Great Father's Day Gift Idea's

According to Wikipedia Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, and special dinners to fathers and family-oriented activities. The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on July 5, 1908 in a church located in Fairmont, West Virginia, by Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia at the Central United Methodist Church of Fairmont. Mysecretpantry.com would like to suggest a few gift ideas for your Dad.


The Pigtail Flipper has a sharp, spiral snare at the tip is cleverly designed to lightly pierce the edge of virtually any solid food for turning. A quick flip of the wrist and your food is turned to the other side. This is a 2 piece set features the 19" Pig Tail which is great at the BBQ and also handles indoor cooking tasks with ease. The 12" Baby Pig Tail is a wizard at the stovetop. Use it for sautéing, griddle work, and in the wok. Makes a great gift for the "Master Chef".

The Outset Digital Remote Meat Thermometer has two probes allowing you to monitor one or two items at the same time enabling you to create two separate levels of doneness. You can also cook to 2 differing levels of doneness on one food product. This digital cooking thermometer with two probes cook’s meats according to your taste level - from rare to well done - without the guesswork.

Bon Jour's best frother, now ready at all times. With the rechargeable
BonJour Primo Latte™ Frother there is no need to replace batteries again. Features a rechargeable base for easy countertop access.If your espresso maker doesn’t froth milk, you can still make creamy lattes and cappuccinos with this hand-held frother from BonJour.




The Margaritaville Tahiti let's you blend 3 separate 24-ounce frozen drinks so you can offer your party guests a variety of perfectly blended drinks in a flash. Simple to use and easy to drink. Just fill the extra-large hopper with ice, pour your ingredients into one of the blending jars, and press one of the six automated drink settings. That’s all it takes! The pre-programmed settings will shave the ice and blend the perfect Margaritas, Daiquiris, Coladas, Mudslides, Mojitos and Smoothies every time. It does all the work, and you get all the credit!

New All Natural Flavored Cane Sugars

Just a quick update to let you all know about an exciting new product line we just added to our store. Essential Cane™ has created a new and innovated assortment of flavored cane sugars produced without preservatives, additives, essential oils, or artificial colors or flavors. Essential Cane™ bonds natural, evaporated cane sugar that is pure and unrefined with exciting real flavors of Italian espresso beans, toasted sweet onions, Korintje cinnamon, whole fruit, berries, lemon and lime all with no extracts or colorings.

Available flavors are Blueberry, Cinnamon, Clove, Dark Cocoa, Espresso, Ginger, Green Chili, Habanero, Lemon, Lime, Raspberry, Sweet Onion, Tangerine and Vanilla Bean.

These flavors are wonderful for everything to rimming a glass of your favorite drink, to cakes, cookies and brownies. Perfect for creating quick and easy sauces for ham, seafood's, poultry, beef and even vegetables.

We have had the opportunity to use many of these flavors in our test kitchen and have yet to create anything that wasn't quick, easy and delicious. For a simple sauce we combined a little white wine, water and the Tangerine Flavored Cane sugar in a sauce pan and reduced that by half. When then finished it with a little butter. We grilled up some scallops on the BBQ and poured the sauce right over the top. We think the highlight of this sauce was that it wasn't overly sweet and had a great burst of citrus flavor which is a fabulous compliment on just about any seafood. Next time we are going to sauté in a little diced Jalapeño in our sauce for just a bit of heat. The uses for these wonderful flavored sugars are truly limited only by your imagination.

To learn more about these exciting new product simply click on the link. Cane Essentials™

Get Ready Now for the Perfect Valentine Brunch

The kids can help with this easy Valentine brunch. But you must order now to get your shipment by Valentine's Day. The Kalorik Heart Waffle maker makes perfect, heart-shaped golden waffles (6" diameter.)

The Kalorik Heart Waffle maker is so easy to use, it's child's play. A green light comes on when the unit is done preheating. Add waffle batter and the green light will come back on when the waffles are ready to serve.

Put the golden waffle on a red plate, add ¼ cup of cherry pie filling on top and dollop with whipped cream for a real Valentine surprise for your sweetie! Making whipped cream is a snap with the rechargeable BonJour Primo Latte™ Frother. It's great for mixing whipping cream.

For a little something special, get a bottle of champagne from your Bon Jour™ Seven Bottle Wine Cooler. It keeps champagnes chilled to the perfect serving temperature. Add orange juice to a ¾-full glass of the bubbly for a traditional Mimosa. Or pour peach juice instead for a heavenly Bellini to accompany your heart-shaped waffles.

Kalorik Heart Waffle maker has six temperature settings to control desired doneness. The unit has decorative stainless plate for the top cover as well as a base with nonskid pads and cord storage.

* Overheat safety protection / Cord storage at the bottom
* Makes perfect heart-shaped golden waffles (6'' diameter)
* Six temperature settings control desired crispness
* Non-stick coated cooking plate
* FDA approved coating

Order your Kalorik Heart Waffle maker now at http://www.mysecretpantry.com/prodinfo.asp?number=KWM17885

4 Kitchen Appliances to Help You Make for a Healthy 2009

If your New Year resolution has to do with improving your health for 2009, then you'll want to check out these four healthy kitchen appliances. The Healthy Kitchen brand of high performance appliances was developed by world-famous Dr. Andrew Weil.

