Pear and Gorgonzola Holiday Salad – #LitehouseHolidazzle

December 5, 2015 By Debra Pearlstein 74 Comments

For me, the holiday season is all about good cheer: family gathered around the fireplace, people helping one another out, finding a gift that is personal and touches the heart. I enjoy the traditions as well as creating new ones with those I love.

We have a lot of parties that we are invited to and enjoy having people over as well. I love making this holiday salad as it is bright and cheerful as well as having a sophisticated and delightful blend of flavors.

One of the secrets to this delicious salad is how easy it is to make. I used three wonderful products from Litehouse Foods which made it so simple and yet so elegant. Litehouse provides quality, fresh products, with NO artificial preservatives, NO MSG’s, and award-winning taste. Yes, I am a fan!

First of all, I was inspired by Litehouse’s Pear Gorgonzola salad dressing. It tastes very fresh and has one of my favorite combos which perfectly complement one another.

Gorgonzola is a unique robust aromatic cheese produced in Northern Italy. In fact, it was first produced in the Italian town Gorgonzola in 879 AD.

If you happen to enjoy gorgonzola, you will love Litehouse’s Artisan Gorgonzola Cheese crumbles which come in a useful resealable bag. I add it to just about everything and even eat it by itself. So delicious and the best gorgonzola I’ve had.

I buy Litehouse herbs often, and the mint is so lovely to have on hand. It adds a delightful pop of subtle flavor.

To make this salad you will need:

5 oz Butter Lettuce (buy this fresh or packaged)

2 pears – (you can use what is in season) – I chose to use Bartlett and Forelle, which are two of my favorites for the taste and the colors. The sweet flavors of Forelle and Bartlett are both enhanced when matched with tart foods like the gorgonzola.

1/4 cup Litehouse Simply Artisan Reserve Gorgonzola cheese crumbles

1/4 cup walnut halves

1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Litehouse Foods Pear Gorgonzola Dressing to taste

A pinch of Litehouse Foods Dried Mint

Add your lettuce to a large bowl, then add your pears cut into thin slices, next add your cranberries and walnuts, sprinkle with the gorgonzola crumbles. Add Litehouse Pear Gorgonzola dressing to taste and top it off with a hint of mint.

This is delicious served with homemade olive bread or any fresh and crusty bread or baguette.

The tangy tart and sweet flavors of the pears, gorgonzola and cranberries combined with the crunch of the walnuts are divine and the bright festive colors will have you feeling merry in no time at all! Happy Holidays!

Litehouse Foods help ramp up your creativity, and, right now, they are offering you a coupon to save you $1 on any of their delicious products.

I also wanted to share their amazing holiday contest with you!

Share your favorite holiday creations you use to dazzle your guests for your chance to win 1 of 3 $1,000 grocery cards and a year’s supply of Litehouse Dressing which you can use to make your family an epic holiday feast!

And, since ’tis the season, let’s have a giveaway right here for the same three Litehouse products that I received!

1 Litehouse Foods Artisan Gorgonzola Cheese crumbles

1 Bottle of Litehouse Pear Gorgonzola Dressing

and 1 bottle of Litehouse Foods dried Mint

Entry -Form

Open to US residents, ends 12/16

This review and giveaway was made possible by iConnect Influencer Management and Litehouse Foods. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Jennifer Falls & Chicken Soup for the Soul Pick Me Up Prize Pack #Giveaway

June 7, 2014 By Debra Pearlstein 20 Comments

About Jennifer Falls:

After Jennifer Doyle (Jamie Pressley) lost her high-paying executive job, she also lost her condo, her beach house, and all her other possessions and was forced to move back into her mother’s house with her disgruntled teenage daughter. Now she has to endure the indignity of working as a bartender for her brother. Jennifer seeks help from an old friend and colleague who went to Harvard. The friend suggests that she speak to one of her Harvard classmates, Amy Newmark, at Chicken Soup for the Soul. Amy, having held a variety of high-powered positions in business, and having published thousands of stories from people going through tough times becomes a mentor to Jennifer as she reboots her life.

Join the fun as Jennifer shares the hilarious stories of her journey, and have a chance to win exclusive prizes via Chicken Soup for the Soul’s website, newsletter and social media channels.

Stay tuned and don’t forget to watch Jennifer Falls on TV Land every Wednesday at 10:30/9:30c!

