Tag: Cooking

Take a look at these 10+ plating disasters – how did they ever leave the kitchen?

So hearty and so creamy! This is the ultimate bowl of comfort food on a chilly night with mushrooms, potatoes, and thyme. SO GOOD!

Guys.

Say hello to the only soup recipe you will need this fall + winter.

I mean, I’m still going to share like 20,000 more soup recipes from now until then because I LOVE SOUP 365 days out of the year. But still. This mushroom chowder is where it’s at.

It’s so smooth, so velvety, and just so darn good. The thyme, the potatoes, all the fun mushrooms. It’s just perfect.

Now, I used some different types of mushrooms like maitake, oyster and king trumpet, but you can use any kind your heart desires.

IT IS ALL GOOD. Promise.

The post Mushroom Potato Chowder appeared first on Damn Delicious.

Tomato butter will add a burst of flavor to all of your meals – from simple bread and crackers to pastas, seafood, meats, and more. Learn how to make it!

The Chengdu Wine and Food Fair is one of China’s oldest wine-trade shows—more than 100,000 wine importers and buyers filled the exhibition halls at this year’s edition in March. And some were treated to an unusual sight: a phalanx of security guards escorting Bordeaux wine-trade officials to booths, looking for counterfeit wines. The Chengdu festival has been notorious for blatant trade in fake wine in recent years, but Bordeaux’s CIVB wine council had government permission to crack down on counterfeit Bordeaux this time.

The move is part of an encouraging trend in China: Over the past nine months, Bordeaux has scored two major victories in China and, coupled with an anticipated change in e-commerce legislation, there’s a potential turning point in the long, complex war on counterfeiting in this lucrative market.

Last December, the CIVB won the first known criminal conviction defending a Geographical Indication (an appellation rather than a specific brand) in China. In July, the CIVB won another case defending Bordeaux appellations. In both cases—two different cities, two different courts—the culprits received hefty fines and stiff prison sentences.

This is not the first time wine counterfeiters have landed in Chinese prisons, but previous guilty verdicts were handed down for counterfeiting privately-owned trademarked brands, explained CIVB China representative Thomas Jullien.

“Geographical Indications are registered as collective trademarks,” Jullien told Wine Spectator via email. “Prior to CIVB’s two wins, no criminal conviction was ever pronounced in China based on a collective trademark-rights violation—Chinese or foreign [Geographical Indication], wine nor any other category.”

This is big news for wine regions around the world which have suffered the frustration of having little recourse against Chinese counterfeiters usurping their appellation names, and denying them possible sales in the rapidly growing wine market. “It’s really very encouraging for us, as we’ve been working at this for six or seven years—not just these cases but the whole setup,” CIVB president Allan Sichel told Wine Spectator.

China is Bordeaux’s biggest foreign market: Of the 24.2 million cases exported last year, 7 million cases went to mainland China and nearly 1 million cases went to Hong Kong, worth a combined $824.5 million. Quantifying counterfeiting is difficult, but a 2015 government report estimated that there is at least one fake bottle of French wine for every real bottle of French wine sold in China.

Fighting the counterfeits has required the CIVB to develop a strategy, one that is both pragmatic and market-specific. Officials have had to learn Chinese laws and determine what is and isn’t legal, rather than try to change the Chinese judicial system. Second, they have pushed wine producers to register their trademarks in China. Third, as a collective organization, they have worked to protect Geographical Indications, such as Bordeaux and Médoc, under Chinese law.

But it doesn’t stop there. When there’s evidence of counterfeiting, the wine council, or in the case of a private trademark, the importer or grower, must undertake a costly investigation to track down the illicit supply chain, collecting evidence of the crimes to provide to Chinese authorities, often the Administration of Commerce and Industry.

It’s important to demonstrate that the crimes involve more than RMB 150,000 (about $22,000), the threshold for a criminal charge and prison sentence. Below this amount is considered an administrative penalty and the guilty party receives a fine.

Other China-savvy wine professionals have used this method as well. At Shanghai-based Torres China, managing director Alberto Fernandez told Wine Spectator that they rely on intellectual property lawyers and a team of investigators to build the dossiers. Fernandez reports that counterfeiters have shifted from faking wine to legitimately importing foreign wine, then packaging in such a way as to imitate other well-known brands. “The wines are legally imported but they misuse or misappropriate the intellectual property,” said Fernandez. “It takes a lot of work to chase them.”

Fighting counterfeiters is a cat-and-mouse game. A winery or importer must trace the supply chain to find the original seller. But the information on the back label, including the company’s contact details, is usually false. If they do manage to track down the suppliers, the companies—facing fines and forfeiture of their assets as punishment for their crimes—declare bankruptcy. “Then they start under a new company,” said Fernandez. “It’s hide and seek.”

