December 2006 archives

Last time I checked, we were so close to the $30,000 mark, I couldn’t stand it anymore, here at Menu For Hope III European-central. Frankly, the thought that there are some of you out there that haven’t bid on anything was driving me nuts. So what are you waiting for? But even if you have already bid on something, let’s double the amount we made last year, shall we?

Here’s some of the European prizes, with some new additions…

Choice of Italian Artigianale Products or Italian Cookbooks from Ms. Adventures in Italy

The basket is full of products you can’t get outside of Italy, and when Sara at Ms. Adventures in Italy added 2 more jars to the package, I just had to tell you about them! One is Salsa Tartufata Estiva, Summer Truffle Sauce from Campania, and Condimento Cime di Rapa a traditional Pugliese pasta sauce be served with orecchiette, made from turnip greens. Included is also a jar of the world-famous Bronte Pistachio Paste, which I could spoon right from the jar into my mug.
If you miss out on this one, you’re a knucklehead. (Prize EU15)

Professional Logo or Header Design & Complete Blog Makeover from Lobstersquad and Bluebird Blogs

Does your blog look like crap?
Well, does it? If so, this prize is for you.

Continue Reading Mo’ Men-Ho 3…

That’s the new one meter box of chocolates from Patrick Roger, over three feet of pralines, caramels, nougats, and creamy-smooth ganache-filled bonbons, all enrobed in ultra-dark bittersweet chocolate.

I don’t know how someone would brave getting one of those home on the métro, but I’d surely appreciate their efforts if I found one under my tree!

Patrick Roger
108, Boulevard St. Germain (6th)
Tel: 01 43 29 38 42

This is one of my ‘Greatest-Hits’ recipes, and in the spirit of holiday sharing, I thought it was time to share it with everyone.

I made it for a cocktail get-together the other night and my guests dove in so fast that I had to pull the bowl away just to get some for myself!

Although I confess, I ate my fair share before my guests arrived…but what’s a holiday party without at least one of your guests feeling guilty about doing something they might later regret?

This is is a real “keeper”—not just because it tastes so good, but also because it’s quickly made from ingredients that most of us have on hand. So it can be made at the last-minute while you race around showering, shaving, and freshening-up anything around the house that needs freshening-up for your arriving guests.

When I moved to France, I had a bit of a time finding the small twisted pretzels that I prefer in this mix, so I’ve made it with pretzels sticks too, which are called ‘sticks d’Alsace’. But use any mix of nuts you want. Pecan halves are particularly appealing…at least to me, since those are the nuts I catch myself mostly plucking out before my guests arrive.

But whole almonds, cashews, peanuts, and hazelnuts are all very good as well in the mix.

Continue Reading Pretzel & Nut Mix: The Best Holiday Snack Ever…

Several of you had asked about how to avoid cookies from spreading out during baking, which can be rather vexing…especially when you’ve gone through all that trouble of getting the counter all covered with flour, then rolling ‘em out, and cutting them into all those nifty shapes.

So here are some tips…

Continue Reading Tips to Keep Cookies From Spreading…

Did you see?

Today, we’ve reached the $15,000 mark and the auction’s just begun! To sweeten the pot, there may be a special surprise from me I’ll be adding in the future, so keep an eye on things around here…

In case you missed them, a few brand-new prizes were added to the European prize list:

One is a Country Lunch at the home of cookbook author Susan Loomis, at her home On Rue Tatin. The other is a special gift from pal Gale Gand, host of Sweet Dreams on the Food Network.

But wait, there’s more!…How about a full-day gastronomic tour of Barcelona, one of the hottest culinary destinations in the world?

You can find more information just after the jump. Be sure to check some other new prizes that’ve been added at other auction hosts as well.

Big thanks for all of you who’ve donated and participated in this important auction. It’s very gratifying to see such an outpouring of support for all our hard work. And speaking of hard work, I’ll shortly be writing up a report here about my No-Knead mis-adventures, for those of you following my flour-driven drama.

Continue Reading Menu For Hope III Update: More Celebrity Chef Prizes!…

Welcome to Menu For Hope III, an online auction to raise funds for the United Nations Food Programme, which provides hunger relief to needy people worldwide. Last year we raised over $17,000 during this auction, and this year it’s bigger and even better!

The following donations are from the European food blogging community and related sites. There’s over 30 great prizes, including food baskets, gastronomic tours, language and cooking classes, professional web design, wine tastings, cookbooks, and meals in private homes, restaurants, and culinary schools.

In each entry you’ll find links that you can follow to the individual web sites and blogs to learn more about the prizes from the donors. Should you have any questions, please ask the donor prior to bidding.
For more information and to view the other prizes from around the world, visit Chez Pim.

So How Can You Bid?

• 1. Go to the donation page on First Giving.
• 2. Make a donation!
  Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code—for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 for EU02. (Please use the double-digits, not EU1, but EU01.)
• 3. If your company matches your charity donation, please remember to check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
• 4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared.
• 5. Check back at Chez Pim on January 15 when results are announced.

Le Petit Print:

Some of the prizes, such as tours, have expiration dates. Other events are based on the donor availability; contact donor well in advance if you win a tour or tasting to make sure of their availability before you confirm travel plans.

Culinary tours don’t include transit to and from the city offered, nor do they include hotels or meals, other than what is specifically mentioned.

Prizes will be shipped at the expense of the donor.

Whew!
Okay. Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, let the fun begin!…

Continue Reading Menu For Hope III…

So I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and make the No-Knead Bread.
Except French flour is different than American flour.

Dramatically.

Consequently my first batch turned into No-Knead Flatbread….

But I’m not quitting yet…

To be continued…

(Continued 12/11/06: Batch #2 came out like #1. You can see Batch #3 of No-Knead Bread here, made with lots of grains and seeds. It tasted great, but didn’t rise much. Will try again with stronger flour…and more of it!)

Here’s a list of 10 books, in no particular order, that I’ve enjoyed this year.

Since I don’t have easy access to English-language books, I chose mine carefully. Although I usually like to read books about food, I got a bit literate and discovered few books about Paris that were truly enlightening…which is really saying something for someone that hasn’t lifted the lid on a history book since high school.

In addition to the books I’ve listed below, I’ve also enjoyed La Bonne Cuisine de Madame St-Ange, the updated On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, and Rememberence of Things Paris, some of the greatest food writing from Gourmet magazine from the past sixty years that is still some of the freshest and liveliest food prose happily back in print.

And on a sad note, I’ve finally given up on La Poste and assumed the two cases of cookbooks I shipped three years ago probably aren’t going to ever show up (hope is no longer springing eternal…), so I ordered a fresh, brand-new copy of Julia Child’s classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

A few books I’m looking forward to reading in 2007 are The Sweet Life: The Desserts from Chanterelle by pastry chef Kate Zuckerman, and books from my favorite bloggers, including Shauna, Adam’s untitled masterwork, Chocolate & Zucchini by Clotilde Dusoulier, and Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks.

The most talked-about food book of the year, New Yorker writer Bill Buford starts from scratch in the kitchen of Mario Batali, then learns to make pasta by hand from an Italian master, and ends up butchering in Tuscany.

Continue Reading My 10 Favorite Books of 2006…