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Gourmet Food & Wine Enthusiasts - Recipes, Resources, Tips & Tools

Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine. The term gourmet may refer to a person with refined or discriminating taste or to one that is knowledgeable in the art of food and food preparati...

Mother Sauces-Part I

What is for dinner tonight? Spaghetti with meatsauce? Maybe beef stew or chicken in a mushroom sauce. Perhaps some macaroni and cheese? Or maybe a flavorful tartar sauce for your fried fish. In French cooking, the Mother Sauces or Grand Sauces are t...

The Ancient Cook 

Try something different

Ancient Roman Recipes

When we think of the food of Ancient Rome, it's usually images of huge banquets which come to mind. But there was a lot more to Roman food than exotic dishes served by slaves at orgies. Lavish feasts there were, but also perfectly ordinary meals,...

Sweet Festive Season Specials 

Christmas Sugar Cookies - Traditional Gingerbread Cookies

What would a holiday season be without cookies? Chocolate cookies, oatmeal cookies, coconut cookies and sugar cookies with a cherry on the top, each one tasting better than the one before. No bake cookies and cookies baked just a slight golden brown,...

Chocolate Recipes for Christmas

Celebrations are a time that everybody wants their favourite food and for most people that includes chocolate. Of course, these recipes are very popular at Christmas - the big family occasion but most can be used for any important occasion. Some tak...

Desserts for Christmas

There are special occasions, like Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays, christenings and other big occasions, when only a special meal will do to celebrate and that's the time you need a really delicious and fabulous looking dessert. The good news is...

British Christmas Cakes

The traditional British Christmas Cake is full of fruit, nuts, and spices, usually with added alcohol in the form of brandy or rum. It's a rich mixture, covered with royal icing (a kind of frosting) and decorated. It's often the centrepiece of the Ch...

Traditional Christmas Pudding

The British Christmas Pudding is a very rich traditional dessert, served as part of Christmas Day dinner. Of course, many people just can't manage to eat it then, so often it's served later in the day and for several days following because, unless yo...

Cakes, Chocolate and Beautiful Biscuits 

My Favorite Yummiest Biscotti Recipe

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to someone who baked biscotti. I loved the idea of the Italian biscotti cookie that she was making, but thought I could do better. So I started to research biscotti cookie recipes. What I learned was that ther...

The Best Chocolate Recipes Ever!

We ALL Love Chocolate and delicious treats, I can never get enough! This page is dedicated to the people with a Sweet-Tooth. Here You Find Information On What Is Chocolate And How Is It Made. Can Chocolate Improve Your Health Or Is Bad For You, Plus...

The Best-Ever Carrot Cake Recipe

Carrot Cake. WOW. Why should you eat carrot cake? How about because they are a great source of fiber, vitamins, nuts and other nutrients? How about just because they are delicious!!! I didn't know I loved carrot cake until I made this delicious re...

Do You Love Chocolate Eclairs?

I love Chocolate Eclairs! They are my favorite dessert. Whenever I travel, I'm always on the lookout for a great eclair. The best one I've eaten was in Madison, Wisconsin about 12 years ago. There was one in Boulder, Colorado that was also impressive...

Classic Roasts 

Classic Roasts : Lamb with Rosemary

I can think of nothing better than sitting down to a dish of sweet roast lamb, crisp on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. Roasting is a dry heat cooking method, with no liquid added to the meat as you cook it, so it's a perfect way, surel...

Classic Roasts : Lamb Forequarter

The lamb forequarter, poor cousin to the lamb leg and loin, is a wonderful versatile cut, and you can use the neck, shoulder, gigot, shank or make mince. Usually I ask my butcher to bone the forequarter, and press it down as flat as possible. Then I...

Classic Roasts : Minted Rack of Lamb

Lamb rack is a particulary flavoursome cut and, when combined with fresh herbs and a simple salad, is the perfect meal for two people . Lamb is one of my favourite foods of all, but when it's presented with the mint glaze it looks really classy on a...

Classic Roasts : Greek Style Lamb

Greek food is a wonderful mix of oriental and European dishes, cooked using different methods with fresh ingredients, easy to make and delightful. My Australian hometown is the second largest Greek-speaking city in the world and Greek food has been...

Classic Roasts : Lamb Loin

Loin of Lamb makes one of the finest and sweetest lamb roasts. It's the most tender part of the lamb, and chops cut from the loin are the lamb equivalent of porterhouse steaks. Versatile loin requires little cooking time and can be prepared quickly a...

