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January 31, 2007
New Book: Kafka's Soup: A Complete History of World Literature in 14 Recipes is written by Mark Crick, a literary ventriloquist who presents fourteen recipes in the voices of famous writers, from Homer to Virginia Woolf to Irvine Welsh. This book is guaranteed to delight anyone in love with food and books, these witty pastiches will keep you so entertained in the kitchen that you’ll be sorry when the guests arrive.

January 30, 2007
New Tea Company: This Valentines Day Let Your Love Bloom with Fullbloomtea.com Heart shaped teas that bloom into drinkable floral bouquets when steeped. Send 1/2 a dozen LET LOVE BLOOM teas and a large glass teapot wrapped in hot pink gemstone paper with heart confetti for only $38.00 includes U.S.P.S. priority shipping through 2/14/07.

January 29, 2007
Chicago-THE Restaurant City: Contributor Alan Gordon tells us the hottest 75 restaurants in the Windy City. Quite a complete list!

January 28, 2007
New Chocolate Article:  Contributor Stephanie Zonis shares  So You Want to Become a Chocolatier…Stephanie's Find of the Month is Christopher Norman Chocolates.

January 27, 2007
Food Flavors: Spice giant McCormick announced its flavor pairings, anticipating what tastes will be most influential in 2007. The 10 flavor pairings for 2007 are: Caramelized Garlic and Riesling Vinegar, Clove and Green Apple, Crystallized Ginger and Salted Pistachio, Cumin and Apricot, Lavender and Honey, Sea Salt and Smoked Tea,
Tellicherry Black Pepper and Berry, Toasted Mustard and Fennel Seeds, Thyme and Tangerine and Wasabi and Maple.

January 26, 2007
Need a Valentine Gift? Make the Perfect Paella! Gift Boxes and Authentic Ingredients Available. La Tienda: The Best of Spain in America.

January 25, 2007
Florida Grapefruits: It's peak season for fresh grapefruit, and there are an abundance of reasons to embrace one of the highest quality Florida grapefruit crops in several years. As supplies rebound thanks to the first hurricane-free growing season since '03-'04, more consumers can enjoy Florida's juicy and tangy-sweet bounty without breaking their New Year's diet resolutions. "Florida Grapefruit for Your Best Life" contest can be found at www.floridajuice.com.

January 24, 2007
New Napa Valley, California Publication: The first Preiser Key to Napa Valley will be published in March. This 3 times a year guide will feature a data base that will cover the address, phone number, tasting availability, and cuisine for over 600 wineries and 200 restaurants, and will offer new maps of the valley drawn specifically for this guide. The Preiser Key will be given away on a complimentary basis in the Napa Valley. If you wish to subscribe, send $12.50 to 2115 Ranch Court, Napa, CA, 94558.

January 23, 2007
Need a Valentine Gift? Check out our Shopping Page!

Florida Wine & Food Festival: Peter Mondavi, Sr. and Robert Mondavi to Receive Southern Wine & Spirits Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival 

January 22, 2007
New Cookbook: Pantry Cooking by Laura Robins will help you create a pantry that will motivate you to compile a practical and convenient menu of meals that will not only save you time and money, but also give you peace of mind! In addition to great comfort-food recipes for each meal of the day, you'll find great tips on: Cooking without electricity, Storing water, Storing meals, Converting fresh ingredients for storage, Whole grains, Dehydrating fruits and vegetables, Creating shopping lists, Where and how to store food items,and Sprouting and gardening.

January 21, 2007
New Cookbook: Eve: Contemporary Cuisine Methode Traditionnelle by Eve Aronoff, Chef/Owner of eve--The Restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, walks you through the experience of dining at eve. The book includes recipes and stories which give a unique insight into the life of a restaurant. Along the way Eve entertains and guides you with anecdotes and her love of food.

January 20, 2007
Color of the Year: Pantone Inc., the global provider of professional color standards, on January 16th named Pantone 19-1557 Chili Pepper, a deep, spicy red, as the color of the year. "Whether expressing danger, celebration, love or passion, red will not be ignored," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, in a prepared statement. "In 2007, there is an awareness of the melding of diverse cultural influences, and Chili Pepper is a reflection of exotic tastes both on the tongue and to the eye...Incorporating this color into your wardrobe and living space adds drama and excitement, as it stimulates the senses." (Gourmet News)

January 19, 2007
Really Slow Food: The Wall Street Journal says snails are making a comeback. Those of us used to eating escargots reinserted in snail shells with garlic butter will be seeing chefs drawing on Spanish and Asian cuisines and introducing snails to New American menus. But don't try to eat the snails from your garden as some snails are disease carriers. And all snails need to be laboriously purged until clean.

