Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Yes, Nibbles of Tidbits is still live.  And continuously eating — Mostly out and microwavable frozen meals while the kitchen was being remodeled, but now I’m cookin’ up a storm, as I like to say, though you wouldn’t know that from here lately.  All of that is sure to change having this beautiful, inspiring kitchen.  We just love it.  And food looks great here too.  I created this short, before and after video to show the dramatic change.  We set up a temporary kitchen in the garage, thought up a new design, selected a contractor, materials, colors, products and style, and hoped for the best.  We are very pleased with the final results, which shall be starring here.  We’re happy to present Nibbles of Tidbits’ new kitchen and we are thankful to/for all who made it possible.

It’s official — I’ve prepared 100+ Blue Apron recipes.  My husband counted them.  After two-hundred plus total dishes, I decided it was time to try a few other meal delivery companies.  At least three to start… Plated, Hello Fresh and Chef’d.  It’s not because we don’t like Blue Apron.  We love them.  I’m now curious how others’ dishes compare.  Are they as flavorful and international?

The Plated Report — Plated’s box was huge and all was packed within a thick insulation that looked like it should be recycled in the garden.  Different than Blue Apron, but it kept all cold and fresh.

One of the BEST things about Plated is they offer Dessert.  Blue Apron currently does not.

Dessert (recipe and ingredients) costs about $8 more, over Plated’s meal plan — Most comparable to our Blue Apron Meal Plan (3 Meals for 2 People = $60), Plated offers (2 Meals for 2 People = $48 + $6 for shipping = $54).  Shipping is free with $50+ purchases.  I thus added one of Plated’s weekly Desserts to try and to qualify for free shipping.  $56 was our total for 2 Meals and 1 Dessert for 2 People from Plated.  Leon thought all looked good upon arrival (below).  I did too.

Plated’s recipes were well written and somewhat unique, like those offered by Blue Apron.  The pictured Plated meals were good, but none knocked our socks off, like many Blue Apron meals have. We also missed the third meal offered by Blue Apron.  Apples to Apples, the same Blue Apron Plan (3 Meals for 2 People = $60), costs $72 at Plated.  I wouldn’t mind future meals from Plated, but I prefer to save money.  Plated is good, but they charge more for the same comparison of food.

I prepared Plated’s Pan-Roasted Redfish with Baby Kale Risotto (top), Cheese Tortellini with Basil and Spinach in Tomato Soup (above) and Caramelized Pear Shortcakes with Whipped Cream (below).  We liked the Pan-Roasted Redfish the best and the other two recipes were just average.  Plated’s recipe cards are nice and large, but not as glossy as Blue Apron’s.

The Caramelized Pear Shortcakes aka Biscuits were already baked, which made preparation easier, but the Dessert not as homemade.  I may order from Plated again to try a different Dessert if its weekly menu sounds better than Blue Apron’s weekly menu.  I’m currently subscribed to all listed herein, though opt for Blue Apron most of the time.  If interested in trying any meal delivery company, be sure to obtain a coupon or coupon code, as each offers a $20 – $60 discount on your first box.  Don’t miss out on that.  Check back soon to read our Hello Fresh and Chef’d Reports.

It’s become necessary to make improvements and upgrades to Nibbles of Tidbits — THANKS to Cornell Care, we’re moving on up to a deluxe apartment in the sky.  They’ve been working hard behind the scene to make all here the best it can be.  Cheers to that!  Now let’s eat.

Not sure that my photos will be chosen this go around, but we enjoyed the meals, though I’d rather have the $500 per photo prize from the Idaho Potato Commission for entries in their Recipe Photo Contest.  There’s still time to enter for a prize, or at a minimum eat a good meal.

The pictured weren’t chosen as official entries in the Idaho Potato Commission’s contest.

