A Kitchen Must-Have

Posted on February 2, 2013 ·

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Been told by the friendly folk at A’Tavola (http://www.atavolaboise.com/) that this is the BEST sea salt.

It’s the magic ingredient that elevated some basic butter on bread that I tried here to something drool-worthy.

Can’t wait to give it a try.

What are some of your ‘must-have’ brands for culinary staples?

Filed Under: For the Pantry

Weird, Wonderful Culinary Gadgets

Posted on November 27, 2010 ·
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Really hoping a ‘Pop At You’ Toaster will find its way under my tree this year.
Or, I’d settle for a Spaghetti Aid

via life.com

 

Filed Under: For the Pantry Tagged With:

Locavore love – Lots of cheese & the Olivator!

Posted on March 1, 2010 ·

Recently was invited to attend a fun Locavore dinner group – with the theme of Sexy Foods for the potluck extravaganza in honor of February. 

After being stumped for a few days I hit the ‘Google’ and found a great list of foods known as aphrodisiacs  - including dates and truffles. 
And in my world – anything that has cheese around, in or over it is damn sexy as well.

If in previous posts I’ve expressed my love of all things pastas – cheese is a close second. In my next life phase I hope to become an artisan cheesemaker… no joke! 
And I figure that trying as many delicious types of cheese as possible during this phase sets me on the right path.

Two of my favorite local cheesemakers are Rollingstone Chevre and Ballard Family Dairy. Both of which wound up in my take on this Truffle Mac n’ Cheese recipe
From a locavore standpoint, the dish included:
- Ballard White Cheddar
- Ferranti Fresh Pasta – Penne
- Basil from Purple Sage Farms
And if you appreciate great cheeses – spend a bit more through Idaho’s Bounty or the Boise Co-Op and snag some of Ballard’s fantastic Cheddar!
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And besides drenching pasta in it – it’s always delightful to shove cheese inside of something.

For the second locavore dish I took some of the Rollingstone Chevre to try and replicate a yummy dish I’d had at Twig’s Wine Bar

Goat cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto. Pit the dates, shove in the cheese, wrap the strips of prosciutto and broil for a few minutes until the proscuitto just starts to crisp.
Super easy and super delicious bite-sized appetizers. Oh, and I got to use my newest random kitchen gadget too! (full disclosure: it was the main reason I wanted to make these!)
The Olivator! Want to shove something delicious inside something else delicious? This is your tool. (Snagged mine at the Pottery Gourmet)
Olivator-700

Filed Under: Cheesy Goodness, For the Pantry, Locavore Love Tagged With: , , , , ,