Monday, May 10, 2010

Melba Toast mmmm mmmm Good

Now that I am on the road to recovery from having my Appendix removed a month and a half ago.  I started thinking about how I can change up my snacks.  Well I remembered these snacks my mom used to buy when I was in high school.  I remembered the Melba toast snacks my mom would get and she would make something to eat with them.  Then I was asked to do a blog about Melba Toast from MOm central and they sent me some melba snacks to test out.  Well anyway, I looked up the melba toast website to get some snack ideas and VOILA!  I found lots of healthy eating tips and recipes.  First I will give you the link to the website so you can go check it out.  While you are there you can enter the Dance your way to Hollywood sweepstakes from the website  http://www.toastforeverydayhealth.com/
Dance Your Way to Hollywood” will send one lucky winner and a guest to Tinseltown for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, including private dance lessons and tickets to watch the taping of a highly popular television show. The four-day, three-night, all-expenses-paid experience includes air travel and accommodations at a popular Hollywood hotel. Sweepstakes entries accepted March 17 through June 30, 2010.

You totally have to go enter that website so you can Dance your way to Hollywood.  Or Better yet you can check out the recipes like Chocolate Pistacio Crunch:
Chocolate Pistachio Crunch
Melba Snacks Sea Salt Yields 40
• 4 cups (2-12-oz. pkg.) of semi sweet chocolate dark chips (not milk chocolate) • 1 box Melba Snacks Sea Salt • 1 cup of pistachios, chopped and toasted
1. Stir chocolate in large bowl set over saucepan of boiling water until melted and smooth making sure that water does not touch bowl and that the chocolate does not get too hot.
2. Remove from over water. 3. Dip into melted chocolate to cover half the Melba Snack. 4. Gently shake off excess chocolate. 5. Place on baking sheet and quickly sprinkle with chopped pistachios. 6. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

Lemon Meringue Tarts
Melba Snacks Whole Grain Yields ~24 tarts
• 1 box of Melba Snacks Whole Grain • Lemon Curd • Meringue
For Lemon Curd Yield: 2 cups • 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest • 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice • 1 cup sugar • 3 large eggs • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1. Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan.
2. Add butter all at once and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 10 minutes.
3. Immediately pour curd through a fine sieve into a bowl, then chill, covered.
For Meringue • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature 30 minutes • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1. Beat whites with cream of tartar using an electric mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks.
2. Increase speed to high and add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until meringue just holds stiff, glossy peaks.
Assemble Tarts 1. Spoon cold lemon curd in a large zip lock bag and remove any air pockets; knead slightly.
2. Cut one corner tip off the bag which allows you to squeeze the cold curd onto the toast.
3. Gently squeeze the lemon curd bag onto the toast making sure to have a smooth, flat top.
4. Add a dollop of meringue decoratively over the filling.
5. Immediately bake until meringue is golden- brown, 8-10 minutes.

And as always I wrote  this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Old London Melba Toast and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate. www.momcentral.com