Best Weekend Ever: SoBe Wine & Food Festival

The Reader's Digest version of the story can best be told in 3 pictures. They are:



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If you're curious, here is the full story. For my ChristmaBirthdValentine present, Dave and I went to the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. We have been excited about this since October. We stayed at a quirky hotel, The Penguin, which was on Ocean Drive right across from - yep - the ocean, but also right across from most of the action for the grand tasting on Saturday. The hotel had a personality all it's own - dark blue walls, "money" signs on the door, chandeliers in the rooms, and random full-wall artwork. Ours was a butterfly. There were penguins in the elevator. We definitely had fun taking pictures in the hotel.

I got out of Lexington on Thursday right before the ice storm. Right after I had changed into flip flops and shorts, and was eating lunch on the patio of the hotel, I got a voicemail from Rose telling me that class was canceled because the weather was so bad. I cannot tell you how (a) bad I felt that everyone at home was stuck in misery and (b) happy I was to be in a place where I needed sunscreen and shorts. We went for a walk and were beyond thrilled to figure out that the Grand Tasting tents were right across the street from our hotel!

Thursday night we chilled out, watched Lost, and had all the taste that we needed of the Miami club life. We made it into Cameo, thanks to an early start and my flirting with the doorman. The drinks were poured a little too strong - guess we should've expected as much at a club! - and let's just say we were both glad we "got that out of our system" early. Literally.

Once I got over the unnecessary amount of cheap gin I so hastily and stupidly consumed on Thursday, we enjoyed Friday by laying out on the beach. For my friends who have not yet ventured out of the Gulf for a beach vacation, let me warn you. Miami beaches are not for the faint of heart. It ain't Gulf Shores. There were Speedo violations a plenty. There were also many beautiful people from all over the world, so we enjoyed a day of people watching, reading, and trying not to get sunburned.

At this point, it really becomes difficult for me to put into words what Friday night's Bubble Q was like. I expected awesomeness, but what we experienced was way beyond any level of awesomeness I could have imagined. As I told Dave, I can relay to y'all that there was food, champagne, celebrities, and overall fun, but there was also another ingredient that just can't be explained. It's kind of like the sum adding up to more than the whole of its parts. It was magic! I wish I could have captured what it smelled like outside the tent. Imagine the most amazing, smokey, barbeque-y, goodness, mixed with sea air, and that comes close. It was mouth watering, to say the least. The event itself was basically a big barbecue tasting, where we walked around and ate barbecue and other yummy dishes cooked and served by renowned chefs from across the country. The event was sponsored by Moet & Chandon Champagne. So that's what we drank to accompany our barbecue. I know, barbecue and champagne sound like a strange combination, especially if you're used to cheap beer or sweet tea accompanying your barbecue. Take it from me, though, your typical, hardcore, tea & barbecue kinda girl - bubbly with your bratwurst is stellar.

In addition to the unbelievable amount and quality of food, I was excited about the chance to meet my favorite celebrity chefs. Y'all know I am obsessed with Food Network, and really feel like I've learned to cook from watching them. I couldn't wait to tell my favorites thank you for sharing their talents! We got there very early, waited in line to get in, and I put my plan of getting pictures with celebrity chefs early into action. I saw Giada's station first, basically started running over to it, and - gasp - there she was. Surrounded by body guards. Already a swarm of people around her. I thought for a second, "there is no way I'm going to be able to get a picture with her." Obviously, though, I did!

I must tell you that, after Friday night, I have a new appreciation for that woman. She is currently 6 weeks away from having a child. I can imagine that the very last place she'd want to be is surrounded by crazed fans, champagne, barbeque, and humidity. But, she held to her commitment and served as host of the event. At first I overheard her say she was tired, and really wanted to sit down. I don't blame her. But she was still signing autographs and taking pictures. So as soon as she stood up, Dave basically pushed me into her, and I found myself saying, "can we get a picture?" She looked like she was going to say no or roll her eyes - again, don't blame her, she's very pregnant and tired after all - but she put her arm out, put on a smile, and we got the picture! We even had a conversation. It went like this.
LB: "Thank you so much! You taught me how to cook. I love what you do."
Giada: a suddenly genuine smile, and a "aw, thank you!"
LB: And, your limoncello cheesecake squares are the best thing ever. Thank you so much!
Giada: a smile and confused look, and a laugh, "you're welcome. Now go eat!"

