AWOL

Not that anyone has noticed, but I've been rather AWOL.  Mostly because this has been my life.

Not so much sustainable.  But I think I'm over the hump, and I'm learning to say no to things to make room for what I love.  Which includes this little blog hobby I've got going.

Want to know a secret?  I've got something really fun coming down the pike!  Here's a hint...

It's not quite ready to roll, but look for more details around the first of the year.  I can't wait to share it with you!

Save $290 On A KitchenAid Stand Mixer!

Believe it, people.  This is the BEST deal I have ever seen on a KitchenAid in my LIFE.  And we're not talking about the Artisan Series, here.  We're talking about the Professional one.  The one that I have and love and adore and forever pledge to be faithful to.  The one that holds double and triple batches, but still works beautifully on a single box of cake mix.

If anyone in your life wants a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for Christmas, this is your chance!  But move fast, because I bet these are definitely going to sell out quickly.

It's Amazon.com's Deal Of The Day, and it comes in two colors - silver or a beautiful cinnamon red.  Regularly $499.99, on sale for $259.99.  Throw in an additional $50 mail-in rebate { which brings it down to $209.99! }, a free two year subscription to Food & Wine or Travel + Leisure and you've got a Christmas gift fit for any foodie on your list!

Hurry!

Biscoff Bake-Off Recap

I've still got so much to share about our trip to Napa for the Biscoff Bake-Off, but I know I can't really blog about the fun excursions of the weekend without first giving you the scoop on the main event.

We were set up at the Williams Center for Flavor Discovery at the Culinary Institute of America.

I had my own { not so } little station....

... and an entire case of Biscoff cookies.  YUM.

Delta recorded the whole thing like Top Chef or Chopped.  Two flight attendants were there to host, and they were fabulous. Having a camera in my face didn't bother me the least bit { after all, one of the competitors greeted me with "Hey, you're the girl from that dress show!" },  but the time constraint was pretty stressful. Competitive baking is not for the faint of heart.

There were two other competitors... Atif, who brought Biscoff Baked Salmon, and Laurie, who brought Crispy Shrimp with Coco-Mango Sauce.  Both were delicious.

As you might expect, there had to be some drama.  Poor Atif was supposed to go on at 2:00, but at two 'till, when he went to take his dish out of the oven, the fish was still raw.  It appeared as if the pilot light in the oven had just gone out.

So we played musical time slots and I went first. { Life is uncertain, anyway. } I ended up kind of liking that I got to go first. It let me set the bar and not feel like I was already being compared to someone.

All three judges were very, very kind.  From left to right above:

• Herb Karlitz - Founder and President of Karlitz & Company, Producer of Flavor! Napa Valley
• Andrea Robison - Delta's Master Sommelier and host of Pairings with Andrea on Food Network { she's one of only 14 female Master Sommeliers in the world! }
• Chef Stephen Isaac - of the Culinary Institute of America, American Culinary Federation and Retail Bakers Association

Herb said, "I'm from New York and I know cheesecake. This is good cheesecake." { What a compliment! } Andrea praised that the cookie flavor remained intact throughout the dish.  And Chef Stephen noted that the cheesecake wasn't overly sweet, which was a good balance with the decadent salted caramel topping. He literally picked his slice apart, tasting the crust alone, then just the cheesecake, then the filling, the topping and finally every layer together. His palate was the one I thought would be most apt to find an error.

But the reaction was good. More than good, even. Because they unanimously chose my Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake as the winning dish!

My face hurt from smiling so much. And I won trips to Food & Wine Festival in NYC and LA in 2012. { Hello, culinary dream vacation. }

Delta will use the footage on their Facebook page, and maybe even for in-flight entertainment.  Either way, I'll definitely link to the video when it's up.

All in all, not bad for a first attempt, if I do say so myself. Now, to finish another one of these cheesecakes for Thanksgiving tomorrow. After 27 years, I've finally been asked to bring something. Guess a little external validation never hurts. : )

At least they sent me home with half a case of cookies!

The Appellation Trail

Hello from Napa Valley, California!

Mom and I are having a blast. This place is beautiful. Who knew that vineyards changed color in the fall? More on that later. First things first - food!

Last night, we were fortunate enough to attend the grand tasting of Flavor! Napa Valley... "The Appellation Trail." At first I was pretty sure we had a typo on our hands.  But after a little research { thanks, Google } I discovered that, in fact, "appellation" is word. And not surprisingly, it has to do with wine production.

Appellation - noun -\ˌa-pə-ˈlā-shən\ 

A geographical name (as of a region, village, or vineyard) under which a winegrower is authorized to identify and market wine; also : the area designated by such a name

So we "toured" the various sub-appellations of Napa, along with the food and wines they produce, all  from the comfort of the Culinary Institute.

