Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Chevy Chase resident Dana Peritz took first place in the contest—held at the Town of Chevy Chase Town Hall—with her homemade lemon fudge.
Chefs revved up their spatulas for the Town of Chevy Chase's “Sweet Treats” bake-off on April 14. The annual event was open to the community to enjoy pastries, tarts, puddings and chocolates. Twelve bakers battled for the first-place spot. Fraiche Cupcakery owner Nina Deva judged the competition, and out of all of the contestants, Dana Peritz took first place with her lemon fudge. Victoria Hunt’s apple tart took second place, and Donna Worsham’s coconut crème bars came in third. The bake-off raised money for Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership project, "Maple Hill," in Gaithersburg. The project is set to help 19 working families in Montgomery County earning 30 to 60 percent of the area’s median household income own their own homes. “We …
Friday, January 4, 2013
Items will include restaurant favorites such as Southern Pan-Fried Chicken and Waffles, Devil-ish Eggs, Skillet Cornbread and Farmer Ellen’s Carrot Cake.
Come fall, area foodies will have a new cookbook to display on their shelves: Founding Farmers will release a restaurant cook book due out in October. Located in Park Potomac, MD, and Washington, DC, Founding Farmers offers a seasonal, locally-sourced menu of comfort food. According to a Founding Farmers announcement on Patch: The Founding Farmers Cookbook will provide the home cook with recipes for one hundred of its most popular and beloved dishes, including appetizers, main courses, salads, sandwiches, condiments and sauces, pasta, sides, brunch items, and desserts. Included will be such signature favorites as Southern Pan-Fried Chicken and Waffles, Devil-ish Eggs, Skillet Cornbread, and Farmer Ellen’s Carrot Cake among others from an …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Executive Chairman of Marriott International has announced a cook-off challenge.
Are you the “top chef” in your family? Bill Marriott is looking for those with culinary chops to enter his cook-off challenge. J.W. “Bill” Marriott, a Bethesda resident and executive chairman of the Bethesda-based Marriott International hotel chain, announced the challenge Monday on his “Marriott On The Move” blog. He’s asking cooks to prepare a meal and send in a photo and the recipe for their culinary creation to newsroom@marriott.com, or to post the photo and recipe on Marriott’s Facebook page. The rules? Stick to the following ingredients: The challenge, according to Marriott, originated with a company competition that was inspired by Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Marriott chefs in European cities were given a black box full of ingredients and …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Enjoy this special Passover dish in honor of the Jewish holiday.
I had the pleasure several years ago of attending a Passover seder. The friend who invited me is from a Sephardic family originally from Syria. Because Sephardic Jews are from countries surrounding the Mediterranean, their food traditions differ from Jews in Eastern Europe. Still following the dietary laws for Passover, the Sephardic Passover meals tend to be highly aromatic, with liberal use of spices, herbs and vegetables such as eggplant, artichokes and even asparagus. Interestingly, the Syrian Jews include rice in their Passover meals. In order to have dishes that meet their guests’ various dietary restrictions, this Passover seder included several minas. A mina is a layered casserole of matzo and fillings, which can be vegetarian or …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A New Orleans-style shrimp creole and rice.
Etouffée and gumbo—really, most Cajun and creole recipes—start with roux (pronounced roo). Pronouncing “roux” is intimidating enough to lots of folks, let alone thinking about making it. There seems to be an assumption that roux-making requires a degree in culinary arts or at least hours of stirring over a hot stove accompanied by several Abitas. But that’s just crazy talk. Anyone with an oven can make roux—try this recipe and prove it for yourself! Roux is simply flour browned in oil. White roux, which is flour cooked for just a few minutes in oil, is the basis for gravy, cream sauce and thickening any liquid. The longer you cook the flour and oil together, the darker your roux becomes. A dark brown roux can indeed take forever on the …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Make an American favorite: apple pandowdy.
