Get psyched Foodie Vocab Monday and today’s word challenge. Are you a real foodie? Will you past this cooking term test? Keep reading to see if you are a true foodie know-it-all and for recipes that apply to this week’s word!

This week’s word is a particularly interesting one, and if you have enough knowledge about pronunciation, you won’t have any problems saying and understanding this week’s word:  So what do you think the word means? This week’s word is: ROUX.

A)  The process of adding spices to meat over a fire.
B)  A mixture of fat and flour cooked together and used as a thickening agent.
C)  The process of mixing two different liquids together.
D)  The soft green liver of a cooked lobster.

Take your time, food fans!

Did you think of the answer? No Googling, people!

And “Roux” means…
B)  A mixture of fat and flour cooked together and used as a thickening agent.

A roux is a (typically French) cooking mixture of wheat flour and fat. This thickening agent is utilized in the three classic French sauces: sauce espagnole, sauce béchamel and sauce velouté. When used in Italian cooking, a roux is traditionally equal parts of butter and flour. It is also utilized in Cajun cooking for those famous rich sauces.

So how do you make it, anyway?
First, heat the fat in a pan and then add the flour. Stir the mixture until the flour is incorporated. The appearance depends on the length of time the mixture is heated; it can be a light hue or extremely dark in color.  The sauce can easily be cooked to desired color and temperature.

Try these amazing sauces:

Béchamel Sauce: This rich, butter sauce can be used over a variety of meat dishes or side items like mashed potatoes.

Russ’s Original Bechamel Sauce: Depending upon the food to be sauced, made with part milk, part broth (chicken broth for meat or poultry, fish stock for seafood, vegetable cooking water for eggs, cheese or vegetables).

Serve with:

French Chicken Breasts

French Roasted Potatoes

Carrots Lyonnaise

Tell me, foodies: What type of sauce do you most like to savor, and what dish do you serve it with? Let me know in the COMMENTS!

Until next week!

Emilie

If you’re looking for an all-natural, healthy alternative to fatty and heavy desserts, this cookie is for you. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, and definitely will satisfy your chocolate craving. Rich in texture and uncompromising in flavor, this cookie is both decadent and nutritious.

Ingredients*:
3 C.  walnut halves, toasted and cooled
4 C. 365 Organic® powdered sugar
½ C. and 3 Tbsp. Ghirardelli® unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. Frontier fine grain sea salt
4 lg. egg whites at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 320° F.

Sift together all of the dry ingredients, until the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt are well mixed. Stir in the walnuts, egg whites, and vanilla until dry mix no longer surfaces.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, and spoon 2 ½ Tbsp. mounds of dough onto your sheet. To prevent the cookies from running into each other, only add 6 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until the middle of the cookies starts to crack and puff up. After taking the sheet out of the oven, move the parchment paper with cookies on top to a cooling rack.

Keep cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

*We provide information on the organic ingredients we successfully used in these cookies, but substitutes are possible to achieve a similar cookie. We successfully used Whole Foods ingredients across the board for a naturally gluten-free treat.

Tell me: Will you try your hand at making this spectacular gluten-free dessert? I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Until next week! Jen

Our friends at Southern Recipe are really going to make your day with this fantastic tailgating giveaway! Keep reading for the skinny on this week’s awesome foodie prize pack. Football season may be nearly over, but our love for football food isn’t!

What goes better with pig skin than pigskins?

Rudolph Foods, the world’s largest manufacturer of pork rinds, has gathered rind lovers across the nation to join in to celebrate a new pork rind holiday. On the first Sunday of February, in coordination with the BIG GAME, Rudolph Foods, their brands and rind fans everywhere will celebrate these all-American salty snacks. The 1st Annual Pork Rind Appreciation Day kicks off this Sunday with food, fanfare and fun!

Nearly 300,000 ballots and votes were secured throughout 2011 to validate America’s desire to celebrate this iconic Southern snack. America can help celebrate and win a Pork Rind Prize Pack to help celebrate by visiting RudolphFoods.com or Facebook.com/RudolphFoods.

Pork Rinds provide 9 times the protein and less fat than potato chips. Rudolph Foods pork rinds come in a variety of flavors including BBQ, Spicy, Salt & Vinegar, Sweet BBQ and Original. Pork rinds are carb-free and high in protein to boot!