Each is a different dish/recipe in the contest, ending May 29, 2014.  I made and entered (3) of the (6) posted recipes (from top down) — The Salmon and Shitake Idaho Hash that’s half eaten, the Western Scramble introducing the Eggs, and the French Red Wine Infused Idaho Grown Fingerling Potato Salad, a snooty sounding Salad with hard to find Fresh Chervil.

Thanks to Katie Chin of The Sweet & Sour Chronicles — I’ve already made three dishes from her new cookbook, Everyday Thai Cooking.  We learned a lot at her recent cooking class.

You can obtain her latest cookbook through Amazon or attend her next book signing and cooking class scheduled for May 8, 2014 at the Inspire Artistic Minds Culinary Center.

The IAM Culinary Center is located in Orange and is brought to you by 100Eats and Le Gourmet Kitchen.  More information about Katie Chin’s upcoming book signing and cooking class is linked here.  She’ll be making a few items from Everyday Thai Cooking, as pictured.

We got to try her Chiang Mai Chicken in Lettuce Wraps with Lime Ginger Dipping Sauce, Pineapple Fried Rice, Panaeng Curry Meatballs and Coconut Cake with Mango Sauce.

All were flavorful and relatively easy to make.

After our class, I made the Pineapple Fried Rice, Shrimp Coconut Soup (last photo) and the Chiang Mai Chicken in Lettuce Wraps and all turned out fantastic — Thai food is so tasty.

Also, thanks to Greg of the OC Beer Blog, who brought Beer to compliment the food.

Though I don’t have the specifics, he did a great job — His Beer selections paired well with all.

Katie’s Coconut Cake with Mango Sauce is on my “To Make List.”

If this looks good to you, be sure to attend Katie’s next cooking class and book signing.  She’ll be making all shown here and signing more books.  Thanks Katie — We’re happily cooking.

And thanks to the IAM Culinary Center too, for current and future food possibilities.

There’s yet another Recipe Photo Contest being hosted by the Idaho Potato Commission and you could win $500 or more.  Not sure why I keep reporting about it, since I don’t need the extra competition.  It’s just that it has a lot of fun and favorable elements about it.  To be fair (and helpful), you can learn more about it and enter here on or before October 29, 2013.

* Photo of Jalapeno-Ham Stuffed Potatoes (a Contest Recipe) is not an actual entry.

Peaches & Berry Bramble Natural Gourmet Oatmeal was what I wanted to try most, but nooooooooo, the dog ate it, I swear — This time it was true.  It was too close to the end of the counter and got snatched over to the sneaky place, like too many casualties before it.

I was glad to still have the Cranberry O’ Nut Natural Gourmet Oatmeal to sample.

And was completely impressed with the clear tops — For that reason I’d want to buy it.

It’s great quality too — A little Hot Water in the Cranberry O’ Nut made an excellent breakfast.

Also had to try the Bourbon Salted Pecan Pancake & Waffle Mix — Sounds so interesting.

I made Waffles with the mix and they cooked up nicely, despite overfilling the Waffle Iron, but ultimately I wanted a lot more flavor from them.  Overall it was fun sampling (and almost sampling) a few of the products sold on Snazzy Gourmet — They offer some cool food stuff.

Chefs Bailee and Lexi of Kids in the Kitchen, my lovely Nieces volunteering at Mary’s Kitchen.

You can volunteer there too — Mary’s has been feeding Orange County’s homeless since 1984.

The kids really like going and it gives them much appreciation for what they have.

This breakfast they cracked and beat all the Eggs, cooked Pancakes, served food and washed dishes — Wonderful things to do for others.  Nibbles of Tidbits is proud of Kids in the Kitchen.

Food styling at the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! “Toast to the Red Carpet – Live” event.

Behind the scenes with Food Bloggers on Oscar day at Siren Studios in Hollywood —  Cool stuff.  I had the pleasure of meeting the talented and nice people behind Food Flirt, The Duo Dishes, In Erika’s Kitchen, Run Eat Repeat, Rockin’ Mama, Romy Raves and ICBINB!

