Happy THURSDAY, Noshers!  Are you having a happy day? If not so much, it will be happier now because I am giving away COOKIES!!!

In my last blog post, I waxed poetic on the lovely cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar that I lovingly stole won from my cousins at our annual Pirate’s Booty game.  I just love cookies, y’all.  Momofuku cookies, in particular.  So when I was approached to partner with American Express to give away “The Perfect 10 Kookie,” created by Momofuku Milk pastry Chef Christina Tosi – I knew I had to say yes!

“The Perfect 10 Kookie” is the creation of Christina and her long-time friend, model Karlie Kloss.  Made with healthy, all-natural ingredients, these Kookies are dairy-free, gluten-free and sweetened with agave.  Now, fellow Noshers – you know me – I love dairy and all things sweet and fatty (true story).  But I was pleasantly surprised when I tried these Kookies and they were moist, deliciously chewy, and hearty without being super-sweet (I’m guessing the fact that Christina had a hand in the recipe-creation certainly helped).  I’d be lying if I said there weren’t now four cookies left in my tin where there were previously six.

Not only are these Perfect 10 Kookies good and good for you, but for NYC-ers who purchase them at Momofuku Milk Bar, 30% of proceeds go to FEED, the organization that provides school meals to children around the world.  In fact, each Kookie sold provides 10 school meals to hungry children! Pretty amazing, huh?

And where does American Express come in?  Well, first of all, I have a personal affinity for AmEx – they really are my card of choice (Starwood card FTW, and no they didn’t pay me to say that).  But Chef Christina is part of an ambassador program at AmEx that celebrates cardmembers – using her card, she has grown Momofuku Milk Bar to five bakeries and a commissary in just 4 years!  As part of its “Make My Day” program (#AmexMakeMyDay), AmEx is providing the support and “oomph” to make  Chef Christina’s “Perfect 10 Kookie” initiative a reality.

But don’t just take my word for it – I am giving away FIVE “Perfect 10 Kookie” Prize Packs of 2 tins each (that’s 12 ginormo cookies, y’all) to FIVE lucky winners!  For your chance to win, enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.  This 52 second video provides a tutorial on how to enter a giveaway for Rafflecopter newbies! There are 9 methods of entry, with the first method (commenting on this blog post to answer the question asked) being mandatory and the rest just extra gravy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: Prize packs can only be shipped to US addresses.  So if you are looking to enter, make sure you have a US shipping address we can send your Kookies to!

And if you aren’t one of the lucky five, below is the recipe to try your hand at the Perfect 10 Kookie yourself! But really, I’d rather just win

Good luck!

Image courtesy of Scope

TGI(almost)F, Noshers!  I’m excited to brighten up your Thursday was a fun giveaway!  Today I’m going to let you in on a little secret – I LOVE hosting giveaways on the BAN blog! Ok, I guess that’s not a huge secret, but you maynwonder how I decide which products to feature in my giveaways.  Sometimes I approach companies that produce products or food that I love to see if they’d be interested in partnering.  Other times, companies approach me.  Whichever the case, when I consider a product for a giveaway on the blog, I ask two questions:

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TGIF and Happy Friday, Noshers!  Today is the last day of my Holiday Gift Guide + 7 Days of Giveaways, and I’ve had such a great time sharing all of my favorite products of 2012 with you.  I’m super excited to introduce today’s Gift Guide item – the Le Creuset 6 3/4qt Oval French Oven!  Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely understand that this is no frivolous purchase – I can’t necessarily buy these as stocking stuffers for everyone (as much as I’d like to!).  But I’d definitely say that the 6 3/4qt oval French oven, like many other Le Creuset products, is an investment piece – one that should last a lifetime and even be passed down through generations.  Yes, I do know of multi-general Le Creuset French ovens!  Not only are they beautiful enough to go right from stove to tabletop for serving, they are extremely high quality – yielding even heat distribution and retention, multi-use (both stove top and oven up to 500F, as well as outdoor grill) and a lifetime warranty.  The versatile oval shape can accommodate roasted meats (chicken, ham, etc.), stew, soups (my favorite) and so much more – be creative!

