The photo certainly doesn’t do this easy Roasted Corn Salad combination any justice (sorry about that). The recipe is simply a mixture of Roasted Corn (cut off the cob), Sun Dried Tomatoes, Avocado, Green Onions and Sea Salt — That’s it. No Oil and no Vinegar, but it works. I was sceptical at first, but this is a tasty Salad that doesn’t seem to lack moisture.
The OC Cupcake Classic is the last “Special Culinary Competition” you can enter this year at the Orange County Fair. Entry Forms are due by August 11th and the Competition will be held on Saturday, August 14th, 2010 at 1PM on the Promenade Stage. Since Cupcakes are so popular these days, the OC Cupcake Classic Competition will be stiff, but if you still want to enter before it’s not too late, email rfontes@ocfair.com. Good luck to all — We may come and watch. I’m content with the two 2nd Place Ribbons won in the Culinary Arts Competition, 2nd Show (pictured above).
‘Pick out all the Candy you want’ is what I said to my Chef Nieces, Baliee and Lexi from Kids in the Kitchen — It would’ve been a dream come true for me as a kid. I still love Candy and Cost Plus World Market has the best selection, if you don’t know that already!?
Come with me and you’ll be in a world of Pure Imagination —A song superbly sang by Gene Wilder in one of the most magical movie clips ever and appropriate to this post. Cost Plus could be a modern day Willy Wonka. Today it was.
I think I would have picked out way more Candy than they did, hahaha, but we did end up with a good cross-section of nostalgic, imported, mainstream, unique and extreme Candy, which was fun to try — On a rowdy sugar high we dumped the tub of Old Time Favorites over Chef Lexi’s head. It’s raining Candy. 🙂
We had a great time trying the Violet Mints, Candy Buttons, Mango Gummy Candy, Ginger Candy Chews and various small imported Chocolate Bars. And we enjoyed having a couple nostalgic favorites, like Chick-O-Sticks and Bit-O-Honey. The Toxic Waste Candy pictured below was ridiculously strong. They do call it ‘hazardously sour Candy’ and you can tell by the post-sampling expressions.
We haven’t yet tried the Bean Boozled by Jelly Belly. We’re afraid and may need to host a Jelly Belly Fear Factor Game later — Stay tuned for that when we find a couple brave volunteers. So far all asked say no way José.
Note: Photos for this Candy Taste-Off were taken at the Bella Terra Cost Plus World Market. If going to the movie theater nearby, we suggest stopping in Cost Plus to get the Candy — Shhhhhh. So sorry, theater Candy prices are gouging and I buy the Popcorn.
A friend brought over Bettheny’s Skinnygirl Margarita for the three hour Bachelorette finale. Although we’d been into the show throughout the season, we were a little bored at the end. We’re not really fans of Ali, like Roberto and love Chris L. The best thing Ali did on the show was let Chris go early, so to spare his feelings a bit. Bravo for that! Chris needs to be the next Bachelor. We wish Ali and Roberto well, but the best part of the finale was the Skinnygirl Margarita. We didn’t have expectations one way or another and were pleasantly surprised by its fresh Lime flavor — It wasn’t too sweet and it’s nice and stiff tasting. We served it on the rocks with a squeeze of Lime and will buy it again. And it does work, we’re skinny girls. 😉
I’m so excited to learn that I’m an Official Semi-Finalist in the Zespri Kiwifruit Kiwi A-Go-Go Bloggers’ Contest — Thanks Zespri! If you have a Food Blog and wish to enter, the contest is still open. If you don’t have a blog, you may still enter here to possibly win (4) tickets to New Zealand from Zespri. And if you’re curious about my contest entry, it’s linked here. We submitted a fun video and tasty recipe to hopefully be on our way to Kiwi-land, New Zealand to meet the Zespri folks, etc. Have you tried the golden Kiwifruit yet? We just did for the first time. It’s pictured below and looks almost identical to the green Kiwifruit, but seems more mellow in flavor and perhaps less tart. It’s thrilling to see the golden Kiwifruit in person, since its color is so beautiful, but we’ll most likely opt for the green Kiwifruit to eat.
The Orange County Fair’sCulinary Arts Competition (2nd Show) submissions are due tomorrow and will be on display starting Wednesday, August 4th. Most 1st Show submissions will be removed from the display cases and replaced with the 2nd Show entries. Those entering (and all Fair patrons) will be able to see the placement results beginning Wednesday and will be viewable throughout the duration of the Fair.