All dishes on set were made with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! and the RECIPES are HERE.

A Toast to the Red Carpet by ICBINB! with Molly Sims, Carson Kressley and Brooke Burke.

Before show on set (above), and during the show in the Fantastic Suite at the W Hollywood.

Siren Studios wait area or S for Shelly — Hhhmmmm.

Leaving studio on the way to the W, just a couple blocks away.

The W Hollywood — I love its style.  More about it by Bonnie, after the Giveaway (below).

In the Fantastic Suite with Lifestyle and Food Bloggers — Thanks to ICBINB!

A Champagne toast in the mirror and the option of Toast with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

I enjoyed Toast and all dishes developed by Katie Lee using ICBINB!

More information about the dishes and RECIPES are HERE.

My favorite was the Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes pictured above.

Added to all from the W were Kobe Beef Sliders (above).

Off the Fantastic Suite was an outdoor lounge set with Beer, Wine, Champagne and Sodas.

And Celebrity Makeup Artist, Terri Apanasewicz was there to give expert advice — Thanks!

And beyond the outdoor lounge was another patio across the street from the Pantages.

GIVEAWAY:

If you got through all that and still want to be entered into a DRAWING to WIN a classy Ralph Lauren Serving Tray, (4) Champagne Glasses, Wine Charms and decorative Butter Knife, do (1) of these things before March 8th ends PST.

• Like Nibbles of Tidbits on Facebook
• Leave a Comment on this Post
• Follow @FoodBlog on Twitter

We’ll draw (1) name from all entries and notify him/her/you on March 9th with a CONGRATULATIONS!  You may enter once a day via any means noted above.  If you already Like Nibbles of Tidbits on Facebook (and probably don’t, hahaha), a subsequent comment there or here will count as an entry.  Good luck and thanks ICBINB! Peeps.

Have you visited Local Cuisine?  It’s an excellent resource to find the best restaurants in Orange County.  Search by restaurant name, cuisine type, city, zip code, or browse its specially selected list — Featured restaurants are voted on and off the Local Cuisine list by Local Experts, and I’m humbled to be one of them.  Our first meeting took place at The Playground.  Be sure to keep an eye on Local Cuisine for the latest and greatest restaurant additions and list of local food-related events, and create a profile and write a review, if you so choose.

Photo: Paté from Pescadou Bistro during Newport Beach Restaurant Week — More here.

I’m most excited about the Canelés, the so-called New Cupcake (left), a favorite in Bordeaux and the Turkish Lokma (right) that would be discovered on a Doughnut World Tour. You should be seeing more of both in 2012 according to The Official James Beard Foundation Blog. Other Food Trends I’m not so thrilled about, especially Diminishing Portion Sizes — I’d prefer to see diminishing prices.  All 2012 Food Trends are published on Delights & Prejudices.

My favorite flavor is probably Orange — It’s what I choose most in everything.

And I’m currently based in Orange County, made known in About and About the Writer.

In addition to cooking adventures, mishaps, discoveries and more, Nibbles of Tidbits posts about Orange County events, restaurants, happenings, living, and everything food related.

To enhance all, an Orange County Food Blogroll is set apart — Met a few about town.

Peel open the OC with the list of Orange County Food Blogs linked on the right.

Orange Art — How to make Orange Guy.

Lovin’ these photos — Thanks and credit go here, here, here, here and here.

Keep tuned in WORLD, as recipes, homemade dishes, contests, food news, cooking tips, experiments, brand comparisons, product testing, and interesting fodder will continue to be reported here — And ORANGE COUNTY residents and travelers to/from the OC should pay special attention, as we’re soon adding a New Category and Blogroll, Orange County (OC) Food and Orange County (OC) Bloggers, respectively.  It’s slated to happen in early July.

