Finest Foodies Friday – August 21, 2009

Jenn, The Leftover Queen has asked me to step in and help her out with this weeks FFF so without further ado…

As always here is what the FFF is all about. Finest Foodies Friday! FFF is a weekly Friday post featuring favorites from The Foodie Blogroll! We do this so we can share in the rich diversity of what The Foodie Blogroll has to offer by featuring some of our favorites and yours!
What is the Foodie Blogroll? It is the first and fastest growing free membership blogroll for food bloggers and has become a wonderful community to share ideas about all things food related. With a membership of over 4700 food blogs, I am sure you can find much inspiration and new friends!

The only requirement to be featured here on FFF is to be a member of The Foodie Blogroll and be displaying The Foodie Blogroll widget on your blog. If you are not yet a member, but you have a food blog and would like to join us, please click here!

If you have a favorite foodblog on The Foodie Blogroll, that you would like to be featured here on FFF, please join us over on The Leftover Queen/Foodie Blogroll Forum, and post your favorite Foodie Blogroll foodblogs here.

These are my 5 blog choices for the week.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Whole Food Whole Family

This is a beautiful vegetarian blog written by Chandelle who has a wonderful dream “My dream is to live self-sufficiently on a little plot of borrowed earth and save the world.”  Nice huh?

You need to check out her post on Fresh Spring Rolls with Thai-inspired Almond Dip

The Dessert Nook

This blog is written by 19 year old Laura from Helsinki, Finland who has had a life long dream to become a pastry chef.  What a great dream!  She sure does make a mean looking Strawberry Ice Cream!

Mango & Tomato

Great blog written by Olga who is a DC blogger.  She writes about a huge variety of things from restaurant reviews, to Daring Cook and Baker posts and then she posts some really great frugal hints…Love the one about freezing the last little bit of a bottle of wine but I have to question the dumpster diving???  LOL!

Mixing Bowl Kids

What an inspiring blog by a woman who is passionate about families spending time together in the kitchen.  Long been a passion of mine as well.  She offers cooking classes for children which I personally think is a wonderful idea.  what a way to inspire a life long love of food?  She is also a fellow Canadian.  Check out her creative corn coins…made to help accommodate a toothless child!

Playing House

Fun blog by a self confessed amateur foodie living in the Pacific Northwest.  I was scrolling through all of her posts and I have to say that I would be hard pressed to choose just one recipe that she has posted on her blog as a favorite.  I love the Thai beef, Oreo brownies, Panzanella, ice cream, cookies.  I could go on and on!

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this week’s FFF. Remember, if you would like to see a blog featured here, who is part of the FBR please visit the forum and nominate them.
WE NEED NOMINATIONS!!!!!!

Also we all love to know how people came to find our blogs, so please visit all of our featured bloggers today and don’t forget to tell them that you found them via Finest Foodies Friday!

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Foodie Freebie Friday: Garrett's Popcorn

The Taste of Chicago is a happening place this time of year and one of the new vendors for 2009 is Garrett's Popcorn. Garrett's Popcorn is a favorite treat of Chicagoans it's some amazing popcorn. Locals especially love the "Garrett Mix" which is a combination of their famous CheeseCorn and CaramelCrisp popcorn. Oprah even listed Garrett's popcorn as one of her "Favorite Things" in 2002. In honor of this local snack we love, especially during the summer, a lucky reader will receive a 1 gallon tin to enjoy!

Garrett Mix

The Garrett Mix is the culmination of our popcorn tradition! Our chefs gently blend CaramelCrisp® and CheeseCorn™ together to create The Garrett Mix. Take comfort in The Mix’s seductive sweetness and wholesome, savory cheesiness.

Some guidelines:
- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States - my apologies to my international readers!
- You must have a valid email address (within your comment or blog link) so that you can be contacted if you win.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:

- Do you have a favorite popcorn flavor or a specific way you like your popcorn?


Deadline: Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.

ONE WINNER will be randomly chosen by Random.Org's Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on Friday, July 3rd, 2009. Good luck!

Read more »

Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Vienna Hot Dog Kit!