Mom and I tasted... and tasted... and tasted.  Everything was unbelievably delicious, but these were our favorites.

Grilled Rack of Lamb over caviar potato salad by Richard Blais.  Holy wow.

Oh.  And we met him.  Such a nice guy! I so badly wanted to ask how on earth you make a milkshake with liquid nitrogen.

You know if there are sweets, I will find them.  Check out this tower of goodies from Anette's Chocolates! I loved the Himalayan Salted Caramel at bottom left. See the Chardonnay Wine Brittle, too?

Chef Michael Collins from Siena at the Meritage Resort & Spa brought a trio of delicacies - Curry Crusted Scallops, Cinnamon and Star Anise Braised Short Ribs and Seared Ahi Tuna with Dungeness Crab Salad.  Like whoa.

Then, from Gott's Roadside, there were incredible Smoked Chicken Sliders. The bread and butter pickle was "crucial", if you will. : )

Chef Dave Cruz from Ad Hoc brought Pulled Pork over Sweet & Yukon Gold Potato Cakes with Bleu Cheese Celery Salad.  I could have eaten a whole plate of the potatoes.

There was Beff Bourguignon with Creamy Polenta from Chef Philippe Jeanty and Bistro Jeanty.  Sorry the picture is bad, but it was too delicious not to show you.  I've got to figure out how to make this polenta. Stat.

There were well-known chefs everywhere we turned.  Like Masaharu Morimoto.

We tried his Congee Clam Chowder from Morimoto Napa.  It was definitely different.  Good, but different from what one would usually expect from Clam Chowder.

Last but not least, we tasted two different crostini from Michael Chiarello's Bottega.  In the foreground is Braised Rabbit { my first taste of rabbit - delish! }.  The background is NapaStyle Marinated Parmesan.  Kind of like a pesto.

Oh you know, just a usual, quiet Friday night. : )

{ Stay tuned... the actual Bake-Off is Sunday! }

It's Crock-tober!

OK, maybe it's not technically Crock-tober because it's not technically October any more. { When did that happen?  How is Thanksgiving next week? }

October or November aside, it's Crock-Pot season. And if you're looking to give one as a gift for the Holidays { or maybe snag one for yourself }, now is the time!

To get your $5:

• Purchase a Crock-Pot brand slow cooker for $24.50 or more any time between now and November 30
• Print out this mail-in rebate form { don't miss page 2 }
• Cut the UPC code from your Crock-Pot box
• Mail in your form, UPC and original sales receipt { no copies accepted } to the address listed on the form before December 31
• Your check should arrive in 6-8 weeks

Amazon has a bunch of Crock-Pots on sale right now, so combinined with this rebate you're looking at a great deal on a kitchen work horse. I have this one and adore it. Especially the "Little Dipper". Perfect for chocolate fondue and cheese dip. { Which would make for a perfect meal in my world. Chocolate and cheese. Yes, please. }

Happy shopping!

Houzz.com

Pinterest is my new favorite thing.  I've found recipes, gift ideas, things to do for the house and the garden... you name it.  Need inspiration?  Pinterest is a great place to start.

Most recently, Pinterest introduced me to Houzz.com.  The WSJ calls it "a digital look book for home decorating ideas."  And as you might imagine, I'm obsessing over kitchens.

Look at all the natural light in this one.  And I love the exposed beams.  My goodness.

Design by Philadelphia general contractor Echelon Custom Homes

And here, I love the farm sink and the drain board built into the countertop.

Design by Boston architect Battle Associates

What I would give for a pantry like this!  Such a fun use for a library ladder.

Design by Minneapolis architect Murphy & Co.

A red island and butcher block top.  Yes, please.

Design by Atlanta general contractor Kara O'Brien

Do you see the little faucet in the wall, right above the cooktop?  It's a pot filler, so you'd never have to carry a full pot of pasta water over from the sink again.  Swoon.

Realistically, all that's happening in this kitchen any time soon is perhaps a new backsplash and spring faucet.  { It drives me nuts that our current faucet is polished and everything else in the kitchen is brushed. }

Santa, I've been a good girl.  And we wash a lot of dishes.

Sweet dreams of counter space!

Napa, here I come!

Remember this?

{ Pretend there's salt on top... this was the first shot I took and I neglected
to add it.  But it's the best one I got of the slice and the cake together! }

Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake.  I haven't talked about much else over the last few weeks. { Sorry about that. Sometimes I have a one track mind. }

Well, thanks to you and your votes... this recipe and I are headed to Flavor! Napa Valley to compete in the Biscoff Bake-Off finals in just two weeks!  State Farm guy and his Pumpkin Cheesecake are going, too.  The third contender should be announced on Monday.

