Snow Day Snacks Good Healthy Both

 Everyone is probably in the middle of their snow day snacks right now. These last two days on the East Coast were perfect for stocking up and nibbling. How did it go during one of the worst blizzards in recent years>Was it healthy? Was it good and unhealthy?

To be honest I went both waysYou can't help but also grab these

I spent Saturday in my local Dollar Tree and Stop and Shop(sorry Lidl). I am a sucker for anything Swiss rolls and when I saw the box on  the discount store's shelve,syes,I had to have to have them. A few minutes later I was buying both unhealthy and healthy t my Stop and Shop.They had a sale on the chips so I thought why not. WHat's a snow day without sitting ,scrolling and scarfing down junk food, followed by diet soda.

I also saw some of the plumpest grapes at Stop and Shop and had to buy them. Likewise for the snack cup  of blueberries I found at Acme during a last minute run.

I'd recommend these for a good snack anytime anywhere. The grapes were sweet and , of  course better thank snack pastries, The blueberries the same thing. These bite sized gems are better than chocolate and obviously healthier than any cookie. Yes it;d fun to chow on a lot of salt fat and sugar. It's even better to  appreciate the true snacks of nature.

What did everyone snack n? Healthy? Good for you Unhealthy. You can have both .Just make sure that the healthy outweighs the unhealthy.

SNow Day Kitchen Day

 Yes, there's another blizzard coming to the EAst Coast.It's happening almost a month from the big January snowfall. What to do on the da off? Kitchen work. It'c would be baking, cooking or even cleaning. It's a great way to keep yourself busy.

A snowy day in is a nesting  day in. It is the perfect day for baking something warm and tasty. It's a good day to get out the flour and yeast and bake a tasty bread. Even a simple white bread is a fun way to pass the time. YOu could also make pizza dough which is always a crowd pleaser on a snowy day in. Make sure you have the pizza sauce and mozzarella along with everyone's favorite toppings. Homemade rolls are another good bake. yet can be used for sandwiches in the upcoming  days. Kids home mean one thing - baking cookies and usually chocolate chips. You should have one or two slice and bake logs ready or you can make the dough yourself. Vary the chips in different sizes or in the different kinds of chocolate. If baking won;t excite you then think cooking. It's the perfect time to create homemade sauce or chili ,using the crockpot. These are perfect for creating hearty meals that feel good after a day of hard shoveling. Another comforting dish is meat loaf with gravy. Add homemade mashed potatoes for more goodness.

A snowy day in means attending to those kitchen chores that you were too busy to do., It;s a good time to clean out the spice cabinet. check to see how long you've had your spices and toss them.Most of them lose their flavor after three to four years.  Ground spices lose their potency after only two or three years. Reassess what you have and toss. It;s also a good time to clean  out the fridge ,freezer and pantry. Get rid of all those old bottles of sauces along bottles of maple syrup. The last probably has a crusty sugary ring around the top. Some old foods can be given to the animals outside . Squirrels like crackers.Any wuldife will appreciate that chicken and its.bones After the bottom part of the refrigerator has been cleaned and scrubbed then it's time to tackle the freezer. Throw away all those old popsicles . They get oozy and gooey after six months .Ice cream only lasts a month in the fridge once its' opened. If yours has been there since the summer of 2025, it's a good thing to get rid of it. How long does frozen food last? A month or a year. Get rid of the older stuff. Cook the newer stuff to clear up the space for your next grocery trip.

A snowy day os a great way to reconnect with your kitchen . Bake, cook or clean. You'll feel better doing something productive on a lost day.

Friday Fish Dinners

 Now that we have Lenten Fridays , it;s time to start thinking of fish dinners. Any seafood is versatile and can be made into a variety of dishes. They can range from scampi to tacos, from the sophisticated to the fun.