Happy Friday! It's been a busy morning so the Foodie Freebie Friday comes a little late today... but the main thing is we have a winner! This week I asked readers to share how they like their hot dog and their preferred toppings. Just reading through the responses made me hungry for a Chicago dog, pictured below:


Many shared they like their hot grilled with a slight char... and I couldn't agree more. I'll take my hot dog (or any sausage) grilled! And for those that like ketchup on their hot dogs, it's okay. Just don't expect me to offer ketchup when I'm serving up hot dogs! Thanks to all those that responded and I'm sure you're anxious to find out who won the Vienna Hot Dog Kit I'm giving away....


For this week's Foodie Freebie Friday, I'm giving away a special Vienna Beef Chicago Hot Dog kit with all the "Chicago" trimmings and includes:

- 10 Vienna Natural Casing Hotdogs
- 10 Poppyseed Buns
- 9-oz. of mustard
- 6-oz. of relish
- 6-oz of sport peppers
- celery salt

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

7

Timestamp: 2009-06-26 18:25:05 UTC

Comment #7 comes from Mrs.G who said...

Grilled and almost burnt. I prefer mustard and sweet pickle relish.

Delish! June 22, 2009 9:50 AM

Congratulations to Mrs.G! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can have your Vienna Beef Hot Dog Kit sent out in time for you to enjoy for the July 4th holiday!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, June 29, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

Read more »

Foodie Freebie Friday: Vienna Beef Hot Dog Kit!

Happy Monday to you and hope you had a great weekend! To start the week off on a tasty note, this week's Foodie Freebie Friday is a special one. It's officially summer (finally!) and why not start it with a giveaway of a summer food... like hot dogs?!

Vienna Beef is a manufacturer of hot dogs used in the the classic Chicago style hot dog, as well as Polish Sausage and Italian beef, delicacies of independent Chicago-style hot dog and beef stands. They also produce a variety of deli meats, some of which are available at Chicagoland supermarkets. - Wikipedia

Here in Chicago, Vienna Beef is my preferred brand of hot dogs... and in Chicago, many enjoy preparing it in the traditional Chicago style way. We steam or boil our hot dogs and place them on a poppy seed bun. The fun part is topping it with a good yellow mustard, chopped white onion, a signature "neon green" pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, sliced tomato wedges, pickled sport peppers and a sprinkle of celery salt. However the order we top it, there is one cardinal rule we must follow. No ketchup! In fact, many hot dog spots refuse to even carry it in their establishments!

For this week's Foodie Freebie Friday, I'm giving away a special Vienna Beef Chicago Hot Dog kit with all the "Chicago" trimmings and includes:

- 10 Vienna Natural Casing Hotdogs
- 10 Poppyseed Buns
- 9-oz. of mustard
- 6-oz. of relish
- 6-oz of sport peppers
- celery salt

Some guidelines:
- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States - my apologies to my international readers!
- You must have a valid email address (within your comment or blog link) so that you can be contacted if you win.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:

- How do you like your hot dog? Grilled? Boiled? Steamed? Any specific toppings?


Deadline: Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.

ONE WINNER will be randomly chosen by Random.Org's Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on Friday, June 26, 2009. Good luck!

Read more »

Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Dairy Goodie Pack!

It's Friday and time for the weekend! Hope you have some fun in store and perhaps some tasty culinary adventures to partake in! My weekend's culinary adventures include our monthly Wine & Dine event where we will be featuring California wines with a wine country inspired dinner... and also a Pizza Making class, where I will be teaching folks how to make 3 types of pizza doughs (Chicago deep dish, standard dough and whole wheat dough.) What's in store for you?

If you're not sure, do have fun with dairy this weekend! It's National Dairy Month and to help my readers celebrate, I'm giving a Dairy Goodie Package, compliments of the Midwest Dairy Association. I asked readers this week to share what their favorite dairy products are. It was pretty clear that we love our cheese, with ice cream coming in second. Quite a few also chimed in with milk as a fave product, further promoting that milk does a body good! (Maybe I should apply that mantra... if I have milk at home, it's solely for cooking/baking purposes and rarely to drink straight up!)

So what's in the dairy goodie package? The dairy goodie package includes a reusable shopping bag, jump rope, recipe booklets, magnetic fridge pad and 10 VIP coupons for a free gallon of Dean Foods milk! Who's going to get their dairy on??