We’ll be entering Tangerine Coconut Muffins and an Orange Pound Cake. Pictured are the practice (fine-tuning) results of our Muffins and a Banana Bread Pudding that was going to be entered into the Retro Baker Regatta Competition, if it hadn’t turned out too dry. FYI: It’s not too late to enter a couple of the Single Day Special Culinary Competitions — Learn more about them here and good luck to all!
Update 08/03/10: Actual ‘Orange Sparkle Pound Cake’ entry in 2nd Show (pictured below).
Every woman, every man join the Caravan of Love, sorry we mean Caravan of 50 Gourmet Food Trucks and entertainment soon to be at the Honda Center. We’ve linked to the retro song and video because we appreciate the song and found the video flashback entertaining, especially the singer’s oddly sexy outfit. 🙂 Back to the event, learn all about it here and at OC Foodie Fest 2010.
Everyone I know loves California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, including myself, especially the Garden Herb Ranch Dressing. I’ve had CPK’s Cookbooks for a few years now and have made several dishes from them (pre-blog), but hadn’t yet made one of their best Salads, mostly due to the number of ingredients — But since I happened to have Buttermilk on-hand (a rarity and ingredient in the Dressing), I took another look at the recipe and determined it was finally a good time to make it. I’ve now had this Salad three days in a row. The recipe makes a lot of Dressing and since all ingredients are finally in the house, I might as well keep enjoying them. If I close my eyes when I eat it, I’d guess I’m at CPK. It tastes just like it. To simplify a little, I use chunks of a Rotisserie Chicken lightly tossed in BBQ Sauce, rather than make the Chicken in their recipe. It doesn’t seem necessary to capture the full flavor of the Salad.
Nibbles of Tidbits loves a good Ice Cream Party, especially if it includes Häagen-Dazs. We’re amazed by the unique and tasty flavors they keep coming up with. We gave big thumbs up to the Haägen-Dazs FIVE series at our last tasting party and loved the Passion Fruit and Brown Sugar, and today we happily tried a few of their latest and Limited Edition flavors. As long as they keep coming up with them, we’ll keep tryin’ them. So far the pleasure is ours.
For this sampling round we tried (pictured above l – r) Häagen-Dazs’ Peach Low Fat Frozen Yogurt, their new Five Ice Cream flavor Lemon, and several of their Limited Edition flavors including Peanut Butter Brittle, Bananas Foster, Dark Chocolate Mint and Almond Amaretto Crunch— A varied combination of what’s new with Häagen-Dazs.
Seven of us dug in, then weighed in (verbally, whew). All were first impressed with the fun flavor selection and then wowed by the actual flavors. In particular, the Lemon Five has an amazing natural taste — It’s my favorite with the Bananas Foster as a close runner-up. The rest of the gang was knocked over by the Dark Chocolate Mint, three picked it as a favorite, one chose the Almond Amaretto Crunch, another picked the Lemon, and one vote was cast for the Bananas Foster — We appreciate Häagen-Dazs’ progressive creations and unfailing high quality.
This painting (if you will) is being crafted from Artichoke Leaves, Peppers, Dried Chilis and other edibles at the OC Fair. Each day it looks more and more like the real thing. 🙂 I traveled to the Louvre once and saw the actual Mona Lisa in person, if I can say that — We couldn’t get this close due to its encasement, the rope around it and the thickness of the crowd. Learn more about the artist of this creation here. This masterpiece won’t last as long.
We didn’t get the details on this mini-table set for Tea (sorry), but it’s a winner in the Floral Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair. We think it’s absolutely adorable. Good day!
It’s not too late to sign-up for a few of the Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competitions — The specifics and more Fair information can be found here. Today the ‘Art of the Tart & Pie Competition‘ went down with Pies galore, and tomorrow the ‘Chili, Wings & Salsa Challenge‘ happens with an expected 50 entries.
These live judged culinary competitions happen each weekend during the Fair and start at 1PM on the Promenade Stage — It’s fun to enter and watch.
And it’s tough to choose a winner, but the Judges take it seriously. Today there were winners in (4) categories, One-Crust, Two-Crust, Sugar-Free and Savory (or something like that). We captured one of the winners in the Sugar-Free category and luckily got to try her entry pictured below. She picked its juicy Blackberries by hand, what a treat for us.
