You've Got To Taste This

It has long been a pet peeve of mine that bacon does not come in resealable containers.  Unless you are cooking for a relatively large family (at least larger than ours at 2 adults and a mush-and-milk-eating baby), it's pretty likely you're not going to eat the whole pound.  So then you end up either tossing the extra, wrapping it up somehow for later, or in fact actually eating all of it - which isn't good for anyone's arteries.  I have always wondered why, in this day and age, no one could make the leap to sell bacon in a more sensible fashion.

Hello, Oscar Meyer Center Cut Bacon!  For the first time ever, I found resealable bacon at our local Publix!  Even better, it was on sale (center cut bacon is apparently pricier - who knew) and lower in fat than regular bacon (another little known fact - at least to me - about center cut bacon).  Last weekend I fried a few slices in our skillet and returned the unused portion to our fridge, nicely sealed - no plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or tupperware required.  Hallelujah.

If you live in Alabama, you've been denied some of the world's best beers for years. Our state bans all beer with alcohol content above six percent by volume. That means most of the great beers of Belgium, as well as the products of popular microbreweries like Rogue aren't available here.

But all of that may be about to change. An organization called Free the Hops has been lobbying our state legislature to change this law, and they are very close to succeeding. A bill to effectively eliminate the alcohol limits passed the Alabama Senate yesterday, and as soon as our governor signs it, the whole beer world will be open to us.

And that's the purpose of this post. If you live in Alabama and love beer, please call or e-mail Gov. Bob Riley and urge him to sign the Free the Hops bill, HB373. You can find more information here.

And as a high-alcohol-beer newbie, I need your help, blogland. What are some of your favorite Belgian and other brews?

We recently got a package of these mysterious cloves in the mail and the office. I have to admit, the product description had me a little bit scared: Garlic fermented for 30 days until it turns the color of rotten, burnt things? And the hilariously mistranslated English on the package (it's made in Korea) counseled wariness as well: "It's a natural food! Eat it as many as you want!"

But it turns out black garlic, which has been getting lots of coverage in the restaurant and consumer press and in the blogosphere, is quite delicious. Its flavor and texture are like a mix of roasted garlic and a raisin--mild but still garlicky, with lots of sweet and caramel overtones and a chewy texture. It's kind of like what happens to onion when you caramelize it deeply; it's still onion, but it's soft, chewy, and as sweet as candy.

The stuff's also really good for you. According to the official Web site, black garlic has almost twice the antioxidants of raw garlic and contains high amounts of a cancer-fighting compound called S-Allycysteine. They also claim it won't give you garlic breath.

Blackgarlic.com (which also gives sources to buy the stuff) offers several recipes for black garlic, but I think you could use it anywhere you'd use roasted garlic--it's even milder and sweeter, with the same spreadable texture. When I tasted a clove, the first pairing I thought of was burgers--they'd make a great topping either by themselves or maybe mashed into black-garlic mayonnaise. Anybody else out there try this stuff? Got any recipe suggestions?

 In need of a quick, on-the-road dinner, my husband and I went through the Arby's drive-through and ordered their new Roastburger.  Offered in 3 different varieties (All-American, Bacon and Bleu, and Bacon Cheddar), these roast beef sandwiches are touted as "never fried, never greasy" and "the burger done better." 

While sometimes there's just no substitute for a hearty ground beef burger, the Roastburger is a delicious alternative.  It looks just like a regular Arby's roast beef sandwich (with more toppings), but the Roastburger really does taste like a hamburger!  We both ordered the All-American, topped with dill pickles, "grillaise", ketchup, red onions, and tomatoes, and pronounced it delicious.

Best of all, the Roastburger really is a healthier alternative to comparable sandwiches at other fast food joints.  The All-American Roastburger weighs in at 407 calories and 18 grams of fat (5 of which you could save by holding the "grillaise"), while a McDonald's Big Mac is a hefty 540 calories and 29 grams of fat.  A Wendy's Baconator is slightly heavier than the Bacon Chedder Roastburger (276 grams versus 231), but it serves up 830 calories and 51 grams of fat, while the Roastburger has just 442 calories and 18 grams of fat.  While the Roastburger is no Subway sandwich, it's nice to know there's an alternative out there that's a little more friendly to your waistline.

