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What better way to start a slow week than with a long-awaited, much-anticipated cookbook giveaway!?
As much as I love to spend hours in the kitchen, lovingly concocting a hot dish with quality slow food ingredients, the chaos of my weekend fully underscored the importance of having quick, easy dishes in one's repertoire.
On that note, I'm offering up a book called "Mealtime Magic" by Joey Green, which claims to have "more than 250 offbeat recipes using beloved brand-name products."
The table of contents alone was enough to pique my curiosity. While other cookbooks are categorized by appetizers, soups, meats, breads and the like, this one is arranged by products such as Aunt Jemima syrup, Fritos Corn Chips, Quaker Oats, SueBee honey and Heinz ketchup.
With a few popular ingredients and this cookbook, you can whip up such dishes as the 7-UP brisket, Popcorn Fluff Puffs with marshmallow fluff or Grilled Salmon with Peanut Hoisin Sauce (made with Jif Creamy peanut butter).
To win this book, share your favorite use for pantry standbys such as canned soup, peanut butter, ketchup, SPAM and the like. The deadline is Friday. My favorite response wins the book.

For a few days now, we've been discussing the wonders and joys of a hot pan of cornbread.
Frequent blog reader Rich pointed out the age-old debate over whether cornbread should be sweet or not. I tend to think it should be a teeny bit on the sweet side, but just enough to accentuate that lovely corn flavor.
I've been perusing a cookbook called "The Cornbread Gospels" by Crescent Dragonwagon, which includes more than 200 cornbread recipes and a bunch of fascinating facts about one of our favorite breads.
Right now, I'll stop and address the question that just popped into everyone's head: Is that really the author's name? Well, I did a little research and discovered that yes, it is her legal name. But only because she went through a hippy phase at a young age and changed it. She was actually born Ellen Zolotow.
Now, back to cornbread.

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Well, today would have been a great day to share some of those cornbread recipes from "The Cornbread Gospels," except that book is sitting on my desk in downtown Roanoke and I'm sitting in front of my home computer wearing fuzzy kitty cat slippers.
Never fear, though! I have plenty of writing to do today from home. It sure is nice, however, to sneak a peek outside and watch the birds fight over my feeder.
Moving on to two very important topics: football and food! Of course, more than any other time of year, the two topics are closely related right now as we approach the Superbowl.
A co-worker yesterday drew my attention to a fascinating feature over at Epicurious called "Taste of the NFL."
The actual event takes place in Phoenix, Arizona on Feb. 2, the day before the big game. At that time, 24 pro football players, both past and present, will serve up their favorite recipe. Proceeds for the event go to America's Second Harvest food bank.
There is a benefit to all of us, too, though -- 24 recipes straight from the mouths of famous football greats! And even if you don't like football, I know we ALL love food. Celebrity recipes always fascinate me. If you want to see them for yourself, from Atlanta Falcons star Tommy Nobis' "Forgotten Cookies" to Cowboys player Chad Hennings' "Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas," hit the Epicurious site here.
And now, in the interest of warm, belly-filling food on a cold snow day, I give you this easy, wonderful Paula Deen recipe for goulash. Enjoy!

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This morning, I received an e-mail from a reader named Jeanne who wondered if I have any ideas for flavoring a pot of white beans without using ham hocks, bacon, or other fattening products.
I admit that while I'm a big fan of the smoky flavor of pork in just about any legume (blame Grandma and those Southern roots), it can be hard to justify if you're watching your health.
According to Saveur, the founder of heirloom bean company Rancho Gordo, Steve Sando, says "Beans shouldn't need to be cooked with a ham hock to taste good."
True, but they need to be cooked with something, don't they? Who wants to eat a plain old salted bean?
Here are a couple of suggestions for Jeanne:

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I could say so many things about this, but I think I'm just going to keep my smart mouth shut.

