COOKING TIP: Using Jalapeno Peppers

There is no way to determine the heat of any Jalapeno pepper by appearance. However, red peppers tend to be less hot than green ones. when cooking with Jalapenos, always taste the ones you are using and adjust the amount you use according to individual pepper's heat.

COOKING TIP: "Splatter Proof" Pan Frying

To avoid fat from cooking steaks, hamburgers, etc. from splattering all over your stove top, when cooking in a dry pan, dust the bottom of the pan with flour, shaking out any excess. The flour will absorb the fat rendered from the meat, significantly or completely preventing splatter.in a dry pan

FOOD HISTORY: Croquembouche

Croquembouche, meaning, "crunch in the mouth", is a traditional French festive (weddings, baptismals, 1st communions, etc.) cake, made of profiteroles (cream puffs) filled with pastry or whipped cream (Creme Chantilly) that are formed into a pyramid/cone  shape by being "glued" together with caramel, drizzled with more caramel, and decorated with sugared Almonds, Hazelnuts, chocolate or ribbons. The cake had it's origin in the fanciful, edible architectural structures prepared for French Royalty and Nobility called Pieces Montees. Credit for creating Croquembouche goes to the great French Pastry Chef, Antoine Careme (1784-1833), who made spectacular structures out of spun sugar, marzipan, nougatine and other sweet ingredients. Careme was a student of architecture, admiring classical buildings and studying architectural masterpieces of ancient Rome and Greece. His architectural interest and knowledge was used to create his Pieces Montees; Croquembouche was one of these in which he made a tower of cream puffs. His original tower was in the shape of a Turkish hat called a Fez, but, later, was transformed into a cone shape. Careme could not have conceived of his creation if it were not for Catherine of Medici, an Italian noblewoman who married the future King Henry II of France in 1547. When Catherine came to France from Italy, she brought her Chefs with her. Her Pastry Chef, named Panterelli, brought with him a recipe for a hot, dried dough known as Pate a Panterelli. Over the next centuries, Panterelli's dough was modified by French Pastry Chefs and, eventually, changed into a dough known as Pate a Choux (pastry of cabbages) because baked bits of this dough puffed up into hollow pastry shells resembling cabbages.  Puffs made from this dough were filled with all kinds of sweet and savory fillings. In 1760, French Pastry Chef Avice filled Pate a Choux with pastry cream and called them Profiteroles. After the many historical transformations in this pastry from Pate a Panterelli to Pate a Choux to Profiteroles, in the late 18th century, Careme took Profiteroles to greater  heights by using them to create his famous dessert, Croquembouche. Croquembouche is as dazzling a dessert today as it was in the time of Careme.

THINGS I LIKE: Pat LeMay's Shortbread.

When I retired and moved to Red Bank, NJ  from Cincinnati, OH,  Pat LeMay became my next door neighbor. Pat comes from a Scottish backround (Clan Napier) and  bakes Shortbread* as part of her family tradition. The family tradition is to bake Shortbread only for funerals and at Christmas. Pat has become a great friend as well as a neighbor. Fortunately for me, I never had to have Shortbread baked for me  for the first of Pat's family traditions but have been the recipient of her delicious Shortbread for the past several Christmases. I would like to share her recipe with you. The family recipe, which came from Paisley, Scotland and was brought to the U.S on the ship, "New Caledonia"in 1930, follows:

Pat LeMay's Shortbread

1 pound butter
1C sugar
4C flour

In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar and one cup of flour..Work in remaining flour, one cup at a time, until the consistency of pie dough is reached  and shape into a ball.

Press dough into an ungreased "sided" cookie sheet until the pan is full. Prick all over with a fork, a process called,"docking".

Bake at 325F for one hour. Remove from oven and slice into pieces in the pan. Let cool in pan before removing.

Pat's Tips for Perfect Shortbread

Bake using a new cookie sheet or one that is used ONLY for Shortbread.
Bake on middle oven rack.
Bake only one batch at a time.

If you don't follow the rules, it won't come out right.

*Shortbread is a crumbly textured cookie of Scottish origin that evolved from  medieval bisquit bread; a yeast raised, twice baked bread, dusted with sugar and spices and allowed to harden. Eventually, butter (shortening) replaced yeast. The high butter to flour ratio in Shortbread retards gluten formation; short strands of proteins in flour which bind together to form long strands. Keeping the protein strands short results in a tender rather than a tough dough; hence, "shortbread". Originally, Shortbread was classified as a bisquit but this classification was opposed, vigorously, by early Shortbread bakers to avoid paying a government tax on bisquits. THE BAKERS WON!!! Scottish Shortbread is the forerunner of all subsequent butter cookies. As opposed to the Napier family tradition of when Shortbread is baked, other Scottish families bake them for weddings, New Years Eve and other festive occasions.

