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Cordie Cake’s, A Lifestyle Power Brand

The news team at PPLmag is always on the look out for the next great sweet treat. This month, we place the spotlight on Cordie Cake’s. the owner and her branded sweet pound cakes are the hit “sweet treat” among many celebrities in tinsel town. Cordia Wright has perfected the classic pound cake. Each inspired creation is perfectly moist with just the right amount of buttery flavor, sweetness and unforgettably smooth texture. Underneath a delectable crust is a tender and fragrant bundt cake - light enough to melt in your mouth.

The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home

When you think of the most delicious and fresh gelato and sorbetto in America, you are craving Ciao Bella. The premier gelato and sorbetto maker in the country may be known for using the world’s finest ingredients—Sicilian lemons, Valrhona chocolate, Louisiana pralines—but you don’t need to travel the globe to experience the bold flavors yourself. All you need is a handful of simple, fresh ingredients; a standard ice cream machine; and your imagination. The magic of this book is that once you learn how to make just one easy custard or simple syrup base, you can dream up an infinite number of flavors. In addition to being able to re-create Ciao Bella’s award-winning favorites, like Key Lime with Graham Cracker Gelato or Hazelnut Biscotti Gelato, you’ll be able to invent your own combina­tions and mix and match more than 100 unbeliev­ably indulgent frozen desserts.

Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking

Americans have fallen in love with Italian regional food, from the casual fare of Tuscan trattorias to the more refined creations of high-end Piedmontese restaurants, from Sicily’s wonderful desserts to Emilia-Romagna’s superb cheeses and cured meats. Rustico is the first American book to explore the remarkable breadth of these richly varied cuisines, devoting equal attention to each of Italy’s twenty regions. This includes thorough treatment of such places as Val d’Aosta, high in the Alps, whose fare is an intriguing mix of northern Italian, French, and Swiss influences: truffled fondue or grappa-spiked venison stew will transport you to the slopes of Monte Bianco. Or Trentino–Alto Adige, with the southernmost German-speaking towns in Europe, for goulasch and spaetzle. Or the scorched southern regions like Basilicata, known for their spicy dishes; the Veneto, with the aromatic foods that are a legacy of Venice’s reign as the spice capital; or Sardinia, with its Spanish-inflected cuisine.

Thai Food and Cooking: A Fiery and Exotic Cuisine: The Traditions, Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes

Thai cuisine is becoming one of the most popular ways of eating. This book not only has 150 fragrant recipes to try, but includes fascinating information about the history and traditions of this rich culture.

Rose's Heavenly Cakes

It’s been 21 years since Rose Levy Beranbaum published The Cake Bible. With its meticulous instructions, measurements provided in both volume and weight, and detailed explanations of culinary chemistry, Beranbaum’s Bible ratcheted up home baking from cozy Fannie Farmer and the quick and easy mix mentality to near professional levels with such extravagant eye-poppers as The Enchanted Forest -- a chocolate ganache-filled sponge roll studded with cocoa meringue sticks.  The recipes in Rose’s Heavenly Cakes are a bit less fancy and buttercream-dependant than those in The Cake Bible, but no less tempting. There are confections with longer shelf lives, including a delicious, delicate Orange-Glow Chiffon Cake, and the spectacular Deep Chocolate Passion Wedding Cake, a multi-day project that features her new ultra-shiny chocolate lacquer glaze (made with gelatin).Several recipes are moistened with a syrup infusion after baking. These include English Gingerbread, rare for its inclusion of whole wheat flour, and an invitingly simple

New York is know for the best in restaurant. One great FAB FOOD places to keep in mind in Ed’s Lobster. The owner Ed comes from humble beginnings. He started his career working in Staten Island pizzeria kitchens. Then Ed moved on to work in some of New York's most esteemed restaurants. He graduated from the French Culinary Institute in 1995 and quickly began learning from some of New York's best, including Sotha Kuhn at Le Cirque and Dave Pasternak at Terence Brennan's Picholine. As he began to master cooking techniques, he became drawn to the delicateness and simplicity of seafood and eventually settled down at West Village mainstay Pearl Oyster Bar, where he worked as sous chef for over six years and deepened his knowledge of New England cuisine and Northeast seafood culture.

In 2007, Ed's long-awaited dream became a reality. Ed's Lobster Bar is the culmination of his years of study and apprenticeship combined with his family food experiences and dedication to garden fresh produce. Using his own home-grown vegetables and herbs in the summer months and drawing from his Italian heritage for specials like lobster meatballs, Ed has created a truly unique spin on New England seafood.

