Mediterranean Pearls

Pasta is a dinner staple in most homes and ours is no exception-but don't you get tired of the same old penne and spaghetti? My favorite find this week is in fact a pasta but not your typical Italian variety...this one originated in of all places Israel.

Favorite Food Find Friday's find is...Mediterranean (a.k.a. Israeli) couscous!

These little pearl shaped grains are similar looking to barley, but they are actually made from a wheat based dough which is shaped into little balls and toasted-as opposed to dried as pastas usually are.

The large grains make an impressive presentation as the base for chicken or seafood or tossed with caramelized onions and blue cheese for a tasty beef side dish. Today I've made a Mediterranean style salad that couldn't be easier...you need "1" of everything in it. You'll notice there's no added oil-I found it just doesn't need it, but if you're planning on chilling it before you serve it you may want to add a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive just so the couscous doesn't clump together. Also I used a fresh mozzarella because one of my favorite supermarkets makes it fresh in the store and it's just fabulous, but you can substitute a feta or goat cheese if you prefer.

"One" Mediterranean Couscous Salad

1 (32 ounce) container chicken stock

1 cup Mediterranean (a.k.a. Israeli) Couscous

1 cup diced roasted red pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped arugula

1 cup diced fresh mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon pine nuts

1 lemon, thinly sliced then halved

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. Stir in the couscous, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Drain couscous and transfer to a large bowl.

Stir the red pepper, arugula, mozzarella cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, pine nuts and lemon slices into the bowl with the couscous. Serve warm or chilled.

Yield: 4 servings

Barefoot Favorite Food Find

You could call me lazy, but I'm really just multitasking...this week I've combined Favorite Food Find Friday with the Barefoot Blogger challenge.

Barefoot Bloggers are a group of bloggers that twice a month prepare a (almost always) delicious recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten. This weeks recipe was selected by Anne of Anne Strawberry. She chose Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts from the Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook.

I had a few glitches with this week's recipe...
1. I forgot to take a picture of the completed recipe.
2. It didn't really matter because I forgot to put the memory card into the camera so I actually have NO pictures of my version! So my apologies in advance for the lack of visuals.

I would make the recipe again but I have to leave in a couple of hours...my daughter and I are going to NYC to see Billy Elliot and she is competing in an Irish Dancing competition (feis) there tomorrow...so no time.

Today's favorite food find is...

(I was able to just take a picture of the cheese because I had some leftover!) It's Andes Panquehue Cheese Chilean Pepper. Now why would this be the choice when clearly the recipe called for goat cheese? Well, I honestly do not like goat cheese and could not bear to use it so I made a substitution. Since last night was my night to host Bunco at my house I prepared the recipe as individual appetizers. I used a round cookie cutter and cut small circle in the dough and transformed the recipe into bite sized tarts with a spicy chili pepper flavor.

You can find the original recipe here. The following is my adaptation...

Spicy Tomato Cheese Tarts adapted from The Barefoot Contessa's Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

1 package puff pastry, defrosted

Red pepper flavored olive oil

1 cup minced shallots

1 garlic clove, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons dry white wine

4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

4 ounces Andes Panquehue Chilean Pepper Cheese (or you may substitute Pepper Jack cheese), coarsely chopped

10-15 grape tomatoes, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Unfold the puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11x14 inch rectangle. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter cut the dough into circles (you should be able to get about 24 circles from each sheet) Place the circles on two parchment paper lined baking sheets and chill until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Heat 3 tablespoon of red pepper flavored olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the shallots and garlic. Saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallots are translucent and the skillet is almost dry. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper along with the 3 tablespoons of white wine; cook for an additional 10 minutes or just until the onions are lightly browned.

Using a small round biscuit cutter, gently score a circle onto each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the smaller circle with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a bit of Parmesan on each round staying inside the scored border.

Divide the shallot mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Divide the cheese between the tarts arranging on top of the shallots. Place one or two grape tomato slices on top of the cheese in each tart. Drizzle with additional red pepper oil and sprinkle with cilantro, salt and pepper. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over each.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven.

Makes about 48 appetizer sized tarts.

