It is fitting that I am able to host this giveaway so close to my blog anniversary! One of my biggest inspirations for learning how to cook and starting a blog to document it was Cooking Light Magazine. My mom on a whim picked up a copy of the magazine while at the supermarket. As I paged through, I was surprised with how simple the recipes seemed to be and how absolutely delicious they all sounded. After cooking a couple of the recipes, I was hooked. Three years later, Cooking Light remains a huge inspiration as I continue to learn how to cook.
One of the best parts of learning to cook is being able to experience different cultures in your very own kitchen. America alone has a ton of different cooking styles with different areas and cities having signature dishes. Allison Fishman Task, a contributing editor of Cooking Light, traveled across America to discover native dishes across the nation. The lightened up versions can be found in Lighten Up. America! Favorite American Foods Made Guilt-Free. The cookbook tackles everything from fried green tomatoes to Philly cheesesteaks.
You can win a copy of this cookbook for your very own! Details after the recipe…
I am always in search of new seafood recipes so I gravitated towards the recipe for Beer Steamed Clams and Mussels. To Philadelphia-ize it, I used a local beer from Philly Brewing Company called Walt Wit.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 shallots, chopped
- 5 sprigs marjoram
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bottle Walt Wit (or another Belgian White)
- the juice and zest of one orange, divided
- 10 clams (I used larger clams but I’d suggest using Littlenek)
- 24 mussels in shells, scrubbed and debearded
- 6 lemon wedges