Our early presidents enjoyed fruit by itself and in desserts. This was probably the case because fruit desserts are easy and quick to put together, and because they don’t require much additional sweetener. Desserts such as pandowdies, cobblers, slumps, crisps, grunts and Betties were all common, and were made using whatever fruit was available. Apple pandowdy was a favorite of several presidents, including George Washington, John Adams and John Quincy Adams. The charming name comes from how the cook pushes the smooth crust into the apple filling, making it look “dowdy.” This pandowdy has the added advantage of using in-season fruit and an all-American sweetener—maple syrup. And, you can serve it with a favorite of President Thomas …
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Coke pork chops, sparkle carrots and root beer-baked beans all help make that leftover soda disappear.
We have leftover soda from our Super Bowl party that I want to use before it goes completely flat. If you're in the same boat, try these recipes! Coke pork chops 4 boneless pork loin chops (about 6 oz. each) 1 large onion, sliced in narrow rings ½ cup ketchup ½ cup Coca Cola (not diet) Put the chops in an 9-inch-by-9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray, and cover with onion rings. Combine ketchup and Coke, and pour over meat. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until meat reaches 145 degrees on a meat thermometer. Sparkle carrots 1 pound frozen carrot slices 1 Tbsp. butter 1 cup Sierra Mist or 7Up 1 Tbsp. sugar ¼ tsp. salt Place all ingredients in a large pan with a lid, so that the soda covers the …
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Coke pork chops, sparkle carrots and root beer-baked beans all help make that leftover soda disappear.
We have leftover soda from our Super Bowl party that I want to use before it goes completely flat. If you're in the same boat, try these recipes! Coke pork chops 4 boneless pork loin chops (about 6 oz. each) 1 large onion, sliced in narrow rings ½ cup ketchup ½ cup Coca Cola (not diet) Put the chops in an 9-inch-by-9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray, and cover with onion rings. Combine ketchup and Coke, and pour over meat. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until meat reaches 145 degrees on a meat thermometer. Sparkle carrots 1 pound frozen carrot slices 1 Tbsp. butter 1 cup Sierra Mist or 7Up 1 Tbsp. sugar ¼ tsp. salt Place all ingredients in a large pan with a lid, so that the soda covers the …
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Try these tasty Valentine's Day cupcakes with sweet homemade icing.
Valentine’s Day calls for sweets! This easy and colorful cake will make your family very happy. You can bake the batter in a Bundt pan, as a layer cake or as cupcakes. Pink Lady Cake 1 18-oz. box of white cake mix (such as Duncan Hines) 1 3-oz. box of raspberry Jell-O mix 2/3 cup cooking oil 4 large eggs 10 oz. (1.5 cups) of frozen raspberries Thaw the raspberries in their bag in the microwave on the very lowest setting. Place a colander in a wide bowl and pour the raspberries into the colander. Set aside until most of the juices have drained into the bowl. Meanwhile, prepare your cake pans. Use a large Bundt pan, two 9-inch round cake pans or 24 muffin tins. For the cake pans, liberally coat them with baking spray (this contains both oil …
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Add pizza dip, nutty maple snack mix and popcorn to your Super Bowl Sunday menu.
These fun foods will win cheers from your family and friends. The dip can be made ahead of time and smells wonderful when it’s baking. Best of all, everything is fast to put together, so you can enjoy the game! Touchdown pizza dip 8 oz. hot or mild Italian sausage, removed from casings 16 oz. cream cheese, softened (regular or low-fat) ¼ tsp. each garlic powder, dried basil and oregano 2 Tbsp. canned mild green chiles, drained ¼ cup chopped red or orange bell pepper 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend 2 Tbsp. scallions, sliced (green part only) ¼ cup black olives, sliced (optional) In a large skillet over medium heat, crumble the sausage and cook until it is no longer pink. Drain well. Turn heat to low, add the cream cheese and let it melt…
Lezlie Crosswhite
11:01 am on Monday, March 12, 2012
You can bake the oil and flour in the oven if you want, as well. I find that I can use less oil if I just bake the flour in the oven and add the oil once I've put the browned flour on the stove. more ›