Jumbo Triple Chippers

It seems that almost every time I go to bake something that uses chocolate chips I open the cabinet only to find that someone has eaten half the bag of chocolate chips; it's just annoying. I have a sweet tooth myself but for whatever reason when it comes to eating chips for baking I can resist...except for one kind: the butterscotch chips.

Today is Favorite Food Find Friday and today's find is none other than the irresistible Nestle Butterscotch chips. The chips are golden brown with a unique caramel flavor.

They're not always easy to find so when I do I buy a few bags and hide them so when I need them they'll be there. I love the traditional Oatmeal Scotchies and I really love creamy butterscotch fudge.

Jumbo Triple Chippers

This recipe is one a good friend of mine cut out years ago from a newspaper. But after a minor bit of research it turns out it's basically the Toll House Cookie recipe with a tablespoon of sour cream added, a little extra vanilla and margarine and shortening instead of the butter. (Not sure what the sour cream is all about...and with so little added, if you don't have it in the house just leave it out.) My friend is a wonderful baker and for our last book group meeting she decided to serve all desserts and she made these wonderful jumbo cookies. The only change I made was to replace milk chocolate and butterscotch chips for the semi sweet chips called for in the recipe...and let me tell you just that little change sends these cookies from great to superb...but then I can't resist a butterscotch chip.

2 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer beat the margarine, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in the chips.

Scoop the cookie dough by 1/4 cupfuls 3 inches apart onto a baking sheet; press down slightly to flatten. Bake the cookies 12-14 minutes.

Makes 14 jumbo cookies

I Just Want to Quiche You...

Favorite Food Find Friday is here and to be perfectly honest the find for today falls under the "not so exciting" heading; not because it's not delicious (it is) and not because it's not convenient (it is) but just because unless you've been living under a rock your whole life you've probably used it a hundred times or more. Of course if you are a pastry purist and think refrigerator crusts are...well...baking blasphemy then take this as gentle encouragement to come with me over to the dark side. As you may have guessed already today's favorite food find is:
Pillsbury Refrigerator Pie Crust!

While I will admit I often do make pie crust from scratch, there is just no getting around the fact that in a pinch the doughboy is my main man. I will further admit that I am knee high right now in Pillsbury products as I am trying ever so hard to create "the" million dollar Pillsbury Bake off Recipe. Wish me luck because so far I've come up with nothing that screams "million dollar recipe". (In Who Wants To Be A Millionaire terms I'm about at the $16,000 level...maybe.)

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is my go-to quiche; it's delicately fluffy, and painlessly simple. My family prefers quiche without unnecessary accoutrements...no spinach, no ham, definitely no onions...just cheese. But feel free to throw in whatever you would like at the same time as the cheese and please accept my apologies for being so boring.

Two Cheese Sour Cream Quiche

1 refrigerator pie crust (or your favorite homemade single pie crust)
6 eggs
1 cup 1% or skim milk
1 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup diced Swiss cheese
1/2 shredded Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Unroll pie crust and arrange in a 10-inch ceramic quiche dish or glass pie plate. Crimp the edges of the crust as desired. Place a sheet of foil over the crust then top with pie weights or uncooked rice. Arrange dish in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Remove crust from the oven and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, cayenne pepper and kosher salt until well combined. Scatter the cheeses evenly over the crust. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the cheeses. Carefully transfer dish to the oven (for easy carrying you may want to put the quiche pan on a baking pan). Bake the quiche for 25-30 minutes or until slightly puffed and golden brown.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Doesn't that look incredibly fluffy? The texture is so delicate!

My Cherry Amore

Favorite Food Find Friday on the day before Valentine's Day of course must include a sweet treat and I promise you that this find will not disappoint.

Today's favorite food find is....

Hershey's Cherry Cordial Kisses!

I would like to plant a wet one on the food scientist at Hershey's who came up with the idea of soft-centered, filled kisses...they are confectionery genius in a foil wrapper. By far my favorite of these creamy filled delights is the Cherry Cordial variety; they are rich milk chocolate with a pink, creamy cherry flavored center.