Also! Check out The Chicken Soup for the Soul Get Happy app:

Could you use a boost? Everyone needs a little pick-me-up from time to time. This app provides tools, wisdom and inspiration to help anyone on the road to creating a happier, more fulfilling life. Find great advice, tools and examples from real people sharing their personal stories, plus a supportive community and lessons tailored to help your life become more meaningful.

Enter our giveaway for an exclusive Jennifer Falls Citrus Zinger water bottle and Chicken Soup for the Soul: From Lemons to Lemonade.

Entry -Form

Wishing you the best of luck!

Celebrate Summer with a California Delicious Gift Basket! #Giveaway

June 6, 2014 By Debra Pearlstein 19 Comments

California Delicious Giveaway
June 6-10, 2014
Open to US

Bringing You Moments To Celebrate

Sponsored by California Delicious
Organized by Celebrate Woman Today

Summer is a great time to relax and recharge our batteries. It’s a wonderful time for unexpected or planned road trips, explorations, hikes and bike rides. This often brings a new perspective and rejuvenates us. I’m firmly of the opinion that we all deserve to be pampered and a gift basket is a fabulous way to pamper yourself as you explore a myriad of delicious tastes.

California Delicious has thought of every type of gift basket you can imagine! For chocolate lovers – there are many fantastic arrangements with chocolate treats just for you. If you’re looking for a gift for a specific occasion – you can find many for Birthday, Anniversary, Graduation, and Holidays.

What are you craving today? We’d like to offer you choices in Gourmet Cheeses, Teas, and Coffees. It’ll be up to a winner to make that decision!

To tease you a bit more, here’s what’s inside of those baskets you see in the pictures.

Gourmet Cheeseboard Gift Baskets
Gourmet goodies are beautifully presented upon a wooden cutting board. This lovely gift contains chocolate chip cookies, smoked almonds, gourmet snack mix, cheddar cheese, a cheese knife, flatbread crisps, Napa Valley mini mustard, chocolate biscotti and Tazo tea. All presented on a wooden cheeseboard and tied with a fresh, spring bow.

Gourmet Tea Gift Baskets
Stocked with an assortment of the finest Tazo teas from Zen and Passion to Organic Chai and Earl Grey, they are ready to be enjoyed in an earthenware ceramic mug. Topped off with the sweetness of a Theo organic chocolate bars, biscotti cookies, and presented in a simple but elegant gift box.

Gourmet Coffee Gift Baskets
Each basket carries variety of different coffees and biscotti assortment. All ready to be opened up and and enjoyed.

Prize – Your Choice of California Delicious Gift Basket
choose from Gourmet Cheeseboard Gift Baskets and
Gourmet Tea/Coffee Gift Baskets

Complete the tasks below to earn entries into this giveaway.

Refer your friends using your Unique Link inside Rafflecopter to earn even more entries to win.

Ends at 11:59pm EDT on June 10, 2014

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BBQ Chicken Burritos with #KCMasterpiece

June 1, 2014 By Debra Pearlstein 56 Comments

The weather has been getting warm; the flowers are in bloom; and, for me, this brings to mind one thing: BBQ!

I love that hickory-smoked tangy delicious tantalizing flavor on anything within reason.

I came up with this recipe on a day when I wanted to make a quick meal for the family that was both healthy and delicious.

This recipe uses only five ingredients, takes about 20 minutes and has just the right tang to spice up your day.

I buy 10″ tortillas and heat them in an ungreased skillet on med-high for about 10-15 seconds per side.

You can either roast your chicken beforehand or go the quick route and buy a rotisserie chicken.

burritocooking

Grab your black beans, cooked corn and KC Masterpiece Original. They go in a pan with the shredded roast chicken.

In summer, we have wonderful fresh corn in New England so I like to use fresh cooked whenever I have it since it’s so easy to just skim off the cob with a knife.

My recipe for 4 follows. Hope you enjoy it!

BBQ Chicken Burritos with #KCMasterpiece

Ingredients

1 roasted chicken - about 4 cups shredded
1/2 cup KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn that you've steamed or fresh cooked corn niblets skimmed off the cob
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
4 10" tortillas

Instructions

Take your chicken and shred it. I don't like to shred it too small. Place in a bowl.
Place your skillet on medium - medium high and add the chicken, barbecue sauce, corn, and black beans. Stir well as you cook for about 5 minutes.
Warm your tortillas and place them on a plate. Spoon 1/4 of the mixture into each and roll up.
Serve whole or cut in half.
Garnish as desired.

https://www.strangedazeindeed.com/2014/06/bbq-chicken-tortillas-with-kcmasterpiece.html

For garnishes I use whatever I have handy. I like to add a dollop of sour cream. You can use reduced-fat or Greek yogurt if you like! I like to garnish with fresh lime wedges avocado and cilantro. I also add salsa and guacamole if I have them!