A fish dinner can be both elegant and simple. Salmon fills the bill on both . Try oven baking it  after brushing garlic butter on it. You could add  pinches of oregano and rosemary too for a more herbal flavor or try a brown sugar -soy sauce glaze for an Asian vibe. It can be served with noodles, pasta or rice along with pan baked veggies.A quicker yet just as elegant meal is a salmon salad, This is flaking the cooked fish and adding it to a variety of greens along with grape tomatoes and sliced bell peppers. Dress with a simple vinaigrette made from a mix of white wine vinegar , olive oil and oregano. Another delicate flavored fish is tilapia, This has a sweet, almost no"fishy" flavor which makes it perfect for sauce like the French Meuniere. The sauce is only tree ingredients of browned butter, lemon  juice and parsley.It's also a good sauce for asparagus too.You could also make a Parmesan crusted tilapia too with the fish coated in a mix of the cheese and paprika , the last for color and bite.

Yes ,Friday demands fish and chips too. This British classic can easily be cooked up in an air fryer.For centuries the dis as been made with cod.It's the best to work with because of the firm flesh. The filets would come apart wen being breaded or fried. A traditional batter involves beer which gives it an extra crispy crunch;If you don;t like beer sub  in seltzer just to give it the batter that bubbly texture. Usually a cup is used a long with one and a quarter cups of flour and baking soda (for more lift) Two eggs bind it all together and you can add a dash of cayenne for some zing.The filets are cooked for about twelve minutes at around 400 degrees Farenheit. Chips or fries are a must too.How do you get them crispy and perfect with malt vinegar or ketchup? Dip them into a slurry of cornstarch and water.it's taking russet potatoes and cutting them lengthwise, first into planks and then into plants. After make  a of slurry of three quarters of a cup of water mixed with three tablespoons of cornstarch. Cook them in an oil sprayed air fryer for eight minutes at 375 degrees Farenheit. FLip them over and cook for another six minutes more  or until golden brown.

Friday's are now reserved for fish. There are many recipes to choose from. ENjoy a delicate or a hearty one.

A Kiss Of Dumplings

 The Lunar New Year brings all sorts of good things, from celebrations to various foods. One is the simple dumpling. It's an easy make but full of complex flavors. A hot dish of them on a cold Frebruary night is such a treat. They are perfect, especially if they're homemade.

Regular contributor Genevieve KO amassed a good deal of dumpling recipes for the second annual Dumpling Week in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday section. The recipes were created by longtime New York Times cooking contributors.The recipes are built upons classic foundations and fu=filled with all sorts of stuffings and spicing. Sue Li gives a more traditional recipe in her pork and garlic chive pot stickers. This is a pan fried dumpling based on the ones that she would buy at the base of the Elephant Mountains in Taipei.It's a simple ground pork, egg  and garlic while the dumplings themselves are a simple blend of all purpose flour and baking powder. Eric Kin gives an untraditional one with a Korean dumpling. The wrapper itself is layered mix of yeast flour and sugar. The beef filling has a kick of jalapeno and large stemmed shiitake mushrooms Gochugaru is added for more zing. The dipping sauce redolent with jalapeno and egg yolks is even spicier. A pinch of sugar tempers it all.

Hetty Liu Mckinnin gives  the dumplings a different spin by making them vegetarian These are eaten throughout  Turkey ,Armenia and Central Asia. These are filled with Herby mushrooms and dipped into both a sharp ,garlicky yogurt and a spiced tomato sauce.There are also onions, love and the eye watering Aleppo peppers added to this.  As for the mushrooms use cremini button or shiitake. These can be mixed together.The yogurt sauce is simply Greek yogurt mixed with two grated garlic cloves while the tomato is a canned crushed tomatoes blended with mint and Aleppo peppers.The Thai's are also known for their dumplings too.China and Thailand have been trading for centuries and recipes also are swapped too. Genevieve Ko gives her interpretation on this with Napa cabbage and shallots and a different filling - chicken  namely all dark meat for more flavor . Basil is a big part of Thai cooking and it;s used here along with Serrano chilies for bite .There is also fish salt and sugar for a savory sweet flavor. The sauce also has sugar mixed with bird's eye Chiles, distilled white vinegar and two garlic cloves.

This cold weather calls for festive and comforting food. Make any of these dumplings for that. They are tasty and perfect for the Lunar New Year.

Lenten Sacrifices It's Time

  Many Christians, and especially Catholics around the world are thinking about what to give up this Lent. Today is Ash Wednesday and many thought are going towards sacrificing food or drink. Yet here is something else you can give up  - time. Time is the most valuable commodity of all.  It can go for creating good.