Note: We appreciate the improvements made to the Culinary Arts Program this year. From the displays, to the stage and general organization, all went up a notch, not that we had any complaints before — It all looks terrific.
Personally I’d never want to be on a show that places Chef Gordon Ramsay in the position of judging me — We’d probably end up in a food fight (that would hopefully end in laughs). Overall I’m not a fan of the a-hole approach, but if you’re looking to be embarrassed on television, possibly humiliated, yelled at, or have food dumped on your head, casting is now happening for Kitchen Nightmares. Not sayin’ the above will surely come to pass, but apply at your own risk and good luck! Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, hint, hint — It’s not going to be fun for you, but hopefully it will ultimately do good things. The PR is posted below:
Famed chef and Michelin Star winner Gordon Ramsay steps out of his own five-star establishments and into some of the country’s most unsanitary and unsuccessful restaurants to help them turn their businesses around or close their doors forever.
Each week, Chef Ramsay will attempt to turn one ordinary and empty restaurant into the most popular, sought-after venue in town. He reveals the behind the scenes realities of running a restaurant and wastes no time getting down to business – implementing signature menu items, modernizing décor and making the restaurant run as smoothly as possible. With his reputation on the line, Ramsay accepts nothing less than the best when it comes to the food, staff and customer service. While still prone to the explosive outbursts and spectacular confrontations familiar to fans, Ramsay reveals a sensitive and nurturing side as he coaches, cheers and challenges the restaurant staff, all the way from appetizers through dessert.
Will the restaurants follow Ramsay’s rules, or will they continue to stumble toward closure?
KITCHEN NIGHTMARES is a co-production of ITV Studios (formally Granada America) and Optomen in association with A. Smith & Co. Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Patricia Llewellyn serve as executive producers.
The Deep Fried Butter at the Orange County Fair is kinda like the giant horse you pay $5.75 to see, but viewing the horse is more satisfying. It’s at the Heart Attack Cafe, the Butter, not the horse (yet) — Who knows, maybe next year. We weren’t gonna bother with the Deep Fried Butter, but someone in the group had to have it. They found another sucka, haha.
The deal is this… It’s basically a Churro that’s injected with Butter in the center, then plugged at both ends and frozen. It’s then re-fried to order and one big yuck! Why would anyone want a Butter-stuffed, frozen then refried Churro? They serve them sweet with Cinnamon, Sugar and Whipped Cream, or savory with Garlic Salt, Parmesan and Marinara Sauce. Either way it’s ridiculous, but surprisingly the Chips underneath were okay with the Marinara.
Note: The Marinara Sauce was so unexpectedly yummy that we asked the brand. We learned it’s San Benito and will be looking for it in stores. It appears something good came out of the Heart Attack Cafe afterall — Check out other crazy OC Fair food options here.
I originally set out to find a good Pineapple Upside Down Cupcake recipe, when I came across Paula Deen’s Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits — Since the preparation couldn’t be easier and they seemed fun to make, I opted to try the Biscuits (Package of 10) before making the Cupcakes. I used fresh chopped Pineapple and halved, pitted Cherries instead of canned and jarred fruit.
The complete recipe is linked here, but you basically just — Add a combination of crushed Pineapple, softened Butter, Brown Sugar and halved Cherries to (10) greased Muffin/Cupcake cups, and then top each with a Biscuit and Pineapple Juice and bake at 400° for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
Pineapple, Butter & Brown Sugar in Muffin/Cupcake cups.
Cherry added to the center.
Pineapple Juice added over the top of each Biscuit before cooking.
Let cool for 2 minutes, then invert over a plate or tray.
These Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits are best served warm and go fast. If any leftovers, reheat ’em in the microwave for about 30 seconds. They’re a good fix for a quick and easy Pineapple Upside treat.
More funny at my expense — The Orange County FairCompetition Results are now in. My entry is the only one above without a Ribbon. Oh well, can’t win ’em all. And today I shot more video than photos, but most times when I thought I pressed record, I stopped the video (and vice versa), thus lamely captured our walking and talking most of the day, instead of the interesting, yummy stuff, haha. Duh! In defense, it was difficult to see the ‘REC’ light in the bright sunshine and I unfortunately got it backwards along the way. It won’t happen again. Gotta laugh though, which is easy since we’ll be going back soon.
