Adventures in Spice is a purveyor of quality herbs, spices, and gourmet blends that can take your ingredients from ordinary to memorable. Here is their very useful chart to provide suggested uses/pairings of spices to bring greater depth of flavor to your dishes.
At-a-Glance Chart of Spice Usage.
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Sushi Station: Fresh Sushi prepared to order by Sushi on a Roll
Tray Passed Appetizer: 2 hot & 2 cold selections
Hot: Duck and Mango Brochette & Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Lumpia
Cold: Baja Ceviche Shooters & Artichoke with Kalamata Tapenade
Soup: Lobster Bisque
Salad: Baby Spinach with Goat Cheese, Grapes, Roasted Sunflower Seeds & Dried Cranberries with Mango Dressing
Entrée Combo Plate: Bacon Wrapped Mini Filet with a Spiced Rum Sauce & Baked Sea Bass in a Ancho Chili Sauce Garlic Mashed Potato, Grilled Vegetables
Dessert Provided by Chef Joe Orate
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Are you hankering for a quickie getaway? How about an in expensive road trip to Las Vegas that doesn’t put a big dent in you budget? I’m not talking the kind of trip with your peeps where you’re dressed to kill, living large in a nice suite, and makin’ it rain in da club. I’m talking the trip where you’re dressed in jeans, comfortable shoes, eating cheap prime rib or buffets, and either catching a show at half price, or gambling at the tables (because the lower minimum tables are not as crowded now).
I just did a search for Las Vegas right now, I counted up no less than 35 hotels & casinos that have rooms for $16 to$ 40 on average per night for Dec 12th – 14th; and, no less than 42 hotels & casinos for Dec 17th – 20th. These hotels are not the fanciest, but some are located in prime spots in the middle of The Strip! Some of the rooms on The Strip: The Quad (formerly The Imperial Palace) $21 per night, Circus Circus $23 + $8.95 (resort fee) per night, Excalibur $25 +$15 (resort fee) per night, The Stratosphere $31 + $7.50 (resort fee) per night, Luxor $21 + $18 (resort fee) per night, Harrah’s $35 per night, Flamingo $35 per night, and Bally’s $39 per night. Please note that some hotels like The Quad, Harrah’s, Flamingo, and Bally’s DO NOT charge the hidden ”Resort Fee” each night!
If you want a break from gambling to do some Christmas shopping, there are two large Premium Outlet shopping centers. One is Downtown west of Las Vegas Blvd. north of W. Charleston Blvd. & 15 Fwy, and the other is on the south end of Las Vegas Blvd.
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NOTE: Please check prices before booking your reservation. The prices actually went down $1 and then went back up $1 as I was checking them!
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Cut out large corporations and give your business to your neighbors with small businesses wherever you live! Added bonus, your tax dollars also stay local for community programs and education.
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Bread is more expensive these days, and slices from the cheapest generic loaves at grocery stores are often more fluff than fiber that tear and collapse when you try to spread any peanut butter on them. If you want to save money, you can get perfectly good bread products of the various types & flavors with higher fiber at Bimbo Bakery Outlet stores. Many of them offer even greater savings through local ads (i.e. Pennysaver), Seniors discounts, and freebies if you buy more items (fresh bread freezes well for months).
Not familiar with Bimbo, or just think of Bimbo as the Latino market’s version of Wonder Bread? Bimbo Bakeries USA Outlets are in every state except seven: Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Bimbo Bakeries brands include: Arnold, Ball Park(Buns), Boboli, Brownberry, Earthgrains, Entenmann’s, Francisco, Freihofer’s, Marinela, Mrs. Baird’s, Oroweat, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Thomas’, Tia Rosa, and more.
An added bonus for the gluten intolerant: at the Bimbo Bakery Outlet at 9106 Adams Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92646, (714) 968-4229, is a fantastic selection of Bob’s Red Mill products that include their Gluten-Free mixes for bread, pancakes/waffles, muffins plus more at 10% off! Check with the outlet store near you to see they are carrying these Gluten-Free products too!
To find the outlet store closest to you, enter your zip code on the site at this link: http://www.bimbobakeriesusa.com/our_brands/outlet_stores.php
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There are people who have celiac disease, still others have some gluten sensitivity, and then there are the faddists. The 1% of our population with celiac disease are probably thankful for the faddists, because they helped create enough demand so that gluten-free breads, pastas, and desserts are more readily available. On the other and, they are having to endure being lumped in with the faddists, instead of being recognized as suffering from a very real diagnosed disease.
At one time, cases of celiac disease were lower here than in Europe – - only one-quarter of one percent of our population. Research at the Mayo Clinic has found the instances since the 1950s have increased four times that amount. Some have postulated that it is due to changes in our diet that have included an increase in products made from flour with a higher gluten content. Still others wonder if it is due to something else. In a previous post, I put forth the idea that it is possibly the result of flour from GMO wheat.
The reason I wrote this post, is for a friend diagnosed with celiac disease. I have heard some uninformed restaurant chefs say that they have served regular pasta when asked for gluten-free pasta. The said they do so because gluten-free pasta is more expensive, and they have never had a customer complain afterwards. I would hope that those people who have celiac disease call back to complain if they eat out and this happens. More likely I’m guessing, there are people who have either: experienced occasional gluten sensitivity, have mistaken indigestion for gluten intolerance, or someone who thinks it’s trendy to order gluten-free who can’t tell the difference. It is my hope that these self-diagnosed alarmists will refrain from identifying themselves as being gluten-intolerant as they cheerfully eat their bagels, cakes and pasta, so the plight and suffering of those who have been diagnosed is not diluted by these faddists. I’d love to hear your opinion, so let me know what you think!
To read about the personal experiences of one blogger with celiac disease, here’s a link to Whitney Rains’ blog. http://aserendipitoushappenstance.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/thor-thursday-on-tuesday-what-to-do-when-you-have-to-go-gluten-free/
For advice on eating out gluten-free see Dangerous Lee’s blog post.
http://dangerouslee.biz/2013/01/16/eating-out-on-a-gluten-free-diet/
Sources
http://www.genomeweb.com/blog/dangerous-not-really
http:// news.yahoo.com/problem-gluten-faddish-eating-173745199–finance.html
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If you’re a fan of Anthony Bourdain’s snarky wit and David Chang’s tasty cooking, then you should be reading Lucky Peach magazine. And if you already read Lucky Peach, you might want to watch the pages come alive in “The Mind of a Chef” premiering soon on PBS. The episode descriptions appear to be following along with the themes of issues of Lucky Peach. Hopefully his means that we may be treated to appearances by other great chefs who are featured in the magazine such as Wylie Dufresne, Mario Batali, and several others.
PBS shows aire on different days and times, depending on the station. So here is a link to a handy application which will find the date and time this show will aire in your area by zip code.
Find the Schedule in Your Area http://www.pbs.org/food/features/the-mind-of-a-chef-find-the-schedule-in-your-area/#.UJi8WmC3ev8.twitter
Click on the magazine cover below for more information about Lucky Peach.
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