One way of giving up your time is to give it to others. This might mean cooking a meal for an elderly neighbor or friend in need. Even thought it might seem like a sacrifice at first,  you'll get into the joy of cooking with others and the satisfaction of making sure a person is fed.Communal cooking , even, if it's just between two people can be a rewarding and even a learning experience. This is the time to ask the neighbor or friend about their ethnic background and the  dishes that were handed down and shaped them,.You'll hear about cooking methods you've probably only read about a long with hearing about ingredients that will surely pique your interest. You could even arrange a weekend cooking class with them as they show you how to make these dishes.If you're cooking for and with family then ask about any family recipes long forgotten by current generations. This helps strengthens the ties between your culinary past and present.

Sacrificing time means taking anyone to the store. Let's face it, those town buses are only good for short hops where there's very little shopping to do. Offer your time and your vehicle to them. That way they can stock up on not only food stuffs and beverages but also on much needed supplies like toilet paper, along with laundry and dish detergents.It's also a chance to check to see if they're eating right . Nudge them gently towards the produce section if you see they're spending too much time in the snack and baked good sales.This expedition can be extended to a lunch out beforehand or some coffee after (keep in mind that many Acmes have Starbucks while Shop Rites here in New Jersey offer Dunkin Donuts) A coffee and a chat is a great way of just giving your time and enjoying a hot or cold coffee or tea together.If you;re too busy for shopping then consider a simple  Sunday brunch somewhere.It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just bacon, eggs and a hot coffee along with toast will do the trick.Talk with then. Listen.

It's Lent , Yes, you can give up those cakes and martinis. Yet wouldn't time be a better sacrifice? Donate yours to doing good deeds for friends,neighbors and family.

Fire Horse Noodles

 Celebrating the Lunar New Year is always fun There are fireworks and bao or dumplings. There are homemade dishes to bring in the Year of the Fire Horse. There es one dish rich with fire and flavor that's perfect for this night.

I wanted to celebrate the holiday with a dish that's a riff on PF Chang's Mongolian beef and also on the Szechuan classic ants climbing a tree..It starts with Gardien's plant based beef crumbles

This , , a quarter cup of soy sauce (you can add more if you want more flavor) and a cup of sliced scallions are browned in olive oil. 

}Garlic is crucial in any Chinese dish and for the heat I used about five to six grinds of LIdl''s black pepper ground into the meat. You can use  whole Szechuan pink peppercorns for more fire and crunch.

Cook until the ground meat is brown and crispy. Add another cup of fresh scallions right before serving for more flavor.

This can be served with noodles or rice. I like it with noodles and even Pasta can work here. I used Ronzoni's spaghetti but you can also use angel hair or even bucatini.

Fill a bowl halfway with the pasta and spoon the beef over rit. You can add more soy sauce if you want.

I absolutely loved this and plan on making it again.I may add fresh or dried ginger for more zing but still it was one of my favorite creations. The flavors , from the beef to the scallions worked so well together and the noodles were a great buffer tempering the fire.

It's the Year of the Fire Horse. Make this spicy , tasty dish to celebrate and ring in the New Year. Its'a great dish of exciting flavor.

A Presidential Diet

 They run the country and in effect run the world.They are the American presidents. Some may see them as gods but they[re just ordinary men who took on an extraordinary job. They eat the same as us They drink the same as us. They even have favorite foods and drink, just like their voters.

Maybe President Trump isn;t the most gluttonous of all leaders.There were several before him. H;es just like any modern American with a love for fast food I and who doesn't;t love McDonald's burgers and Filet O'Fish along with a chocolate shake. He also goes mad for steak with ketchup for lunch with a side of blue cheese dressing drenched salad. Then there are those dozens of diet Cokes - which let's face it we're addicted to them as well. Former President Joe Biden had a thing for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches washed down with orange Gatorade. Other presidents of the last century fell for that Twentieth Century diet staple cottage cheese. Ronald Reagen carried his Hollywood diet with him and had a scoop of the stuff in half a cantaloupe . Richard Nixon doused his with ketchup white  his follower Gerald Ford zinged his cottage cheese with sliced red onions and A-! Sauce. he also had those Seventies lunch drinks for choice  two martinis.