Happily others we know did well in the OC Fair Competitions. Hover over the above photos to learn more about each — And get to the Fair to see the results of all competitions. Congratulations to ALL winners!
I’ve had the pictured kitchen tool (Pastry/Pizza Roller) for several years now. I don’t remember where I got it, but just found the same one online for less than $5 — Not too shabby, since it’s come in handy many times over the years. Its size is great for kids and it’s useful when trying to roll or smooth out Dough in baking dishes or tight spots. A typical Rolling Pin couldn’t do the same. The above Crust turned out nicely, but unfortunately this tool couldn’t have saved the Filling. The final results of this dish are pictured here. 🙂
The above dish truly represents ‘The Bad‘ and ‘The Funny‘ about this blog. The Tangerine Dream Bars (wannabe) was going to be an entry in the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair, but it didn’t happen. I was gonna cover the top with Powdered Sugar, but unfortunately there’s no masking the soupy, unset middle. 🙁 I’m not exactly sure what went wrong here, since it turned out good last time. Wouldn’t you know it — Two hours before submission time I discovered it looked like this. Oh well, good thing my other entry was delicious and successfully submitted. The Orange County Fair starts this Friday, July 16th. The results will be posted opening day.
Our only entry in the Culinary Arts Competition (1st Show) is the Chocolate Layered Surprise. It’s formed with alternating layers of Milk Chocolate, Waffle Cone, Dried Cherries and Pecans, then cut in squares and drizzled with White Chocolate. We’ll be submitting (2) additional entries in August for the 2nd Show.
So many Chips, so little time — Well, we actually have the time, but can only eat so many Chips. We thought it would be fun to sample a cross-section of the vast Chip selection offered at Cost Plus World Market. Although they have much more than you see here, we ultimately decided to try (7) Bags of Chips and (4) Salsas for our Chip Invasion Taste-Off.
Seven of us gathered for the festivities to determine our favorites — To learn more about the Chips, hover your cursor over the pictured plates below to match ’em up with the Chip Bags above. It’s always good to see what’s in a bag before you buy it.
The variety we selected appears to be a good representation of Chip types and brands. Some are produced especially for Cost Plus World Market, and others you’ve seen there and at other popular markets (i.e., Kettle Chips).
The same applies to our Salsa selection — The (2) on the left below are specially made for Cost Plus World Market and the other (2) can be purchased there and elsewhere. And the Salsa verdict is… All were good and enjoyed for their comparative uniqueness. In other words, the pictured Salsas would be a terrific combination for a party. One was spicy (Chipotle), one was mild (Roasted Tomato), one was cheesy (Chili Con Queso) and one was chunky (Corn, Black Bean & Red Pepper). All were picked as a favorite by one or another, with the most votes cast for the Frontera Chipotle and Cost Plus World Market Chili Con Queso.
With respect to the Chips, the verdict was all over the board. The favorites were the Gaytan Baked Cheese Puff, Sweet & Spicy Tortilla Chips with Flaxseed and the Death Valley Chipotle Chips. We really don’t think the Spinach & Artichoke Chips taste like Spinach and Artichoke, but they’re a good dipping Chip for any Salsa. The favored combo seemed to be the Veggie Tortilla Chips (due to their neutral flavor) dipped in the Chipotle Salsa. It’s all good.
Note: Nibbles of Tidbits loves Cost Plus World Market — Check back to learn about our future Candy Taste-Off, our picnic inspired by Cost Plus products and more. We have a lot of great ideas, because they have so much cool stuff!
This Kiwi wannabe is burstin’ at the seams with excitement over ZESPRI’sKiwi A-Go-Go Bloggers’ Contest. The possibility of winning a Trip for 4 to New Zealand put me over the edge. Inspired by the true stars of the contest (Kiwi and New Zealand) and by the love of board games and goofy interaction, I created a variation of an old classic game — The new sensation is called The Kiwi Game. It’s a FREE Game that comes with every 2 Kiwis and is shown in our very first VIDEO (posted directly below). It was fun making it!
This post serves as my entry into ZESPRI’s Kiwi A-Go-Go Bloggers’ Contest — In the consumer sweepstakes (selected by random drawing), readers may also enter The Great Kiwi Adventure for a chance to win a Trip for 4 to New Zealand. We’re competing for a prize in connection with our creations and mentioning this cool contest to you. Good luck ALL!
