Chocolate contains a variety of substances, which definitely have an effect on the mind or body chemistry. These include compounds like theobromine, the primary alkaloid in cocoa and chocolate also stimulates the heart and has many therapeutic uses.
People associate the "chocolate high" with the theobromine content, which oddly enough has a stronger biochemical effect for horses and is normally banned in horse racing since it's considered to give them a competitive edge.
Tryptophane, an essential amino acid and precursor to serotonin, that most people associate with turkey, can also be found in chocolate. Tryptophane can help to calm and relax the body, but I like chocolate simply for the fact that it's an easy way to spoil yourself! Get my recipe for Mexican hot chocolate after the jump.
Eating with your fingers is fun -- I'm not embarrassed to do it, even in public. That's one of the reasons why bar food, along with the spicy, crunchy salt coating, is so darn satisfying.
I don't believe in giving up anything when it comes to food, but I don't want my nibbles to take up my whole allotment of fat for the day. I created this version of jalapeño poppers that are baked but still have the yummy contrast of creamy filling with crunchy breadcrumb coating.
Ramen noodles are the college student's best friend -- they're cheap, filling and taste great. But what happens when you graduate from college and want to start making smarter, and even better-tasting choices?
The old college girl in me just can't get over the crush I used to have on the 33-cents-a-pop ramen noodle package. (Beef was my favorite flavor.) So now that my budget has grown and my waistline has shrunk, I still like to make room for ramen noodles in my kitchen.
Get the recipe for healthier ramen after the jump.
Remember when sun-dried tomatoes were trendy in the 1980s? They were considered chic, foreign, even elegant. I remember one of my first experiences eating them in a Pittsburgh restaurant called Café Allegro.
I had a Gorgonzola-stuffed pear -- which I still think about to this day -- and creamy, luscious bow-tie pasta with plumped sun-dried tomatoes soaked in oil.
These tomatoes are so sweet and tangy. Why did they fall out of favor?
Dulce de Leche, a sweet found in Argentine, Uruguayan and Chilean cuisine, is prepared by cooking sweetened condensed milk to create a sumptuous sauce that tastes like melted milk caramels.
I will warn you -– it is dangerous. I could eat it out of the container with a spoon, but it can also be extremely versatile when used sparingly as a topping for healthier ingredients to make hundreds of fast desserts.
It was one of those things that my granny always insisted on: finding ways to use leftovers and never wasting food. Even though I've grown up eating leftovers, I've never liked eating a big plate of odds and ends, a spoonful here and bite there.
I wondered if that's why Americans waste about 27 percent of their available food. But what if you could turn those tidbits into something luscious? I guarantee that you won't be tempted to toss that handful of broccoli florets, those spoonfuls of blue cheese crumbles or your remaining half a jar of olives.
First I took a look in my freezer before proceeding on to my self-imposed "Top Chef" challenge. Frozen dough disks didn't look that interesting resting in my freezer door, until I remembered that they're Goya empanada wrappers that you can fill with just about anything. Bingo!
Tamari almonds make their way into my banana-nut breakfast smoothie as they add a hint of saltiness against the sweetness of really ripe bananas. But as unexpectedly good as they may taste, I was in for another shocker: As I recently reviewed my grocery bill, I realized that those tamari almonds were almost $2 a bag!
Since I had a bottle of low-sodium tamari taking up space in the cupboard, I shopped for the plain, raw almonds with the skins on and tried my hand at homemade tamari almonds.
Apart from a big juicy steak, I think a lot of us associate meat with certain recipes. From burgers to tacos and meatloaf, meat adds flavor and texture to meals that meat lovers crave.
But I know quite a few vegetarians who cook for their meat-loving spouses and friends on a regular basis, as I do. I've always wanted to cook the dishes I crave, without having to make something separate when vegetarians come to dine. Here are my staple meat substitutions and how to use them. Now you can keep those classics on the dinner table without a trip to the butcher.