I love putting these kisses in the freezer...it slows down my eating pace and provides a mini, cool ice cream-like treat. Frozen or right out of the bag, the caramel variety comes in a close second to the cherry flavored and today I saw a cheesecake variety but I exhibited a rare moment of self control and did not purchase them (can you hear the regret?).

While these treats are wonderful on their own, I've used them today to create rich, cherry flavored fudge truffles sure to please all your little sweethearts and your special someone.



Cherry Cordial Fudge Truffles

1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 (10 ounce) package Hershey's Cherry Cordial Kisses (wrappers removed!)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

(Try to resist stealing kisses as you unwrap them...just remember you can lick the pan!)

Line a 9 inch square baking dish with aluminum foil.


Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a large pan, add the butter and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted.

Stir in the Kisses and the chocolate chips, cooking and stirring just until melted.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the square pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Pour the cocoa powder into a shallow dish. Using a spoon, scoop the fudge into rounded teaspoons and drop into the cocoa powder.

Roll the fudge into cocoa covered balls using your hands. Place into mini baking cups.

Yield: about 48 truffles

I was lucky enough to stumble upon these Reynolds heart shaped foil pans at the dollar store (I'm pretty sure they're discontinued). Three truffles fit perfectly into the hearts and I was able to package them up for the ladies at the shelter I cook for...don't they look cute?!!

Good Things Come In Small Packages

I know you've heard the proverb: "Good things come in small packages."


Favorite Food Find Friday brings you two such packages:


1. Purdue Chicken's Perfect Portions boneless chicken breasts



2. Emeril's 1 cup sized chicken stock



I have to be honest with you, I hate handling raw chicken. I don't like how it feels in my hand. When I do handle raw chicken, I always have visions of my entire kitchen being shown under that special black light like they use on Dateline NBC or 20/20 when they do those "Germs are all around you" shows-where they show how your entire kitchen has been contaminated with germs from raw chicken. In fact that was probably part of their marketing plan...I can just see them now sitting around the conference table laughing:

"...yeah this would be great for those germaphobic housewives who get freaked out by germ exposure news magazine shows...".
Thanks, I appreciate it.

So why do I love Purdue's Perfect Portions? They are neatly packaged and nicely trimmed. They are just right when I only need 1 or 2 chicken breasts for a recipe-I don't have to cook more than I need and/or I don't have to wrap and package any slippery raw chicken I'm not using right away. You can freeze and thaw only what you need. What's not to love?


Now on to my friend Emeril...I love his stock-it has wonderful flavor He's not actually my friend, but I would like to compliment him (or his food company). I think it was complete genius to create 1-cup sized containers for his stock. It's still available in the larger containers, but when you are making a recipe that only uses a small amount of stock these containers (to steal Purdue's tag) are perfect portions.


Using my two favorite food finds for this week I've made a tasty pasta dish I think your whole family will love...mine does. Have a great weekend!


Pasta with Chicken, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Herbs


1 lemon
2 boneless chicken breast halves
1 pound pasta
2/3 cup of the water used to cook the pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil, drained)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (1 teaspoon dried)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Cut the lemon in half and set one half aside. Place the chicken in a small bowl and squeeze the remaining lemon half over the chicken; let sit for 20 minutes.


Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions; drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the pasta water.

Melt the butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 4 minutes, turn and cook chicken an additional 4 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, basil, salt and pepper to the pan, cover and cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into strips.


Stir 1/2 cup of the chicken broth into the pan with the sun-dried tomatoes and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta to the pan along with the remaining chicken broth and the pasta water; stir to combine well. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Carve the remaining lemon half into thin slices and stir into the pasta.

Mini Brownie Bites

The Superbowl isn't just about appetizers your party needs a sweet ending. Today-Favorite Food Find Friday-is not really about a food exactly it's about something that you use to cook food. Today's favorite find is.....

Wilton's new Bite-Sized Brownie Squares-an awesome silicone baking pan that creates perfectly uniform bite sized brownies!

Embarrassingly this is my first time using a silicone baking pan; I was for some reason immediately drawn to it in the store and It was pretty good. I baked the brownies, cooled them and then easily popped out my bites! No messy brownie slicing required and a perfectly uniform result.

