ROSALIE'S BROWNIES

SHARING BROWNIES WITH ROSALIE THEN HEADING TO LONDON FOR FOOD BLOGGER CONNECT

Jamie has been so busy! Most of you know that I leave Friday for London for our very first – oh, but not the last, fear not! – Food Blogger Connect Meet/Lunch/Conference/All Around Fab Time! And those of us organizing (mostly Beth of Dirty Kitchen Secrets, I must admit, and very talented she is, too) or speaking are scrambling to get everything done before Saturday or earlier for those of us coming in from out of town. Furiously writing speeches, packing, cleaning and baking for those we are leaving behind to fend for themselves over the weekend and we are all going a bit nuts. On top of that is our Daring Baker’s Challenge to be posted on Friday morning before I grab my suitcase and jump on the bus that will take me to the airport and London.


And what a tremendous time we’ll be having! Meeting and spending time with some of our favorite food bloggers, the chance to learn, share, connect and network and all over an incredible lunch at London’s best Lebanese restaurant, Levant. We have a line up of talented food bloggers who will be sharing secrets, tips and information on successful food blog writing, photography/food styling, media & social networking.


But I didn’t want to slip away either unnoticed or without leaving you a little something sweet to nibble on. First, as part of the organizing committee with Beth, Hilda of Saffron & Blueberry, Mowie of Mowielicious and Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey? as well as my speaking partner Jeanne of Cook Sister! we just want to bring you up to date on the final preparations for Food Blogger Connect. We are going to have a fantastic weekend and there is still time for you to hop on board and reserve a seat for this tremendous event!

Hello FBC'ers!

It's getting close... Three days to go! I hope you're as excited as we are! It's going to be a blast; delicious food, great topics covered, fantastic goodie bags and much more.

The RSVP response for the first FBC has been tremendous- So far we have 70 confirmed attendees and it is truly international in scope! There are only 10 more seats left, so if you know anyone else that would like to come, or want to help spread the word, then feel free to do so. The last day to RSVP is this coming Wednesday the 25th. They can visit www.rsvpit.com and enter the event code: 2009 along with their details.


To ensure the event is every bit of a success for you, we have come to the decision that it would be best to extend the event by thirty minutes to ensure the speakers are not being rushed and that they are able to cover as much information as possible for your benefit. This means that the event will end at 5:30 p.m versus 5:00 p.m.

We sincerely apologize if this has caused any inconvenience.

The event is being held at Levant Restaurant on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 from 1:00 p.m - 5:30 p.m. The restaurant address is 76 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2SJ. The nearest station is Bond Street Tube and is about a 3-5 minute walk. The restaurant is located directly opposite Costa Coffee. You can review this map for more information. Should you require further information or get lost on the way, then please contact the restaurant at 020 7224 1111.
The payment of £30 will be due upon arrival. Please try your best to bring the exact sum in cash so that we don't eat into the conference time. However, credit card payments will be accepted.

Please be sure to arrive on time. Unfortunately, we cannot wait for everyone to arrive in order to begin the event, so do ensure you allow sufficient time for your travels.

As some of you may already know there are on-going tube closures- I highly recommend you visit the Transport for London website and plan your journey accordingly.

Don't forget a notepad and pen... there will be loads of useful information you will want to jot down. Also, feel free to bring your cameras with you. We are always in need of photos to publish on the website after the event.

If for any reason, your plans have changed and you are no longer able to attend, please reply to this email and let us know. We greatly appreciate your courtesy in this matter.

A group of food bloggers are also organizing a Foodlovers Marylebone VIllage Walk for Sunday, November 29th, 2008. We will be meeting at Baker Street Tube station at 11:30 a.m and walking to the market from there. If you are interested in participating do let us know!

Please do not hesitate if you have any more questions! And check out the new website for Food Blogger Connect: a place where you'll find stories, photos and videos from the First Food Blogger Connect and information concerning the next!

Much love from the FBC Committee.


