After-Work Gourmet from Creators Syndicate

Custom Burgers are Easy to Crave and to Create for 07/16/2009

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

If you've spent many summers munching on quick burgers off the outdoor grill or tossed into your car window from a fast-food drive-through lane, you may not immediately recognize the dish as a potential gourmet treat.

Yet, burgers are one of the easiest foods to customize for both flavor and improved nutrition; they are a great way to perk up summer grilling season. Years ago, we receive ...

Updated: Thu Jul 16, 2009

Breakfast Appetizers Offer Tasty Morning Party Twists for 07/23/2009

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Breakfast in bed has always been a luxury, but what about breakfast entertaining? With more of us experiencing hectic schedules and varying work times, it's almost as likely for a get-together to be held any morning as it is in the evening.

The hallmark of good entertaining is having time to leisurely chat with guests and enjoying the nuances of the meal. Therefore, almost all gatherings ...

Updated: Thu Jul 23, 2009

Breakfast Appetizers Offer Tasty Morning Party Twists for 07/23/2009

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The hallmark of good entertaining is having time to leisurely chat with guests and enjoying the nuances of the meal. Therefore, almost all gatherings ...

Updated: Thu Jul 23, 2009

Dodge the Potential Sugary Soda Tax by Delegating Diet Soda as an Easy Ingredient for 07/30/2009

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Soda pop soon may not be just thirst-quenching, but subject to a high "sin tax" — a la cigarettes — as proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as by politicians from the White House on down. With all the talk about health care reform, diet also has come under scrutiny with sugary carbonated beverages in the lead as the most politically targeted f ...

Updated: Thu Jul 30, 2009

Update Existing Recipes For an Easy Way to Innovate for 08/06/2009

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Even though she's no longer on television, talk show host Jenny Jones is still giving good advice. For instance, the former popular caterer and best-selling cookbook author has found a way to love her recipes even more — updating.

Along with tales about her current cooking adventures, Jones features improvements to recipes from her 2006 book, "Look Good, Feel Great Cookbook: H ...

Updated: Thu Aug 06, 2009

Add Fresh Ingredients to Convenience Products for Fast Results for 08/13/2009

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I was surprised to find a seasonal gourmet product in my convenience store, but even more astounded with what it inspired me to do. There, tucked amid the packed shelves of chips, dips, sodas and candy bars, was Tostitos brand Sweet & Spicy Summer Salsa, a smooth sauce filled with raspberries and blackberries as well as tomatoes, onions and jalapeno and chipotle peppers.

Excellent on ...

Updated: Thu Aug 13, 2009

Let the Magnificence of Marshmallows Puff Up Your Summer Entertaining for 08/20/2009

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Lots of cooks consider marshmallows little more than fluff, a lightweight in the realm of gourmet cuisine. However, the sugar- and corn syrup-filled confection surprisingly can rise to be more than just the sum of its parts.

With its emphasis on marshmallows toasting over open fires and grills, as well as being a great occasion for no-cook recipes, summer is the perfect time to experimen ...

Updated: Thu Aug 20, 2009

Steer Energy-Packed Snacks Toward Your End-of-Summer Road Trips for 08/27/2009

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Virtually every family I know is attempting to spend more time together. They are packing in one or two more adventures as summer winds down, school starts and their schedules all begin to diverge in different directions.

Sometimes that means even more jammed times than usual: a pick-up at sleep-away camp, followed by a quick family vacation, capped off with a last road trip to visit gra ...

Updated: Thu Aug 27, 2009

Facebook Serves Up Some Sumptuous Surprises for 09/03/2009

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

If you haven't joined Facebook yet, I encourage you to do it, if not to catch up with old friends and make new ones then at the least for the recipes and party ideas!

Like the millions who are taking the plunge each year into the fastest-growing social networking site, I recently did so and found myself knee-deep — so to speak — in a progressive pool party and a big barrel of ...

Updated: Thu Sep 03, 2009

Think of Your Hot Dog Bun as a Haven for Leftovers for 09/10/2009

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

As baseball season heads into its final innings and we count down to the playoffs and the World Series, there is lots of rooting going on. Have you cheered for your hot dog lately, though? That official food of baseball is, of course, also one of the all-time favorite home team dishes of many families.

I could have been focused on the New York Mets — the many-decades favorite in my ...