Chinese inspectors have long relied on foreign experts to help them identify fake goods. The CIVB, as well as importers like ASC Fine Wines and Torres China, have invested time in training customs officials and other inspectors to spot fakes.

The CIVB’s victories come in a wider context of Chinese authorities clamping down on economic crimes that deprive the government of tax revenue, and in the case of wine (or food or pharmaceuticals), pose the additional threat of a health risk. “You don’t know what they put in it,” said Fernandez.

Regulation has increased in China under President Xi Jinping. “The big change in the last five years is the amount of regulation in every single thing—everything—restaurants, electronic money, tax controls: This is on a national level,” said Fernandez, who arrived in China in 2000.

Under Xi, the Chinese have upped their regulation of the Internet, and next spring a new law targeting fake goods sold on China’s e-commerce sites is scheduled to go into effect. “As a consumer you will be able to hold the online operator responsible for selling you a fake, so the platform will be responsible,” said Fernandez. “Companies like Tmall.com and JD.com will have to work very closely with foreign brands.”

While a great deal of wine is sold directly by the importer to consumers and corporate clients, approximately half of all retail sales are estimated to be online. “Online sales will be one of the main drivers for wine sales,” said Fernandez.

But he remained doubtful that the fake wine trade would dry up. “There are more controls on the exhibitions. You won’t find them there, but you will find them in ballrooms at nearby hotels, some selling fakes, some selling imitations,” he said. “It’s not possible to eradicate fake wine in China. It’s so big and there’s always someone who will try it.”

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Watch Michelin-starred chefs cook game meats such as venison, quail and partridge in many ways.

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Stuffed Pepper Soup is an inexpensive and delicious soup that will warm your belly from the inside out. Tender sausage and ground beef are simmered in beef broth with peppers, and tomatoes. Add in your rice and serve it hot!

This easy stuffed pepper soup recipe is a family favorite (along with cabbage roll soup) and it reheats beautifully!

I love the combination of beef and rice in soups, Cabbage Rolls and even in side dishes like Dirty Rice! We often make Stuffed Peppers because we love the flavors but as the weather turns cooler I tend to make a lot of soup recipes!

This easy Stuffed Pepper Soup is quick to make (and less prep work than traditional stuffed peppers) but still has tons of flavor! While many stuffed bell pepper recipes use only ground beef, I find the addition of sausage adds a lot of great flavor. Of course this recipe is perfect made with just ground beef (or even ground turkey if you’d prefer).

I use red and green peppers but you can use whatever you have on hand. Red, yellow and orange peppers tend to be sweeter while a green peppers are a bit more zesty. If you prefer a Spicy Stuffed Pepper Soup, add in a minced jalapeno pepper with the bell peppers.  

One of the things I like best is that this homemade stuffed pepper soup can be made with any leftover ingredients you might have on hand! Leftover rice, ground beef, ground sausage, leftover burgers or meatloaf or peppers that you need to use up can save you time (and money)! 

How To Make Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed pepper soup only takes about 35 minutes and can be made in just one pot with only a few minutes of prep! 

• Brown beef, onions, and garlic in a large pot. Drain.
• Add remaining ingredients except rice and simmer 25 to 30 minutes.
• Finally, stir in the cooked rice and parsley and heat about 5 minutes.

See? It’s seriously that simple! 

You can make stuffed pepper soup in the crock pot if you want to cook it while you’re out and about. Adjust your cooking times to 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. Add the cooked rice for the last 20-30 minutes.

Stuffed pepper soup can be made in batches and frozen, it reheats really well. I love freezing it in individual servings and enjoying it when the weather cools down!

Stuffed pepper soup is similar to my Hamburger soup recipe, in that it is tomato and beef based, and packed full of veggies! I use beef and sausage but feel free to use ground turkey or turkey sausage for leaner options. If you’d like a low carb stuffed pepper soup, swap out the rice for cauliflower rice. This stuffed green pepper soup only has around 250 calories per serving, making great choice for lunch or dinner!

 

 More Bell Pepper Recipes You’ll Love

• Mexican Stuffed Peppers – Family favorite!
• Easy Pepper Chicken Stir Fry
• Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers – Make ahead!
• Easy Chicken Fajitas – Extra fast!
• Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
• Italian Sausage Linguine – Comfort food

Serve this Stuffed Pepper Soup with homemade biscuits or 30 Minute Dinner Rolls for dipping and a side salad.

REPIN this Scrumptious Soup Recipe

The post Stuffed Pepper Soup appeared first on Spend With Pennies.

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