And now I would like to leave you until Friday with a little sweet from a little sweet : meet Rosalie. Before we moved, we were neighbors with Rosalie, her mom and dad, Julie and Manu, and her new sister, Anita. They are the one thing we left behind that we truly miss, especially Rosalie: her incessant, chirpy chatter, usually the one bright spot on a gray day, her tales of being “la grande soeur”, the big sister, though, according to maman and papa she sometimes may approach her job a little bit too rambunctiously, her obvious joy of cake and cookies, a joy for a baker to have over! We recently had them over to the new apartment for lunch and Rosalie – with a little help from Julie – made brownies for dessert and arrived proudly carrying her little bundle of joy (the pan of brownies, not Anita), offering as nectar to the gods. They were delicious! Delicate and fudgy at the same time, chock full of chocolate flavor with the added texture of chopped pecans and so simple to put together, simple enough for an enthusiastic 5 year old. You know dessert is a success when the chef – Rosalie – eats one piece after the other…


ROSALIE'S BROWNIES

6 ½ oz (200 g) dark chocolate, bittersweet or semisweet
10 Tbs + 1 tsp (150 g) butter
¾ cup (5 oz, 150 g) sugar
heaping ½ cup (2 oz, 60 g) flour
½ - 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly butter a 10-inch (26 cm) pie tin.

Melt the chocolate and butter together either in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave. Set aside to cool.

Once cooled, whisk in 4 eggs until blended and smooth.

Stir in the sugar and flour just until well blended. Stir in the coarsely chopped nuts.

Scrape batter into the prepared pie tin and smooth. Bake for just 17 minutes; the brownie should be just barely set in the center, still a bit wet.

Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool to warm or room temperature before serving with a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk. Perfect with a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Or as is! With neighbors, of course!

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Cajun Fried Turkey

Around this time of year, Food Network is a popular cable channel to watch for all their holiday recipe ideas. One show that I always enjoy watching during Thanksgiving season is Alton Brown's episode on Deep Fried Turkey (which you can watch in 3 parts here). Ever since I saw that episode, I've always wanted to try to make a fried turkey.

Since this year we decided to have a Thanksgiving menu that highlights various regions of the country, it was our opportunity to make a deep fried turkey with cajun seasoning. I came across the following recipe online since it makes use of cajun spices and allows us to fry it.

If you wanted, you could even make your turkey in advance... yes, it's possible and a great time saver! To make your turkey in advance, prepare the recipe as written a few days in advance and when it's done, cool your turkey completely. Properly wrap it and store in your refrigerator or even your freezer if making this well in advance. On the day you plan on serving it, all you need to do is heat it up and serve. The beauty of making this in advance is that your oven won't be tied up as long and you don't have to worry about juggling so many cooking tasks on turkey day!

- If you choose to heat up a cooked, refrigerated turkey, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your cooked and cold cajun fried turkey in a roasting pan with a v-rack. Pour in 4-6 cups of chicken broth into the bottom of the pan and cover turkey with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours until heated through. You can then use the drippings in the bottom of the roasting pan to make a homemade gravy.

- If you choose to heat up a cooked, frozen turkey, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place your cooked and frozen cajun fried turkey in a roasting pan with a v-rack. Pour in 4-6 cups of chicken broth into the bottom of the pan and cover turkey with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 4 hours until heated through. You can then use the drippings in the bottom of the roasting pan to make a homemade gravy.

Cajun Fried Turkey
recipe adapted from Real Cajun Recipes & Alton Brown

12-15 pounds turkey
1 1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 stick butter
1 handful Cajun Seasonings
garlic powder and onion powder to taste
peanut oil amount depending on size of turkey



Two days prior to cooking:
Defrost turkey in the refrigerator or submerged in cold water, making sure you change the water ever 30 minutes to one hour.

One day prior:
Sift the Italian dressing to catch items too big for the injector needle. Melt a stick of butter and add to the strained dressing to make the marinade.