These Pork Sticks are an awesome on-the-go snack that fights man-size hunger. These savory snacks come in Original and BBQ flavors and can be purchased individually or in groups of 24. Each stick has a mere 90 calories and contains 5 grams of protein — Tackle that!

The Prize: 5 lucky winners will win NEW Pork Sticks and pork rinds in honor of the BIG Game and Pork Rind Appreciation Day

Timeline: This giveaway will run until February 9th, 2011 at 11:59pm CDT.  A winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email on Friday, February 10th.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Visit this link and let us know which pork recipe sounds the most appetizing in the comments on this blog post.

Optional Additional Entries (leave separate comments for each one telling us that you’ve done them):

1. “Like” Recipe4Living on Facebook.

2. Follow Recipe4Living on Twitter.

3. “Like” Southern Recipe on Facebook.

4. Post about this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter, linking back to this page.

We are back this week with the second half of our Top 10 Dessert Blog list that we started last week. You can check out our first 5 selections here. Keep reading to see another group of our favorite dessert blogs out there!

Art of Dessert
Rianne’s story of being a mom, with two sons who have food allergies to many seemingly essential baking ingredients like eggs and gluten, is inspiring to say the least. To adapt to their changing allergies, she alters her cake and dessert recipes to omit certain ingredients. Her creations are stunningly beautiful, and we are even drooling over the healthier desserts!

Sugar Plum
This blog is a true pairing of innovative dessert design ideas and just plain good photography! Recently, she posted her White Chocolate Cheesecake Sandwich Cookies with Raspberry Buttercream that seriously made us want to leave the office in search of her kitchen. These less-than-usual desserts are some of our favorite reads each week.

and now for something Completely Delicious
Annalise is a fantastic photographer and dedicated baker of hearty desserts and foods. It’s fun to learn about cooking from someone who’s just as honestly enthusiastic about tasting her creations as we are in our own kitchens! We especially are dying to try her Key Lime Cupcakes.

Joy the Baker
Joy’s pictures are an art form not to be reckoned with, and she goes above and beyond as a foodie and blogger with her regular giveaways and helpful cooking and life advice. We love her quirky anecdotes, too! Her innovative recipes fill us with desire to be more adventurous with our own food choices, such as Chocolate Beet Cake with Beet Cream Cheese Frosting. Yum.

Oh My! Sugar High
We love the original recipes and photos from the girls at Oh My! Sugar High. They write about a huge variety of desserts, from fondant decorated cakes to homemade donuts and more.

Tell me, foodies: Which of these amazing dessert blogs will make it onto your RSS? What amazing dessert creation would you like to see recreated on Chew On That?

February 2nd is the day when Punxsutawney Phil comes out of hibernation to decide if he sees or does not see his shadow, predicting whether or not we will have 6 more weeks of winter or an early spring. Lucky for us, the groundhog’s diet is one that we should probably model in honor of the occasion, so keep reading to see what healthy snacks are perfect for tomorrow!

Groundhogs live a mostly vegetarian life, and indulge in leafy greens and other vegetables when available. Keep reading to see some awesome salad and veggie recipes that you should indulge in today!

Spinach Salad with Roquefort Lime Dressing: Crunchy fresh spring flavors with juicy apples and pineapple tidbits sprinkled through adding to taste and texture of this salad; served with a creamy Roquefort Lime Dressing.

Crispy Onion Flowers: A delicious blossom with homemade spicy dip.

Romaine and Strawberry Salad for Two: Serve this delicious salad as the first course of a romantic meal for two.

Berry Mandarin Salad: This salad is so colorful and delicious! It is chock full of romaine, fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, bacon and toasted almonds and has a flavorful dressing. Even my children love it.

Tell me: Do you do anything to commemorate Groundhog Day? Do you watch the movie? Let’s all try to eat a little healthier, and call it a day!

“There is no way that this winter is ever going to end as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.”

Enjoy the holiday!

Until tomorrow,
Jen :)

Not everyone celebrates the big game with the gusto that an American holiday deserves, so I thought I would give you insider advice on how to hold a tea party with pretty sandwiches and lovely guests (if they aren’t usually proper, you can always make them be for a day)! You don’t have to be British royalty to enjoy a party of tea, scones and clotted cream (let’s put a mimosa in there for good measure). Read on for the pretty plates, place mats and perfect sandwich creations!

