Foodbuzz Launch!

Foodbuzz is well on it's way to becoming the #1 Food and Drink site on the net, with all the features today's 'foodies' are looking for, in one convenient, user-friendly, and customizable place!

I have been a member of the Foodbuzz Publisher Community for several months, and the innovative features here have really impressed me. (impressing my cynical butt is not an easy task, lol)

Check it out - if you have even the smallest interest in food, in any aspect, you won't be disappointed!
-Chef





Contact: Allison Costello
Ketchum
allison.costello@ketchum.com

Doug Collister
Foodbuzz
doug@foodbuzz.com

LAUNCH OF GLOBAL FOODBUZZ BLOGGER COMMUNITY
LEVERAGES REAL-PEOPLE, REAL-TIME POWER OF FOOD PUBLISHING

San Francisco – October 13, 2008: Foodbuzz, Inc., officially inaugurates its food blogger community with more than 1,000 blog partners, a global food blogging event and an online platform that captures the real-people, real-time power of food publishing in every corner of the world. At launch, the Foodbuzz community ranks as one of the top-10 Internet destinations for food and dining (Quantcast), with bloggers based in 45 countries and 863 cities serving up daily food content.
“Food bloggers are at the forefront of reality publishing and the dramatic growth of new media has redefined how food enthusiasts access tasty content,” said Doug Collister, Executive Vice President of Foodbuzz, Inc. “Food bloggers are the new breed of local food experts and at any minute of the day, Foodbuzz is there to help capture the immediacy of their hands-on experiences, be it a memorable restaurant meal, a trip to the farmers market, or a special home-cooked meal.”
Foodbuzz is the only online community with content created exclusively by food bloggers and rated by foodies. The site offers more than 20,000 pieces of new food and dining content weekly, including recipes, photos, blog posts, videos and restaurant reviews. Members decide the “tastiness” of each piece of content by voting and “buzz” the most popular posts to the top of the daily menu of submissions. Foodbuzz currently logs over 13 million monthly page views and over three million monthly unique visitors.
“Our goal is to be the number-one online source of quality food and dining content by promoting the talent, enthusiasm and knowledge of food bloggers around the globe,” said Ben Dehan, founder and CEO of Foodbuzz, Inc.
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The Foodbuzz blogger community is growing at a rate of 40 percent per month driven by strong growth in existing partner blogs and the addition of over 100 new blogs per month. “The Foodbuzz.com Web site is like the stock of a great soup. The Web site provides the base or backbone for bloggers to interact as a community, contribute content, and have that content buzzed by their peers,” said Mr. Dehan.
Global Blogging Event
Demonstrating the talent and scope of the Foodbuzz community, 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs offered online food enthusiasts an international, virtual street festival of food and diversity. The new feature showcased blog posts from 24 Foodbuzz partner bloggers chronicling events occurring around the globe during a 24 hour period and included:
Mid-Autumn Festival Banquest (New York, NY)
The "Found on Foodbuzz" 24-Item Tasting Menu (San Francisco, CA)
Aussie BBQ Bonanza – Celebrating Diversity (Sydney, Australia)
The Four Corners of Carolina BBQ Road Trip (Charleston, SC)
Criminal Tastes – An Illegal Supper (Crested Butte, CO)
From Matambre to Empanadas: An Argentine Dinner (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
A Sweet Trompe l’oeil (Seattle, WA)

“24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs” captures the quality and unique local perspective of our food bloggers and shared it with the world,” said Ryan Stern, Director of the Foodbuzz Publisher Community. “It illustrates exactly what the future of food publishing is all about – real food, experienced by real people, shared real-time.”
About Foodbuzz, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, Foodbuzz, Inc., launched its beta Web site, foodbuzz.com, in 2007. In less than a year, Fooduzz.com and its community of over 1,000 exclusive partner food blogs have grown into an extended online property that reaches more than three million users.

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Slow Cooker Honey-Dijon Pork Tenderloin

Today, I made the best, most tender, flavorful, and moist Pork Tenderloin that I've ever tasted, if I do say so myself! ;-)

I had a lovely-looking 2 lb pork tenderloin, (see pic) and wanted to try something different - I searched online, saw an interesting recipe on About.com, Southern Cooking, and adapted it to fit my own taste.

Slow Cooker Honey-Dijon Pork Tenderloin


* 2 lb pork tenderloin, or 2 1 lb pork tenderloins
* salt and pepper, to taste
* 1 medium garlic clove, minced
* 5 tablespoons high quality honey-dijon mustard
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1 tablespoon cold water

Preparation:
Wash and trim the pork and pat dry; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place pork in the slow cooker. Combine garlic, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and thyme; pour over the pork. Turn pork to coat thoroughly. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours, or on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Test for doneness with meat thermometer, center of tenderloin should be at least 160F, for safe eating.

Remove pork to a plate, cover with foil, and keep warm. Pour the juices into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until reduced by about one-third. I left the 'chunky bits' in my sauce for extra flavor, but you can easily strain the juices, for a smoother sauce. Combine the cornstarch and cold water; whisk into the reduced juices and cook for 1 minute longer. Serve pork sliced with the thickened juices.

I added some fresh Italian style green beans, and a simple salad, and had a meal fit for royalty!

Serves 6.

Thank You, Foodbuzz!

After a hard work day today, I arrived home to find a package from my friends at Foodbuzz, the Internet's most awesome foodie community.

I excitedly opened my package, to find that these wonderful folks had sent me yet more gifts to show their appreciation for my role as one of their Featured Publishers!

This time, I received a high-quality chef's apron, and a snazzy green spatula, both emblazoned with the Foodbuzz logo. You can see both in the picture above.

I'm especially impressed with the chef's apron - not only does it have an adjustable neck, (important to someone like me, who is 'vertically challenged', lol) but it also has 3 deep waist pockets, something that is only found in the best quality aprons.

I'm looking forward to using my new gifts at my public catering events, where I know the Foodbuzz logo will start a real 'buzz'! I intend to let any who ask know what a great community Foodbuzz is!

Be sure to check out the Foodbuzz site - you'll be glad you did!

Thanks again, Foodbuzz - you rock!

Blue Cheese Cream Toasts with Walnuts

Calabres Con Nuezes

Another tasty, yet super quick and easy, Tapas recipes!


Yield: 10-12 toasts

Ingredients

French baguette, cut in half inch slices
2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 oz Cabrales, or other bleu cheese (Cabrales really is the best!)
2 Tbl sour cream
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup English walnut halves, shelled

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Brush each slice of baguette with olive oil, and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.

In medium bowl, crumble Cabrales, add sour cream, and mix lightly with a fork. Do not overmix - mixture should not be smooth. Season with pepper to taste. Spread a tsp of cheese mixture on each slice of baguette, top with a walnut half.

That's all there is to it! Serve with cocktails, sparkling white wine, or as a finger food with other appetizers.

Tapas!

Lately, I've been having a great time discovering and creating 'Tapas', the wonderful snacks that magically appear beside your chosen drink at Spanish bars. Tapas are usually very simple, small morsels of food, often unique to local regions of Spain. Tapas are only one of the ways that the local gathering spots use to make everyone feel like 'family'.

Here is just one of the numerous Tapas you may find.
Try serving these at your next cocktail party, or game day - your guest will love them!

I will be posting more Tapa recipes soon!



Croquetas de Huevos (Egg Fritters)

Makes 36 fritters

Ingredients:

1/4 stick butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup of milk (very cold)
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tsp grated nutmeg
6 TBL bread crumbs, finely ground
2 large eggs, beaten
Oil (preferably EVOO) for frying

Melt butter in medium saucepan, and add flour, stirring constantly. Continiue stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add milk slowly, still stirring constantly, until it forms a thick sauce. Fold in hard boiled eggs, season to taste, and add nutmeg. Continue to cook 4-5 minutes, resulting in a thick sauce.
Let cool completely - this is very important! Cooling overnight is best.
Form a scan TBL of the mixture into a fritter, (1.5 to 2 inch cylinder). Roll fritter in bread crumbs, coat in beaten egg, and roll in bread crumbs again.
Heat oil in large, heavy-bottomed skillet until temp reaches 350F. Fry in batches (no more than 3-4 per batch) for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and serve immediately.

"Safe" Tomatoes

Will it be a tomato-less summer for some people?

I highly doubt that the current Salmonella scare will last all summer, although the FDA seems to be having an especially hard time locating the source of the contaminated tomatoes, compared with other recent outbreaks.

On a positive note, the FDA is clearing more states' growers every day, so if you can (reliably) find out the source of the tomatoes you wish to purchase, you can check to see if that state is on the "safe" list.

The most comprehensive information I've found for all aspects of this Salmonella outbreak, including a daily updating of states where the tomatoes have been deemed safe, is Salmonellosis Outbreak in Certain Types of Tomatoes

As for ourselves, we are blessed that this year's crop of container tomatoes is an abundant one, as evidenced by the pictures. With a little work to keep the squirrels at bay, we've been enjoying these homegrown delights every day!

I hope my readers are as lucky!

Easy Broccoli Salad

This sweet but tangy broccoli salad isn't just good for you, it's super easy to prepare as a light lunch, or cool side dish for your next cookout!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl vinegar
6 cups fresh broccoli florets
6 slices crisply cooked bacon, crumbled
1 small red onion, chopped

Directions:

Mix mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix lightly. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Serves 10-12.