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2009-06-19 15:27:15 UTC

Comment #4 comes from Angie who said...

I love just about anything dairy but my favorite thing to do when I could care less about the calories or fat is to just sit there with a hunk of sharp cheddar cheese and some crackers. Maybe some wine, who knows! June 15, 2009 11:40 AM

Congratulations to Angie! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can have your Dairy Goodie Pack sent out!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, June 22, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

Read more »

Foodie Freebie Friday: Dairy Goodie Pack!

Happy Monday and welcome back to Foodie Freebie Friday! I hope you had a great weekend with some culinary adventures of your own. This week we're celebrating National Dairy Month with the Midwest Dairy Association. I'm not sure about you, but I couldn't live without dairy in my diet. I simply need cheese in my life and it's certainly one of my weaknesses!

Aside from cheese, here are some fun facts about dairy that the Midwest Dairy Association shared with me...

• Milk packs nine essential nutrients at only 25 cents per glass. Many designer drinks, sodas and fruit drinks are high in calories and expensive, which won't help your wallet or waistline.
  
  
• Thought protein is one of the most expensive parts of the diet, dairy foods are one of the most economical sources of protein and calcium, both of which are important for the growth and development of strong bones and teeth.
  
  
• A one-ounce serving of hard cheese, like cheddar, contains 8 grams of protein, and an eight-ounce serving of yogurt provides nearly a third of your suggested daily calcium intake.

In honor of National Dairy Month, I'm giving my readers a chance to receive free gallons of milk and a dairy goodie package compliments of the Midwest Dairy Association. The dairy goodie package includes a reusable shopping bag, jump rope, recipe booklets, magnetic fridge pad and 10 VIP coupons for a free gallon of Dean Foods milk! Just think, all that milk can lead to some great ice cream making for the summer! Are you ready to get your dairy on?

Some guidelines:
- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States - my apologies to my international readers!
- You must have a valid email address (within your comment or blog link) so that you can be contacted if you win.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:

- What's your favorite dairy product?


Deadline: Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.

ONE WINNER will be randomly chosen by Random.Org's Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on Friday, June 19, 2009. Good luck!

Read more »

Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Low & Slow

Happy Friday! What's happening in your kitchen corner of the world this weekend? I hope something tasty culinary adventures are in store. For me, I've got a culinary presentation to attend at a local college, our monthly Chef Spotlight Dinner paying tribute to Chef Bobby Flay and I'll be teaching a Cuban flan cooking class... so a pretty foodie filled weekend in store! You can check out these adventures in my upcoming posts so stay tuned...

This week's Foodie Freebie Friday question was about your BBQ preferences. Quite a majority of folks responded and commented they like their BBQ wet, with a bit of sweetness and charcoal is a must! I couldn't agree more as that's how I like my BBQ too!

One of the highlights of this weekend for me is our monthly Chef Spotlight Dinner. This month we are preparing Bobby Flay recipes and sharing the dishes with a potluck dinner. Bobby Flay is known to be quite a fan of cooking on the grill. As part of our Chef Spotlight Dinner, our special guest, Colleen Rush, will be joining us to share her tips and tricks on BBQ. Colleen recently co-authored a new book, Low & Slow, with BBQ master extraordinaire, Gary Wiviott. This week's Foodie Freebie Friday, I'm giving a lucky reader an autographed copy of this new book!

From this book, you'll learn some great tips and learn a lot about the art of BBQ in an easy and approachable way... and if you're looking for a Father's Day gift or hostess gift during these summer months, you may want to check out this book! So who's on their way to becoming a BBQ master?

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

21

Timestamp: 2009-06-12 14:56:56 UTC

Comment #21 comes from Sarah who said...

I like my bbq slow cooked, dry with some sauce to mop in if i want, and just a bit of spice. June 9, 2009 11:58 AM

Congratulations to Sarah! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can have your Low & Slow book sent out!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, June 15, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

Read more »

Foodie Freebie Friday: Low & Slow

Welcome back from the weekend! Hope you enjoyed the time with some fun and delicious eats. This weekend, my culinary adventures included sausage making, which you can read all about here!