Nibbles of Tidbits will carry on as a source for world inhabitants, and become a go-to for restaurant reviews, event information and topics of interest to OC residents and visitors.  If looking for something specific (worldly or local), before or after the additions, check the related Category or use our Search Box.  Much is readily accessible, if not immediately seen.  You know what I mean Jelly Bean?!  Interested in the Strips and Cheese in HB?  See here.

Have you heard of Bookswim?  It’s the Netflix of books.  The library that comes to you.  I love it.  It’s a great way to test out books, or read a lot of them for less money.  Through Bookswim I checked out Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes cookbook and chose to make the Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes.  The recipe is in her book and it’s also been reported about by several food bloggers, as found here and halved here.  It’s an easy and luxurious dessert.

Since I REALLY didn’t need 30 Cheesecakes, I halved the recipe, which worked very well.

Start with a Muffin tin with paper liners and an Oreo Cookie for the bottom Crust.

Combine the other ingredients as specified and pour over each Oreo Cookie and bake.

They look special in B & W, color and upside-down, and taste great too.  I’ll make ’em again.

‘Make Homemade Tortillas’ has been on my To Do List for years.  After tackling Homemade Pasta, it was finally time.  I started with Corn Tortillas, posted here, and then moved on to Flour Tortillas (a little more complicated), which shall be posted soon.  This is the Corn report…

After reviewing several recipes online, I opted to make the one posted on the back of the Maseca Masa bag, which was easy to follow and the Corn Tortillas turned out well.

Only three ingredients went into their creation — Masa, Salt and Water.

Start by combining the Salt and Masa.

Then add Water to the Masa/Salt combination and mix to form a fairly stiff Dough.

Once the Dough is satisfactorily formed, divide into targeted amount of Tortilla balls.

We formed 18 balls to ultimately create 18 Corn Tortillas.

Roll out each Tortilla ball in between plastic sheets — We used the inside of a baggie, which worked well.  The Tortillas are easy to separate from the plastic before hitting the skillet.

Once the Tortillas are formed, each is heated in a dry, medium-hot skillet for approximately 50 seconds per side, then set aside under a towel and/or bowl to keep them warm and soft.

As you can see, the hardest thing was to roll ’em out into perfect circles, which we didn’t do.  We could have used a large Cookie cutter, but opted for the rustic look this first time.

As noted, before opting to make the simple Maseca Masa Corn Tortilla recipe, I collected several others from around the web — And for future reference/use, they are all linked here:  Gourmet Sleuth, All Recipes, In Jennie’s Kitchen, Cooking Mexican Recipes, Simply Recipes, Eating Cleveland and What’s Cooking America.  All their Tortillas look better than ours.  You’ll find everything you need to make good Homemade Corn Tortillas.  Good luck to you!

Today is the first day of Spring — It’s time to start planting a few things to save on produce.

Since learning about the Create Your Own Cheesecake link at Fine Cooking.com, we’ve had fun making and tasting a variety of combinations.  This time it was a Blueberry Cheesecake, made with fresh puréed Blueberries and finely grated Lemon Zest.  What would you create?

The preparation of the Lemon Curd was inspired by the ravine in this Cheesecake — It’s okay, because toppings come in handy when your Cheesecake isn’t pristine, and for this one I found and will keep this easy Microwave Lemon Curd recipe that turned out beautifully.  Good taste and consistency.

Trying to hide the crack down the middle. 🙂 Admittedly the chosen topping didn’t do much to disguise it, but aside from that, it was cheerful and fantastic tasting.  Other Cheesecakes can be seen here and here.  Check back to see the next round or build your own here.

Are you part of the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival collage?  If you’re a Food Blogger and attended the San Francisco event, and remember your mug shot with badge being photographed, you’re most likely pictured in Casey’s collage.  Casey of Eating, Gardening & Living in Bulgaria created a collage of 200+ participants, along with the respective blog and Twitter names for each.  Wow — That was a lot of work and now an excellent reference of the event.  Thanks!