Chickpeas have a firm texture that makes them ideal for burgers. Use them directly out of the can -- just drain, then pulse in a food processor for a chunky base that works well as a ground meat substitution. When working with beans, remember to add some spice with lots of seasonings. I like to use Worcestershire and steak sauce that are both vegetarian but have the seasonings cooks usually pair with meat. A dash of hot sauce can also add depth and warmth to the dish.
More meat substitutes and my Luscious Lentil Taco recipe, after the jump.
During grad school, when I wasn't busy studying or working my part-time job, I was all about entertaining. My favorite co-host was my cousin Frank, and he always had great ideas, including shortcuts to making complicated recipes without losing a lot of the taste or texture.
I'm sure that the experts from the famous Pierogie Plus, a 10-minute drive from my family's house, would swat me for not making the dough myself. But when I crave my favorite treat, I use wonton wrappers to make them, an idea my clever cousin Frank came up with.
This week, we've had our first cool night on the East Coast, which got me craving something warmer for dinner. Savory beef with a soupy tomato sauce is my favorite Cuban country dish (with the exception of black beans and rice, of course!).
I've always wondered about the name, but realized the shredded beef does indeed resemble a twisted old dress shirt. There are several stories as to how the dish was named, but my favorite is about a very poor man who didn't have money to buy food for his family. He took some "ropa vieja" -- old clothing -- from the closet and cooked it in a pot with a lot of love. Miraculously, it turned into a rich and hearty beef stew.
I'm not sure how this myth got started -- I used to believe it too, before I met my husband, who grew up in Germany. Every time I tell someone I'm making schnitzel for dinner, they talk about hot dog buns and sauerkraut. Then they try to convince me that I really meant sausage and they will go as far as to ambush random passersby to help corroborate their story.
In truth, the word schnitzel comes from the German term "schneiden" which means to cut, so schnitzel means cutlet. Thus, Wiener Schnitzel is not a cut-up hot dog, but rather a "cutlet from Vienna or Wien." See how I make it after the jump.
Here's a little restaurant technique to make the rich, sweet, tangy, roasted tomatoes that many restaurants use to add a flavor and dimension to various dishes.
I like them best with pasta and although they do take time to cook, they are well worth the wait.
Making tomato confit isn't hard but it can heat up the house and seem wasteful to run the oven for hours -- so why not use an energy-saving toaster oven?
"Do you want to make some spaghetti?" my granny used to say as she pulled a roasted spaghetti squash from the oven.
She would transfer the two halves to her mangled cutting board and hand me a fork. We would both scrape the fork over the squash, freeing the steamy fibers that look very much like golden yellow strands of vermicelli.
I could hear the popping and perking of her homemade sauce warming on the stove. "Turn the heat down," she would instruct when the popping became too vigorous. She served hers with tomato sauce, but I like to use a protein-packed bolognese to make it a complete, cool-weather meal.
Grapes have become my latest post-workout snack because they are water-packed and also help to curb my hunger when I come out of the yoga studio with serious munchies.
But don't limit grapes to snack food -- you can also make surprising, gorgeous desserts with them.
Concord grapes have a short season, but their flavor is unique and honey-kissed. Search them out at a local farmer's market.
I've been craving a lobster roll from Mary's Fish Camp in New York as of late, but since I've already maxed out the bank account with a mini trip to Miami, Mary's will have to wait for October.
I'm hooked on their lobster roll, that's really the only reason I go there. If you are lucky enough to get a table, their "limited" supply lobster roll is at market price, usually around $33.
So here is my healthier (and cheaper) version that you can have at home -- yes, Mary's fans know it's not exactly the same. Yet it's still tasty and satisfies the craving, working out to about $12 a pop.
10 More Dirty Restaurant Tricks
5 Things You Didn't Know About Turducken
10 Catchiest Food Jingles We Love to Hate