And eat, we did. For 3 hours. More on the food later.

Tyler Florence gave me a hug. Acted like he knew me. Almost kissed me on the cheek. He was sweaty. And just as hot and charming in person as he is on television. I think I told him I loved his meatballs, meaning I love his "ultimate spaghetti and meatballs," but it totally came out wrong. Oh well. I acted interested in his calamari, and it was just so neat to hear him describe what he made, just like he does each week on tv. So cool.

I almost passed out when I saw Curtis Stone. He, too, is beautiful in person. He gets the award for "nicest overall." He leaned in, asked me where I was from, asked how long we were in Miami, and told me every ingredient in his shrimp salad when I asked him.

I told Cat Cora I was from Alabama (to which she replied, "aw, I love my southern girls!") and that she inspired me.

I told Pat Neely I sure was glad he finally got his own show on Food Network.

I chatted with Rick Bayless about his habanero-sauce-laden tacos.

The food was some of the best I'd ever had in my life. But do you know who had the very best tasting barbecue? Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson's BBQ in Decatur, Alabama. Yep. The barbecue I grew up eating takes the cake, among all other gourmet chefs. Dave agreed. It was really neat to go up to him and say "thank you for inventing the chicken potato and your white sauce."

Other food of note: Al Roker's beer-something-or-other bratwurst was seriously the best brat I'd ever tasted. I wanted to eat the whole thing, but decided not to since I wanted to eat some of everything. Al even served it to me, himself! How cool was that. It was just a perfect sausage, on a french roll with saurkraut and dijon mustard. Heaven on earth. I ate a buffalo taco prepared by Dan Fearing, and I must tell you that if I get on Food Network as a result of my attending this festival, it will be because I gave them the "money shot" right after a short interview with him. I saw a camera at his station, and I basically shoved my way in front of it. As soon as I did that, a microphone and woman were shoving me out of the way for an interview. Dan said, "nope, stay right there, you need to be in this shot." So I did. After he described the taco, the interviewer looked at me and said, "how does it taste?" I did my very best "oh-my-God-this-is-amazing-food" look while chowing down, looking at the camera, smiling, and giving a thumbs up. I went on and on about how amazingly delicious it was. And Dan offered me free dessert for being so nice. :) We enjoyed so much steak, beef, pork, shrimp, and seafood I thought I was going to explode by the end of the night.

Basically, it was one of the best nights of my life, and well worth the money. I highly recommend to any of my fellow foodies out there to go next year.

And the weekend didn't end there! Saturday, we had another full day of eating and drinking ahead of us. The Grand Tasting Village was a zoo - of people and of food and of drinks. Somehow, we managed to get out of there after 3 straight ours of eating and drinking without being drunk or so full we couldn't move. I will say, had we exercised less constraint, and I had a drank all of that amazing caprihnia, and all 4 kinds of limoncello, and the other 200 types of wine and liquor there, I'd be telling you a different story. It was basically an overload of good food, and good times.

Before the tasting began, though, we sat in on a cooking demonstration by Ellie Krieger, who I honestly make fun of for looking like an alien, but actually feel kinda sorry for her and like her more after watching her live. Why do I feel sorry for her? Well they pitted her against Bobby Flay's time spot (don't get me started on him, he's off my list), and so only, like, 20 people were there to watch her cook, under a huge tent that sat about 100. So I tried to be a really good audience member, laugh at her jokes, make eye contact, do my head nodding thing, and support her efforts. She was just a little... boring. Dave said that she is a food accountant, since she's a nutritionist and all. But she did whip up a yummy looking portabello, sun-dried tomato, and blue cheese sandwich, as well as "lamb pops" that I really wanted to try and was sad when they didn't pass them around.