Updated: Thu Sep 10, 2009

Sneaking Vegetables into Meals Works for Both Kids and Adults for 09/17/2009

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

"Eat your vegetables!" Although it's adults who often chirp that refrain to children, many grown-ups haven't been getting the message. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA recommend at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day for good nutrition, most people eat significantly less than that.

A recent study by the National Institutes of H ...

Updated: Thu Sep 17, 2009

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words When Inspiring Easy Meals for 09/24/2009

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Kids use picture books as an easy way to follow a story. Exact words and details don't matter as much as getting the gist of what's going on. Surprisingly, food photographs can serve as similarly simple guideposts.

For instance, I don't know Food Network star Bobby Flay's recipe for Grilled Shrimp on Tortillas with Avocado Relish, but have made the delicious dish many times. I was flippi ...

Updated: Thu Sep 24, 2009

Get a Kick out of Karaoke While Cooking for 10/01/2009

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Karaoke while cooking? Why not, since the kind of proper breathing that karaoke singing prompts is 70 percent of weight loss, says Billy Blanks Jr., son of the famed Tae Bo master, and the creator on his own of Cardioke, a blend of karaoke and cardio exercise.

If you pay attention to the effervescent Blanks — an exercise trainer, choreographer and Broadway performer who toured publ ...

Updated: Thu Oct 01, 2009

Double Up on Your Ingredients for Quick Results for 10/08/2009

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TV cooking series star and cookbook author Curtis Stone — also the regularly featured chef on Internet provider AOL's Food channel — isn't known for doubling up. His hundreds of published recipes are all unique. However, while seeking meal ideas at AOL Food in between reading my e-mails, web surfing and Instant Messaging my work colleagues, I recently appreciatively noticed a trait ...

Updated: Thu Oct 08, 2009

Go Crazy Over Candied Nuts This Halloween for 10/15/2009

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

As kids fill their sacks with candy on Halloween, it's fun for adults to find novel ways to satisfy their own sweet tooth. Often, these moves are more sophisticated than just biting into miniature chocolate bars. What's least tricky for busy grown-ups, though, is when the treats are quick and easy, too.

Enter candied nuts. Instead of just popping the crunchy treats as devilish snacks, us ...

Updated: Thu Oct 15, 2009

Bark up this Seasonal Tree for Tasty Autumn Treats for 10/22/2009

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

What's almost as easy as taking an autumn walk in the forest and collecting pieces of tree bark and crispy fall leaves is making your own chocolate bark and leaf-shaped cookies. Not only are these surprisingly simple-to-prepare treats, but they also make unique seasonal hostess gifts, party favors and impressive desserts.

Just from appearances, candy bark is a scene-stealer and often sol ...

Updated: Thu Oct 22, 2009

Let Quickness be the Gift of Cookie Season for 10/29/2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

There are other shortcuts this cookie season beyond the sound of screeching brakes in the parking lot of the supermarket and sprinting in five minutes before a party to buy a tray of store-bought baked goods. When potlucks, cookie-recipe exchange get-togethers and holiday parties come calling throughout the season, consider refrigerated cookie dough and cake mix as your kick starts.

Cami ...

Updated: Thu Oct 29, 2009

Pumpkin Pie by Any Other Name is a Great Holiday Dessert for 11/05/2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

You probably won't turn into a real pumpkin a la Cinderella at midnight on Thanksgiving, but you just might feel like one after having prepared your umpteenth pumpkin pie. Canned pumpkin is a blessing for harried cooks and is in no doubt partially responsible for the huge output of homemade holiday pies each year.

If you've grown bored with pumping out one pie after another, though, the ...

Updated: Thu Nov 05, 2009

Leftovers for Little Ones: Make Holiday Remnants Kid's Play for 11/12/2009

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

What's often equally as challenging at Thanksgiving is not only deciding what innovations you'll devise from leftovers, but what to do with the kids during the long holiday weekend. Multitalented multitaskers combine the two.

Be on the lookout for fun recipes with which children can laugh and learn while preparing. Often, Thanksgiving leftovers fare is on the sophisticated side and aimed ...

Updated: Thu Nov 12, 2009

'Winterize' Summer Beverages for Surprising Results for 11/19/2009

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Although summer is the season for icy, refreshing beverages, soda and flavored beverage sales, statistics prove we certainly don't stop hitting the bottle for the remainder of the year. However, when it comes to homemade versions it's often another story.

Big pitchers that housed crisp iced tea and tangy lemonade all summer tend to remain dry through the autumn and winter months in favor ...

Updated: Thu Nov 19, 2009