Most trade shows are the stuff of, if not nightmares, then at least a sleepwalk from one charmless kiosk to the next. Not so at the 54th Summer Fancy Food Show, where 20,000+ gourmet retailers, restaurateurs, chefs, media folks and plain ol' food fans spend three days chomping their way through a fever dream of some 180,000 specialty foods. The throwback "Fancy" is a bit of a misnomer by now, as there's a very wide slice of products on offer, ranging from swankity wines, oils, cheeses and caviar to humble chewing gums, ketchups, chili seasonings and snack mixes.
Here are my first day favorites from the more wallet-friendly end of the spectrum. More thorough reviews will follow, but I've gotta recover from hauling around a 21lb* shoulder bag of collected samples and press releases first.
Inevitably, there will be at least one person -- maybe you -- at a Super Bowl party who's going to be looking for "healthy," or at least healthier, options. Luckily, hummus doesn't taste healthy, and serving it with vegetables ups the health factor quite a bit. Of course, I serve hummus with pita chips which, deep-fried, can't be any better than potato chips. Sure, there is some fat in it the garbanzo bean puree, but it's in the form of olive oil. If you make hummus at home, make extra so you can make yourself pita-chos during the post-game.
Hummus Drain and rinse 3 cans of garbanzo beans.
Throw a peeled clove of garlic into a food processor and let it go until the garlic is fairly well chopped. Throw in the garbanzo beans and puree. For some reason, I have this weird thing about the translucent "skin" on the outside of each garbanzo bean, so I actually spend the two hours it takes to slip all those suckers off before pureeing.
Add 2 Tbsp tahini, 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice and begin drizzling about ¼ to ½ c extra virgin olive oil while the food processor is running until the hummus is the consistency you want.
Seventeen visitors to the Taste of Chicago food festival have become sick, and officials say that several of them are sick from salmonella poisoning.
All of the sick people ate from the same booth at the show, a booth that served grilled lamb and beef, pomegranate barbecued chicken, baklava, and cucumber salad over hummus. They're not sure how the outbreak occurred, since the festival (which showcases foods from 70 restaurants) was under the supervision of the Health Department. Though I think any festival that lasts 10 days and has that many people eating various foods from 70 different places isn't too easy to monitor.
I eat a lot of hummus during the summer, usually with pita chips and veggies. I often put it out when friends are coming over or serve it as an hors d'oeuvre at a party. Once fall comes around, hummus seems a little out of season, just because I'm so used to eating it straight from the fridge on hot days. To make it a little bit more seasonally appropriate, I put together a hybrid hummus of garbanzo beans and pumpkin puree. It is smooth and has a hint of fall from the squash, although the pumpkin flavor is not dominant at all. The hummus comes together in a few minutes and uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. It goes well with tortilla chips, pitas and just about anything else you might want to have hummus with.
As Nicole already mentioned, you can get a lot of picnic mileage out of simply prepared fresh vegetables. Another way to get a salad to your picnic without the hassle of bowls, forks and dressings is just to wrap it up in a tortilla or other flat-bread. Lately I'm fond of making wraps with hummus or soft goat cheese topped with peeled carrot, cucumber, tomato, dill, spinach and lemon juice. The main thing to keep in mind is the water content of what you're wrapping. Seed things like tomatoes and cucumbers first, and if you plan on using a dressing, go easy. Bringing along a lemon to squeeze into the wraps at the last minute will help keep the tortillas dry.
Cook a bag of frozen edamame in their pods as directed on the package. Rinse the pods to cool them, then shell the
soybeans. Each bean has a thin, transparent "skin" that you also have to remove. This takes a
little bit of time, so do it on the couch with a couple of bowl on your lap while you're watching Rachael Ray
make a fool of herself again.
Puree the shelled and skinned edamame in a food processor with about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice,
1 minced clove garlic, ½ c. water (or you can use whatever liquid you want,
like chicken or vegetable stock), and about 2 Tbsp. sesame oil. Salt and pepper to
taste. You could also add tahini paste, which is an ingredient in regular hummus, but I didn't
because sesame oil is fairly strong. Use more liquid to thin the hummus to the consistency you desire.
You can either serve the edamame hummus in a large bowl as a dip, or plop tiny spoonfuls on toasted
flatbread, garnished with sesame seeds. Assure your guests that it's not wasabi, because that's what it looks
like.
What
do you get when you combine of 500 pounds of tasty chickpea dip and a 12-foot plate? The world's largest serving
of hummus.