Barack Obama had more sophisticated tastes, enjoying Vietnamese noodles in Hanoi with food great Anthony Bourdaun. he was following int he footstep of Thomas Jefferson.Jefferson brought ice cream back from France to a new nation, curious about the word's diet He also introduced Americans to souffles to the famed baked mack and cheese. He also believed in a more vegetarian diet, considering meat  to be "just a condiment"" Washington's diet was more British and Virginia influenced. He loved the English classic mutton but was fast forward in his love of mashed sweet potatoes, now a trendy dish in restaurants everywhere. he loved how cakes a type of pancake swimming in butter and honey. Abe Lincoln , the other great president honored today was a fan of typical Nineteenth Century dishes such as chicken fricassee. This is a comforting ,creamy stew ,redolent  with herbs and  made with fresh cream. He also liked apple pie and oyster stew along with corncakes and gingersnap cookies. He loved  a food from his rough and tumble childhood - Kentucky corn dodgers, a kind of hush puppy fried in bacon grease.

Presidents are like us. They have their favorite foods and drinks. It's what keeps them running the country.

A Day Full of Chocolate

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Happy Valentines Day. may it be filled with all good foods you love  including this

Lucky Foods

 Everyone has that one lucky dish they eat before a match or after a job interview to insure all things go right.It could even be a lucky first date meal with the eater chowing down on pasta or a hamburger to ensure a second date.

Here's the question - what's your lucky food? Lentils because they resemble gold coins. Or a bowl of buttery black eyed peas? Or leafy greens like kale because they represent money? Or simply that slice from your favorite pizzeria because it just meant a fun night ahead. I do like black eyed peas in melted butter. Yes, they're lucky but their taste is a sweet mellow nuttiness other beans don't have.

Let us know what you'll be eating this Friday the 13th. And good luck!

Beef Shanks Rethought

 Beef shanks are rarely in  any home chef's dinner rotation. They're too expensive and slow to cook. Not a great combination. Yet they're becoming interesting again  and why not. They do have an amazing flavor that works well with spices.

New contributor and food blogger Cathy Erway wrote about this almost forgotten cut of beef in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section beef shanks are a desirable cut to those who love them.Its part of a cow's leg which is already a hard working limb. They're strewed with sinew and tendon which become incredibly soft and gelatinous after a long slow braise.Dishes made with it are often memorable.It has an intense beefy flavor, rich and savory with an unami taste. Yet despite all this they're hard to find in any grocery store.Chinese chefs, that use the shanks on a regular  basis have to go to small buthder shops to acquire the cut. Richard Ho, chef and owner of Ho Foods, a Taiwanese beef noodle shop in Manhattan heads to small , family owned meat shops to get this cut. He finally settled on the Brooklyn based Ends Meat that specializes in selling all the parts of an animal.Northern Italian restaurants also use it in their famed dish osso buco.

Other cuts of meat get  a lot more attention because they're;e perfect for turning into steaks.European cuisine rarely uses them but Asian ones like Thai routinely cook with them. They're also more of an economical cut,perfect for restaurants looking to be more cost efficient. Then there''s slow cooking.Most cuts fall apart but the shanks can hold up to any amount of cooking time. This is due to the slippery wisps of collegen connecting the muscle meat in neat slices that present well. That collegen enriches and thickens any soup ro even curry. Popularity could drive up the price of this lowly cut first served to Taiwanese soldiers courtesy of the US Army. It was also popular with the Mogul Indians too. MS.Erway also include a recipe for them. She uses fragrant Asian spices and herbs such as lemongrass, star anise and cinnamon stick. Galengal , a cousin of ginger is used for heat. (although fresh ginger root can be used too)A sweet and savory  curry goes with it , made from massanman curry. The shanks are better bought at an Asian grocery store like H-Mart.

Beef shanks are having their day, They may be the cheapest of cuts but have the richest for flavors. Try them in a soup ro curry to enjoy their flavor.

