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Here is a vital question for the italian food lovers. What is the best place to order a pizza and get it in time, whitout too much hassel ?

This is a question that has regional answers, because of local restaurants and pizza places
. Each place has different delivery time and different receipts for the pizza and the sauces they serve it with. Some deliver the pizza with simple ketchup, to make this easier and faster, but probably sacrifice the taste of the pizza for it.

Some say that world wide best location for pizza is Pizza-Hut, others would nominate Papa John’s and Domino’s, but the question is : are these brands delivering the actual best pizza for you ? Personally, I do not like Pizza Hut and I definately do not order from Papa John`s ( and yes, they do deliver at home, if you are wondering ), but I do like a couple of restaurants that serve pizza also and just two pizza places that I totally adore for their “huge pizza`s”.

Since I am living in Timisoara ( Romania, if you don`t know what I am talking about) for the moment, I will talk about two pizza Timisoara places that are extremely high rated and that offer all kind of pizza receipts for all tastes: Pizza Dopo Poco – with home delivery – which makes them my favourites, especially when I order a big 1,4 kilo pizza just for me – and Pizza Poli ( this local has its name from the local football team Poli Timisoara ).

Now is the time for you to nominate the best place to grab a great pizza or to order it at home. All cities around the world are accepted, as you never know where you might get hungry.

Autumn, to me is the most glorious season of the year. I am charmed by the hint of crispness that I feel in the evening air, not quite cold but not sticky hot either, and best of all this is when the apples come rolling in at my local farmers market.

To me, apples are the best and possibly the most versatile fruits on the planet. And, I love that they have a varied and sordid history — from Eden to Snow White (they’ve been through a lot!) So naturally I channel all this apple-love into a fun apple harvest dinner party.

I want to have fun at the party and not be exhausted from cooking and prepping all day so my plan is to keep everything simple. I’d like to have dinner on the deck, so I decide to keep the party to 8 guests total including my husband and me. Next, I make sure that my party space is ready for guests. I make a list of the things that need to refreshed after my summer dinner parties like: buy more citronella fuel for my torches, get a few more votives for the table, sweep the deck and give the cushions a fluff.

I want to include apples in my table décor, of course, but I want it to be simple and fresh. I choose the theme of “fresh from the orchard” and I decide to create centerpieces using paper lunch sacks filled with apples. I roll the sides of the bags to various heights and tie ribbon belts around the sacks for a punch of color. I add tags with sayings including “tasty” & “juicy” to the ribbon for a little fun. These centerpieces will also be great take-home gifts for my friends. I’ll be sure to slip my favorite apple pie recipe into the bags before they leave so they’ll have inspiration for using their apples at home.

Because I’m obsessed with decorative papers, I create apple-themed place cards and menus for my party. These cute little cards are available on my website if you’d like to use them for your party too. Decor tip: slipping the place cards into the tongs of the fork at each place setting adds a little extra dimension to the tablescape and is a great way to display them.

Now for the good stuff – the food! I always have drinks and tasty bites ready to go 10 – 15 minutes before party time. These little lifesavers are great for those early bird arrivals and keep us all happy until the last guests arrive. I decide to make little apple, ham & brie stacks. These remind me of little croque monsieurs – without the bread. Yum! They are great because they can be prepared in advance and then served at room temperature. I think I’ll slide mine on to little skewers to make them even easier to munch. Perfect little no-fuss bites. I think sparkling apple cider and apple martinis are just right with these. Cocktail tip: I recommend using a cocktail mixer when making apple martinis – these shortcuts make “tending the bar” a snap!

For dinner, I want to start with a small salad of mixed greens combined with sliced apples and topped with candied walnuts (which I buy pre-candied in the nut aisle at my local grocery store) and a shaving or two of Parmesan cheese. Bleu cheese crumbles would be a delicious alternative to the parm, if you prefer. Drizzle just a touch of olive oil and apple cider vinegar and voila! Salad is served.

For the entrée, I am craving ham slowly roasted in apple cider with an apple-honey-mustard glaze. Now remember, I said I don’t want to cook all day, so I’m going to rely on my slow-cooker (also known as a crock-pot). This is my favorite entertaining secret weapon. I get all the benefits of a slow cooked meal without having to hover over the stove for hours. To accompany the ham, I’ll make cheesy cheddar grits and apple-cabbage slaw. These will be easy to prepare shortly before guests arrive.