Take a handful of your favorite Cajun seasonings and add to marinade (some brands recommended to use include Tony Chachere's (TM) Creole seasoning, Chef Paul Prudhomme's® blackened seasoning, Zatarins® Creole seasoning, Cajun Shake seasonings, and any Cajun spice you can find). You can also purchase Cajun Injector seasoning from the store.

Add onion powder and garlic powder to marinade, to your tastes.

Use injector to inject marinade into the turkey breasts, thighs, and wings. Stick the needle all the way in. As you slowly pull out, slowly press and inject spices into the turkey. Inject from multiple angles for maximum coverage. The more you use, the juicier the turkey will be when you cook it. Also, rub seasoning on the outside of the turkey, under the skin, and the inside cavity as well.

Place turkey, legs up, on holder and place inside plastic oven roasting bag. Keep overnight in an ice chest with a little ice.

Morning of:
Figure out how much oil you will need to fry your turkey. In order to determine the correct amount of oil, place the bagged turkey into the pot that you will be frying it in, add water just until it barely covers the top of the turkey and is at least 4 to 5 inches below the top of the pot. This will be the amount of oil you use for frying the turkey. Remove the bagged turkey from the pot of water. Mark the level of water in your pot so you know what point to fill your turkey with oil.

Dry your fryer pot and fill with enough oil to your marked water level. (You don't need peanut oil, but it is recommended since this type of oil smokes less).

Bring the temperature of the oil to 250 degrees F. Once the temperature has reached 250, slowly lower the turkey into the oil and bring the temperature to 350 degrees F. Once it has reached 350, lower the heat in order to maintain 350 degrees F. Cook 2-3 minutes per pound. After 35 minutes, check the temperature of the turkey using a probe thermometer. Once the breast reaches 151 degrees F, gently remove from the oil and allow to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to carving. The bird will reach an internal temperature of 161 degrees F due to carry over cooking. And never, ever cover pot with lid!

Remove and let the turkey rest before carving to allow the juices to redistribute. Carve as desired and enjoy!

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Autism Rising or Not? Mercury Disproved as Autism Cause or Not?

In an exchange at About.com: Autism AutismNewsBeat, the host of a blog which claims to serve as an evidence based autism resource for journalists, (it is really more of an ideologically driven Neurodiversity blog), has taken the position that there has been no real increase in autism over the past two decades. Yet ANB fails to understand that in taking that position he is disavowing the assertion by many that a thimerosal (mercury preservative in vaccines) causal connection to autism was disproved by the increase in autism rates after the removal of thimerosal from vaccines in 2002:

"(10) AutismNewsBeat says:

“Will the media herd ever note that the same authorities who say that they can’t be sure that autism is really increasing today because of the 93-94 diagnostic definition changes state that that thimerosal was disproven as an autism trigger because autism increased after the alleged removal of thimerosal from vaccines in Denmark in 2002?”

Harold knows that there is a difference between an increase in “autism”, and an increase in “autism diagnoses”. There are no data to show one way or another that autism prevalence has increased much over the last two decades. But it is indisputable that autism diagnoses have grown considerably.

ANB simply fails to grasp, or more likely acknowledge , that by claiming there is no real increase in autism diagnoses he is trashing the claim that autism continued to increase after removal of thimerosal from vaccines. By doing so he is arguing against the claim that any thimerosal (mercury in vaccines) autism connection has been disproved. (Except for flu vaccines but no one gets flu vaccines right?).

Perhaps AutismNewsBeat should tell Dr. Paul Offit to change the title to Chapter 6 of his novel "Autism's False Prophets" from "Mercury Falling" to "Mercury Falling, Autism Who Knows".

One point on which everyone, except perhaps AutismNewsBeat, should be able to agree is that if autism was rising after the removal of thimerosal there is no reason to assume that autism is not rising today. Conversely, if autism is not rising to day there is no reason to conclude that a causal connection between thimerosal and autism has been disproved.

