Hell's Kitchen Season Five Begins

Tonight was the opening night of Hell’s Kitchen season 5; the show where renowned celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey berates a ragtag team of wannabe cooks. These 16 cooks are vying for Ramsey’s attention in hopes that they will win the prize of a quarter million dollars and a position at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City.

At first impression the teams that were chosen for this season seemed to be of higher caliber than the prior season with more executive and sous chefs in the line. Once the tasting of their opening dishes commenced it was clear that some of the contestants were clearly not destined for greatness. Ben seemed to do well with his version of Peking duck in contrast to Colleen’s “Diaper” of enchiladas. As it turns out Colleen the cooking instructor actually has no formal cooks training. There seemed to be a few stand out dishes but for the most part Chef Ramsey spent a lot of time spitting out food.

As usual most patrons in the Hell’s Kitchen dining room don’t get fed until the 5th or 6th episode. Having so many trained cooks on the line; one would think they could get out a single service for dinner, but that would not really make great TV would it.

The red team (girls) had a few issue right from the start with buffet cook Lacey quitting during prep. It seemed that the ice cream machine had gotten the better of her. Once the work was done she miraculously pulled herself together to join the rest for dinner service announcing to her team that she had never worked on a line before and would need to be helped. That’s when Coi called her out in front of Chef Ramsey and threatened to take care of her if she got her kicked off the show.

The blue team (boys) were not without their problems when Wil with one L, seemed to lose all semblance of what a cook does, and Seth; who has already alienated himself from the entire team, could not seems to put out a lamb chop to save his life. Ramsey has taken to calling Seth Forrest, as in Gump and need not worry about what to call Wil as he’s already been eliminated. It truly does suck the worst to be first.

Processor Knowingly Sold Contaminted Peanut Products

The Georgia peanut plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened 500 more across the country knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday.

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have been investigating the outbreak of salmonella illness, said yesterday that Peanut Corporation of America found salmonella in internal tests a dozen times in 2007 and 2008 but sold the products anyway, sometimes after getting a negative finding from a different laboratory.

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Just Simply Great Products!

Our friends at Just Simply Good Stuff sent us a box of sample to check out and we have been dragging our feet or tongues, getting to the taste tests. So recently we went on a total taste test rampage and dove head first into this box of savory spice blends.

Robin Carter’s seasonings are all created from scratch using her own recipes. They grind and mix individual chilies, herbs, and spices to create unique dry rubs and blends, and salt is only used to enhance the blends not weigh them down. Their spice blends are all natural, contain no MSG, and are simply delicious.

As it turns out Just Simply Good Stuff is more like Really Great Stuff! It has taken us quite some time to get through all the items that we received because they are so versatile we kept finding new uses for them. A favorite of our; the Lemon Lime Salt is fantastic on Beer Can Chicken. The Wild Game Rub elevated my Grilled Tri-Tip to new heights, and the Smoky Jalapeno Rub was extraordinary as a pre-seasoning for hot wings. We also used the Lemon Lime salt to make some remarkable Tequila Lime Prawns!

For those of you whom have been to the Just Simply Good Stuff website you know there is a library of recipes and serving suggestions that show you great ways to use these wonderful products. We went through and recreated a few of these to get a feel for how Robin intended the spice blends to be used. We were very pleased with the results! Here are the recipes that we used:

Smoky Jalapeno Corn on the Cob

Butter corn, sprinkle with Smoky Jalapeno Rub & Smoky Mesquite salt. Wrap in foil, grill or bake. This recipe is especially handy when you're feeding a crowd. Just unwrap the corn and you're good to go! (No need to pass around all of the butter and salt & pepper… it's already done!)

Grilled Zucchini

Slice zucchini lengthwise, layer 3 - 4 sheets of paper towels, lay slices on and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt, let set for about 20 minutes to draw out some moisture, rinse lightly and pat dry, brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle on Mediterranean Medley and Lemon/Lime salt lightly on one side; grill (2-3 min) until you get golden brown grill marks, flip & repeat. Remove, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately while hot.

Holiday Prime Rib Roast

Prime Rib Rub

1 Prime Rib Roast 7-8 lbs (or about 4-5 ribs)

Directions

Ask the butcher for the small end of the Prime. Season generously on all sides with our Prime Rib Rub, Place Roast bone side down in a hot pre-heated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees and cook about 20 to 30 minutes per pound. Test the beef with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the roast (center of the eye) being careful not to touch the bone. Remove the roast when the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees for rare, 140 for medium rare or 150 degrees for medium. Cover the roast loosely with aluminum foil and let sit for 1/2 hour. The internal roast temperature will continue to rise about 5 degrees even after you take it out of the oven.

