Some years Thanksgiving seems to float in, stays for a vague day of pointless overeating, and then slips away into dim memories. This year I feel genuinely thankful for so many things.

I am profoundly thankful for:

• the health of my children
• their hard work this year in school
• the 4 yo progressing so very much with his ASD challenges
• the 14 yo getting student of the quarter in her first year of high school as she rose to so many challenges
• the 7 yo for being so explosively creative and sweet and spicy
• the DH getting a job (saving the bacon just in time) but not only that, getting a job that is PERFECT for him, that he loves, and his work people love him!

In the sphere of blogging it has been an interesting year. As always, BlogHer has been a source of inspiration and community. They have given me many opportunities to review and giveaway food related things.

I got to know MyBlogSpark this year and I can not say enough nice things about them. Goodness, have I had some fun with their activities! I got hooked up with Quericavida.com and was whisked off to Miami to meet a whole “new to me” world of latina/o bloggers. After that I was invited to General Mills up in Minnesota and got to meet a whole other world of people who are passionate, friendly, knowledgable and devoted to food – both the bloggers and the people at General Mills / Betty Crocker. They treated us bloggers to such a fantastic time, its hard to explain how welcomed and pampered I felt!

As always I am so thankful to get to know the people who visit my blog, it makes it all worth it.

I am looking forward to the holiday food season and then the new year. What new blogging horizons await?

Its my hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Jeeeeeepers I have been having problems with my commenting system. I would get your lovely comments and entries into the various giveaways I had going but I could not get the system to accept them.

I have upgraded my blogging software, further hardened my security and gone through and accepted all qualifying comments and now will be selecting winners in three recently closed giveaways – stay tuned.

I thought I was blocked before, the hacking didn’t help matters. I strongly urge you all to backup your databases and all blog related files. You wordpress people, you need to upgrade and not delay.

I also suggest that you keep an eye on those plugins that become classed “dangerous” because the wretched small-minded hackers have figured out how to exploit the plugin’s weakness to access your blog. In my case I am thinking its the forums (wp-forum 1.7.4) so I have disabled it. I am sorry to you all who use it but right now I have to figure out two things: a secure forum and then how to import everything from the current forum onto the new forum system.

The forum is not my highest priority right now tho because I have to do the following:

• write up my Lou Manna post
• find, test, and customize a new theme
• Write the next food photo 101 class (so darn behind from all this disruption and I am so verrrrrry sorry)
• catch up on my other posts!

There is more but I am trying to concentrate on these few things.

I am sorry if there are parts of the site that do not work correctly yet, thats part of the process. You may also find that the theme changes erratically from visit to visit or even during the same visit .. I am testing new themes when its like that. Sorry if it makes you feel dizzy!

The only words that I can use right now to explain the past day and the utter disregard for me and my family by those who hacked this blog are so completely unfit for any sort of broadcast that I have little to say on how I feel.

One can only assume that the hackers grew up with either no parents or with such parental specimens so completely lacking in any parenting skill that they really should be considered for prosecution due to child neglect.

Shame on you, oh hacker, you live a small small life. It will not be missed in it’s absence, I can promise you.

To the readers (you know, actual humans and not selfish hackers) –

This site will take a while longer to heal as my most recent theme is quite truculent and fighting the upgrade and security measures I have had to implement in reactive-mode (the least optimal situation).

Bear with me.

Hold on to them britches, we are going to experience a paradigm shift here as a new theme is being installed.

Please take a moment to leave me a comment telling me what you think.

Keep in mind, things MIGHT be a bit glitchy at the beginning, be patient!

Go check it out, cruise it’s isles, test it’s buttons, kick it’s tires.

Please tell me what you think!

I was invited by the lovely Kathy over at StartCooking.com to attend a sneak preview showing of the Warner Brothers movie “No Reservations” last night in Boston.

As you may or may not know, Catherine Zeta-Jones is the lead with Aaron Eckhart as her sous chef, literally. Let me just say right off, I could watch Aaron Eckhart in any movie, any time, any where, doing any thing. He has a certain charisma that is hard to explain, I just really like him.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, well, I was neither a fan or non-fan before this movie. All I knew of her was that she is married to Michael Douglas and that she has dark hair and somewhat exotic looks (sorta?). She did a lovely job in this movie. The character is one that is a bit aloof in the world and this plays to Zeta-Jones’ personality as she seems to be on the less emotive side of the scale. The character suited her as did the movie.