I’m now reminiscent of the Second Annual Foodbuzz Bloggers Festival that took place November 5 – 7th in San Francisco.  I had a wonderful time meeting hundreds of notable Food Bloggers throughout the weekend.  This report is our final in the 3-2-1 Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Wrap Up.  Wish I could dig into it all again — Perhaps next year.

The Gala Dinner hosting 350 Food Bloggers on the last night of the festival was held at The Grand Hall, Ferry Building, which was nice and worked well.  The table settings were striking and filled with a sea of Wine glasses for pairing with each dinner course.  Bonny Doon Vineyard poured it all.  Thanks!

The Roasted Golden Beet Tart was paired with 2009 Bonny Doon Vineyard Ca’ del Solo Albarino.  And my favorite was the Rosemary and Garlic Infused Rack of Lamb paired with the 2006 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant.

Before entering The Grand Hall for dinner, we enjoyed hors d’oeurves and more Wine outside.  I was most impressed with the Cucumber basket weave mat beneath the Hoisin Beef and Scallion Rolls — It greatly contributes to presentation.

And the dinner ended with a Tarta de Almendras with Oranges — Would you believe its crowning garnish glory was made of Parmesan Cheese?  It was and I loved it.

I met countless Food Bloggers who flew in from everywhere — A few special friends included Ginny of Food-G, Geri of The Princess Gourmet and Mimi of Cute Pig.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Rosa of The Catty Critic, Kat of Kat’s 9 Lives, Elizabeth of Ms. Lin Guide, Jennifer of Kirbie’s Cravings, Donald of Mochi Thoughts, and several others soon to be linked below.  If pictured and your name and link isn’t included, PLEASE send your information, because I really want to include it — Didn’t collect all the cards I wanted.

Casey of Eating, Gardening & Living in Bulgaria, pictured next to her Foodbuzz badge will be posting a collage of hundreds posing the same way. 

Before the Farewell Brunch the next morning, I thought I might be done meeting and eating, as I’d overloaded on both throughout the weekend — Then met Angela of the Spinach Tiger, a fabulous lady living an admirable life in Tennessee.  Getting to know her over more food and drinks capped the weekend.  It was certainly a pleasure meeting all pictured bloggers and other fabulous mentionables soon to be linked here in an update.  Thanks Foodbuzz. 🙂

11/18/10 Update:  In addition to the talented Food Bloggers named herein and in previous Foodbuzz Blogger Festival posts, I’m happy to have met Greg of Sippity Sup, Joan of Foodalogue, Jeanne of Simple Math Bakery, Amanda of The Cilantropist, Cathy of Show Food Chef, Veronica of The Enchanted Cook, Kristin of The Cuisinerd, Norma of Platanos, Mangoes and Me, Michael of South Bay Foodies, Linda of Salty Seattle, Jenn of Just Jenn Recipes, Lindsey of Gingerbread Bagels, Becke of Columbus Foodie, Eddie of Culinary Studio, Catherine of Cate’s World Kitchen, Susie of Artisan Food Discoveries, Wendy of The Local Cook, Astrid of I Have Two Feet and Ten Toes, John of Food Wishes, Teri of A Foodie Stays Fit, Joel of Cooking with Words, Elaine of Virgo Blue, Kate of Something We Dreamed, Stephanie of Foodiacs, Jerry of Cooking by the Seat of My Pants, Jesse of Beer & Nosh, Allyson of Living My Whole Life and Renuka of Foodelicious, to name just a few.

We picked up an empty glass and bag upon arrival at the City View at the Metreon in San Francisco, then filled ’em up over-and-over again with seemingly endless samples of Beer, Wine and FOOD.  It’s what happened to 350 Food Bloggers during the Taste Pavilion, an afternoon prelude to the Gala Dinner commencing three hours later — The Foodbuzz Blogger Festival is an eating extravaganza. YEAH!