Andrew Weil, MD is a national best-selling author of Eating Well for Optimum Health, and The Healthy Kitchen. Dr. Weil is an internationally-recognized expert on integrative medicine and medicinal plants. He designed the following four Healthy Kitchen appliances for your healthy living.

1.) The Healthy Kitchen Power Blender's powerful 600 watts allows you to make everything from smoothies to pureed baby foods. It crushes ice, makes drinks, purees vegetables, makes salad dressings, purees hot soups and sauces and helps in the preparation of other recipes that call for blending. The pulse setting is perfect for crushing ice and other hard items such as cheese and spices.

2.) Enjoy the benefits of wholesome grain with Dr. Weil's Multi-Use Rice Cooker. The three functions make for perfectly prepared white, brown, and quick rice. The steamer basket allows you to steam vegetables or make a full combination meal. This Multi-Use Rice Cooker has an automatic timer, a keep-warm indicator, and a reheat function. The delayed timer will make sure that your rice, soup or stew is ready for you the minute you walk in the door.

3.) Dr Weil's Healthy Kitchen Professional Juice Extractor enables you to have 82% more juice extraction for apples and 15% more juice for other fruits and vegetables. Full of vitamins and minerals, fresh fruits will add to your health in 2009. Once the fruits and vegetables are juiced, the pulp remains. This pulp contains fiber and cellulose that can be used to thicken stews and soups or added to sauces for additional flavor and nutrients. Yum!

4.) The Healthy Kitchen 2-Tier Electronic Steamer has two levels to conveniently prepare two foods at once. With an automatic timer and stay-warm feature, Dr. Weil's sensational steamer comes complete with instructional booklet and healthy cooking charts for rice and grains, vegetables, fish and seafood, meat, eggs and more. Dr. Weil advises on his website: "No matter how you cook vegetables you're likely to lose some nutrients. A study published in the November 2003 issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that broccoli cooked in the microwave lost up to 97 percent of its antioxidant content but lost only 11 percent when it was steamed. Another study showed that spinach cooked in the microwave retained nearly all its folate but lost about 77 percent of this nutrient when cooked on the stove. (I imagine it was over cooked. I like to steam-fry spinach for just a few minutes until it is bright green and just wilted.)"

Delicious healthy food recipes developed by Dr. Weil are included in the instructional booklet of each Healthy Kitchen appliance. Pick any one of these four appliances to make for a healthier 2009.

Enhance the Tastes of the Season with Natural Rubs and Seasonings

It's easy to put a modern twist on traditional foods with today's natural rubs and seasonings. Gather your friends and family around the table to enjoy the special foods that the season affords.

1.) A New Twist for Squashes
Fresh white squash, zucchini or acorn squash are sensational when grilled or baked, and taste even more fabulous when rubbed with Nantucket Off-Shore Garden Rub 1.0 oz Tin —a minty Mediterranean mélange flecked with fennel and red pepper.

2.) Carmel Apple in a Cup: the New Apple Cider
Caramel is the perfect flavor partner for autumn's apple cider. With Minglir's Flavored Drink Sticks Caramel 30 per container, you simply stir in the caramel flavor-coated stick allowing the seasoning to melt into your cup of cider. No mess, no fat, and no added sugar. Just a perfect apple cider. Be sure to taste your beverage once or twice as you stir to control the level of flavoring. Once the taste is just right, discard the Minglir caramel flavoring stick.

3.) The Unexpected Turkey
A succulent roast turkey is always a favorite for the hoidays. But why not spice up Grandma's recipe with Big Acres® Perfect Poultry Spice & Rub? This aromatic blend is a perfect compliment to your turkey, duck, Cornish game hens, chicken or quail… and veggies too!

4.) Wild Game and Poultry
A successful hunting season means fun sauces, stews and rustic country roasts. The Mediterranean Coast Gift Pack contains the Tuscan Villa rub which blends herbs of the region and adds tremendous flavor to your wild game, or use as a dry rub on pork roasts or poultry.

5.) Football Fest Favorite: Buffalo Wings made Easy
With Flavor Magic Zesty Buffalo Wing Seasoning Sheets -- not only can you bring this legendary dish home -- but now you can trim the fat while enhancing the entire flavor. Try it with chicken tenders, pork or shrimp, for a low-fat, no fuss alternative to common wings. Or, turn an ordinary hamburger into a Buffalo Burger with no effort.

All-natural, aged red pepper is the secret ingredient and the favor is authentic and vibrant… with just the right amount of heat. Simply lay the seasoning sheet on a plate, place your wings on the sheet, wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Then grill, broil or bake! 12 sheets per package.

Uncommon Wine Tours Make Great Holiday Gifts

We all think of Napa and Sonoma as the consummate in the wine cellar experience. However, you needn't travel far to find a unique tasting experience. Excellent grapes may be growing in your own backyard. Here are a few of the unusual winery experiences available to you.

The good life: Cruise Tour of California Wine Country
Enjoy evening views of San Francisco's city lights as you float past the city of love aboard your small cruise ship. But don't leave your heart there because you'll cruise far up the Napa River where the next day you'll be escorted to frequent tastings. You'll savor premier Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Francs, Pinot Noirs as well as reserve bruts from the best known wineries in California. With wine experts on board, CruiseWest offers wine country tours that make your getaway memorable for years to come

Before you sail, check out My Secret Pantry's Deluxe Wine Cellar/Cooler 7 Bottle Capacity. The Bon Jour™ Seven Bottle Wine Cooler is designed to keep wines at the perfect serving temperature. Featuring stainless steel door panels and thermoelectric convection cooling system, temperature is controlled by dual fans that circulate air for even cooling of the irresistible wine from your wine country cruise.

Wine tasting in the Great White North?
On any given Sunday you can get away from the bustling city of Toronto with a SUNDAY BRUNCH ESCAPE. Your personal tour guide whisks you off to hidden wineries that you are sure to enjoy. Next choose from a delicious brunch at Queenston Heights Restaurant located on top of the Niagara Escarpment or a romantic brunch at the famous Betty Restaurant in Niagara Falls. After brunch you travel to two more award-winning wineries in Niagara Wine Country for private wine tasting before departing. Sip, swirl and savor!

Romantic Train Ride through Canadian Vineyards
The SUNDAY BRUNCH ESCAPE package is also available by train from Toronto. Opt to return to Toronto via romantic rail. When you get back home with your favorite bottles, make sure you have the Wine Saver HOME® Wine Preservation System set up and waiting. The Wine Saver HOME® is the first multi-bottle preserve-and-serve wine system that will dispense wine at its peak freshness—ensuring the integrity of your wine for weeks at a time using Argon gas.

Ride the Iowa Wine Trail
The Iowa Wine Trail In the upper Mississippi valley wine region, celebrates November Holiday Wine & Food with tickets for $20 dollars per day. Good for either Saturday or Sunday and provide access to as many as five wineries on one of the weekend days. Sip wines such as the White Schoolhouse, a crisp refreshing white stirring up memories of lemon custard and finishing on subtle sweet peach and tangerine notes. Or stop at Two Saints Winery where they believe that wine is good for the soul.

And although Iowa is no where near the balmy islands, don't forget to pack your Picnic at Ascot Bahamas Sunset Wine Carrier, a state-of-the-art Thermal Shield™ insulation cooler that keeps your wine at the perfect temperature. The wine glass compartment is perfect to hold a second bottle of your favorite Iowan wine.

Virginia: The "I Love Lucy Wine Experience"
A happy weekend escape from Washington DC, this may be our favorite Uncommon Wine Tour. You may add it on to any Virginia Wine Country Tour group package. Remember that classic scene when Lucy crawls into a wine barrel to crush grapes? Now you can too! Take off your shoes, climb into the wine barrel and learn the art of crushing grapes between your toes. Stock up now on the "Wine Away Red Stain Remover."

Five Benefits to Infrared Cooking

Start enjoying these five benefits of healthy, fat-free infrared cooking now:

1. Cook the inside of your food without burning the outside

Infrared ovens and infrared grills use safe infrared technology to cook food faster and thoroughly without generating the high heat that triggers unhealthy results. (Recently, the American Institute for Cancer Research reported that high-heat grilling and broiling causes red meat, poultry and fish to produce higher levels of cancer-causing compounds.)

2. Infrared cooking requires no additional fats or oils

When preparing poultry, meats, pork, and more, infrared cooking requires no additional fats or oils making it the ultimate heating source for preparing healthy and delicious meals.

3. Seal in natural juices and enhance your food’s organic flavor

Infrared heat is the secret cooking heat used by five-star restaurants around the world. Infrared heat molecularly warms food from the outside-in thus browning or even-baking foods.

Infrared energy does not dry out your food. Infrared cooking actually drives moisture deep into the food being roasted or grilled. This flavor-enhancing process creates a succulence that is difficult to replicate with conventional grilling, baking or roasting methods.

4. Save time for less-stress meal preparation with infrared cooking

Infrared ovens can cook up to 50% faster, saving up to 75% energy, with no defrosting and no preheating. Save additional time because you no longer preheat your oven or grill. Infrared ovens save you time for defrosting: simply place the frozen meat inside the oven and the unique system starts cooking frozen food immediately. Many infrared ovens are designed to be dishwasher safe for easy clean up saving you more time. Less stress IS more healthy!

5. Scientific findings report infrared heating more healthful

Science News recently reported that a Korean team of food scientists completed a comparative study between conventional oven and infrared heating. The group compared green tea leaves that were roasted and dried using conventional oven heating with leaves heated by infrared irradiation.

"The Korean team has shown for the first time that a tea's concentrations of antioxidants and a host of other desirable chemicals are higher when roasting is done with FIR. Drying leaves with FIR, however, tended to diminish those chemicals." writes Janet Raloff in her Science News report.

The Korean team concludes that infrared roasting "could be a useful method for increasing the health-promoting properties of green tea."

If infrared heating increases the health-promoting properties of green tea, just think what healthful benefits infrared heating can lend to your family's food.