Archive for the ‘My Favorite Things’ Category

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Product Reviews and Amazon Store Policy

Monday, October 5th, 2009

I thought it was about time that I post our Product Reviews and Amazon Store Policy, so here it is:

Building Blocks Show (BBS) is the project of two stay-at-home moms who love food and want to share their passion for food with you.  This is the spirit with which we approach all business decisions.  That being said, we don’t mind making money and getting free stuff and here’s our policy on that:

Book and product reviews:  We will accept books and products directly related to our cooking philosophy for review.  If we choose to review these items, it will be done on the BBS Blog and clearly stated that the product/book was a gift.  We will be honest in our evaluation.   We do not do pay-per-post.

Amazon Store:  BBS receives a portion of all sales from Amazon in our BBS Store.  Because we can choose any of Amazon’s millions of products, we only select items that we personally use and love or are totally lusting after ourselves.  Product links in the blog posts are part of the Amazon store. 

If you are interested in advertising on our website or have a book or cooking related product you would like to send us for review please email kim AT buildingblocksshow DOT com.

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Make-Ahead Cooking

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Guest Post: Malissa is guest posting today as Kim is off on vacation celebrating her anniversary!

I’m bringing a meal to a friend that just had a baby. It used to cause me a bit of stress to figure out a good meal for these situations. Since discovering The Best Make-Ahead Recipe cookbook, I have a handful of recipes that work really well.

This cookbook is from the editors at “Cook’s Illustrated” and they have a prominent place in my kitchen. I’m not a “natural cook” but can follow a recipe. I test Kim’s recipes to make sure any idiot (uh, me) can follow them, so I appreciate the detail in their recipe instructions. Another thing I like about “Cook’s Illustrated” is that they look for shortcuts in recipes, but not at the expense of taste. Also, they thoroughly test ingredient brands and equipment to let you know when it’s worth spending top dollar.

Ok, so that’s why I love anything “Cook’s Illustrated” publishes, but the specific reason I love this cookbook is because of all the instructions for serving right away, assembling for storage in the refrigerator or freezer, baking half/freezing half, and supersizing the dish. The tips are so useful if you want to prepare something ahead of time, cook the same dish for your family and another family, take a hot dish to a family and bring an extra meal for the freezer, etc. I think these make-ahead recipes are perfect for the once-a-month cooking trend or to take a little stress out of a dinner party or holiday meal.

I’m off to enjoy our Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole with Peas, Carrots, and Cheddar (homemade bread crumbs on top, HALLELUJAH). Check out this recipe and so many more:  

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Snags in Saarland, Germany

Friday, August 7th, 2009

At a barbecue in Germany we saw how you get perfectly cooked sausages:

The grate swings back and forth over the fire. They must think it’s such a great idea, they had two:

What was cookin’ on the grill? White sausage that was mild and juicy, hot sausage (which I didn’t try) and fresh pork fillets which the lady of the house had insisted had to be picked up that morning and not a day earlier. My kind of cook!

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