She seemed just a bit un-natural in the kitchen with a certain flavor of attention that would not really be there if she had actually been a chef and had made any particular dish MANY times. She did have an interesting graceful way of things that made up or distracted from this, if not being all that authentic.

The story is absolutely about WAY more than cooking, food, or the restaurant life. The story line had me CRYING in several spots (I didn’t want to cry but, dang, I couldn’t help it).

There has been a lot of build up about this movie in the food blog and foodie worlds (must .. not..use..words..industry..or..community). There are some very dominant plot elements that pull it away from the foodie concept into things like women’s issues, mortality, mindfulness, etc. Its really hard to classify.

As a food blogger I was just amazed by something else, the number of bloggers than were invited and attended this special preview. My goodness, something happened last night in terms of a proof of concept around social media, blogging, and good old fashion marketing. I am hoping that Warner Brothers understands how tremendously successful last night was.

They filled the theater and then had to turn many people away at the door. Thankfully for me, as I had driven an hour and a half into Boston to see this movie, I was able to sit in a section reserved by Kathy of StartCooking.com. I got to sit next to one of the people instrumental in making the event a success, CC Chapman. Talk about a down to earth guy, very nice. He is the VP of New Marketing at “Crayon“, a marketing group here in Boston and across the US. CC, as I understand it, helped Kathy with social media outreach and, bang!, it really paid off.

Kathy’s site, StartCooking.com, is not a food blog like this one. She does these bright, shiny, and interesting food how-to videocasts that are really charming in so many ways. From what I understand, these videocasts have exploded her site onto the videophone serving arena. This is wonderful for Kathy because she gets to reach more people with her videos, something she is passionate about because she would like to teach the world to cook!

Visit her site, cruise the videos. They are a lot of fun.

My take on the movie is big thumbs up. Go see it, but eat before you go. Kathy has a recipe for scallops and saffron sauce from the movie which she video casts, check it out!

Technorati Tags: StartCooking.com, Warner Brothers, movie, No Reservations, Boston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Douglas, exotic, kitchen, chef, authentic, restaurant, food blog, foodie, women’s issues, food, blogger, social media, marketing, CC Chapman, Crayon, videocast, videophone

Yummmm, you know you love grilling, especially when certain vegetables like asparagus are so fresh. Its also nice to stand outside and cook instead of at the same old stove.

Fresh air, fresh food, the quiet of the backyard, cant get better than that.

What CAN get better is my technique and grilling know-how. This is where you come in.

The website Culinate is running a contest that will send one winning reader and one winning foodblogger to attend the COPIA Cooking School’s prestigious two-day grill course taught by Andrew Schloss and David Joachim, authors of the best-selling Mastering the Grill.

Click that blue graphic to put my name ontop of the list of extremely competitive foodbloggers. I have no illusions that I will, but I can dream!

If you would like more grilling food porn to help you decide try these two slide shows.

See below for a slideshow from that whole red snapper and trout grilling photo shoot.

You may also enjoy this slideshow

I just wanted to thank Ilva at Lucullian delights for tagging me as a recipient of the Thinking Blogger Award!

You are such a sweetie Ilva *hugs*.

This award started back on the 11th of February 2007 by Ilker Yoldas on The Thinking Blog. His is not a food blog but obviously this has spread into the food blog world.

His participation rules are:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the “Thinking Blogger Award” with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

It seems to be a great meme for a couple of reasons:

• who would not want such an awesome sounding award, and
• it makes you stop and think about who you would tag next for the award.

