Food Links Whidbey Island starts with a post from We Are Never Full. It is entitled “Carbonnade a la Flamande, or Beer: the New Hangover Cure.” Meats braised in ales of all kinds can be found throughout northern Europe, but nowhere else, perhaps, has the concept been raised to such a culinary pinnacle as in Flanders.  You can click here to read the post.

The Proud Italian Cook has a new recipe for Braised Artichokes. “I know spring is here because I see artichokes popping up all over in the stores. Artichokes happen to be one of my top 5 vegetables that I couldn’t live without! So with that being said, whenever I see them cooked a different way or a new recipe I haven’t tried, I’m all over it”!

This one just begs to be made. Italian Foodies gives us lasagna napoletana; with great instructions as usual.

This issue of Whidbey Island Food Links starts with a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen. Walnut Jam Cake looks to die for!

Italian foodies brings you a very famous but simple pasta dish called penne alla vodka.  LuCucina Limerick says that you shouldn’t be put off by the vodka, this is one of the nicest pastas there is. The flavor of this dish is rich, creamy and completely indulgent!

The Proud Italian Cook brings you Pesto Fish Roll-Ups and a Clafoutis. You can use sole, flounder, tilapia, or as in this case where she has used a pacific cod. You’ll have to go to her link, highlighted above, to find out about Clafoutis. It will be worth your time; pretty unique! Both are simple to make.

The last link is from The Wednesday Chef. She gives us Tesstaccio’s Gnocchi alla Romana and takes you through all of the steps. This is a meal for you and your friends; the recipe will serve 6.

Whidbey Island Food Links starts this week with another recipe from italian foodies. This week Lorraine shares a vegetarian item; spinach and beans with garlic and chilli; looks pretty nice! Lorraine uses her photos well and the recipes are easy to follow. It’s really good on bruschetta too or with some crusty bread, you decide!

Looking for some last minute Super Bowl snacks? These pizzettes should do the trick! The Proud Italian Cook gives us a simple look and if you are looking to do more here is a link to making a grilled pizza; it is a little larger and just as unique as you are.

The Smitten Kitchen has a “labor of love” in her ricotta muffins. She takes you through the steps to making a very fine muffin for you and your family.

This weeks Whidbey Island Food Links starts with parmesan cream crackers from the Smitten Kitchen. What makes a cracker a cracker? Plenty of good wit and photos to led you through the process.

Ravioli with Artichokes, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Peas in a Champagne Cream Sauce and it looks to die for. The Proud Italian Cook brings us a family Ravioli party; a pasta machine would come in handy. This is a step-by-step recipe with plenty of photos to help you along the way. Click here to find the recipe and the Proud Italian Cook.

More comfort food from Delicious Days entitled Cooking With the Guys. This is a recipe for Past’e lenticchie á la Claudio. You don’t have to have a pasta machine the chef gives you alternatives.

Culinary Travels of a Kitchen Goddess has a wonderful piece on Christmas. The first video is from 1984; Feed the World. Music artists have a way of painting a picture and this is done very well. She makes the comment that “Christmas is often seen as the time of excess and of great joy but it isn’t always that way for everyone – something the above music video brings home well.”  Click on the above photo for the video.

What struck me about her post was the fact that I have written articles about People Helping People and when I write about this topic I feel the emotion. Here is the link to her post; it talks about the Blogger Aid Cook Book. There is much to read and see and I hope that it stirs your emotions as well.

This is my first post on Whidbey Island Food Links; the links are not really from Whidbey Island. I’ve tried to put together a collection of great food blogs that we can all enjoy. If you know of one on Whidbey let me know with a comment.  The photo above is in Langley, Washington on Whidbey Island. Snow last year; this year nothing serious yet.

Italian foodies is one of my favorite links and this week LaCucina has put up a nice piece on the Holiday Season called “the tree is up.” Be sure to check out her home page; I think you’ll understand why this site is worth spending some time at.

The Proud Italian Cook has a little bit of comfort food for breakfast, Eggs al Forno, meaning cooked in the oven.

Grilled Lamb Kebabs + Tzatziki is a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen. This is a recipe born out of food cravings during pregnancy; Greek in particular.

Here is a recipe from Amy at We Are Never Full. Warm Buttered Pea, Potato, Herb and Prosciutto Salad. This blog covers the border-line food and drink obsession of two Brooklynites (Amy’s American, Jonny’s English) with anecdotes and recipes from their weeknight meals at home, special occasion dinners out, and vacations studiously built around the search for the authentic, the fresh, and the delicious.