And did you know that… A two-piece serving of Kiwi (aka Kiwifruit) has twice the Vitamin C of an Orange, as much Potassium as a Banana, and as much fiber as a serving of bran flakes (less than 100 calories)?! Zespri’s nutrition information says exactly that. They also report that it’s a good source of Magnesium, it’s sodium free and a low-fat source of Vitamin E. The Kiwifruit has it goin’ on — It’s truly a special fruit. Learn more about ’em here.
In celebration of the Kiwi and to satisfy our longing to visit New Zealand, we created the pictured Kiwi Blackberry Shortcake with Whipped Cream and Toasted Coconut. It’s a beautiful combination of flavors and colors reminiscent of a coral reef. We’ve provided the recipe and step-by-step photo instructions (below) l – r working on downward.
Kiwi Blackberry Shortcake RECIPE
Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup granulated Sugar (divided)
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
8 Tablespoons softened Butter (1 stick)
3/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup shredded, toasted Coconut (toast in dry skillet until golden brown)
1 Cup Heavy Cream
3 Tablespoons Confectioners’ Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450° and grease an 8-inch square pan. Sift together the Flour, a little more than 1/2 the Sugar, Baking Powder and Salt. Stir in the softened Butter and Milk just until blended. Batter will be a little lumpy. Bake for 13 – 15 minutes. While baking, whip the Heavy Cream until almost stiff, then add the Confectioners’ Sugar and Vanilla. When stiff peaks are formed, place the Whipped Cream in the fridge until ready to use. Peel and chop Kiwis into slices then quarters, combine with Blackberries and sprinkle all with remaining granulated Sugar, toss lightly so not to blend the vibrant colors and set aside.
Once Shortcake has cooled, cut a square or rectangle piece and cut in half lengthwise. Place bottom half on plate and top with Whipped Cream and Kiwi Blackberry mixture, then top with the Shortcake cap, more Whipped Cream and toasted Coconut. Garnish with a sprig of Mint (optional), Kiwi slice or Blackberry.
Prep Time: 20 Minutes — Makes: 9 – 12 Servings.
Note: Since you don’t need to over mix the dough or the fruit combo, this recipe is easy and fast to make. It’s impressive looking and tasting too.
Q: Why New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty is appropriately named?
A: Because it’s currently at bay and I wanna go there plenty. 🙂
We’ve skated, biked and walked the beach path in Long Beach hundreds of times before — It’s a particularly good path for skaters, since it’s extra wide and smooth compared to other local beach paths. It’s generally less crowded and offers great views too.
Wanting more, we limited ourselves to one Hand Shaken Cadillac Margarita each, since we were already contemplating a ride on the Passport as an easier trip back to our starting point (haha), but we skated back — And no SUI or SWI for us! Pictured is the Grilled Vegetable Taco and not pictured is the rest of the day, since the camera battery died after a long night. We need a back-up for all the action.
It was a good day for a patio lunch — Tequila Jack’s always seems willing to accommodate.
If you don’t know, we love music as much as we love good food. We like Chocolate, but aren’t freaks about it — And we’re always interested in unique things, but right now we’re most excited about the ease of adding video to Nibbles of Tidbits. We haven’t yet tried Grace Under Fire (the Chocolate), so far really like Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (music played in above video), and we look forward to adding relevant videos in the future. We just discovered all at the same time. It’s good timing for a band to make a Rock & Roll Chocolate Bar with unique ingredients.
Playing “Quarters” probably isn’t the most mature way of handling the receipt of a (12) pack ofBlue Moon Belgian White, Belgian-Style Wheat Ale, but it was 4th of July weekend and we were ready to have some fun. And it appears that I was the only one who hadn’t tried it before. When I told others (friends, co-workers and family) about the brew, all already knew about it. They knew (and I now know) that it’s made with Orange Peel and Coriander, then garnished with an Orange Slice. Where have I been, especially since I seek out everything Orange flavored?!
And no, we really didn’t play Quarters with this tall glass on a leather surface, as they’re not the most ideal conditions for the game, ha. We just tested it out without success. After that, we enjoyed the Blue Moon in a semi-mature fashion. 🙂
The consensus is… We hope to have this amazing brew more than once in a Blue Moon. We’re not standing alone without a dream in our heart. Okay, that’s enough of the song and word play — It’s time to go get more Beer. This is a good one!
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