With a new baby in the house, it seems I'm becoming the office expert on tasty, pre-packaged foods.  (We do cook occasionally, I promise!  And at least it's better than some of the things I ate during early morning feeds when she was a newborn - can we say Little Debbie Nutty Buddy bars with a tall glass of OJ?) 

In any case, I've been trying to add more protein to my diet, and picked up a box of ZonePerfect All-Natural Protein Bars.  With a ton of ingredients I can't pronounce, I'm not sure where the "All-Natural" figures in, but these are by far the best-tasting protein bars I've ever had!  They're still nothing like a good old fashioned Snickers (or Nutty Buddy, for that matter), but these bars are far more appealing than any others I've tried. 

Most grocery stores around here carry 3 varieties: Fudge Graham, Chocolate Mint, and Chocolate Caramel Cluster.  Fudge Graham is my favorite, with Chocolate Mint a close second.  These bars are worth a taste, but don't take my word for it - take theirs.  ZonePerfect makes it easy to get your money back if you're not completely satisfied.

One of my friends just gave me a gift bag containing a bag of black bean soup mix, a mix for onion dip, and a dry salsa mix, all of them from the Women's Bean Project.  I had never heard of the Women's Bean Project, but it's been around since 1989 with a mission to teach workplace competencies for entry-level positions to women who come from backgrounds of poverty and chronic unemployment. It's a gourmet food social enterprise, and they offer a line of products including soup and chili mixes, dip mixes, spice rubs, baking mixes and gift baskets.

Last night I need a quick-fix appetizer, so I made the Mediteranean Onion Dip. All you do is dump the mix in a saucepan, add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. After it comes to a boil, you reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

The basic ingredients are navy bean flakes, minced onion and parsley, a veggie base, and some salt and pepper.  The end product is a white bean dip with a texture that sort of resembles hummus, but not quite as smooth.  It's not real pretty, but it tasted good. This particular mix contains white pepper, and the taste of that was a bit strong for me. But once I spread some on a baguette slice, it was fine.  I'm thinking that these dried dip mixes would be perfect for a trip to the beach when you don't want to haul a bunch of groceries in the car.  Next I'll make the black bean soup and report back.

This enterprise operates out of Denver, so I'm going to try to find out more about this project when I'm there for the International Associaton of Culinary Professionals (IACP) meeting in April.  In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy some dip and some soup. Both of these mixes were made by a woman named Donna. Thank you, Donna.

Looking for a quick and healthy alternative to drive-through breakfast fare?  Check out the D-Lights line of breakfast sandwiches from Jimmy Dean.  These sandwiches feature turkey sausage or canadian bacon, egg whites, and cheese piled high on a low-fat croissant or whole-wheat English muffin.  They take under a minute to heat up in the microwave, and are lower in fat and calories than the traditional Bacon Egg & Cheese biscuit.  Plus, they pack in tons of protein!  After months of cereal and protein shakes, the D-Lights have been a nice change of breakfast pace in the Shepherd household.  Our favorite: Turkey Sausage, Egg, & Cheese on a croissant.

Hosting a Super Bowl party typically means breaking out the hot wings, ordering pizzas, and serving an over-the-top spread of dips, drinks, and desserts.  While we're all for a manly, low-maintenance atmosphere (Beer on the porch?  Fine by us!), sometimes it's good to dress up the party a little, and what better way that with a centerpiece or party favor that you can eat?

We love these festive cookie cutters from Ann Clark,"The Cookie Cutter People from Vermont."  Make her simple sugar cookie dough recipe and then use the sizable football-themed cutters (shaped like a football, a jersey, and a helmet) to make man-sized cookie portions.  The best part?  Each cutter has a handle on top, which makes creating a small legion of helmets during a commercial break completely possible. Frost with her simple five-ingredient icing recipe and decorate in your team's colors.

