Pizza Pizza Party!

Welcome to this week’s Foodies Friends Friday Pizza Lovers Linky Party!

pizza party
We’re looking for your favorite doughy goodness for our pizza party! What toppings do you crave? Thin crust? Red or white? Show us your stuff (stuffed crust of course)!

get dozens of great pizza ideas here

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Italian Lovers Chicken Fingers #freshmadeeasy #GourmetGarden #BSP4

italian Lovers Chicken Fingers

Fresh herbs anytime at your fingertips. Sound good? I think so too. That is the advantage I’ve had since attending #BSP4 (Big Summer Potluck 4). When I arrived I was given my swag bag and a generous supply of Gourmet Garden Herbs. These samples were full size tubes! Chris, our greeter/host/confidant/all around go to guy, handed these out in their own thermal reusable bag.

When I got home I started experimenting with flavor combos and found that these Gourmet Garden herbs mix well into sauces and dissolve without clumps. I was surprised at the variety of flavors like ginger and lemongrass.

I’ve seen these herb tubes before in the grocery where I shop but I never bought them. I thought, no way could these taste like fresh herbs. WRONG!
I’ve used the basil and garlic in pestos and mixed the Italian Herbs in oil for dipping. Then I noticed how easily it clings to meat. So I thought, why not chicken fingers?

Italian Lovers Chicken Fingers

These chicken fingers are super quick to prep and take 10 minutes or less to cook. Another great point about these herbs for breading is that they are moist enough so there is no need to use egg to dredge.
Italian Lovers Chicken Fingers ingredients

Serve alone or with a dipping sauce. These fingers also go great with a salad or baked sweet potato fries.

    Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless chicken tenders
  • 2 Tablespoons Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs
  • 1 Tablespoon Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 1 bottle Fat-free Ranch Dressing (optional for dipping)

Directions

Mix together Italian Herbs and Chunky Garlic.
Dredge tenders in herb mix and roll in bread crumbs.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Lightly fry tenders 3 to 4 minutes per side until coating is crisp and meat is no longer pink inside.

I was provided with sample tubes of Gourmet Garden Herbs. This recipe is entered in the Weeknight Suppers Recipe Contest sponsored by Gourmet Gardens. I was under no obligation to review or write about Gourmet Garden products. Opinions expressed are mine and not influenced by the sponsor.

Posted in #BSP4, appetizer, chicken, dinner, healthy, herbs, Indian, lunch, What's For Dinner? | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Zucchini Brownie Parfaits #RecipeReDux Reveal

Recipe ReDux challenged food bloggers to break out those canning jars and repurpose them into new cooking and baking ideas. I recently made zucchini brownies and thought, why not a parfait?
zucchini parfait
This parfait has the nutrition of zucchini in a moist cake with the warm of Saigon cinnamon, cool smooth nonfat Greek cinnamon-honey yogurt and the crunch of granola laced with pecans, dried fruit and sunflower seeds.
This is my first entry in the Recipe ReDux monthly challenges. I’m excited and honored to be part of this group. Recipe ReDux members believe that nutritious food should also taste good. Sometimes that can be a challenge in itself when I’m using new to me vegetables, grains or fruit. I’m looking forward to these monthly secret ingredient or technique challenges!
get the recipe and more food in jars ideas here

Posted in #RecipeReDux, brownies, dessert, What's For Dinner?, zucchini | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Food and Wine Conference Recap Highlights


I had the pleasure last month to attend the first annual Food and Wine Conferencesponsored by Sunday Supper held at Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida.
This was the view from my room.
rosen window
Friday I was greeted by room service with a knock on my door. Chocolate!!! It made me feel very special and welcomed.

candy greeting
I knew this was going to be a fantastic event. I’d get to meet in person so many of the wonderful Sunday Supper group I met just over a year ago when I joined the team. I still tear up thinking about it. This group has been such a great inspiration to me! Thank you Isabel !
sunday supper food and wine
Thanks Geraldo for the great picture!
Friday night we were treated to small plate tasting and wonderful chocolate demonstration by Chef David Ramirez. The staff kept me supplied in a signature sake cocktail for the evening. My favorite dishes were the Lobster Mac and Cheese and the Tomato Basil Soup Shooters!
Saturday was a jam packed day of fun and very informative sessions.
After a delicious breakfast at Café Osceola we headed to the Conference area for several enlightening speeches by our talented guest speakers.

