Who would’ve ever thought the greatest invention by humans—the wheel—could be used to make an everyday kitchen task such as chopping garlic so easy, clean, and simple?
That’s exactly what Chef’n has done, and with two wheels! Thanks to our friends at Chef’n, we’re giving one Chef’n GarlicZoom away. There’s no obligation to buy. Here’s how to enter to win!
Win the Chef’n GarlicZoom! ©Reel Chow
What’s a common ingredient in most kitchens, but takes a long, sticky time to prepare? Garlic, of course! We’ve been thinking about garlic a lot since our most recent California trip. Ron asked me to stop in Gilroy, the town which prides itself on the annual garlic festival held there. Ever since then, we’ve been using more garlic than usual.
One of my most favorite kitchen gadgets to use is the Chef’n GarlicZoom. It’s easy to use and clean. It makes the tedious chopping of garlic fun and simple. An added bonus is your hands won’t smell of garlic! Kids have fun rolling the wheel, too. If you’ve got a child in the kitchen getting fidgety while you’re cooking, the GarlicZoom is a must-have.
Chef’n GarlicZoom. ©Reel Chow
Although Jenn and I visit her native California a few times each year, on this trip she wanted to share some special places I had never been to. We traveled up and down the state for two weeks. Many of our stops were restaurants, and the range was wide. From greasy joints on the Strand in Hermosa to upscale eateries in our beloved Napa Valley, it was a gastronomic safari, and we truly had a wonderful time.
One stop was the famed Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur. Run by the Fassett family since 1949, the restaurant is known for amazing views and outdoor dining. It’s a massively popular place to eat on the winding and mercifully underdeveloped Highway 1. After our lunch there, I couldn’t help but wonder if Nepenthe’s popularity was because of the views or because of the lack of other dining options on Highway 1. The establishment cannot be popular because of the food they serve.
Patio at Nepenthe, ®Reel Chow
We’ve been traveling through California for almost a week. It has been fun but also exhausting! Our first stop was Sonoma for our friend and fellow blogger Mandy’s wedding at Kunde Estate. It was a gorgeous ceremony, and meant a lot to us because Mandy is responsible for Ron and I meeting. Her ceremony was also very close to where we had originally planned to get married.
After the wedding, our destination was to visit my parents and friends in Los Angeles. We broke up the drive south by staying at the Cypress Inn in Carmel-by-the-Sea for an evening. The next day we hit the road again, going south to Big Sur for lunch and continued along the coast to the South Bay. Here are some photos from our journey.
Left to right: On our way via shuttle from the hotel to Kunde Estate for the wedding. Photo of the grounds at Kunde Estate. ©Reel Chow
In Part One of our post on the wine and cheese event we recently hosted, we covered the first three pairings. Here’s how the remainder of the event unfolded.
Our sponsors were Haystack Mountain, providing a delicious assortment of goat cheeses, and Dylan’s Wine Cellar, our favorite local wine store. Steven Zwick, owner of Dylan’s selected a range of reasonably-priced wines, and helped us pair them with Haystack’s cheeses. As always, Steven was knowledgable, friendly, and made our event proceed without a hitch. Here’s the four remaining pairings we presented our guests.
Wine and cheese pairing, part two. ©Reel Chow
The fourth cheese of the evening was Red Cloud, which I served alongside cured meat, including sopressata and a Genoa salami. Steven paired it with a sweet German wine, Clean Slate Riesling. Red Cloud was pungent in smell and taste, but paired with the cured meat, it lessened the strong goat flavor. Instead of what you might expect, it intensified the creaminess and hints of earthy nuttiness. The sweet and crisp peach flavors popped against the Red Cloud and created a harmony of flavor between the two.
We recently hosted a Reel Chow wine and cheese pairing at our loft. It was a way for me to try new one-bites and explore some delicious new flavors with cheeses and wines we hadn’t tried before. A ton of work went into the event, but it was totally worth the effort.
I’m a cheese fanatic, and thanks to two sponsors, we had an incredible event for ten friends who love great food and fabulous wine. We’ll be splitting this event up into at least two posts, so stay tuned for more details.
Haystack Mountain was so kind to send us a box full of delicious varieties of goat cheese. Our friend Steven Zwick, who owns Dylan’s Wine Cellar, provided wine and led an educational tasting for our group. With the wine and cheese ready to go, and my dishes to compliment them, Steven started us with a crisp Cava.
Concord grapes and red grapes fresh from our local Farmers’ Market. ©Reel Chow
Years ago, after my mother’s first glance at the kitchenette of my first rent-stabilized apartment, she quickly gifted me The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. A very accomplished chef herself, she knew it was a manual all the culinary-handicapped children of my generation should be armed with as they leave their nests, lest they become fast food addicts or regulars of the processed food aisles of supermarkets everywhere.
I can actually remember looking up cooking times for making hard boiled eggs in my copy of The New Basics Cookbook. Who knew there are two ways to make hard boiled eggs? Rosso and Lukins do, and they shared it with the world between these covers.
The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. ©Reel Chow
Not only does this 849-page classic cookbook contain entry-level primers on the right pot for risotto to wine pairing with different pasta sauces to a quick primer on major olive types, but novices can quickly tackle more complicated efforts. The authors cover everything from Springtime Quiche to Enoki Saute to Chocolate Mousse. From cocktails to desserts, these ladies have you covered.
