TIP OF THE DAY: A Soup Bar For Parties Or The Weeknight Dinner Table

How can you make soup the most fun dish of the week? Set up a “soup bar.” It’s similar to a baked potato bar, where bowls of garnishes are laid out so that everyone can customize his or her own soup. The garnishes are what you already have in the kitchen, and a soup bar…
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TIP OF THE DAY: A Slow Cooker For Entertaining

Beef stew stays warm to the last spoonful in Cuisinart’s Multicooker. Photo courtesy Sur La Table.   If you’re old enough to remember the original Crock Pot, you know how far slow cookers have come in functionality and aesthetic appeal. Today’s gleaming slow cookers can go from kitchen counter to dining table. And they do…
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NEW YEAR’S EVE: Dinner Menu

We were about to cook a New Year’s Eve feast until we came across a seductive menu from Triomphe, a restaurant in midtown Manhattan. Executive Chef Jason Tilmann has assembled stunning flavors and visual excitement, making this the menu we want to eat on New Year’s Eve. Normally, we eschew words like “decadent” and “sinful”…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Sugar Frosted Grapes Garnish

[1] Use frosted grapes to garnish (photo All Recipes). [2] Even one grape does the trick. Photo of vanilla bean cupcake with a center of champagne whipped cream, frosted with champagne butter cream and garnished with a half a sugared grape, courtesy Yummy Cupcakes.   As the days grow cold, berries can be scarce—or costly.…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Wedding Cake & Matching Cupcakes

We’ve been to quite a few weddings and other events where cupcakes have replaced a traditional tiered cake. We love cupcakes, but miss seeing a cake. Yummy Cupcakes of greater Los Angeles (Brentwood, Burbank and Santa Monica) provides the solution by making cupcakes with a matching layer cake. You don’t have to save this tip…
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