May 2009 Archives

It doesn't take a special gift to add a delicious twist to spring and summer gatherings - just a new take on some affordable party classics.

Meatballs, for instance, can be great for delicious meals or for any kind of gathering. These tasty, bite-sized appetizers are always a party favorite and are a great entertaining value. They even make a delicious mini-meal or snack for someone looking for a quick dish on the go. But many people forget about this convenient, popular party staple when the weather turns warm.

Hosts and hostesses will be happy to know that there are a variety of recipes and menus that can make meatballs the hit of every spring party. Simply adding a few great ingredients to high quality, authentic meatballs can create the platter that needs to be restocked most often during any festivity! And, they help make meal-time and entertaining on a budget easier.

Casa Di Bertacchi Italian-style meatballs are available in Sam's Clubs nationwide. Farm Rich meatballs are available in two varieties, Original and Italian-style, and are sold in major grocery chains across the country. Both made using an authentic family recipe, seasoned with high quality ingredients, then seared and steamed in the traditional, multi-generational Italian way. The meatballs are fully cooked. Simply heat and serve for fast, easy, and enjoyable dining solutions!

The Cookbook is Here!

Casa Di Bertacchi and Farm Rich are excited to announce the culmination of a collaborative effort with New York Times best-selling author Stephanie Ashcraft: the publication of her newest recipe book, 101 Things To Do with Meatballs.

In her new book, Ashcraft features meatballs in a variety of recipes, from light soups, salads, and appetizers to pasta and rice dishes. She includes so many quick and easy recipe ideas that no one will ever again wonder what to make with meatballs!

"I wrote this book of 101 new, delicious meatball recipes because meatballs are one of the favorite foods of my childhood," said Ashcraft. "Meatball dishes remind me of wonderful social gatherings when everyone is in the kitchen cooking and enjoying quality time together. To me, they're a great comfort food that I love serving as a meal or appetizer. I hope these simple, delicious and nutritious recipes help others to rekindle memories of those precious times with family and friends that we cherished as children. And with so many recipes, there is something for everyone and every occasion."

Some of the recipes in the book include Mini Meatball Hamburgers, Meatball Bruschetta, Caesar Meatball Kabobs, and Yummy Stuffed Pitas. There's even an Enchilada Meatballs recipe that's perfect for a Mexican fiesta!

101 Things To Do with Meatballs is now available in select bookstores nationwide, and is also available for purchase online at www.gibbs-smith.com and at www.amazon.com. Also, many of the recipes can be viewed on Casa Di Bertacchi's new website, www.CasaMeatballs.com. The website, which is a showcase of all things special about authentic Italian meatballs, also provides an outstanding collection of delicious and innovative recipes. It truly offers something for people of all ages!

Whether hosting a shower or graduation celebration, try this meatball recipe with an elegant warm weather twist, courtesy of Ashcraft and the 101 Cookbook. For more information and great recipes, visit www.CasaMeatballs.com or FarmRichFun.com. Additional ideas are also available on the popular website, Clubentertaining.com.

Feta Meatballs with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 26 (1 lb) frozen, fully cooked meatballs, either Casa Di Bertacchi or Farm Rich
• 1 container (4 ounces) crumbled tomato basil feta cheese

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce:

• 1-1/2 cups nonfat, plain yogurt
• 4 ounces low-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup diced, seedless cucumber
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried dill seasoning
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place frozen meatballs in the bottom of an 8 x 8- inch pan with 1/2 inch of water and bake 40 minutes. While the meatballs cook, place all yogurt sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce in a bowl for dipping and refrigerate until ready to serve. Place baked meatballs on a serving platter and sprinkle with cheese.

Serve immediately with toothpicks and the yogurt sauce on the side.

SOURCE Casa Di Bertacchi

In the new book titled 96 % Dark Universe - Lost and Found, available today from Lulu.com, scientist Dr. Henryk Frystacki is setting new directions in cosmic super-symmetry - proposing solutions for dark matter and dark energies, which account for 96% of our universe according to current models of cosmology.

Previously a neglected topic, these days the quest for the construction of our universe is experiencing newfound recognition. In 96 % Dark Universe - Lost and Found, Dr. Frystacki reveals complementary mathematical-physical links of space-time construction, including condensing matter. The results are astonishing, because the perception of dark matter and a composition of dark energy are becoming transparent as the background of established constants of nature, and the cosmic scaffolding of quantum foam.