Washington's Cherry Bounce

 There are a lot of myth's about George Washing whose upcoming birthday is the 22nd of this month. There's the wooden teeth one and there's that cherry tree one. He probably did cut down a tree accidentally probably for the fruit it yielded. The First President was a cherry fiend and enjoyed the fruit several different ways

New contributor Ramin Ganeshram, an award winning food writer and The Westport Museum's Director For History and Cuture wrote this fascinating piece for today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Cherries were a big part of his estate in Mount Vernon ,Virginia. Plant nurseries were selling cherries varieties named for him  during his Philadelphia presidency . His enslaved workers gew multiple varieties which were preserved and sugared. Cherries were a versatile fruit,then and now.In washington's day they could be dried and baked into fruit cakes and stirred into sauces.They were also incorporated into one of his favorite drinks   cherry bounce/.It's a mix of tart cherries,cinnamon and cloves steeped in brandy.cognac whiskey or rum.It came with the English who called and still call it cherry brandy. The name bounce itself came from old time usage of the word meaning to strike or slap (where people in the Caribbean still use the term) The name probably came from the kick it brought to the drinker.

There are still ounce lovers today.Two companies today Tamworth Distilling and its' sister company Quaker City Mercantile included a recipe based on Martha Washington's one. Chef Patrick O'Connell chef at the Inn at Little WAshington uses his own version with apple brandy from Lairds, a hard cider and apple brandy distributor that Washington might have gone to. (It was established in the mid 1700's not far from here the Battle of Monmouth was fought). It's an easy recipe with the mod.It's then let to sit for two days and ern version consisting of three cups tart cherry juice (use Michigan;s Cherry Republics tart cherry juice for this, They ,by far have the best) along with four cups Morello cherries , cloves sugar and a cinnamon stick two cups of a good Cognac or brandy is used for the bounce.It's basically cooking all the fruit and spices along with granulated sugar . The brandy or cognac is then stirred in and the mix is then simmered Its then left to sit for two days Strain the mixtire through a high grain cheese cloth. The bounce is good on the rocks or with a shot of seltzer  to give it an adult  fizzy cherry soda vibe.

Yes , Washington was known for cherries. Yet it was a popular drink made from his beloved Morellos that gave him joy. Try it for  a lively drink this President's day weekend.

Sugar For Your Sugar

 Valentin'es Day is right around the corner.If you haven't found anything worthwhile and you're creative then think of homemade sweets.EVen a cake or trifle can be a lovely gift for after dinner.

This is the chocolate day. As I've written in past Valentine's Day posts you can make chocolate treats.One recipe I have't mentioned is homemade fudge. The easiest is the three ingredient one that involves microwaving dark chocolate chips, condensed milk and vanilla extract. A better version is one that has butter. This gives the candy a richer flavor and creamier texture. What's going around now is Dubai chocolate. This is a dreamy mix of pistachio  , shredded phyllo  and sweet syrupmarried to chocolate created by a Dubai housewife. Shew as looking for a new kind of candy to satisfy her sweet tooth and came up with . Now there are fudge recipes galore with it.It;sMilk chocolate layered with pistachio cream and there is a crunch supplied by Kadayif pastry. You could also make Dubai truffles too for a tasty treat for after dinner. If you're sugar isn;t a coca addict there is the CHinese rtnghulu recipe which has all sorts of fruits dipped in molten sugar syrup. This s hardens to a clear crackly coating, sort of like a candy apple. Two to three strawberries are stacked on a skewer and then dipped into the hot syrup.They're then plunged into a bowl if ice filled water.

Cakes and trifles make for a sweet treat after a romantic meal. Tiramisu is perfect after a dinner for risotto This is a layering of rum soaked ladyfingers with marscapone cheese. There is also zabaglione or sabayon between the layers.This so a boozy custard made with sugar, Marsala wine and egg yolks. Marscapone is whipped with whipped cream for another layer and then it;s all assembled, not unlike an icebox cake. Dust with cocoa powder and even chocolate shavings fro a really decadent treat.Another layered choco treat is Death By Chocolate ,You can make individual cups of it .Cube any chocolate cake and layer it with chocolate pudding and whipped cream. Both the cake and the pudding can be made from scratch but if you don;t have time then a store bought cake and Jello pudding will do nicely, Cool Whip can be subbed in for the real thing.Layer it this way- cake pudding and cream. Add some strawberries or raspberries on top for a tasty variation. 