Speaking of sausage, it's one of those things that are great on the grill... and if you enjoy BBQ, this week's Foodie Freebie Friday is right up your alley! A recent book has hit the bookshelves and you have the opportunity to have an autographed copy, compliments of Gary Wiviott and Colleen Rush who co-authored, Low & Slow BBQ: Mastering the Art of Barbeque in 5 Easy Lessons.

Both Gary and Colleen are amazing foodies here in Chicago who I've gotten to know and learn from within the Chicago food community. Gary heads up an amazing food goldmine website, LTH Forum, and Colleen is also a friend who has authored a number of books. Together they bring the art of BBQ in an easy and approachable way.

Fellow Carnivores,

After two years of toiling over live charcoals, many pounds of pork consumed, and countless hours getting the details right with Barbecue Life Coach Gary Wiviott, I am pleased to announce the release of “Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons” (Running Press).

If you love barbecue, or love someone who loves barbecue, this book is a must-have. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Garry Howard, esteemed barbecue guru and founder of The Smoke Ring, had to say:

“I have seen a lot of barbecue books and I say without hesitation that this is the first true barbecue how-to book ever published. But don't think [the] book is only for the novice. It includes numerous tried and true recipes as well as advice on developing your own signature rubs, sauces and marinades. There are numerous tips, techniques and nuggets of wisdom that will benefit even the most experienced and jaded barbecue cook. I highly recommend this book as an essential addition to any barbecue bookshelf.”

For more information, see lowslowbbq.com. On sale at most bookstores, including Barnes & Noble and Borders, and on Amazon.com... -- Colleen Rush

But before you do, read on to see how you can get your own autographed copy!

Some guidelines:
- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States - my apologies to my international readers!
- You must have a valid email address (within your comment or blog link) so that you can be contacted if you win.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:

- How do you like your BBQ (that is, roasted or broiled meat over an open fire)? Sweet? Spicy? Wet? Dry?


Deadline: Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.

ONE WINNER will be randomly chosen by Random.Org's Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on Friday, June 12, 2009. Good luck!

Read more »

Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Wilton Candy Making Package

It's Friday... and I hope you're ready for the weekend! I've got a handful of culinary adventures I'm diving into, including some bread baking and sausage making, so stay tuned to future posts on those! What culinary adventures do you have in store this weekend?

I do know that one lucky reader will behaving a candy making adventure in the near future. This week's Foodie Freebie Friday I'm giving away a Wilton Candy Making package. It includes a few colors of chocolate melts, squeeze bottles and some candy molds. For this week's giveaway, I asked readers to share what their favorite candy is... and it was clear that the top candies were chocolate and gummy candies. My favorite? Hands down, toffee - especially the hard, buttery kind. There's something about the crunchy and buttery toffee enrobed in chocolate and finely chopped nut that makes me a happy gal! So who's going to have their own candy making adventure?

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

52

Timestamp: 2009-06-05 15:30:54 UTC

Comment #52 comes from BMK who said...

I love anything Godiva!
June 2, 2009 6:19 AM

Congratulations to BMK! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can have your candy making package sent out!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, June 8, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

Read more »

Foodie Freebie Friday: Candy Making Package

Welcome back from the weekend! It's amazing that we're already in the month of June... how quickly time flies by. The good thing is that there's some (hopefully) great weather ahead to enjoy the summer months. Are you ready for another week of freebies?

Over the weekend I attending the annual Wilton Tent Sale and took advantage of the 50-75% off discount on quite a few Wilton products. This week to continue my love of Wilton, I'm offering up a candy making package! If you've ever wanted to make your own candy, this is a Foodie Freebie Friday you won't want to miss. I'll include:

- Assorted Wilton candy melts
- Assorted Wilton molds
- Squeeze bottles
- Candy cup liners
- and a few more Wilton goodies...

How can you participate? Read on for details!

Some guidelines:
- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States - my apologies to my international readers!
- You must have a valid email address (within your comment or blog link) so that you can be contacted if you win.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:

- What's your favorite candy or type of candy?


Deadline: Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.

ONE WINNER will be randomly chosen by Random.Org's Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on Friday, June 5, 2009. Good luck!

Read more »

Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Wilton!