  • Jaden Hair and Scott Hair from Steamy Kitchen explained how as bloggers we need to be community minded and what we put into our blogs equals what we get out.
  • We learned the best SEO practices we can apply to our posts. Dan Cristo and Nicole Cook took the mystery out of Triberr and explained how influence works in the blogging community. Good stuff!
  • We had a quick break with snacks sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt and Attune Foods.
  • Back for more great info on “Writing that Gets Noticed by The Media” with presenters, Janet Keeler, Tampa Bay Times, Jeff Houck,Tampa Tribune, Pam Settle, Good Living Magazine and Gayle Guyardo, News Channel 8 Morning and Midday Anchor.
  • Next Rachelle Lucas, The Travel Bite laid out her strategy for success with some great pointers.

Then it was time for lunch and tailgate party sponsored by Field Auto group and we had a chance to unwind!
Fields Auto Group
Rosen Patio
After lunch I headed back to the conference room refreshed and ready for more insights.
Our next session was entitled: The Process of Writing a Cookbook.
We were fortunate to have Sara Moulton, Chef, Cookbook Author, Television Personality, Mary Goodbody, Writer, Consultant and Cookbook Editor, Dan Rosenberg, Editor Harvard Commons Press, Katie Workman, Author and Editor in Chief and Literary Agent, Doe Coover as our panel of speakers.

2:30-3:00 – Working with PR Agencies | Social Media and Live Events
Mary Deatrick, Deatrick PR, Toby Srebnik, Hospitality Marketing and Brooke Palmer, RSBP Events gave us insights on working with PR agencies, social media in general and how to handle live events.

We got to enjoy delicious olives by Mario Camacho Foods and soft, moist Strawberry Cookies by Parkesdale Farms on our afternoon break.

Our next session involved The Art of Marketing and Networking for Small Business.
Coryanne Ettiene, Kitchen Living with Coryanne, Maggie Battista, Eat Boutique, and Michele Northrup, Intensity Academy helped explain how we can consider ourselves on the level of a small business and how to market our brand to the general public.

This next session was one of my favorites. Social Media Marketing Practices with Chef Dennis Littley, Culinary Instructor, Photographer and Food Blogger, Christine Pittman, Cook the Story, and Deborah Bowen, from Datz.
Chef Dennis is the leader out front and behind the scenes at our Google+ Food Bloggers Community. He had wonderful tips for getting the most out of Google+ and the direction its heading. I found Christine’s Pinchats very interesting and actually attended one for a Desserts in Jars Event last Sunday!
After some free time we all sat down FOR REAL and had supper together. Michael Green and Gallo Wine showed us a crash course in wine tasting with paired perfectly with an excellent dinner!

Sunday I got to help prep for a lesson in how to (and how not to) put on a cooking demonstration. It was a fun event. Sara Moulton was originally scheduled for the demo but had to attend to some personal issues back home. Katie Workman stepped in and did a wonderful job with demonstrating the cooking demo process and gave us great tips.

Next we learned about Launching a Successful Kickstarter Campaign with Michael Green, Premiere Wine, Spirit Celebrity, Marketing Professional
Jackie Gordon, International Award Winning Singing Chef and Michael Levine, New York Filmmaker.

Morning Break brought Fruits and Vegetables from Duda Fresh Farms and Wish Farms and amazing Bacon Caramel Popcorn from Dough at Datz.
The World Through Your Lens was our next session with some very talented photographic experts.
Irvin Lin, Eat the Love, Carla Cardello, Chocolate Moosey,Cheri Alberts, The Watering Mouth and Renee Dobbs, Magnolia Days showed us staging, camera and post editing tips to get the most from our shots.
For Lunch we had a Summer Chopped Salad with Dandy Clementine Vinaigrette Dressing sponsored by Dandy Farm Fresh Foods and Colavita Olive Oil and a Cod and Fire Roasted Tomato dish that was also demonstrated by Executive Chef Fabrizio Giorgi, Cafe Sapori.
We even did an olive oil tasting with Colavita.
Dessert was sponsored by Wish Farms, Freund Containers and Harvard Common Press as a Desserts in Jars presentation.
I do have a constant reminder of the fun time I had on my sofa.
Idaho Potato Man
Unfortunately most of my pictures didn’t turn out but you can find a great recap slideshow and learn more about the conference at the Food and Wine Conference Website !

 

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Posted in #SundaySupper, cookbooks, food, What's For Dinner?, wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments