When I was asked to review the Bosch MIXXO Hand Blender I actually had a hand blender sitting in a box that I had never used. It was just sitting in the box and I had never opened it. The day that I was offered the Bosch, I had remarked how I needed to buy a new blender. The one I have is a standard glass blender. It’s nothing too special, but it’s time to replace it. I decided to put that on hold for a bit when I received the Bosch.

When I learned the price (anywhere between $90 and $135 depending on where you buy it) I was certain there was no way that it could be worth it. $135 for a blender of any sort is just ridiculous. That’s what I thought before I tried it anyway. I have been using it for a few weeks now and I am absolutely in love. I have formed an attachment to my Bosch Mixxo and if anything ever happened to it I am certain that I would cry.

What Sets it Apart
The Mixxo actually serves more than one purpose. In addition to blending (in all its various forms) the Mixxo also works as a food processor. The Mixxo comes with a blending cup for drink mixing and a food processor bowl for making things like salsa or chopping up veggies and things of that sort. So, if your rational mind is saying you cannot pay that much for a hand blender then you can inform it that you’re really getting two kitchen appliances in one, which makes it okay.

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Ashtyn’s Home Cookin’ is proud to be giving away five copies of I Like You by Amy Sedaris. 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 emailed. 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 October 14, 2008. This means you have until October 13, 2008 to enter.

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FOOD NETWORK OPENS CASTING FOR SEASON FIVE OF “THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR”
Conducting Open-Call Auditions in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Charleston, SC and Portland, OR

For Immediate Release – Food Network has greenlit a fifth season of its hugely successful reality series The Next Food Network Star the network announced today. The recently completed fourth season of Star was the highest-rated series in Food Network history and the cabler is looking for outstanding chefs and home cooks to join the ranks of past winners like Guy Fieri and the newly-crowned Aaron McCargo Jr. to compete for the opportunity to win his or her own Food Network series.

The network is currently conducting a nation-wide talent search and encourages both professional and amateur chefs to apply. Applicants have until Friday, October 31st, 2008 to send in a three minute audition video explaining why he/she should be Food Network’s newest star. For applications and contest rules, simply visit www.FoodNetwork.com and click on ‘Be on Food Network’. In addition, contestant hopefuls can also apply in person at one of several open-call auditions that will be held around the country. Applicants should bring an application, photograph and resume and/or bio to the auditions, which will allow them to meet with network casting directors. Locations will include:

Washington DC- Friday, October 3, 2008 from 10am-3pm
The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Washington
1820 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA 22209

New York, NY- Monday, October 6, 2008 11am-3pm
Sutton Place
1015 Second Ave. (btw. 53rd and 54th) New York, NY 10022

Los Angeles, CA- Wednesday, October 15, 2008 from 10am-3pm
The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – Los Angeles
2900 31st Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405-3035

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Ashtyn’s Home Cookin’ is proud to be giving away a free Pillsbury Savorings Gift Bag. 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 emailed. 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.

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If you’re a fan of Breakfast Breaks and are a lover of downloadable music (who isn’t?), then you might find this to be right up your alley. The long and short of it is that Breakfast Breaks has teamed up with Hip Digital Media and GMR Entertainment to offer the “Breakfast Breaks Morning Music” contest.

Purchasing Breakfast Breaks will give you access to pin codes that could equal free music by such acts as Katy Perry, Yellowcard, and even the Jonas Brothers (if you like bands like them.)

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hip Digital Media and GMR Entertainment announce the recent launch of the “Breakfast BREAKS Morning Music” contest, a consumer-driven incentive program featuring music downloads from artists such as the Jonas Brothers, Yellowcard, Katy Perry, Spice Girls and many others. When consumers purchase boxes of ESE Food’s product, Breakfast BREAKS, they are eligible to win pin codes redeemable for free MP3 downloads on the Breakfast BREAKS web site (www.breakfastbreaks.com).

The new retail version of Breakfast BREAKS is modeled after the popular school version being used by hundreds of thousands of students across the country and is now available in Wal-Mart, Target and grocers across the country.

“For us, building a digital download program with Breakfast BREAKS was a natural extension of our existing partnership with the client and the Jonas Brothers,” says Marcus Peterzell, Managing Director, GMR Entertainment. “Once we made the decision to include a larger variety of artists, we introduced Hip Digital’s suite of services and their large music catalog to Breakfast BREAKS and facilitated the Morning Music promotion.”

The “Breakfast BREAKS Morning Music” promotion, which was built by Hip Digital, will run for nine months, offer 100% DRM-free music tracks and rotate new music on a monthly basis. The contest will appear on over 27 million Breakfast BREAKS boxes where winners are directed to the Breakfast BREAKS site to enter a pin code to redeem free music downloads from their favorite artist.

Hip Digital built a complete custom branded music site for Breakfast BREAKS, providing ultimate CRM control and customization. Hip Digital’s sophisticated pin code system enables the customers to redeem totally free, fully licensed digital music from popular artists and leading major and independent labels.

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Sixteen elite chefs from across the country have been chosen for a brand new program by the Culinary Institute of America and Hormel Foods that will start in October. The program will focus on cooking (of course), flavors, flavor synergies, and new technology.

AUSTIN, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dennis Goettsch, vice president of marketing for the foodservice division of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), and Dr. Victor Gielisse, associate vice president of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), are pleased to announce the 16 chefs selected for the inaugural class of the Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program (CEIP), a new innovation-focused program created to build future culinary leaders.