Only ended up taking a few photos here — I needed another arm, or two, or three — It was hard to eat, drink, write, shake hands, collect literature, and accept Beer, Wine and product samplings with just two hands.

The Frog Hollow Farm Pears were so juicy and a favorite from the event was their Granola.  It’s some of the best I’ve had.  I wish I’d brought back another bag of it — Soooo good!

Willow Bird Baking was one of the six recipe winners and Nature’s Pride Cooking Demonstrators at the Taste Pavilion.  Congratulations to all.

Fresh Express Salads, much needed greens.

The Cupcake of the weekend seemed to be everywhere and dare I say they were just okay.  Maybe I didn’t have the right one, because the Food Network was filming them for Cupcake Wars, or something like it — In love Food Bloggers will know better.

One of the coolest things there was the Buitoni Flip Book Booth, which converted short video clips into mini Flip Books – You then flip through the book pages to see yourself move — It’s like watching an old fashioned mini movie.

I captured talented Food Bloggers, Chef Dennis, Korean American Mommy, CaffeIna and What’s for Dinner Across State Lines making a Flip Book — What fun!

View from the Taste Pavilion — A new appetite had to happen before dinner and appetizers scheduled to be served three hours later.  It shall be reported as the final (1) in the 3-2-1 Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Wrap Up.

Before being spoiled at the Tasting Pavilion at the Metreon in San Francisco, most Foodbuzz Blogger Festival attendees participated in Morning Breakout Sessions/Seminars at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, conveniently taking place down the elevator from my 19th floor room.  During my first session, panelist Lick My Spoon, Kitchen Corners and Carrots N Cake talked about blogging success and what it means to each of them — Interesting and diverse points of view.

Mary Sue Millikin prepared Fish Tacos during the ‘Great Catch’ session presented by Alaska Seafood.  Food Bloggers got to make their own Fish Tacos at the Taste Pavilion that later followed.

It was fun watching the Food Bloggers edging to get the best photos — Some were right up in the Salmon’s face.  I’m sure many produced better photos than these, but I liked my seat.

During my last session, Chez Pim, Rhodey Girl Tests and Food Wishes talked about Video Blogging — Moderated by Krissy Wall.  Food Wishes offered great tips and was pretty funny too.  After all ended at noon, 350 Food Bloggers hiked it down to the Tasting Pavilion, reported about in (2) of the 3-2-1 Blogger Festival Wrap Up.

There’s so much to write about and too little time with the busy work week ahead (and now have a cold).  Back from San Francisco and a giant box of goodies to arrive soon via Fed Ex — Had to ship it all back to avoid the heavy luggage fee imposed by United Airlines.  It’s truly gouging (12lbs. over = $100).  Excessive, yes, no?  I’ll be addressing a few issues with United and will report more when their response is received.  That experience was a bummer, but I otherwise had a crazily stufted time participating in the non-stop eating fest with 350 Food Bloggers from all over.  The farthest traveler came from Bulgaria to attend the Second Annual Foodbuzz Bloggers Festival.  I’ll be linking to all the talented Food Bloggers I had the pleasure of meeting and can’t wait to try the interesting products that are on the way.  Thanks for all Foodbuzz!

I’m heading to the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco this weekend.  The experience will be completely new to me, as I’ve never been around a bunch of Food Bloggers — I’m gonna trip out on everyone taking photos of the food at the same time.  I think I might be more interested in photographing them photographing the food.  It’s a curious thing to me for some reason.  The food will surely be covered, thus posting the same here might be redundant.  We’ll see how it all goes down.  The plan is to write several short posts throughout the weekend if technically able.  Pictured above is of the “Foodie Gift” I’ve been asked to bring to the Welcome Reception Friday night at Fort Mason Center.  It’s in my suitcase getting ready to fly to SFO and  its contents sum up Nibbles of Tidbits.  More to be reported about that and the rest of the festivities later.