British Roast Beef Dinner

Who says British food is bland and boring? If you've ever tasted a well cooked slice of roast beef accompanied by a perfectly roasted potato and parsnip, a Yorkshire pudding, and lightly steamed fresh vegetables, well, then you know the fallacy of t...

British Roast Chicken Dinner

We love a roast chicken dinner in our house. That lovely browned, crisp skin, covering succulent, moist meat. Sausages cooked in the juices of the chicken, bacon rolls, and a selection of roasted root vegetables and steamed green vegetables. It's a...

British Roast Pork Dinner

Let your senses take you away for a moment. It's a winter afternoon, there's a crisp chill in the air. The smell of roasted pork meets you first. Next, your eyes spy a succulent rolled shoulder of pork, perfectly roasted with a layer of crackling on...

British Roast Lamb Dinner

In the Spring, I find myself hungering for the succulent taste of a roast leg of lamb. This is truly a seasonal food, especially if like me you try to buy locally sourced foods as much as possible. Nothing smells better coming out of the oven, I thi...

Tackling Turkey 

Cook the Christmas Turkey

In Britain, dinner on Christmas Day is usually turkey with all the trimmings. The trimmings are the traditional accompaniments like cranberry or bread sauce, stuffings as well as gravy made from the giblets. On one bird there is enough to feed a larg...

Turkey Dinner at Kathy's

Two things I look forward to each year, Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner. Is it the turkey I look forward too? Naw, it's actually my stuffing and knowing I will make my homemade turkey soup the following day! I've used these same recipes for years...

LET'S TALK TURKEY! THE METHODS OF COOKING

Few things inspire terror into an inexperienced cook than the thought of cooking a great fat turkey for a holiday meal. I mean the pressure is immense is before you even start to cook, there is the decision about what type of turkey to buy, what is...

Say Cheese! 

I Love Cheese!

There's something quite indulgent about the delicious labours of the ancient craft of cheese-making - the sheer enjoyment from a simple wedge of crumbly red cheddar or a sharp shaving of tart parmesan. Cheese tastes best in its country of origin and...

Halloumi Cheese

Halloumi is a traditional cheese from Cyprus, the island in the Mediterranean Sea. Halloumi has a higher melting point than other cheese what makes it suitable for frying and grilling. You almost won't find any BBQ in Cyprus without the use of hallou...

Camembert Cheese

Camembert is a luscious, buttery cheese with a thin, edible, aromatic rind. Camembert is probably the most famous and the most popular soft French cheeses in the world. I just love Camembert on sliced baguette bread for a quick snack, or for somethi...

Scrumptious Seafood 

Ways To Cook Salmon

Very rich in omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin D, salmon is not just a popular, but also very healthy fish. Additionally it is easy to prepare salmon in different ways. Whether you are using fresh salmon, smoked salmon or canned salmon, you will find, t...

Herbs for Health and Flavour 

Honey wine, the oldest fermented drink in the world

Cilantro- The Wonder Herb- there is more to Cilantro than meets the eye or the tastebuds!

What kind of title is that? For those who love Cilantro in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Latin American, African, Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine might say it was a wonder herb .. as there is no other herb that can compare to its spicy, exotic, fr...

Beautiful Beverages 

Barraquito, a Canarian Coffee Speciality

Barraquito, also called barraco is a coffee speciality from the Canary Islands, particularly popular on Tenerife and La Palma. The coffee speciality is served in a glass and consists of three layers; sweet condensed milk (minimum 10% fat), espresso a...

Hot Cocoa--The Ultimate Comfort Food in Winter

Those of you who do not live in a climate that gets cold in the winter, are missing one of life's perfect joys, a cup of steaming hot cocoa in the icy cold weather. The feeling of comfort and warmth from drinking a simple cup of steamy chocolate...

My Love Affair With Coffee

I admit it! I am a coffee addict, and a bit of a coffee snob. I only drink REALLY GOOD coffee, whether it is plain coffee, or fancy espresso drinks like my personal favorite, a hazelnut latte. I suppose my romance with coffee began with my 8 years o...

The Noble Hops 

"...satisfy the spirit with beef and fowl, bread and beer..."

Why British Beer Is The Best In The World

British Beer has a long history, and has quite distinct traditions from most other beer brewing countries. Unusually, the UK is one of the very few countries along with Ireland, where ales, beers brewed by warm fermentation rather than lagers, have...