But, how to end this meal, that’s the hardest decision. I love apple pie and I’m sorely tempted to go that route but the siren call of apple-cider donuts is too much for me to resist – plus I can set up stations so that all of us can participate in making them which will be a lot of fun for all of us and create some great memories. What more could an apple-crazed gal like me ask for?

Here are a few of the recipes to try:

Rustic Ham with Apple-Honey-Mustard Glaze

Ham:
1 fully cooked ham, 3 – 5 pounds, be sure it will fit in your slow cooker
4 cups apple cider, or enough to cover (apple juice may be used if cider isn’t available)
12 whole cloves

Glaze:
2 cups apple cider
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ cup honey
½ teaspoon or a pinch of ground cloves

1 – Roughly score ham with a knife and randomly stud with whole cloves.

2 – Place ham in slow cooker and pour apple cider over ham to cover.

3 – Cook on low for 8 hours.

4 – During last 20 minutes of cooking preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare glaze. In a small bowl, combine cider, mustard, honey and ground cloves.

5 – Place ham into a roasting pan and brush glaze over top of ham.

6 – Bake for 30 minutes or until ham is browned. Remove from oven and allow to rest on cutting board for 30 minutes. Note: Leaving the ham in the pan will encourage more cooking and not help the ham cool down.

7 – Slice and serve!

Apple Cider Donuts:

2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup apple cider
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups Bisquick
canola oil
1. In a bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add in 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, combine well. Next, add apple cider, buttermilk, egg, egg yolk and vanilla, mix thoroughly, scraping sides of bowl to be sure batter is well blended. Finally, stir in bisquick.

2. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, combine 1 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. Set this aside to coat hot donuts after frying.

3. Flour your hands and your countertop and lightly roll dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Try not to work the dough too much – you don’t want it to become tough. Use either a 2-1/2-inch doughnut cutter or 2 graduated sizes of glasses. Dip cutter or glasses into flour between cuts to keep cutting easy. Reshape dough and cut again. Roll remaining dough into small donut “holes.”

4. Fill a large frying pan ¾ of the way full with oil. Heat over medium heat. Place donuts into hot oil – be careful not to crowd the pan. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes or until golden brown. Gently flip the donut and cook another 2 – 3 minutes. Remove donuts from oil with a slotted spoon or tongs. Drain on paper towels.

5. Immediately dip hot donuts into sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg mix.

6. Repeat with remaining donuts and “holes.”

7. If not eating immediately, allow donuts and holes to cool on cooling rack. Store in sealed Ziploc bag in refrigerator. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Throughout history, rightly or wrongly, many gustatory delights have been termed aphrodisiac foods, in the belief that consuming them contributed to one’s desire for the opposite sex. For the most part, the foods had less to do with the mood, than the tom-foolery that went along with eating them!

Asparagus – Believe it or not, this green stalk, reviled by your kids, was considered a phallic symbol and sought after by women in yesteryear.

Avocado – Cut it in half, and you have the appearance of female genitalia. But the ancient Aztecs name for it was Ahuacuatl, or testicle tree. The fruits generally hang in pairs, which explains the strange term. But in the centuries since its discovery, the creamy flesh has been considered a boost to romantic moods.

Oysters – Do they or don’t they, raise any questions about their effect on men and lovemaking? Actually, oysters contain zinc, which is known to impact the body’s progesterone, which in turn is right there to liven up the libido.

Ginger – As with other spices, ginger stimulates the body’s circulation. Improved circulation to the erogenous zones, makes them more sensitive to stimulation. Ginger added to a variety of dishes can make a banquet that leads to the bedroom.

Fruit – While many have beneficial properties for the body, whether any add to the arousal when eaten, is a good question. After all, sometimes a strawberry is just a strawberry. But a strawberry held in your lips and shared, can bear fruit of a different kind.

Chocolate – Beloved by women of all ages, in all eras for its sinfully rich, and sensuous texture as it melts in the mouth. But actually, chocolate contains natural ingredients that release serotonin in the brain, a chemical that induces relaxation and creates a sensation of pleasure. For additional delight, choose dark chocolates that have a higher quantity of cocoa, and thus, more amore to the almondines!

The growing of good tomatoes is something that is very easy to do and the benefits that you gain out of having your own home grown tomatoes are numerous.

While it is easy to get the basics done correctly, it can very easily go wrong and you end up with a disaster on your hands.

