Blog Posts by YumSugar

POPSUGAR FoodSource: Fame Meets Food: Oscar Nominees Talk Favorite Eats

Nachos and peanut butter - you'd be surprised at what this year's Oscar nominees call their favorite foods. Something else you'd be surprised by? Many of this season's big names can cook a mean meal (we're talking vegan soul food). Click on to read quotes from the actors and discover more food tales about Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, and more!

• Amy Adams - On why her fiancé, Darren Le Gallo, didn't hide her engagement ring in her favorite comfort food: "He knows better than to put it in nachos, because I would have eaten the ring for sure."
• Bradley Cooper - On gorging after filming for The A-Team stopped and he no longer had to follow a strict diet: "In the evening I came home, ordered three pizzas, ate them all in one go, then walked to the store and bought Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. I thought I was going to die. My stomach wasn't used to digesting that much."
• Hugh Jackman - On his

POPSUGAR FoodSource: See What Wolfgang Puck's Cooking For the 2013 Oscars Governors Ball

The Governors Ball - the glitzy official afterparty of the Oscars - is just over a week away. For the 19th year in a row, all eyes are on chef to the stars Wolfgang Puck, who's created what he hopes to be a blockbuster menu. We tracked down what he'll be serving at this year's soiree. Keep reading to find out the tony tastes he's planning to serve Hollywood's A-list.

• Patrón Gold Cosmopolitan : Patrón tequila will be on hand at the Governors Ball to serve guests its version of a cosmopolitan, with Patrón Silver, orange liqueur, blackberry juice, orange juice, blackberries, and - wait for it - a gold rim!
• Champagne: Champagne Thienot is the official sparkling wine of the post-Oscars celebration. Here, the Champagne house's president, François Peltereau-Villeneuve, pours a glass.
• Smoked Salmon Oscars: As usual, Wolfgang Puck's most iconic Governors Ball recipe - blinis with smoked salmon

POPSUGARFoodSource: Stock Your Kitchen With These 10 Essential International Cookbooks

Hoping for an easy way to broaden your culinary horizons? Look no further than a new cuisine. Before you raise your hand in protest to even more restaurant dining, hear me out: the best way to familiarize oneself with a particular country's food is by actually cooking it yourself. We promise this proposition will be both fun and easy, thanks to the following tomes, each of which is written by a foremost expert in the cuisine. Behold: 12 definitive international cookbooks that are essential to any globe-trotter's kitchen.

• Spanish: The New Spanish Table: As a lover of all things Spanish, I researched high and low to find the seminal cookbook on Spain in the States. I quickly discovered that it's Anya von Bremzen's The New Spanish Table ($23). The book is full of colorful stories and tested recipes that stretch from Valencia to Basque Country to La Mancha and everything in between.
• Vietnamese: Into the

POPSUGAR FoodSource: Put a Spin on It: Classic NYC Dishes With a Twist

All eyes will be on the latest styles this Thursday when New York Fashion Week kicks off, but our stomachs will be in a different place. New York City is known for some some mouthwatering foods - think hot dogs, pizza, and cheesecake - that inspire plenty of our own recipes that add a twist to the classics. Whether you're close to the runways or not, you can still indulge in some big-city eating with these distinct dishes.

• Cheesecake: New York cheesecake is a straight-up, no-fuss dessert where hardly any other flavors are welcome. But you can give your cheesecake dish a (lemon) twist by making a lemon ginger version that's both bright and refreshing.
• Pizza: Roam NYC's streets and you'll find thin but huge pizza slices in popular flavors like margherita. Give the city staple some greens by taking advantage of the upcoming springtime - an asparagus, goat cheese, and pea shoot recipe will have you turning vegetables

POPSUGAR FoodSource: 10 Tips That Will Set You Up For Soufflé Success

In our experience, few foods instill more fear in the home cook than light and airy soufflés; we'd like to change that. While they'll never be a dump-and-stir operation, with a few - OK, 10 - tips you'll be on your way to adding this impressive dish to your repertoire.

• Do read the recipe not once, but twice. It's important to understand the order of operations, as some steps require precise timing in order to garner the desired results.
• Do make certain to have your mise en place, meaning make certain to have all of your ingredients prepped according to the ingredients list and set out in front of you, rather than winging it and getting ingredients ready during the cookery process, as timing is crucial particularly when preparing the custard base.
• Do separate the eggs when they're still chilled from the fridge; cold eggs separate easier and have less chance of the yolk breaking and therefore introducing

Source: 5 Huge Misconceptions About Visiting Wineries

As a writer of food and drink, I have a pretty big blunder to admit. Though wine country is a mere hour away, I don't know the first thing about choosing a tasting room. On my last trip to wine country, I hit up three spots: one fantastic, another mediocre, and a third downright horrible.

If only I had known what I know now, after speaking with Tilar Mazzeo, the author of Back Lane Wineries of Napa and Back Lane Wineries of Sonoma, two helpful books that guide visitors to vineyards that are off the beaten track. After a lengthy discussion with her, I discovered that I've been approaching wine country all wrong. Not only that, but many of my perceptions about visiting wineries are completely incorrect.

Now that I'm much better equipped, I'm already plotting my next trip!

• You should buy from every winery you visit. "Nobody wants people to feel obligated to buy the wine, especially if they don't like it," says Mazzeo. But if

POPSUGAR FoodSource: 9 Editor-Approved Chocolate Boxes For Valentine's Day and Beyond

It was a tough task at hand, but the food editors sat down with a stack of chocolate boxes and we tried them all to bring you the best of the bunch. Chocolate does not run cheap, so it's important that you guarantee your Valentine (or, let's admit, we like to treat ourselves too!) a delicious, decadent box of chocolates. We found these nine that we feel particularly passionate about. As you click through, be sure to zoom in on the pictures so you can see every detail, down to each sugar granule.

• Valrhona Valentine's Chocolate Gift Box : Fifteen ganache-filled bonbons fill this Valrhona Valentine's Chocolate Gift Box ($30), including dark chocolate hearts with dark chocolate ganache, milk chocolate hearts with passion fruit ganache, and white chocolate hearts in vanilla bean ganache.
  What we loved: The milk chocolate with the passion fruit ganache reigned supreme and surprised us with its

YumSugarSource: 5 Fresh Valentine's Day Dinner Ideas

Wondering how to celebrate Valentine's Day? If you're feeling stumped or you're tired of the standard fancy-dinner routine, get creative and mix it up with a meal that steps outside your typical date pattern. Here are five great ways to get romantic for the heart-filled holiday, from a cozy indoor picnic to an anti-Valentine's Day dinner spread.

• An Indoor Picnic: Keep things casual and cozy with a sweet indoor picnic date. Turn on your favorite romantic film and enjoy simple floor-friendly dishes like salad skewers and fondue.
• A Global Spread: Feeling indecisive? Serve a little bit of everything by cooking up an ethnic dinner menu that features dishes from all over the world. You'll satisfy both your sweetie and your taste buds.
• A Feast of French Eats: Pretend you're in Paris with a delicious French feast for two. With a table full of ratatouille, crepes, and macarons, you'll have no problem channeling your inner