All three finalists' recipes will be judged by a panel of food and wine experts, including Michael Chiarello.  Look familiar?

He's on the latest season of Food Network's Next Iron Chef, hosts Easy Entertaining { LOVE! } and has a fabulous restaurant: Bottega Napa Valley.  Michael's been a judge on Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, too.  I can't wait to { hopefully } shake his hand.  And maybe eat at Bottega!

And Michael isn't the only recognizable face involved.  Flavor! includes a ton of other folks I'm sure you heard of:

• Richard Blais of Top Chef and FLIP Burger Boutique here in Atlanta... oh Krispy Kreme milkshake and Butcher's Cut burger, how I love you.
• Tyler Florence of a zillion things, including the Great American Food Truck Race.
• Masaharu Morimoto, whose name I feel like should always be preceded by "Iron Chef".

... just to name a few.  The foodie portion of my brain is pretty much jumping up and down like a three-year-old on Christmas just at the prospect of seeing these people and maybe tasting their creations.

I was all worried about where we'd be baking our entries.  Envisioning like a BBQ Cook-Off with an oven in a tent.  Not exactly the ideal conditions for a cheesecake.  But my worry was for naught, because we'll be at the Culinary Institute of America!  Be still my heart.

Not gonna lie, though.  I'm a little intimidated.  Yours truly has zero formal training.  I mean, given a henny penny and whatever's in that secret seasoned coater I could make a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, but that's the extent of my formal culinary training.  The rest comes from watching my family.  Heck, I put too much brown sugar in the Monkey Bread Muffins I experimented with for breakfast this morning and there was definitely a little smoke in the oven when a few of them overflowed out of the pan.  It happens. : )

I was even nervous to serve my cheesecake to some of our foodies at work... worried their refined palates would find something off about it.  But everyone raved and I guess the folks at Biscoff and Delta want a taste, too. : ) Just making it this far is more than I'd dreamed would happen.

So now the biggest question is... what's a girl to wear to something like this?!?

My New Favorite App: Grocery iQ

{ Insert Hallelujah Chorus }

Yours truly joined the 21st century about a week ago. { Hooray! }

At first, I was skeptical about Siri... but girlfriend is my new virtual BFF.  I ask her, "What's for dinner?" and she finds restaurants nearby.  Perfect for nights when the pantry is in serious need of a refill.  Which has been more often than not as of late.  An unusual amount of travel has meant fewer meals at home.  That, and most of the free time I've had over the last few weeks was put into developing my entry for the bake-off. { Voting goes until Monday at midnight! }

All that to say, we just made a MASSIVE grocery trip. Second only to perhaps that first one you make after moving, when you've got to stock the entire house and the buggy is overflowing.  The three digit kind.

Now normally, I'd write three or four versions of a list for a trip like this.  I'd get it all written only to remember some other bit of produce we need. And then I've got to rewrite the whole thing so that all of the produce is still grouped together and I don't end up crisscrossing the entire grocery store.  { Is that normal? }

But not for this trip!  Technology to the rescue in a big way.  Meet my new favorite app.

Grocery iQ is a dream come true for kitchen nerds like me.  Not only is it awesome, it's FREE!  You can create grocery lists from a massive database of name brand and generic items and it automatically organizes them into categories.  No more rewriting of lists.

{ Love that it even has Reduced Fat Wheat Thins! }

Adding items is super simple, and the built in barcode scanner lets you scan items running low in the pantry and fridge to add them to the list automatically.

Grocery iQ will even customize your lists to the layout of your favorite stores so that your list shows up in the order of the aisles. { As soon as I relearn the layout of our newly remodeled my Publix, this will be fabulous! } A satisfying little check box lets you see only what remains on the list as you work your way through.  And, you can virtually share your lists with other people who've installed the app... perfect for when you're sending someone else { ahem, Spencer } to the store.

Plus, there are built in coupons!

It stores previous trips and favorites so that you can keep track of frequently purchased items, too.

Just thought I'd share.  Available in the App Store and Android Marketplace!

Fabulous Deal Alert!

For me, the happiest trip to the mailbox is always the one where Spencer returns with Southern Living, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler and Atlanta Magazine.  For some reason, they always come on the very same day.

And now, I'm really excited to add another one to the list: GARDEN and GUN.  My parents have subscribed for a while now and I love it.  It's one of the first things I reach for on their round, red ottoman when I'm at home.  I've just never been able to justify getting it for ourselves.  But, through tonight... you can get up to a two year subscription (12 issues) for just $3.50 per year!