You can see how simple it is to get great results with Just Simply Good Stuff products. Try some of these unique and delicious blends and soon you will have your own favorite way to prepare Simply Great Food!

Sunday Dinner: Soy Sauce Roasted Chicken

Today’s Sunday Dinner was inspired by some samples delivered to us by the people at Wan Ja Shan. Their soy sauce products are so vibrant and delicious it makes cooking a great meal a simple task. It’s true that when you start with great ingredients you get great results!

This dish is prepared classically as a pan fried heavily sauced dish served over rice. We chose to lighten it up a bit and use the sauce as a baste for the whole roasted bird.

Ingredients:
1 whole roasting chicken
1/3-1/2 cup soy sauce (use low sodium if you like)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, crushed
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1-2 piece star anise
2 cloves garlic
chopped hot chiles (optional)
1 stalk scallion, chopped
sesame seed

Directions:
Mix all ingredients, except chicken, scallions, sesame seeds in a deep roaster over medium heat.

Add chicken, and then roast at 375degrees for 15 minutes per pound. Baste chicken occasionally.

Chicken is done when the juices run clear or the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees in the thickest part.

Remove chicken from the sauce and set aside in a platter to rest.
Skim fat from the sauce, thicken it with cornstarch mixture (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 TB water) and pour the sauce over chicken.

Sprinkle scallions and sesame seeds and serve with rice and steamed broccoli.

Need a Recipe? Got a Recipe to Share? This is a great place to do it! Email us with your recipe and we'll add it to the list and give you some props too!

Quaker Changes the Rules In The Granola Bar Game.

Today in the mail we received a nice treat from the Quaker Oats company. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaster program we have been given the opportunity to sample and report on the new Quaker True Delights brand of chewy granola bars that are about to hit the shelves at your local market. We could not wait to dig in to these healthy and delicious looking snack bars!

Quaker describes the True Delights - Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut bar as a taste of the exotic with our captivating blend of toasted coconut, ripe banana and rich, buttery macadamia nut. Your taste buds will be tropically transported when they encounter this decadent flavor combination. We found this flavor was pretty close to their description, perhaps without the teleportation aspect. The banana flavor is more of a background note that carries through the experience of this bar. Up front is the coconut and a sweet honey like flavor. The large chunks of macadamia nuts definitely add to the decadent rich buttery flavor. It’s hard to believe something this tasty is also good for you.

Quaker describes the True Delights - Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond as a responsible decadence. With the surprisingly rich flavor combination of dark chocolate chunks, luscious raspberries and whole almonds, you might not be able to stop yourself. And why would you? It is packed to the hilt with chunks of bittersweet chocolate, whole almonds and bits of dried raspberry. This is a great flavor combinations the raspberries tart flavors explode in your mouth. The bittersweet chocolate chunks play of the berry tartness and the whole toasted almonds bring all the flavors together. So far these are proving to be some of the most complex flavor combinations you will see in a snack food like this. Bring on the last flavor!

Quaker True Delights - Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry is described as the best of both worlds. Our chewy granola made with whole grain is combined with sumptuous honey, roasted cashews and mixed berries for a crunchy, chewy snack that will delight your taste buds. This is definitely my favorite of the lot. The first bite is reminiscent of a salted caramel as the honey and salty rich cashews play off each other’s subtle flavors. The whole thing is rich, buttery and toasty with a tangy berry finish. AWESOME! These are truly a gourmet granola bar. Forget about what you think you know about granola bars, Quaker has just changed the rules.

Hopefully I was able to give you an idea of how wonderfully tasty these new granola bars could be, but why take my word for it. Quaker is willing to give you your own free sample. Just click the link and fill out the form!

Cowgirl Chocolates; A Concert of Taste and Texture.

The Last Bite recently received a small box of unique and delicious sweet chocolaty treats from Cowgirl Chocolates. The eclectic flavors were divided into two categories; spicy and mild. Included are flavors such as Spicy Double Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Lemon, and Habanero Caramel.

While I love chocolates and spicy foods I gathered a group of four tasters so as not to put myself into a diabetic coma. We found that the common thread amongst all the delicious flavors was the super creamy and rich texture of the truffle centers and the crisp sweet chocolate shells.
On the mild side the flavors are Double Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Ivory Orange, and Raspberry Lemon.

The spicy side of the box was filled with flavors such as Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Double Dark Chocolate, Hazelnut Milk Chocolate, Cappuccino, Habanero Dark Chocolate, and Habanero Caramel.

The presentation of these fine chocolate screams of quality and makes you want to devour them immediately upon receipt. Once you tear open the red paper and remove the ribbons, a myriad of shiny colored foil wrappers entice you with their hidden secrets.

