When it comes to food, I have a few weaknesses. One of them is Italian food, primarily pasta. While I’m not in love with traditional spaghetti, feel free to bring on the lasagna, the ziti and definitely the macaroni and cheese. I’m picky about my mac. Big surprise there, right? I will tolerate (though rarely) eating the Velvetta Shells and Cheese from the box, but anything else just isn’t quite as good. I like my Mac and Cheese homemade (by Ashtyn). Sometimes I liked it baked, but I always like it extra creamy.

I’m not sure what Ashtyn did cheese wise with the Mini Farfalle, but the shape made it ideal for absorbing cheese. Every bite was filled with massive amounts of cheesy goodness. This was one of my favorite mac and cheese dishes she has made and boy was I clamoring for seconds! The right blend of cheeses and the unique twisting shape of this mini pasta by Barilla make this a favorite dish of kids (big and small). I know I’m a fan and I am already asking for more of this.

The Mini Farfalle pasta by Barilla is made of wheat. It’s shaped like a bowtie or a butterfly as the Barilla website suggests. The pasta is delicate, with the curved edges capturing all of the delicious, sticky sauce of your choice (in this case, a melody of delicious cheeses) within its crevices. The miniature pasta shapes make sure you get more sauce, more pasta and more for your buck in every bite.

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Food Network was nice enough to send me some of Rachel Ray’s new Balsamic Drizzle, which is being sold at the Food Network Store, as well as other spots on and off of the Internet. I also received Paula Deen’s House Seasoning. You will want to keep on the lookout for reviews of both, which should be up soon. Since they were nice enough to offer me two of the Balsamic Drizzle, I have decided to share the love and give one away.

Ashtyn’s Home Cookin’ is proud to be giving away a bottle of Rachael Ray’s Balsamic Drizzle. To enter all you need to do is leave us a comment. Please be sure to only leave one. Comments are moderated to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. People who leave multiple comments will be deleted from the contest altogether. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

To enter you need to be 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible. Winners will be announced here. If we do not hear from you within 3 weeks from the date the winners are announced you forfeit your prize and we will select another winner. Prizes will be shipped within 45 days from the day you win.

We will pick a winner for this on July 1, 2008. This means you have until June 30, 2008 to enter.

Note:
Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to pick a winner. You can pick some of the Balsamic Drizzle up at the Food Network Store.

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22,000-Head Missouri Operator Faces Court Action

BASSETT, Neb., June 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — What has been dubbed the “largest scandal in the history of the organic industry” has taken another victim. The USDA announced this week that Promiseland Livestock, LLC, a 22,000-head cattle producer, had “willfully” violated the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, the law regulating the industry.

Promiseland, and its principal owner Anthony J. Zeman, were found by the USDA to have failed to keep adequate records, the backbone of organic certification, to confirm that all their cattle were managed organically. Promiseland management also refused on multiple occasions to openly share records with the USDA and prevented agency officials from carrying out an unannounced inspection at Promiseland’s facilities.

“It’s about time the USDA started taking action against scofflaws like Zeman who have abused the trust of the organic consumer and put the livelihoods of ethical family-scale farmers at risk,” said Mark Kastel, Codirector of The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog. The Institute, based in Cornucopia, Wisconsin, has filed a series of legal complaints against giant industrial dairies, milking as many as 2000-10,000 cows, and representing their milk as organic.

The USDA’s Promiseland investigation is a direct result of Cornucopia’s investigative work targeting Aurora Dairy the nation’s largest supplier of private-label organic milk and supplier to Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, and other major retailers.

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There are so many great celebrities on Food Network that when I asked this question to our resident Picky Eater he didn’t know how to respond. “When you say favorite,” he asked, “what o you mean?”

I had to consider that for a moment and we finally narrowed it down into a few categories.

I asked him who was his:

All around Favorite:
Favorite Cook who has food he’s most likely to eat:
Most Entertaining:
Chef most likely to teach him cooking skill:

I also was curious as to find out who the least favorite of all the stars were.

Our Picky Eater had this to say:

All around Favorite goes to: Paula Deen
Favorite Cook who has Food he’s most likely to eat: Paula Deen
Most Entertaining: Cat Cora
Chef most likely to teach him Cooking Skills: Giada De Laurentiis & Ina Garten
Least Favorite: Sandra Lee

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TED ALLEN DISCOVERS THE ANSWERS BEHIND FOOD’S BIGGEST MYSTERIES IN FOOD DETECTIVES

Famed Culinary Expert Joins Food Network To Host New Primetime Series Premiering Tuesday, July 29th at 9pm ET/PT Featuring Experts from ‘Popular Science’ Magazine

NEW YORK, NY, June 10, 2008 – Famed culinary expert Ted Allen joins the Food Network family with the debut of his new series Food Detectives, premiering Tuesday, July 29th at 9pm ET/PT. The half-hour primetime series explores the delicious connection between science and food, pulling back the curtain and revealing the answers to some of the most puzzling food mysteries.

“We’ve wanted to work with Ted for years on a series of his own and we’ve found a great fit in Food Detectives,” said Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming and Production for Food Network. “Not only will this show provide a wealth of interesting information for our viewers, it also gives Ted an opportunity to show off his wit and culinary knowledge.”

“I’m so excited to be working with Food Network on this new series,” said Allen. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to head up my own show and I know that viewers are going to be totally engaged with the information we are discovering on Food Detectives!”