Fruit of the Grape 

Jamais en vain, toujours en vin

Wine Tasting Tips - Developing Your Palate - Enjoying Fine Wines - How to Taste Wine

You've just been invited to a wine tasting. There's just one problem -- you don't know the first thing about tasting wine. Should you politely decline the invitation, for fear that you'll be embarrassed in front of your friends? Absolutely not! Win...

Wine And Chocolate: Perfect Partners?

Some say that pairing wine with chocolate can't be done, but if you have the right wine to complement the right chocolate it can be a match made in heaven! But the wrong wine opposite a too-sweet chocolate creates nothing but horror. A bad pairing c...

THE WINE CELLAR - WINE MAKING and All Things WINE Related

THE WINE CELLAR is all about wine, wine making, wine recipes, wine history, wine racks, build your own wine cellars, wine tasting, wine accessories, and all kinds of information on wine and wine related things. Wine is typically made from the fermen...

Understanding Wine: A Beginners Guide

Grape growing and winemaking spread throughout Europe in the Greek and Roman times. Wine became such a valued trade item that the Romans, in 97BC, ordered the known world to pull out all vines in an attempt to protect their wine industry. Wine began...

Make Merry with Mead 

Honey wine, the oldest fermented drink in the world

Mead in three weekends

Want to begin your first batch of mead, but don't know how? Made a batch of mead but it tasted terrible? (it happens). Here's a step-by-step instruction manual on how to make your first batch of mead, and it'll only take three weekends of work all up...

Tea for Two 

How to Make Red Espresso Tea: A Rooibos Tea Revolution

Red espresso tea or rooibos espresso is a tantalizing tea sensation that is making it's way around the world. Rooibos tea originated in South Africa and has been used for some time in making red tea espressos and red tea lattes. Recently a company ha...

Types Of Teas

It seems that more and more people are making tea their choice of beverage. It doesn't matter if it hot or cold tea. Lots of folks are drinking. Tea is the second most-consumed beverage on the planet, behind water. This seemingly simple drink is rich...

Buy Ceramic Tea Cups: Unique Handmade Tea Cups with Style

Ceramic tea cups come in many beautiful styles from whimsical to artsy to modern, the best ceramic tea cups in my opinion have that handmade look and feel to them and the best person to give them to (other than yourself of course) is friends and fami...

Unique Tea Blends: Holiday Tea Blends to Tickle Your Tongue

What do you get when your pumpkin guts fall into your fresh cup of green tea? You get a unique tea blend! (and a yucky mess) Well, maybe that isn't your idea of a traditional tea blend but some of the best tea blends are a result of accidental discov...

Tea Legends - The 10 Famous Chinese Teas

The Ten Famous Chinese Teas are a source of mystery and wonder. As with all great mysteries a certain amount of controversy arises when tea enthusiasts debate which teas actually make up the list of the ten best teas. Regardless of how you rank your...

HERBAL TEA RECIPES - make your own delicious herbal tea for keeping healthy and even to cure what ails you!

GREEN TEA and other herbal varieties have healthifying, therapeutic and even curative qualities, and many elderly and even centigenarians attribute their longevity to the drinking of certain herbal recipe teas. So, let's see what we can learn about t...

Regional Recipes 

Banh Mi Sandwich

A baguette filled with cold cuts of pork, sliced pickled carrots and radishes. That is the most common form of the Banh Mi sandwich. But this sandwich has many forms. I stumbled on this sandwich for the first time while searching the internet for a...

Stuffed Grape Leaves, a Greek Recipe

There are many, many variations on recipes for stuffed grape leaves. They are a popular part of many cuisines in the Middle East including Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Egyptian, Albanian, Algerian, Syrian, and Lebanese, countries that make up the old Ot...

Taste of Croatia

If you have been to Croatia than you know what I'm going to say! If not, let me tell you: We, Croats, love to eat!!! We also love to organize parties and gatherings on almost every occasion. Tasting of numerous Croatian food specialties and quality...

Laksa : Taste of Malaysia

It's delicious, it's addictive, it's rich, slightly sweet and strongly spiced. It's laksa! Even the name is delightful. It rolls off your tongue and tempts your tastebuds. Try it. So what exactly is laksa? It's a coconutty broth with lemongrass and...

Rendang : Taste of Indonesia

Do you rendang? It makes a startling change from the old Irish stew that hangs around in my childhood memories. I don't know if the alleged Irish stew was ever eaten in Ireland, they probably get stuck into rendang themselves in the Emerald Isle. Re...

TAGINES THE TASTE OF MOROCCO.

