BlogHer Food 2011 Recap

I woke up earlier than anyone should on Friday morning to begin my trek to The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta. Russell had to work on Friday, so my mom met me in Atlanta to watch Jake while I attended the conference. Upon checking into the hotel I soon discovered we would be staying on the 58th floor. I’m not a fan of heights, but the view of the city from our room was stunning:

There were several sessions that I attended during the conference. Each segment focused on different subjects such as writing, photography, and social media as it relates to your blog. I took notes like a mad woman and am slowly beginning to go back and sort through everything. All of the sessions were very informative; now I just have to work on implementing everything!

Above is a picture of the panel that spoke on social media--from left to right: David Lebovitz, Jaden Hair, Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan.

Between session times there were sponsor demos and product samples. There were way too many goodies to list, but a few of my favorites were pomegranate juice from POM Wonderful, chocolate from Scharffen Berger, and white chocolate peanut butter from Peanut Butter and Company.

Saturday morning the first session did not start until 10:30 a.m. so my mom, Jake, and I enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel cafe. Afterwards my mom and Jake went to explore Atlanta while I continued with the conference. Saturday went by much too quickly; before I knew it BlogHer 2011 was over and I was heading to the closing party at the Tabernacle.

After we left the party a few friends and I were on the hunt for some dessert. Someone recommended Cafe Intermezzo--so off we went! I was in awe of the selection of desserts they had:

Overall I had an absolutely wonderful time at BlogHer Food 2011. I met some wonderful people and learned so much. I hope to attend next year’s conference and have already begun to sweet talk Russell about BlogHer Food 2012 :) .

BlogHer Food Conference 2011 in Atlanta, GA

I’ve never really considered myself lucky when it comes to giveaways, contest, or raffles. When I was in the fifth grade I won $100 from a raffle, but that was ages ago. I can’t remember winning anything since then--until now!

Last week POM Wonderful gave away four free tickets to attend the BlogHer Food Conference 2011 this weekend in Atlanta, GA. The entry was simple: E-mail POM Wonderful’s PR department and let them know you would like to attend the conference. The winners would be announced on their Facebook page the next day.

I submitted my e-mail to their PR department right away! The day the winners were announced, certain I would not win, I forgot to visit their Facebook page for the results. Thankfully, I remembered to check POM's site the next morning and I was one of four lucky winners!! I will be attending the BlogHer Food conference in Atlanta this weekend and could not be more excited--I am hoping to learn as much as possible and I can’t wait to share all the details and pictures with you!

Baked Fontina

I usually meal plan for lunch on the weekends since Russell and I are both home. Sometimes I prefer to not have an actual meal, but instead make a few different appetizers for us to munch on. I love cheese - so when I came across this recipe for cheesy baked goodness I could not pass it up. This recipe is so simple to make, yet so flavorful. It is the perfect combination of spices and leaves you wanting more after each bite. This baked fontina would be a great beginning to a meal and would definitely be a crowd pleasing appetizer at any party. I halved the recipe below since it was just Russell and I; otherwise I could not have stopped myself from eating it all! I will definitely be making this dish again very soon!

Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds Italian Fontina, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh or dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh or dried rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 loaf of french bread, sliced and lightly toasted

Directions:

Preheat oven to broiler setting and adjust oven rack 5-6 inches from the heat source.

Place cubed Fontina in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet, cast iron skillet or shallow baking dish (I used a shallow, oval baking dish and it worked perfect).

Drizzle olive oil over the Fontina. Combine thyme, rosemary, and garlic; sprinkle evenly over the cheese. Sprinkle cheese with salt and pepper.

Bake for 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted, bubbling, and beginning to brown some on top. Serve with sliced, lightly toasted, french bread.

Source: Originally from Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is that?, as seen on Pink Parsley: Baked Fontina

Black Beans and Rice

Russell’s Nanny (his grandmother) knows I love to cook, so when she comes across a great recipe she forwards it my way. When she sent me this recipe for black beans and rice I was pretty confident that Russell would enjoy it. I added it to my menu to try the following week. Since making this recipe the first time it has become part of my regular rotation of meals and has made an appearance on my menu several times. It is such a simple dish that comes together quickly and has great flavor. I have served it (at different times) with blackened chicken, smoked sausage, and without meat. The black beans alone make it a great meal when you don't have time to add chicken or sausage. Top with regular sour cream, lime sour cream (recipe below), or cilantro lime sour cream (recipe below) to really complete this dish!

Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add diced onion and bell pepper. Saute until soft, approximately 6 to 7 minutes.

Stir in chili powder and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another minute.

Stir in rice and beans and cover with chicken broth. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes covered. Fluff and top with sour cream.

Lime Sour Cream/Cilantro Lime Sour Cream: Combine approximately 3 tablespoons sour cream with fresh squeezed lime juice and salt to taste. If you would like to make cilantro sour cream, add chopped cilantro to lime sour cream until desired taste is achieved.

Adapted from recipe received from Russell’s grandmother, original source unknown.

Baked Salmon with Lemon Dill Butter

A couple of weeks ago Russell had a big promotion at work. I wanted to make a special meal for him to celebrate, but unfortunately the timing did not work out until now. Luckily Russell was excited about this meal, even though it was a little late. I really wanted to make something with fish or seafood. Our local grocery store had a great deal on salmon, and since I had recently come across a simple salmon recipe, I thought it would be perfect.

This dish involves very few ingredients - one of which is lemonade. I used "Simply Lemonade" since that is what I already had on hand, but your favorite brand lemonade will work. You can also use homemade lemonade. The lemonade gives the salmon a nice citrus flavor and also keeps it moist. It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and no more than 20 minutes to bake. The salmon was so juicy and the lemon dill butter was a wonderful addition. Russell and I really enjoyed it and it made the perfect celebratory meal!

Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients:

Salmon:

• 1 pound of Salmon, skin on
• 1 cup (8 ounces) of Lemonade
• Salt and Pepper

Lemon Dill Butter:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• dash of salt (if using unsalted butter)
• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (I used 1 1/2 teaspoons, but I wanted a stronger lemon flavor)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Pour lemonade into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Season salmon with salt and pepper and place in lemonade.

Loosely cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes.

While salmon is baking, soften your butter. Stir in dill, garlic powder, lemon juice, and salt. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Once salmon is done, remove from oven and top with lemon dill butter.

Source: Salmon- Prevention RD: “Juice Box” Salmon, Lemon Dill Butter adapted from Real Restaurant Recipes