cookiesinheaven

1. Two-Layer Caramel-Pecan Bars
2. Chewy Coconut Macaroons
3. Spicy Oatmeal Crisps
4. Raspberry Strippers
5. Gingerbread Little Cakes
6. Truffle-Iced Sugar Cookies
7. Chocolate-Mint Brownies
8. Lemon-Honey Drop Cookies
9. Espresso Meringue Cookies

PepsiCo announced today its agreement to acquire Azusa, California-based Naked Juice Company, a leader in the fast-growing super premium juice category, from North Castle Partners, a private equity firm. Terms of the agreement, which is subject to government approval, were not disclosed. - PepsiCo

With the scent of fresh-baked apples hanging heavily in the air, customers can just imagine the scene in the kitchen: Mom, wearing a flour-covered, red-gingham apron, rolling out ingredients. Dough hitting the counter. Flour poofing into the air. Freshly diced apples being expertly laid in rows. One pie after homemade pie.

Except it's really like this: A bunch of factory-frozen pies are dropped off outside the back door, and then workers, including a brawny, bearded guy with tattoos, stick them in the oven.

So where do the pies actually come from?

"We get them from four or five different vendors," said David Heimburger, another owner. - WaPo

If you want great tasting pies...why not make them yourself? They really aren't as hard to prepare as you may think. And great crust? Why it's a snap if you follow Penny's advise!

The original store opened in 1994 on North Lamar in Austin, Texas, two years after its current competitor Whole Foods went public. A cult-like following began immediately after the store opened. Many Texas foodies were attracted to the store's offerings and were willing to travel from other cities just to shop in the store. Beyond supplying hard-to-find products, Central Market's highly trained staff are knowledgeable about all things Epicurean.

It was not long before H.E. Butt Grocery Company expanded the chain to San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Houston. The chain's second store opened in 1997 in a converted H-E-B on Broadway in the San Antonio area (in the Alamo Heights city limits). Two years later, a third store was opened on South Lamar in Austin. Fort Worth and Houston were introduced to the chain for the first time in 2001, with stores on West Freeway and Westheimer, respectively. Central Market's sixth and seventh stores opened in 2002 in Dallas and Plano on East Lovers Lane and Coit, respectively. Continuing its Dallas-area expansion, plans are underway for an eighth store to open at The Shops of Southlake on December 6, 2006.

According to a 2000 article in the Houston Business Journal [1]... "The two Central Market stores in Austin have become a tourist attraction of sorts, drawing in more than 1.5 million visitors a year, second only to the state Capitol in terms of Austin tourist attractions." - Wikipedia.

Chocolate lovers will get an earful with this podcast with San Francisco baker and writer Fran Gage, who talks about her recipe for Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake.

Dear Concerned American:

Proposition 90 did not pass in California but Eminent Domain abuse was stopped in
10 other states on November 7th where wise voters understood the importance of
protecting land, home, farm, religious and business ownership.

Here is your last chance to stop the horrible, threatening abuse of Eminent Domain
by local City governments just for private gain and additional revenue for government
bureaucrats. H.R. 4128/S.3873 will be brought up for a vote in Congress sometime
between MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 and NOVEMBER 22.

Click below to fill out a form to let your views be known. It will be sent automatically
to your Senator. Please act quickly as there is no way of knowing if the vote will be
called Monday.

https://action.popuvox.com/default.aspx?actionID=286

If this is passed it will not effect the property Culver City has taken from
Surfas. This is too late for us. We only have the option to fight the taking of our
land through the court system. When more information is available, we will inform
you. Watch our website for further information about our situation.

We appreciate all of the well wishes.

Thank you for being an informed citizen,

Les Surfas
Surfas Restaurant Supply and Gourmet Food
Chef's Paradise
Culver City, CA 90232
(310)559-4770 ext.212 fax(310)558-1455
www.surfasonline.com

Why not bake your gingerbread in a loaf pan that visually says what you’re eating? Cute gingerbread boy and girl figures adorn the top of this loaf which is all tied-up with a ribbon – ready to give as a gift or serve at the holiday table.


They also have some great cookie baking supplies...it is that season, ya know!

Williams-Sonoma Crystallized-Ginger Gingerbread Fresh ginger is valued as a traditional medicine for its stomach-settling properties. These effects make ginger a good counterbalance to a rich dinner, so it has long been a favorite ingredient in desserts. Here, the warm, spicy flavor of gingerbread is intensified by using two forms of ginger in one recipe: ground and crystallized.

4 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk or plain low-fat or whole
yogurt
Demerara or other raw sugar for sprinkling
(optional)



Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-by-4-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar until creamy and fluffy. Stir in the molasses and crystallized ginger. Beat in the eggs one at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour; mix until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the gingerbread is golden and springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Turn the loaf out onto the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with demerara sugar. Makes 1 loaf; serves 10 to 12.

Notes: This tender, moist, dark gingerbread is good served warm with poached pears and their syrup or with yogurt (see related recipes at right). Or, try it with afternoon tea or coffee. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Adapted from New Healthy Kitchen Series, Desserts, by Annabel Langbein (Simon & Schuster, 2006).

In the islands, the continental American Thanksgiving coincides with a very Hawaiian season of sharing and gratitude called Makahiki. For ancient Hawaiians, this period — spanning the appearance and fading of the Pleiades star cluster during the ho'oilo, or cooler rainy season, from October to February — was devoted to peace, feasting, dancing, and games.

These days, Makahiki is a growing trend as people continue to rediscover native Hawaiian culture. A time for cultural and spiritual renewal, today's Makahiki echoes the past with school games, surf competitions, organized walks, and feasts. It's a reminder to native Hawaiians and all Pacific Islanders of their roots. "We give thanks to the place that provides for us," says Maile Meyer, who grew up on Oahu. "We acknowledge the land and the ocean that nourish our bodies and souls."

From

• Big Island Grinds from Hilo, Hawaii
• The Free Range Gourmet
• Maona is Hawaiian for "satisifed after eating,"
• Nattokun from Mililani, Hawaii.
• The big cupcake of Hawaiian food blogs is 'Ono Kine Grindz, with 'onolicious eats from Hawaii and around the world
• HawaiiDiner.com
• The Tasty Island
• Sonia Tastes Hawaii
• Lindy's Ono Recipes

The world's oceans are under an increasing assault from over-fishing, pollution and global warming that threatens to wipe out vital fisheries and to create a crisis in food supplies before the middle of this century, an international team of scientists warns. - sfgate