make dough; win dough

Results are in! You can have your American Idol and Dancing with the Stars; the contest I've been excited about is the Pillsbury Bake-Off®. This year's million-dollar-winning recipe is Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies, created by Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

This is one nutty cookie, literally and figuratively. It's made by taking a ball of peanut butter, wrapping pre-made peanut butter cookie dough around it, and then rolling it all in chopped peanuts. In other words, yum. Anything good wrapped in something else good is usually awesome — hence the popularity of things wrapped in bacon.

Bonus party idea: One year, a friend of mine hosted a Bake-Off party, where we each brought food that loosely followed the contest's rules. (For the uninitiated, the contest rules state that your recipe has to feature two or more eligible products by Pillsbury or other approved brands.)

For our party, we kitsched things up. We decided the recipes just had to include two items from any General Mills brand, which gave us a lot of leeway to get creative. The host made a chocolate-caramel pie with a popcorn crust. That's right; popcorn crust. Brilliant.

I also went salty-sweet, since that's my favorite dessert combo. I made the sandwich cookies of my childhood dreams: pecan sandies with crushed Bugles in the dough, smeared with chocolate frosting and sandwiched together, and then rolled in more crushed Bugles. What they lacked in looks, they made up for in flavor. And with Bugles, like bacon, you kind of can't go wrong.

Snack like an Egyptian

Coming up with an appetizer for my Earth Day party was not as easy as I thought. I want food that screams “Earth Day” loud and proud, not just a plate of sliced veggies from my farmers’ market. Sprouts? Trail mix? My friends would run screaming … right to the pizza joint down my block.

Finally, I hit upon dukka, that spicy, salty, crunchy blend of nuts, cumin and sesame seeds. It’s literally salt of the earth! And it’s totally yummy — much more delicious than its bird-feed look lets on. 

This spice blend hails from Egypt and has sweet, rich hazelnuts as a base. Just dip flatbread or pita into olive oil, and then dip it into the nutty, crunchy mixture. The olive oil makes the nuts stick to the bread. Dukka can also be used as a rub for chicken, or you can sprinkle it on salads, omelets, grilled veggies — anything that needs a flavor kick. It’s an appetizer and seasoning all in one.

question of the week: game nights

So you're invited to a game night. How do you reply? The prospect of playing board games can elicit a host of responses, from terror to unabashed glee to bloodthirsty competitiveness.

For me, it depends on the game and the crowd. I am always down for Trivial Pursuit, but with board games where I have to be creative or perform, like Cranium and Balderdash, I'm a little more skittish. I usually want to know who's coming, how competitive they get, and whether we all have similar abilities. Healthy competitiveness and good-spirited mockery are always welcome, but there's a line....

I had an ugly episode playing Candy Land in my youth with a "friend" who laughed when I was just about to win and then, out of nowhere, got sent back to the depths of Candy Cane Forest. Let's just say my response involved flipping the board so the cards and game pieces went flying and locking myself in the bathroom. A mature and reasonable reaction given the circumstances, I'm sure you'll agree. How game are you for board games?

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and in time, and in time, we will all be stars

This week's trend on the blog? Trends! We've already talked about what's new in food, and now Springwise is reporting on a new idea in portrait photography. Get this: A New York-based company called MethodIzaz will create a portfolio of candid photos taken without your knowledge as to exactly when they're being shot or who is doing the snapping. In other words, paparazzi-style.

Here's how it works: You provide them with a photo of yourself (so they know what you look like) and tell them a bit about your weekly routine and the type of mood or emotion you want to capture, and a photographer will secretly follow you around and take photos of you as you go about your day.

So no need to put on your favorite outfit and sit awkwardly in front of a staged background, you just live your life — like a celeb. And at some point, when you least expect it, someone will snap away.

At the end, you'll receive a professional portfolio of moments in your life ... with, one hopes, all the fashion don'ts, mid-sneeze shots and other unflattering moments taken out.

Their mission, they claim, is to provide you with "personal works of art." Their methods? A bit radical, but intriguing. The photos we frame, including wedding photos and family portraits, are already more casual and candid than they used to be. So given that and our national obsession with celebrities, will this replace traditional portrait photography? Time will tell. In the meantime, smile. You may be on someone's candid camera.

america's next top dessert

Our recent cupcake post prompted readers Stephanie and Rachel to comment on what will be the next big thing in sweets. Their guess? Cotton candy. Sounds good to me. Bring it!

