At the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in San Diego

By Sandy Hu

I am at the American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in San Diego, looking for healthy new products to share with you. I was invited to attend the conference in my role as president of Les Dames d'Escoffier International, an association of women leaders in the food, beverage and hospitality industries, where membership is by invitation.

FNCE is the world's largest annual meeting of food and nutrition professionals. The conference, which runs through tomorrow, draws thousands of registered dietitians, nutrition science researchers, policy makers, healthcare providers and industry leaders. At the conference, ADA announced it will change its name to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics beginning January 2012.

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Almond Tabbouleh in Tomato Cups

By Allison Kociuruba

There’s nothing like tomato season in my kitchen. From caprese to BLTs and fresh pasta sauce, I am constantly searching for ways to serve tomatoes for dinner. This week I’m trying an easy, virtually no-cook recipe that can be served as a first course or a vegetarian supper.

Tomatoes, particularly the large heirlooms we find at the farmers’ market, are great for stuffing and you can find uses for the pulp after you hollow out the tomatoes, so there’s no waste! This tabbouleh, studded with roasted almonds and the vibrant flavors of fresh parsley and mint, comes together easily and makes the perfect filling for the tomatoes.

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Fall Memories – Candied Pecans

By Marilyn Hunter

When I was a little girl, we would pile into the family wagon (a Ford with “wood” paneling) and head to mamaw and papaw’s West Texas home for long weekends. Starting in mid-summer through the fall, my brother Eddie and I spent our afternoons gathering pecans from the backyard grove. We knew our efforts would be rewarded come Thanksgiving with Texas pecan pie.

Our boys may be years and miles away from my papaw’s backyard of pecan trees but I can still teach them the art of shelling and candying pecans.

Fancy pecans, candied with ginger and brown sugar, are a special fall treat. Package them in pretty jars and give as gifts, set around the house in small bowls as party treats, sprinkle over salads or mix with chopped fruit to sprinkle over ice cream for a quick and simple dessert. The boys love to snack on them all season long.

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Changing Seasons

By Lori Powell

I’m back at the farmers’ market again. I can’t get enough of it, partly because fall is in the air and another season is coming to a close.

Two more good months of eye catching produce and I’ve already developed the Ed Sullivans. (This TV show aired on Sunday night and it meant that when the show ended, it was bedtime, Monday was a school day and well, you were just a bit sad).

I LOVE the fall season but part of me feels a bit blue… kind of like when you anticipate a vacation and before you know it, you are living the last two days of it and you wonder where the beginning and middle went…you get the picture.

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It’s not Just Icing on the Cake

By Katie Barreira

This week, my dearest friend asked if I would give her a cake-frosting tutorial. Fairly certain that the bride-to-be wasn’t planning a do-it-yourself, or worse, a do-it-together wedding cake, I consented readily.

Between my three-week culinary school foray into the pastry arts, a hand-modeling cameo appearance in a cake decorating spread and testing the magazine’s five, 5-year anniversary cakes, I’ve probably only frosted a whopping baker’s dozen. And yet, I faced the impending lesson with complete confidence. Why? Because I had an ace of a frosting recipe up my sleeve.

The first time I took this frosting for a test drive, it felt as if my offset spatula was a magic wand. But the power wasn’t in the stick, it was in the icing. This glossy, billowing, meringue-based whip glides onto cake with ease and precision. It’s perfect for cake-frosting newbies because you can hone your icing skills and produce impressive results on the first time out; very encouraging.

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