To wrap up our day, we watched Emeril's demonstration - why he decided to cook more spa food, I do not know. Some obnoxious audience member who'd had a little too much to drink harassed him until he finally, angrily, yelled "BAM!" really loud. Which made the crowd go wild. I think Emeril was either tired, or just didn't feel like going on at the end of the day. He seemed very serious about the food. Or maybe that's how we're supposed to be - serious - and he just has to play it up on television to keep viewers.

Either way. I not only fell back in love with food, I have been re-inspired to cook. Cool things. Strange things. Often. And, to top it off, I got to share the whole weekend with my sweetie. Besides hanging out with celebrity chefs that I truly adore, I got to hang out with my dear boyfriend, that I adore even more. This was easily one of the best, if not the best, weekends of my life, and getting to experience it all with Dave made it even more special. (cue sappy "awws" here) Thanks Sweetie!

For all the pictures and even some random videos, check out Dave's Site.

S'mores Brownies

I somehow persuaded everyone to go eat lunch with me today at Bangkok House, my new favorite Thai place in Lexvegas. It is birthday week, after all, so that's really all the excuse we needed to get out of the office, not work, and not eat whatever else we brought for lunch today. Anyway, right after I showed him how to personalize ring tones, John "gently reminded" me that I should blog more, especially since he thinks he's hot stuff now that he has his own blog. I'm not one to get in a "blog-off," but just because I'm still in procrastination mode, and becuase I made something really good this week, here is a new recipe and a blog update for y'all.

S'mores Brownies
adapted from Food Network
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, finely processed
1/2 stick melted butter
1 box Ghirardelli brownie mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 egg
almost a whole bag of marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9 x 13" pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press down into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven to cool.
Meanwhile, make brownies according to package directions (mine called for oil/water/egg - yours may be different - but I highly recommend using Ghirardelli brand). Pour batter over the graham cracker crust. Bake until almost done, taking brownies out of the oven with about 5 minutes left to cook. Then, pour marshmallows all over the top of the almost-done brownies and stick them back in the oven to melt/get golden brown on top, about 5-7 minutes depending on the oven. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!

The Food Network version tells you how to make the brownie part from scratch. This weekend, though, there just wasn't time for "made from scratch" brownies. So I used a box, and everyone here thought they were just fine. No complaints from broke and hungry grad students! These were seriously the bomb for me. I loved them. And I don't even care for s'mores all that much.

Happy Birthday Week to us all!

"Cook That Again" Turkey Soup

I made a HUGE mistake today. Well, ok, I made a big mistake yesterday by deciding not to go to Kroger's. Not only did I have more free time yesterday, but yesterday was not the day before February Freeze 2008 - or a major winter storm warning for central Kentucky.

Now since moving "all the way up north" to Lexington, I have many a time called my mother or other random family members to brag about how "it snowed all night last night and I drove right through it to school today!" or said "nope, we are almost out of milk and bread and I didn't even think about going to wal-mart to stock up! That's how they do it up north, y'all" or even taken pictures of my car, buried in a good 1/2" of snow in my parking lot, with the cell phone to send to Dave, just to let him know what a skilled driver I was to navigate out of a parking lot covered with a blanket of white stuff I once dreamed for as a child in north Alabama, where it never snowed (unless you count the great blizzard of 1987, when we all went sledding at the elementary school and my dad pulled us around the hills of our pasture in a plastic swimming pool tied to the back of our 3-wheeler. I'm serious about this. Redneck fun!). However, today, it really is snowing. For real. "They" are saying it's going to get pretty bad, with ice, and actual accumulations over 1". So, that is a sign, even for seasoned snowbirds like Lexingtonians, to head to the nearest grocery store, immediately.

That's what I got in the middle of tonight when I went to Kroger after class. I went to the one off Chinoe, thinking it'd be less insane than the one on Euclid. I was wrong. Everyone in Lexington was at the Kroger on Chinoe. I wouldn't have gone tonight, but we are almost out of milk (seriously! not just saying that because of the snow), and I can't eat my daily cereal without milk, and I was craving a turkey chili. I generally make full-out grocery runs in 30 minutes - door to checkout - and today, it took 45 minutes for a shortened run and wait time in line. It wasn't all that bad, as I got an insight as to what people think is really important in times of stress. I'll consider it an informal participant observation. Should've taken field notes! I saw frantic people getting things like cat food. Lean Cuisines. Gallons of Hawaiian Punch (I'm guessing for addition to vodka and not for their kids?). Bottled water. Milk by the gallon. Ice cream. Toilet paper. By the time I got back out to the parking lot, the lot was covered, it was icy, and I had to scrape my windshield.

