The Olive Garden motto is “When you’re here, you’re family.” That’s a nice concept, but depending on who your family is, you might or might not want to eat their cooking. But let’s assume that this noble intention is a good sign for a diner of any kind.

I read one review of an Olive Garden that pointed out the average wait time on a Friday night for a table was 45 minutes. That’s a good sign. Restaurants that serve bad food don’t have long wait times for a table. (This review was about the Olive Garden in Vero Beach, and it was written a few years ago, so don’t take this information as gospel.)

Sites like epinions.com can provide you with access to a lot of amateur restaurant reviewers who are presumably just like you and me. The only problem with sites like this is the credibility of the reviews. Nothing prevents the local Olive Garden manager from writing multiple positive reviews over time to inflate the customer rating. On the other hand, nothing prevents the manager of the local Macaroni Grill from writing multiple negative reviews of the Olive Garden either. Trust your gut when you’re reading these kinds of reviews. You can usually tell the fakes from the legitimate reviews.

A fun project for someone who REALLY loves the Olive Garden chain would be to collect as many Olive Garden coupons as you can. Then dine at as many of the 700+ Olive Garden locations throughout the country as you possibly can, and write reviews of each of them. I can promise you that a blog recording such a project would be a big hit among readers.

Materials Required:

200g caster sugar
500g butter, softened
500g plain flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

How to Make it:

The oven has to be preheated to 180 degree celcius
The butter, cream and sugar until it is fluffy. The vanilla is stirred, along with the flour and is mixed well
The dough is rolled out to 1 cm thickness, and the desired shapes shapes are cut out with biscuit cutters. It is baked for 10 to 12 minutes.

Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Materials Required:

Ground nutmeg (1/8 tespoon)
Butter-softened
All purpose flour (2 cups)
Egg folk (1)
Salt (1/2 cup)
Confectioners’ sugar (1/2 cup)
Maraschino cherries-drained (1 jar- 10 ounce)
Red decorator sugar (1 jar- 2.25 ounce)

Method

One needs to preheat the oven till 350 degrees F. It is followed by mixing butter, egg yolk, sugar, nutmeg and salt. One needs to add flour to the mixture till it hardens. This needs to be placed on a flour board and kneaded lightly. This process needs to be continued till the dough begins to crack. It is then rolled out onto shapes which are 1/4 inch thick. Then they can be cut into desired shapes. This is placed on a cookie sheet that is not very greasy. This can be decorated with either maraschino cherries or colored sugar crystals. This mixture needs to be baked for minimum 10 minutes or until it turns brown. This shortbread recipe is sure to be a guaranteed success.

Chocolate Shortbread Recipe

Materials Required

Powdered sugar
Butter-room temperature
Vanilla extract
All purpose flour
Unsweetened melted chocolate (2 ounces)
Baking Powder (1/2 teaspoon)
Vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)

Method

One can combine all the raw materials or ingredients together, one can preferably use their hands for excellent kneading. Then, the dough must be pressed into lightly buttered pans. The preparation can be baked at 325 degrees F for around 20 minutes. Then once they are warm, they can be cut into little wedgies.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Recipe

Materials Required

Sifted icing sugar (1/2 cup)
Butter-softened, divided (1 1/2 cup)
All-purpose flour (1 1/4 cup)
Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
Melted semisweet chocolate (3 squares)
Corn syrup (3 tablespoons)

Preparation

Before baking anything, it is always recommended to preheat the oven. In this case, one must preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 1 cup of sugar, salt and butter need to be mixed, in a large bowl and blended till it turns fluffy. Next some flour must be added to it and mixed well. Then one must use his/her fingers to press it evenly into a greased 9 inch square pan. It should be baked for half an hour or till it turns brown.

Once the mixture has been cooled down, the remaining half cup of the butter needs to be melted. This can be done by melting the butter in a 2 quart glass measure with a handle. The condensed milk is mixed along with the corn syrup. It is heated again for 6-8 minutes. This mixture needs to be stirred after a minute. The vanilla extract is then added. This mixture is spread over the shortbread. This can be sprinkled with some chocolate. Then the recipe needs to be cooled till it turns firm. This can be cut into bars and covered and stored at room temperature.