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I started watching The Next Food Network Star last season and had a hard time finding someone I could like. I thought JAG had promise, but those who watched the show remember how that turned out. In the end, I chose Amy (who won and produced an awful show) over Rory, who probably would have also produced something that no one wanted to watch. Either way the Network was damned.

I couldn’t wait for the new season to start, but once it did I have noticed that again, I am finding it hard to find someone to really root for in the scheme of things. I know who I absolutely want to go home today, but I don’t know who I want to remain on the Network after the show is over. Of course, I realize that it’s just week two, so it’s hard to say that the contestants won’t grow and develop as the show wears on. I am hoping that by the end of the show I will see someone evolve into the Next Food Network Star, which is kind of the point of the entire show.

Currently, there are eight potential winners left. Of the two that have been kicked off, Cory Kahaney (the non-funny comedian) and Kevin Roberts (Mr. Food is Sexy) I can’t say that I was too sad to see them go. However, I would have gladly sent home Nipa and put up with either for an additional week.

In the case of Cory, it wasn’t that she was a comedian or that she wasn’t funny, it was that she looked like she was going for a root canal every time she was put up in a presentation situation. This uncomfortable nature would not have made for a good show and while she might have been a good cook, there is no way that viewers would be able to get past that demeanor.

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Like everyone else, I have my favorites when I peruse the grocery store aisle for some frozen pizza. Some pizzas cut it and some don’t. This goes even further with the snack portion for single person pizzas. It seems that in many cases these often are thrown together with even less regard than the bigger pizzas. However, DiGiorno has always held a bit of a soft spot in my heart.

When they first came out I remember thinking how good they tasted. They were one of the few pizzas that made it tempting to skip the commercial pizza places in the area. You could just pop in a DiGiorno and veg out with a good movie. After a while I stopped buy DiGiorno. It wasn’t because I didn’t like it. Actually, when I needed a bigger pizza, I would still go to them. It was more that I would usually buy something smaller for just myself. So, when I was made aware of the fact that DiGiorno was offering a pizza for a single person, I was in.

The folks over at DiGiorno were nice enough to send me over a sample of their For One Traditional Crust Pepperoni Pizza. Being a pepperoni lover I was more than willing to sample this pizza and will likely be looking for some more when I head out grocery shopping later this week.

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I remember the first Reuben sandwich that I ever tasted. I was waitressing in a local restaurant that is quite well known (love it or hate it) in the area. It came time for lunch and a friend of mine ordered one, so I decided to follow suit. I’d never tasted anything like it. The melting Swiss cheese, the sauce, and the warm Corned Beef all melded together perfectly to make the King of sandwiches.

I missed them more than words could say when I switched restaurants and the new place I worked did not have them. Eventually they got them and they would be one of my regular lunch options. When I quit waitressing and began working at home, I perfected my own spin on the Reuben (same ingredients, just a different sandwich building method). Needless to say, I get stuck making them a lot.

Despite living in the same state as Zingerman’s I was clueless to their existence until late one night while watching Food Network. I watched them bake bread and eventually the host went to the Deli and ate the most amazing looking Reuben I’d ever set my eyes upon. When I checked their website recently I got giddy realizing that these amazing sandwiches can be delivered right to your door. I couldn’t wait to receive a reuben, which was quite obvious as I sliced open the box like a kid in a candy store.

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Dried pasta is good in a pinch for a simple dinner. It provides a number of options from mac and cheese to more detailed diners of your choosing. There are so many different brands in my grocery store that it can be hard to keep track of them all. However, like everyone else, I tend to stick to my favorite brands unless it’s to try a new product. When the folks at Barilla wanted to send me some pasta, I gladly accepted.

Barilla is actually one of the few brands I use regularly. Of course, with the inclusion of the new Piccolini pastas, the whole grain, and the Barilla Plus, there are plenty of types that I have yet to try. Barilla was nice enough to send me one or two varieties of each and I was thrilled to give them a whirl. I decided to test out the Piccolini pastas first because not only are they suitable for the kids, they also cook faster, and the mini shapes are just amazingly adorable.

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One of the places that I am pickiest about pizza is in the grocery aisle. Frozen pizza can be an altogether awful experience if you’re not careful. While there are a couple of brands that stand out from the pack, more of them seem to provide flavorless, fat drenched experiences that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. That being said, I have been eyeing the California Pizza Kitchen pizzas for awhile now. I haven’t purchased any, but I have been checking them out.

Normally, I shop with hesitation in this area. If I buy a pizza that no one else likes, but me, then I am stuck with it and some normally gets wasted. I don’t want to waste any money, so it’s been easier to sit and wonder if they are worth it or not. Well, that was until they came out with the Pizza for One pizzas. The folks that handle the Digornio and California Pizza Kitchen lines were nice enough to send me a couple of pizzas to check out.

One of those pizzas was the Pizza for One Sicilian. After checking out the entire line I had been secretly hoping this would be one of the ones that they sent. I love pepperoni, but this pizza (on the box, anyway) looks amazing. I had no idea what it would look like out of the box, or taste like even, but the box had me won over from the second I saw it. I was excited to see that one of the pizzas that showed up was the Sicilian and because I hadn’t had lunch yet when it arrived, I decided to pop it in the oven and test it out.

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