Which is it folks? Autism Rising or Not?. Thimerosal (Mercury) as Autism Cause Disproved or Not?

autism

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Autism Research, Treatment and Cure

My son Conor is 13 and has a diagnosis of Autistic Disorder. He is assessed with profound developmental delays. His initial diagnosis of PDD-NOS at age 2 was changed to Autistic Disorder a short time later. In the 11 years since his diagnosis there have been significant changes in autism service delivery for children here in New Brunswick and elsewhere in Canada and the United States. But there has been almost no effort made at all to find new treatments or cures for autism disorders.

The latest mainstream media discourse on autism treatment and cure arrives courtesy of the Chicago Tribune which has published a series of articles beginning with criticism of the Autism One conference and continuing this past week with a generalized attack on alternative treatments, particularly those advanced by DAN practitioners. While the Tribune has spilled much ink attacking what it calls alternative autism treatments, and DAN practitioners, it has not printed a single period, comma or question mark asking why there has been no serious research seeking autism treatments or cures by establishment medical authorities.

In the eleven years since my son's autism diagnosis autism researchers have continued their obsession with genetic autism research. While there had been some hints of a new Autism Research Paradigm Shift that would explore the interaction of genetic and environmental research it has not matured into a prevailing mindset. Genetic research is still out funded by as much as 20 to 1 over environmental research. There is not so much as a hint of a possible new, evidence based, treatment or cure for autism on the research horizon. And there are few signs of research aimed at providing treatment or cure.

The Chicago Tribune is outraged at parents and professionals seeking and providing alternative treatments for autism. Yet it does not even dawn on the Tribune journalists to ask why this situation exists. The answer is simple. For decades health authorities and researchers have abandoned parents to their own devices to find help for their autistic children. They have failed to spend significant resources searching for possible causes, treatments or cures for autism and now parents who don't have the luxury of ignoring the realities of their child's autism disorders, who don't want to abandon the field are under attack.

The journalists who chronicle current events fail to ask why treatments are not available and they will not ask why. Environmental research whether it arises from vaccines, power plants, plastics, children's toys or pesticides could have a negative impact on economic interests. The health interests of children particularly if they are not properly explored and proven will always be trumped by major financial interests.

Whether the Chicago Tribune likes it or not though parents will not quit on their children. While the health establishment and researchers dawdle in genetic past times parents of children with autism disorders will continue to try and help their children with the resources available whether the Tribune and health establishment like those resources or not.

.