January 18, 2007
And the Award Goes To: Award season is upon us again and in February, Los Angeles will be awash in limousines, ball gowns and legendary faces for the Academy Awards®, the Grammys® and the Writer's Guild Awards. On Feb. 11, the 49th Grammy® Awards will be held at STAPLES Center and on the same night, the Writer's Guild Awards will be presented at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Then on Feb. 25, the red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood will be illuminated by flashbulbs and news crews as the world's biggest stars in film enter for the 79th Academy Awards® to be broadcast by ABC. Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting for her first time. The Kodak Theatre is the permanent home of the Academy Awards® and even though it is closed Feb. 1 through March 4, it's otherwise open for tours and special events. Guests can see an Oscar® statuette and maybe even sit in a seat once occupied by a star such as George Clooney or Charlize Theron.

January 17, 2007
Fancy Food Show: The International Winter Fancy Food & Confection Show in San Francisco, considered one of the most important trade shows for the North American food sector, will return once again to Moscone Center January 21-23, 2007. According to data supplied by the National Association for Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), the show organizer, this year's three-day event will cover more than 195,000 square feet. Some 18,000 visitors are expected to pass through the show's doors.

January 16, 2007
Los Angeles, California Hotel Renovate, New Hotels Emerge: The Beverly Hilton completed a property-wide renovation at a cost of $80 million in November, 2006. Renovations include the remodeling of the hotel's 50,000-plus square feet of meeting space, all guest rooms and public areas, as well as the addition of high-speed Internet access and luxury bathrooms. A state-of-the-art fitness center and spa were completed in the spring of 2006 - www.beverlyhilton.com. The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey recently completed an $8 million renovation of its 304 guest rooms and suites, corridors and club lounge. The modernized rooms now include 32-inch plasma screen televisions, new bedding and an upgraded bathroom ambiance - www.ritzcarlton.com. The 4,386-square-foot Blossom Room, site of the first Academy Awards® in 1929, has recently been renovated at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; part of a $30 million property-wide renovation - www.hollywoodroosevelt.com. Surrounded by nine acres of lushly manicured exotic landscape and an original Chinese pagoda, the 270-room Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village has recently opened. The property offers a 40,000-square-foot spa and two restaurants featuring extensive menus overseen by Executive Chef, Sandro Gamba - www.fourseasons.com

January 15, 2007
Where To Work: The list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America, by FORTUNE magazine, includes a few food-related companies. Wegmans Food Markets (a 71-store supermarket chain with locations in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, has been on the Fortune 100 best list for 10 years), is No.3. Whole Foods Market (an Austin, Texas-based health food grocery store chain made the list largely due to its long-standing executive salary cap and health benefits. Whole Foods covers 100 percent of the cost of its employees' health insurance premiums, and Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently announced he will begin receiving an annual salary of $1) is No. 5 . Other supermarkets included on the list are California-based Nugget Market at No. 13, Connecticut-based Stew Leonard's at No. 51 and Publix Super Markets Inc. at No. 57. Starbucks is No. 16 with GOOGLE being No.1, where the food at Google's 11 cafeterias on its Mountain View, California, campus is not only fabulous, it's free. Bon appetit!

January 14, 2007
New Wine Article: Selected Winery Updates by "It's Time for Wine" columnists Sara & Monty Preiser tells of new winery openings, a winery that has been sold, new varietals and some of their favorite wines.

January 13, 2007
California Wine Event: The 2007 Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival presented by the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, is slated for the evening of Saturday, March 17, 2007. The festive, Mardi Gras themed event held at the Paso Robles Event Center will include live and silent auctions, as well as a grand tasting of Zinfandel wines from more than 40 wineries in the Paso Robles, California appellation.  Each year Paso Robles Wine Country hosts its annual Zinfandel Festival for enthusiasts from around the nation, surrounded by three days of festivities at the wineries, March 16, 17 and 18. 2007 marks the 15th anniversary of the Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival. Tickets on sale now at pasowine.com.

January 12, 2007
Culinary Conference: The International Association of Culinary Professionals 29th Annual International Conference will be held April 11-14, 2007 in Chicago. Culinary Fundamentals: Cultivating our Professional Roots is this year's theme, which will explore our foundations, personal and professional. We will question, argue, think and learn in the company of some of the world's leading culinary artisans and thinkers, as we prepare to shape the food world for generations to come. Online registration is available now.

