February 23rd, 2010 by admin

By Lidia Matticchio Bastianich,
Author of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

There is a natural affinity between pasta and cheese, but they can’t be paired indiscriminately. In Italy, cheese is used with pasta very selectively, judiciously, and with proper timing.

Pasta does not always require cheese. In Italy, cheese is never served with seafood pasta, and it is sometimes omitted when serving game sauces or sauces containing hot pepper.

Cheese should be added to pasta as soon as the pasta is cooked and ready to serve — if extended heat is applied to cheese, the proteins will separate from the fat and you may end up with stringy cheese and oily pasta. To add a classic final touch you can grate or shave cheese over plated pasta.

The three cheeses that are most often used to dress pasta in Italy are Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, and Grana Padano. Each cheese has its own characteristics and its own uses. Read the rest of this entry »

February 12th, 2010 by admin

Care.com is hosting a contest in conjunction with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures’ film “Valentine’s Day.”

One lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a trip for two to Los Angeles, including round-trip airfare, a two-night hotel stay at the luxury SLS Hotel (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/index.html in Beverly Hills) with dinner for two at SLS’s Bazaar restaurant and a private VIP tour of the Warner Bros. Studio lot, where “Valentine’s Day” was filmed. Twelve finalists will each receive two tickets to see the film. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Care.com will also provide the winners with a free one-month premium membership to find that perfect babysitter.

HOW TO ENTER:
Enter at: www.facebook.com/caredotcom, and tell us your most romantic or funniest Valentine’s Day memory. All entries should be rated PG. The twelve finalists will be selected during the months of January and February 2010. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected from among the 12 finalists in February. Three Finalists will be selected by a panel of judges on or around each of the following dates: January 23, 2010, January 30, 2010, February 6, 2010, and February 13, 2010. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected from among the 12 Finalists on or around February 13, 2010. ”

About Care.com
Founded in 2006, Care.com is the largest and fastest growing service used by families to find high-quality caregivers, providing a trusted place to easily connect, share caregiving experiences, and get advice. Care.com addresses the unique lifecycle of care needs that each family goes through-child care, special needs care, tutoring and lessons, senior care, pet care, housekeeping, and more. Care.com helps families find and select the best care possible based on detailed profiles, background checks, and references for hundreds of thousands of mom-reviewed providers who seek to share their services. Through its Care.com for Recruiters service, Care.com also enables companies to find high-quality caregiving employees.

February 10th, 2010 by admin

By Roberta Lee M.D.,
Author of The SuperStress Solution

If you love chocolate, you’re not alone. It turns out that the average person in the United States consumes approximately 12 pounds of chocolate a year. That might sound like a lot of chocolate, but I actually recommend that my patients — especially those who are chronically stressed or what I would describe as SuperStressed — indulge in 1 ounce of high quality and high cocoa mass chocolate a day, and that actually adds up to well more than 12 pounds over the course of the year. Sure, chocolate is a calorie laden food (with most of the calories coming from the cocoa butter), but in my opinion, the benefits of this treat outweigh the caloric load as long as you keep the portions small. Here are the benefits: Read the rest of this entry »