FOOD TRIVIA: Olive Oil

In spite of what one might think (Italy), 70% of the world's olive oil is produced in Greece.

COOKING TIP: Carving Poultry

It is much easier to carve the breast of poultry (chicken, turkey, etc) if you remove the wishbone before starting to carve the bird.

FOOD HISTORY: Danish Pastry

Danish pastry is a sweet pastry made from yeast dough rolled with butter in many layers, baked in many shapes and frequently filled with pastry cream, preserves, nuts, cheese or custard. It evolved and was perfected in Denmark but with a very great assist from Austria via France and Italy. Danish pastry dough is a variation of the French invented Puff Pastry (see Post 6/9/2011) The French baker who invented Puff Pasrty took his invention to Italy where it was called, "folded pastry". Italian bakers took this 'folded" pastry making technique to Austria. When a strike by pastry workers in Copenhagen, Denmark went on for a long time, Danish  bakery owners requested help from bakers in other countries to fulfill their customer's needs. Much of this help came from Viennesse bakery workers who came to Copenhagen for work. Danish bakers, inspired by the Viennese bakers, began to develop their own "layered" technique using rich Danish butter. When their own dough was perfected, they continued to invent multiple shapes for these pastries and added a variety of fillings to be encased within them. To show their gratitude to the Viennesse for their contribution to the invention of Danish Pastry, these pastries were, and still are, called, "Wienerbrod" (Vienna Bread) in Denmark. These pastries were introduced into the United States in 1915 by a Danish baker, named L.C. Klitteng, who baked them for President Woodrow Wilson's wedding. Later, Klitteng successfully encouraged Herman Gertner, the owner of a chain of restaurants in N.Y,  to serve his pastries in the Gertner restaurants. Gertner did this and the pastries became an instant success. These pastries, originating in Denmark as "Vienna Bread", now are eaten and enjoyed around the world and are called by their English designation "Danish Pastry".

COOKING TIP: Brining a Turkey

I am writing this post so that the information will be available for all to take advantage of  in time for Thanksgiving. While this information is given for turkey, brining can be used for other poultry, pork and some fish and shrimp (see below). Brining is a method which both  seasons the turkey and keeps the meat moist after cooking. The process consists of submerging the bird in a liquid to which salt and sugar have been added and leaving it there for several hours. Liquids used can be as simple as water but apple or other fruit juice, stock, etc. can be used, as well. Herbs, spices, fruit peels or other flavorings can be added to the brine to enhance flavor. The brining process  forces the salt/sugar solution to enter the cells of the turkey because of the higher concentration of these substances contained in the brine on the outside of the bird. This happens by a process called osmosis. As these elements enter the turkey they bring water in with them. While the salt/sugar mixture seasons the turkey, the salt also unravels the meat proteins. The unraveled proteins interact with each other, forming a matrix which holds moisture. On heating, this matrix gels, forming a barrier which keeps the moisuture from leaking out as the turkey cooks. Thus, the brining process leads to a well seasoned and moist cooked turkey.

BASIC BRINE

1/2 C Diamond Kosher salt*
1/2 C sugar ( white or light brown)
1 quart of liquid

Prepare enough brine to completely submuege the turkey.

* Salt: Use only kosher salt or table salt without any additives. However, different salts do not have the same saltiness when measured by volume due to the differences in the crystal size and configuration of the particular salt used. Therefore, 1 C of table salt = 1.5 C of Morton's Kosher salt = 2 C of Diamond Kosher salt. Adjust Basic Brine amounts, according to which salt you are using.

The brine can be place into large turkey cooking bags, or any container large enough to hold the turkey plus the brine.  If using bags, compress to make sure the brine is in contact with all surfaces of the turkey. If using other containers, make sure that a weight is placed on top of the bird to keep it covered with the brine. The turkey must be kept cold during the brining process by refrigeration or by being kept in an insulated container covered with ice.

Brine for at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

Additional information about brining can be found at the following sites:

virtualweberbullet,.com/brining
cooksillustrated.com/images

FOOD TRIVIA: Taste Test: The Nose Knows!

