Review | I Can Cook That

Review of Level Up

If you live in Philadelphia or Boston, you may have noticed signs like these posted at some of your favorite restaurants and shops:

That nifty little sign indicates that the businesses are a part of Level Up, a new way to pay using your iPhone, Android, or a card you receive in the mail. For the past week, I have tried out the app at various participating merchants around Philadelphia and am really pleased with how simple (and oddly fun!) it is to use.

So how does it work? After registering online (it’s free to join but does link to your credit card), you are assigned a personal QR Code.

You can download the Android or iPhone app on to your phone, and begin using the service immediately. To find merchants who accept Level Up, you can use the app on your phone, which will sort locations depending on their proximity to your location, or by checking out the “Browse” section of the Level Up website. Just go to a participating location and bring up the QR code on your phone. The store scans the code as a method of payment; you will receive an e-mail within minutes with a digital receipt.

The scanner used to pay

You can even add tip right on the app.

If you do not have a smart phone, you can request a card be sent to you, and that can be scanned at all participating locations.

So what’s in it for you? Each participating merchant has a credit that will be applied the first time you use Level Up at that location. The credit varies depending on location, but you can look up how much it is on your phone or on the website. The credits never expire, and the more you use the app, the more credits you unlock at that merchant. To check on your status until your next credit is unlocked, just view the progress bar.

“Spend $100, Get $10”

The leftover balance is charged to your credit card.

The process is secure and even has the option to pin-lock your QR code.

If you ever think the code has been compromised, you can easily reset the QR code and receive a new one instantly.

Level Up is adding new businesses daily, so keep a look out for some of your favorite spots.

I love how simple Level Up is! It is a great quick way to pay for your purchases, no signing, no one walking away with your card. The credits are a great reward for using Level Up; who doesn’t love a few extra dollars saved?

Level Up is not just for restaurants, many boutiques, hair salons and shops are also participants. Just keep an eye out for the Level Up signs and have fun using it! To sigh for Level Up and receive a $10 credit that can be used at any location, go to TheLevelUp.com/joinand enter the code “KLUNN” where it says “have a promotion code?”

Feel free to leave me any comments or questions below!

The images are courtesy of Level Up. The poor quality photos were taken by me around Philadelphia.

Review of Birds Eye Chef’s Favorites

As much as I love cooking, there are some nights where whipping up an entire meal is a chore instead of a fun experience. It is so tempting to just order pizza or some other delivery on these nights, but I end up not enjoying it as much as a home cooked meal. So I was really excited when the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program gave me the chance to try Birds Eye’s new line of microwave-steamed veggies, which are ready to eat in minutes.

The vegetables steam right in the bag, and can go straight from the freezer into the microwave (they can also be cooked on the stove top). While cooking in the microwave, the bags puff up to steam the vegetables in about five minutes, depending on which bag you are cooking.

Products include:

Lightly Sauced Primavera Vegetable Risotto: a creamy risotto, with sweet green peas and tender carrots, with light notes of Parmesan cheese.
Lightly Sauced Mushroom & Green Bean Risotto: made with savory mushrooms and cut green beans.
Lightly Sauced Creamed Spinach
Lightly Sauced Roasted Red Potatoes & Green Beans with Parmesan Olive Oil Sauce: whole green beans and roasted baby red potatoes, lightly tossed in a Parmesan cheese and olive oil sauce.

I enjoyed all four, but my favorites were the risottos. I love risotto, and make it quite often. But it is a good half hour process, so it is pretty time consuming. In a pinch, these risottos are a yummy side dish, or even a complete meal.

The mushroom and green bean risotto was creamy and delicious. The green beans still maintained their crunch which worked well with the creaminess of the rice and mushrooms.

Mushroom & Green Bean Risotto

The Primavera Vegetable Risotto was also really creamy. The peas and carrots still had a wonderful fresh taste to them. I actually ended up adding a bit more Parmesan cheese (hey, it was the only thing in my fridge. I might as well use it!)

The creamed spinach was so yummy! It’s a versatile side dish and would be great with steak, pork chops, or (as I used to eat it as a kid), with macaroni and cheese.

Creamed Spinach

The Roasted Red Potatoes and Green Beans were another huge time saver. Making potatoes is another pretty long process, so it was so nice to have roasted red potatoes in just minutes. I think I would have enjoyed these more without the cheesy sauce, but they were still tasty. I ate this with a simple sauteed chicken, but would also work well with salmon, other fish, or honestly any kind of meat.

