The site is celebrating its launch on Wed, Feb. 22nd with free food from select food carts/trucks and restaurants, when you order from them through the site. There’s 24 participating food trucks, carts and restaurants including Coolhaus, Valducci’s, Uncle Gussy’s, Big D’s Grub Truck and Eggstravaganza, Alphabet Café, Americas Burgers and Wraps, Indigo, Lychee House and Calista. Customers who order from these select places through FoodToEat.com on the launch day will receive something extra with their order, like a free mini scoop of ice cream from Coolhaus, red velvet cake from Alphabet Cafe and complimentary fries from Big D’s Grub Truck.

Also, customers who order from the site on Feb. 22nd will be entered to win a free lunch party for their office or a free delivered dinner for two from one of FoodToEat.com’s participating vendors.

Depending on what you’re craving, you can have it generate a savory or sweet snack. You can also choose ingredients you’d like or eliminate ingredients you’d like to avoid. There’s also an option to view vegetarian or vegan recipes. If it comes up with a snack you like, you can save it to your favorites for later. Lastly, if you have a three ingredient snack idea, you can submit it to them to be included in a future release of the app. Shake A Snack is available from the iTunes App Store for $0.99 only!

I gave it a try the other day. I requested for something sweet and gave it a shake.

And now for a giveaway! Here’s a chance to win a prize pack which includes: a coupon to purchase Yoplait Lactose Free yogurt*, an insulated lunch tote, 2 gel packs, and a bowl and spoon.

*Coupon not valid in some states, including Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Tennessee.

To enter the giveaway:

• Share what flavor of Yoplait Lactose Free yogurt you’re most excited to try in the comment section below, or suggest a flavor you’d like to see available.

Giveaway ends Wednesday, February 22nd at 11:59pm EST and a winner will be randomly selected shortly after.

Disclosure: Prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark. No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

For an idea of what the event is about, here’s a look at last year’s event and the food – the sweets, the savories, and the beverages. Whether you’re a vegetarian or not, you’ll surely enjoy the food festival. Come for a few hours, spend a whole day, or go on both days. Hope you see you there!

Where?
The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York City

When?
Saturday, Mar. 3rd and Sunday, Mar. 4th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m

How?
General admission tickets can be purchased at the door for $5
Advanced VIP tickets are available here
(Advanced tickets grants you guaranteed admission and are highly recommended.)

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In celebration of the winter season, Robb Report asks you to discover your winter cocktail with their cute web app. Simply answer a few questions and it’ll suggest a winter cocktail for you. Also featured in the app – little known cocktail facts and also recipes for four class cocktails with a winter twist. Give it a try and discover new drinks!

My winter drink recommendation was Poinsettia Champagne. This cocktail consists of 2 ounces cranberry juice and 1/2 ounce triple sec in a champagne flute, topped with 4 ounces sparkling wine and garnished with cranberries. Sounds pretty good to me.

And now the giveaway!
Here’s a chance to win a Hendrick’s Gin Golf Umbrella and a $20 Crate & Barrel gift card courtesy of Partners Hub.
To enter the giveaway:

• Simply try out the app and share your winter cocktail in the comment section below.

Giveaway ends Wednesday, February 15th at 11:59pm EST and a winner will be randomly selected shortly after.

Lastly, for your entertainment here are some New York City Themed Cocktails recipes.

Manhattan Skyscraper

• 1 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
• 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
• 3 – 8 oz dry ginger ale
• 1 fresh orange peel
• 1 cocktail cherry

Preparation: Fill glass with 3/4 ice. Run orange peel around rim. Pour bourbon then red vermouth in the glass over the ice then stir. Twist peel into glass, then spike the twisted peel and cherry on a tooth pick and throw into glass. Pour ginger ale according to taste/glass size. Stir, then pull the garnish back up so it sits on top of the ice.

Empire State

• 1 1/2 oz Hendrick’s gin
• 1/2 oz apple brandy
• 3/4 oz apricot brandy

Preparation: Shake with ice and strain into glass.

The Bronx Martini

• 1 1/2 oz mandarin vodka
• 1 splash sweet vermouth
• 1 splash dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz sweet and sour mix
• 4 oz orange juice

Preparation: Mix contents in a martini shaker with ice and serve in a chilled martini glass.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored giveaway by Partners Hub. No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

The offerings vary at some restaurants, but for the most part, the purchase of two courses will get you a tasting of two or three chocolate desserts. Some restaurants require a reservation and certain restrictions apply. For all the locations, the special is not available on Valentine’s Day. More details can be found on the Chocolate Week website.

From the web, I came across several posts talking about a chocolate and prune brownie recipe from the Bourke Street Bakery, a baking cookbook from the Sydney-based bakery. They also mention soaking the prunes in brandy, cognac, or tea to make it extra delicious and moist. That sounded quite intriguing!

On a related note, I had picked up a bottle of Honey Jack Daniel whiskey while I was in Jamaica a while back. I’ve never seen Honey Jack Daniels being sold anywhere before. I don’t think it’s actually available here. It’s not as intense as regular whiskey and has a pleasant hint of sweetness from the honey. I had picked it up thinking it would be great for mixed drinks and… desserts!!! This was the perfect opportunity to put it to use in a recipe – Honey Jack Daniel Whiskey-Infused Prune Chocolate Brownies.