Jenn’s made no secret about my interest in homemade granola. It’s something we haven’t tried to make ourselves, but we love sampling our friends’ attempts at this classic all-natural energy food.
Of course the vast majority of the granola offered in stores is far from all-natural. Sure, there’s exceptions, but nothing beats something created by a caring person making a go of a small business.
©Sara Roberts
Mary Molina is one of those caring people. Her children are allergic to soy, and Molina quickly found out soy is in many processed foods. Her granola recipes were born out of necessity.
The Molina granola venture was originally called Croton Falls Granola, but customers began referring to Mary after either the almond and cranberry flavor granola bar they made, her daughter Lola, for whom the said bar was named, or maybe Lola Granola from the old Bloom County comic strip. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Poetry won, and the name sounded so good the company was renamed. Lola Granola it is. Lola Granola comes alive!
We keep meeting wonderful vendors at farmers’ markets. There’s something that feels so great about purchasing from the friendly face of a small business owner at a farmers’ market, as opposed to a clerk in a store. Even if the vendor at a farmers’ market didn’t make, bake, or grow the food, there’s just something better about the whole experience. Jenn feels the same way.
When we met Ersilia Moreno at the Peekskill Farmers’ Market, it was no different. Unlike our friend Diane Lee of 7th Taste, Ersilia doesn’t create her own olive oils. She is, however a connoisseur of olive oils she’s fallen in love with from around the world. Her company is called, appropriately, Olive Oil of the World.
Orange fused olive oil. ©Reel Chow
We were honestly amazed at the simplicity and effectiveness of the Chef’n Juicester. It was easy to use and largely avoided the mess associated with other devices.
Thanks to our friends at Chef’n, now you can have the chance to easily get the juice out of lemons, limes, oranges, and more—absolutely free! Welcome to our next Chef’n giveaway!
To Enter
Enter Reel Chow’s Chef’n Juicester Giveaway for a chance to win the most efficient citrus juicing tool we know of.
To Enter
Enter Reel Chow’s Chef’n Juicester Giveaway for a chance to win one brand new skewer which can hold more than double other skewers we’ve used.
Simple steps to enter:
One lucky winner will receive one Juicester.
The Giveaway will open on Twitter July 25, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. EST and will end August 1, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. EST. To be valid for the term of the Giveaway, a fully completed entry tweet must be received by @ReelChow on Twitter by 9:00 p.m. PST on August 1, 2012 (the “Giveaway Closing Date”). The odds of winning a prize are directly related to the number of valid entries. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase an entrant’s chance of winning. Online entry forms become the property of Reel Chow and will not be returned to entrants. Enter as many times as you wish.
Chef’n Juicester. Orange not included. ©Reel Chow
Eligibility
This Giveaway is open to all legal residents of the United States of America, who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entering the Giveaway. By entering the Giveaway you agree to and accept these official rules. The Giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
Procedure for Awarding Prize
The winner will be selected by random draw. There is one chance to win. The winner will be drawn and contacted by email within 48 hours of the following date and time:
August 2, 2012 3:00 p.m. EST
If contact cannot be made with the winner within four (4) days of the initial contact attempt, they will forfeit their prize. A random draw will be held and a new winner will be drawn. Prizes will be awarded to the winners in August of 2012.
Description of Prizes
One (1) Juicester.
General Rules
Prizes shall be accepted as is and may not be exchanged for an amount of money. No substitutions will be allowed. Prizes will be awarded only if the potential prize winner fully complies with these rules.
If the prize cannot be awarded as described in these rules, Reel Chow reserve the right to substitute a prize or prize component with another of comparable value.
Refusal to accept the prize releases Reel Chow of any and all responsibility and obligation toward the winner.
Reel Chow shall assume no liability resulting from losses, delays, mistaken addresses on mail or e-mail received, typographical errors, technical, computer or telephone malfunctions, loss or theft of computer or telephone data, damage to software or computer equipment, fraudulent calls or any other mistake. Entrants release Reel Chow, Chef’n, Administrator, Facebook and Twitter from all claims/liability arising from this Giveaway or acceptance/use of any Prize. This Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Twitter or Facebook.
By accepting a prize, winner(s) consents to the use of his/her name, image, likeness, photograph and entry submission for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes by Reel Chow and Chef’n, or a party designated by Reel Chow and Chef’n, in any and all media now or hereafter known including but not limited to, any online announcements, or for sharing this information with the press for viewing, whether TV or print, throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission, except where prohibited by law. Entrants agree that the conditions of submission set forth in these Official Rules, and all documents and agreements incorporated in these Official Rules by reference, solely govern the relationship between entrants and Sponsor in connection with this Giveaway. Entrants agree to waive any right to claim ambiguity in these Official Rules. Entrants agree that any and all disputes shall be governed by the laws of the State of California and the United States of America.
By entering this Giveaway, entrants agree to abide by the Giveaway rules, which shall be applied by Reel Chow. All its decisions are final.
Sponsors
This Giveaway is sponsored by Reel Chow and Chef’n.