give them… but if you can get it for half the price, why wouldn’t you?

Peace. I’m out.

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Wheat Food Council. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever wondered just what it takes for your food to get to your plate?  do you want to share the gift of knowledge with your children or grandchildren who may have never seen a farm in action? If so, the folks at the Wheat Foods Council have come up with a virtual tour that can help you or your younger family members learn just that.

To top that off, they will donate two pounds of wheat flour (up to 90,000 pounds) to Operation Homefront for each visitor who takes the virtual tour.

If you’re not aware, Operation Homefront is an organization that assists U.S. Military families who are in need.  it’s an organization that is near and dear to my heart, both as a veteran and as the spouse of a service member.  I’ve never needed their help, but I know people who have, for various reasons and I think that their work is very important.

All you have to do is skip on over to How Wheat Works, where you’ll get to plant your own virtual crop and follow it o market in the finished product of your choice.  it’s fun, simple and actually very enjoyable. (Yep, I went through the entire thing.  I loved it.)

As a foodie I feel that it is imperative o know where your food comes from.  It’s a fact of life that has been forgotten by a very large number of our younger generation.  This little web application can help show them that bread doesn’t grow on some mystical tree, already packaged in plastic and sliced for them.  That’s knowledge that is crucial if we want our children to appreciate the wide variety of foods available to them.

Yes, this is a sponsored post, but I chose to take it because it’s a topic worth being passionate about.  i already support Operation Homefront.  This is a chance for you to support them without spending a cent, and you might just be able to enrich a life in the process.  Simple elegance.

Please, help make the 90,000 pound goal possible.  The people who benefit from it are good folks in need, and you can help.

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I’m contacted fairly regularly by websites that want to exchange links or otherwise get a mention from CBSOP.  For the most part, these sites have nothing to do with cooking, food or recipes and are ignored summarily.  Every once-in-a-while though, someone contacts me with a site that I feel is worth passing along to the folks that make this place what it is.  You, the readers of this blog.  You guys rock and I only want to let you know about things that you’ll actually be able to use.  This is one of them.

Onlinerecipefinders.com is all of these things.  Though it feels a bit spartan and is a tad clunky to use, the recipe finder functions as you would expect it to, in an “old school Google” kind of way.  The results are relevant, the system is responsive and the amount of results is satisfying.  In short if you hit the search recipe button, you’re gonna get a good lot of choices to browse through.

The results are all in PDF format, which is a bit of a drag, but it’s something I can live with.  It only takes a second to pull up the file and read through it.  Less time than many food blogs take to load.  The plus side is that you can download recipes directly to your hard drive for later use; A very useful feature if you are just starting out on a digital recipe library since PDF’s index extremely well on both Mac and Windows and are searchable.

My end opinion is that this is a site with great potential.  While I do think the site needs a bit more polish and user interface adjustments, the simple interface is refreshing, the results show what you’re looking for and the recipes are not just skimmed off of other food blogs. With some smoothing over it could very easily become one of my go-to reference libraries for inspiration and I give a thumbs-up to the developers of the site.  They’ll have a winner if they keep it up.

I’ll be sure to let you know of any new happenings with this site.  Why not go check it out for yourself?

This review was sponsored by onlinerecipesfinder.com.  All opinions given are my own and in no way constitute a conflict of interest.

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There’s no doubt that natural organic meat is better than factory-farmed meats, and while it is becoming more available in larger markets, it might still be difficult to find natural organic meats in your area.  Worse, if there is little demand for this type of meat in a certain market, the price can be prohibitive if your local market isn’t able to order in large enough volumes to make the price on organic meats competitive to that of their factory-farmed cousins.

Top restaurants agree.  Check out this video on Natural Meat that discusses the benefits over factory-farmed meats. Chefs constantly sing the praises of this product, and that should not go unnoticed.
Finally, organically raised animals live a better life than factory-farmed animals. They’re allowed to do what they were meant to do and live a good happy, healthy life right up until the moment they become part of your meal. That single factor makes me more likely to purchase naturally raised meats.  it’s the simple and humble respect I have for the animal that gave its life so that my family and I can continue ours.

