Popular Posts

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Cool Off This Summer With A Frozen Hot Chocolate

The key to making this recipe work is that you need to make real homemade hot chocolate to get a  cooked carmelized quality. Second  you need to let the hot chocolate chill completely before blending . If not , it melts the ice too rapidly and you're left with  watered-down cold chocolate milk. You'll need 1 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 ounce of water, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 1/2 ounces of Godiva chocolate liqueur, 3 mini marshmallows for garnish, gourmet chocolate pieces for optional garnish. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, sugar, water, cocoa powder and vanilla. Stir constantly until its starts to boil. Then place in refrigerator until completely cooled.
Combine the cooled hot chocolate and chocolate liqueur in a blender with 4 ice cubes. Blend until smooth.  Add and blend additional sugar if needed. Pour into cocktail glass. garnish with mini marshmallows and chocolate pieces if desired.

NY'S Best Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwiches

RonnyBook Milk Bar, Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave @ 15th St,( 212 ) -741-6455 $4,  Dessert Club ChikaLicious 204 E. 10th St, between First &Second Aves, 475-0929 $2.50,  Three Tarts Bakery & Boutique, 164 Ninth Ave @ 20th St, 462-4392  $4.25, The Meatball Shop, 84 Stanton @ Allen St, 982-8895 $4.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Asian Burgers & Mayo That Will Have Your Guests Begging For More

Mayonnaise 3/4 cup mayo, 1/4 cup EACH finely chopped Thai basil, cilantro, and scallions 2 Tbsp lime juice BURGERS 2 lbs ground pork, 1/4 cup Asian or Vietnamese fish sauce, 4 tsp palm sugar or light brown sugar, 1 tsp of Asian chili sauce, 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter, 2 tsp EACH grated fresh ginger and minced garlic, 1/2 tsp ground star anise, 6 rectangular sandwich rolls, 6 butter lettuce leaves . Preheat a hot charcoal grill or gas grill to medium high. Combine all mayo ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble burgers. Place fish sauce, sugar, and chili sauce in a large bowl, mix well. Add pork, peanut butter, ginger, garlic, and star anise. Handle the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it. Just mix well. Form mixture into 6 oblong patties to fit the rolls. Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Place patties on rack, cover, and cook, turning once, about 5 minutes per side, until cooked through on a instant read thermometer that registers 155F. Spread roll bottoms with a thin layer of mayonnaise.Place a lettuce leaf, then a burger and a generous dollop of mayo on each. Add roll tops and serve.

Gourmet Burger ,Mayo & Salad Recipe That Will Impress Your Guests

Rolls: 6 Kaiser Rolls Mayo 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, 4 cloves garlic crushed, 2 Tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp EACH of cumin, paprika, kosher salt & harissa*( * hot red pepper paste used in North African cooking-if you can't find it locally-you can make your own-click on link for recipe: www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Harissa-Sauce-107098 6 Tbsp olive oil,1 cup of mayonnaise. Combine all mayo ingredients except mayo in a food processor and process until well blended. Transfer to bowl and stir in mayo. Cover and refrigerate until assembling burgers. Carrot Salad 3 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp EACH ground cumin and kosher salt, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp EACH ground cinnamon and crushed red pepper flakes, 2 Tsp olive oil, 1 Tsp chopped flat leaf parsley, 1 tsp honey, 1 lb of carrots peeled and grated. In a bowl combine lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, paprika, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes mixing well to combine. Add remaining salad ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until assembling burgers. Burgers 1 1/2 lbs ground chuck, 1/2 lb of ground lamb, 2 oz EACH of dried apricots and pitted dried dates diced, 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro and 3 Tbsp fresh mint, 2 tsp EACH of harissa and kosher salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper,1 tsp of minced garlic, 1/4 tsp EACH of ground fennel, ground coriander,and cayenne. Romaine lettuce for garnish. Combine all burger ingredients in a large bowl, handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it. Form mixture into 6 equal patties to fit the rolls. Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Place patties on rack , cover, cook turning once, about 5 minutes per side for medium. During last few minutes of cooking, place rolls cut side down on the outer edges on the rack to toast slightly. Assemble Drain carrot salad and squeeze out extra moisture. Spread generous amount of mayo on the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll bottom, place shredded romaine, burger, and some carrot salad. Add roll tops and serve.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