I couldn't resist passing along the link anyway. What do you think?

http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/28654

Yesterday, I received a press package from Choclatique gourmet chocolates. Included was a box of four chocolates, but when I lifted the lid, there remained only one.
I don't know who broke into the box and left three brown, crinkly papers where three lovely chocolates should have been. But that someone certainly satisfied a sweet tooth.
I finished off the last chocolate, which was stuffed with peanut butter and jelly, then looked through the informational pamphlet. Inside was an image of each of their 75 signature chocolates, and I was struck by their beauty.
Every flavor, from All-American Apple Pie to Grand Marnier Truffle to Minty Julep Heart, is unique in appearance. The Hot Fudge Sundae looks like a little white truffle topped with chocolate and a cherry and the Colombian Coffee Caramel is shaped like a coffee bean.
According to the Choclatique Web site, you can order a pre-chosen assortment, such as the Love Assortment (which includes all of their heart-chaped chocolates) or you can custom-design your own box. Prices range from $16 for a box of 8 to $45 for a box of 30. Not cheap, I know, but not like any other Valentine's Day gift you can find for your sweetie around these parts, either.
I would like to say that I know all the Choclatique flavors are exquisite, but thanks to some unknown person, I can only vouch for the peanut butter and jelly flavor.
To see all of the lovely designs for yourself and to play around with the custom ordering tool, check out the Choclatique site by clicking the link above.
Do you have a favorite brand of chocolates?

Photo: http://www.choclatique.com/

One of my eagle-eyed readers has reported that tomorrow is Customer Appreciation Day at Blues BBQ in downtown Roanoke.
I couldn't get owner Patrick Maggi on the phone to verify, but I did speak with someone else at the restaurant who confirmed the special event.
Tomorrow only, you can get your choice of a pulled chicken or pulled pork BBQ sandwich, fries and a drink for $6. If you want to substitute one of their other tasty sides, it's a buck extra. Having had their fries before, I'd suggest sticking with the taters.
I've also tried their pulled pork BBQ, Carolina style, and thought it was tops.
There's no way to know when Maggi will decide to do this again, so if you haven't tried Blues BBQ yet, now's your chance to get a great deal!

Just a reminder: I'm still collecting your recommendations for a list of the sparkliest food gems in Southwest Virginia. Whether it's a terrific chef, a specific dish you cannot stop craving or a great stop for fresh, unusual ingredients, I want to know.
I'm putting the final list together for next week's column. Thanks to everyone who already commented. Your great ideas can be seen here.

Okay, sorry for the rather graphic title today, but the truth is that I'm having a little trouble typing this blog entry due to a kitchen injury I sustained this weekend.
Have you ever had one of those nights when it seems that everything is going wrong in the kitchen? Last night was one of those for me. I think fate was flipping me the bird for picking on my friend Stacy about her ugly bundt cake.
First, while slicing onions for my black bean soup experiment, I sliced the tip off my finger instead. Not all the way, mind you. But it's bad enough. How embarassing! My knife skills have gotten much fancier over the past year and I've never cut myself before in my life. There's a first for everything.
Next, while explicitly following the recipe directions for my soup, I removed several cups and placed them in my blender to puree and return to the soup. Well, I don't know if it's because the soup was boiling hot or what, but it immediately blew the top off my blender and I had tiny black bean skins all over the counter. Clean-up on aisle 5!
(I'd love to know if anyone else has had problems pureeing hot soups. Maybe I should have let it cool for a bit, but that's not what the recipe suggested.)
Finally, my rooster sauce seemed to have a bit of a clog in the nozzle, so it came shooting out exactly perpendicular to the bottle itself and sprayed across my kitchen floor. Much cursing occurred at that time.

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Number one: Head out to the New River Valley Progressive Men's Club's Fish Fry on Saturday. It lasts from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. at St. John’s #35 Masonic Lodge, 235 Depot Street, Christiansburg. Fish sandwiches are going for $4, but the plate lunch ($6) sounds better. It comes with fried fish, coleslaw, baked or pinto beans, cornbread, cake and a drink. Yummer. Delivery is available (call 540-392-9897 or 540-320-2565) and all proceeds benefit the club's scholarship fund.

Number two: Check out the new Sunday fare at Michele's on Main in Salem. According to frequent blog reader Dennis, the restaurant will serve a family-style lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The menu will be homestyle food and by "family style," I mean they're letting you pick a meat and veggies and bringing bowls out to the table for folks to share, kind of like they do at The Homeplace. If you check it out, let me know.

Number three: Watch this hilarious stand-up routine by comedian Jim Gaffigan about one of my favorite foods, bacon. It'll get your weekend started with a smile...and a craving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVKJpkq-wNo