I digress. When I got home, I was tired, hungry, and craving a beer for some reason. Turkey chili/soup with a miller lite hit the spot. I changed the name from "chili" to "soup" because of our apartment's definition of chili. What I made tonight just doesn't qualify as chili. Chili-a-la-Rose is hearty, with little soup to it. Turkey chili-a-la-me is more like a soup. Hence the name change. Here is the recipe.

1/2 TB olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced, seeds removed
3 italian turkey sausage links
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 12 oz can of beer (I used Miller Lite, what was in the fridge)
1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 chipotle in adobo, diced, seeds removed

In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sautee onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno with salt & pepper until tender, about 10 minutes. Add in the turkey sausage links removed from casings. Add in chili powder and cumin. Break up the sausage with a wooden spoon and cook until sausage is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add in the can of beer (what better way to deglaze a pan?). Add in the tomatoes, beans, broth, and chipotle. Salt and pepper again to taste. Cook over medium heat until all flavors have incorporated and liquid starts to reduce, anywhere from 15-45 minutes, depending on how hungry you are. Top with sour cream, cheese, and crushed up crackers or tortilla chips.

Once I called it a soup instead of chili, Rose decided it was much better. I don't blame her. It is more of a soup, come to think of it. Either way, we both got seconds and it's going in regular rotation. I based this off a recipe I found on food network's website, but since I just threw things together in a pot based on what I had in the pantry, I am taking full credit for this one. It's also very healthy. There's only about 34 grams of fat in the entire pot, and there are at least 4-6 servings in one recipe. Using turkey sausage instead of regular sausage cuts out a ton of fat, and gives more flavor than just plain ground turkey. It certainly hit the spot on this cold, snowy night.

Now, we are sitting around, useless, praying they cancel school for tomorrow (they won't) and that we get a snow day (we won't). It's not that I even have a lot to do tomorrow, but who doesn't like a snow day?

Only Losers Eat Carbs: Or Why I was Throwing Things at the TV Last Night

So, there we were, Rose and I, sitting on our couches, playing cards, enjoying a geriatric-friendly Saturday night after an overly filling meal of our favorite Mexican restaurant on Landsdowne, Mi Piquena Hacienda. We flipped channels looking for something to watch on television. I suggested Miss America, and it was all downhill from there.

Did anyone else catch Miss America last night?

Was anyone else severely offended at the frequent jokes and comments made about how as soon as the contestants "lost" they could "go eat some carbs"?

Is anyone else thinking that, if the Miss America organization really wants to get with the times, they'll drop the pageant all together and base "Miss America" on a combination of service to others, humility, and progressive feminist ideals? Isn't it time that Miss America looks more like the rest of the 18-25 year olds out there? Anyone else think that this generation's "it" girl shouldn't try to fit into a Hollywood mold?

And why don't we have a Mr. America pageant that parades men around in boxer shorts in front of a live television audience, makes them sing, dance, and twirl batons, and forces them to find the "right" outfits for months, and years, leading up to the pageant?

I'm still so angry about the whole deal that I don't know I can (a) finish the paper I'm working on that's due tomorrow or (b) even put a recipe up here. Just for all the carb bashing, here's my favorite, and most fattening, and most fulfilling, thing that I make: fettuccine alfredo with peas.

For the pasta, for one serving:
2 oz fettuccine
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 cup frozen peas (slightly thawed out, not cooked)

For the sauce, for one serving:
1/4 cup heavy cream (NO substitutions, thank you)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
good shower of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Bring large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Here is where a lot of y'all out there mess up with the pasta cooking, so pay close attention. As soon as the water is at a rolling boil, toss in a small handful of salt. Then, put the pasta in the pot of salted, still boiling water. Do not reduce the heat. Leave it at a boil. Set your kitchen timer to 8 minutes. Stir the pasta occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick. At 8 minutes, take out a piece of pasta, cool it off, and taste it. If it's not completely cooked through (i.e. it is crunchy), give your pasta another 2 minutes (by kitchen timer). Then recheck. As soon as the pasta is done, take it off the heat, and drain it. Do not set your pasta to cook, then walk away. Don't cook it for 15 minutes. Don't reduce the heat and leave it alone while you go take a shower. 8-10 minutes, al dente, perfection.