As a group we pretty much agreed on the favorites. While we loved them all, there were definitely standouts in the bunch. We all enjoyed the Ivory Orange Truffle; crisp white chocolate encases a velvety milk chocolate spiked with tangy orange essence. Chocolate and orange is a classic combination, but the ivory white chocolate elevates this truffle beyond the ordinary.
Removal of the aqua colored foil reveals a favorite flavor of chocolate lovers, the Double Dark Chocolate truffle. The dark bittersweet shell is filled with creamy dark bittersweet ganache. What more could you want from a tasty chocolate morsel; more of them.

The spicy side of sweet brings a whole new perspective to chocolates. I’ve had spicy chocolates that were ok, and some that were not good at all. The spicy treats in this little red box were nothing short of greatness. The spiciness was well balanced in all the various flavors. The favorite of the spicy menu was definitely the Habanero Caramel. While there was no chocolate on this one it was one of the most remarkable caramels I have ever tasted. The caramel itself was buttery and had sweet vanilla undertones. There were several layers of flavor before the spiciness of the habanero pepper beat its way to your taste buds. The sweetness of the creamy caramel offset the heat of the habanero enough to let you enjoy the caramel without too much pain, but enough of the habanero comes through to make sweat a bit. It was the perfect combination of pain and pleasure.

The other standout on the spicy side was the Cappuccino Truffle. It had the added element of texture; as if the spiciness was not enough to wow your taste buds the outer shell of cappuccino truffle had a crystallized coffee crunch to it. Combined with the rich sweet cappuccino crème center and the ever so present spiciness this chocolate bite was certainly a concert of taste and texture.

All of us at The Last Bite thank the people at Cowgirl Chocolates and Foodbuzz for the opportunity to sample and report on this awesome taste of Fine Chocolates!

Road Trip: Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Q Memphis, TN

Do you have a food that you are totally nuts over? For me, and a few of my friends it’s barbecue. There is not one thing about BBQ that we don’t love. Even the act of walking into a new barbecue joint is a joyous event. So when I say we drove a 545 mile return trip for a single BBQ meal you should not be surprised; especially when I tell you that this was a road trip to the famous Jim Neely’s Interstate Bar-B-Q in Memphis, Tennessee!

Our motley crew was comprised of Eric from BBQHub.com, a friend of his named Cecil, and of course myself. We all packed into Eric’s car for the 4 and a half hour drive from Madisonville, Kentucky to Memphis, Tennessee. Armed with only our coffee, our appetites and about two and a half hours worth of small talk we started our journey to one of the World’s most famous BBQ bastions.

In 1978, Jim Neely purchased Interstate Grocery at 2265 South 3rd Street. Not only would the grocery store provide his son with a job, Neely thought the store might provide himself with a way to supplement his income once he retired from the insurance business. The store was run down and had become a place for a rough element to hang out, drink, take drugs and get in the occasional fight. Most people probably would never have imagined the store could become a prosperous business. People asked why he came to this location, "It's not the land, it's the man," says Neely. "I had a vision for what this place could become.

In 1979 He purchased the property and then converted the store to Interstate BBQ Restaurant. This established the Neely name on the Memphis BBQ scene. Today Jim Neely’s Interstate Bar-B-Q has fame status and is well known in barbecue and foodie circles all over the world.
When we finally arrived at our destination we were immediately revitalized by the prospects of an incredible barbecue meal. As strange as it sounds, just stepping out of the car in the Interstate Bar-B-Q parking lot felt like it was already worthwhile. It was as if we knew it was going to be great without really knowing, if that makes sense.

When you enter the doors to the restaurant the aroma hits you like a velvet wall of smoky goodness. Your mouth starts to salivate in anticipation of the delights that are about to come. The place itself shows its age, but not in a bad way. It is like you are entering a historical landmark; the history of great BBQ was made here.

I ordered the Bar-B-Q Sampler and an unsweet iced tea. In the south tea is either sweet or unsweet and sweet means SWEET, so you better be ready if you order it that way. I figured the sampler would give me the widest assortment of Interstate Bar-B-Q experiences without causing me permanent and irreparable damage.

The sampler is made up of Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, Links, Beef Brisket, Pork Shoulder, B-B-Q Spaghetti, Beans, Slaw and Bread. The Sampler Platter is described as “A Trip to Hog Heaven”! This was really a stand out barbecue meal everything on the plate was clearly top notch; the pork ribs were fall off the bone tender, the beef ribs had just the right amount of texture and were not tough at all, links were made in house and were incredibly seasoned. The chopped brisket was tender and smoky with a hint of tangy sauce, and the pork shoulder was pulled and sauced and was incredible on the plain white bread with some slaw. To me the star of the sampler was the B-B-Q Spaghetti, it had the perfect amount of sauce and meat and the flavors were far more complex than I expected. The side dishes were all great as well, there was tons of meat in the beans and they were hearty and rich. The slaw was both tangy and creamy and cut through and enhanced the sweet rich pork.

