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jillbcooks 2/26/2009 8:06:00 AM
There is a funky local restaurant in a Minneapolis neighborhood that is known for its “real food,” organic approach. The restaurant sometimes offers a great dinner deal—their simple, rustic pizzas and a bottle of wine. While we usually meet up with friends there, we all decided to save our pennies with a pizza and wine potluck.
Here’s the idea: bring a bottle of wine (preferably one already at home) and an interesting pizza to share.
Debating whether or not to make a salad, I split the difference and made Antipasto Pizza. I started with a refrigerated crust and par-baked it at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Then, I gr...
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antipasto, pizza, potluck, save money
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jillbcooks 2/24/2009 8:50:00 AM
Lately I have heard some ideas about cooking that are new and innovative, and I have become fascinated by looking for better ways to cook “routine” foods.
One example is making mashed potatoes. My husband doesn’t even attempt to make them anymore, relegating that task to me since his potatoes always seem to some out both gluey and undercooked. I just read about a totally new (to me) method for making really fluffy mashed potatoes: steam the potatoes in a ...
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meatloaf, meatballs, sloppy joes, techniques
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jillbcooks 2/19/2009 6:48:00 AM
I often write articles for my local newspaper and I just interviewed a woman who is planning a lunch and festival/carnival with a goal to raise $10,000 for an organization that aids childhood hunger. This organization is particularly important and relevant to her because it creates feeding programs in schools that are already established, and she has had a long career in school nutrition services, or, as she puts it, as a lunch lady.
I had to smile when I read about the events planned for the carnival as I prepared for the interview. It is going to have a cakewalk! I haven’t seen a cakewalk since the holiday bazaars held more than half a lifetime ago at Abra...
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cake, chocolate, cakewalk, fundraiser, maple-pecan
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jillbcooks 2/17/2009 7:06:00 AM
This past weekend I went to Mill City Museum, a museum that explores the impact of grain and flour milling on the Twin Cities. At one point, Minneapolis led the world's production of flour! It is no surprise that companies like General Mills an d Pillsbury popped up in this area.
The museum has really cool installations and offers many hands-on experiences for visitors, especially kids. I loved the interactive table for kids activities that looks like a stack of pancakes (and the st...
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Betty Crocker, Easy Bake Oven, Mill City Museum
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jillbcooks 2/12/2009 7:57:00 AM
I love to give food gifts, little decadent treats for friends and neighbors. One of my favorites to make and give is compound butter. This is butter flavored with a sweet or savory element which makes a great topper for bread, sometimes vegetables and even meat. These are easy and fun recipes which kids can assist in making for gift giving to grandparents or aunts and uncles or other special people. Who wouldn’t want to add an extra special touch to Valentine’s Day meals? Making compound butters is easy, and I have included some ideas and recipes below. For a quick visual tutorial and how to form logs, ...
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Valentine's Day, butter, gifts
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jillbcooks 2/10/2009 6:47:00 AM
If you read my blog, you know that I love planning and preparing for holidays, especially holidays that are about special treats.
One of my favorite holidays is Purim, a serious and silly festival that honors the brave and beautiful Esther for protecting the Jewish people from evil Haman’s hope to destroy them. On Purim, it is a good deed to hear the Megillah, or Book of Esther, read aloud. The Megillah tells how King Achashverosh gathered all the young women of Persia so he could select a wife, and how he chose Esther, a young Jewish woman. As the new Queen of Persia, Esther hid her religious beliefs, fearing for her own safety. After a s...
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cupcake, Mishloach manot, Purim, video
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jillbcooks 2/5/2009 7:35:00 AM
Not jewelry, not video game systems, not $100 sweatpants or $200 boots. The most valuable gift to give is time, since it is a resource that can’t be renewed.
Rather than giving a box of chocolates, set aside time to make Marvelous Chocolate Truffles from Betty Crocker.
Kids can assist by measuring, dropping the mixture in teaspoons, forming balls, and adding nuts and sprinkles.
These truffles will make great gifts, and kids can decorate boxes and make cards for special Valentines (photos of you making the truffles ...
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chocolate, Valentine's Day, truffles
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jillbcooks 2/3/2009 7:39:00 AM
A friend and her little ones are members of their local children’s museum in Arizona. They love to go there and participate in events of all kinds, including hands-on food projects. They are coming to visit me soon, and I cannot wait to take them to my favorite food-related museum, the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis. Calling itself “the best smelling museum ever created,” the actual experience corroborates their claim. While the history of flour milling in the Midwest may not seem like a riveting topic, it is because it connects history, geography and food. Why does it smell so goo...
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Julia Child, children, experience, food, museum