Sabra, the Astoria, N.Y.-based maker of Meditteranean dips
and spreads unveiled this culinary curiosity at a trade show in Manhattan earlier this week. The gigantic veggie
appetizer made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.To my mind it looked like the surface of some creamy
alien world. In case you're wondering double-dipping your
pita in the delicious spread was strictly prohibited.
One of my favorite portable foods is hummus and pita. I'm a busy mother of two
and always on the go, so I choose healthy, protein-packed foods to nourish myself and my family. I like hummus in
particular because I can whip up a batch in less than 5 minutes, and it keeps well without refrigeration. I can put it
in a plastic container along with some pita bread and raw veggie sticks and it's the perfect picnic meal. It travels
well, and would be equally great after hiking, surfing, or apres ski, too.
I like to experiment with
various nut butters in my hummus recipe. I like traditional hummus, but I also think twists on the usual are fun.
I love pita chips. They're incredibly delicious, addictive and easy. They only take about 5 minutes to whip up and
are so much fresher than anything you can buy, not to mention that homemade chips are healthier than anything you can
buy. Serve the chips with hummus, guacamole, salsa or any other favorite dip. Feel free to vary the seasoning to your
personal tastes by using chili or curry powders. You can make them in advance by letting them cool completely on a
wire rack, then packing them in a plastic bag for a day or two.
Homemade Pita Chips
1 ½ tsp cumin 1 tsp Paprika ½ tsp Garlic Powder Black pepper and salt, to taste 2 Pitas
Preheat broiler and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Mix together cumin, paprika,
garlic powder, salt and pepper. Set aside. Cut Pitas into 8-12 pieces and split each piece in half to make thin
chips. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with spice mixture,
but use your own judgment in deciding how much to put on the chips. Broil for 3-5 minutes, until golden
brown.
It is pointless to always try to resist snacking between meals. Sometimes you’re just hungry. The best plan is
to have healthy snacks available and to try to cut down the fat and or calories on your favorites. At
restaurants, choose a main dish before you order an appetizer. If the portions are large or your dish is very rich, you
may want to skip it entirely. If your main dish is healthy, do not beat yourself up if you decide to have a small cup of
creamy soup or a handful of onion rings. The main thing to remember is that your whole meal should be fairly balanced,
with richer and leaner elements. Portion control fatty and fried foods. At home or at work, fruits and vegetables
make great snacks, along with healthy dips like sweetened or spiced yogurt, hummus or salsa. Balance your
favorite cheesy dip with some veggies, not just chips. You do not have to give up your favorite snacks to stay healthy,
though. To use nachos as an example, you can choose tortilla chips with no trans-fats and eat the nachos with plenty of
fresh salsa. If you know of a reduced fat cheese that you like, use it, but otherwise try to cut back on the cheese or
forgo it entirely every once in a while. When you body is sufficiently hungry, you should listen to it. Ignoring
your body’s signals will cause you to overindulge at your next meal. Just try not to listen when it tells you
that it wants chili cheese fries after you’ve just finished lunch.
Seventeen visitors to the 
I eat a lot of hummus during the summer, usually with pita chips and veggies. I often put it out when friends are coming over or serve it as an hors d'oeuvre at a party. Once fall comes around, hummus seems a little out of season, just because I'm so used to eating it straight from the fridge on hot days. To make it a little bit more seasonally appropriate, I put together a hybrid hummus of garbanzo beans and pumpkin puree. It is smooth and has a hint of fall from the squash, although the pumpkin flavor is not dominant at all. The hummus comes together in a few minutes and uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. It goes well with tortilla chips, pitas and just about anything else you might want to have hummus with.
Hummus is typically 
What
do you get when you combine of 500 pounds of tasty chickpea dip and a 12-foot plate? The world's largest serving
of hummus.
One of my favorite portable foods is hummus and pita. I'm a busy mother of two
and always on the go, so I choose healthy, protein-packed foods to nourish myself and my family. I like hummus in
particular because I can whip up a batch in less than 5 minutes, and it keeps well without refrigeration. I can put it
in a plastic container along with some pita bread and raw veggie sticks and it's the perfect picnic meal. It travels
well, and would be equally great after hiking, surfing, or apres ski, too. 
It is pointless to always try to resist snacking between meals. Sometimes you’re just hungry. The best plan is
to have healthy snacks available and to try to cut down the fat and or calories on your favorites. 
Cakes so amazing they'd be hard to cut into
Fruit juice: An invitation to diabetes?
Morbid thoughts? Have a cookie
