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All week, I've been gathering little food tidbits that I want to share on the blog. But each one is a bit too small for an entire entry.
So think of this entry as an omelet you've thrown together with all the odds and ends from the refrigerator. A little green onion, a little tomato, a little feta, some leftover dill.
(That's actually remarkably similar to an omelet I made last week. Yum.)
Let's get started:

* I've discovered what may well be the best appetizer I've eaten in Roanoke in a long time. Well, ever since the tempura mushrooms at 202 Market, at least. Corned Beef & Co. has this scrumptious artichoke and asparagus dip that's positively chock full of artichokes and asparagus spears. Not only that, but they season it with curry, which adds a most unusual twist.

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If you're like me, the food on Super Bowl Sunday is almost as exciting as the game itself.
Oh, okay, it's MORE exciting!
In tomorrow's Inside Out, I write about creating an easy, low-fuss food bar for Super Bowl parties.
You can even watch me preparing a taco bar on this week's ExtraCast!
Bonus: You'll find out about all the hot musical acts around town this weekend.

Today's Extra section includes my article about the late chefs Malinda Russell and Edna Lewis.
If you haven't had an opportunity to read it, click here.
Researching the lives of these two extraordinary women was quite fascinating, and their influences on the world of cuisine are astonishing.
I'm curious as to whether any of you had heard of Russell or Lewis before now? And what were your impressions about the influence of black cooks on the culinary scene before you read this post or the article?
I ask because I found that I knew very little before I began this project. And it seems a little sad that many others are as uninformed as I was.
Also, do you own any cookbooks by black authors? Have you seen any black chefs in or around Roanoke?
Thanks for taking this little quiz. And if you don't read the article for any other reason, read it for the killer coconut cake recipe at the end!

Earlier this month, Roanoke Times business reporter Jenny Kincaid Boone reported that a new restaurant will take the place of Wertz's in downtown Roanoke. Just last week, I saw an advertisement for the new place, Horizon Bar & Grill, in our newspaper (see photo).
Wertz's owner, Gary Crowder, told Jenny he closed the restaurant for personal health reasons but will continue to sell produce on the market.
On Friday, I was able to chat with one of the new proprietors of Horizon, Scott Lockhart.
Lockhart and his mom, Debbie Spangler, are partnering up to run the new restaurant. The mother/son duo have already been running Divinity Catering in Roanoke for about a year.
Scott's background is as a Johnson & Wales graduate who has cooked at restaurants in Jacksonville, Fla., Atlanta and Denver. After he moved back to Roanoke, he worked as a chef at Teaberry's in Cloverdale.
According to Lockhart, he wants to cater to a lunch crowd that has limited time and is in a hurry, so midday fare will be casual and fast. He expects to offer soup, pasta, sandwiches, salads and daily specials "with a unique twist."
Dinner will be more upscale and varied, he says, with a focus on unusual game such as quail, venison, buffalon and pheasant. Lockhart said he was heavily influenced by his time in Denver and likes to add a "Southwestern twist" to his dishes.
I hope Horizon really will be unlike anything else we've seen in Roanoke. It'll definitely be worth checking out once the doors are open!

I just got an e-mail from my sister, who wanted to know why I have been "getting a little slack" with my blog so far this week.
Isn't it fitting that my big sister -- who used to throw things at me in the bathroom when we were teenagers -- is lighting a fire under my butt about the blog?
Well, I've been out of town for two days on one of the best assignments I've had in ages. It's a travel piece about a hotel near Charlottesville called Keswick Hall. I could go on and on about the food I had at Keswick, but I think I'll save that for when the story is about to run. That's slated for the Sunday before Valentine's Day.
Meanwhile, on to something a little more pedestrian, but just as charming: a letter from a reader about Kar's Sweet 'n' Salty snack mix.
If you're thinking about navigating away from this page now because the letter doesn't sound very interesting, you'd be wrong. Oh, so wrong.
Read on.

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I've decided to award this week's free cookbook to frequent blog reader Henry.
Henry offered up several fine ideas for jazzing up dishes with products that most cooks keep on hand on a regular basis.
For that, he gets a copy of "Mealtime Magic" by Joey Green.
Henry's comment was:

Boullion.

You can jazz up gravy with a shot of Cream of Chicken soup. Of course, these are casserole standbys.

I especially like the suggestion that boullion cubes can be substituted for salt in various recipes. I can see myself adding boullion to all kinds of steamed veggies to add flavor without fat.

Henry, shoot me an e-mail at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com to claim your book. Don't forget to include your address!

As opposed to losing Skins....that being the Redskins....oh, okay, never mind.
My sincere apologies to all the Redskins fans out there. And my sincere apology to mice everywhere -- although this picture doesn't match the recipe below, it amused me so much that I just had to use it.
What better way to drown the sorrow of your team's failure (as a Denver fan, you can trust that I am familiar with that feeling) than with a plate of cheesy, fattening potato skins?
Potato skins are one of those appetizers I could probably make up as I go along. But since I've had some problems in the past with that game plan, why not actually follow a recipe this time?
Look for it after the jump. And tell me this: Do you ever make homemade potato skins? If so, what is your favorite topping, besides the cheese?

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When I see a Nestle recipe card in the mail, my pulse always quickens just slightly. I know I'm no chocoholic, but their recipes are almost always worth the walk to the mailbox.
It was one of Nestle's cards, after all, that taught me how to make Chocolate-Stuffed Strawberries. Now that's a recipe that always wows friends and family.
This time, the Nestle folks offer up a recipe for a very unusual chocolate tart that is infused with the heady scent of rosemary. If you aren't that adventurous, you may substitute fresh mint.
I'm betting it's probably delicious either way.

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I don't want to be an alarmist, but I found this article in The New York Times today rather alarming.
Perhaps because I love sushi and I love tuna.
According to the article, the tuna sushi from 5 out of 20 Manhattan restaurants tested off the charts for mercury.
One doc interviewed by the Times said nobody should eat that much mercury more than once every three weeks or so. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not EVER eat food containing unhealthy levels of mercury.
I wish I had the means to commission a test of tuna sushi from restaurants around Roanoke and Blacksburg. Because here's one of the most disturbing parts of the story:

Although the samples were gathered in New York City, experts believe similar results would be observed elsewhere.
“Mercury levels in bluefin are likely to be very high regardless of location,” said Tim Fitzgerald, a marine scientist for Environmental Defense, an advocacy group that works to protect the environment and improve human health.

Does news like this change the way you eat?

Remember last week's blog entry about the mostly empty box of gourmet chocolates I found in the mail?
Well, the mystery was solved during a video training session at the newspaper today.
Apparently, multimedia editor Seth Gitner and Web producer Evelio Contreras shot a "training video" with editorial assistant Annie Johnson.
And here's what I learned when I saw it...

And here's what Annie had to say:

"OK, ok. After a substantial amount of peer pressure and some pretty incriminating evidence, I will step forward as the one who enjoyed these fantastic chocolates. Not all of them, though. And not alone.

You might be wondering if it was worth it. Well, Choclatique, you know your stuff."

So the mystery is NOT solved....not entirely.