Blog Posts by Maggie Nemser, Shine staff

I'm obsessed with condiments and to be honest, a lot of this love is due in part to my sub-par cooking skills. Poor some tapanade over grilled fish and voila, you're Thomas Keller. Well maybe not, but let's face it, without condiments it would be a bland, bland world out there. Here are some terrific toppers that I'm pouring on these days and neat ways to use them.

#1
Wasabi, for more than sushi.
Try it with meat, fish and chicken, on burgers, in dips.
Wasabi salmon burgers

2.
Worcesteshire sauce: for more than just steak.
Try it on fries, in homemade bbq and cocktail sauce, in bloody mary's, for meat and chicken marinades, and in other tomato based sauces.
Sauteed worcestershire chicken

#3. Caponata: for more than just the sexy ring-to-it factor.
Great for spreads, sauce, on sandwiches, a dip, over grilled meats, fish or veggies.
Grilled eggplant with caponata salsa

#4. Olive tapanade, for more than just bread.
Try it with fish, chicken, sandwices, steak, and pasta.
Grilled

Read More »from Cuckoo for condiments: 5 must haves

I typically don't dig looooong menus that try to be all things to all people. They stress me out and I'm skeptical of the jack of all trades, master of none syndrome. I may need to get over my slight hang-up however, as more and more restaurants are doing the global tapas, pizza meets sushi meets short-ribs type of thing.

Just last night I grabbed a bite at Hidden, a "new for LA" (less than 1 yr) swank lounge cum resto serving eclectic small plates. The menu is super duper long and knee deep in an international identify crisis, but I think i may like it? Not the crazy $60 dollar porterhouse steak situation (come on guys) but if I'm jonzing for sashimi and my friend wants a margarita pie, it's kind of cool that we can kill 2 different cravings with one restaurant. What do you think about the all over the map menu trend? Thumbs up or down?

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Read More »from Should restaurants stick to one shtick?

Would you shell out $83 dollars for a watermelon in the shape of a square? Well, people in Japan are shelling out 10,000 Yen which is equivalent to approx $83 US dollars for one of these puppies. Outrageous? Yes, but before judging think about the novelty factor and watermelon is the new viagra so why not mix it up with a square shape? If you're wondering how one grows a square watermelon, check out toxel.com for the full scoop.


[-pic from toxel who got it from snopes and bbc (Anyone, Bueller, anyone?)]

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Read More »from 83 bucks for a square watermelon. Any takers?

Dizzy Dee went for the gold when she combined cake flour, sugar, cocoa, an egg, 3 tablespoons of milk, and 3 tablespoons of oil into a mug and nuked it for three minutes on high. I'm pretty sure that I think this is gross but there's a small part of me that likes the nostalgia a la the memories of childhood concoction craziness. What do you think - thumbs up or down on Dizzy Dee's 5 minute chocolate cake?















Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1 Mug

Instructions:
Mix flour, sugar and cocoa . Spoon in one egg. Pour in milk and oil and mix well. Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1,000 wat) Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug. Tip contents out of mug and into saucer and enjoy! [-dizzy-dee.com]


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Read More »from The five minute chocolate cake?

Last week my friend Thoryn invited me over for some BBQ, and I asked him what I should bring. I was thinking he'd say hot dog buns or beer, but instead he surprised me with a question: "Which country?"
Say what? Never in a million years would I expect my crazy-partying friend, who actually managed to make a career out of DJ-ing, to get all Martha Stewart on me and throw a globally themed BBQ-or that he'd give me the opportunity to choose the featured cuisine. I opted for Mediterranean, hoping I'd get some nice grilled fish after having tucked into a serious steak the night before. I really dug Thoryn's idea, so I pulled together 20 great recipes from 5 different countries to help you get your grillin' globetrot on. FYI - I ended up bringing olives and a bottle of Retsina, a refreshing Greek wine that truly tastes like pine.

Greece

Grilled salmon with orzo salad

Grilled shrimp and pitas with chickpea puree

Chicken souvlaki

Lamb souvlaki sandwiches with Greek salad and tsatsiki sauce

Read More »from Global grillin': 20 recipes

It's smoothie season but it's also time for seriously beach body-friendly eats. Beware of the seemingly innocuous fast-food chain smoothies that pack in serious calories and try these 5 satisfying summer smoothies that will cool you off and keep you in summer-savvy shape.















Apricot Smoothie - 181 calories, 0 grams of fat.

The Mixed Berry "Wake Up" Smoothie - 231 calories, 1 gram of fat.

Mellon-Ginger Smoothie - 136 calories, 0 grams of fat.

Berry-Banana Smoothie - 126 calories, 0 grams of fat.

Protein and Fiber-Rich Smoothie - 391 calories, 2 grams of fat.


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Read More »from Skinny summer smoothies

Haven't started planning your 4th of July BBQ? Worry not, here's a little cheat-sheet roundup of the top 4th of July Shine posts to help save you time.

Make sure you've got a grill, the essential tools and some basic grilling skills.

The Grill
Don't have a grill? choose from one of these great grills for every price range.

The Skills
Take a refresher course with Steve Raichlen's top grilling do's and don'ts.

The Tools
If you're a newbie, first make sure you have the essential grilling tools and if you can already grill a mean steak, up your grilling game with these nine more advanced tools.



Plan your menu.

1.Choose a traditional side dish or check out this great list of guilt-free bbq sides.

Potato salad
From texas ranch to lobster corn, pick one of these top 10 potato salads.

Corn on the cob
Great recipe and tips for grilling up the perfect corn.

Cole Slaw
Either go for the traditional slaw or try this updated version.



2. Name your main(s)

Fried chicken
From classic comfort

Read More »from The ultimate 4th of July food guide

I stopped into the Hudson News at the airport this weekend to grab a few magazines for a flight. I couldn't avoid grabbing the Bon Appetit BBQ issue with the serious burger porn on the cover. As I was paying, the cashier winked at me and said "I'm coming to your house for dinner!" I don't typically get winked at by women who are my grandmother's age so to normalize the situation I smiled and said, "Oh yeah? What are you making this 4th?" I figured that I should get some market research out of the deal. "Honey," she said, "I'm makin' fried chicken that would make you cry" I immediately needed to know more and she revealed her secret, "One word, baby: beer."

It's amazing to see how serious, heated and slightly bazaar people get when talking about fried chicken.
If you're a fried-chicken lover and don't have a recipe that would make someone weepy, here are 8 variations on the southern favorite. Let me know if you get tears out of anyone. And If think you have a recipe for the best fried

Read More »from Fried chicken 8 ways