Another mention in the New York Times!

Last week, the New York Times' dining section invited readers to submit photos of their prettiest holiday cookies.  I immediately thought back to the beautiful sparkly sesame cookies I had made my first winter in Baltimore and the interesting photo I took of them so I submitted it right away .  When I went to NYTimes.com this morning, what did I see among their 35 picks but my photo!  (It's the one all the way on the right in the 2nd row down - here's the direct link.)

The recipe is not my own; it's from the December 2006 issue of Gourmet magazine - the holiday cookie issue.  There were so many cookies to choose from in the issue but these really stood out to me for their unique flavor and delicate sparkle.  The appearance of these cookies relies on luster dust, and, fortunately, I always have a number of colors on hand, so I made a trio of colors of these cookies - copper, gold, and silver.  They're just as tasty as they are beautiful; they have a very delicate sesame flavor and aren't too sweet, and they're also very easy to make.

These aren't cookies for everyone - the sesame flavor is a little out-of-the-ordinary and they're not very sweet so they likely won't satisfy the average cookie eater.  However, if you're looking for something different in both appearance or taste, these are it.

Highbrow Meets Lowbrow: Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate Covered Peeps

In a fit of extreme boredom, my dear friend Kristen challenged me to a food blog throwdown of Jerz (her) vs. Lawnguyland (me). The first challenge: Peeps.

Why Peeps? Because...

• it’s almost Easter and Peeps are everywhere
• I think Peeps are simultaneously disgusting and awesome
• I got an email from Jacques Torres the other day (ok, not really from Jacques himself) advertising chocolate covered Peeps bunnies and I thought “I could totally make those at home, Jacques! Why should I give you my hard-earned cash when I can make mine for mere pennies and use classic Peeps chicks instead of making Cyclops bunnies

Great Tastes

I'm such a procrastinator - I was supposed to post this a few days ago...

Tomorrow is the Great Tastes Expo. It's taking place at the Tremont Grand Hotel in downtown Baltimore, and it features lots and lots of food - vendors, demos, and panels. At 3 pm, a panel of Baltimore food bloggers (I'm one of them!) will convene to discuss...pretty much anything we want (so long as it's related to food).

Joining me will be:

John of The Baltimore Snacker
Xani and Erin of Black Coffee and a Donut
Dara of Dining Dish
Rachel of Coconut & Lime and Food Maven
Andrea of Kitchen Goddess
Kit of Mango & Ginger
Meg of Pigtown Pigout
Dan of The Hungover Gourmet
Jake of Unique Culinary Adventures

In addition to all of the great food (I'm really looking forward to sampling stuff from Cinghiale and Dangerously Delicious Pies), there are tons of beer, wine, and spirits available for tasting (I should probably hold off on that until after the panel...) as well as demonstrations (I'm avoiding Warren Brown of CakeLove but I really want to see Michael from last season's Top Chef).

So, if you're in the Baltimore area and you're free tomorrow, come on down to the Tremont Grand to check out the Great Tastes Expo.

Click here for Baltimore Metromix's photos from the event.

recognition

When it rains, it pours:

1. Baltimore Style magazine’s latest issue is all about food. There’s an article on the most stylin’ Baltimore food blogs, and mine is one of them. The issue is currently online, and, for those of you in the Baltimore area, it should be in print within the next few weeks. (The print version has screenshots of the blogs.) Here’s what they have to say about raspberry eggplant