We finished the meal with a piece of the Sock-it-to-me cake which we all shared. It was described to us as a pound cake pumped up with sour cream and love. That it was for sure, there was a cinnamon crumble center and a sweet glaze over the cake. It seemed like it would be the lighter of the desserts on the menu. I’m looking forward to some sweet potato pie on my next visit.

If you find yourself in Memphis or you are willing to make the long drive out from wherever you are, the ride to Jim Neely’s Interstate Bar-B-Q will be worth time and travel. Taste some barbecue history for yourself. On the way out we thanked Jim for an excellent meal.

Let him know that we sent ya!


Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Q
2265 S. Third Street
Memphis, Tennessee 38109
901-775-2304 - Restaurant
901-775-3149 - Fax and Order by Fax

The Year of the Ghost Pepper!

Did you know that 2009 is the year of the ghost? No, not on the Chinese calendar, on the Chile-head calendar.

It seems that there is finally enough of the incredibly hot Bhut Jolokia pepper commercially available not that a plethora of ghostly hot products have hit the market running.

The Naga Jolokia (also known as Bhut Jolokia, Ghost Chili, Ghost Pepper, Naga Morich) is a chili pepper that grows primarily in Assam state of India, but also in northeastern India (Nagaland, Manipur), Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In 2006, it was confirmed by Guinness World Records to be the hottest chili in the world, replacing the Red Savina.

In 2000, scientists at India's Defense Research Laboratory (DRL) reported a rating of 855,000 units on the Scoville scale, and in 2004 an Indian company obtained a rating of 1,041,427 units through HPLC analysis. This makes it almost twice as hot as the Red Savina pepper. For comparison, pure capsaicin rates at 15,000,000–16,000,000 Scoville units.

In 2005 at New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute near Las Cruces, New Mexico, Regents Professor Paul Bosland found Naga Jolokia grown from seed in southern New Mexico to have a Scoville rating of 1,001,304 SHU by HPLC.

In February 2007, Guinness World Records certified the Bhut Jolokia (Prof. Bosland's preferred name for the pepper) as the world's hottest chili pepper.

Last year Dave’s Gourmet, famous for their Insanity Sauce released the first 2008 Ghost Pepper Private Reserve in the well know wood coffin caution tape wrapped packaging. This year the Return of the Ghost Pepper Private Reserve 2009 is making its debut and apparition like disappearance. Hundreds of the ghoulish hot sauce has been pre-sold prior to its release and current inventory is flying off the shelves. We anticipate that in a very short time you will have to hire yourself a ghost hunter to locate this spicy specter.

While we don’t have the actual Scoville rating of the 2009 Private Reserve the addition of Jolokia peppers insures that these will be some of the hottest reserves ever made by the spicemeister.

In other ethereal hot sauce news from Dave’s Gourmet, Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce, the newest member of the insanity line has just been released. This sauce is “So Hot It’s Spooky”, and it says so right across the top of the label. A quick review of the ingredient declaration shows that Jolokia peppers are the primary ingredient in this sauce, and if that’s not enough for you it’s spiked up with hot chile extract. In case your taste but are not completely flambéed roasted garlic is added to round out the flavor. Don’t be fooled though, the primary flavor in this new hot sauce is PAIN! This stuff should have no problem getting your endorphins rushing to ghost bust your horrifying agony.

Who You Gonna Call?

Closed Napa Food & Wine Center To ReOpen.

Six months after California wine pioneer Robert Mondavi's death, the not-for-profit Copia wine and food center he founded filed for bankruptcy on Monday while it seeks to restructure and stay afloat.

The center, located in California's Napa Valley, said its decision to restructure through a Chapter 11 filing will provide an additional six months to achieve long-term sustainability.

In the filing, Copia estimated its outstanding liabilities at between $50 million and $100 million. Recent news reports put its debt at $78 million.

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Black Friday Sale In Great Taste!

RoJo's Gourmet Foods is rolling out Black Friday specials with great taste. Make the foodie, home cook, tailgater, or anyone excited about their gourmet gift this year. No standing in long lines, no worries about returns. Everyone loves to get a gourmet gift! So save yourself from the turkey and stuffing induced coma by hopping on your computer and doing a little holiday shopping from the comfort of your home.

Dave's Gourmet Original Insanity Hot Sauce

List Price: $7.49
Our Price: $6.95
Sale Price: $4.25
You Save $3.24!



Your S'more 4-Pack, All-In-One Indoor S'more. 4-3.5oz, Individually
Wrapped

List Price: $14.25
Our Price: $11.95
Sale Price: $10.95
You Save $3.30!


Dave's Gourmet Spicy Twelve Pack Miniature Hot Sauce Collection

List Price: $23.95
Our Price: $21.95
Sale Price: $18.95
You Save $5.00!


Tony Tah's Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing & Marinade

List Price: $6.29
Our Price: $5.95
Sale Price: $4.25
You Save $2.04!





And many more items on sale! Plus every order gets a FREE hot sauce added and at $89 worth of qualifying merchandise we will pick up the cost to ship it to you by FedEx ground or home!

Wan Ja Shan Gourmet Dumpling Sauce

The folks at Wan Ja Shan have been reading The Last Bite and were enjoying it so much they decided to send us a box of sauces that they make to test out on our review team.

Today we have reached into that box and pulled out their Dumpling Sauce, and what better way to use than on dumplings! I just happen to have some Chinese dumpling in the freezer waiting for just such an occasion.

Wan Ja Shan's natural brewing method captures the essence of ancient Oriental tradition using scientific, modern-day technology. After special heat-treating, crushing, mixing and culturing, their wheat and soybeans are combined in a salt water brine solution. Then they are stored in 25,000 gallon storage tanks for a six-month aging period before being pressed, pasteurized, tested, refined and bottled. Wan Ja Shan soy sauce is NATURALLY BREWED from the basic ingredients of soybean, wheat, salt and water. This wonderful soy sauce is the base for the dumpling sauce we are sampling today.

Wan Ja Shan recommendsto use this as a dipping sauce for dumplings and all dim-sum dishes to bring out that authentic Chinese taste. In addition, Wan Ja Shan Dumpling Sauce also serves as an all-purpose seasoning for marinating and stir-frying meats and vegetables.

The first thing that struck me was the wonderful rich aroma of this sauce, it immediately made me hungry as it wafted it's wonderfully tangy, toasty scent.

I always taste every sauce by itself before applying it to food. This allows me to taste the delicate nuances one might miss when paired with food. This dumpling sauce was actually quite complex and full of tasty layers of flavor.

The initial flavor is of the tangy vinegar and saltiness of the soy. It is then smoothed over by the toasty, nutty sesame oil. There is a slight sweetness and garlicky notes in the ever so light zestiness that finishes the flavor profile of this sauce. The brew of the soy comes through nicely but never overpowers the balance of this sauce.

We really enjoyed sampling the dumpling sauce from Wan Ja Shan. It definitely elevated our dumplings to a higher level.

Cibo; Italian For Mediocre and Expensive.

It was seven PM on a Friday night and we were hungry. After making the drive through the ubiquitous no parking available district in Palo Alto we decided to head up to El Camino and find a nice place to enjoy dinner. We came across Cibo Restaurant and Bar. It was everything we were looking for, we thought, as we approached the parking spot in their own lot.

When you enter the lobby you see one of the three seating areas, this is where the confusion begins. The first seating area is mostly diner style booths, past that was room with tables that appeared to be closed and to the right; by the bar was the area which we were lead. This room had a little style with white table cloths and semi-dimmed lighting; so far so good.

Open menu, scratch head? It was really hard to tell what is going on here? The appetizer section had mix of Middle Eastern items and bar food. I felt like I needed to relax a minute from my day before wrapping my head around this menu so I turned to the wine list. Unfortunately the wine list lacked any creativity and read like the bottom shelf of the wine section at your local grocery store. By this time our server had been to the table twice and seemed as confused as we were.

We ordered the “Earth & Surf “, a calamari appetizer that turned out to be an over battered calamari with bell pepper and onion dish. I clearly remember reading the line “lightly battered”; it was served with a flavored mayo for dipping. The whole thing was served on some rough chopped romaine that quickly soaked up the grease from the dish and became dark, limp and un-appetizing.

Our entrees arrived in good time; however we quickly discovered that this was due to the lack of cooking time applied to the meals. I ordered the lamb chops and my dining companion ordered the prime Angus rib eye steak. We both ordered our meat prepared medium rare. While the steak was close to medium rare; cooked mostly on one side and seared on the other, the lamb chops were a wobbly bloody mess and had to be returned. We decided to share the steak while the lamb was being redone.