Happy Friday everyone! 'Hope the sun is shining out where you are and you have a fun weekend ahead! I'm pretty psyched about tomorrow since I will be on a shopping mission at the Wilton Tent Sale, just outside of Chicago. There's quite a few things on my list and I'm also taking the list of a lucky reader for this week's Foodie Freebie Friday!

Earlier this week, I asked readers to share what Wilton products they use and what their Wilton shopping list would have. I have quite a bit of Wilton items in my kitchen arsenal and back in 2007, I made out like a bandit with the Wilton things I picked up. This week, a lucky reader was randomly chosen and I'll be doing my best to get what's on their list from the Wilton Tent Sale. So who's the lucky winner this week?

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

40

Timestamp: 2009-05-29 15:03:26 UTC

Comment #40 comes from wifeplazak who said...

I want the decorating tip pack that comes with a bunch of different sizes... and tart pans! May 26, 2009 5:04 PM

Congratulations to Wifeplazk! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can have a shopping list of Wilton goodies to shop from!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, June 1, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

Read more »

Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Grill Charms!

Happy Foodie Freebie Friday! Hope you had a great week and are ready for the weekend! Can you believe we're half way through the month of May? It's a great time of year, especially with Memorial Day coming up around the corner and grills firing up all around for grilling season.

This week's Foodie Freebie Friday question was all about grilling and what readers love to grill. Just reading through all the responses got me excited for upcoming cookouts. Everything from steaks, burgers, hot dogs & brats... even pizzas and desserts - the grill is quite a workhorse during the summer months!

In preparation for the Memorial Day cookouts, this week's Foodie Freebie Friday will help you distinguish how items are prepared. Some prefer things on the spicier side, or others like things cooked more on the rare side... and with these Grill Charms, you won't have any trouble figuring out how things are cooked or how something was seasoned.

Thanks to Leslie Haywood, founder of Grill Charms, she is providing this week's Foodie Freebie Friday. One lucky reader will be receiving the Charmed Life Collection!

The Charmed Life Collection is perfect for grill party/cookout for Memorial Day and they also make the perfect host/hostess gift if you're attending a grill party/cookout.

This collection has 6 individual and unique designs such as a sailboat, a tropical vacation and other items associated with living a "Charmed Life". Use your individual Grill Charm to personalize your food before you grill to indicate your favorite sauces or flavors, avoid health or allergy issues or any reason you can dream up!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

17

Timestamp: 2009-05-15 16:32:11 UTC

Comment #17 comes from CookingKatie who said...

I love to grill salmon..and my new favorite recipe is grilled sweet potatoes

May 11, 2009 12:29 PM

Congratulations Katie! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can have these Grill Charms sent to you in time for Memorial Day!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, May 18, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

Read more »

Foodie Freebie Friday: Grill Charms

Welcome back from the weekend! Did you enjoy anything tasty or perhaps have a culinary adventure of your own? With Mother's Day that just passed, I hope you enjoyed your weekend and to all our mothers out there, I hope you celebrated with loved ones!

This week's Foodie Freebie Friday is getting a head start on the upcoming grilling season. We're not as lucky as some of those who have the luxury of grilling weather all year round. But soon, Chicago will have their share!

Previously I wrote about Grill Charms as a great way to keep track of grilled items and how they are cooked on your grill. Leslie Haywood, founder and creator of Grill Charms, has generously offered to provide this week's Foodie Freebie Friday!

Grill CharmsTM offer an entirely new concept in outdoor entertaining. They are dime-sized solid stainless steel charms that are placed in food BEFORE grilling. They have serrated stems which hold the charms in securely while flipping, moving and grilling food like you normally do. You Grill CharmTM your food prior to cooking to distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperatures, or to avoid health or allergy issues. They stay in the entire time, so when dinner comes off the grill, you simply look for your Grill Charm, and everyone knows which one is theirs. They are the perfect gift item for Father's Day, birthdays, Groomsmen, Christimas, Valentine's Day, Housewarmings or Hostess gifts... you name it! There are also various collections for different purposes.

For a truly unique grilling and dining experience there is The Charmed Life Collection and The Pink Collection. These collections have six different charms so food can be personalized prior to grilling to distinguish spices and flavors, to avoid health or allergy concerns or for any reason you can dream up!