autism

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54- Ανορθολογισμός

1. Ανορθολογισμός ή the Age of Stupid
Μετά από 8 μήνες η επικοινωνία μας έχει επικεντρωθεί πιά μέσω του blog με ανα τετραήμερο περίπου αναρτήσεις και σχόλια σε επισημαινόμενα σημαντικά άλλα blog. Μεσολάβησαν δυο εκλογές, 3 ταξίδια στο εξωτερικό,128.000 επισκέπτες στο διαδίκτυο οι επαφές στο Facebook, Linkin, Plaxo, Slideshare, Youtube κλπ. Η κρίση του χρηματοπιστωτικού συστήματος πρόφαση για φτώχεια, ανεργία, ύφεση, ο έλεγχος τιμών και στατιστικών σπάνιο είδος στο τόπο μας, στον εξωτερικό περίγυρο πιεζόμεθα ως ευένδοτα ρευστά , οι γιατροί σαν σάκος του μποξ στο πάγκο της εφορίας και στην νέα εποχή 50 ημερών νέα διακυβέρνηση.
Τι σχέση μπορεί να έχουν η Νινευή με τα Σκόπια, το έπος Γκιγκλαμές με το πρόγραμμα 100 ημερών του ΠΑΣΟΚ;;; Ο Ασσουρμπανιπάλ και ο Παπανδρέου. Γιατί πωλείται ελπίς made in China και ξεφορτώνεται σε προβλήτα του Πειραιά.!
2. Πολύ κουβέντα για τη διαφθορά στα νοσοκομεία, πολύ λίγες κουβέντες επί των τύπων των ήλων. Η πολιτική οικονομία της διαφθοράς του ΕΣΥ. Του Ανδρέα Ξανθού, του Δημήτρη Βαρνάβα και του Γιάννη Μπασκόζου Λίγα λόγια και σταράτα, οι γιατροί προσθέστε τον προβληματισμό σας στα σχόλια σε τόσο μεγάλο θέμα.
3. Ιδέες για ξεχωριστά ταξίδια με παρουσιάσεις εικόνων και βίντεο συνοπτικά και περιεκτικά. Το κέντρο επιστημών Νέμο στο Άμστερνταμ, το Φόντελ πάρκ ένα από τα 6 μεγάλα πάρκα της όμορφης αυτής πόλης και το ξεχωριστό Κιόσκι πεταλούδων στο Artis Zoo του Άμστερνταμ. Στείλτε μας δικές σας προτάσεις, ταξίδια.
4. Άλλα ταξίδια σε παρουσίαση φωτό στα δάση Μπάντεν της Βιέννης, στο μεγαλύτερο ζωολογικό πάρκο της Βιέννης ένα μονοπάτι πάνω στις κορυφές των δένδρων και άλλο ένα από το Ζωολογικό πάρκο στο Βερολίνο.
5. Body Painting ή Χρώματα ζωής και πολέμου, με τον καρκίνο. Από την πλαστικό χειρουργό Ευγενία Ηλιοπούλου.
6. Α πέρασαν βουλευτικές εκλογές λίγο μουτζούφλικες αλλά ο αφέντης λαός είπε το ποίημά του. Μίνι εκτίμηση των αποτελεσμάτων στο Φάρο τυφλών, με συνταρακτικές λεπτομέρειες. Πολιτικός λόγος όλο λιγότερος.
7. Οι νωπές εντολές σε διακεκαυμένη ή κατεψυγμένη χώρα ήταν ένα άρθρο απάντηση στον Καραμανλή των αρχών Σεπτέμβρη 09 όταν είπε για εκλογές. Σχολιάστηκε αρκετά
8. Πράσινη ανάπτυξη ,κλιματικές αλλαγές και διέξοδος από την κρίση του Γιάννη Τόλιου . Ιδιαίτερα απαγοητευτικά είναι τα αποτελέσματα των μέτρων της ΕΕ που εξάγγειλε πριν ένα χρόνο για την αντιμετώπιση της κρίσης. Οι απολύσεις, η άνοδος της ανεργίας, η συρρίκνωση του κοινωνικού κράτους και η πτώση του βιοτικού επιπέδου της μεγάλης πλειοψηφίας των πολιτών, συμπυκνώνουν τα αδιέξοδα των ευρωπαϊκών κοινωνιών μαζί και της ελληνικής.
9. Το κάστρο της Μεθώνης με το φακό του Παναγιώτη Ψυχάρη και η πλατεία των Συντεχνιών στη Φλωρεντία.
10. Οι δρόμοι του Αρχαγγέλου, Μίκης Θεοδωράκης με την ευκαιρία της έκδοσης βιβλίου των Πανεπιστημιακών εκδόσεων Κρήτης από τον αθάνατο έφηβο ποινικολόγο Χριστόφορο Αργυρόπουλο.
11. Άνθρωποι εναντίον βακτηρίων του καθηγητή εντατικολόγου Γιώργου Μπαλτόπουλου.
12. Η μαφία των φαρμακοβιομηχανιών του Ignatio Ramonet από την Κυρ. Ελευθεροτυπία της 11-10-2009. Οι μακροχρόνιες πατέντες θα χρεοκοπήσουν το σύμπαν στα ασφαλιστικά ταμεία. Καιρός να αλλάξουμε τους κανόνες.
13. Η νεύρωση για τη γρίπη καθρέπτης της κοινωνίας. Του Denis Duclos στην κυριακάτικη Ελευθεροτυπία της 27-9-2009 τεκμηριωμένο επιστημονικό άρθρο για όλες τις τελευταίες πανδημίες με έμφαση στον Η1Ν1.
14. Ήταν αγιάτρευτος από το Διόνυσο. Η πραγματική ιστορία ενός σκηνοθέτη του αθάνατου ελληνικού σινεμά που σκηνοθέτησε τις λεπτομέρειες από το θάνατό του, είχε τους λόγους του.