Give your sugar some sugar this Valentine's Day. It could be homemade candy or a decadent trifle. Enjoy these sweets together.

A Lux Galentine's Day

 Love can be true .Friendship is truer.That's why a great idea is turning this Valentine's Day into Galentine's Day is a perfect salute to those friends who mean the world to you. Serve them lux dishes and fun treats.

A gal's night I could be a charcuterie board filled with yummy ,rich cold cuts. Think slices of prosciutto and mortadella along with  the French saucisson sec or dry salami and cured ham slices. Have wedges of Brie and slices of Gtuyere. Crackers are a must as are sliced apples and grapes to offset the savoriness. Rich flavored jams like fig paste are also perfect on a charcuterie board. The theme can be carried into a sea-cuterie where shrimp lobster and crab can be served. You can set out little ramekins of melted butter  tartar and cocktail sauces.  Slices a few lemons too and serve them in a bowl.There could also be bowl of tuna with olive oil and anchovies in oil too. These are perfect on slices of pillowy Italian bread slices. As for extras , olives work as well as cornichons and gherkins.Can vegetarians enjoy a charcuterie board too? Yes! Have raw or roasted veggies with a series for dips and flavored oils. Try tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus. Serve freshly made bruschetta with this as well along with vegan cheeses which you can get from Target under the chai brand.

A hot, luxurious meal also works. Groceries such as Lidl sell lobsters at an affordable price. You can also have a crab leg dinner , thanks to your local seafood shop r grocery. Individual Cornish hens have a certain glamour to them Create such tasty side dishes as a fruit laced stuffing ripe with Fuji apples and Craisins along with asparagus spears in a Hollandaise sauce.A hot seafood sauce based pasta is another lux way of celebrating with friends.A light crab linguine is a perfect meal, delicious with nuggets of rich crab meat in a cream sauce. Of course nothing beats a good steak dinner.Try the French bistro classic Steak Diane. It;s an easy cook, surprisingly that starts with a pan fried steak with a sauce made from the beef drippings from the steak cooked with more butter, shallots and garlic. Carefully deglaze the pan with either cognac or brandy and then add mustard, Worcester sauce and beef broth.Cream us then added at the end to give the sauce a silky mouth feel. What to serve with this? Pomme frites, thin, julieenned French fries that can easily be cooked in an air fryer. 

Celebrate your friends this Galentine's Day with a lux meal Ther'es no better way to tell them you treasure them, Have a delicious dinner with those you love.

A Good LIdl Dupe

 Every Lidl lover knows that the store has some pretty good dupes for the national brands.Thie creme filled sandwich cookies taste better than Oreos. Their honey loops are much more delicious than Honey Nut Cheerios. For those Hamburger Helper fans, it's time to try their take on this classic skillet dish.

I bought two boxes along with ImpossibleMeat to make a really quick week night dinner. I knew it was going to taste good and also love the simplicity of it.

This is what you get . A packet of bowtie pasta and a separate sauce one.

You do need some kind of meat so I knew the Impossible Beef was the best

The whole package went in , first having been microwaved to thaw out for three minutes. It was then sauteed with a combination of butter and olive oil. Two cups of water and the sauce packets were added.

Then the milk and d pasta. This was a quick cook and it only took about fifteen minutes son a medium flame to cook up.

It really was a tasty and rich dupe for Hamburger Helper. I plan on buying their Beef Stroganoff flavor next. 

Lidl' has some excellent dupes of national brands. Their Hamburger Helper one is very good and perfect for a quick week night meal. Try it for a tasty supper.

Your Favorite Superbowl Snack

Sunday  is the biggest party day  since New Year's Eve.Its the Super Bowl (along with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games). There will be all sorts of amazing foods  from crunchies to chili being served on Sunday night.

The question is what is your favorite? Are you excited about the fiery wings? The sliders full of fried onions and cheddar? Or is the sweeter side? The goal post brownies? Cupcakes in team colors? Mine has to be Acme's football cake. This is a vanilla one baked in that classic football oblong and of course decorated with chocolate icing. For some reason this signifies the game to me more than anything.