Don’t get too stressed out though! Summer is for good times not sweating over a hot stove!

This recipe is so easy because it features KC Masterpiece which is my all-time favorite. For me, it has just the right balance of heartiness, flavor and spice and takes a simple dish from ordinary to extraordinary.

Disclosure: This post is in partnership with DataRank and #KCMasterpiece; however, the recipe and opinions are expressly my own.

Jonathan Chin – Co-founder of GothamBox – In His Own Words

April 27, 2012 By Debra Pearlstein 16 Comments

Jonathan

The GothamBox story is the combination of two fond memories.

East to West

Shawn, a Midwest boy, spent close to 5 years in the majestic and exhilarating city of New York. It was not the big lights and electrifying scene that intrigued him most. It was the unique local brands that were the extraordinary fabric to the city. Shawn grew so attached to the intimate coffee shops, the decadently rich chocolate, as well as enticing sweets that he never knew existed prior to coming to NYC.

He started a new life on the West Coast and was so heartbroken when he found that it was impossible for him to stay connected to the local brands that he had grown so fond of while living in NYC.

He vowed to find a solution to this major problem.

West to East

In almost a symmetrical move, I left my hometown of San Francisco to start college on the East Coast. My mother sent me care packages every single month to say that she loved me. Setting off to start a new life on the opposite coast was exciting but definitely nerve-wracking. Receiving these boxes was exactly the dose of home I needed to stay strong.

I wasn’t the only one who loved these monthly treats. The care packages became such a hit in my dorm that she started including special items for my friends. For instance at Christmas time, every single one of my friends received a miniature red stocking packed with candy. When Easter rolled around, my friends were rewarded with chocolate eggs. My friend’s mother even copied the idea and started sending treats to him too. I was sure to tax him heavily for copying by eating a significant portion of his box. I couldn’t help myself – his mother sent him some of the most delicious Japanese candies and treats.

Born out of a parking lot

Fast forward to Christmastime 2011. The concept of GothamBox was born in a parking lot in Palo Alto, just outside of San Francisco. Shawn and I started conceptualizing. After the fifth “wouldn’t it be cool if” and “yeah!” we pull out a pen and paper and started drawing up mockups of what the site would look like on top of Shawn’s trunk.

Shawn wanted to help people stay in touch with their hometown favorites. I wanted to reproduce the fond experience of my mother sending me care packages.

GothamBox took the best of both of these passions. We offer the most delicious taste of your favorite city delivered right to you, your family and your friends. Every month, you’re reminded that home misses you or isn’t as far away as you think.

-Jonathan

You can find my blog review of GothamBox here and, also, please return to enter the exciting Mother’s Day Event May 1st, to win a 2-month subscription of your own.

GothamBox: Nirvana Delivered

April 26, 2012 By Debra Pearlstein 23 Comments

“I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I’ve always loved traveling and exploring cities both in the US and around the world. I was born on the East Coast, but traveled and lived on the West Coast for many years only to return to the East Coast again.

There is a sense of joy in loving wherever you are, however, there are certain qualities each city has that one may become nostalgic for, whether it’s the transcendent skyline with the Golden Gate Bridge in SF or the excitement of New York’s Times Square. So often, it’s the food that you miss, the smells and unique flavors – the New York poppyseed bagels, the SF sourdough bread. Sometimes, like Proust’s madeleine, just one bite and sweet memories come flooding back like a waterfall.

And sometimes, by opening a package, you can get a taste of a city you’ve never been to that gives you the sense of being there. I found all this and more with GothamBox.

I got to sample the San Francisco Box and I loved it! It came in a big brown box and unwrapping it was like a mini-Christmas. I have really missed SF!

Here is my SF box! I was super-excited to open it. It was full of goodies.

Here is a picture close-up:

Inside?

Nana Joes Granola: Nana Joes Granola was created by Michelle Pusateri from locally sourced ingredients to evoke the taste of granola that was made in your own kitchen. Nana Joes combines the perfect balance of ingredients with natural flavors to create a truly delicious granola.

I’ve eaten granola for years and this is really a special blend with just the right combination of flavors – All granola blends are made using the finest organic ingredients. Mine was the Sunset Blend with Pecan, Mulberry and Coconut – unbelievably good!

Coco Tutti: CocoTutti creates wonderful award-winning small-batch chocolates using the finest ingredients and masterful artistry.