An apple, onion and potato all have the same taste; the difference in the flavors is caused by their smell. Skeptical?  To prove, pinch your nose and take a bite from each; they all taste sweet.

THINGS I LIKE: Peg Edwards' Cream of Broccoli Soup

This is the first of my new postings under the heading of,"THINGS  I LIKE:" In this case, it, is a thing I like to eat  that brings back happy memories of an event from my past.

When I lived in Cincinnati, we had a community group, The Howell-Whitfield Neighborhood Association, a group of friends who got together to address neighborhood issues. Through this activity, we became close friends who got together for social events, as well; our favorite being spontaneous Pot Luck dinners. A member would call the others saying ,"I will have a Pot Luck on ....at...." Everyone who was available showed up with whatever they prepared or had available. We always ate well at our Pot Lucks but one stands out - of eight dishes that were brought, seven were soups. Among the soups, Peg's  Cream of Broccoli Soup was the best - creamy and broccolicious! We were startled by the simplicity of the recipe, which follows.

PEG'S CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

3 cans Campbell's Chicken Broth
1 can water
2 - 8 oz packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 20 oz bag of frozen Broccoli flowerettes

PREPARATION

Bring broth/water to a boil.
Pulse broccoli flowerettes in food processor until coarsely chopped (process more or less, depending on whether you want the final consistancy of the soup to be chunky or very smooth) .
Add to broth/water and boil for four minutes.
Put 1/2 cup of soup and one package of cream cheese into a blender and blend until smooth.
Repeat with another 1/2 cup of broth and the second package of cream cheese.
Mix blended soup with remaining soup, bring to heat and serve.

THE FOODIES COMMENTS

I find that the addition of several grinds of freshly ground black pepper enhances the flavor, significantly.

This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. to give you the amount of soup you need for a crowd.

THE FOODIES' COMPANION welcomes you to share a "THING I LIKE:' on nthis blog site.














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THINGS I LIKE: Fern Allison's Chicken and Noodles

My mother-in--law  Fern Allison, whose roots were in West Virginia and Ohio, was a cook who made simple, hearty and delicious country dishes. Her Chicken and Noodles was the dish that introduced this Brooklyn boy to this kind of cooking and it became one of my favorites. I offer her recipe to you (with some of my suggestions at the end) for your enjoyment.

PREPARATION OF CHICKEN

1 roasting chicken or stewing hen, 4-5 lbs  
4 carrots, rough cut
2 medium onions, cut in 1/4's
5 ribs of celery, cut in one inch pieces
Salt

Place all ingredients in Dutch oven with water to cover; add salt to taste.
Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
Simmer until chicken is falling off the bone; 2-3hrs.
Remove chicken, cool and remove meat in chunks. Set aside.
Pour stock, with the vegetables, through a strainer pressing on the vegetables to get as much liquid released, as possible. Discard vegetables.
Allow stock to cool and remove fat.
Adjust seasoning.
Put one cup of stock aside for use later, if needed.

NOODLES

6 large eggs
1/4 C whole milk
3-4 C AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Sift dry ingredients together.
Whip eggs with milk.
Mix in 3 C of flour adding more until a stiff dough is formed. Work dough as little as possible.
Mold dough into a ball and flatten. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 min.

PREPARATION OF NOODLES

Spread a layer of flour on a flat work surface.
Cut dough into quarters; remove one and keep the others wrapped in plastic.
Form dough into a rectangle; flatten, dust with flour and roll out to 1/4 in thickness.
Roll dough jellyroll fashion and slice in 1/4 inch coils.
Unroll coils, dust with flour and put aside to dry for 30 - 45 min.
Repeat with remaining dough.

CHICKEN AND NOODLES

Bring chicken stock to a rolling boil and add noodles. Cook until noodles are cooked - light and fluffy - 20 - 30 min. The noodles with their attached flour should  thicken the stock into a thick, rich,  creamy consistancy. If this has not happened, make a "slurry" by adding flour to the reserved cup of stock. Add in small amounts, allowing the stock to come to a boil after each addition, until the proper consistency is reached. Mix in reserved chicken, cook until hot , adjust seasoning and serve.

THE FOODIES COMMENTS

To make the dish more nutritional and add color, add sliced carrot, onion, and peas in the last 20 min of cooking.

Add herbs ( I like thyme and parsley)  to enhance flavor.