I followed a recipe that I found on All Recipes by Eagle Condensed Milk and while the result is tasty it was a bit labor intensive. The original recipe was for brownie bites-made by using a melon baller to shape bite-sized brownies (which I also made). The instructions called for "dipping" the brownies into the melted chocolate, but I really found it difficult to "dip" the chocolate-it was rather thick-so I just spread it on with a small spatula. I then decorated the bites with a butter cream frosting. While they look OK, I have learned that cake decorating is not my thing.

I'm hoping to score a field goal at least with these tasty hand held treats!

Mini Elegant Brownie Bars

adapted from All Recipes

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter cream:

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray brownie square pan and an additional small baking pan with cooking spray. Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box. Spoon a tablespoonful into each brownie square section in the pan. Pour any additional batter into the additional small pan. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of each brownie square comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool before popping out of brownie square pan.

For the brownies cooked in the extra small pan, use a melon baller and scoop the brownies into small rounds.

In a medium saucepan heat the sweetened condensed milk over medium heat. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Keeping the chocolate warm, dip the brownies into the chocolate to coat or spread the chocolate on with a small spatula.

Place brownies on a wire rack to dry. When chocolate is set, decorate with the butter cream.

In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the shortening and the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and the milk. Transfer butter cream to a decorating bag with desired decorating tip and pipe frosting onto brownies.

TLC and a Smoothie

Favorite Food Finds Friday is all about rushing today.

Your mother told you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day and you know she was right. But sometimes mornings can be so chaotic that you just don't have time to eat a balanced meal. That's where my favorite food find comes in...it's a grab and go breakfast that when paired with a yummy yogurt smoothie becomes a tasty quick breakfast.

Today's favorite food find is...

Kashi's Tasty Little Chewies (TLC) all natural chewy granola bars.

When our local Whole Foods opened last year, the week before the grand opening was a fundraiser tour week. Where for $5.00 you were given an inside peek at the new Whole Foods and the money raised would be donated to assorted local charities (isn't that a brilliant idea?). Each person who toured was given a cloth shopping bag filled with various samples and coupons. One of the samples in my bag was a Kashi TLC bar. Not being someone who can turn down a free food sample I tasted my Kashi Honey Almond Flax bar that very day.


Loved it. It was sweet and chewy (with 4 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein). The bars have become my breakfast in a rush go-to. The bars come in several varieties: Cherry Dark Chocolate, Honey Almond Flax (my favorite), Peanut Peanut Butter and Trail Mix. There are no partially hydrogenated oils and no high fructose corn syrup.


What's the perfect way to "wash" one of these babies down? A yogurt smoothie. Made quick and easy in my (favorite mini-appliance) The Magic Bullet, this smoothie and TLC bar breakfast is ready in 5 minutes. (Oh I've been known to eat this for lunch too).




Yummy Yogurt Smoothie



1 (6 ounce) container raspberry yogurt
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 ripe banana
1/4 cup skim milk
3 ice cubes

Combine all the ingredients in a blender (or Magic Bullet) and blend until smooth.

Frozen Herbs and Hot Soup

I can't believe with sub zero wind chills around here I've decided to write about something frozen...but, it is Favorite Food Finds Friday and chilled to the bone or not what I found is something frozen.

My favorite food find this week is....
Dorot frozen herbs!

I was so excited when I found these in the supermarket. As I have mentioned in the past, I do not have much of a green thumb so the idea of a darling row of fresh herb pots on my window sill while in theory seems simple, is really out of the question. I know that the horticulturally blessed among you spent the better part of August and September processing your fresh herbs and freezing them in ice cube trays in your freezer and for that I am envious. And while I frequently buy fresh herbs during the summer at the local farm stands and in the winter at the local supermarket, sometimes a particular herb (usually cilantro) isn't always available. So for me the idea of having little mini trays of herbs at the ready is...well, nothing short of fantastic.

Dorot is an Israeli based company selling not only packaged herbs but chopped garlic and chopped ginger as well. I didn't see the ginger at the supermarket where I purchased the herbs (Stew Leonard's) but they are also available at Trader Joe's stores so next time I am there I will have to keep an eye out.