This $32.95 Angus Prime Rib Eye was disappointing to say the least. I have had better steaks at Sizzler. If that steak was actually prime Angus beef I’m a monkey’s uncle. It was tough as leather and had no flavor, there was no marbling and it lacked any recognizable characteristics of a rib eye cut. The rest of the food on the plate was the quality I would expect get at my local family eatery.

The lamb was back and this time it was prepare medium rare. I found the meat to be tasty and the gravy like sauce had a nice red wine flavor that paired well with the rosemary marinade of the lamb. The potatoes were sticky and overworked and my veggies seemed to be the original ones from my returned plate that have been re-sautéed and somewhat scorched, it was all under seasoned and bland.

When the waiter had returned with the lamb we inquired as to a verification of the cut of steak, admittedly he was unsure and charged us for the less expensive NY cut. Either way I would not expect that you are getting any prime Angus beef at Cibo.
We skipped coffee and dessert and hastened our departure as we had truly had enough of this painfully mediocre eatery.

3398 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 494-2426
Get directions

Europe Embraces Deviant Fruits and Veg.

BRUSSELS (AFP) — EU nations on Wednesday gave the green light Monday for bent cucumbers and other 'wonky' fruit and vegetables to be sold in supermarkets and elsewhere, as part of a drive to cut red tape.

"This is a happy day indeed for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot, and other amusingly shaped fruits and vegetables," said European Commission spokesman Michael Mann.

"Rules governing the size and shape of fruit and vegetables will be consigned to history", the commission said in a statement.

In all, marketing standards for 26 fruits and vegetables are being scrapped, paving the way for the return to shopping trolleys of forked carrots, onions that are less than two thirds covered with skin and the bent cucumbers among other deviant vegetables.

The rules had been derided as "bonkers" by the likes of major British supermarket chain Sainsbury's, while major agricultural nations such as France have argued that scrapping the restrictions will lead to a fall in prices and thereby hit farmers.

"This marks a new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot," said EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

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Recipe: Monica's Cuban Sandwich Wrap

The Cuban sandwich is a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. For this version we use a commercially available bread wrap. The pork filling is slow roasted and by using a Crockpot, a perfect result it easily achieved. Pork recipe follows below.


Ingredients:
1 FlatOut bread wrap
2 pcs Ham, thick sliced
8oz. Pork, shredded (slow roasted)
2 pcs Cheese, Colby Jack sliced
1 lg. Dill Pickle, Sliced
1 tablespoon Roasted Garlic & Red Chile Mustard
1 teaspoon Mayonaise
1 teaspoon butter, softened

Directions:
Butter one side of FlatOut bread wrap. Place butter side down in a skillet or grille pan. Place the cheese on one half of the bread wrap. While the cheese is beginning to melt sear the ham slices in the pan and place on top of the melting cheese. Spread spicy mustard on the ham and spread out 6 to 8 ounces of roasted pork over the mustard. Sliced dill pickles go on top of the roasted pork. Spread the mayo on the opposite half of the bread wrap and fold over. Transfer to a cutting board and slice the sandwich in half.

Serve with some tortilla chips, black bean dip, and plenty of hot sauce.


FOR SLOW ROASTED PORK

3 Onions
1 Pork shoulder
Hawaiian red salt
Fresh cracked black pepper

Peel and half three onions. Place onions cut side down in Crockpot. Clean and pat dry pork shoulder. Season liberally with Hawaiian red salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place seasoned pork shoulder on onion halves. Cover with lid and set to cook for 12 hours on high. DO NOT add any liquid. This should be a slow cooker that reaches a max temp of about 275 degrees. For the last three hours prop the lid up so that the accumulated liquid can reduce. You should be left with very little liquid at end of cooking.

The pork should be fork tender and the onions should be dark brown and completely caramelized. Using two large forks shred up the pork and onion together making sure they are well mixed.

Besides the Cuban sandwich, this pulled pork can be used as an ingredient in many dishes. The very simplistic seasoning allows it to take on the flavors of any dish without adding an uncharacteristic element. It works well in tacos, carnitas, BBQ pork sandwiches, and more!

Review: Dragon’s Breath, MOJO Citrus Juice Hot Sauce

It’s been a while since I have conducted a product review and looking at my shelf of awaiting items I figured tonight was as good a night as any to get one more done.

Initial Impression: This looks like your typical hot sauce, and while I can’t say that any one thing jumps out at me and says “I’m special, eat me”, there is also nothing fundamentally wrong with the first glance of this hot sauce.

Ingredients: Habanero, Serrano and Red Peppers, Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Citrus Juice, Spices, and Salt. This ingredient list checks out A-OK with me. All natural, no preservatives, and peppers are the first ingredient in this list, what more could you want?