While your pasta is coming to al dente goodness, start on the sauce. In a small saucepan, place the heavy cream and butter together over medium-low heat (important step too, don't want to overcook or cook too quickly). As soon as the butter has melted, add in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir together, leaving over medium-low heat until it starts to thicken up (you'll need to stir it quite a bit during the process). Toss in the parmesan cheese after the sauce has cooked for about 7 minutes, and stir well. Do not let the sauce boil, just let it come to a simmer. With my stovetop, over electric, I start the sauce as I put the water on to boil, and by the time my pasta is ready, so is my sauce. At Dave's house, over gas heat, I start the sauce right before I put the pasta in to cook. It'll take a little while to figure out which method will work best for your kitchen.

Right after draining the pasta, toss in the slightly thawed peas. The heat of the pasta will cook the little green gems right through. Then, pour the alfredo sauce over the pasta and peas. Stir together, and top with salt, pepper, and a good shower of parmesan.

Devour without saying "I shouldn't eat this" or "heavy cream is so bad for you!" or "guess I can run 10 extra minutes tomorrow at the gym to make up for it" or "there goes the diet." Enjoy eating it - because you are a winner - and in honor of all those girls out there who are not eating carbs because Miss America tells them they shouldn't.

My Most Requested Recipe: Party Cookies

Yep. I should be summarizing the legacy of Radway in terms of media feminist scholarship since 1984. I also should be writing down some of the thoughts I've had over the weekend about audience analysis, content analysis, and if the two will have a "happy marriage" in my dissertation (really funny for those of you who know my topic, huh). But, I'd honestly rather blog. One can only procrastinate on Facebook for so long, until another form of distraction becomes necessary. After a weekend of stress, Scrabble, thinking, and more stress, I'll for once and for all publish my hands down most requested recipe: party cookies.

I don't know the exact origins of this recipe, but I will tell you where I got it. When I was in the 7th grade, I went to help my mom on a teacher's workday in December. She was teaching K-2nd graders at Owens, where I (and she, and my dad, and my brother, and everyone else related to me) went to school. I expected to help her and my old favorite teachers if they needed me - Mrs. Abernathy, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Green - but instead, I was assigned to the library under Mrs. Caudle's supervision for a school-wide, all-important task. I had to type, format, and copy the faculty Christmas cookbook. (Yes. Christmas. I think they even had a Christmas tree up in the hall. This is pre-war-on-Christmas times, people.)

That year, the faculty all brought in their favorite Christmas recipe to share along with a sample to taste for their final faculty meeting. Since they had free labor the next day, someone decided it was a great idea to combine all the recipes into one handy book. The perpetual teacher's pet, I was up for the challenge.

The book became a family favorite of mine, as it had some of the classics I still make today, like Mexican Pinwheels, Puppy Chow (aka Christmas Crack according to the Finch's), and party cookies. Party cookies came from my first grade teacher, Mrs. Jayne South. They were everyone's favorite at the faculty meeting, and they became one of my all-time favorites as well. I started making them on special occasions, and they became a staple at tailgates once I got to Auburn. They are buttery, creamy, goodness. They are versatile, as the frosting can be dyed with food coloring, making them a festive addition for baby showers, wedding showers, St. Patrick's Day parties, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Independence Day, Easter... need I go on? Every time I make them, someone wants the recipe. So, in honor of Mrs. South, the best first grade teacher of all time, and the teachers from Owens Elementary School, I present to you:

Party Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, divided
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans, optional

Buttercream Frosting
1 stick butter, softened to room temperature
1 lb. bag of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
milk, if needed, for consistency

