Recipes:

The popularity of food-focused TV, devoted "foodie" bloggers and countless epicurean magazines have encouraged Americans to develop palates that desire lavish gourmet adventures. Dining out on extravagant cuisine is not always an option, but you don't have to break the bank for a haute culinary experience -- channel your inner chef and find inspiration in your own kitchen.

From easy appetizers to elegant entrees, leading chefs around the country share their cheese-inspired creations in the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board's "The Perfect Recipe Cookbook." Nearly 30 recipes featuring more than 20 different types of Wisconsin Cheese are sure to please even the pickiest food critic.

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Baby Food Recipes:

When it comes to caring for your bundle of joy, you only want what's best. And these days, with early nutrition top-of-mind for many, it's no wonder that a growing number of parents are turning to homemade baby food to help instill healthy eating habits from the start.

Prepping and pureeing easy, everyday ingredients in the home also gives you the satisfaction of knowing exactly what is going into your baby's belly, from avocado and green beans to diced apples, sweet potatoes and peaches. Using fresh-from-the-market finds also lets you avoid preservatives and additives. And by introducing a variety of healthy foods at an early age, parents can help children develop a taste for similar flavors for the rest of their lives.

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Garlic is very potent and the smell can linger on your hands for hours, even after washing.  Three easy remedies:

You can avoid the problem by wearing disposable gloves.

An easy trick to remove the smell is to rub your hands with a stainless steel spoon or other stainless utensil under running tap water. You can also rub your hands on the inside of your stainless steel sink. (Not my preferred method since most sinks are really not that sanitary.)

Rub your hands with a little salt or baking soda. I have also heard that toothpaste works.

Preserved lemon or "pickled lemon" is commonly used in Moroccan, Indian and Middle Eastern Food. You can buy preserved lemons at specialty stores but they are easy to make and so much fresher when you preserve them yourself. The added bonus is they look pretty sitting on your counter.

6 large lemons or 12 Meyer lemons
2/3 cup kosher salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (from 5 large lemons or 10 Meyer lemons)
Sterilized jar with lid (6-cup capacity)

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Recipe: 82 Queen - Award Winning She Crab Soup

We recently met a couple from “up north,” foodies who were on a restaurant touring vacation through the South. They were quite emphatic in their declaration that, “per capita, Charleston has more “great” restaurants than New York.” Well now, that’s high praise from someone above the accursed (Mason-Dixon) Line. But then, we knew it all along. 

You can imagine that to survive and prosper in a town full of chefs and restaurateurs is no small feat. It takes something special to survive over twenty-five years in Charleston’s famous French Quarter. Truly one of Charleston’s great restaurants, 82 Queen has managed to do just that, with a wonderful mix of casual elegance and great Lowcountry cuisine.

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