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Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

This past weekend my husband and I hosted a very special Thanksgiving dinner for our friends of What's Cookin, Chicago. It was a wonderful event full of food, fun and seeing our friends and family who we haven't seen in quite a while. Thankfully I got my cooking and baking mojo back because I prepared quite a few things for our holiday feast.


Each year we try to come up with an interesting theme in which our Thanksgiving menu can be inspired by. This year we decided to do a Regional Thanksgiving around the U.S., paying homage to the popular regional ingredients of the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, South, New England and Midwest states. Be sure to check back often all this week for the recipes of the following dishes I prepared!

Representing the Pacific Northwest...


Wild Rice and Portobello Salad
with Dried Fruit, Goat Cheese, and Walnuts (Oregon)

Roasted Salmon
with Horseradish Creme Fraiche (Alaska)

Green Bean & Portobello Mushroom Casserole
with Crispy Fried Walla Walla Onions (Washington State)

Representing the New England Region...


Butternut Squash & Sage Dinner Rolls
(Connecticut)

Traditional Crab Cakes
with Lemon Dill Sauce (Maryland)

Maple Braised Short Ribs
(Vermont)

Representing the Southern States...



Cajun Fried Turkey
(Louisiana)

Bourbon Candied Yams
(Kentucky)


Cornbread Pecan Dressing
(Georgia)
Representing the Midwest...


Apple Cider Glazed Pork
(Michigan)

Creamy Herbed Mashed Potatoes
(Idaho)

Cranberry Pear Relish
(Wisconsin)


Representing the Southwest...


Guajillo-Tamarind Glazed Chicken
(Texas)


Chipotle Corn Salad
(New Mexico)

Cauliflower Gratin with Queso Cotija
(Arizona)

With so many dishes on our holiday table, we served everything as a buffet and set it up accordingly using chafing dishes I usually have on hand for the catering events I do. The chafing dishes also allowed all the dishes to remain warm throughout the entire service. Since we had a few guests that had some dietary restrictions, I made sure to label each dish indicating whether they were also vegetarian and included dairy and/or seafood. This avoided our guests from guessing whether or not they could eat it and made it clear for everyone.

Our guests also contributed to our holiday feast by bringing appetizers, desserts and lots of wine to share... (These pictures were taken very early in the party but once everyone got there, this table was overflowing with good eats!)

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Kevin Leitch Goes Overboard, Opposes Interests of Children with Autism

Yup Kevin Leitch opposes the interests and well being of autistic children.

That is the logical conclusion of the false dichotomy Kevin Leitch creates when he accuses Bob Wright of opposing the interests ofautistic adults. Mr. Leitch has his knickers in a knot because Mr. Wright commented on the activities of a few autistic adults in disrupting a benefit and therefore in Kevin's mind he is opposed to the interests of all autistic adults. Using Kevin Logic, in attacking Bob Wright for defending a benefit for autistic children, Kevin Leitch opposes the interests and well being of autistic children.

Autism is a spectrum and some like the ASAN supporters who stepped away from their keyboards to try and disrupt a benefit to help autistic children, have abilities lacking in many severely autistic children and adults. Bob Wright said, much more politely than I would have done, that he wished his more severely impaired grandson had their abilities. That is all he said.

The protesters subscribe to an ideology promoted by a few high functioning adults with autism and Aspergers who oppose the idea of curing autism. They are not content to oppose cures for themselves. They oppose cures for other people's children and for other adults more severely impaired then them. Mr. Leitch also subscribes to this ideology and is opposed to Autism Speaks and Bob Wright. Kevin Leitch is so tied to this anti-cure ideology that he is willing to shred whatever remains of his credibility and accuse Bob Wright of being opposed to autistic adults.

Kevin Leitch's comments about Bob Wright are nonsense, pure and utter nonsense, and should not be taken seriously. Give your head a shake Kev. You are losing it.

autism

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