Let us know what  appetizers and treats you'll be cheering for when the Seahawks play the New England Patriots.

All Day Cafe All Day Joy

Can a cafe extend it's day? Yes. These staples of late breakfasts, brunches and lunches  are now extending to dinners. They can serve the same food or switch to a totally different cuisinesIt means more hours to enjoy a favorite place along with bringing in more money for the owners/

Regular contributor Brett Anderson wrote about this not so unusual practice in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Diners have been practicing this for decades , offering a wide range of meals , from early morning breakfast to late night burgers and fries. Now cafes have Ben jumping on the bandwagon. Having long hours or closing in the early afternoon and reopening later not only means appealing to loyal customers but bringing in more revenue.  Breakfasts are great ways of also bringing in loyal dinner customers and vice versa. According to Vivian Ku,owner of Pine and Crate DTLA, an all day Taiwanese cafe in Los Angeles, it;s a good  way to know customers and cater to their needs whatever the meal is. Then there are the bakery-restaurants that take their cue from casual eateries in Western and Northern Europe. There people can nosh whenever they feel like it and enjoy a lunch  followed by a sweet then come back for dinner and a coffee.

Keeping an all day cafe is a great way of expanding a chef's repertoire. There is Kelsey Britio who opened up the Dutchess in Ojai California. The early meals consist of breakfast plates full of eggs and bacon along with granola while the dinner menu is Burmese dishes like beef stay and Boek House Muttin masala. This varies customers ' tastes too. While they may enjoy a traditional lunch or brunch , dinner can be exotic and palate expanding.There is the similar Cafe Mochiko in Cincinnati , run  by Erik and Elaine Uykimpang-Bentz. During the day it's an Asia bakery that closes for the afternoon and reopens as a Japanese restaurant inspired by yoshuku or Japanese fusion food. There are croissants filled with purple yam and Thai tea snickerdoodle to start the day along with Earl Grey chocolate chunk scone. Dinner is Japanese curry rice and a salute to Cincinnati style chili in an unusual ramen dish.Maybe more restaurants and cafes will follow suit for an unusual all day dining experience.

All day cafes will become more popular as the demand for them increases. It's a fun challenge for chefs. It's a plus for loyal customers.

The Winning Super Bowl Get Together

 A Super Bowl party can either  be a winner or loser ,like everyone's favorite teams. A successful one starts with a plan and good foods. These are the backbone of  memorable and tasty get together ( along with a great half time show and successful team).

New contributor Ben Mims,a James Beard nominated cookbook author gave some excellent tips in today's New York Times Wednesday Foods section. His recommendation, as with any party buffet is pread it out throughout the evening. After all its going to be a long night. Guests will go through waves of hunger. One good idea is cook fully ahead of time.Every hot dish should be cooked ahead of time and reheated when need be. Take chicken wings for example. Cook them earlier in the day  and then blast them in a hot oven ten minutes before guests start to arrive. As they reheat take the time to prepare or heat up sauces. then transfer them to a large bowls. It's here when the wings are tossed in and them coated with the sauces ,ready to eat. (although the wings can be served "naked"and allow guests to do their own saucing and dipping). Making that Super Bowl classic chili is always done ahead of time.It only gets better as it sits, especially the crockpot kind. Ribs can be cooked long before the big do, even on Saturday. As with the wings add the glazes the day of and reheat.

What about burgers? Ubdercok them slightly at first. That way when they're popped back into the oven, they're  perfectly ready to go to sheet pan to bun. Reheat with a slice of cheddar on top. Make all your own dips. Homemade is always better. Cold dips do require a day to more or less marinate and get more flavor. Store them in their serving vessels  and., cover with Saran wrap. This way they'll be good to go when the party gets rolling. A very good tip from  Mr Mims is stagger the roll out. Don;t overwhelm guests with a plethora of food. Have the cold snacks like popcorn, chips and pretzels along with the cold dips. this will keep guests fed d out for the kitchen asking when the wings will be ready. During the second quarter, serve the hot stuff.Bring out the appetizer like foods. They could be potato skins or brick layer nachos or just nachos with hot cheese sauce.  Just before half time heat up those heavy hitters. These are the ribs wings, chili  and burgers to be eaten during the third quarter. The fourth quarter is dessert (if they're still hungry). Get out the brownies and cookies . (All grocery stores are featuring football cakes and cupcakes for the big game).

