Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

The Single Day Pie Competition went down today at the Orange County Fair.  Approximately 20 Pies were entered and Ribbons were awarded for Best of Show, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Place, plus 3 Honorable Mentions.  After the judging, FREE Pie was served to the public.  It’s best to be around at that time (2PM each Saturday and Sunday at the Promenade Stage).  During this Contest, I happily received an Honorable Mention for my Chocolate Mountain Orange Cream Pie.  It’s pretty good.  Here’s the RECIPE: Orange Cream Pie Recipe.  Enjoy!

More Orange County Fair Competition INFO:

• Culinary Arts Competition Results at the 2009 OC Fair
• Fine Tuning our Scone entry for the OC Fair
• More food related competitions at the OC Fair
• Baking contests at the OC Fair

Today our family taped the Family Feud show and had a BLAST!  It was an all day event with Subway Sandwiches in between.  I don’t think we saw the “Green Room?!”  Although its defining factor isn’t that it’s green, the room we lunched in was all burgundy, otherwise we were in the studio taping shows the entire day.  I cannot report if we won, but will report the air date (when known) for you to find out.  A big thanks to the Family Feud Crew and John O’Hurley for a great time, oh and the Subway Sandwiches too.  Now we’re ready for Spam.  

How to be on Family Feud:
http://www.familyfeud.tv/beonshow.shtml

Subway DIRECT: http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/index.aspx

Spamalot Musical (John O’Hurley’s current show with a food and story angle):
http://montypythonsspamalot.com/LA2/?gclid=CNjeyMOn1JsCFRYiagodQylfLA

We love Seinfeld too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seinfeld

* Photo is of a previously enjoyed Subway Sandwich.

The results are in for the first phase of the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair.  I’m excited to learn that my Ambrosia Bundt Cake won a 2nd Place Ribbon and my Gourmet Nut Clusters won a 3rd Place Ribbon.  Not bad for a first time OC Fair submitter — Two for two.  For the second phase of the Culinary Arts Competition, I’ll be delivering Scones on July 28th, and for the Single-Day LIVE Judging Contest a Pie on July 25th.

This day I met Jaqui Dulebohn (Santa Ana), a Division Winner in the Preserved Foods Competition.  That’s impressive!  It means she won a 1st Place Ribbon, then beat out all the other 1st Place Ribbon winners in the Jam’s Division.  Congratulations to Jaqui on her Apricot Jam.  She looks forward to the competition each year.  ALL entries are displayed in the Home Arts Building.  You’ve got to get to the Fair for all the fabulous food and fun.

OC Fair INFO

Competition & Contest INFO

PHOTOS from 2008’s Culinary Arts Competition

I Need Text Company, Nibbles of Tidbits’ main site is being overhauled.  It’s basically getting a new look and we’re hopefully making it easier for clients to obtain the information they desire.  The change will happen overnight during the first week in July.  Until then, we remain open for business.  Thanks for your inquiries.

Two more announcements, Happy Father’s Day today — And don’t forget to ENTER a comment on the SONIC post to win a $25 Gift Certificate to SONIC Drive-In.  We’ll be drawing the winners from the commenters and mailing out (10) Gift Cards in 4 days.

Dare I say, I think Twitter is way over-rated, but nonetheless we’re on there as FoodBlog.  We appreciate our fair amount of followers, but you’ll get more information here than over there.  Ciao.

Twitter Link: http://twitter.com/FoodBlog

Shown above is a third of my often referenced Cookbooks.  This block of photos was posted in an unnecessary page, but now finds its final place in this quick post.  For some background on the post title, I once won a contest that landed my recipe and face in Bon Appétit and Gourmet Magazines, blah, blah, blah.  It’s been reported on here previously.  The point of retelling it now leads to the ‘phony photos’ above.  A few friends found it funny to add my milk moustache face to a Chef’s body.  They made a poster board using another photo from the same magazine, HA.  I look like Man Hands on Seinfeld — Good thing it’s my favorite show.

Man Hands Episode Excerpt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSL4cmFW_GU

It’s time to celebrate Nibbles of Tidbits One Year Anniversary.  It’s today, April 24th.  Let’s toast Champagne and eat lots of FOOD to cheer.  I Need Text Company plans to put forth many years of high quality content and food photography on Nibbles of Tidbits.  Look for more restaurant reviews, cooking tips and ideas, product testing, experiments and reports about all things food related.

PRESS RELEASE:  http://www.prlog.org/10220332.pdf

Easter Cookies appear to be the most colorful of Holiday Cookies — It’s all the bright pastels, which may make them the most fun to decorate.  Here we decorated Bunnies, Ducks, Easter Eggs, Tulips, Sunflowers, Carrots, Butterflies and Sheep.

As previously reported on Nibbles of Tidbits (See ‘Cookies’ Category), I get together with my BFF’s to decorate Sugar Cookies most holidays.  It’s a fun way to spend time together and we get to take home yummy cookies for our families.

A special thanks goes to Loretta for baking all the Cookies and making all the Icings, whereas the rest of us just show up with FOOD, Wine & Coffee, plus the intangible — jokes, political debates, funny stories, concerns, questions, irritations, and gratitude for the time spent together.