My list, in no certain order, of Thinking Blogger Award recipients are:

• Khymos by Martin Lersch (PhD in organometallic chemistry from the University of Oslo) – because this blog does a fantabulous job of covering the food science and molecular gastronomy world, check out the Food Science podcasts!
• Foodite by Gerald San Jose – because he has interesting interviews, great photo spreads on a variety of topics, including molecular gastronomy topics, and he is a super nice guy to boot.
• Ideas in Food by chefs Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa – because they are hyper-creative about food (molecular gastronomy and beyond into their own personal food universe) and are strongly committed to Open Source Food.
• Still Life With… by Lara Ferroni – because she does a lovely job of discussing various aspects of the technical side of food photography
• Confessions of a Pioneer Woman by Ree – because she has this amazing natural but fantastically charismatic way of writing that is too darn humorous, don’t be drinking or eating when you visit her blog. Her photography of her world is quite evocative and really serves to engage you in a way of life that is likely foreign to yours. She has been raking in the awards like a crazy fool and needs another one like a hole in the head but I think she deserves this one too.

Visit them all and enjoy!

Thanks again Ilva!

Technorati Tags: Lucullian delights, Thinking Blogger Award, Ilker Yoldas, The Thinking Blog, food blog, blogs that make you think, Khymos, Martin Lersch, University of Oslo, Foodite, Gerald San Jose, Ideas in Food, Alex Talbot, Aki Kamozawa, molecular gastronomy, Open Source Food, Still Life With, Lara Ferroni, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, Ree

Hmmmm, chocolate.

It’s likely something we all take for granted.

You might think that the definition of chocolate is an inherent thing and you might think that when you go to the store and when you buy something that is called chocolate that it would, indeed, BE chocolate. For the most part, that is what it is now.

Seems there are some who find that unacceptable and there is some nefarious behind the-scenes-activity with the FDA (THAT would never happen in this administration, right?).

In short, the FDA is considering changing the definition of chocolate to include those products that do not contain cocoa butter or even cocoa solids and that transfats and artificial sweeteners are mighty fine amendments to a Hershey bar.

Seems the big business organization behind this would be the Chocolate Manufacturers Association (instills a lot of confidence in their products doesn’t it). Who are some of the companies that are spear-heading this push for dumbing down chocolate and making it even LESS wholesome for our children?

“The Chocolate Manufacturers Association, whose members include Hershey, Nestle SA and Archer Daniels Midland Co., has a petition before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to redefine what constitutes chocolate. They want to make it without the required ingredients of cocoa butter and cocoa solids, using instead artificial sweeteners, milk substitutes and vegetable fats such as hydrogenated and trans fats.” (Adam Satariano for Bloomberg Press)

Thats right, you read it, none other than Nestle and Hershey.

I have to tell you. Before I learned about their push to degrade chocolate, I had a lot of good will toward these companies. I would have been positively inclined toward the Chocolate Manufacturers Association. But now, they have done some permanent damage in this household as I now do not nor can I trust these companies to provide a wholesome product that I can give to my children.

I can promise you that I will be looking for other REAL chocolate products from companies that speak up against this silliness.

You can have your say today and tomorrow by visiting the FDA’s comment site. You can give them your 2 cents worth on whether you think its right to allow these large multinational corporations to label a non-chocolate product as chocolate.

To do that visit the FDA’s site at: FDA E-comments Website

Don’t be confused by the oddness of the page, hit the “submit button” and you will be able to make your contribution.

For more specific information on how to do the FDA filing visit the “DontMessWithOurChocolate” page.

Learn more at “Eating Liberally“, get angry, submit your comments to the FDA.

Other Bloggers HEART Chocolate, why you should too

Cybele May, of the Candy Blog, has been quite vocal about this rear-guard attack on the American Way Of Life – I mean – chocolate.

Read her LA Times opinion piece “Hands off my chocolate, FDA!” on it, where she says, in part:

“The FDA is entertaining a “citizen’s petition” to allow manufacturers to substitute vegetable fats and oils for cocoa butter. The “citizens” who created this petition represent groups that would benefit most from this degradation of the current standards. They are the Chocolate Manufacturers Assn., the Grocery Manufacturers Assn., the Snack Food Assn. and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn. (OK, I’m not sure what’s in it for them), along with seven other food producing associations.”

Other bloggers in the blogosphere who are trying to raise the ruckus on this issue include:

• Ed Levine at Serious Eats
• Chocolate Alchemy
• Crooks and Liars
• Chowhound
• and so many more

Technorati Tags: chocolate, definition, FDA, Chocolate Manufacturers Association, Hershey, Nestle, Food and Drug Administration