The magazine features any and all things southern: food, travel, entertaining.  It's downright fabulous.

Click here to order and enter the coupon code "GARDEN".  I'm told it will take 8-14 weeks for the first issue to arrive, so these would be great Christmas gifts!

The deal ends tonight, so hurry!

And PS - please vote for my Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake in the Delta Biscoff Bake-Off! : )

The Biscoff Bake-Off

Y'all.

If you're reading this, you know I love to bake.  Probably 75% of my cookbooks are dedicated to cakes, cookies, cupcakes or other sweets.  But make up my own recipe?  It's one thing to throw pudding and chocolate chips into a box of cake mix.  It's another entirely to start from scratch with a blank sheet of paper.

There's a first time for everything, though.  I've entered my very first bake-off!  And the Delta Biscoff Bake-Off at that. { Say that one three times fast! }

Behold, my entry.  Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake.

{ Please believe that I ate this piece for breakfast immediately after snapping the photo! }

Judges will review the 10 recipes that receive the most votes between now and midnight Monday, October 31.  I'm not usually one to ask for help... I come from a long line of do-it-yourself-ers.  But, if you're on Facebook, would you vote for me? { Please? } You can vote once every day!

It's easy.  Just...

• Click here: http://apps.facebook.com/biscoffcontest/contests/157238/voteable_entries/34340494
• Then click “Vote Now”
• Then click “Allow”
• And if you’re really feeling supportive, you can post it to your wall

They'll select 3 from the top 10 to travel to Napa and bake their creations for the panel.  Then, they'll choose a grand prize winner who will win trips to  the 2012 Food Network Wine & Food Festivals... in both LA and NYC!  Hello, foodie heaven.

And while it's kind of a stretch { considering that this recipe and its iterations are the only cheesecakes I've ever made } ... it's worth a shot.

Thank you for your help!

It's baaaaack!

Last year I bought a Camp Twin Lakes Partners Card.  And used it to save 20% on all sorts of fabulous Atlanta area retailers.  Including a home for our china and crystal from Pottery Barn.  { Technically a bookshelf, but who cares? I love it. }

This year, the Partners Card is valid at more than 350 restaurants and retailers in the Atlanta area from October 28 - November 6.  I'll likely be hitting up:

• Tory Burch.  Love. The. Whole. Store.
• Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table.  No surprise there!
• Henri Bendel.  There's one in Atlanta now!
• Brooks Brothers
• Tavern at Phipps { shopping makes me hungry... and their BBQ Chicken Chips are unreal }

Cards are $60 and 100% of it goes to benefit Camp Twin Lakes for children with serious illness, disabilities and other challenges.  You can buy online or at participating retailers.  Spend $300 using your 20% off and you'll break even.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your Christmas shopping engines { and save 20% }!

Pantry Pad Thai

Trader Joe's used to have a Pad Thai kit.  I loved it.  But, like my favorite lip gloss, TV shows and other things of yesteryear, they discontinued it.  Boo.

I bought rice noodles instead, thinking, "surely I can make my own Pad Thai sauce."  Every recipe I came across called for weird ingredients.  Things like fish sauce, tamarind paste, palm sugar and sriracha.

Only one problem.  I refuse to buy spices and such that can't be repurposed for another recipe.  So Google to the rescue. A little substituting here, some tweaking there... and bingo.  Pad Thai can be made with things quite possibly already in your pantry!

Pantry Pad Thai

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 limes, juiced, plus additional for garnish
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes { depending on how spicy you'd like }
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice
• Main Dish
• 8 oz rice noodles
• 2 small chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
• 3 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3 scallions, whites and greens separated and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• Bean sprouts { optional }
• Chopped peanuts for garnish

Instructions

• Prepare noodles according to package directions.  Drain.
• Whisk together sauce ingredients and set aside.

• Slice chicken into one-inch cubes and season with Chinese five spice.  Set aside.

• Prep scallions, slicing whites thinly and greens in 2-3 inch lengths.

• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add chicken and saute until done, about four minutes.  Transfer to a plate, cover with aluminum foil and keep warm.

• Add remaining teaspoon of oil, scallion whites and garlic to skillet, cooking and stirring until fragrant { about 30 seconds }.

• Add eggs and scramble until nearly set.  Transfer mixture to a plate and set aside.

• Add noodles, scallion greens and sauce to skillet.  Cook and toss until noodles are soft { about one minute }.

• Return chicken and egg mixture to pan.  Gently break up eggs while tossing with noodles.

• Plate each portion, top with crushed peanuts, cilantro and bean sprouts. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

It may not be authentic, but it sure is delicious!