Cuisine Diva

Cuisine Diva Product Endorsements

Cuisine Diva Product Endorsements
The Cuisine Diva is occasionally contacted by marketing companies to see if she would be willing to provide an endorsement for some of the products their clients manufacture. The Cuisine Diva would need to receive one or more samples of the product to test out before an endorsement can be written.

Advertising/Product Reviews/Giveaways
A quick look around the Cuisine Diva blog will show you that my readers have a variety of food related interests. If you have a product you feel my readers would enjoy, please let me know. I can be reached via email: lynn@cuisinediva.net.

Lynn Smythe, AKA the Cuisine Diva, is also the Herbs & Spices Feature Writer for the Suite101 website. There is a possibility that the endorsement will appear on Suite101, in addition to, or instead of the Cuisine Diva site.

I am especially interested in reviewing cookbooks, food related magazines, kitchen gadgets, herbs, spices and unique ingredients for the Cuisine Diva site.

Nutritional supplements, protein bars, electrolyte drinks, and similar products will most likely be reviewed on either the Bike Diva or Run Diva blogs. I'm really not interested in receiving samples of energy drinks or diet products.

Cuisine Diva Product Reviews

Here are links to the products that have been endorsed by Cuisine Diva

Detour Activity Bar

Detour Activity Bar

Gibbs Smith

Culinary Mexico Cookbook

Harper Collins

The Ultimate Tea Diet

Hippocrene Books

Healthy South Indian Cooking

Hurricane Juice Co.

EQ Thirst Equalizer

Little, Brown & Company

The Flavor Bible

Long Creek Herbs

Great Herb Mixtures You Can Make

The Best Dressed Salad

Lulu

101 Recipes From the Herb Lady

Nuun

Nuun Hydration Tablets

O.N.E.

ONE Natural Experience Drink Review

Pacific Health Labs

Review of Forze GPS Bars & Shakes

PowerBar

PowerBar Products

PowerBars

Review of PowerBar Gel Blasts

Energy Gels for Endurance Sports

Quirk Books

Field Guide to Herbs & Spices

Simon & Schuster

Modern Spice Cookbook

The Sibling Group

Under the Sun; First Five Years of the Essential Herbal

VE2 Laboratories

VE2 Energy Gum

Vital Action Performance Water

Vital Action Performance Water

ZICO Coconut Water

ZICO Coconut Water

ZICO Coconut Water Video

Products Waiting for Review
Cuisine Diva is currently working with the following companies to test out and provide reviews of their products:

1. Saltworks - gourmet sea salts
2. Saltworks - Fusion naturally flavored sea salts
3. Cole & Mason - King Pepper junior pepper mill 
4. Zyliss - Smart Touch salad spinner
5. Nu Naturals - white stevia powder, more fiber baking blend, sweet health erythritol crystals, no carbs blend, pure white stevia extract, pure liquid clear stevia, pure liquid vanilla stevia, pure liquid cocoa bean extract.

Disclosure Statement
The Cuisine Diva may receive free merchandise in exchange for writing product endorsements.The Cuisine Diva personally tests each product that is submitted for review.

Future Product Endorsements
If you are a marketing company, or company representative, and would like your product endorsed on the Bike Diva site, please contact Lynn Smythe for further details.

Have a Bowl of Soup or Chili

I like making different types of chili and soups. They are pretty easy to make, and last for a week or more. I usually make a big batch of soup  or chili, and freeze half of it for later.

Here are pictures and links to a few of my recent soup and chili recipes for you to enjoy making.

Pasta e Fagioli - a classic Italian pasta and bean soup.

 

Bowl of pasta e fagioli with Parmesan cheese garnish.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup - learn how to oven roast bell peppers, and turn the roasted peppers into a delicious and satisfying soup flavored with sage and garlic.

 

Bowl of roasted pepper soup with feta cheese garnish.