Did you ever dress up your stuffed animals (er, or younger brother) and sit them down at your plastic kiddie table for a tea party? I know I did. Those stuffed animals were very particular too, so I know that actual people can be as well. What makes for the perfect afternoon tea? All you really need are tea cakes or scones, party sandwiches and tea…but why stop there? Make an event of it!

Guests, Invitations, Dress Code
If you are getting into the spirit, so should they! Get people excited by sending out PAPER (what is that, you ask, Internet addicts?) invitations. These are simply to die for! Ask guests to wear their ‘Sunday’ best; be sure to indicate that people should wear a British hat (if you like, a fascinator) or a pretty afternoon (day) dress. I love this one!

Decorations
Add to the spirit with some Alice in Wonderland-inspired decorations like clocks, prop characters and quote tags you can attach to party favors like mini teacups or pretty cake pops.

The Menu
Chamomile Cranberry Tea
Mimosa
Strawberry Scones
Easy Orange Scones
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Shrimp Butter Tea Sandwiches
Turkey, Cranberry and Walnut Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches
Banana and Ginger Tea Bread
Spiced Scones with Orange Butter

How else would you make a tea party a success? What party-planning secrets are you willing to reveal? Let us know in the COMMENTS!

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a social media tool that lets you to share all of your finds on the internet. In this guide we are going to teach you how to pin and repin from your favorite recipe sites, like Recipe4Living and Chew on That, so you can that organize your favorite recipes on to your recipe pinboard! Keep reading to find out more about Pinterest and how to use it!

To become a member of Pinterest you must request an invite and wait to be accepted.

How Do I Add a Pin?

Adding a pin from a recipe site, like Recipe4Living is very simple, just follow these steps.

1. Find a recipe you want to add to your pinboard and copy the URL.

2. On the Pinterest site, you will see an “Add+” button on the top on the site. Click this button.

3. Three options will come up. Click the “Add a Pin” button.

4. Once you click “Add a Pin”, it will ask to Find Images.

5. Paste the Recipe4Living URL that you copied from step 1 into this slot and click “Find Images”.

6. The image will show up and then you can title the image/article/recipe.

Don’t forget to choose the correct board for better organization!

7. Press the “Pin It” Button.

You’ve just created a Pin!

Repinning

What is a Repin?

If you see an image while browsing on Pinterest, you can repin the pin and add it to your own pinboard. When you repin an existing pin, the same source link copies with your pin and the user who first pinned the image will also get credit.

How Do I Repin?

If you find something you like on Pinterest, you simply click the “Repin” button. For example, Recipe4Living will repin a great healthy recipe from Fit&Fab Living!

1. Click the “Repin” button.

*Liking a pin is the same concept as liking something on Facebook, it just means that you liked the pin the Pinner added*

2. The image you wanted will pop up and then you must select which board you want the pin to go on. Let’s choose Healthy Recipes!

3. Click the “Pin It” button.

You’ve just repinned a pin!

There you have it: a simple guide on how to use Pinterest. Make sure to pin and repin all of your favorite recipes from www.Recipe4Living.com and www.ChewonThatblog.com

To find out more about Pinterest, check out our guide on Running With Mascara.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us or go to Pinterest’s help page.

Happy Pinning!

Undoubtedly, lots of you have heard the word we picked for this week’s Foodie Vocab Monday, and it’s associated with some pretty fancy and tasty cooking. Keep reading to see if you earn this week’s chef hat for guessing the meaning of this awesome word, and see some recipes that utilize emulsion!

This week’s word is fun to say, and you’ll find that it’s just as fun to throw around the kitchen! So let’s get to it! What do you think is the meaning of emulsion?

A)  The process of adding spices to meat over a fire.
B)  The process of sweating vegetables and preserving the oils.
C)  The process of mixing two different liquids so that one disperses in another.
D)  The process of drying peppers and seeds to create an even spicier flavor.

Make a guess!

There’s no point in cheating, because this is just between you and Chew on That!

And “Emulsion” is…
C) The process of mixing two different liquids so that one disperses in another.

One question, you ask? How does this relate to cooking and recipes?