How To Surf Safely On Public Wi-Fi

FACT: Absolutely nothing is safe on open Wi-Fi. But in a coffee shop, airport, lounge or library, people routinely surf the net or read their e-mails without thinking twice. So the first thing you can do is stick to a webmail system that uses HTTPS when you log in. But after you sign in, your webmail system usually switches back to HTTP because it reduces computer strain on their servers. That means everyone who is on the same wireless network can read your e-mail content. The only exceptions to this if you were viewing your e-mail on a corporate system or using Gmail. That's right, Gmail! Right now, the default setting in Gmail detects suspicious login detection algorithms and makes Gmail a standout for secure wireless surfing. So if you've been thinking about dumping your AOL, Hotmail or Yahoo account, now is the time. If that's too much of a hassle for you, then set up a Gmail account and have ALL your e-mails from other accounts forwarded to it. Then when you read your e-mails on a wireless network, the whole world won't be watching. Also watch out for a common misconception among business travelers. Most of them think that commercial hotspots that you pay by the hour or by subscription are more secure that free Wi-Fi hotspots. That simple is not true! So if your company offer VPN or a virtual private network connection, then take advantage of it. If it doesn't, you can download a FREE program called Hotspot Shield from www.AnchorFree.Com This company offers its own VPN software that you can install on your laptop prior to using a a public Wi-Fi. Once you enable it, it encrypts all of your traffic through a tunnel to a Hotspot Shield and then out on the Internet. It works just like a corporate VPN but its 100% FREE!

Mobile Phone Security Alert

Imagine sitting in a cafe and closing an important business deal by phone. After you hang up, you get a text message from a stranger referring to the deal and asking money in exchange for silence. According to university researchers, cells phones make excellent surveillance devices. And its done through the implanting of malware. So, in general, always be suspicious of phone downloads or ringtones as they could harbor spyware. Fortunately, major antivirus software makers offer tools that protect against phone malware. But one start up company offers a FREE mobile security tool that offers a suite of mobile firewall, mobile data backup,and the ability to wipe a lost or stolen phone remotely. Go to www.MyLookOut.Com and get it now for free.

Keep Clear Of New Craig's List Scams

Check Fraud You list a used piece of furniture for $100 on Craig's List and a scammer calls you and says he will be out of town. So he mails you a check for$250. When you ask him about it, he apologizes for the mistake and asks that you wire him the over-payment. Plus he'll throw in a few bucks for your inconvenience. The fact is, the check is fake and you'll be out $150+! Employment Fraud Two common scams are asking for up-front training fees and gathering personal info under the guise of "background check"purposes. You'll either get beat for the training fees or have your identity stolen in a NY minute. So watch out for job offers that post great salaries, requiring little or no experience, or that involve fees, or telecomuting without meeting your boss or hiring without any interview. These are BIG RED FLAGS!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Why You Should Avoid Buying Chinese Garlic

In 2006, the average wholesale price of Chinese garlic was about 35 cents a pound. Then large amounts were dumped on the US market at 7 cents a pound which is below its production costs. Right now, Chinese garlic is being dumped all over the world, and right now, garlic farmers all over the world are going out of business because they cannot compete with the dirt cheap price of Chinese garlic. In California, garlic farmers cut their production from 160 million pounds of garlic in 2003 down to 95 million pounds in 2007. There are only five garlic growers left in New Zealand and Thailand's garlic production is down 20%. And in 2000, China suspended imports of South Korean cell phones in retaliation of Korea's sharp increase in garlic tariffs. So the Chinese are not dumping cheap garlic all over the world because their nice guys. The plan is to put everybody out of business, dominate the market, and then charge whatever the market will bear. And here's something you didn't know about Chinese garlic. Its not as tasty or nutritious as Garlic grown in the US. That's because the root of the garlic contains disease and pestilence that might spread in the US. So the roots are gouged out before they get here. That's why there's a concave gouge at the bottom of Chinese garlic. Plus all Chinese garlic is irradiated before it gets here so the process kills all the taste and nutrients. So make sure you avoid buying Chinese garlic whenever you can. And in light of what they're doing in the garlic market,it might be a good idea to avoid buying any kind of produce grown in China.