Each bag is retailed in a range of $2.69 – $3.09 per item, so they are also an affordable option for dinner. The timing I received these could not have been better. Coming off of vacation, I had literally nothing in my fridge (ok, I had some Parmesan cheese, but that doesn’t make a meal!) so the Chef Favorites were my go-to sides. I only had to worry about cooking up a quick protein to accompany the dish. I’d suggest purchasing a few of these bags at a time so that you always have some around for convenience. These four Chef’s Favorites will be in stores in September; look for them in the freezer section.

Review of of Cooking Light’s New App & A Chance to Win a Free Download!

It comes as no surprise that I am a huge fan of Cooking Light. I attribute a good portion of my interest in cooking to their magazine. When I was living at home after college, my mom brought the December copy home on a whim from the supermarket. Everything sounded so delicious, I jumped right in, trying to make as many recipes as possible. The rest is history. I am now Cooking Light obsessed.

The issue that got me hooked. Courtesy of cookinglight.com

So when I heard that Cooking Light had made it’s own app for iPad and iPhone, I was overjoyed. The “Quick & Healthy Menu Maker App” is genius. How often do you prepare a nice healthy main course only to wreck it with some ridiculous side that ends up negating the healthiness of the original dish? Or, if you’re like me, how many times do you struggle to find a side that would complement the other components of the meal?

Here’s a little blurb about what the app actually is and why it is such a useful tool:

The Quick & Healthy Menu Maker offers more than 300 recipes and lets users design create delicious, quick menus in an interactive way. Users simplyswipe through the gorgeous photos to create a complete and healthy menu, selecting one entrée and then adding two sides plus one dessert. The app calculates nutrition per serving in real time—calories, sodium, and saturated fat. If a menu meets or exceeds Cooking Light’s nutrition recommendations, the app lets the user know with green and red indicators. There are thousands of possible menu combinations.

The second to last sentence is what truly makes this app worthwhile in my opinion. “If a menu meets or exceeds Cooking Light’s nutrition recommendations, the app lets the user know with green and red indicators.” How fantastic is that??

A friend and I decided to try the app out for ourselves. After finding, oh, 20 different combinations that made our stomachs growl, we finally went with:

Mango Shrimp Kabobs, Corn with Lime and Chipotle, Wild Rice Pilaf with Pecans, and Yogurt with Berry Sauce. How wonderful does this dinner look? (If you click on the photo above, it will enlarge so you can actually read what it says.) The photo above is a screen shot from the Corn. I received corn as part of my CSA share this week so I was excited to see this recipe. I came across the recipe by scrolling through the “vegetable” sides. I then clicked the “suggested menus” button and that gave me suggestions for a main meal, another side, and a dessert.

I will post my attempt at the recipes in a different post. This post is getting too long

So, overall we had the following thoughts about the App:

Pros:
- Love the suggested menu option. Not only are there multiple suggestions, but you can use it by starting off with any part of the meal: Main dish, Side, or Dessert. Genius!
- You have the option to save a specific recipe you enjoy or the whole menu
- You can also e-mail the recipe or menu straight from the app.
- The nutrition per serving is very helpful. Includes all parts of the dish. It also breaks down fat and sodium content.
- The photos are spectacular. I was so hungry after playing around with the app!

Cons/Suggested Improvements:

There is no “search” feature. So if you find a recipe you love and don’t save it, you have to scroll through a bunch of other recipes before finding it again. Bummer.
It would be nice if there was a way to choose ingredients you had on hand and have menus/recipes suggested that include those recipes.
Another possible improvement: adding a shopping list feature. It would make the app more useful in the supermarket.
The app is so large, it crashed the iPad a few times. Slightly frustrating but not a deal breaker.
I think I’ve already managed to scroll through all of the recipes, so I hope the app is continuously updated with new and delicious meals!
When I tried to e-mail the menu to myself, I realized there is no way to do so. You have to go through recipe by recipe and e-mail them out.
I personally am a Droid aficionado. I hope this becomes available for my beloved Android in the near future!

Overall, I think the pros outweigh the cons. It really is a well made app and is really quite useful.

So if you managed to stay with me this entire time, I have a little reward. Cooking Light was kind enough to give me five free codes to their app! To be eligible to receive one of these codes you must meet the following requirements:

Have an iPhone or iPad (this is kind of mandatory, sorry)
Be willing to write either a blog post review of the app on your own site OR a guest review post on my site OR just send me an e-mail with your thoughts about the app
“Like” my facebook page AND/OR follow me on twitter

To enter, leave me a comment letting me know if you’d write your review as a guest blogger or if you’ll have it on your own site (please include a link to your site). If you are not comfortable writing a whole post on the app, an e-mail with feedback about the app is also perfectly fine. In a separate comment, post whether you’ve liked my facebook page or if you’re following me on twitter (excuse my shameless plug.) If you become a facebook fan AND follow me on twitter, post two separate comments letting me know, they will each count as an individual entry. Please be sure to include your e-mail address as well so I can contact you if you win. Note: you do not need to do all three; just leaving a comment will count as an entry.It would also be much appreciated if you’d direct people to this post to allow more people a chance to win! I will choose 5 lucky winners using random.org. Entries must be received by Friday, July 22 at 5:00 pm EST. Good luck!

