The World's Largest Cheesecake

On 25 January 2009, in Mexico City, Mexico, Philadelphia of Kraft Foods Mexico was recognized by Guinness World Records™ as the creator of the largest cheesecake ever made. To check out the full story and see a picture ,go here,Worlds Largest Cheesecake

Grilled Cheese Goes Gourmet

quick analysis showed that traditional grilled cheese contains:

* 410 calories
* 29 grams fat
* 18 grams saturated fat
* 840 mg sodium
* 1 gram fiber
All right, so it’s not going to break the bank. But, come on! Who needs 18 grams of saturated fat in a single sandwich?
I smiled at the numbers. Southwestern Cheese Panini shows just how easy and tasty a makeover can be. This sandwich has about 25 percent fewer calories, 60 percent less fat, 70 percent less saturated fat and 38 percent less sodium. Plus we’ve upped the fiber from 1 gram to 5 grams and increased vitamins A and C as well as iron.
Here’s how we do it:
* Use whole-wheat bread instead of white bread
* Use less cheese to reduce fat and saturated fat
* Add shredded zucchini and carrots
* Add salsa
* Add chopped jalapenos and onion
* Omit the butter and use a panini press or our easy no-special-equipment-required panini technique

Plus I must say, this sandwich is far more exciting than a plain-Jane grilled cheese. Some other favorite grilled sandwiches that show just how easy it is to make a healthier sandwich are the Turkey & Tomato Panini, the Mediterranean Tuna Panini and the best one for warm weather, the Grilled Eggplant Panini.

Almond Cherry Bites

Dried cherries, ground almonds and a drizzle of chocolate make these cookies festive for the holidays.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup whole almonds
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or finely chopped dark and/or white chocolate, for decoration (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grind almonds and sugar in a food processor to desired texture: a coarser texture will give you small almond pieces in the cookie; a fine grind will give great almond flavor without any crunch from the almonds. (Be careful to not overgrind: you will get almond paste.) Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add cherries and flour; mix to combine.
3. Add oil, egg white and vanilla and almond extracts; mix with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.
4. Shape the dough into walnut-size balls with your hands or a small cookie scoop (about 1 rounded tablespoon each) and place 1 1/2 inches apart on a large, ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake until the bottoms are golden (the top will stay white), 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Melt chocolate (see Tip) and drizzle or pipe onto each cooled cookie, if desired. Let stand until the chocolate sets.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze without the chocolate drizzle (Step 6) for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before drizzling with chocolate.

• Kitchen Tips: To melt chocolate, place chocolate in a bowl and microwave on Medium for 45 seconds. Stir; continue microwaving on Medium in 20-second intervals until almost melted, stirring after each interval. Continue stirring until completely melted. Or place in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not boiling, water. Stir until melted.
• To decorate cookies with melted chocolate, use a pastry bag fitted with a fine writing tip to pipe the melted chocolate or dip tines of a fork in chocolate and drizzle. You can improvise a pastry bag with a small plastic bag. Add melted chocolate to the bag, cut a tiny hole in one corner and squeeze the chocolate out.

Nutrition

101 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrates; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 4 mg sodium; 15 mg potassium. 1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 other carbohydrate, 1 fat