my main squeeze !

     A delicious and easily portable fruit, the clementine is appealing to both adults and children alike. The clementine is sweet, easy to peel and an excellent source of Vitamin C. Readily available in supermarkets from October through January, the clementine is a tasty fruit that is great for supplementing meals or as a midday snack. Often compared to tangerines, the clementine is perfect snack for children because of it's nutritional value and sweet taste. I even use them in cocktails, try adding cranberry juice to a good vodka , a squeeze of clementine juice , and some zest for garnish !

delicious dish

One of my absolute favorite gourmet food brands is Stonewall Kitchen.  I am such a huge fan of all of their products, which are available in a lot of gourmet food stores.  I usually get mine at Clement's Market in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, or the Gray Goose Cookery in Mystic, Connecticut (which is a cook's paradise!).  The last time we went to Mystic, we picked up a bottle of the country ketchup (which retails for $6.50 but is DEFINITELY worth it!)

tis the SEASON

I know that anyone who cooks will appreciate these fabulous spices, herbs, and seasoning rubs from Dean and Deluca.  I just love the tins that they come in; they are great for spices.  Do you know anyone who thinks spices and herbs last for ten years?  Well, they don't!  Actually, spices and dried herbs should be replaced once a year, because they loose their potency.  Spices should be stored in air-tight containers and out of direct light.  I love this set, shown above. The French collection contains every spice and seasoning you need in order to cook the perfect French dish.

simple shrimp

I recently hosted a fabulous cocktail party at my apartment.  I wanted to serve cocktail shrimp, but not the basic cocktail shrimp; I wanted a more flavorful, interesting version.  This is a roasted cocktail shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce.  It was one of my favorite hors d'oeuvres at the party, and it was so simple to make!  Here is the recipe:

For the shrimp:
- 2 pounds (12-15) shrimp
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup chili sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and de-vein the shrimp, leaving the tails on.  Place them on a sheet pain with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread them in one layer.  Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through.  Set aside to cool.

To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients and serve as a dip with the shrimp.

oh martha

Everyday Foods, Martha Stewart's latest publication, is a digest-sized meal planner for every day of the week, all year long.  Often categorized and featured with seasonal fresh ingredients, this is a great way to come up with a real good meal.  There is also an app available for iPhone/iPod touch that is my favorite!  I have used it at the market as my shopping list--perfect!

book club

She is back!  Ina Garten's latest cookbook "How Easy Is That?" is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.  Full of simple, elegant recipes and entertaining ideas, this is a must-have for the modern home cook.  I love how easy-going Ina's style is.  She is all about simple, good quality ingredients, and making it fabulous!

burnt out

When baking cookies, or anything that you would use a cookie sheet for, I think the best type of sheet to use is any that is made of light metal (as opposed to typical darker metal).  You can find them on Amazon, but they're also sold pretty much anywhere that bake ware is sold.  Light metal is better because it doesn't retain heat as intensely as dark metal does, which can result in burnt cookies.

hella nutella

I found my new favorite snack!  I take a coco pop, which is a multigrain crisp (but you could use a rice cake and it would be just as yummy), and then I spread Nutella on it and add a sprinkle of ground sea salt.  And there you have a delicious, sweet and savory snack.  It's simply divine!  And if you can believe it, it has less than 50 calories!

kitchen prep

I love these Martha Stewart kitchen prep bowls from Macy*s.  They will keep all of your ingredients well-organized and readily available.  They could also be used for dressings or dipping sauces.  They come as a set of 6 for $9.99.

the perfect process

 

I love my Cuisinart food processor.  Mine is the brushed metal one like the one in this picture.  It can hold 7 cups and there are a lot of different blades you can use to chop foods differently.  The feed tube on top makes it easy to put in even whole fruits and vegetables.  I think this machine is a must-have for anyone who cooks!

cut the cheese

When we were walking down to Greenwich Village, we stopped in a place called Westside Market, located right on 7th Avenue.  Packed tightly into one small corner of a storefront, this place had everything!  It is a combination grocery store/deli/salad bar/cheese shop.  We picked up a wedge of parmigiano reggiano cheese.

table for two

Finding a place to eat in New York City can be harder than it seems.  We had planned on just finding a place along the way as we walked, but we had a tough time finding something.  After a few hours of searching, we finally found an amazing restaurant called Jane that was just perfect.  It is located on West Houston street, so right on the border of Soho and Noho.  I got the spaghetti, which was made with shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, arugula, hot chilies, and pesto.  Scott got the toasted ricotta gnocchi, which had Italian parsley, parmesan cheese, and a white truffle sauce that was absolutely to die for!  We also got a side of the rosemary fries, which were amazing as well.  The whole meal cost us less than $40, which is a really good price for NYC dining that isn't from a street cart.

with sprinkles on top

Shortly after we arrived in New York, we HAD to stop at Magnolia Bakery.  We went to the one next to Rockefeller Center.  They have quite the fan following in NYC, and recently expanded their business to Los Angeles.  We both got a vanilla cupcake, and let me tell you, they were absolutely to die for.  My only complaint is that they weren't bigger!

on the house

After we moved in, one of our friends gave us a few bottles of wine, and House Wine was one of them.  This red wine is a cabernet blend, and it comes in a white variety too.  The winery that makes this also has a couple other original blends that we are excited to try!  And look at the label on the bottle.  How fun?

cool it

This 16x20" non-stick cooling rack by Nordic is perfection.  I hate tiny, flimsy cooling racks, and this one is heavy duty.  I love how big it is, too.  And it's non-stick.  I actually found mine at TJMaxx for $7, and they are also available on Amazon.

designer diner

I was Google-imaging Chanel and found this.. and I think it looks yummy.

one pot wonder

This Martha Stewart Collection casserole pot is one of the best things to have.  I do everything in this, from browning meat to making soup, and so much more.  Definitely a must-have for any kitchen, and very comparable to its over-priced French relative by Le Cruset.

iced coffee instantly

Starbucks Via iced coffee packets are $5.99 for 5; that's only a little over $1.00 per cup.  They dissolve into 16 ounces of cold water, which is the equivalent to a venti (large) size at Starbucks.

local food

The Boathouse restaurant in Tiverton, Rhode Island.  Their Hall of Fame chowder is to die for!