Note: if you have used the Cooking Light App and have any comments, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at icancookthat@icancookthat.org. I’d love to hear your opinions! To read up on another blogger’s thoughts on the app, check out Katie K. is Losing It. She has used the app on a few posts so far, and has found some great recipes.

Cadillac Culinary Challenge

This weekend, I was given the opportunity to attend a nifty event outside of Philadelphia, at the King of Prussia Mall. Sponsored by Cadillac, Share Our Strength, and Bon Appetit, the Cadillac Culinary Challenge Test Drive was one snazzy event.

From 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday, attendees were given the opportunity to check out and test drive different Cadillac models as well as attend three culinary demonstrations (held at 11:30am, 2pm and 4pm). I actually got to be one of the judges for the 2pm challenge on Sunday which was a great experience.

Chef David Burke competed against Philadelphia’s own Chef Walter Staib, cooking a meal right there in front of an audience.

Walter Staib

David Burke

The chefs were given the theme of “Old Philadelphia versus New Philadelphia,” with Chef Staib making Chicken Napoleon a la Jefferson and Chef Burke cooking a 55-Day Dry-Aged Cheese Steak with Mushroom Chips (yes, a guy from New Jersey made a “four star cheese steak” in the hometown of wiz wit).

Chef Walter Staib’s Chicken Napoleon was comprised of an angel hair pasta frittata, wilted dandelion greens, and chicken doree. I can’t say I’m that much of a frittata fan, they just don’t usually have me coming back for more. But the pasta frittata was fantastic. Chef Staib mentioned that the reason he used a pasta frittata in the dish was because Jefferson is credited with introducing pasta to the United States (Thanks for that, Jefferson!). This was my first time having dandelion greens, and I was really impressed with the flavor! The greens are slightly bitter, which was a really nice mix with the frittata and chicken. Chicken doree is chicken breast marinated in tarragon leaves and oil, covered in flour and egg wash, and sauteed. The chicken had a nice crispy texture, but was still so moist inside. What a lovely mix of flavors!

Chicken Napoleon a la Jefferson

Chef David Burke’s high-end cheese steak was all about the quality of ingredients. Chef Burke used thinly sliced 55-day dry-aged beef, aged provolone, caramelized onions and shallots to make one of the most delicious cheese steaks this Philly-bred girl has ever had. The dry-aged-beef, a signature of Chef Burke, is dried in a salt cave for, you guessed it, 55 days. The beef was so tender and had so much flavor that not even the provolone could overpower it. The onions also added a nice sweetness to the earthiness of the rest of the dish. The mushroom chips, made of very thinly sliced Portobello mushrooms were a great addition.

55-Day Dry-Aged Cheese Steak

It really was a tough call in between these two. In fact, the audience ruled it a tie. However, a few other judges and I decided that although Chef Burke’s dish was fantastic, the creativity of Chef Staib’s dish won us over.

Despite not ruling in his favor, Chef Burke was still a good sport and gave the audience Philly Cheesecake pops, a perfect end to two perfect meals.

The event handed out copies of the recipes for these two dishes, so I can’t wait to have the opportunity to try making these at home (although I don’t think I’ll be using 55-day dry-aged beef, sigh.)

I also had the opportunity to judge a twitter recipe contest. The contest, called the “135-Character Recipe Challenge” was really simple: just tweet a recipe to @Cadillac including the hashtag #r140 to participate and must use the secret ingredient, which is “cheese”. There were some really great responses (how they did a recipe in 135 characters is beyond me!), but I eventually chose @ambercollins7‘s recipe for bruschetta: “Bake plum tomatoes in balsamic vinegar, basil& salt until softened at 400degrees.Top on sliced baguette pieces with goat cheese.Enjoy! #r140” Yum! Amber won The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh for her wonderful recipe. Congratulations Amber!

Cadillac is actually having a bunch of these events across the country, so be sure to check if one is coming near you. The entire event is free, so it is definitely worth checking out! To see if the Culinary Challenge will be near you, check out their website, cadillacchallenge.com. You can also find more information through cadillac’s twitter and facebook pages. (You can also register for the free event through that facebook page link) I believe each city will also have its own twitter contest so be sure to participate!