I do not recommend that anyone follow in my footsteps.  Last night, my boyfriend and I challenged each other to another food-related contest.  But, this time it was an ice cream eating contest.

We had just finished a very filling dinner, and my never-satisfied sweet tooth decided our local ice cream stand was the place to go next (after we realized the chocolate shop in neighborhood was closed, that is).  On our way there, we discussed how full we were, but how we refused to share something.  Then the conversation turned into which one of us would order the best sundae.  Things got bad when we each chose to compete over the biggest and best dessert.

I ended up polishing off three giant scoops of chocolate-peanut butter ice cream, over a fudge brownie, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.  Of course, it was also served in a waffle bowl.  It was delicious, but way too decadent.  I will not be doing that again anytime soon…

…In the form of pastrami-covered pig wings!

These delicious play on chicken wings were made of pulled pork that was slow cooked in pastrami spices, them pressed onto a thin pork rib, dipped in batter and deep fried.  Chicken wings will never be the same to me again…

While sitting on a park bench in New York City’s Union Square Park, I noticed a package of chocolates next to me on the bench. Just a minute later, I noticed a squirrel eagerly tearing its way into the package.

I have seen plenty of squirrels feast on park-goers leftovers, and considering that the city’s largest farmer’s market borders the park, I would imagine the squirrels in Union Square only eat the finest local and organic foodstuffs. But never have I seen a squirrel go to town on a hazelnut covered dark chocolate truffle!

On my latest visit to my local corner store for a junk food fix, I walked out with this: pumpkin chips and a German candy bar loaded with cornflakes.

Both of these items I had never had, and both were a total score! The chips were light and crispy (almost like astronaut food) and not greasy. The candy bar was sweet and crunchy—a great alternative for those who love the all-American Krunch bar. If you happen upon these yourself, I highly recommend you give them a try.

I love “gourmet junk food!” It not only makes me feel less guilty about eating chips and a candy bar for a snack, but also is an endless surprise to see what cool new foodstuffs are being made!

At the end of a recent dinner of sushi, these tiny packages of Japanese bubble gum were presented with my bill. So cute and so delicious! Surprisingly, the bubble gum tasted just like fresh honeydew melon and Valencia oranges! Now I need to find a Japanese candy shop, so I can find more flavors!

…Was me, of course!

My deviled eggs were made with a classically seasoned filling that included mayonnaise, chopped shallot, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.  Joe’s recipe had some similar ingredients but were further embellished with Kalamata olives and boiled shrimp.  Both were really great, said our judges, but at the end of the picnic, my plate of eggs had less on it.  Thus, I am naming myself the winner!  (However, Joe insists that I cheated because at the last minute I used one of his ingredients—Worcestershire sauce.  But, may I remind him, I didn’t follow a recipe and used only my years of deviled egg eating as my guide, whereas he followed one to a T…)

So, now that Emeril has teamed up with Martha, I feel it necessary to tell y’all just how much I love using her cookbooks and reading Martha Stewart Living. Her cooking expertise has been a guide for me throughout my entire career, and when I am stuck on a way to make a recipe just right, it is not uncommon for me to reference her version for a point in the right direction.

With that, I’d like to share one of her recipes for a pickled vegetable salad, called “Vegetables Escabeche,” that I have used time and time again. It is a perfect side dish for a barbeque (the acid in the pickling liquid ease the bite of spicy sauces); of course, it’s delicious; but best of all, it’s easy (just a bit of knife work, really)! However, your guests will think you slaved away and are headed down the path of culinary enlightenment…

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The microplane, a well-known tool by many professional chefs, is a great way to make zesting and grating an absolute breeze. I love using it for grating hard cheese, citrus zest and garlic. Give it a try and I’m sure you will never resort to your box grater again. (And if you are as clumsy as I am with a box grater, you’ll avoid grating your knuckles too!)

This classic non-alcoholic drink made of ginger ale and grenadine syrup was always my favorite way to feel “all grow up” when I was a child. But now, as an adult, I’ve found another version of the drink for a more mature audience…

Pama, a pomegranate liqueur, is a fantastic alcohol-based substitute for the grenadine. Simply add about a shot of Pama to a highball glass filled with ice and top off with ginger ale. To spruce it up, sugar the rim of the glass first and garnish it with a slice of fresh lime. It’s a perfect summer cocktail, and would certainly fancy up your Fourth of July festivities.

…In Spain, that is.

While living in Madrid, I frequented many tapas bars where it is customary to eat bite-sized portions of a variety of foods while sipping small glasses of local beer called cañas.  While snacking away, it is also common to throw your paper napkins on the floor.  As an American, where this is far from normal, I thought the place I was eating was headed for a health department closing.  How wrong I was.

To the Spanish, the mounds of napkins, toothpicks and straws on the floor are a sign of just the opposite.  They don’t signify that the restaurant is a bad place to eat, but instead, that it is a great place to eat.  And depending on the amount of discards on the floor, will tell you just how good it is.  If there is good-sized mess, they probably have some really great food and drink prices, whereas if the place is spotless, it probably is subpar and hasn’t seen customers all night.