how would you like this cake?

10 items or less - Blogging by mail...

I received a package from Heather at Diary of a fanatic foodie! It was filled to brimming with wonderful things!

A bar of pumpkin and clove body soap, some mulling spices, peach syrup, sun dried tomato mustard, apple and black walnut candy, spanish smoked paprika, cocoa chile spices and veggie glace, some gelatin sheets, oh and a jar of pumpkin butter that smelled absolutley fantastic (sadly, it was broken. :( ).

Heather, I can't thank you enough for all of the fun goodies! I have been wanting to try smoked spanish paprika for ages. I had some of the peach syrup on my pancakes yesterday and it was delicious! I can't wait to try the sun dried tomato mustard as I come from a mustard loving family! I might have to grill up some brats if the darn rain will let up long enough for me to get the grill going.

Thanks again to Stephanie over at Dispensing Happiness for organizing yet another wonderful Blogging By Mail exchange!

love. without the handles...

have you heard of pop chips?

i picked up a sample bag of the original flavor and one of the bbq at the nike expotique last week. opened the originals tonight. wow! these things are pretty tasty! they are "all natural, no preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors, no cholesterol, no saturated fat and 0 trans fat".

they come in original, bbq, salt and pepper, sea salt and vinegar, and parmesean garlic.

The Sweet 100

i saw "The Sweet 100" at kenzie’s kitchen, and i thought it would go well with the omnivoire’s 100 list I did not too long ago.

so here goes:

items i have tried are in bold
items i would not try are not bold.

1. Red Velvet Cake
2. Princess Torte
3. Whoopie Pie
4. Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar
5. Beignet
6. Baklava
7. Black and white cookie
8. Seven Layer Bar (aka Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
9. Fried Fruit pie
10. Kringle
11. Just-fried (still hot) doughnut
12. Scone with clotted cream
13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy
14. Halvah
15. Macarons
16. Banana pudding with nilla wafers
17. Bubble tea (with tapioca "pearls") - the very thought of these pearls make me want to gag.
18. Dixie Cup
19. Rice Krispie treats
20. Alfajores
21. Blondies
22. Croquembouche
23. Girl Scout cookies
24. Moon cake
25. Candy Apple
26. Baked Alaska
27. Brooklyn Egg Cream
28. Nanaimo bar
29. Baba au rhum
30. King Cake
31. Sachertorte
32. Pavlova
33. Tres Leches Cake
34. Trifle
35. Shoofly Pie
36. Key Lime Pie
37. Panna Cotta
38. New York Cheesecake
39. Napoleon
40. Russian Tea Cake / Mexican Wedding Cake
41. Anzac biscuits
42. Pizzelle
43. Kolaches
44. Buckeyes
45. Malasadas
46. Moon Pie
47. Dutch baby
48. Boston Cream Pie
49. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
50. Pralines
51. Gooey butter cake
52. Rusks
53. Daifuku
54. Green tea cake or cookies
55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop
56. Crème brûlée
57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake)
58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
59. Jelly Roll
60. Pop Tarts
61. Charlotte Russe
62. An "upside down" dessert
63. Hummingbird Cake
64. Jell-O from a mold
65. Black forest cake
66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
67. Kulfi
68. Linzer torte
69. Churro
70. Stollen
71. Angel Food Cake
72. Mincemeat pie - my mother used to make mincemeat cakes at christmas and just the thought grosses me out.
73. Concha
74. Opera Cake
75. Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail
76. Pain au chocolat
77. A piece of Gingerbread House
78. Cassata
79. Cannoli
80. Rainbow cookies
81. Religieuse
82. Petits fours
83. Chocolate Souffle
84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
85. Rugelach
86. Hamenstashen
87. Homemade marshmallows
88. Rigo Janci
89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors
90. Divinity
91. Coke or Cola cake
92. Gateau Basque
93. S'mores
94. Figgy Pudding
95. Bananas foster or other flaming dessert
96. Joe Froggers
97. Sables
98. Millionaire's Shortbread
99. Animal crackers
100. Basbousa

Want your own Sweet 100? All you have to do is:
1) Copy this list into your site, including the instructions!
2) Bold all of the sweets you've eaten!
3) Cross out any of them that you'd never ever eat.
4) Consider anything that is not bold or crossed out your "To Do" List.

it's bbm time again!

Stephanie of dispensing happiness is taking sign-ups for a new round of blogging by mail! sign-ups are open until september 21. so pop over to stephanie's blog and get all the info!

the omnivore's 100

Here is my list and instructions on how to participate in this Meme.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

Chef Barbie's Omnivore's One Hundred

1. Venison
2. Nettle Tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak Tartare
5. Crocodile (or was it alligator?)
6. Black Pudding
7. Cheese Fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba Ghanoush
11. Calamari (both fried and not)
12. Pho
13. PB&J Sandwich
14. Aloo Gobi
15. Hot Dog From A Street Cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black Truffle
18. Fruit Wine Made From Something Other Than Grapes
19. Steamed Pork Buns
20. Pistachio Ice Cream
21. Heirloom Tomatoes
22. Fresh Wild Berries
23. Foie Gras
24. Rice and Beans
25. Brawn or Head Cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet Pepper
27. Dulce de Leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna Cauda
31. Wasabi Peas
32. Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bowl (before i became allergic to shellfish)
33. Salted Lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root Beer Float
36. Cognac with a Fat Cigar
37. Clotted Cream Tea
38. Vodka Jelly/Jello-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried Goat
42. Whole Insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's Milk (does things made from Goat's Milk count?)
45. Malt Whiskey from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken Tikka Masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Donut
50. Sea Urchin
51. Prickly Pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty Gin Martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob Chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frog's Legs
67. Beignets, Churros, Elephant Ears or Funnel Cake (every one of them)
68. Haggis
69. Fried Plantain
70. Chitterlings or Andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche Absinthe
74. Gjetost or Brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu
85. Kobe Beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo Chocolate
91. SPAM
92. Soft Shell Crab
93. Rose Harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole Poblano
96. Bagel and Lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98.Polenta
99.Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
100. Snake

Beef Carpaccio

Beef Carpaccio

8 to 10 ounces beef tenderloin from the tip end of the roast
4 handfuls arugula or mixed greens
2 tablespoons Capers
1 Shaved Shallot
Your favorite vinaigrette
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Shaved Parmesan

Wrap the tenderloin in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, unwrap the tenderloin and thinly slice the beef into approximately into 1/8 to 1/4-inch pieces. Lay out sheets of plastic wrap and place each slice onto the plastic. Top with another piece of plastic and gently pound the meat with a meat mallet until paper thin. Repeat until all of the meat is sliced and pounded. Divide the meat evenly among 4 chilled plates. Serve with greens tossed with vinaigrette, salt, pepper and/or Parmesan.