There are three components in a chicken salad recipe that remain constant, no matter what. There may be addition or subtraction of ingredients, but the three core elements namely the healthy vegetables, the chicken meat and the spices and herbs remain the same. The add-ons are usually either cooking oil or salad oil or condiments. The other add-ons are usually vinegar, salad oil or at times, other herbs and spices. There are numerous options too. As mentioned earlier, curry is a good way to cook the chicken. Some recipes suggest vinegar, which adds flavour to the chicken. But it should be added in moderation, as too much vinegar may turn the chicken sour. An alternative to vinegar is lemon juice too.

When it gets down to cooking chicken, remember not to overcook it. It is recommended to use a meat thermometer, to check the temperature regularly. When the temperature reads 165 degrees F near the breast region, that is the perfect time to take the chicken off the grill. To illustrate the health factor in chicken salad recipe, listed below are recipes that every chicken lover will enjoy:

1)Easy Chicken Salad Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/8 cup onion, finely chopped

1/8 cup celery, also finely chopped

1 cup cooked chicken breast, cubed

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper

Directions:

1)Place the finely chopped onion and chicken in the same bowl

2)Add the sugar, mayo, salt and pepper and mix them thoroughly. Mash them so thoroughly that they are evenly distributed. Keep the unfinished left overs in a refrigerator.

2)Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped celery

2 cups cooked shredded chicken, cold

Salt and pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

3/4 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

1)Mix the chief ingredients such as celery, chicken, salt and pepper, lemon juice

2)Add mayonnaise to it and mix well

3)Add the chopped eggs, folded, blending throughout

4)This can be served on rolls, or inside carved out tomatoes or lettuce.

3)Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup celery chopped

3 1/4 cups chicken, cubed and cooked

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

3 Tablespoons mayonnaise, lowfat

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1) Bake the chicken, cut it in the sahpe of cubes and put them in refrigerator

2) Combine the rest of the ingredients and add the cold chicken and serve

Easy Shrimp Jambalaya Recipe

Materials Required:

1 teaspoon sea salt

Olive Oil for Sauteing

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon no-Salt Cajun Spice

1-1/2 cup onion chopped

2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1-1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1-1/2 cup celery chopped

1 14.5-ounce can whole tomatoes, diced

2 clove garlic, minced

1 4-ounce can tomato sauce

1-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups white rice

3 tablespoons green onion (tops plus 1 inch of the white), finely chopped

3 tablespoons fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely chopped

Method

Place shrimp in a large bowl. Add salt, Cajun, pepper spice to the shrimp and toss to coat. It should be set aside.

3 cups of water should be boiled to prepare the rice. Add 2 cups of rice, a pinch of sea salt and stir it. The flame should be reduced to simmer and cooked for around 15 to 20 minutes or till the time the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Then, remove the container from the heat and keep it covered till it is ready to be eaten

In the interim, a heavy Dutch pan should be heated over medium high heat. The oil to coat the bottom should be enough to coat the bottom. Next, the bell pepper, celery and onion should be added to the pan and saute until it goes tender. The heat should then be reduced to medium and the garlic should be added. Then after sauteing it for a minute or two, keep stirring the garlic so that it doesnt brown. The shrimp should be added next, and saute’ until the shrimps turn pink.

Add the tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the thyme, and 1 tablespoon of green onion and parsley to the shrimp mixture and can be cooked on medium heat until the sauce turns hot. Add the cooked rice. The cooked rice should be added to the shrimp mixture and tossed to combine or the jambalaya over the rice.

Most people have not heard of Jambalaya, it is basically a very savory and delicious dishes that was thought to have been originated in Spain but is, actually from Louisiana in the Unites States. There are 3 more Jambalaya recipes which have gained prominence such as the Creole Jambalaya, the white Jambalaya and the Cajun Jambalaya. It is easy to make and serves a sizeable number of people and can be whipped at an extremely short notice.

Visit here for more information on: Butternut Squash Recipes.

How To Eat Snow Crab Legs

Eating snow crab feet can be tricky at times. Despite its good and super delicious taste and flavor, consuming this tasty meal can be sloppy and hard at times, especially for those who barely know and lack the skill to do the job. For this reason, it is but good to understand how to eat snow crab legs.

Required Tools & Materials

When individuals know how to eat snow crab legs, they can easily part take and appreciate such a outstanding treat. The materials for this simple task include lemon wedges, which can add an intriguing taste to the dish. Likewise, thawed butter also goes well with such appetizing treat. Furthermore, pick out hard to reach meat of crab using a fork or crab pick.

Instructions:

1.Pull one of the legs off the cluster; you will realize it is made up of two joints. Bend at the joint and separate slowly. If you are lucky, the meat will come out of the foot through the joint. This works really well with the fingers. Squeeze the lemon onto the meat and dip in the butter. Eat the crab meat.