Don't fumble this Sunday's party. Its an easy spread with easy food. ENjoy it and root for  your favorite team.

Hot Sauces For A Cold Sundae

 It seems strange to want ice cream when there's a foot of snow on the ground, yet when you have a craving you have a craving. Ironically ice cream and gelati can be warmed up. It just takes a good hot sauce that elevates the treat's flavor and takes away that icy edge/

Hot fudge sauce is the most popular and easiest to create. It can be made in five minutes prior to creating a sundae.To get the best flavor use grade A chocolate like Ghiradelli chopped semi sweet baking bar. Baker 's chocolate tends to work better than a regular bar or a bag of chocolate chips.Granualted wote sugar is used to make the chocolate flavor shine through. To prevent this from crystallizing a light corn syrup is added to give the sauce a glossy texture and sheen. Butter and heavy cream are added for that fudge- flavor and vanilla is also added t enhance all the flavors. The chocolate chips or shards are melted first in a saucepan, then the mix of  butter cream  and vanilla are whisked in.Should you add salt? Only if the butter used is sweet butter instead of salted.You could add a pinch of hot pepper for a Mexican type one or a tiny drop of min extract for a minty twist. Keep in mind that his is also good on waffles and French toast.Just store in the fridge when you;re done with it.

Caramel sauce is another sundae classic. How is caramel made? With butter, cream and sugar. Granulated white sugar produces the best consistency however brown  sugar makes the sauce darker and richer.Use unsalted butter in the recipe. (you can add a teeny pinch of salt at the end of the cooking. what gives caramel it's creaminess is either heavy cream or heavy whipping cream.It's high fat content help balance the sugar's sweetness and also the butter for a glossier, silkier sauce.  There are two methods to making caramel, wet and dry. The wet method involves using water to dissolve the sugar faster. There is a drawback however, It can create sugar crystals on the side=Des of pan which make for a laborious cleaning up afterwards. It;'s just melting everything and stirring until a glossy sauce arises.Another yummy sauce for ice cream is cherries jublilee. You can use frozen cherries for this right now.Conrstarch and white sugar give it body. You'll also need orange zest and a quarter of a cup orange juice. You can add brandy to make it adult friendly or just omit it.It's first combining the sugar and cornstarch and adding in the water  and orange juice. Then the cherries and the zest go in, Tis is good over both chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

Yes, you can eat ice cream on a cold day in February. Just put a hot gooey sauce over it. It'll make for a blissfully warm yet frosty treat.

A Tasty Addition Homemade Croutons

 What's a good addition to a hot steamy soup or cool and creamy salad? Croutons! Yes you can buy them but homemade are so much better. They're buttery, zingy and flavorful and have that fun familiar crunch.

I thought they would be a good addition to Lidl's pea soup. The soup is 

a tough  can be a tough one to make hence the canned version.Yet it did need something homemade to elevate it. Homemade air fryer croutons would do the trick. It starts with three slices of sourdough bread.

This was Lidl's brand and I cut it into cubes. Slicing three slices at once does  the trick.However once sliced  it's then cubed.

Its then melting two heaping tablespoons of I Cna;t Believe It's Not Butter in the microwave for a minute(you can use any plant or dairy based butter,Just have enough to soak the bred cubes)

You can leave this plain but I like flavor so I added freshly ground pepper and garlic powder. You can add oregano flakes or onion powder too.

Let the bread soak two or three minutes, stick the cubes around in the bowl to absorb all the melted butter.

As for the cooking.air fry for seven minutes for extra crunch at 400 degrees Farenheit.

These are the crisped version

Then there's them and the soup.

They are so much better than the sore bought ones and easy to make. I plan on making them for my next salad too. It may be a vegan Caesar which scream for croutons. The garlic flavor added a nice extra oomph to them too.

Don't buy already made croutons. Homemade ones are tastiers and crisper. They're a snap to make and fun to add to soups and salads