Dessert First

Meet Anne Thornton.  Host of Dessert First with Anne Thornton on the Food Network.   Not only is Anne my new favorite cooking show host, her recipes are to die for.  I recently discovered her show this weekend (where have I been??) while catching up on some weekend television.  As soon as I saw that she was making Salted Caramel Banana Macarons, I was sold.  

Make sure you tune in to the Food Network on Saturdays at 12:30pm/11:30 Central for her fabulously delicious show.

Here are some of my favorite recipes by Anne:

Salted Caramel Banana Macarons

Couture Caramel Apples

Deepest Darkest Chocolate Cheesecake

Almond, Pear and Cherry Pocket Pies

Cookie Dough Truffles with Sea Salt

Fruits of Life.

As I've mentioned before, despite this blog being all about sugar and sweets, I'm a very healthy eater and try not to indulge too often.  It seems odd, I know.  Recently, I've been asked by a few readers to share what a daily menu looks like for the Patterson family.  The request made me think about some of the staples we have in our diet.  The first thing that came to mind, which happens to be one of my/our favorites: FRUIT.  

This time of year happens to be one of my favorites because the fruit selection is so plentiful.  Twice a week I head to the grocery store or farmers market and buy fresh fruit in bulk (always loading up on the sale items!) and make a huge fruit salad.  To give you an example, I currently have: 3 pineapples, 5 mangos, 8 bananas, 10 apples, 2 baskets of blackberries and 2 bags of grapes in my refrigerator at this very moment.  Yes, it's time for our next salad to be made!  

Not only is fruit salad extremely healthy and full of much needed vitamins and antioxidants, it's also very refreshing.  

Here's a list of fruits we mix and max in our fruit salads:

Pineapple

Mango

Cantaloupe

Honeydew

Grapes

Strawberries

Blackberries

Blueberries

Papaya

Kiwi

Peaches

Nectarines

Oranges

Banana

You can choose any of these items or any of your favorite fruits and make your own signature salad.  You'll feel great about what you're doing and your body will thank you too.

P.S. My husband has admitted to me that my fruit salads were one of the many things that made him fall in love with me.  :)

Mardi Gras 2011

Last weekend we made our way down to the great city of New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras.  I must say that NOLA is one of my new favorite cities.  The culture, architecture, history, and most importantly food are all one of a kind.  I ate some of the best food I have ever had during my few days there and experienced a celebration unlike any other.  If you are ever considering going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I highly recommend it.  Here is my list of must-do's while you are there:

Walk Bourbon Street during the height of the Mardi Gras madness.

Dine at Port of Call.  You will have the best hamburger and baked potato ever made.

Go on a Swamp Tour with Cajun Encounters Tour Company.  Get an up close and personal view alligators, snakes, herrings and more in the wild!

Drink a famous Hurricane at Pat O'Briens.  Check out the recipe HERE!

Visit the Southern Candymakers shop and try some of their famous Pralines, Turtles and Salt Water Taffy.  Hands down, the best I've ever had!!

Collect as many Mardi Gras beads as you can.  They make for a great souvenir and fabulous balcony entertainment.  It's amazing what some folks will do for some beads.  

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

I &hearts Chi-Town

Chicago was a blast.  Despite having only been there for 48 hours, I got to take in a good bit of the city, but I can't wait to go back really explore the city.  Wednesday night we dined at Gibsons Steakhouse in downtown Chicago and at the end of the meal the wait staff brings out desserts that were, so kindly, on the house.  That's me holding the biggest slice of Chocolate Turtle Cake I've ever seen!!  It was absolutely delicious and absolutely massive!  Gibson's makes all of their desserts in house and they are extremely popular with the guests.  It seemed like every 5 minutes I would see another amazingly huge yet gorgeous dessert going by.  It was great.

A true Chicago tradition I was lucky enough to experience was Garrett's Popcorn.  Fortunately, a few Chicago natives told me I had to try it when I got to O'Hare Airport.  As I was sitting at my gate, waiting for my delayed flight to board, I looked over and there it was...a Garrett's Popcorn stand.  I felt as thought it was fate that it was literally 100 feet away from me.  The other bonus was that the popcorn is made fresh right in the terminal.  Big plus!  I purchased a small bag of Cashew Caramel Crisp.  I refused to taste it before I got home, but once Curtis and I broke into it after dinner...game over.  15 minutes max, the entire thing was demolished.  Ahh, sweet sugary bliss.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  I'll be working on gathering items for my next Sweets Table photo shoot at the end of January.  More to come on that later.  

Be Sweet.

-Kristy