Chocolate Dipped Oreo Cookies matching the season are always a part of our Cookie Decorating gatherings.  This time the Oreos were dipped in White Chocolate and then swirled with a hot pink colored Chocolate — They’re so good each time.  Happy Easter!

See more Cookie Decorating Ideas here.

The Nibbles of TidbitsÔ Thesaurus appears to highlight small and barbaric samplings of mostly small portions of an unlimited variety of FOOD — Emphasis added, because we’re about all that and a Bag of Chips. 🙂

(1)  Bites of Scraps

(2)  Tastes of Morsels

(3)  Chomps of BitsÔ

(4)  Pieces of AteÔ

(5)  Gnaws of Fragments

Enjoy it ALL!  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thesaurus

This is for my Grandpa who would have been 91 today.  Last year the world lost a retired Masterful Meat Cutter and we miss our Grandpa, Dad, Husband and Great Grandpa, Vaughn Stricklin Moomey.  We hope you’re celebrating in Heaven.

Related Link: http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=401

I have to share this song.  I’ve thrown in a food photo — Is that enough to tie this magnificent song into a food blog?  I’m eating right/write now and playing it.  Music is the best addition to food, isn’t it?  This song has been part of my YouTube Favorites for some time.  It is LIVE’s piano version of They Stood Up For Love.  It’s uplifting and hits me each time I hear it.  I’m feeding my soul.  That’s it!  There’s the tie in — I’m feeding my soul right now with music.  Feed yours too.

Update 07/09/10: Nibbles of Tidbits can now add video, thus post this favorite song below for easy access.  We never get tired of it and LOVE Live.

Although I didn’t win January’s Does My Blog Look Good In This (DMBLGIT) food photography contest, I just won $100 in a Super Bowl Pool.  YEAH!  I’ll consider it a nice consolation, but do check out last month’s winners HERE:

http://kochtopf.twoday.net/stories/dmblgit-january-2009-the-winners/

Share Our Strength’s goal is to END childhood hunger in America.  That’s important!  Children shouldn’t have to live hungry.  When you’re hungry it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.  SOS raises money to feed ALL of America’s children.

One GREAT way to donate to Share Our Strength is to attend one of the “A Tasteful Pursuit” dinners, which will be taking place in a different city each month throughout the year.  Save up and buy a ticket.  It’s an evening with some of the country’s TOP CHEFS, amazing cuisine, and the opportunity to bid on fabulous auction items.  It’s a win-win.

Foodbuzz is sending (1 – 2) Featured Publisher Correspondents to report about each city.  I’ve submitted a proposal to (hopefully) be one of them.  Buzz me up on the bottom link below.  Also linked is Share Our Strength’s website and more about the A Tasteful Pursuit events taking place between January – November 2009.

Related Links:

http://www.strength.org/

http://www.strength.org/a_tasteful_pursuit/

http://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/us/california/costa_mesa/744411-it-s-all-about-the-food-for-others–

I’ve sometimes got too much food that I’d love to share with a fixed income senior citizen — One who could use and appreciate some adventurous extra food from time to time.  If you know a senior who lives in Costa Mesa, please send an E-Mail to services@ineedtext.com.  I’ll have my bodyguard check him/her out and then we’ll get the food rolling. 🙂

Thank you.

I Need Text Company Press Release:

http://www.prlog.org/10161179-dont-eat-your-words-save-your-appetite-for-the-food-in-2009.html

If you have time, please vote for me on Foodbuzz.  My messiest apron has Christmas Cookie Frosting applied with a little help from my friends.  I get by with a little help from my friends. 🙂

Food buzz is offering a prize for the messiest apron.  Could this be the one?  Check out the full story and picture on Foodbuzz.  Buzz it.  Related Link:  http://www.foodbuzz.com/photos/us/california/costa_mesa/680683-yikes-my-messiest-apron-so-far–

Thanks to my cherished friends (and sis) for delivering the wonderful Appetizers and Desserts to my 14th Annual Christmas Party.  It was a blast like always.  Michelle’s Pesto Loaf (above) was voted Best Appetizer.  Congratulations!  The recipe is linked below.

And every party needs a Fresh Vegetable Platter — Ours was over the top good with Yellow and Red Bell Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers and more.  And continuing on down (L-R), this year we enjoyed Artichoke Dip and Chicken & Lemongrass Spring Rolls.

Chicken Tamales with Colorado Chili Sauce, Salami, Brie and Smoked Cheese with Crackers, and Fresh Homemade Salsa and Tortilla Chips.  The Salsa deserves an honorable mention for its restaurant quality flavor.  I’ve got to get the recipe.

Egg Rolls, Pesto Loaf, and Cream Cheese with Blueberry Preserves and Crackers.  Then moving on to the bakery quality Desserts prepared by Loretta — She took the prize for that category with her Lemon Bars, Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Icing, Magic Cookie Bars, and Chocolate Dipped Oreos and Graham Crackers as the Cake presents.

We had more than pictured here, but some photos didn’t quite make the quality cut.  I do appreciate ALL the food!  We mostly enjoyed Champagne, Chardonnay, Juice and Bottled Water, but many options were available.