To make the prune mixture, I placed about 1/2 cup of prunes in a small bowl and poured in enough whiskey to submerge the prunes (about 7-8 tbsp). I covered the bowl and allowed it to soak for 24+ hours. Then when I was ready to use it, I just pureed the prune mixture in a small blender.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of your choice of brownie mix (or your homemade brownie mix*)
• 2 eggs
• Pureed alcohol-infused prune mixture (described earlier)
• 1/3 cup water

*A basic brownie mix can be made with ~1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, ~2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and some amount of sugar depending on your preference.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brownie mix, eggs, prune mixture and water. Stir until the mixture is well blended.
3. Pour mixture into a greased baking pan.
4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Let the brownies cool and then serve.

I made one squared brownie, which was baked using my mini cast iron skillet. The rest were made into bite-size circular pieces and topped with sliced almonds.

The alcohol-infused prunes didn’t just make the brownies extra chewy and moist, but added a very pleasant kick to each bite. A very nice, honey sweet kick! These are definitely not the kind of fudge-like brownies for children. On the other hand, they make awesome, slightly boozy desserts for the adults! I’m definitely going to try this again sometime with other types of alcohol. I’ll also give the non-alcoholic tea-infused variation a try. Mm…

The smell of burgers caught the attention of my travel companion and so, we made our way to the Plan B Burger Bar booth. This burger joint currently has several locations across Connecticut, but also future locations in Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and Georgetown. At their booth, they were offering their popular Plan B’s Certified Humane Famous Mini Cheese Burgers. These burgers feature 100% certified natural beef that’s ground in house daily from whole chucks, so it’s super fresh.

Here’s two mini cheese burgers sans cheese.

Nearby the sight of oyster shucking drew my attention to Jasper White’s Summer Shack. This New England based seafood shack offers delectables from fresh raw bar, fish, lobster, surf and turf to lobster rolls and burgers. I immediately ordered one piece oyster, one piece shrimp, and one cherry stone clam.

The oyster shucking action was happening right behind the booth.

Lastly, there was the coconut shrimp from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. Five pieces of shrimp, coconut breaded and fried, served with your choice of the orange-horseradish marmalade or cocktail sauce. At first, we choice the orange-horseradish marmalade, but found it to be too sweet for the coconut shrimp. We went back and asked for the cocktail sauce instead, which complemented the fried shrimp much better.

Coconut shrimp with orange-horseradish marmalade, on left, and cocktail sauce, on right.

We arrived at the Convention Center nice and early. After taking a brief stroll through the exhibition hall, we were ready to pick up our wine glasses and begin the tastings. We had a great time sipping on different wines, cleansing our palate with bread and water, and sipping some more. I’m not the most knowledgeable about wines, but I do enjoy the wine experience, especially when thinking about how it pairs with different foods, dishes, and moods. The Grand Tasting event draws a huge crowd, but I was happy that it was not too crowded on Sunday, allowing us to maneuver through the space with ease and sample drinks with little waiting time. Sweet!

There was a Hennessy Ice Luge. Awesome! My Hennessy cranberry cocktail traveled through the ice luge and into a small plastic shot glass. Along with my drink, I also scored a pair of rocking pink shades. Woo!

As we walked around, visiting the booths, and tasting wines and liquors, we made sure to take pictures of the ones that we sampled, along with the ones that we liked. We sampled mostly red wines. Here are some of the ones that caught our attention.

Chile: Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (the under $10 wine), Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Terrunyo Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Concha Y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (pricey bottle but very enjoyable)

Columbia Valley, Washington: Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Merlot 200

France: Chateau Boutisse Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2008, Chateau Lyonnat Lussac Saint Emilion 2008 (definitely requires food, great with a hearty dinner)

California’s North Coast: La Follette Pinot Noir North Coast 2010 (very easy to drink, good for a casual drink)

And then there was Scotch Whiskey – The Glenlivet and their aged single malt whiskeys. The flavor, aroma, texture develops as the whiskey ages and most of the flavor depends on the type of the cask in which it matures in. We tried the 12 year and 15 year aged Classic range whiskeys and the Nadurra 16 year. Out of the three, I definitely liked the 15 the best, on the rocks or with some water. Mm.

Throughout the afternoon, we caught a glimpse of the chef demonstrations on the Main Stage as we walked by.

Aside from all wine tasting, we also grabbed at few bites at the event. Prepared foods were available along the back wall of the exhibit hall. Restaurants offered some of their signature dishes in exchange for food tokens which could be purchased at certain kiosks. There was a nice selection of cuisines, from American to Italian to Asian, and food items included burgers, sushi, seafood, meatballs, and more.

Upstairs there was a whole floor dedicated to beers. We made a through the space, but didn’t really sample much since at that point, we were working on sobering up for our drive home. I’m a huge fan of Red Stripe beer, so I was excited to approach their booth where they were sharing samples of their Red Stripe Light.

We had a great time at the Grand Tasting. We got exposed to so many new wines and spirits, as well as the tasty foods and snacks to enjoy while drinking, from fancy chocolates to savory dips. Thanks Mohegan Sun for the press access. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on the foods we ate and the snacks we sampled at the Grand Tasting. Cheers, for now!

One of the foods I have to avoid is mainstream yogurt and turn to soy yogurt instead. I have no problem with soy yogurt and I find it delicious, but lactose-free yogurt could be enjoyable too. The other day, I heard about Yoplait’s new line of lactose-free yogurts and now I’m very curious to give it a try.

This yogurt is 99% fat free with no artificial sweeteners and contains 50% of the daily value of calcium, with vitamins A and D in every cup. They are available in four flavors – Strawberry, Peach, French Vanilla and Cherry. I believe it became available in supermarkets this month. I’ll keep my eyes out for it. If you’ve tried it, I’d be interested to know what you think.