These were beautifully packaged, melt-in-your-mouth creamy with a great mix of flavors. Very unique and meant to savor. Delightful decadence.

The Chai Cart: The Chai Cart has its roots in San Francisco’s street-food culture. The Chai Cart’s mission is to provide the same wholesome goodness of chai that’s enjoyed across India everyday by using high quality, pure ingredients in small batches.

I got two lovely packages. One with Masala Chai and one with Mint Chai. The Masala Chai is their signature blend with cardamom and ginger and it transported me back to days at the ashram waking at 3 am and being greeted with a hot mug of Chai. It was so genuine and delicious. It was wonderful with milk and a bit of sugar.

The Mint is a delicious herbal blend with mint, ginger and lemongrass. Very fresh and intoxicating.

La Palma: La Palma has been serving tortillas for over 50 years. Located in the heart of the Mission, La Palma uses the freshest ingredients to produce the finest machine and handmade Mexican tortillas, tamales, pupusas and sopes.

An ex-boyfriend of mine taught me how to make wonderful tortilla creations, and these were so delicious, you could even eat them plain, but browned up and with veggies, cilantro and guacamole they were heavenly.

Oh, and there were Peeps inside! How fun! And also, a wonderful hand-written postcard of SF and the Golden Gate Bridge.

At $20 a month, this is a whole lot cheaper than a plane ride to SF and an incredible treat.

Today, I received my NYC box!

I opened it and immediately this incredible scent filled my room. The most fragrant coffee smell! Heartbreaker Espresso with Cherry Blossom, Marzipan and Tangerine roasted fresh at Cafe Grumpy! I ground the beans and then my kitchen smelled amazing. The taste is really fresh, rich and wonderful and it kept me going throughout a hectic day.

Cafe Grumpy roasts premium coffee daily and manages to stay in front of the quality curve by sourcing their coffee directly from farmers in Central and South America and roasting the beans themselves in their Greenpoint, Brooklyn roastery. The coffee is packaged in sealed valve bags.

Next, Roni-Sue’s Beercorn. This is beer & pretzel caramel corn with candied mustard seeds and I can honestly say I’ve never tasted better. What an amazing combination of savory and sweet, with locally grown popcorn, Martins Pretzels, cultured butter, pure cane sugar, agave, Brooklyn Brewery beer syrup, malt syrup, sea salt ad mustard seeds.

Warning: Extremely addictive! Hide this or it will be gone asap!

Rhonda Kave has been making chocolate and snacks for over 25 years. She’s applied that experience in crafting this BeerCorn: The perfect snack for brew lovers and a favorite treat at Good Beer NYC!

And… Rescue Chocolates. From each chocolate purchased, 100% of the net profits are donated to animal rescue organizations around the country. How sweet is that? My bar was the Peanut Butter Pit Bull flavor. It was very tasty with crispy peanut butter and dark 64% chocolate.

All Rescue Chocolate is 100% vegan and every flavor highlights a different rescue issue on the packaging.

I also got a hand-written postcard of a gorgeous skyline in Downtown New York.

So, you’re probably wondering how you can get your own Gotham Box, a monthly carefully-selected box from local businesses in the “Gotham” (or city) you choose. Right now, the cities available are New York and San Francisco, and they are expanding to include others. You can switch up your cities or stick to one if you subscribe for only $20/month. And, you get full-sizes, not samples, with shipping included.

Here’s one of the coolest parts: For every box sent, they donate a meal to feed someone in the community, so, yes, paying it forward which creates more abundance and joy overall.

It’s really quite fascinating as to how GothamBox came about so my next blog piece will be a guest post from Jonathan Chin, the co-founder and “Mayor of Gotham City”. You can find that here.

But, you may be wondering how you can get in on all these goodies. And, yes, every month will be new delights! You can sign up at GothamBox.

You can also connect with GothamBox and follow the latest news and fun on Facebook and Twitter.

And, a bit more good news! Just come back here on May 1st for the amazing Mother’s Day event we’re having since GothamBox is one of my sponsors and has generously offered a prize package containing a 2 month subscription to GothamBox including a box from SF and a box from NYC.

Lots of surprises in store! Don’t miss it!

PS: I’ll be signing up for sure! Beauty boxes are fun and all, but this is truly nirvana.

California Delicious Giveaway June 6-10, 2014 Open to US

The GothamBox story is the combination of two fond memories.

East to West

West to East

Born out of a parking lot

California Delicious Giveaway
June 6-10, 2014
Open to US