Respect your food.

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The time has come to name the winner of my Nolan Ryan Beef Gift Certificate Contest.  This morning I ran the numbers through Randomizer and came up with the following results:

the official results from Random.org

The second person to leave a comment in the competition was Megan of Megan’s Cookin’.

Congrats Megan!  I’ve already sent you an email that includes your gift code.  Enjoy the beef and have fun!

I’ll be giving away a great Texas Cowboy Cookbook in the next few weeks, so stay tuned everyone!

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You may remember that just before I left Texas, I was asked for the second time to participate in a recipe spotlight in partnership with the Texas Beef Council. the council had approached me in the past and I’ve always been happy to help them out with these events.

Since we already knew my wife was destined for Turkey, I thought that the Moroccan Style Beef Kabob recipe I put together would be fitting, and even though it turned out far less spectacularly than it could have, I blame the beef and my inexperience with bulgur, not the recipe, which I look forward to making again. Participating was fun and, I thought, a fitting end to my time in Texas. I’d completely forgotten about a mention of a drawing for prizes for the participants.

Until I got this in my email:

Pictured in the photo above is Mr. Richard Wortham, Executive Vice President of the Texas Beef Council drawing my name out of a hat that looks suspiciously like one that I own.  The initial shock was compounded when the email reminded me of what I’d won.  The text of the mail (edited) went like this:

Hi Jerry,

Congratulations – you’ve won our Texas Grilling Recipe Challenge! Attached you’ll find a picture of your name being drawn out of a hat by Richard Wortham, Executive Vice President of the Texas Beef Council. Here’s what you’ve won:

• Char-Broil gas grill
  
• $100 beef gift card from Nolan Ryan Beef and
• Grilling essentials such as an apron, grill mitt and grilling utensils

The Texas beef gift pack valued around $500 to either keep or to give away to your readers. The grill will be coming your way courtesy of Home Depot and The Texas Beef Council will be sending you the rest of the gift pack next week.

Um. WOW!

And of course, we were moving less than a week later, so everything had to be arranged to arrive in California at my sister’s house.  A month later my wife left for Turkey, the grill is still in the garage, the gift pack is “somewhere”, this post was never written and I never got to do what I’m doing now…

I’m giving one of you guys a $100.00 beef gift card from Nolan Ryan Beef!

So if you’d like a chance to get a $100.00 head start on any order of beef from Nolan Ryan Beef, just leave a comment below before midnight on Monday, September 14th and I’ll pick someone at random to send the code to.

I’m looking forward to handing this prize out, folks.  It’s a carnivore’s delight and I’m hoping that another food logger gets it so that we can see what comes of the order for ourselves.  Of course I won’t limit the giveaway to food bloggers, but I’d love to see it happen that way.

More giveaways will be coming.  We’re working onthe holidays, after all, so i thought I’d get a head start on the giving!

Good Luck!

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In case you didn’t know, my wife is currently stationed in Turkey.  While I miss her terribly, I’m thrilled that she not only has the chance to sample some wonderful new foods, but also that she’s willing to share them with us.

The following video was taken at a local restaurant in Adana Turkey.  The gentlemen behind the counter is making Filo dough by hand!

I believe that the borek shown in the video was filled with goats milk cheese and onions and a few spices.  I wish I’d been there to enjoy it with her!

