"MadMen" news and stories

Are stuffed peppers something you think Betty Draper would have thrown together on the cook's night off? OK, they can be that-but get beyond the rice-ground beef-and-canned tomato soup Mad Men-era version, and kick it. A roasted pepper can cradle turkey sausage and smoked cheese, or shrimp and ricotta salata. It can overflow with chorizo or bulgur.

Onions, especially sweet ones such as Vidalia, make a terrific stuffed side dish, as in this recipe for mushrooms, wild rice, and hazelnuts. Served with a chilled aquavit, this might be a Sterling Cooper man's dream.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Lucky Strike cigarettes, mint juleps and martinis are in abundance on the hit TV drama, Mad Men. However, we rarely see what the characters eat, especially at home.

The Huffington Post has rounded up a character-by-character breakdown of season four eats including the well known Chicken Kiev scene, as well as the season four opener of pork chops.

Read more on the Huffington Post ...

Caramelized balsamic figs & ricotta mousse. Photo: YumSugar.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Balsamic caramelized figs make a prime topping for ricotta mousse.

Warming soups that are perfect for the season.

Eight tasty libations straight from the set of "Mad Men."

Macaroni and cheese goes TexMex with chiles and cilantro.

Even if you don't live in wine country, have a harvest party full of fall flavor.

Mixed-mushroom pizza makes for a fast and easy dinner.

Would you say yes if your significant other proposed via cupcake?

'Sips and Apps: Classic and Contemporary Recipes for Cocktails and Appetizers'
By Kathy Casey
Photos by Angie Norwood Browne
Chronicle Books -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

Kathy Casey isn't a mixologist, she's a "bar chef" -- a trained chef with mad cocktail skills. In "Sips and Apps," she ventures off the well-trod path of standard cocktail guides to explore cocktails with such seductive names as Black Feather and Clear Conscience.

But it's her appetizers that are sure to offer a new trick or two for your next cocktail soiree.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Niagara's Lailey Vineyard. Photo: Monika Bartyzel

• Trekking across the Niagara Region for seasonal comfort food, pies and wines, and traveling through Muskoka for honey, coffee and family farming.
• "Mad Men," their love of cocktails, and a recipe for a Betty Draper-inspired gimlet.
• Sumac's sour, fruit-like flavor makes it a great substitute for a splash of lemon.
• Open's 2008 Riesling-Gewürtztraminer is a fine summer wine, plus the run-down on Beringer's 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ("a steal") and Prospect's Pinot Noir.
• The porcine pleasures of prosciutto pioneers.
• Recipe: Wild Blueberry Lemon Jam