That is something that you do not want. The small things that you need to find out to stop that happening are not that many.

One of the biggest problems that I have found in the past is that a person that has been growing their own produce for years tends to not want to listen to good advice as they are the ones that presume that they already know everything.

The very fact that you are here reading this article tells me that you are someone who realizes that you can never get enough information on any particular topic.

So in light of that – I have added a few of the most important facts that you need to know to get the best out of your tomato crop this season.

Please remember that this is only a light guideline and that some of these pointers are affected by the different geological areas that you live in. you should still seek out more detail on any of the aspects that you think might need more attention.

The initial preparation of your soil is important, as tomatoes love a lot of compost and will grow deep roots in search of those nutrients. Make sure that the frost part of the season has passed before you plant the seedlings.

Plant into a “warmed” ground as this gives the plant a great start.
Plant the seedlings about a half a meter apart and pre put in posts for later support of the plant stems.

Put the plants into direct sunlight as they will need about 6 hours of sunlight a day to get the best chance of perfect tomatoes.

A breezy area is better than an enclosed area as this helps to stop the bottom of the plants from developing any fungus’s.

Use compost tea or worm tea on a weekly basis as the tomatoes love nutrients and will thrive if correctly fed.

Finally pick your tomatoes earlier rather than later as they will ripen off the plant and then will allow the plant to give more energy to the growing of the next fruit.

Keep those green leafy things on the tomato when you pick them as that helps the tomato to ripen quicker.

Fundraising ideas abound, but some are better than others. Some require hours and hours of hard work, like hosting a pancake or chili feed. Some fundraises, such as car washes, are not only laborious, they are seasonal. Others mean sending your children out to go door-to-door selling expensive candy or popcorn.

I Prefer Family Style Cookbooks

OK. Creating a personalized recipe book isn’t “labor free,” but what time you do spend on it isn’t out in the cold, nor do you need to get wet in a parking lot while cleaning someone else’s car. In fact, much of it can be done while you are sitting at your computer.

First

Fundraising cookbooks have been around for decades. One cookbook printer of which I am aware has been in business since 1947. If cookbooks weren’t a viable product for raising money they wouldn’t still be in business. Cookbooks that are filled with the best recipes from the finest cooks in your organization or community are ever popular. As my wife says, “Too many cookbooks aren’t enough.” She buys them not simply because the money goes to a good cause or charity, she enjoys the history that goes with them. As she pages through the recipes, she notes the names of the contributor. “I remember old Mrs. Smith! She used to give us kids cookies when we played in her yard!” Some personalized cookbooks have special pages that have dedications and acknowledgements. They are completely unique.

How

There are some basic steps you should follow to design a cookbook. The on-line cookbook publisher you choose should have more details about them, so I’ll just highlight a few points here.

Form Your Cookbook Committee
Gather And Organize Your Recipes
Design Your Cookbook
Sell Advertising
Place Your Order
Market Your Cookbook

Obviously you need a committee to organize the entire affair. They will determine when, who, and how. Once that is in order you will begin gathering recipes. Historically, people are generally eager to supply you with recipes. A lot are anxious to help because of the reason you are doing it, but they also realize that their names will be associated with each submission. Everyone that uses the cookbook will realize that “Mrs. Smith” provided her favorite and locally famous lasagna recipe.

When you have the needed recipes for your cookbook, the design is next. A good publisher will allow you to have as much – or as little – control of the design as you wish. You can select different formats, styles, types of pictures or graphics, ink and paper stock, and if you want dedication or other special pages. Additionally you can dictate the way it is organized and what type of dividers and cover you want. If your publisher requires that you choose from a handful of templates, I would suggest you move on to another on-line cookbook publisher.

Advertising is an optional step. Local businesses are usually willing to pay to have their business noted on special pages in a fundraising cookbook. They get a good return on investment because their ads will be there for years to come. It can really help your organization raise extra cash. Those businesses can assist with your marketing, too. They may allow you to put up a poster even before the cookbooks are available, and you could be making sales ahead of time. Once the books are printed you can sell them at street fairs, in stores that have purchased advertising, or even try the door-to-door trick.

Last

I have just touched on the process of creating a fundraising cookbook. If you think that this is the type of project for you, find a reputable cookbook publisher by checking out their website. Once you find a good one, you’ll know it. Start today and begin raising money for your favorite cause, club, or charity.