Many people believe the Tagine is a tasty Moroccan stew, but in fact the tagine is a Moroccan terracotta cookery pot.The Tagine or tajine consists of two parts, the base is circular with low sides, and the detachable dome shaped cover. Ceramic vessel...

I love my Tagine

TheTagine (or Tajine) is a lovely piece of crockery that lets you slow cook wonderful dishes to perfection. Find and prepare your tagine for cooking, pick from wonderful aromatic recipes and enjoy the flavours of moroccan cuisine.

Nuts about Nuts 

I'm a little Nuts about Nuts

I really couldn't tell you which ones are my favorite, I don't think I could pick just one, from pecans to almonds, I love 'em all! And there is nothing yummier than a handful of nuts for a quick snack.   Nuts are seeds that are covered...

Stupendous Soup 

Chicken Soup--Busting the Myth Behind Jewish Penicillin

Chicken soup--the Jewish penicillin. How did that phrase develop? Well, I can tell you from a personal perspective that chicken soup is a penicillin in my family. And here is why--chicken soup may not heal all ills, but it sure makes you feel better...

Fantastic Fungi 

WILD MUSHROOM RECIPES

Fresh wild mushrooms are the perfect treat, partly because they are scarce and not always available. Mushroom and chicken are a classic combination, the cornerstone of French cuisine at its absolute best. Mushrooms and chicken recipes are also fast...

FALSE MOREL MUSHROOMS

When talking about poisonous mushrooms, it is normally clear cut and relatively easy, but unfortunately this distinction is not at all clear with the morels. In fact false morels fit quite easily into both categories of edible and poisonous mushrooms...

MOREL MUSHROOM RECIPES

The morel of this story is ..........Three species of morel mushrooms are generally harvested the Morchella conica, M. angusticeps and M. esculenta. All types of morels mushrooms have a honeycombed, hollow, cone-shaped cap ranging in size from 1 cm t...

Mushrooms, Mushrooms and Mushrooms

You guessed it, I absolutely love mushrooms too! Mushrooms complement almost any meal, they are easy to saute and add flavor, texture, and nutrients to just about anything. From appetizers and salads to main dishes and sides, mushrooms can be enjoyed...

I love Mushrooms!

Seneca, first century Roman philosopher hated mushrooms. Emperor Claudius was poisoned by them. The Normans praised their aphrodisiac qualities and the ancient Egyptians decreed them to be food for royalty alone. These days truffles, porcini, morels...

Fabulous Fruit 

I love Quince!

The quince has fallen out of favour in modern times and there are quite a number of people who wouldn't recognise a quince if it were served up to them. Once it was prized throughout Western Asia and the seeds were carried, tenderly, to Europe and ac...

I love Rhubarb!

Are you guilty of having a rhubarb plant, untended, unloved and uneaten in the bottom of your garden? Have you seen bunches of rhubarb for sale and wondered what to do with them? Lots of people associate rhubarb with pies. More on the pies later, bu...

Pomegranate, In-Fashion Fruit Ever

Considering the health benefits of products to buy, the pomegranate is one of the most beneficial fruits. Being generally in season in the Northern Hemisphere from September until approximately January, you will be able to buy fresh pomegranates in t...

The Fig, An Early Cultivated Plant

The Fig is one of the first plants cultivated by humans. Some subfossil figs were found in an early neolithic village in the Jordan Valley, dating to the time about 9400 - 9200 BC, which predates the domestication of wheat or legumes. Thus you can s...

More Fabulous Fruit! 

Three exotic fruits you must try before you die

We all know fruit is good for us. People have been telling us that for years. Apparently we should have at least five or six pieces of fruit to maintain good health, ensure our bodies are fit and keep our brains working well. I get nowhere near that...

I Love Avocados

OK, I admit it, I'm addicted.... to everything avocado. I usually just rough chop the avocado and add a little fresh squeezed lemon, ok a lot, since I love that too! And real lemons folks, not that bottled stuff. I spread this on a warm tortilla wrap...

All About Watermelons

The watermelon is a useful plant originating from central and southern Africa and cultivated nowadays in warmer regions around the world. Watermelon refers not just to the fruit but also to the plant producing it. The fruit is a 20 to 60 cm long roun...

I love Olives!

Homer called olive oil liquid gold and, at the time that he was busy composing a tale on the Trojan War, the olive trees were so sacred that anyone who cut a tree down was condemned to death or exile. It's not a crime anymore, but it would be crimin...

Vivacious Vegetables 

Stuffed Mirlitons and More New Orleans Recipes

Is a Mirliton an instrument, a dance movement or vegetable? Actually, the answer is, "all three", but this lens is about the vegetable pear - How to grow it, how to cook it and even festivals that honor it. Mirlitons are an integral part of old New O...