This year I have a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree — It’s cute, don’t you think?  Here we are in a rare people picture on Nibbles of Tidbits.  I didn’t get my friend’s approval for the posted photo so it could come down if someone doesn’t like the way they look.  You know how some girls can be – HA. 🙂

Related Link:

Winning Appetizer Recipe (Pesto Loaf) – pesto-dip-appetizer

It’s fun to be picked for any award, so thanks Blog Of The Day Awards (BOTDA) for picking Nibbles of Tidbits as a Blog Of The Day, especially on Halloween.  It was a treat instead of a trick.  I just added the COOL AWARD on the right — I like its nostalgic old west design.  Thanks again!

Related Links:

http://blogofthedayawards.blogspot.com/2008/10/nibbles-of-tidbits-food-blog.html

http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=1247

Here’s the article:  http://www.restaurantica.com/blog/Shelly-Borrell–A-Food-Writer-in-the-Making/124/

Restaurantica offers more than 350,000 restaurant listings across the United States and Canada.  Its format is similar to Yelp and Chow.  Restaurantica’s been providing down to earth, honest restaurant reviews since 2003 and now has more than 184,000 reviews.  You can search for the restaurant you’re looking for, after searching for it here of course. 🙂

I’ll be their Costa Mesa expert, if you will.  I’ll be posting monthly on Restaurantica about all the fabulous food finds in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Orange County, and wherever I might travel.  The above photo is related to my post about Nick’s Pizza Ristorante Italiano.  Restaurantica has ALL the yummy food pictures and details.  http://www.restaurantica.com/blog/Nicks-Pizza-Ristorante-Italiano/130/.

Be sure to check the Restaurantica Blog for monthly reviews and food photos by me, then write about your favorite restaurant.  The more reviews the better.

Related Link:  http://www.restaurantica.com/blog/

Decorating Halloween Treats is now a super fun tradition with my best friends.  One friend makes all the basics and the rest of us just get to show up and decorate them.  I’m one of the lucky decorators. 🙂

The Cupcake topping in the main photo is made from ground Oreo Cookies and the goodies in the bags above are Milk Chocolate dipped Oreo Cookies.  The Halloween Cookies are homemade with my friend’s favorite Sugar Cookie recipe, then cut into pumpkins, bats, witches, cats, ghosts, Frankenstein and more.  The Cupcakes are Chocolate.  All are fresh baked and yummy.

Above are just a few of the tools and below is just some of the fun.  After all, we each get to take home trays of Cookies, Cupcakes and Chocolates.  It’s a lot of laughs too, especially with this crazy bunch. 🙂

I rarely post people pictures on this blog, since it’s all about the food, but I’m wearing my Foodbuzz Apron, so I’d thought I’d let them know.  Thanks Foodbuzz!  And a big THANKS to Loretta for doing all the hard work so we can just show up and have fun.

Related Link:

http://www.foodbuzz.com/

It’s a Social Network for Foodies.  You should check it out and join.  Here’s an easy link to take a peek. 

http://mustlovefood.com/home.php 

Food and Beverage News and related information can be accessed at the domain below.  See this post about me. 🙂

http://food-and-beverage.net/2008/07/31/nibbles-of-juicy-looking-tidbits/

My Aunt & Uncle opened up the first Mexican Restaurant in Denmark.  I traveled there and ate the best Guacamole I’ve ever had in my life.  My Uncle hesitantly gave me the recipe, but it just wasn’t the same — Plus I was missing one ingredient I’ve yet to locate, which obviously makes a difference.  I can’t tell you any more.  It’s a secret.  You’ll need to travel to Denmark.  If you do, please tell them their niece Shelly says HELLO.

After many years, my Uncle Bobby and Aunt Sus still run this restaurant with staff they treat as family.  And they’ve allowed a few franchises throughout other parts of Denmark.  Family or not, the food is excellent.  I can’t wait to get back there. 

Related Links: 

Tortilla Flats in Odense, Denmark – http://www.tortilla-flats.dk/ (In Danish)

http://www.balticnordic.com/en/company-information/QAMLWM/Tortilla-Flats.html

http://www.visitdenmark.com/usa/en-us/menu/turist/oplevelser/ibyen/restauranter/produktside/gdk013067/tortilla-flats.htm?CallerUrl=1 

My Grandpa, Vaughn Moomey passed away this week at the age of 90.  We are going to miss him so much, but we’re also content that he is in a better place with the Lord. 

For many years he worked hard as a Butcher for Von’s Grocers.  I remember having long talks about the various cuts of Beef — It’s a lot more complicated than I imagined.  He was a very gentle, patient and loving man.

And he still looked handsome at 90.  We love you Grandpa, Dad and PaPa.  Thanks for being such a Great Man!

Merry Christmas in Heaven this year Grandpa.  We miss you very much, but we’re glad you’re in peace with God.  Uncle Doug carved your name in the tree.  I hope we don’t get you kicked out. 🙂

Related Links:

http://www.downeygoodshepherd.org/newsfile15550_1.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butcher

http://www.farmersmeats.com/images/meat%20cuts.gif