Enough of me raving over this lovely piece of kitchen ware, would you like your very own Le Creuset 6 3/4qt Oval French Oven?  Yes, Le Creuset has provided me a Le Creuset 6 3/4qt Oval French Oven to give away – AND you even get to choose the color!  They are all so gorgeous, it’s a tough decision! (more…)

Image via SodaStream

I can’t believe we are up to Day 6 of my 2012 Holiday Gift Guide + 7 Days of Giveaways! I’ve had so much fun so far sharing my holiday recommendations with all of you! And today, I’m happy to whole-heartedly recommend a product that I use every single day – the SodaStream!  Those of you who have been following the Big Apple Nosh blog for a while know that I gave away a SodaStream machine last holiday season as well – I love it that much .  I’m just not a fan of flat water, but with the SodaStream I drink much more water now – or as my 4-year old nephew calls it, “bubbly soda”.  In addition to being great for my health, I love the fact that I’m putting much fewer bottles and cans out into the universe.  And, it is much more cost effective.  You can just make unflavored seltzer, add any number of flavors that SodaStream also makes, or add juice, fresh-squeezed lime or lemon; the possibilities are endless!

Now YOU can try the SodaStream for yourself! Yes, SodaStream has provided me a Fountain Jet Soda Starter Set to give away! The lucky winner will receive: (more…)

Happy hump day, Noshers! I can’t believe we’re already up to Day 5 of my Holiday Gift Guide!  Today’s Gift Guide item is one of my favorite products from one of my favorite kitchen supplies brands – OXO!

I first became enamored with OXO when I purchased my first OXO product – their angled measuring cup.  The measuring cup solved the age-old problem of pouring, crouching down to see if I had measured correctly, pouring, crouching down to see I had poured too much, pouring out, crouching down…well, you get the picture.  And if you’ve ever measured liquid ingredients in a conventional measuring up, you know exactly what I’m talking about! Thanks to OXO‘s ingenious designs (seriously, their products have been featured in one of my favorite NYC museums – the Cooper-Hewitt!), a multitude of kitchen tasks have been made much easier for countless chefs and bakers!  I have since purchased waaaay too many (or some would say “just enough”) OXO products because they are simply awesome   You may recall my giveaway earlier this year for the OXO Hand-held Mandoline Slicer!  In addition to the mandoline, scale and measuring cup, I also have their ice cream scoop, cherry-pitter, can opener, and…okay this is getting a little crazy. But let’s just say that list could have gone on for a while…. (more…)

Happy Tuesday, Noshers!  Welcome to Day 4 of my Holiday Gift Guide + 7 Days of Giveaways! Today’s gift item would make an awesome stocking stuffer or present for any chocolate fanatic! I’m happy to feature Green & Black’s chocolate in my 2012 gift guide!  If you’ve been following along on my blog, you’ll know that I’ve partnered with Green & Black’s a few times before, as well as attended some of their fabulous events (here and here!).  Not only do they produce some AMAZING chocolate (their Toffee and their Peanut & Sea Salt flavors are my absolute faves!), but their chocolate is certified organic and fair trade.  Yay for guilt-free chocolate consumption!   I have a few bars of Green & Black’s in my pantry, and, ahem, a bar on the coffee table that I may or may not be snacking on right this very second.

Green & Black’s Chocolate was kind enough to offer TWO prize packs – featuring 6 bars of chocolate (Almond, Dark 70%, Hazelnut & Currant, Milk, Mint and Toffee) and  a Green & Black’s tote bag.   See the above picture for your prize booty  -  Green & Black’s has agreed to swap in the Mint for the Cherry because it’s the holidays . Fun!

You want to win? You need to enter!

