I’m currently in San Francisco, where I have discovered the joy of It’s Its (a “San Francisco Legend”). Basically just different flavors of velvety ice cream sandwiched between perfectly chewy oatmeal cookies and covered with a thin layer of chocolate, these things take ice cream sandwiches to a whole other level. I tried Cappuccino, but I hear that Mint is also to-die-for.

To make your own version: Just sandwich a scoop of slightly softened ice cream (I think Starbucks Java Chip would be delicious) between two oatmeal cookies, cover in foil, and freeze for at least six hours.

You can also visit the It’s It website to find a retailer near you or to get them FedExed straight to your home (a good idea, I promise).

-Jordan Reid

What I’m reading while I sit in jury duty for two days: Steve Almond’s Candyfreak. The author, an admitted “freak” for everything chocolatey, sugary, and nutty (although, oddly, not almonds), goes on a journey across America to document the efforts of regional candymakers before they fall victim to the monopoly of the “Big Three.”

Between the World Wars, candy manufacturing exploded in America, with thousands of boutique confectioners springing up in every state. Gradually, however, the three “majors” (Hershey’s, Nestle, and Mars – later renamed Masterfoods) took over, and the smaller manufacturers were slowly driven out of business.

Almond travels from Boston, where he meets with the foremost expert in the candy business, Ray Broekel, to Nashville, where he discovers the wonder that is the Goo Goo Cluster (I can vouch for this one), all the while including searingly funny anecdotes and a healthy dose of awareness that this is all, really, quite weird.

This is the second time I’ve read the book, and it’s even better this time around. There are echoes of David Sedaris, and even Phillip Roth…and for someone who adores both food writing and Portnoy’s Complaint, this book is just about perfect.

-Jordan Reid

Cinnamon rolls are one of the very first things I ever learned how to make. Delicious, fun to improvise with (try icing them or adding nuts!), and pretty tough to mess up.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

4 tbsp shortening

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

1. Sift together all dry ingredients into a large bowl.

2. Cut shortening into sifted dry ingredients using two knives or a pastry cutter until mixture is pebbly.

3. Stir in milk, and pour onto a floured countertop or cutting board. Gather into a ball and knead approximately 20-30 times, until dough is nice and elastic-y (don’t over-handle the dough, though, or it’ll get tough).

4. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s about 1/4″ thick.

5. Spread thickly with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

6. Roll up dough into a log shape (you may have to flour your hands a bit to keep it from sticking to the counter/yourself as you roll) and cut as shown here (or with dental floss or wire, which prevents the dough from compressing).

7. Bake at 450F for 12-15 minutes, or until deliciously golden and melty.

Tip: These cinnamon rolls are best served warm (just heat them in the microwave for a few seconds), and perhaps with a touch of butter.

-Jordan Reid

Tea sandwiches are one of the quickest, easiest things to set out when company suddenly stops by. Here, they’re served with my Breakfast-Ready Cinnamon Rolls (recipe to come).

How to make them? It couldn’t be simpler. Just take some very thin sandwich bread (I like Pepperidge Farm “Very Thin” White Bread), smear on a bit of cream cheese, and add a few thin slices of cucumber. Remove the crusts, and slice in half diagonally.

Some of my other favorite combos for tea sandwiches:

- Egg salad and cress

- Goat cheese and cress

- Tuna salad and avocado

- Chicken salad

- Smoked salmon and cream cheese (add a squeeze of fresh lemon)

Tip: Before you add the fillings, lightly butter the bread to keep it from getting soggy.

- Jordan Reid

As I try to eat to healthier I am finding it harder and harder to prepare food. Not that there isn’t about one million choices of recipes out there. Sugar free, gluten free, fat free…plenty to choose from. I do think sometimes authors aren’t writing for my lifestyle though.

“Prepare a meal in thirty minutes!” …Really? Who has thirty minutes? Work all day, rush home, take the kid to ballet, help with homework, finally do some laundry or I won”t have any pants to wear tomorrow…

I need the 1-2-3 BAM! Dinner is done. and hurrah! — it’s healthy too!