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(Please welcome Guest poster Mary Ward, thanks for taking time out for us, Mary)

Living a healthy life has so much to do with how physically fit you are and of course what foods you eat. The phrase “you are what you eat” has never rung more true! If you want to live a long and healthy life and even help to find some natural home remedies for certain health conditions, you need to learn to eat the right foods. Making your food work for you and perform sometimes medicinal purposes can be of great help to your overall health. Learning to make the right food choices can ensure that you work to prevent certain health conditions and long a much more enjoyable and healthy life overall.
Picking the Right Foods

We’re all tempted to make bad food choices at times. Eating fried foods, lots of sweets, or just making choices that don’t offer much nutritional value can be tempting, but they add up to a whole lot of extra calories, unwanted pounds, and may even contribute to certain health conditions. Learning to select foods such as whole grains, lean proteins, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and low fat dairy can make a world of difference in the long run. These are the core foods for healthy living and your daily diet should be made up of these choices, limiting or eliminating the fatty choices.

Foods that Offer Health Benefits

Did you know that including certain “super foods” in your diet can not only help your waistline to look better, but can help you to feel better too? Including foods such as garlic and onions, blueberries, salmon, sweet potatoes, olive oil, beans, and peppers can offer actual health benefits. Many of these foods can help to prevent or cure certain health conditions such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, and even help to combat serious ailments such as cancer or heart disease. Learning and living by the fact that what you eat can make a great impact on your health can do wonders for your longevity and quality of life.

Get Rid of the Bad Foods

Eating a great amount of fried, processed, or convenience foods can not only help to pack on the pounds, but can contribute to many health conditions. These foods not only offer little to no nutritional value, but they are loaded with additives and preservatives that introduce unwanted chemicals into the body. These can turn into unwanted health conditions and overtime slow your intestines, colon, or even contribute to headaches. These foods should be limited or completely eliminated from your diet and replaces with healthier alternatives that can fill your craving without making you sick.

You can do a lot to improve your health in myriad ways just by making minor changes that allow your diet to work for you. Live better, feel better, and enjoy the journey with these few simple, workable health tips.

Mary Ward writes about various health care career topics, including how to obtain a masters in health care degree.

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Redding California is known for many things.  We’ve got lakes, mountains, hiking, boating, camping and some really lovely architecture. Our parks are gorgeous and the trails are breathtaking.  The views are memorable, some even say unforgettable. Until recently however, the food scene here was dismal at best.

I’m very happy to say that we’ve finally gotten a few offerings for the discerning foodie.  They’re still dwarfed by chain restaurants and Mexican food eateries (some of which are amazing, by the way), but they’re beginning to attract a loyal following among people that enjoy eating for the sheer pleasure it brings.  Among these new offerings is Tapas Downtown on Oregon Street in the heart of Redding itself.

The restaurant is owned by partners Brad (above left) and Christine (who unfortunately was not at the restaurant when we visited.) I’d actually decided to try Tapas Downtown before I started talking to Christine and Brad on Twitter, but having a few conversations with the owners is a good indicator of what the restaurant will be like, and our experience at Tapas Downtown confirms that assumption.

After looking over the menu, I decided on the lamb kabob lunch and my wife opted for the tapas gyro. We both chose simple iced tea as our beverage, since we had plans to check out the antique mall next door to Tapas after lunch, and the day was extremely warm (101 degrees).

The kabobs were absolutely divine.  The hummus and pita were divine and the salad was good, even though it was slightly overdressed for my tastes (but I’m picky about dressing levels, so that could very well just be me.) My wife sampled the lamb as well and was still singing its praises when she boarded the plane for Turkey three days later.

The gyro was a bit of a disappointment for us. Not because the Tapas Gyro isn’t good, but because it’s not a gyro in the traditional sense. Instead of being served in pita, the version at Tapas Downtown is served in flat bread with a sauce that isn’t quite tzatziki and not quite anything else I’ve ever experienced before. As a serious lover of the traditional gyro, it’s a disappointment. Taken as a wrap in its own right, it was very tasty.

The ambiance at Tapas is wonderful, the staff is friendly and they know their menu.  Our lunch was great and in the end I find myself in a position to recommend Tapas Downtown in Redding to anyone who wants a great experience and a good meal.  The only downside to our visit was that Christine wasn’t there, and she had promised me a tour of the kitchen.  I’ll have to see if I can get a rain check on that, what I did see through the entryway door was very nice.

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