Easy Crockpot Stuffed Peppers Mexican Style

Love stuffed peppers? Love Mexican? Love your slow cooker? Then I have the perfect recipe for you. This Mexican-style stuffed pepper dish is perfect for a family meal, great comfort food, and even looks pretty when you serve it so would be great for...

I love Butternuts!

Pumpkins and squash are simply the most versatile and delicious vegetables around. Traditionally associated with winter, they are now available at any time of the year. Already fairly sweet, butternuts get even sweeter when cooked and commonly have...

Soirées dehors 

Travel Guide To Eating Out In Paris Restaurants

The French food is famous all over the world and has a rich history of fine cuisine that is taken very seriously, with Paris restaurants serving some of the finest food in the world.

Candies and Cookies of Quality 

Chocolate Chip Cookies are My Favorite Comfort Food

Nothing shows a mother's love like a home-baked chocolate chip cookie. There is just something about the warm soft cookie, the melting gooey chocolate, and the smell of the just baked cookies that really warms your heart. I still love to sit down wi...

Rugelach- the ultimate "pastry" cookie!

This lens is all about Rugelach or butter or nut horns as some people refer to them. I grew up eating Rugelach for every holiday and special occasion. When I got older, of course I wanted to learn how to make them. I have tried dozens of different re...

Old Fashioned Candy Secrets and Recipes

If you love old fashioned candy, why not try making some yourself. These candymaking secrets, recipes and techniques come straight from the original antique candy cookbooks, back in the days when every neighborhood had its own candy store, and taffy...

Cheesecakes with Chutzpah 

PERFECT HOLIDAY CHEESECAKE RECIPES

No one knows where cheese came from originally, it was presumed to have happened in the middle east when milk was carried in bags which were made from the cow or the goat's stomach. It was churned into cheese by the action of travelling on a camel or...

SAVORY CHEESECAKE RECIPES - THE PERFECT APPETIZER

Normally when we think of cheesecake we think of sweet combinations, redolent with the scent of fruit, rhubarb and ginger perhaps. Who can resist a chocolate cheesecake or a New York Cheesecake? Yet there is no reason to be restricted to sweet chees...

Family Cook Book 

Traditional British Puddings

Baked or steamed, whether pie or tart, flan, flummory, or fool, the Traditional British Pudding conjures up images of love and home for many. No meal could ever be complete without this dish, served with warm custard or thick cream. In this day of u...

Recipes For Real People

Every recipe has a story, especially family recipes - recipes from "real people."  I enjoy preparing our family's favorite recipes, old and new, as well as sharing recipes with friends online.  I'll share some of those r...

Meat-Free Selections 

Vegetarian Comfort Foods

There are lots of great comfort foods that don't involve meat, the most notable is macaroni and cheese. However, with healthy eating and vegetarian food becoming more of a way of life to many, it is great to know that vegetarian comfort food goes...

Christmas Plum Pudding and Figgy Pudding Recipes

A n old English Victorian tradition, steamed plum and figgy pudding right out of a Dickens novel. Here are the authentic recipes straight out of vintage and antique cookbooks. Make it an old fashioned Christmas tradition.

Cook's Lensographies 

Kitchenwitch cookery

I love to cook. I love finding and trying new recipes. I love even more putting my own twist on the recipes I find to make them my own. I must admit that I don't actually have to open a cookbook much any more. That doesn't stop me from wanting to buy...

I love Food : Lensography of the Kitchen

I seem to have a lot of lenses on food. Probably because I enjoy it so much. Once I cooked all the time for my growing children and grow they did .. they grew so big that they all left. Now they can cook for themselves, and I can cook just for the...

Epicurean Lensmasters revealed 

Stazjia's Lensography

Now I live in Wiltshire, in the South of England. It's a very rural county, apart from the city of Swindon, it's almost entirely small towns and villages with nobody living more than 15 minutes from the real countryside. I have two dogs, a springer...

Susanna Duffy

My love affair with the Web began in the Southern Spring of 1997. Our romance is still hot! When I can be dragged away from my computer I'm a Funeral Celebrant, produce a syndicated talkback radio programme, direct and perform in community theatrica...

Lensography of my Foodie Lenses

This lensography includes the foodie lenses that I have created on Squidoo. I started with my first one, I Love Avocados, which I am proud was honored with Lens of the Day, and then I just kind of took off. You will start to see a few more Foodie Le...