If you're planning a cookout with friends this summer, what not have a "season your own" cook-out?! This is where the host provides the meat, the guests pick their Grill Charm and choose from a variety of sauces or rubs that the host has set out. Guests flavor their meat any way they wish and nobody, including the grill master needs to know or care how it's seasoned. When food is brought to the table, guests simply look for their Grill Charm.

With folks watching every penny, it's even more important then ever that when people splurge on buying that beef tenderloin fillet, or carefully choose that chicken breast to spend their hard earned money on, that it's cooked and seasoned exactly the way they want it.

Also, with The Pink Collection, 10% of the proceeds are donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Leslie and her mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer in their thirties, and with two daughters of her own, I'm sure you can understand the sense of urgency she feels to find a cure.)

These collections also help with health or allergy issues. With Grill Charms, if someone has a specific health or dietary need (such as needing a no sodium, low sugar or possibly a gluten free spice alternative) Grill Charms makes it easy for people to identify their food on the grill without any confusion or effort on the part of the grill master.

Thanks to Leslie, she will be giving this week's winner the Charmed Life collection!

This collection has 6 individual and unique designs such as a sailboat, a tropical vacation and other items associated with living a "Charmed Life". Use your individual Grill Charm to personalize your food before you grill to indicate your favorite sauces or flavors, avoid health or allergy issues or any reason you can dream up!

The Charmed Life collection is perfect for the "season your own" grill party you could have for the upcoming Memorial Day and they also make the perfect host or hostess gift if you're attending a cookout for Memorial Day! Read on for this week's Foodie Freebie Friday question...

Some guidelines:
- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States. My apologies to my international readers!
- You must have a valid email address so that you can be contacted if you win.


To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:
- What's your favorite thing to grill?

Deadline: Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.

One Winner will be randomly chosen by Random.Org's Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on May 15, 2009. Good luck!

Read more »

Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Gourmet Getaway Tote

Happy Foodie Freebie Friday! Do you have any fun weekend plans ahead? I have a lot of cooking, baking and entertaining to do, so it's a busy weekend of culinary adventures for me. Hopefully you have some tasty plans in store too!

This week, I'm giving away these Gourmet Getaway Totes by BUILT. Aside from carrying your lunches and snacks in style, they may come in handy for those summer picnic and beach outings you may have! I've asked readers to share what they typically have for lunch on a given day and results were pretty much the same with the popular choice of leftovers!

Cooking for 2 people was tricky at first since I prefer cooking for more. The great thing about standard recipes (which usually serves 4-6) is the amount of leftovers which we eat the following day for lunch. If I had a choice, I'd eat sushi everyday. To me, it's a perfect balance of lean protein, carbs and veggies.

So who's the lucky winner this week and will get to pick one of the following stylish totes?

Random Integer Generator

Here is your random number:

7

Timestamp: 2009-05-08 17:26:34 UTC

Comment #7 comes from Melissa who said...

My lunch varies between soup, sandwich and random leftovers. But I do bring my lunch 99% of the time so this would be great!

May 4, 2009 11:32 AM

Congratulations Melissa! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can send you your new Gourmet Getaway Tote for your upcoming lunches!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, May 11, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

Read more »

Foodie Freebie Friday: Gourmet Getaway Tote

Welcome back to the start of a new week! I hope you enjoyed your weekend doing something fun and savoring something delicious! It was my birthday weekend and it certainly was food, fun and friend-filled!

I'm not sure about you, but whenever the work week starts up again, one thing that comes to mind is packing up lunches. My husband prefers to pack a lunch rather than eating out so I have the lovely task of getting something put together and sending him along with it. "Brown bagging" lunches has probably been a popular way to have lunch, considering how everyone I know is making efforts to be more budget minded these days. Well, I've got a great giveaway to help fellow brown baggers to effectively bring along their lunch in style...