Looking for more cookie recipes?  Check out our collection of sugar cookies, or try my new personal favorite, Southern Living's All-Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie. This delicious cookie is a great basic chocolate chip recipe, but also offers six flavor variations including White Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Cookies and Almond-Toffee Cookies. Before you start, read Top 10 Cookie Secrets for no-fail tips on baking.

Whatever dough and icing combination you choose, make your cookies game-ready using the fun cutters.  Frost the cookies in competing colors and let your guests votes with their appetites.   

If you're a fan of Food Network, and more importantly their reality contest show The Next Food Network Star, then you're probably familiar with Aaron McCargo, Jr., an outgoing Camden, New Jersey dad of three who won top spot last season and came away with his very own Food Network show.  Aaron is outgoing, friendly and very relatable ... if you're not watching the show yet, you've got to.  His dishes are down-home, comfort food, and perfect to take the chill off of the cold Winter weather.  Big Daddy's House had a superb first season, and with the second season now underway, we recently got a chance to ask Aaron a few questions.

Your family joins you a lot on the show – will we be seeing more of them this season? 
You will definitely see a lot of Justin, a lot of Donovan [his brother]. This is how big daddy lives. I always have my brother over. Really bringing family into the kitchen and having fun cooking.

Have your kids gotten used to you being on Food Network?
Yes, they still give me “Hey Daddy, that’s you in the commercials.”   It’s always good and exciting. I have a two year old daughter and now she is following Justin in saying “Daddy, that’s you,” when it’s on television.

At home, do your kids like to help you in the kitchen? Any budding chefs in the making?
They help me a lot. Say if I am making guacamole, Justin will be the one to scoop it out and cube it up.  Josh, he’s started practicing writing recipes on his own.  As Justin gets older, now he’s moving on to the peeler. He’s my official peeler.  No one gets to touch Big Daddy’s knife yet though.

What is their most frequent request when Daddy’s cooking at home?
Soup – My wife and the kids, they have been requesting soup a lot. It’s been a holiday request from my friends.  Crab Florentine Soup was requested by friends for a gameday party recently.

Getting kids to eat a proper, well-balanced meal is universal struggle. What tips can you pass on to our moms to help them in their battle?
The one thing that’s been working for me and you will get to see it in the episodes of Big Daddy’s [is] I create a dipping sauce that works. Give them something to dip their vegetables with and they will eat more vegetables. Blue cheese, ranch, it seems to work for me. For fruit: Roll it in peanut butter and pretzels or coconut.

With juggling kids’ after-school activities, work and more, it’s an ongoing challenge to get a good, healthy meal on the table that everyone will eat. What tips can you give our moms for keeping everyone happy, well fed and sane?
What I normally try to do, since my wife is not one who loves to be in the kitchen [but we work together to prepare meals ahead of time on one weekend day], is on Sunday morning, I lay out meals, prep [and cook] and portion them, then freeze them. We’re literally (and I am doing this every day) – precooking. I build everything up in the refrigerator. Just take a day out and it doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. I’m making meatloaf ... But we’re making them, we’re chilling them out and we are portioning them ahead of time.

To hear more from Aaron McCargo, Jr., and learn more about his hearty, down-home recipes, tune in to Big Daddy's House on Food Network, Sundays at 1:30 PM (EST).

* Additional reporting by Sarah Caron.  Photo courtesy of Food Network.

I discovered a new brew, Pumpkin Ale from Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in California. Yes, the fall season is closing down for the winter months, but I’m hanging on until last call.

This particular beer caught my interest from across the store with its inviting fall packaging. Marketing got the best of me. I had to pick it up and take it home or back to the office.

The Ale is a microbrew consisting of baked and roasted pumpkin seeds. The combination of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg add a very unique flavor that ties the whole beer together. Some say it taste like pumpkin pie, I on the other hand had a delightful cider experience.

Check out 7 Ways With Beer for ideas on cooking with this frothy beverage.

Cheers!

What are some of your favorite seasonal brews?