January 11, 2007
McCormick Flavor Forecast 2007 - created by flavor experts at McCormick along with some of America’s top chefs, television personalities, and cookbook authors - is the company’s annual look at the tastes it believes will dominate the year. This year, McCormick predicts the top ten flavor pairings will be: clove and green apple; thyme and tangerine; Tellicherry black pepper and berry; sea salt and smoked tea; lavender and honey; crystallized ginger and salted pistachio; cumin and apricot; toasted mustard and fennel seeds; wasabi and maple; and caramelized garlic and Riesling vinegar.

January 10, 2007
New Restaurant: Celebrity Japanese chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa will open a Hong Kong branch of Nobu in February. The chain's 17th branch will feature largely the same menu as Nobu restaurants elsewhere in the world, but Nobu may create new grilled abalone and shark's fin dishes, both popular delicacies in Hong Kong. Nobu restaurants are also located in New York City, Las Vegas, Milan, London and Tokyo.

January 9, 2007
New Healthy Eating Book: The World's Healthiest Foods, Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating by George Mateljan takes healthy eating to a whole new level. It presents a unique nutrient-rich approach to the "Healthiest Way of Eating" with 500 Mediterranean-style recipes, most of which take 7 minutes or less to prepare. This book answers the question about what to eat to keep healthy. It focuses on the World's Healthiest Foods, 100 delicious foods that are nutrient-rich, providing the maximum number of nutrients for the least amount of calories.

January 8, 2007
New Wine Book: A Wine Miscellany: A Jaunt Through the Whimsical World of Wine by Graham Harding is refreshingly light on the palate, it’s neither pompous nor patronizing but something else altogether–a fascinating and joyful jaunt through the world of vineyards, vinification, and glorious vintages. In other words, a fun book to read.

January 7, 2007
New Heart Book: The South Beach Heart Program: The 4-Step Plan that Can Save Your Life by Dr. Arthur Agatston, one of the nation's top diet doctors and author of the international bestseller The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss, exposes the truth about the American health care system and its response to the nations #1 killer: heart disease.

January 6, 2007
New Cookbook: The Mere Mortal's Guide to Fine Dining: From Salad Forks to Sommeliers, How to Eat and Drink in Style Without Fear of Faux Pas by Cosmopolitan contributing writer Colleen Rush is a guide to restaurant etiquette. Rush covers all aspects of dining, from how to land the best tables to navigating the place settings to choosing the best desserts in a straightforward manner. She demystifies restaurant customs such as ordering wine-and sending it back if it's afflicted with, say, "cork taint." The result is an extremely useful reference guide for anyone who wants to get serious about food.

January 5, 2007
2007 Food Trends: Four big buzz words are locally grown, organic, seasonal and sustainable (farmed, raised or fished), especially in restaurants. In 2007, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest grocer as well as all-purpose store, plans to launch a complete selection of organic foods in 4,000 stores. (Marin Independent Journal)

January 4, 2007
Pomegranate Power: Pomegranates are the new national phenomenon! They are appearing in everything from smoothies to lobster dishes to beer. Companies rolled out 450 products in 2006 featuring the ruby-seeded fruit, bringing the total to 961 products launched since 2003. Even Starbucks introduced a pomegranate Frappuccino. This fruit had its roots in ancient Persia and health studies in 2002 promoted the fruit as rich in antioxidants, a class of compounds that are thought to prevent cancer and strokes. (Boston Globe)

January 3, 2007
New Wine Article: Oriel Wines -- A Better (or at least a new) Mousetrap by "It's Time for Wine" columnists Sara & Monty Preiser, tells of John Hunt, a long time wine aficionado who has founded Oriel Wines. Launched nationally in 2006, Hunt takes old world, locally focused winemaking traditions and blends them with modern day business practices. He hopes to turn the premium wine business on its head by creating one international brand that consumers will know and trust.

January 2, 2007
Trans fat Information: When it comes to fat, trans fat is considered by some doctors to be the worst of them all because of its double-barreled impact on your cholesterol levels. Unlike other fats, trans fat — also called trans fatty acids — both raises your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your "good" (HDL) cholesterol. A high LDL cholesterol level in combination with a low HDL cholesterol level significantly increases your risk of heart disease, the leading killer of men and women. (MayoClinic.com)

January 1, 2007
HAPPY NEW YEAR...