Appearance: A nice looking, reddish sauce with bits of black pepper and chili pepper skin. MOJO Hot Sauce has a thick appearance that coats the inside of the bottle so I was a little surprised to see that under the cap is one of those little plastic orifice restrictors. Getting this nice thick sauce out of the bottle was a pain with the plastic doohickey in place. Pull it off and throw it out.

Aroma: Ohh yeah. This is a really great smelling sauce. When I first uncap the bottle and take a healthy snort I get the aroma of toasted cumin and chili powder. The next to hit your nose is garlic and some smoky elements. It makes my mouth water.

Taste: The very first flavor to hit me is a citrus tang. I initially thought vinegar, but there is none in the ingredient list. Further tasting leads me to think lime juice. The sudden heat of the Habanero and Serrano chilies come next. The heat is short lived and does not ever actually get to a nice searing hot level. This is a medium heat at best, but this is a nice heat level for this sauce and it feels well balanced.

The Food Test: This sauce paired perfectly with tonight’s meal! Since the label says it works well with Caribbean dishes I figured the Cuban Sandwich Wraps we made would be a match made in heaven. All I can say is YES; the sauce IS a perfect match! The richness of the pork is cut by the acidity of the citrus juice in the sauce and the flavor of the spices elevates this sandwich. The MOJO Sauce could use a bit more heat as a good amount of it is lost to the food. I used a quarter of the bottle on my sandwich.

Conclusion: Thick and tangy this hot sauce is a pleasure to eat. It doesn’t have a pile of heat but it’s enough for a regular dose of flavor so you can splash it on liberally without hurting yourself. I think I’ll bring this sauce to our local Cuban restaurant to test drive it some more.

Packaging 7/10 – Typical Hot Sauce
Aroma 9/10 – Fragrant and Enticing
Appearance 9/10 – Thick with Bits
Taste 9/10 – Tangy, Complex & Spicy
Heat 6/10 –Medium, Short Lived

Overall 8/10

Serbian Chef is Nuts for Balls!

With the credit crunch kicking in, shoppers will be relieved to hear a cost-effective alternative to steak is now available for creating classic meat dishes.

The Testicle Cookbook: Cooking With Balls has been hailed as the world's first testicle recipe collection and includes testicle pizza, battered testicles and barbecued testicles with giblets.

And if counting the pennies isn't enough of a reason to indulge in the delicacy, testicles are also renowned for their libido-boosting properties.

Rich in testosterone, they are believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac in countries such as Serbia and China.

The e-book, available for download from the Internet, comes with handy video guides showing the author, Ljubomir Erovic, peeling the skin off testicles and slicing them up into bite-size chunks.

Several different animals, including stallions, ostriches, bulls, pigs and turkeys, get the Erovic treatment.

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Sunday Night Dinner: Chicken and Dumplings

Now that the winter months are here the nights get quite chilly and the evening meal plan turns to the steamy hot comfort foods that warm your cockles. Chicken and dumpling is just such a meal. Hot steamy chicken soup; loaded with aromatic vegetables, chicken, and tender, fluffy drop dumplings.

The Last Bite Network member, Monilicious provided us with her recipe for this hearty winter fare.

Ingredients
Soup:
*chicken broth
(I made a rich chicken stock from scratch. To save time you can use your favorite chicken broth).
*2 ribs celery, chopped
*1 large onion, chopped
*2 large carrots, chopped
*1 chicken breast
* salt & pepper to taste
*1 teaspoon olive oil

Dumplings:
* 1 cup flour, sifted
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
* 1/4 cup milk

Directions

Cook chicken breast in broth at a slow simmer until done. Remove chicken breast from pot; set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from breast, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bones. Strain broth into a large bowl and discard any remaining chicken pieces and bones.

Sauté chopped vegetables in olive oil until they begin to sweat. Return strained broth to pot. Continue to cook vegetables until tender. Return cooked chicken to pot and continue to simmer.

Combine all dry dumpling ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter. Add chopped parsley. Mix in milk and egg with a fork; mixture should be moist and fluffy. Do not over mix. Drop into simmering soup by forkful.

These Are Not Your Mother's Cupcakes!

Remember the days when you were a kid; you get home from school and find the whole house filled with the intoxicating perfume of fresh baked goodies. Cupcakes to be more specific!

In the early 19th century, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in.

Clearly the cupcakes of today have evolved into a gourmet version of your childhood favorite. It makes sense that America would be enamored with these tiny little cakes; they’re part tasty little oven baked treat and part heartwarming childhood memory.

Our curiosity got the best of us and we decided to test out the two more well known cupcake boutiques in the area; Sprinkles Cupcakes and Kara’s Cupcakes. The Sprinkles Cupcakes we visited is located at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. Kara’s Cupcakes was only a short drive away, also in Palo Alto, at the Town and Country Plaza.