Well, lots of common food items get their great flavor from two distinct liquids in their ingredients. These ingredients don’t mix together, per se, but they spread throughout the liquid so that you can still taste both! Think of your salad dressing bottle, and the little globules of oil that float in it. Oil and vinegar don’t mix, so you shake up the bottle before you use it so that they are dispersed evenly. This way, you get the taste of both on your salad.

Try these salad dressing recipes if you want to dabble in the process of emulsion in your cooking!
Balsamic Vinaigrette: This easy dressing is great on any salad!
Classic Italian Dressing: This is great on pasta salads or veggie salads!

For all of my fellow foodies out there, we also have an Emulsion Challenge that we’d like to bestow upon you! If you take up this challenge, please tell us how it goes! The recipe can be found here and is called Lobster Ravioli with Lobster Stock Reduction, Saffron Emulsion and Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil. Now doesn’t that sound scrumptious? The emulsion in this recipe involves butter (fitting for a lobster recipe!) into oil and vegetables. This makes a fabulous topping, if we do say so ourselves.

Tell me, foodies: Will you make a recipe that involves emulsion, be it a 5 minute salad dressing or an ornate lobster tail? Did you get the answer right to this Monday’s Foodie Vocab quiz?

I’ll see you on Wednesday!

Jennifer

Tandoor Chef is the leader in restaurant-quality frozen Indian cuisine that is all-natural. Enter to win their free grub!

The Prize: 3 lucky winners will win one (1) free Tandoor Chef product vouchers and a Tandoor shopping bag!

Timeline: This giveaway will run until February 2nd, 2011 at 11:59pm CDT.  A winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email on Friday, February 3rd.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: What spice do you use to add flavor to your meals? Tell us in the COMMENTS! Check out Indian Recipe4Living if you need ideas!

Optional Additional Entries (leave separate comments for each one telling us that you’ve done them):

1. “Like” Recipe4Living on Facebook.

2. Follow Recipe4Living on Twitter.

3. “Like” Tandoor Chef on Facebook.

4. Post about this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter, linking back to this page.

Tandoor is also holding their own AWESOME contest!

You can win 5 years of Tandoor Chef in honor of National Curry Month!
Tandoor Chef’s 2nd Annual Get Curried Away Contest can be entered RIGHT HERE!

Best of luck from us at Chew on That!

At Chew on That, we love perusing other food blogs for great ideas about cooking. Today, we’ve decided that our blogroll needs a refresh, so we’ve decided to review blogs in a few categories, and give you some more interesting reads! This week’s topic is all about dessert blogs, and I hope you don’t get too big of a chocolate craving with all these tasty treats!

Dessert First – A Passion for Pastry
Anita at Dessert First is truly a baking professional. She bakes as her full-time job, as well as writing two books and maintaining her blog and pursuing her passion for photography. One of our favorite baking projects are Anita’s cupcakes, which she creatively designs and impeccably presents on the blog. They look so delish! It’s a shame we’re not located in the Bay area and can’t frequent her shop.

My Baking Addiction
Who knew that blogging about baking could be so cute? The writer of My Baking Addiction, Jamie, is a middle school teacher by day and a baker by night. But really, she bakes like it’s her full-time job. She credits her photo success with just reading the camera manual, and practice, practice, practice!

Cake Journal
This. Blog. Is. Awesome. All of those seemingly impossible food decorations and masterpieces are broken down into doable, step by step instructions. Do you want to know how to make a cake in the shape of a purse, or make your own sugar flowers? Take advantage of Louise’s 10+ years of cake-baking experience, and consult her blog whenever you need to know how to make an out-of-this-world themed dessert.

Bake or Break
With fantastic photos of everything from pies to cupcakes, Bake or Break is a pretty great amateur chef if we ever saw one. Her specialties seem to involve lots of bars/brownies, as well as cookies. In the words of the chef herself, “I know, I know. I just can’t seem to help it. In defense of bars, they’re easy to make. They make enough for a crowd. And, they’re usually pleasing to that crowd.” We couldn’t agree more!

Love From the Oven
This mom’s blog is awesome, and it’s completely rooted in her love of making others happy through baking. Her seasonally relevant tutorials and recipes really help readers who want to recreate her beautiful creations at home. The holidays are so much easier with her gift ideas, including recipes and even files for helping to create labels! She is seriously one of our favorites.

Tell us: Who do you think should make Part 2 of our Top 10 Dessert Blogs? Which dessert blog is your favorite?