2.Open the shell on one part of the foot nearby a joint. Don’t crush it; just break it. Fold and separate. The meat should come out in one big piece. Repeat lemon and butter.

3.Use a crab pick or a crab tool to get any meat that is hard to get out of the shell. Squeeze on lemon and dip in butter.

4.Press on finished, use a pre-moistened hand wipe until you can get to a sink and wash your hands.

Tips & Warnings:

Persons can use device instead of crab pick. After enjoying the dish, cleaning is very important. Remove the crab scent off your hands by employing hand towel or any brand of hand wipe. More importantly, go to the pot and then wash the flavor off your hands using water and soap.

Consuming crab feet can truly be messy. At times, the flavor sticks right into the hands. After enjoying such great and delicious treat, clean your hands using a hand wipe. If there is none available, generally tissue will do. If there is a pot simply wash hands properly with soap and water.

#1 – Rich Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Butter, to grease the cake pans

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300° F (150° C).

Butter 2 (8-inch) circular cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

Mix the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla in another bowl.

Slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix.

Add the coffee and stir until combined.

Empty the batter into the cake pans and bakes for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes and put them onto a cooling rack to cool.

#2 – Easy Fruit Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup Apple sauce

3/4 cup Water

1/2 cup Sugar.

2 1/2 cups Mixed dried fruit

2 Egg whites gently beaten

1 1/2 cups White flour

2 teaspoons Baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 300ºF.

2. Line a 6-inch round cake pan using greaseproof paper.

3. Place the apple sauce, water, sugar, and dried fruit in a saucepan.

4. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Allow to cool.

6 Combine the egg whites into the fruit mixture.

7. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture.

8. Mix to create a stiff batter. Add water if required.

9. Pour into the cake pan and sprinkle brown sugar on top.

10. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until a skewer comes out clean.

Novelty cakes are cakes that are made and decorated in different designs. These cakes have become popular at events particularly birthday parties. They are done in three types:

1. A simple round cake with objects or pictures on top.

2. Dimensional cakes when the cake is cut into the shape of the object preferred.

3. 3-Dimensional where the cake is created in an imitated object that positions upright.

These cakes are expensive and difficult to design but not if you purchase a novelty cake pan in the object that you desire. Just bake a normal cake mix using the tin. When it is baked the ridges created by the pan will show you where to put certain extras. Frost the cake in your selection of colours and there you have it, your own novelty cake!

Here is a delicious strawberry short cake recipe.

Brining is a great way to add moisture to any meat and is particularly beneficial with pork especially with thicker cuts of meat which are recommended for brining rather than thinner cuts. Brine is a salt water mixture (about 1 tablespoon table salt to a cup of water) that gets soaked up by meat. Brining thick cut pork chops should take 2 to 4 hours; when brining do not use any other salt-based ingredient.

Marinades are preferable for thinner chops. Marinades cannot sink into meat like brine will but it gives a protective layer to the meat. A great example of a basic marinade is Italian Dressing which contains oil, vinegar and water as well as herbs and spices. Thin chops can be acceptably marinated in 30 minutes. The marinade will moisten the meat and shield it from the intense heat of the grill.

An alternative to the brines and marinades is a dry rub which is apportioned by seasoning the surface of your chops with herbs and spice (or salt and pepper). This will not allow for moisture or help to soften the chops but it will create a lot of flavor. Brine can be put together with dry rub, but ensure there is no salt in the dry rub.

Thin chops should be grilled hot and fast on top an intense heat, turnning over as little as as you can. Preheat the grill to the most optimum temperature. Put the chops on the grill and lock the lid for one minute. Unlock the lid and turn the chops 45 degrees without flipping. Close the lid for another minute. Flip the chops over and close the lid again. After a minute spin the chops 45 degrees and finish off. Cooking time is approximately 5 minutes.

Thick chops will have need of a slower heat to get them cooked while not drying them out. Preheat to highest temperature grill. Put the chops on the grill and close the lid. After one minute open the grill and turn the chops. Close the lid for one minute. Now turn down the heat on the grill to medium. Rotate the chops and let them cook for about 3 more minutes with the lid down. Flip the chops over and carry on cooking for about 4 more minutes. Turn your grill down to its minimum setting.

Once the chops are cooked as required, remove and place them on a plate and cover with aluminum foil for 5 to 10 minutes to let them rest to allow the juice to redistribute in the meat.