Black Bean & Corn Turkey Chili - recipe on how-to make a quick, and easy to prepare Mexican style bean and corn turkey chili flavored with cumin, coriander, thyme, oregano and garlic.

 

Bowl of black bean and corn turkey chili.

And here's an idea for an Instant Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Cheesy Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

Ingredients for cheesy roasted red skin potatoes

On July 14, I posted up my recipe for Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes. I love anything having to do with taters. Here is another recipe for oven roasting potatoes, this time using baby red skin potatoes and a bit of Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients for Cheesy Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

• 1 1/2 pounds baby, red skin potatoes - approximately 2 inch diameter or less
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt to taste

Potatoes coated with olive oil

Directions for Cheesy Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farhenheit.
2. Wash the potatoes well, and remove any damaged spots. Baby potatoes can be left whole, any potatoes larger than 2 inches should be cut in half or thirds.
3. Pat the potatoes dry with a clean cloth.
4. Place the washed potatoes into a large mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the herbes de Provence, Parmesan cheese, black pepper and garlic powder.
6. Sprinkle the herb and spice mixture over the potatoes and toss until well coated.
7. Place the potatoes on a large baking sheet.
8. Bake the potatoes for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Potatoes sprinkled with herb & cheese mixture, waiting to go in oven

Recipe Hints and Suggestions
Parmesan cheese is very salty. You may not need to add any additional salt after adding the Parmesan cheese to the potatoes.

Herbes de Provence is a combination of thyme, basil, savory, fennel and lavender. You can buy pre-made mixtures of herbes de Provence, in the grocery store, or make up your own mixture.

 

Platter full of cheesy roasted red skin potatoes

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Pop Pop's Cookbooks

 

Pop Pop, AKA Harry Smythe, top center. Smythe Family reunion, Thanksgiving 2008.

My husband's father recently passed away. During his early years, he was a cook in the army, and later owned a diner, where he was the short order cook. Pop Pop loved to cook at home, and took a container full of one of his homemade soups in to work with him almost every day.

At 80 years old, he still worked 5 days a week at the marina (Hance & Smythe Marina) he and his partner owned in Manahawkin, New Jersey. When we were in Surf City for Pop Pop's memorial service, my mother-in-law gave me a bunch of Pop Pop's cookbooks to take back to Florida with me.

Mom Mom knew I would appreciate the cookbooks. I am the Herbs & Spices Feature Writer for Suite101, which is a sub category of the Food & Drink topic. I do a lot of cooking and recipe testing and have an extensive cookbook collection.

I will be be reading through Pop Pop's cookbooks over the next few months, looking for lots of ideas for new recipe inspirations.

Here's a list of Pop Pop's cookbooks that I inherited:

1. Cracker Cookin' and Other Favorites by Erwin Lampert (Winner Enterprises, 1984). Part of the Famous Florida series. A cookbook and restaurant guide to Florida's best eateries.

2. Dad's Own Cookbook; Everything Your Mother Never Taught You by Bob Sloan (Workman Publishing, 1993). Looks like a good general guide I'd like to give to my 18 year old son, should he ever decide to move out on his own. One can always dream.

3. Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentis (Clarkson Potter, 2005). Pop Pop loved Italian cooking shows.

4. Holiday Food by Mario Batali (Clarkson Potter, 2000). Mario was another one of Pop Pop's favorite chefs to watch on the Food Network.

5. Lidia's Italian Table; More Than 200 Recipes From the First Lady of Italian Cooking by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (William Morrow & Company, 1998). Companion to the National Public Television Series. Lidia's Italian Table was one of Pop Pop's favorite TV shows.

6. New Chinese Cooking School; An Illustrated Course in Contemporary Chinese Cuisine by Kenneth Lo (HP Books, 1985). I can't wait to try out some of the recipes in this book. I have an old, food stained, Chinese cookbook which is just about on it's last legs, this will be a great replacement.