The small cubes are easy to use, just pop them out what you need then return the small trays to the freezer. In this bone chilling weather we're having I can think of nothing better to make than soup. The recipe I'm sharing with you is for my absolute favorite winter soup. The recipe is from the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook from 2001 and while it's not low cal or low fat there are some minor adjustments you can make to make it a bit more healthful: for starters you can try exchanging evaporated skim milk for the heavy cream and leaving out the cheese. I'll confess though, since it is my very favorite I usually just make the recipe full tilt. The recipe calls for garlic (3 cubes equals 3 cloves) and parsley to be stirred in at the end and the Dorot cubes work perfectly.

Steak and Two Potato Soup
from Christmas with Southern Living 2001


1 1/2 pounds lean boneless round steak, cut into 1" cubes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I usually leave this out)
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups beef broth
2 cups water
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 3/4" cubes (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes (about 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper; brown beef in batches in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove beef from pan; set aside.

Add celery add onion to pan; saute 5 minutes. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds.

Return beef to pan; add broth and 1 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.

Add Yukon Gold potato to pan; cook, covered, 10 minutes. Add sweet potato; cook 20 minutes or until beef and potatoes are tender.

Combine flour and remaining 1/4 cup of water, stirring until smooth. Gradually stir into meat mixture; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in cream; cook 5 more minutes. Stir in cheese and, if desired, herbs; cook 1 minute or until cheese melts. Sprinkle each serving with freshly ground pepper just before serving.

Yield: 10 cups

Super tips: I find that it is really not necessary to cook the meat in the oil, just use a well seasoned pan, non-stick pan or cooking spray. For an even richer tasting soup I will often use beef broth in place of any of the water called for in the recipe. For best results have the cheese at room temperature it makes it much easier to melt in.

Favorite Food Finds Friday

All week long I have been baking and shopping, baking and shopping. (Did you notice I didn't say posting?) One day was even devoted to a group bake where a few friends and I got together and made multiple batches of three different cookies: Pecan Tassies, those "pretzel/kiss/mm things and a favorite of mine...The Barefoot Contessa's JamThumbprints. When I came home I was still in a baking mood so I baked my very favorite holiday cookie which I will share with you soon: Cherry Macaroon Puffs-they are very special cookies to me...

Baking with friends really made it less like work and more like an event. My friend Sue made everyone delicious paninis with her griddler and we enjoyed an afternoon of baking together and since it was at her house I didn't have a messy kitchen to clean up!! (Thanks, Susie!).

Ok I'll get to my favorite food find....it has to do with baking-sort of. I love to make fudge for gifts around the holidays and this year I used a favorite food find to create a tasty variation of the fudge recipe from the side of the Fluff tub. (Fluff isn't the Friday favorite but it does count as a favorite food find though...who doesn't love that sticky, sweet, velvety white treat??)

This week I love.....McCormick Gourmet Collection Chai Spice Blend! I replaced the semi-sweet chocolate chips with white chips and stirred in a teaspoon of the spice mixture to create what I am calling Chai Latte Fudge. Once the fudge is firm and you've cut it into squares, you can either serve it as is or for an extra pretty touch you can sift unsweetened cocoa powder over the squares. It's a melt in your mouth treat-perfect for teachers gifts or for your neighbors.

Chai Latte Fudge

5 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
1/4 pound butter (1 stick), cut into tablespoons
1 (16 ounce) container Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (12 ounce) packages white baking chips
1 teaspoon Chai Spice Blend
Line a 13x9 inch pan with aluminum foil leaving the edges of the foil hanging out of the pan. Lightly spray the foil with cooking spray.


Combine the sugar, evaporated milk, butter, Fluff, salt and salt in a large sauce pan. Stir over low heat until blended.

Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Being careful not to mistake escaping air bubbles for boiling. Then boil slowly, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.


Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla, baking chips an the Chai Spice Blend. Pour into the prepared pan. Allow to cool at room temperature.

Yields: about 5 pounds of fudge

Store the fudge covered at room temperature. I don't like my fudge chilled...but hey, that's just me.