In small bowl, combine flour and salt, set aside. In large bowl, combine sugar and butter until well incorporated. Add in vanilla, and 2 egg yolks (one egg yolk at a time). Save the egg whites for a later use. Gradually add in flour/salt mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. Then, preheat oven to 350. Roll dough in small, nickel sized balls. Dip balls into lightly beaten egg whites, then into pecans (if using). Place on nonstick cookie sheet. Press thumb in the middle of the cookies to make an indentation for the frosting. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:
Place butter in medium-sized bowl. Add in about 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix with hand mixer until combined. Add in powdered sugar, no more than a 1-lb bag, until the mixture takes on a frosting-like consistency (or tastes sweet enough for you). If the frosting becomes too thick, add milk, 1 tsp at a time, to thin it out. If it becomes too sugary, add more butter. Add food coloring, if desired, after frosting is finished.

If you haven't been around the T.A. office long enough, or you don't even know me so I haven't made these for you, then try them. They are a simple, easy cookie that you will make all the time. This is one of the few cookies for which the finished product is better than the dough. Yes. I eat cookie dough, brownie dough, cake dough, cheesecake dough... what's the fun in baking if you don't eat the dough?! I have since I was old enough to get a spoon out of the drawer and stick it in the mix by myself. And until I get salmonella, I will continue to do so, thank you very much. Did I mention I have a stubborn streak? Anyway. I do love these cookies, and they are worth the effort. They do take a bit more time than some of my other recipes, with the mixing, chilling, rolling, coating, frosting and all, but wow are they worth it. If you don't screw them up, and don't eat all the dough yourself, I can guarantee they will be a hit at your next potluck, or faculty meeting.

On Weight Loss, and Nutella Chocoloate Chip Cookies

2005 was an amazing year. It was the culmination of my "fun times" in Auburn, of which I could tell you many a fun story, but will today suffice to disclose that in addition to the many great memories, friendships and pictures that should probably be destroyed, I was also carrying around an 15 extra pounds that came from out of nowhere. Who knew that gorging on tailgate junk food and beer every single weekend would make one gain weight even if said person "walked" for exercise every day?

So, my 2006 new year's resolution was to keep up with every single morsel of food that entered my mouth in an effort to lose the weight. The written version of the food journal lasted for a breakfast and lunch one day; I quickly searched the web for an easier way to make my healthy resolution happen. I stumbled upon My Food Diary, a fantastic online resource with an army of nutrition information, experts, and advice for losing weight, along with a food diary and exercise diary that keeps you on track. (It's $9/month and money well spent; Anne tells me the FDA has a similar one online for free that works just as well.) Anyway, MFD tells you how many calories you need to eat in a day to lose weight. My adventure on MFD resulted in positives and negatives. In short, I lost the 15 pounds, kept them off, and am healthier and in better shape than I've ever been in my life. But, one big negative - I became, and still am, obsessed with counting calories. It's a switch in my brain I have not yet been able to turn off, resulting in yet another way I can be hard on myself, something my evil little brain loves to do to me. This, friends is another journal entry.

Anyway, the plethora of new year's weight loss advertisements are really getting to me, and making me reflect on my own experience with trying to be healthier. I'll probably write a big paper someday about all this, but I can't let LBDelicious start the new year without "weighing in" with my own two cents on this issue. Dear readers, if you want to lose weight, do it. But for the love of God, don't do Nutri System, don't do South Beach, don't to Atkins, don't to Jeni Craig, and if I find out you're taking HydroxyCut I will find you and pour the pills down the toilet while yelling at you. Don't do a "diet," make lifestyle changes that you can live with. Eat smaller portions. Exercise. Don't expect to lose 10 pounds in a day. If you do, you'll only gain it back the next. Want to know the real secret to weight loss? You need a 3500 calorie deficit in order to lose a pound in a week. You must burn 3500 more calories than you eat in a week to lose a pound a week. Sign up for MFD, sign up for the FDA's free version, give it a month, and see if I'm not right. Or look it up for yourself.

