I love find cookbooks I can actually use. A lot of cookbooks have recipes that I'll never make, so it's great to find one that has some useful, tasty recipes I can actually tackle.

The About.com Guide To Shortcut Cooking is such a book. It's a good first book for someone who wants something on the basics, and it covers everything from soups, salads, and desserts to pasta, side dishes, and appetizers (they have other guides as well, including Home Cooking and Southern Cooking). The author is Linda Larsen, and the recipe for Bacon Mac and Cheese Soup sounds great, just oozing with smoky cheesiness.

I'd be happy if rosemary was added to everything: turkey recipes, sandwiches, desserts, cocktails, glasses of Yoo Hoo, whatever. It's really one of my favorite flavors, smells, even words. I'm playing a lot of Rosemary Clooney this holiday season.

This recipe for Rosemary Pasta in Roasted Garlic Sauce is from AllRecipes.com, and it sounds quite tasty. It's also not bad for you, judging from the nutritional info included with the recipe.

I'm a big fan of pasta. I like the flexibility and options you have with it. I used to make this dish I liked to call "Rigatoni Sassone" (it's great when a food you love rhymes with your name). It was basically rigatoni mixed with various vegetables and then tossed with parmesan and cheddar cheese, served with rosemary and olive oil bread. It was cheap and easy, but I haven't had it in a while.

I thought of that after seeing this recipe on AOL Food (from allrecipes.com). I'm not a fan of vodka, though I guess it won't make that much of an impact, right?

Stop what you're doing. Kraft is about to revolutionize the cheese industry with - are you ready? - parmesan cheese that comes in a ready-to-grate block form.

Shocking, I know.

The product, called Kraft Grate-It-Fresh Natural Parmesan Cheese, was actually first introduced last year at the 2006 Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Supermarket Convention, and was available at some east coast distributors as of last November. Now, much to the chagrin of those who like their parmesan cheese to be fresh and not prepackaged, it is now nationally available.

The "natural" cheese block is packed inside a disposable, plastic grater that utilizes a "clockwise twisting motion [to keep] the cheese in place" until ready to use. Kraft is promoting it as the perfect way "to bring the restaurant experience home... without the hassle of pulling out your grater." It is aimed at those who are looking to shave off those three seconds it takes to get out your own grater (a kitchen gadget that is so inexpensive and so handy that even dorm-dwelling college students own them) and use it with a fresh chunk of parmesan.

Kate, the Accidental Hedonist, noted the same thing when she reviewed this product just after its initial introduction and was not a fan. Others, however, liked its convenience and child-friendly usability, so there appears to be a market for the product. In the long run, a cheese grater (nondisposable) will run you less than $10. You can buy the Grate-It-Fresh in a 7oz. size for $4.99 and you'll have to pay for that disposable grater every time - and you'll still have to have a regular cheese grater at home for other uses.

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is a hard, dry cheese made in Italy. In fact, the name is trademarked and only cheese from a certain region - mostly around the areas of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Mantua in Italy - can officially be called Parmigiano Reggiano. Similar cheeses made outside this area are called simply parmesan cheese. The cheese has been produced in the same way for the past 800 years. The Consorzio del Formagio Parmigiano Reggiano has published a "multimedia journey" on their website that takes you through the steps of making this cheese. To summarize the process, however, a blend of whole and part skim milk is cooked in huge copper kettles, to which a cultured whey starter is added. This starter contains the precise bacteria needed to start the development of the cheese and is refreshed every day from the prior day's cheese making. Rennet, a thickening enzyme, is added and the cheese mixture is heated gently to expel water from the curds. The partially dry cheese is molded, salted and finally set to age. Parmigiano Reggiano should age for over 24 months to develop optimum flavor and texture, though the minimum aging is 12 months.

The US standard for parmesan cheese is that it must be aged for at least 10 months. In Italy, they cure the cheese for at least a year before selling it as Parmigiano Reggiano. In fact, only cheese from strictly regulated dairies in Parma, Italy can be called Parmigiano Reggiano; other cheeses must only be called parmesan. Kraft Foods is petitioning the FDA to reduce the aging standard for US parmesan to a mere 6 months, saying that their consumer taste tests show acceptance for the new product, which can be produced more cheaply and in greater quantities than the current product.

Italians, as well as other cheese producers in the US, say that the long aging is what allows the distinctive crumbly texture and delicious flavor to develop. It is possible that the World Trade Organization would consider restricting the use of the word "parmesan" by setting a minimum aging standard, if the US standard is changed and if there is enough international protest. A restriction on the use of the "parmesan" name would adversely affect US exports of the cheese.