A Culinary Vacation in Campania

It's hard to believe it was a year ago I travelled to Campania to eat, explore and enjoy. I saved many of my discoveries for an article and slide show that is now up on Epicurious. Please head over for a peek at A Culinary Vacation in Campania , The top nine things to eat and drink in Naples, Benevento, Sorrento, Amalfi, and Salerno, including pizza, cheese, and pasta....

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Salmon with Kiwi Sauce Recipe

I hate wasting food but sometimes it happens. I buy too much of something or it just gets lost in the back of the fridge. The worst is when I buy a lot of food and then am not home to cook it. Some foods can be saved like mushy bananas that become banana bread. Floppy carrots, onions and celery go in my chicken stock to give it flavor. I always used to throw away overripe kiwi fruit, but not anymore. In addition to my kiwi cake recipe, I discovered that mashed kiwis make a great sauce for fish. Next time you have overripe kiwi fruit, try mashing it in a bowl and tasting it. It's tangy and sweet at the same time. The crunch of little seeds adds nice texture. I added Asian flavors and put the resulting sauce on top of a simply cooked piece of salmon, but I bet this sauce would be good on halibut, scallops, shrimp or even fried calamari. The sauce keeps in fridge for at least 3 days. Another way to use mashed kiwi fruit is in guacamole. It has an amazing ability to keep your gua......

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Julie & Julia:The Movie

Last week, thanks to Sony Pictures , I saw a special preview screening of Julie & Julia . The screenplay for the film was adapted from two books: My Life in France , Julia Child's autobiography, co-written with her grand-nephew Alex Prud'homme, and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. One book recounts (among other things) how Mastering the Art of French Cooking came to be, and the other is how one woman cooked every single recipe in it, in the space of a year. I also got to see a presentation with a past Top Chef contestant , the author Julie Powell and one of the primary supporting actors Chris Messina , but the most intriguing person I met associated with the film was the culinary consultant, Susan Spungen . She and an assistant managed to prepare and cook every single dish in the movie as well as prep the cooking scenes. Susan Spungen is a cook, food stylist, editor and cookbook author . She worked as food editor for Martha Stewart Living magazine for over 10 ye......

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Kiwi Matcha Lime Tea Cake Recipe

I remember when kiwi fruit first started showing up in the market and were a real novelty. It's funny to think they were originally named for their brown exterior, because I now think of kiwi as the vibrant green color of the fruit inside. Back in the 80's they seemed to appear exclusively in fruit tarts, providing a bright color contrast. Kiwi fruit is in season at the moment and thanks to a surplus, I've been experimenting. It turns out, they are surprisingly versatile and can take the starring role in many recipes. There are two kinds of kiwi fruit commonly available and they are different both in look and taste. The green variety is tangy and has a citrus-like flavor. The yellow version is a little more elongated and tastes sweeter with tropical notes. Technically both are berries, refreshing and juicy with a little crunch of seeds. They are full of vitamins and good both raw or in recipes. One kiwi has more than 100% recommended daily allowance of vitamin C and con......

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