The intention is to combine Einstein's theory of relativity with quantum mechanics, without contradiction. Additionally, 96 % Dark Universe - Lost and Found reveals revolutionary opportunities to design technical innovations on the base of complementary viewpoints.

The book explores:

• Dark matter and dark energies
• The scaffolding of the universe
• Secret of time-space development
• Relativity & quantum mechanics
• Restricted perception of space-time

"Truth is never triumphant, only its opponents die out," was once said by the founder of quantum theory and Nobel prizewinner Max Planck. 96% Dark Universe - Lost and Found is ready to face the scientific discussion, knowing that it will find friends and opponents - either because of scientific conviction, or because of long-held, traditional beliefs.

For more information or to purchase 96 % Dark Universe - Lost and Found, please visit http://www.lulu.com/content/6579539.

"Paula Froelich writes with humor, charm, and heart. Readers will love the hilarious misadventures of Penelope Mercury." - Candace Bushnell, author of Sex & The City and One Fifth Avenue

"A very funny New York story, MERCURY IN RETROGRADE reads like a late night cab ride with friends. The tales of Penelope, Lipstick, and Dana are at once fabulous, tragic, and hysterically funny." - Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the #1 bestselling Gossip Girl novels

MERCURY IN RETROGRADE By Paula Froelich

SCORPIO: With Mercury falling into a particularly difficult retrograde, the best advice for you is to JUST STAY HOME. Know that Mercury in retrograde means one thing: If something can go wrong, it will.

As a New York Post Page Six gossip columnist, Paula Froelich has seen the best and worst New York City has to offer, from the daily grind of the average working stiff to the public scandals and shakeups of the city's glitterati. In her debut novel, MERCURY IN RETROGRADE (Atria Books; $24.00; on-sale: June 2009; ISBN: 978-1-4165-9893-0), Froelich brings her sharp wit and insider's perspective to a story about three very different women who-in classic New York style-just happen to share the same SoHo address.

Penelope Mercury (Apartment 4-A, 148 Sullivan St.) hadn't intended to quit her job without a backup plan. Or upchuck all over her boss. Or burn down the photo studio at her (former) place of employment. But after a disastrous day ending in being passed over for a much-deserved promotion, things just sort of happened . . . and now, after five years as a pavement-pounding reporter at the New York Telegraph, Penelope needs a Plan B.

Dana Gluck (5th-Floor Penthouse) is already on Plan B-and it sucks. She's a successful lawyer, but the devastating end of her marriage a year before left her depressed and insecure. Since then, she's barely left the building except to go to the office. While she's on the verge of becoming the youngest-ever partner at her demanding firm, Dana is beginning to wonder if she'll ever be able to face the "real" world again.

And Lena "Lipstick" Lippencrass, socialite and fashion editor extraordinaire, is facing some problems of her own. Not only has her ex, Thad Newton III, started dating Bitsy.

Farmdale, her biggest social rival, but her parents have decided to kick her out of her fabulous brownstone and cut off access to her trust fund. When an affordable but tiny apartment opens up at a "scruffy" apartment block in SoHo, Lipstick jumps at the opportunity and moves into 4-B.

In the melting pot of 148 Sullivan Street, these three incredibly different but equally dynamic women somehow become friends. Over shared yoga, wardrobe malfunctions, spray-on hair disasters, and work and relationship crises, Penelope, Lipstick, and Dana discover that life in the city is sometimes about rolling with the punches-and that having Plan A fall through might be the best thing that could ever happen to you.

Funny, clever, and quirky, readers will find MERCURY IN RETROGRADE as irresistible as the heroines who inhabit it. Honed by years at one of the city's premiere gossip pages, Froelich deftly captures the sights, sounds, and scenes of New York life. Like the city in which it is set, MERCURY IN RETROGRADE is sly and engaging, unpredictable and disarming, humorous and ultimately heart-warming.

"Funny, clever, and engaging. The ultimate insider's view into the looking-glass world of a working girl's Manhattan." - Gigi Levangie Grazer, author of The Starter Wife

About the Author: Paula Froelich is a gossip reporter for the New York Post's famed Page Six, and has worked with some of New York media's most outsized and outrageous personalities. Froelich lives in Manhattan.

SOURCE Paula Froelich