The holiday season means you're going to be doing a LOT of entertaining and a lot of going to parties where you'll be expected to offer up a thoughtful hostess gift. While you could always make a last minute run to the store to purchase boxed chocolates or a nice bottle of wine, it's so much more personal to make something.
Banana bread has always been a favourite treat whether it was fresh from nanna's oven or from the local bakery. The addition of Mars Bars or another one of your favourite chocolate bars can be a great addition for the kids as long as they eat their vegetables first.
Sink your teeth into some dry-cured ham— prosciutto. But that's not all— this prosciutto is just the outer layer of some delicious tuna with queso fresco and basil stuffing, topped with Poe-Co Loco Seasoning and chile corn purée.
Everyone craves ice cream every now and then, except for those lactose-intolerant folks (we feel sorry for them). But nothing in the grocery store freezers will compare to a delicious homemade ice cream, so try to make some yourself, and start with this cherry ice cream recipe.
Nothing tastes better than "fried". Even lobster. Even rice. Yes, and in combination, fried rice and lobster meat in a tightly pack crusted ball of yumminess is one of the best things you can try at home for the courageous at heart. What's it called? Lobster arancine.
New to eBay? Don't worry, setting up an account and buying and selling doesn't take that much effort at all. Everyone who has an Internet connection has at one point come across eBay, to find the perfect gift for their loved ones, to find the cheapest deals on plasma televisions and computers, or to get rid of their dusty, old record album collection in their web store.
Cooks Illustrated has provided me some fantastic fundamentals in cooking. My grandma started buying me subscriptions to the magazine years ago and not a single publication has had the pages un-turned. Now I use their website as well to easily tag recipes and other helpful info to aid in my future cooking endeavors.
Kevin & Maryann Gianni post daily videos about health, raw foods, fitness...they frequently answer questions and post recipe videos. I love them. :o)
This is one of my favorite recipes. Since kare kare is almost always joked as a poorman's stew (your rich before you cook it and you become a poor man when you eat it), this take of the sumptously ox tail, tripe and meat kare-kare really makes you love the dish without drying your wallets dry...
Taste of Beirut is one of my new favorite food blogs. Joumana grew up in Beirut during the sixties and seventies and her blog is a tribute to her national food. I saw this recipe for arak-spiked chocolate cake and thought it looked delicious!
House of Annie has full instructions for making these flaky, light spiral pastries called Pandan Spiral Moon Cakes (also known as Teochew Mooncakes).
Bake Greek share full instructions for making these adorable Hello Kitty mini red velvet cakes.
Gross out your Halloween guests this year with Andy Oakland's Jell-O glued sliced meat head (ew). Full instructions at Make.
I had the immense pleasure of eating Japanese cheesecake in Little Tokyo recently. It is soft, moist... essentially perfect. Here's a round-up of recipes I'd like to try, if anybody has any favorites, please add to the list!
Janet Keeler explores the endless possibilities of s'mores. Who says marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers are the only ingredients? Recipes include milkshakes, brownies, snack mix, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and pies.s'more
Ian, Ann, Andy, Dan, Josh and Lucy of Pimp That Snack go BIG with their ginormous Kit Kat recipe. Approximately 2 feet in length, 45,888 calories, 1860 grams of saturated fat, and almost $75 bucks in ingredients. Oh, and this monster takes about 6 days to make.
Novices beware... this croquembouche means business.
In honor of Sex and the City II, how about a batch of cosmo cupcakes.
Most mole is not good mole. However, Rick Bayless' mole is pretty legendary for its complexity and its flavor. Anyone want to take a stab at it?
Recipe is available. I didn't really get it until a commenter explained: "the orientation of the cookie (apart from distance-to-camera which is only relative) can be easily determined from the marking, which lets one match up graphics to it".
I have to say, a chocolate mayo cake sounds disgusting. But I am still curious to see what it tastes like. I just won't look at any scales for a year.
yum. yum. yum.
English translation here.
I have made this Swedish Apple Cake for two dinner parties now, and it's been a big success. NOTE: I do not use fiji, but granny smith instead. The cake is already very sweet, so the granny smith adds a necessary tartness.
My boyfriend's favorite. VERY gingery. i use red pears instead of bosc, and 3 pears instead of 1.
I'm dying to try this cake... supposedly a Southern tradition.
Yum, sounds good, looks amazing... gotta try it.
I checked the loquat tree this morning, and half the tree is getting ripe, the other half is still green, and about 5 percent are getting picked off by the birds.
I love Luxirare. They always instill a sense of true decadence in their recipe photo essays. Their latest project, Apple Napoleon, is no different. This one has a real sense of drama - I love the smoke & the last shot is not to be missed!
Not Martha is a recipe + crafts blog with tons of fun projects... including these extremely cute teensy cupcakes. Click through for the HowTo.
Luxirare brought you the delectable pie lollipop, AKA DIY Pie on a Stick. Now cooking blog Our Best Bites posts a tutorial on baking your own pie in a jar. Equally portable and delicious. Yum.
Looks good enough to eat. Artist Olle Hemmendorff was asked to interpret the Nike Air Max 90 for an exhibit.
This simple video crocheting tutorial shows how to do the half double crochet stitch. The half double crochet stitch is larger than the single stitch but still smaller than the double crochet stitch. Watch and learn how to crochet the half double stitch. Crochet a simple half double crochet stitch.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Tony Ross demonstrates how to to create a simple text animation in Flash using Motion tweens and the Distribute to Layers command. Create a simple text animation in Flash.
Baking recipes often call for softened butter, but if you put it in the microwave you risk butter soup. Leaving it out at room temp is fine if you’ve got lots of time. But when your butter is cold and hard and you want it to be warm and soft, just pound it. Soften butter by pounding it.
Crunchy, delicious egg rolls are a satisfying snack or appetizer. You can whip up these avocado egg rolls in your kitchen with just a handful of ingredients. Avocado Egg Rolls Recipe - How to Make Avocado Egg Rolls Video.
Ultra-versatile chapati is usually eaten with cooked dal or vegetable dishes. Watch how to make this delicious round wheat bread. Indian Bread Recipe - How to Make Chapati Video.
A sweet dairy dish, noodle kugel is a tasty way to cap off any dinner. Watch how to make kosher noodle kugel at home. Kosher Noodle Kugel Recipe - How to Make Kosher Noodle Kugel Video.
For a low-fat snack in a jiffy, try this healthy alternative to chips. Tortilla wedges are seasoned to your liking then baked to crispy perfection. Baked Tortilla Chips Recipe - How to Make Low-Fat Baked Tortilla Chips Video.
Eggplant Parmesan is a delicious and filling dinner that's easy to make at home. Learn how to make Eggplant Parmesan. Eggplant Parmesan Recipe - Baked Eggplant Parmesan Video.