7. The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook edited by Elizabeth Carduff (America's Test Kitchen, 2005). HUGE 3-ring binder featuring more than 1,200 kitchen-tested recipes, 1,500 photographs and no-nonsense equipment and ingredient ratings. WOW!!!!, is all I can say about this cooking/recipe guide.

8. The Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook edited by Ruth Berolzheimer (Simon & Shuster, 1971). An old book, filled with TONS of b/w photos. A bit dated but a lot of good, basic information.

9. The Culinary Institute of America Book of Soups edited by Mary Donovan and Jennifer Armentrout (Lebhar-Friedman Books, 2001). Pop Pop was a huge fan of homemade soups, I'm sure he referred to this cookbook quite often. 

10. The French Chef Cookbook by Julia Child (Alfred A. Knopf, 1968). This book grew out of the educational television series "The French Chef" which first aired on February 11, 1963. I wasn't even born yet!

11. White Trash Cooking by Ernest Matthew Mickler (Ten Speed Press, 1986). There is a whole white trash cooking cookbook series available - who knew? I'll take a closer look at this cookbook, when I've got the time. But the recipe for broiled squirrel WON'T be high on my list of things to try - HA-HA!

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

 

Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I am a HUGE fan of sweet potatoes. I love them baked, fried, mashed, etc. I don't think I ever met a sweet potato I didn't like! Here's a recipe I came up with last night for oven roasted sweet potatoes flavored with lots of herbs. I like to use whole, dried herbs in this recipe. You can use a coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle to grind the herbs up, before adding them to the sweet potatoes.

Whole Herbs & Spices in Mortar

Ingredients for Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
• 1-2 teaspoons salt

Herbs & Spices Crushed by Pestle

 

Directions for Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes, and cut into slices approximately 2-3 inches long by 3/4 inch wide.
3. Place the potato slices in a large mixing bowl and coat with the olive oil.
4. Add the rosemary, thyme, oregano and peppercorns to a mortar and crush with the pestle.
5. Sprinkle the herbs and salt over the potatoes and mix until the potatoes are evenly coated.
6. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet.
7. Place the sheet in the oven, and bake for approximately 30 minutes, stirring half way through.

Sweet Potatoes Coated in Oil and Sprinkled with Herbs

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Bike Diva

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad

 

Bowl of bacon honey mustard potato salad.

In the summer I like to eat a lot of potato salad. Oh, who am I kidding? I eat potato salad all the time. Bacon is one of those food of the Gods items. On July 6, I blogged about Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits on Cuisine Diva. Here is another great idea for getting more bacon and potatoes into your diet.

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad
Tip: if you like your bacon a bit crisp, place the bacon bits on a baking tray and bake in the oven or toaster oven, at around 400 degrees, for a few minutes. Watch closely, it doesn't take very long for the tiny pieces of bacon bits to crisp up.

The Kraft Free dressing used in this recipe is fat free. I like to jazz up the dressing a bit by adding some grainy stone ground mustard and little bit of honey. The salt that is called for in this recipe is only used to flavor the potatoes as they are cooking in the boiling water. You may omit the salt if desired. 

A bit of fresh herb, such as parsley or dill, would be a nice touch to add to the potato salad. Guess I was too hungry, I ate half the potato salad before I even though about herbage. Oh well, maybe a bit of greenery will find its way into the next batch.

 

Cooked potatoes, red bell pepper and green onions waiting for honey mustard dressing.

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound baby red skin potatoes
• 1 red bell pepper - seeded and chopped
• 1-2 bunches green onions - sliced
• 1/3 cup Kraft Free Honey Mustard Dressing
• 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 package Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad Directions

1. Scrub the potatoes well, to remove any dirt that may be present.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Add the salt to the boiling water.
4. Add the potatoes to the pot of water, and let cook for 15 minutes.
5. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing by whisking together the honey mustard dressing, stone ground mustard and honey in a small bowl.
6. Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse with cool water.
7. Add the cooked potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
8. Add the bell pepper and green onions.
9. Stir in the honey mustard dressing and bacon bits.