The CEIP chefs represent 11 different states and all areas of commercial and non-commercial foodservice. Most are responsible for menu development, scheduling, staff management, back-of-the-house operations, training, purchasing and vendor relations. All share a passion and commitment to their profession. These chefs will meet four times over the next 18 months at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus in New York. The rigorous three-day sessions will provide expert culinary perspectives on creativity, innovation, leadership and management in the culinary arts. It is the first program of its kind – addressing the specific needs of high potential professional chefs who have been in the field for five years or more.

31-year-old Denise Baron, the Culinary Director of Burtons Gill in North Reading, Mass., took a year to travel through Mexico and Central America, learning conversational Spanish to better communicate with her employees. At 27, Travis Brust has already been in the field for 15 years. He is now the Executive Sous Chef at the historic Williamsburg Inn in Williamsburg, Va. Brust’s professional maturity is respected by those who work alongside him and his passion, he explains, comes from “the growth and successes of those apprenticing and learning under my direction.” James Lynch, Executive Chef at ACTS Retirement-Life Communities/Granite Farms Estates in Media, Pa., oversees the production of 1,200 meals a day for residents aged 65 and older. Michael Edwards started as a dishwasher at age 16. Now 36, he is a Culinary Specialist First Class for the U.S. Navy at the Pentagon. He lists his biggest challenge to date as cooking and living aboard an aircraft carrier.

The 16 chefs will gather for the first session of the Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program (CEIP) on Tuesday, Oct. 28. The focus will be flavors and the senses, flavor synergies and technology. As part of this course, the chefs will tour local farms with the CIA’s Paul Wigsten, who will discuss the business principles of successful local sourcing. The chefs also will spend time in the kitchen, using authentic ingredients, equipment and cooking methods to prepare dishes from regions all over the globe.

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Online Balloting for Top Party Pick Will Award One Voter the Ultimate Trip to New York City

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–This fall, parties will be filled with lively debate over which Chex® Party Mix recipe made with Chex cereal will be chosen as the nation’s favorite when the polls open this week at www.Chex.com/Recipes.

All five recipe candidates – Original Chex Party Mix, Cheesy Ranch Chex Mix, Chex Muddy Buddies, Chocolate Chex Caramel Crunch and Cinnamon-Apple Chex Mix – are running crisp campaigns on a 15-minute prep-time platform. However, given their distinct flavor profiles, each snack option appeals to snack fans’ varying tastes.

These five easy-to-make, 15-minute recipes can wow any crowd with their irresistible crunch and great taste. And, with the hour saved making these microwavable snacks, voters will have extra time to debate each recipe’s case for the title of America’s favorite.

The candidates are:
Original Chex Party Mix – on the ballot for over 50 years, it could be considered a flip-flop candidate due to its easy customization ideas such as red pepper sauce.

Cheesy Ranch Chex Mix – promotes a three-party system with an ideal trifecta of ranch, cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.

Chex Muddy Buddies – read our lips, this indulgent chocolate-peanut butter combination is sure to have kids lined up on your doorstep.

Chocolate Chex Caramel Crunch – melted vanilla chips drizzled on top gives this recipe a special touch leaving lobbyists begging for more.

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Ashtyn’s Home Cookin’ is proud to be giving away five copies of The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. 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 emailed. 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 September 22, 2008. This means you have until September 21, 2008 to enter.

About the Book:
THE FLAVOR BIBLE

Great cooking goes beyond following a recipe—it’s knowing how to season ingredients to coax the greatest possible flavor for them. Drawing on dozens of leading chefs’ combined experience in top restaurants across the country, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg present the definitive guide to creating “deliciousness” in any dish with THE FLAVOR BIBLE.

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PLEASE pay attention as the RULES for this contest are a little different!

Ashtyn’s Home Cookin’ is proud to be giving away four months of Dole Fruit Bowls and one Madagascar DVD. To enter all you need to do is visit the Dole Fruit Bowl Website. After checking it out head back over to our comment area and let me know the name of the new Madagascar 2 movie and you will officially be entered to win this great prize from Dole.

If you want to get another entry you can list information about this contest on your blog, myspace, facebook, or twitter. With the exception to twitter you would need to list links to this website (http://www.ashtynshomecookin.com) and to the Dole Fruit Bowl Website (https://www.dolemartysnakpak.com/app/Default.aspx). With twitter, a link to this post will do. Please make sure you leave the link to your post or your twitter URL so that we can double check and give you your second entry.

Please be sure to only leave one comment. Comments are moderated to avoid spam, so it may not show up right away. 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 at least 18 years of age and a resident of the U.S. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible. Winners will be emailed. 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.

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I remember as a child eating various things that I deemed my favorite foods. With exception to cheese and pizza I have outgrown a number of them. I chalk it up to adults having a more sophisticated palette and differing food interests. That being said, there are still a number of foods that can be produced for both adults and children that manage to keep both groups pretty happy. Yogurt is one of those foods.

Parents love to give it to their kids because it’s healthy and now because of things like Go-gurt (drinkable yogurt in a tube), drinkable yogurt, and a Nickelodeon pairing (at least with Yoplait Kids yogurt) kids are learning to appreciate the power of yogurt goodness early on. It is important to start a child eating the right way as soon as you can. Yogurt works great in the scheme of things because it not only offers your children a sweet treat, but it’s also incredibly good for them.

Based on name recognition alone you may find your child wanting any number of the Yoplait Kids products on the market. Some popular choices include Dora (Strawberry/Strawberry-Vanilla or Drinkable Strawberry), Blue’s Clues (Banana/Vanilla or Drinkable Strawberry-Banana), Diego (Strawberry-Banana/Peach or Drinkable Mixed Berry), The Backyardigans (Drinkable Banana), or even Trix flavors.

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