There is one caveat to the 3500 calorie rule. If you go overboard and don't eat enough in a day, your body can go into "starvation mode," where despite what you cognitively know about what you're doing to yourself, your body thinks you are, like, starving, and will hang on to whatever fat reserves you have in an effort to "survive" until you eat a good meal. If you think this sounds ludicrous, just think about how our cavewomen ancestors survived in the wilderness when they had trouble finding food because their sorry ass cavemen husbands got lazy and refused to help them hunt. Or how our more immediate ancestors survived rural north Alabama during the Great Depression (their diets consisted of dirt, mud, grass, and the occasional biscuit. See Daws, 2005 unpublished A.U. thesis, or Barker, 1934 A.P.I. unpublished thesis, for details or if you don't believe me.)

As a direct result of watching the sickening weight loss ads, I decided yesterday that I wanted chocolate cookies. I couldn't find a recipe that I liked, so I invented my very first cookie recipe! I was very happy. Try them & let me know what you think.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies (an LBDelicious original)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 dash salt
12 TB butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup nutella
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 oz bag chocolate chips (semi sweet, bittersweet, whatever you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt; set aside. Cream together butter and 2 sugars with hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add nutella, mix together. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Add flour gradually, mixing until just combined. Stir in chips. Drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes, cool.

Nutella is made with hazelnuts; don't eat these if you have a nut allergy. You may even want to add nuts so that an unsuspecting nut-allergic friend doesn't mistake them as safe. They are delicious with a big scoop of ice cream sandwiched between two of them, still warm.

Happy eating, and happy new year. :)

Hearty Healthy Holiday Soup

Have you noticed all the perfume ads lately? I know that "scents" are quite the popular holiday gift, unless you're me and you hate perfume because it gives you a headache, but seriously people. Lindsey first drew my attention to this at the T.J. Maxx in Auburn over Iron Bowl weekend when we stopped in to get gloves for the cold. There were at least 6 different "celebrescents" (I just invented a word) at the checkout counter. Britney Spears. Shania Twain. Celine Dion. Mariah Carey. Hilary Duff. Who doesn't have a perfume out this holiday season? And are people actually buying them? If any of y'all out there are actually purchasing these fragrances, I need to know about it. This is a critical analysis in the making. Do you want to smell like the celebrities? In the case of Britney, does it smell like a combination between frappuccinos and cigarettes? What's Shania smell like, hay fields from Canada? I bet Hilary smells like cotton candy and bubble gum. And do you actually think the people wear their own perfume, that is mass produced and, I'm sure, cheaply made? I am curious about these things. And I am clearly watching way too much television on my holiday vacation. Wait, wait - oh yeah, it's my job to keep up with television. Nevermind.

In between coming up with more research projects that may help me get tenured some day, I have been doing my favorite thing in the world - cooking. Holiday baking took up a lot of time yesterday, and Dave really threw me for a loop when he called at 4 p.m. and requested "vegetables" for dinner. It's rare that he specifically requests something that close to the night's dinner, so I took it as a challenge. I nixed the chicken enchiladas I had in mind, flipped through a Rachael Ray cookbook, and adapted a recipe based on what I had left from last week's grocery trip. The result: a healthy, hearty soup that was perfect for a cold night like last night. Dave ate two bowls, I personally loved it, and there were leftovers for lunch today. So here's the recipe for LBDelicious Spinach Artichoke Soup.

2 T (approx) EVOO
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 15 oz can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered (do not use marinated artichoke hearts)
salt & pepper to taste

In large soup pot, heat oil, then sautee onion, pepper and garlic, with salt & pepper, until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 15-20 minutes, until ready to eat. Before serving, make up a batch of cheesy toast or serve with crusty bread. My cheese toast was a kaiser roll split in half, topped with mozzarella, placed in the toaster oven for 3 minutes. MMMM

This is very low-fat, low-calorie, and filling meal, especially if you eat it with bread. No bread laying around? Make it heartier by adding some ditalini, orzo, or any small pasta (pre-cooked, unless you want a thick stew-like consistency). Where have you seen ditalini before? Yep, Jon's Italian Sausage Soup. This recipe was also in part adapted from that one. You probably have all of these ingredients laying around your house. If you don't, and you're broke from all your Christmas shopping and think you can't afford to cook it, these ingredients are all very budget-friendly.

Now, I'm going back to baking some more and prepping walls to paint. Happy Holidays!