BUILT transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. Our design team, headed by two of the founders, starts with everyday objects such as bottle totes, lunch bags, and laptop sleeves—then strips away the unnecessary and the expected. Drawing inspiration from the city that never sleeps - and the locals and visitors that inhabit our Soho neighborhood - we apply color and pattern liberally to everything we produce. Our solid roots in the tradition of American industrial design guide us in the belief that form is as important as function, and color is the glue that binds them together. The results from this unusual foundation are original and stylish products that meet the demands of life in perpetual motion.-- BUILT

One lucky winner this week will have their choice of one of these great lunch totes from Built:

It’s great for road trips, stakeouts, or any time you’re on the run and need provisions to keep you going. And unlike those brown bags, you’ll want to use this tote over and over again.

• INSULATES FOOD & DRINK FOR UP TO 4 HOURS DEPENDING ON EXTERNAL TEMPERATURES
• TESTED FOR LEAD SAFETY – NO VINYL OR PVC USED
• MADE FROM NEOPRENE (THE WETSUIT MATERIAL)
• SOFT-GRIP HANDLE
• ZIP CLOSURE
• STORES FLAT
• STAIN RESISTANT, MACHINE WASH COLD, DRIP DRY
• W 13.5" x H 13.5" x D 7" (W 34.3cm x H 34.3cm x D 17.8cm)
  

Some guidelines:
- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States. My apologies to my international readers!
- You must have a valid email address so that you can be contacted if you win.


To enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering:
- What do you usually have for lunch everyday?

Deadline: Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 12 midnight CST.

One Winner will be randomly chosen by Random.Org's Interger Generator based on the number of your comment and will be announced on May 8, 2009. Good luck!

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Winner of Foodie Freebie Friday: Jessie Steele Apron

It's Foodie Freebie Friday once again!... And this one is a bit special because it's also my birthday!


For this week's Foodie Freebie Friday, I asked readers what their messiest experience was in the kitchen either cooking or baking and what they made. It was pretty much all over the board as to what various things that cluttered up our kitchens. Chocolate, pasta sauce, making homemade pastas, flour, sugar, cake batter, frosting, melted butter... pretty much all those sticky, gooey ingredients we love to work with have caused some of us more cleanup than we really bargained for. Let's not forget those wonderful appliances that make things easier in the kitchen (and can be messy to use!). You know the ones - food processor, stand mixer, hand mixer, anything that whizzes and whirls about!

My messiest experience in the kitchen was homemade pasta. I was making pasta dough and my husband helped me with rolling it in my pasta machine. I had flour and dough everywhere in the kitchen. It was quite a mess and needless to say, that was the last time I made pasta from scratch (not including gnocchi).

Well I hope this week's Foodie Freebie will help you with your next messy kitchen adventure and to keep you looking stylish too! Who's going to win this week?! Whoever wins will have their choice of one of these Jesse Steele aprons! The following aprons are called "Sweethearts" (red), "Leopard" (brown), "Pink Poppy Fields" (pink), and "Cafe Toile" (white/black). Read on to see who won!

Random Integer Generator

Here is your random number:

35

Timestamp:2009-05-01 14:47:14 UTC

Comment #35 comes from Mary Ellen who said...

Those aprons are adorable!

My messiest experience has to be the first Thanksgiving we hosted in our new home as a married couple.

Thanksgiving is a mess to begin with, but then put 2 amateurs in the kitchen and it's really a mess. We had turkey drippings, mashed potatoes, and homemade gravy just everywhere. And then when we went to take the bird out of the bag for carving, the drippings spilled everywhere. But the messiest part happened just as we were sitting down to eat... the last dish was finishing in the microwave - creamed onions. (and yes, I know make them from scratch instead of microwaving the frozen ones, but I wan't a cook back then!). I opened the microwave door and my husband reached in to get them. The dish was hot so I was ready with a hot pad when the onions fell to the floor. Cream sauce everwhere, including all over my stove, under the stove, between the stove and countertop (you know, that tiny tiny space), and in the spaces on the actual stove.

We cleaned for months. We got rid of the stove 2 years later and when they took it out, there was still some crusty creamed onion cream on the back sides!

April 27, 2009 1:16 PM

Congratulations Mary Ellen! Please email me at itsjoelen@gmail.com so I can send you your new apron!

Thanks again to all those that commented and stay tuned to the next Foodie Freebie announcement on Monday, May 4, 2009! Don't feel discouraged if you haven't won yet - I have a whole year's worth of freebies ahead and next week is one that you won't want to miss!

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