October 12, 2012
Stumped on food styling? Looking to increase traffic to your food blog? Wondering how to bring home the bacon with ad revenue? Join me on Thursday, December 6 at the Center for Food Media at The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City for a 3-hour intensive course on taking your food blog to the next level.
I’ll be providing individual blog consultations as well as group instruction focused on growing, refining, marketing and profiting from your food blog. Tickets are $75 and on sale now, so head over to ICE for more info and to sign up!
What: Taking Your Food Blog to the Next Level
When: Thursday, December 6, 2012 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Where: The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City
Posted by Kelly Senyei on October 12, 2012
October 10, 2012
Halloween may still be three weeks away, but things are starting to get seriously creepy around here. While developing this recipe, I glanced down at my sink to discover a culinary crime scene complete with red food coloring stains and meringue shards. Straight up blood and bones.
And while setting up the shot below, I accidentally knocked over one of the glasses. I quickly snapped another photo, not realizing the thick trickle of pudding down the side of the glass. But as eerie as this blood and bones matchup may be, it’s equally as addicting as a spooky sweet finale this Halloween.
Homemade pudding is a simple solution to the store-bought variety, especially when you kick it up with sour cream and cocoa powder for red velvet’s characteristic taste. Just imagine the classic cake, but in creamy, cool form. You’ll want to skip the spoons in favor of meringue bones, which make scooping and snacking a crunchy, spirited affair.
And a huge congratulations to the winner of the KitchenAid stand mixer giveaway! The winner, as chosen by Random.org out of the more than 885 comments, is Danielle (comment #185), who is ready to put her new stand mixer to the test with Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!
Posted by Kelly Senyei on October 10, 2012
October 3, 2012
Thin slices of flank steak, minced fresh garlic and ginger, dark brown sugar and soy sauce. Toss it all together and 30 minutes later you’ll be chowing down on a DIY take out takeout, instead of waiting for the delivery guy.
The key to mastering classic Chinese food flavor at home is a technique known as velveting, which is essentially an egg white, cornstarch and sherry marinade that preserves the moisture of the meat. This recipe includes an abridged version of velveting that still delivers tender slices of steak bathed in a rich reduction of soy sauce and brown sugar.
Craving Chinese but not a fan of beef? Go the sweet and spicy route with my Crackerjack Shrimp or kick back with Crispy Baked Orange Chicken Wings. And don’t forget the Homemade Fortune Cookies for dessert! Speaking of something sweet …
The KitchenAid giveaway is still open for entries, so swing by Monday’s post to leave a comment for your chance to win a 5-quart stand mixer in the color of your choice!
Posted by Kelly Senyei on October 3, 2012
October 1, 2012
Four years ago this month, I launched Just a Taste as a way to catalog and share my family’s recipes. Now, 288 posts, 2,584 comments, 30 newsletters and one book later, the blog has transformed from a casual hobby into a career (and a serious caloric love affair). It has been an absolute pleasure and joy to become a part of the expansive food blogging community, both online and in person, and I am so thankful for each and every one of you who visits the site and shares the content I create entirely out of my passion and love for food.
To celebrate the 4-year anniversary of Just a Taste, I’ve teamed up with KitchenAid, who has generously offered to give one lucky reader a 5-quart stand mixer (color of your choice!). Some of my earliest childhood memories revolve around my mom’s giant white stand mixer, which has churned out countless batches of Monster Cookies and cupcakes over the past two decades.
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.
To enter for your chance to win a KitchenAid stand mixer, leave a comment on this post that answers the following question:
Which Just a Taste recipe would you make with your new KitchenAid stand mixer?
One winner will be selected via Random.org and announced on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. This giveaway closes on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 12 p.m. EST and is open to U.S. participants only. The winner will be contacted via email, so please include a valid email address in the email address entry box.
Craving more? Sign up for the Just a Taste newsletter for a fresh serving of content delivered straight to your inbox each week! And stay in touch on Facebook and Twitter for all of the latest updates. For all those who are just here for the sweets, check out my post on baking a giant cupcake cake (pictured above).
Disclosure: All opinions expressed are my own and I was not compensated monetarily for this post. I received a complimentary KitchenAid stand mixer in conjunction with this giveaway.
Posted by Kelly Senyei on October 1, 2012
September 26, 2012
There are days when the minutes fly by so fast, I have all I can do to avoid a Jessie Spano-style meltdown. No time. There’s never enough time. Three times out of 10, I usually don’t make it all the way to the “I’m so excited! I’m so excited! I’m so … scared” part.
So what does an iconic 90s sitcom scene have to do with that stack-o-chocolate goodness up there? Absolutely everything.
Espresso Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies are for the troubled multitaskers in this world—those that can’t find the time to eat a cookie and eat a brownie and drink a cup of coffee, all in one sitting. I feel your pain. And these cookie brownies ease that pain, one chocolatey, chewy, caffeinated bite at a time. Just imagine the texture of a brownie, but in cookie form. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking…
Posted by Kelly Senyei on September 26, 2012
