Seattle chef and restaurant owner Tom Douglas shares recipes for 13 memorable meals in “Tom’s Big Dinners: Big-Time Home Cooking for Family and Friends,” written with Ed Levine, Shelley Lance and Jackie Cross.
They include a backyard barbecue, Puget Sound crab feed, Christmas Eve feast and other meals with a theme – Pike Place Market menu or Merlot picnic.
Douglas shares memories along with recipes. The authors dedicate the book “to our grandmas, who could always squeeze a few more chairs around the table.”
List price is $32.50.
The beef culinary experts from the Beef and Veal Culinary Center offer these tips for the perfect holiday roast.
Ribeye, rib and tenderloin are the most popular options at holiday. However, the leaner cuts, such as round tip, top round, eye round and tri-tip, are also delicious and more economical choices.
Determine the type and size of roast needed and order ahead from your supermarket or butcher shop.
Choose meat last when shopping to ensure that beef stays as cold as possible. It should have a bright cherry-red color, without any grayish or brown blotches. A darker purplish-red color is typical of vacuum-packaged beef. Adhere to “sell by” dates and pass on old meat.
Refrigerate or freeze beef roasts as soon as possible after purchasing to ensure freshness.
Make sure to use a meat thermometer to check doneness.
After removing from the oven, let it stand so it can reach the desired temperature. During standing, meat juices firm up, making carving easier.
The Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest is back. Once again, consumers across the nation can enter their original recipes for a chance to win a $1 million grand prize.
In addition to the $1 million, the grand prize winner also receives a set of GE Profile Kitchen Appliances from General Electric.
Categories are Dinner Made Easy, Weekends Made Special, Fast Snacks &Appetizers, and Breakfast Favorites. The list of qualifying products cooks can use is even longer this year.
Three category winners will receive $10,000. Four runners-up will receive $5,000. An additional four entrants will receive a $5,000 America’s Greatest Cheese Recipe Awards.
All 100 finalists will win trips to Hollywood for the contest finals June 26 to 29. In addition, all will receive a new GE Advantium 120 Oven.
Those interested can go to www.pillsbury.com/bakeoff for an online entry. The entry deadline is March 10.
Or, enter your original recipe on a plain piece of paper. Print or type your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and the grocery stores where you regularly shop. Also include the eligible product used in your recipe and the category you are entering.
Mail entries to Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, P.O. Box 7741, Melville, NY 11775-7741. Entries must be postmarked on or before March 10, and received on or before midnight March 13.
Visit the Web site for complete rules and details.
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