We purchased several cupcakes at each location, however in order to keep this review balanced, we will focus only on the flavor we found to be our favorite at each location.

At Sprinkles we sampled the Dark Chocolate, Red Velvet, Orange, and Chocolate Marshmallow. Our selection from Kara’s comprised of Chocolate Velvet, Kara’s Karrot, Banana Caramel, and Chocolate Caramel Fleur de Sel. This was a very close contest for best from each location, and while choosing was incredibly difficult my unwavering bias for chocolate will almost always prevail.

The Sprinkles Cupcakes favorite was their Chocolate Marshmallow cupcake, described by Sprinkles as; Belgian dark chocolate cake and marshmallow cream filling with bittersweet chocolate ganache. This is an impressive looking cupcake with a shiny dark chocolate ganache topping and marked with an uber modern candy dot. Beneath the rich, bittersweet chocolate ganache is a fluffy, sweet, marshmallow filling; surrounded by moist dark chocolate cake. Cutting into this cupcake releases a mouthwatering brownie like aroma. The bittersweet flavor of the ganache and cake is nicely balanced by the sweetness of the fluffy white filling. While Sprinkles call this a marshmallow filling, to me it was more reminiscent of the creamy white center of a Hostess Ding Dong. The dot that marks the top makes for a stunning presentation but detracts from the eating experience as it is very crunchy and has no flavor element to contribute. Overall a satisfying cupcake, however, I felt there was an absence of complexity in the flavor profile.

Our favorite from Kara’s Cupcakes was their Chocolate Caramel Fleur de Sel. Kara’s description is a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling, ganache frosting and fleur de sel. Visually, this is a spectacular cupcake. The contrasts of the elements combine to make a particularly intriguing statement. Dark chocolate cake is topped with a large rosette of creamy dark chocolate ganache frosting. From beneath the frosting oozes the rich buttery caramel filling. In the center of the ganache is a sprinkling of Fleur de Sel; delicate crystals of French sea salt. As it turns out this cupcake tastes as spectacular as it looks. The cake, the foundation of this delight is moist, soft, and complex. Flavors of bittersweet dark cocoa and vanilla are prominent while the caramel filling’s sweetness plays off the sharper tones. The ganache is super creamy, almost buttery, and not to sweet. There is an espresso note in the frosting and when the fleur de sel hits your tongue it brings out the toasty, nutty, flavors in the caramel filling.

Overall, the consensus was that while both of these cupcake boutiques had superb examples of excellence in their craft, the Kara’s Cupcake product was the favorable of the two. Sprinkles has a more contemporary look that makes you feel that this is something new and exciting, while Kara’s has a more traditional appeal. When you get down to tasting we felt that Kara’s Cupcakes excels in the areas of flavor, moist cake, frosting mouth feel, and design.

No matter which cupcake bakery you find yourself in, we’re sure you will agree that a freshly baked cupcake will always put a smile on your face and bring back some childhood memories.

The Foodbuzz 24: 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs

Launch Of A Gourmet Food Social Network

A social network for foodies? That’s what “The Last Bite Gourmet Food Network” is all about; people with a similar interests getting together on line to discuss issues, share recipes or techniques, or just read articles related to a subject that they are all passionate about.

While the giants like Facebook and Myspace dominate the social networking world Innuendo Enterprises LLC has created The Last Bite to offer a place where foodies can avoid the distraction of being “poked” or having 1500 friend requests to deny. We don’t have a Mafia or Texas Hold’em, and so far there is only one profile image of a scantily dressed person and he seems to be connected to a gas grill.

With no aspirations to become a social networking giant we will continue to develop and enhance The Last Bite to suit the need of our community. There is currently a forum where members can join in on an active discussion or start one of their own. There is a photo slideshow section where members can upload relevant images of interest; restaurants, products, or FoodPorn. The Blog sections of the site are currently being fed by three blogs; the original Last Bite Blog, The Smoky Chipotle with its 100% chipotle content, and The LABIT Report with its restaurant review and ratings data. Events pertaining to gourmet food are listed in the Events segment of the site, and there is a Chat area for real time live discussion and general interaction.

Each member of The Last Bite is allocated a member page that can be modified and personalized with their own blogs, photos, discussions, comments and even areas to promote their own sites, webstores, add widgets and links, RSS feeds, or anything relevant to the community.

This online foodie community is in its infancy and there are many future plans for expansion and enhancement as the needs arise.

Check out the buzz at The Last Bite Gourmet Food Network at www.thelastbite.ning.com