Rachael Ray

I love big jewelry - particularly necklaces - and I have accumulated so many necklaces over the years that they started to take over the very valuable and limited real estate of the top of my dresser. I have these cute necklace hangers/trees that were meant to be decorative yet eventually mine were overflowing with necklaces, to the point I couldn’t even see what I had. I resorted to keeping the necklaces (and bracelets and earrings) in little zippered bags on my dresser as well so then I really had no idea what I had. I ended up skipping wearing jewelry altogether. I knew there had to be some kind of jewelry organizer out there similar to an over-the door shoe organizer [...]...

A semifreddo is a sweet, frozen mousse. You make it almost the exact same way that you would make ice cream, except you don’t need an ice cream maker. Semifreddo means “half-cold,” or half-frozen, in Italian. I think this is because it contains eggs and whipped cream, so it doesn’t freeze solid into a block of ice, but stays soft and pliable, like ice cream. You can flavor a semifreddo with almost anything, whether it’s chocolate, nuts, fruit, fruit juice, jam, or nut butter. Depending on what you put in it, you’ll want to whip up your cream and eggs first, and then fold in fresh fruit, chunks of chocolate, or nuts. Alternately, you may want to melt the chocolate and whisk [...]...

Evan Rachel Wood Love the daring transformation and that her styling is off her face with some texture, a little different from the traditional pixie. Olivia Wilde The bangs certainly give her more drama and structure to the overall look. I love the square bangs and how they disconnect from the front layers really bringing out Olivia’s cheek bones and eyes. Blake Lively The secret to changing your color is not only identifying what’s fashionable and that you like it but more importantly that it suits your skin tone. This transformation is stunning and her skin is glowing! What I also love is that the color is not too saturated so it has a natural authentic feel to it. Selena Gomez It’s not always [...]...

…Half the fun of discovering a new restaurant is sharing it with people you know will enjoy it. As Rachael Ray’s resident restaurant guru, here’s an inside look at what I report back to Rach about some of my favorite restaurant finds and food experiences!… From: Kappy To: RR Sent: Sunday, January 7, 2012 11:45am Subject: BBQ with Robert Duvall Hey Rach, Well, I didn’t really have BBQ with him, but you have to hear about this insane experience I had. I was in Austin at a friend’s house over New Year’s. I’ve done a lot of the BBQ circuit there…you know, Stubb’s, Iron Works, Salt Lick, Rudy’s, and the rest, but there was one outstanding place I heard about a few years back. It’s called [...]...

When I visited Istanbul last year, one exotic taste that struck me was the Turkish coffee. The secret was the sweet and fragrant spice cardamom. In Turkey, and in many Arabic countries, coffee is brewed with sugar and cardamom. It has a taste that’s slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and full of character. It helps that in Turkey, coffee and tea are often served with a dish of whole cloves after meals, to cleanse the mouth. This makes the coffee taste even more aromatic. In Turkey and points east, coffee is actually brewed with sugar in it, and it’s up to you if you want to add more once it’s in your cup. Coffee is served and drunk black. Typically, there are grounds [...]...

In the world of bed bug infestation, it’s important to take a look at your mattress and consider its lifespan and care. First, when you buy one, you should buy a protective covering that you can take off and wash periodically or if something spills on it.  This should be waterproof. You should rotate your mattress every 6 months so it gets even wear and tear. Vacuum your mattress to clean it, don’t use soap and water unless there is a stain. Here’s a sort of disgusting statistic but one that is important to know.  After 10 years, your mattress DOUBLES in weight from years of absorbing your body oils, dead skin and dead bugs!  This according to Men’s Health magazine, made me think [...]...

Yesterday I went to lunch with my husband at a Middle Eastern restaurant. The place is relatively fancy, with white linen tablecloths and fine china. With our meal, they served us a basket of soft, warm pita bread. We could barely finish our meal, let alone the extra bread. I couldn’t stand to let the bread go to waste, so I took it. Very discreetly (I hope), I took the stack of bread out of the basket, wrapped it in a paper napkin (happily, the napkins were not made of linen), and shoved it in my purse. I looked around to see if the waiter saw me, wondering ludicrously whether he might reprimand me, or worse, think I’m cheap. When he [...]...

Periodically you need to clean certain parts of your home that collect dust and dirt and that are close to some kind of high heat source.  Here are a few of those places that if not cleaned regularly, could pose a fire hazard to your home. The clothes dryer You must clean out not only the lint trap, but the hose that spits the hot air outside from your clothes dryer.  This hose, all the way up to the lint trap collects excess dust and lint and over time can not only hinder performance and make it take far longer than it should to dry clothes, but it could be dangerous.  This little project is a huge pain in the butt, as [...]...

Have you ever tried quince? It’s a fruit that looks like an apple-shaped pear. It’s in season from August-January, and it tastes like an apple with fragrant hints of orange. Don’t eat it raw, though, it’s too astringent. It has to be cooked first, and then it can be added to apple pie or applesauce, or made into jam. The taste is mild and naturally sweet, and with a few warming spices, it makes a perfect holiday gift. It’s very simple to make quince into jam, because it’s naturally high in pectin. Because of its high sugar content, it doesn’t need much additional sweetener. The most basic recipe for quince jam calls for fruit and sugar, but you can embellish it [...]...