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Happy Monday, Noshers!  Hmm, I know “Monday” and “Happy” don’t always go together, but they do when it’s Day 3 of my 2012 Holiday Gift Guide + Giveaway extravaganza!  Today’s gift guide involved a challenge on my part – I was tasked by Whole Foods Market to create a unique “fish dish” in honor of the Southern Italian tradition of “The Feast of the Seven Fishes”!  Traditionally served on Christmas Eve, this luxurious meal usually features (you guessed it) seven different seafood dishes.

I have never had the opportunity to attend a traditional Feast of Seven Fishes meal (anyone having one and want to invite me? ).  However, armed with a $50 gift card provided by Whole Foods Market, I was eager to purchase some quality seafood for my own take on a fish dish:

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Welcome to Day 2 of the Big Apple Nosh 2012 Holiday Gift Guide + Giveaway!  Today I’m excited to share my second gift guide item with you – HelloFresh!  HelloFresh is a grocery delivery service specifically geared towards healthy cooking at home.  Each week, HelloFresh customers get a box chock full of fresh ingredients  AND recipe cards – enough to make three meals for two.  These recipes are meant for the busy professional – each takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, and are specially formulated by chefs working out of the kitchen at Aquavit (yum!).

I was really intrigued by the HelloFresh concept; it allows me to cook (which, ahem, I LOVE to do!) even when I don’t have time to shop for fresh ingredients after a long day at work.  Calorie counts are listed on each recipe card, and the meals are wholesome and healthy.  Additionally, the ingredients are all portioned out for you, making it even easier for you to get right to the cooking.  All the fun and minimal prep, sounds good to me!

HelloFresh provided me a with a box to review – when it arrived, the ingredients were clearly labeled by recipe and kept cool by ice packs: (more…)

Happy Thursday, Noshers, and welcome to our very first day (of seven) of giveaways!  I’m super excited to kick off this year’s holiday gift guide with Fatty Sundays & Co!  A family run business, Fatty Sundays caught my attention earlier this year, when I was doing some research on chocolate-covered pretzels (seriously, I don’t make this stuff up. Random, I know).   Now I’m guessing that many of you have had chocolate covered pretzels in some form or another – so what is it that makes Fatty Sundays‘ pretzels stand out?  It’s definitely the flavor combinations – old favorites such as PB&J and chocolate mint are re-invented in pretzel form, and the result is fun and novel, yet vaguely familiar.  After all, you may have had a PB&J before – but have you had a pretzel PB&J?

Photo of THE ROCKSTAR combo via  Fatty Sundays

Fatty Sundays provided me with a pack of their PB&J pretzels, as well as their chocolate sprinkle pretzel (with rainbow-colored nonpareils, yum!). I really liked what I tasted, so Fatty Sundays made the Gift Guide 2012 cut!   SO – you, lucky readers, have a chance to WIN the Fatty Sundays & Co ROCKSTAR combo pack – featuring Berry Granola (with a white chocolate base), Classic PB&J, Mocha ‘Spresso, and Smooth Mint!

For those living in NYC – (more…)

Happy Wednesday, Noshers!  I know, Wednesday sometimes gets a bad rap, smack dab in the middle of the work week.  Well, turn that frown upside down because I’ve been working hard these past few weeks on something for all of you, and today I finally get to share! It’s pretty much all in the title – that’s right; tomorrow I will be kicking off 7 DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS!  Get excited, y’all!

My cat is overflowing with excitement over these giveaways! Obviously.

This whole year, I’ve kept an eye out for my favorite food, dining, cooking and baking items – all with the intent of putting together an epic gift guide for you this holiday season.  For the past month, I’ve been working with various companies and vendors to secure my favorite products to give away to all of you.  These are items that I’ve personally tried, loved, and want to share with you – they would make great gifts to give to friends or loved ones, and great items for you to win!  Are you excited yet?

Because this is the first time I’ll be holding a week-long gift guide, I put together a list of FAQ so that we’re all on the same page.  So read them, study them and get ready to submit those entries starting tomorrow!

Some questions I know you’re dying to get the answers to… (more…)