Sometimes I find reading the manual on how to cook or bake can be pretty dull as well. What I do like is seeing it made on tv or maybe our website. There have been some other good guests on the show that have broke-down the health must-do’s.  (Check out the recipes or videos)

I blame my picky eating habits as well as my impatience when it comes to eating healthy. I am not too adventurous when it comes to eating new foods. It feels like alot of recipes are too elaborate for my taste buds. Plus , sometimes I feel so busy that making a sandwich is almost too much work! (But I do love sandwiches….)

I’m going to have to start reaching out to my co-workers on what they do to eat healthy. We have all joined the workplace effort to be more active and get healthy. We’ll see who the real troopers are!

If you have any good recipes or a cook-book you can share that really break down the cooking for the normal, feel free to comment away…

Wish me luck.  It’s just another thing to get used to on the path of “Better” living!
-L

Chef Brett August was one of ten finalists that competed on Season 5 of The Next Food Network Star last summer.

Why he didn’t win, I can’t tell you. He is fantastic!

 He will on on Better Friday, January 15th. He came into the studio excited, he loves making food.  He is all about it!  It’s almost an obsession I think…

Brett makes dishes that sound like they are going to be difficult but are easy and organized. As a new fan, I checked out his website to see him in action.     http://www.chefbrettaugust.com/

I saw some online chat about Brett having an attitude but as far as I can tell he is great to work with. I am looking forward to having him on again to help Rhiannon make the perfect Valentine’s Dinner!

– L

Thanksgiving is over and we had many things to be thankful for this year: a successful career, good health, love, and friends and family. Thanksgiving for me has many family memories, some good and some bad. For example, one year my father did a nose-dive right into the turkey as he prepared to carve it. We laughed and laughed, as Mother (Aurora) took him off to bed and told the story how “he had been up since 5am cooking the 25 lbs turkey.” Later we learned he had been “celebrating” since 5am, too.

November is quickly coming to an end, and December will bring even more holiday good cheer, but first I must reflect on this year’s Thanksgiving feast—a modern new twist to the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. Wanting to do something different, I passed on the bird idea and decided to do something that perhaps the pilgrims could have done had they have thought of it. Fresh two-pound lobsters! That’s right, two-pound lobsters. Yum yum. The lobster tank was full and I had a wide selection of lobsters to choose from. I began to ponder as I waited for them, giving lobster thanks to the lobster tank. With my lobsters in hand I was stopped by many last minute shoppers asking “Are you having lobster’s today? What a great idea.” I was proud to say “yes,” a modern twist to a traditional holiday.

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I had the incredible pleasure of stepping into Chef Thomas Keller’s kitchen at Per Se this afternoon. It is one of the most pristine kitchens I have ever seen.

We had the fortune to be able to talk with Chef Keller and Chef de Cuisine Dave Cruz while they whipped up three incredibly delicious and gorgeous dishes from Thomas Keller’s new book “Ad Hoc At Home”.

The first — perfect Iceberg slices, with bleu cheese and a twist of oven roasted tomatoes. Chef Cruz, created a beautiful broccolini side dish and finally the two chefs teamed up for a Leek Bread Pudding that was more like a quiche.

You will find a lot of care and tenderness in the book’s recipes, including one of his father’s favorites that Chef Keller prepared for him just before he passed away.

Make sure to watch our full story with Chef Thomas Keller December 7th on Better, check the time in your local market. You can also catch it on bettertv.com

Get Thomas Keller’s fried chicken kit!

Another amazing week as I hosted the “Come+Together” culinary event at Macy’s yesterday in Farmington, Connecticut. I was honored and delighted to help support this important cause.

This year Macy’s has partnered with Feeding America and is campaigning to raise awareness for the 36.2 Americans who are unable to feed their families. The “Come+Together” national campaign aims to feed 10 million hungry Americans and every dollar raised can provide dinner for seven (7) hungry Americans—an impressive number. That said, this was a wonderful way for me to show my support and give back to my community. Read more

My love for Julia Child began in the 70’s when I was only a child and I used her cookbook as a booster seat at the dinner table. I was not cooking then, but who knew that this 684-plus page book would go from my butt to my head in less than 30 years. Mastering the Art of French Cooking; by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck is forever a valuable resource and staple to have in the kitchen. Read more