Additional Tater Salad Ideas
Hop on over to the Orato website, to view my recipe, including three photographs, of another version of Honey Mustard Potato Salad. That tater salad recipe is a good one for vegetarians, the God of bacon stayed away from my kitchen the day I was testing that version.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Tex-Mex Style Recipes

Culinary Mexico cookbook by Daniel Hoyer

From time-to-time I enjoy making Mexican style meals. Here are links to a few of my own favorite Tex-Mex style recipes.

Black Bean and Corn Turkey Chili - tasty variation of a classic chili recipe.

Bowl of black bean and corn turkey chili

Guacamole - classic avocado dip flavored with garlic, cilantro and lime.

Bowl of guacamole

How-to Make Ceviche - traditional seafood salad dish seasoned with lime juice and cilantro.

Quick and Easy Savory Corn Muffins - traditional corn bread enhanced with whole corn, onion and cheese.

Quick Bread Recipes - includes a recipe for Chili Cheese Cornbread.

Mexican Food Recipes - features recipes for a creamy avocado dip, black bean dip and white bean dip.

White bean dip

If you enjoy authentic Mexican cooking, check out my review of Daniel Hoyer's cookbook, Culinary Mexico, which features authentic Mexican recipes and traditions.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Easy Chili Cheese Dogs

 

ABOVE: Fritos Jalapeno Cheddar Dip

Here's a quick and easy method for creating chili cheese dogs for a crowd. The ingredients, listed below, are enough to make 8 chili cheese dogs. If you don't want your chili cheese dogs to be quite so spicy, use regular cheddar cheese dip, in place of the jalapeno cheese dip. Be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand, the chili cheese dogs can be a bit messy.

Chili Cheese Dog Ingredients

• Package hot dogs
• Package hot dog buns
• Can of no bean chili
• Can of Fritos jalapeno cheddar cheese dip

ABOVE: Grilling the hot dogs on the stove

Chili Cheese Dog Directions

1. Cook the hot dogs using your favorite method. I like to cut the hot dogs in half, and grill them in a frying pan. You could also cook them on your BBQ grill, or George Foreman electric grill.
2. Place the chili in a microwave safe bowl, and heat until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Lightly toast the buns in the toaster oven.
4. To assemble the chili cheese dogs, spread each bun with a bit of the cheddar cheese dip.
5. Add the hot dog to the bun, then spread a generous amount of the chili on top of the hot dog.
6. Eat immediately.

ABOVE: Spreading hot dog bun with cheese dip

For an added bit of decadence, sprinkle a bit of Oscar Mayer real bacon bits on the top of your chili cheese dog. A bit of finely chopped, raw onion, would also taste great sprinkled on top of the chili.

 

ABOVE: Chili cheese dog ready to eat

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits

My husband is the king of breakfast in our house. Although I do most of the cooking in our household, my husband makes a mean breakfast. He can be counted on to make anytime we have the time to do breakfast at home. The kids and I also call on him to make breakfast-for-dinner on occasion.

Instant Bacon Omelets
My husband has been going on quite a few business trips to Texas during the past few months. He is usually home for the weekends. On Saturday, July 4th we raced in the Independence Day Duathlon at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, Florida. I got 4th place Women 45-49 and he got 8th place Clydesdale (big men).

We were pretty hungry when we arrived home. After we took our showers and got cleaned up, my husband, Rob, made us both bacon omelets with an everything bagel on the side. We had a couple of packages of Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits in the pantry. So instead of having to take the time to cook raw bacon, Rob simply added a bit of the real bacon bits to the omelets.

We live in south Florida, so the thought of cooking bacon in the dead of summer isn't too appealing. It makes a big mess, and overheats an already overly hot house. We also use the Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits on chili cheese hot dogs to add an extra bit of flavor.

Other Quick & Easy Recipe Ideas
Jazz Up Knorr Tomato Parmesan Pasta
Instant Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva