How's The Food at College?

... I'm about to find out!

Just a heads up to my readers that my husband, my oldest daughter (18) and I are off on a little 'college road trip' as we travel to visit the campus of the school she'll be attending this Fall when she starts her studies towards her degree in Criminal Justice.

I'll have my laptop with me but I can't promise in this whirlwind of scheduled activities that I'll get much time to write articles. I'll try my best to keep in touch. Until then, have a great weekend and go ahead... play with your food. Try something new this weekend!

Iced Latte Punch

While looking for punch recipes for my daughter's graduation open house last weekend I came across a lot of old recipes that I had forgotten about in my collection of old church cookbooks, some great new recipes online and more than a few in between. Even though I didn't use any of them in the end I gathered a few to put into my collection of recipes for future use.

This one is perfect for entertaining girlfriends during the hot summer months. The warm weather is upon us.  If an iced latte is what you crave try this punch at your next gathering.

1/4 cup instant coffee granules
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 cups half-and-half
1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 cups ginger ale
Vanilla ice cream, optional


Stir together the instant coffee, syrup, sugar and boiling water in a large pitcher; cool. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Stir together coffee mixture, half-and-half, and 1 quart ice cream in a punch bowl. Stir in ginger ale; ladle into glasses. Top with a small scoop of ice cream, if desired.

In Honor of Two Birthdays This Week... Cakes for Both!

This week is a special one for family birthdays and my long time readers might remember what I was doing a year ago... preparing the cakes for a double birthday party! My FIL celebrates his 81st birthday and my Grandmother is celebrating her 82nd this week.

Today's website article is in honor of them and their special days. This year everyone's schedules didn't allow for a large gathering but I hope my readers celebrating their own family and friends birthdays might consider having some fun with fondant and trying their hand at decorating. These cakes were my second attempts to ever work with it. I found it much like persnickety play-dough but fun to create with. My Grandmother's Cake was white with a simple filling between the layers and gold and pearl glitter embellished fondant ribbons.

My Father-in-law's Cake was a feast for chocolate fiends as a triple layer chocolate with a fudge filling and glitter fondant stars cascading down to the serving platter from above.

What are you waiting for? Order those beautiful invitations, bake those cakes and celebrate!

Watermelon Margarita

I promised margarita's and I have another margarita for you! This one is also a very popular recipe that most people already know and love but just in case you need reminding, or you have leftover watermelon on hand and need a new idea, here it is. Break out the tequila and invite the neighbors over to grill out!

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 1/2 cups seeded, cubed watermelon
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
Ice, crushed

Make a simple sugar syrup by bringing sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool. Process watermelon in a blender until smooth. Combine all ingredients, and shake well.

Thai Chicken Salad

Over the last few years my readers might have noticed that I often recommend rice vinegar in my recipes. I always have NAKANO Rice Vinegar on hand to use in my homemade salad dressings and pasta salads. While I always have the natural version (green cap) on hand I often buy both the natural and the seasoned, which has the red cap. The NAKANO All Natural Seasoned Rice Vinegar has just the right amount of seasonings in it to splash onto green salads, grilled chicken, pasta, baked potatoes, or hot vegetables for a touch of flavor without the fat and oil of a traditional salad dressing, sour cream or butter. It's naturally brewed and has a light taste; subtle, not overwhelming. Made from real rice it's all natural, fat free, low calorie and is gluten free.

Thai Chicken Salad in Egg Roll Wrapper Bowls

Bowls:
8 (6 x 6–inch) egg roll wrappers
Cooking spray

Dressing:
1⁄4 cup NAKANO® Original Seasoned Rice Vinegar (with the red cap)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1⁄2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons reduced fat peanut butter
1 teaspoon honey

Salad:
1 cup frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
3 cups chopped red leaf lettuce
1 cup cooked long grain brown rice
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1⁄2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1⁄4 inch–wide strips
1⁄4 cup diagonally sliced green onions
1⁄4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare bowls, lightly coat one side of each wrapper with cooking spray. Fit 4 wrappers, coated sides up, into the 4 corner cups of a nonstick muffin pan; press wrapper up sides of cups. Repeat procedure with remaining 4 wrappers. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove wrappers from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare dressing, combine vinegar and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in small
bowl; stir with a whisk. Add peanut butter and honey to vinegar mixture; stirring with a whisk.

To prepare salad, cook edamame in boiling water 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Combine edamame and next 6 ingredients (through onions) in a large bowl; toss well. Drizzle dressing over chicken mixture, tossing gently to coat.

Spoon about 1 cup salad into each egg roll wrapper bowl; top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons peanuts. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 filled salad bowl).

NAKANO is a proud sponsor of the 2008 Cooking Light Ultimate Reader Recipe contest. Enjoy this winning reader recipe from the contest. As seen in the January/February 2009 issue of Cooking Light Magazine.