Lately, I've seen a rise in upscale takes on childhood favorites, with treats like high-end doughnuts and caramel popcorn replacing the make-your-own s'mores and milk & cookies popular a few years back. And in terms of fruit, the ubiquitous pomegranate seems to be giving way to passionfruit, persimmons, lychees and kumquats, in food and in cocktails.

To get more insight into this topic, I contacted Charlotte Beal, who tracks food and beverage trends for consumer research firm Iconoculture. Here's her take on what we'll be eating in the near future.

What is the next big thing in desserts?
While cupcakes and Pinkberry-style fro yo are still proliferating like Britney Spears and bad press, we’re watching artisanal doughnuts rise up yet again. For instance, there’s an intriguing place in Portland called Voodoo Doughnut that serves a doughnut voodoo doll   doughnut voodoo doll that bleeds raspberry filling when stuck with a pretzel stick.

Also, watch for more celebral, molecular-gastronomy-ish restaurants that blur the line between savory and sweet (Room 4 Dessert and Tailor in NYC, to name two). Also: energy candy (infused with caffeine). Think Snickers Charged and Extreme Sports Beans from Jelly Belly.

one hot tamale party

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Once upon a time, many many many years ago (before digital cameras!), a friend and I threw a tamale-making Cinco de Mayo party. It started with tamale-making (not surprisingly), progressed to tamale-eating and eventually ended as a Latin dance party. Depending on what sort of dancers you and your friends are, this can be a great kid-friendly fete as well. Here’s what a learned from my foray into tamale-making.

champagne supercupcake

In the dessert world, cupcakes are still all the rage (hooray). Amid all this cupcakery, how do you make yours stand out? Give them a kick! Stef over at Cupcake Project has developed a recipe for mimosa cupcakes (that's one in the photo); pause for a sec to think about how delicious and celebratory that sounds.

While you're letting it sink in, let me describe them for you: orange-flavored cupcakes with a sweet champagne syrup drizzled on them, then topped with champagne frosting and a sprinkling of orange zest. Perfect.

Wouldn't these make a spectacular end to a decadent brunch, bridal shower, Mother's Day dinner, any occasion that calls for champagne and dessert — and doesn't every occasion?

question of the week: spring break revisited

Wouldn't it be great if there were a spring break for grownups? It wouldn't necessarily have to involve the same locales, debauchery and vomit associated with college spring breaks, I just mean a time each spring when we could all set aside our responsibilities, skip town and get a little stupid.

Knowing what you know now (jumping in random pick-up trucks and multiple Jell-O shots are usually a bad idea), how would you celebrate spring break? Choose as many as you like....

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hey, big spender

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Getting a tax refund this year? If you and your friends have some of that "found" money to play with, plan something together to make it especially memorable. (Yes, I know it's just our own cash coming back to us, but it still feels different.)

Here are some ideas for spending your bonus wampum; feel free to add your own in the comments....

• Plan a tax refund dinner. A friend of mine gathers a group together every year for a decadent restaurant dinner. We're talking steakhouse, trendy new place, food critics' favorite or that fancy restaurant you only go to when someone else is paying.
• Finally buy that Wii and invite people over to beat them at bowling.
• Get tickets to something you're really into, like a sports game, play or concert.
• Treat your inner child or actual children to a group trip to an amusement park, paintball park or laser tag arena.
• Think back to anything that made you say, "Yeah, I would, but that's too expensive." If it's legal, do it!

not the same old grind

What you're looking at is a molcajete and tejolote, the traditional Mexican version of a mortar and pestle, and the key to taking a Mexican meal — and a Cinco de Mayo celebration — to a whole new level.

I'm not one for gimmicky gadgets that take up space in my kitchen and only perform one function. And that's why I love this; it grinds spices and a whole host of veggies, and it makes the best guacamole I've ever had. I've even bought this molcajete from Gourmet Sleuth for my parents and my brother and sister-in-law, ensuring that I enjoy quality guac in multiple states.

Why is it so good? The heavy, porous basalt (lava stone) makes quick work of grinding, and it comes with a seasoning packet you use to season the stone so it imbues whatever you make in it with rich flavor. Plus, say the word out loud (don't worry; nobody's listening): molcajete. Mol-ca-jeeeee-te. Doesn't it even sound delicious?

At Gourmet Sleuth, they sell molcajetes in various sizes. Some even come shaped like a pig, but I just don't need that association as I shove people out of the way and stick my whole face into some freshly made guac.