Power-Up at www.lobsterbarnyc.com.

CaBoom! Black Bean & Corn Gourmet Salsa

Caboom! Black Bean and Corn Gourmet Salsa. Rich Black Beans and the flavor of sweet corn combine with our famous recipe to create a salsa beyond comparison. The Caboom. Salsas are extremely versatile as a cooking ingredient as well. Use to make a quick pot of chili or for a savory Chicken Tortilla soup. Ingredients: Tomatoes, Black Beans, Onions, Corn, Jalapenos, Turbinado Sugar, Vinegar, Garlic, Salt, Spices.

Once again our FAB FOOD reporters have place the power spotlight on a great cookie company that is moving and shaking with vegan cookies. The good news, every cookies flavor we tasted was really good. These cookies were created out of a sense of love and respect for all creatures. From the oneness and grace of life the recipes were given as a gift in loving support of all beings and the planet itself. In our hearts we know it is our duty to respect and care for this planet and our living family. We give thanks for all we have been given. Together there is no limit to what we can achieve; all the things we hold dear are within our reach. Power-Up link into the world of Uncle Eddie’s Vegan Cookies at http://uncleeddiesvegancookies.com/

Rossi Pasta has a new brand of pasta out called “ Pasta Fresco” designed in a charming new fresco box with a fitting backdrop to four of their most colorful flavors of quick-cooking, all-natural pasta. Artfully designed, it doubles as a wine carrier for your next afternoon picnic. This pasta is a great attractive gift to give to family, friend and business colleagues who love pasta. Power-Up with Pasta Fresco from Rossi Pasta at www.rossipasta.com/Pasta_Fresco_P138C13.cfm

Bella's Sweet Pumpkin Pesto is a delicious filling for homemade ravioli, or use in the recipe on the jar for Sweet Pumpkin and Sage Risotto. Made from pumpkin, sweet potato, orange juice, onions, brown sugar, butter, sage and spices-this Sweet Pumpkin Pesto is stupendous! Each jar of Sweet Pumpkin Pesto by Bella Cucina contains 6 ounces (169 gr.). Power-Up with them at http://www.cybercucina.com/ccdocs/products/PP926.html

Finally in the 21st century, it's again becoming acceptable to treat fine coffees like you would fine wines. Enjoy a cup of single-origin, fair-trade brew after a gourmet meal, and spend up to $10 on a single cup. It's worth the price. These beans come from specific regions and are prized for their unique characteristics. What consumers buy into is the quality and, in most cases, the story behind the cup.

Take Sanani Coffee, a single-origin original Mocha coffee straight from the arid region of Yemen where coffee was born. Up until the seventeenth century, the Middle East was the only place coffee was actually grown and cultivated. Tariq Ausaf discovered this fact and recognized the value in re-introducing the original mocha bean to America – and thus Sanani was born.

"We've successfully captured the sophisticated flavor that put Mocha on the map centuries ago, and when you consider the fact that a part of the American Constitution was contemplated over this very same coffee, it's like drinking a rich flavorful cup of history," Ausaf says.

This original mocha bean was the first to be introduced to the Parisian elite in 1669 by the visiting Turkish ambassador to France. And this very coffee led to the opening of the first truly French coffee house, Café Procope.

Sanani's beans are still cultivated and processed in the exact same way they were centuries ago. No chemicals or pesticides are used in its cultivation, and due to the primitive growing process this coffee finds itself way ahead of the organic race in its organic purity – not by choice, but by chance. It's the intrinsic value of quality like this that makes price merely a number.

Other world-class beans making a name for themselves are: St. Helena Coffee, which Napoleon Bonaparte became a fan of during his exile to the island where the coffee is exclusively grown, Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee which is grown only in the shade of Panama's Guava trees, and the infamous Kopi Luwak which gets its flavor from being eaten and excreted by a civet. "As for enjoying luxury coffees" Ausaf explains, "there is nothing like starting your day with an extraordinary cup of delicious coffee and enjoying the privilege of uncommon choices." Sanani, the Original Mocha coffee retails for $24 for an 8.8 oz box and can be purchased at www.sanani.com

The Power Player Lifestyle baker is always open to what’s new, combining the right ingredients as one to ensure her clients enjoy each bite of Cordie Cake’s specialty treats, cupcakes and yummy sweet cakes. Celebrity fans include Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Martin Lawrence, David James Elliott, the Jackson Family, and a host of other high-profile entertainment clients including Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, Marvel, and Fox. Power-Up with Cordie Cake at www.cordiecakes.com