A heavy dose of pepper, fresly ground, improves the taste considerably.

COOKING TIP: Grilling

1) Preheat grill before cooking.
2) To insure even cooking, bring meat to room temperature before putting on grill.
3) Before grilling, oil surface of meat with a little oil, to prevent sticking; or
4) Use oiled paper towels to coat grill grates prior to placing meat on grill.
5) Season meat just before grilling.
6) Turn meat using tongs, rather than a fork, to avoid losing juices (or flavor).
7) Take meat off the grill a little before it is done to your taste, since, once off the grill
     temperature can continue to rise 5-10 degrees ( carryover cooking).
8) Let meat rest for several minutes before slicing to allow juices to redistribute throughout
    the meat.

FOOD TRIVIA: Native Americans and Turkeys

Native Americans never actually ate turkey; killing such a timid bird was thought to indicate laziness.

FOOD TRIVIA: Nutmeg Tree

Two spices are derived from the Nutmeg tree; Nutmeg produced from the kernel, and Mace, from the kernel's lacy coat.

NEW KIND OF POST: Things I Like:

This is to announce that I am adding a new kind of PERSONAL Post in this blog, in addition to the regulars: COOKING TIPS, FOOD HISTORY and  FOOD TRIVIA. The new Posts will be titled, "THINGS I LIKE:" and will include, THINGS I LIKE: 1) To Cook, 2) To Make Myself, at Home, 3) Which Bring Back Food Memories. I hope that combining these personal  Posts with  the factual Posts, which are a traditional part of my blog, will stimulate more interaction on the part of my blog "followers". Everyone is invited to share their own, "THINGS I LIKE :" on this blog.

FOOD HISTORY: Risotto Milanese

Risotto ("little rice" in Italian) is a method of cooking fat coated, rich, starchy, medium/short grain Italian rice ( Arborio,Vialone Nana or Carnaroli) by slowly adding small amounts of cooking liquid (water, broth, stock, etc) and allowing the liquid  to be absorbed into the rice before adding the next quantity of liquid. This allows the rices' starch to be released which turns the rice into a rich, creamy mixture. Rice was brought into Sicily and Spain by the Arabs in the 14th century and made its way into the Po Valley of Italy where the terroir - soil, water, humidity, etc. - was perfect to grow rice. Because of this, rice became a staple in that part (northern) of Italy and still is today. Originally, the rice was cooked in sweet or savory liquid until it was soft and eaten as a porridge. It is from this way of cooking that the risotto method appears to have been derived. While a wide variety of ingredients can be added to the risotto, - meat, seafood or vegetables - the most famous risotto dish is Risotto Milanese, in which the rice is flavored with saffron. The invention of Risotto Milanese goes back to the year1574 when the great gothic cathederal, The Duomo di Milan was being built. Valarius, a Master Glassmaker from Belgium, had an apprentice who had an extraordinary ability to mix colors. Because of this, the  apprentice was assigned to mix pigments used to stain the glass for the stained windows. One of the apprentice's secrets was to add saffron to the color mixes to intensify the colors. He used this technique so often for so many years, that Valarius kept telling him that one day he will end up even adding saffron to the risotto. Many years later, when Valarius daughter was getting married, the apprentice, to get some revenge for these comments, bribed the cook to put a little saffron into the risotto. The strange, saffron colored risotto startled the wedding guests. However, when they summoned up enough courage to taste it, it was gone very quickly. While the apprentice's revenge went wrong, the now famous dish, Risotto Milanese was born!

COOKING TIP: "Dry-Aged" Steak at Home

While we can never duplicate the controlled temperature and humidity conditions of steakhouse  restaurant aging rooms and usually do not have the prime cuts of meat that are available to them, we can still improve the flavor of the steaks that we eat at home by the following procedure:

Take steak, any cut but at least 11/2 - 2 inches thick, and wrap single sheets of cheesecloth around the meat to make three layers.  Place wrapped meat on a metal rack, put in the rear of the middle shelf of your refrigerator (the coldest area) and leave for three days. On the third day, unwrap the meat, the surface of which will have darkened (don't mind!) and cook the steak in  any way you prefer.The steak, treated in this manner, will be as close to the flavor of steakhouse meat as one can get at home.

THE REASON: The cheesecloth will "wick" moisture from the surface of the meat and it will evaporate. Because the meat has been on a rack so air can circulate all around and expose more cheeseclothed surface area to the air, even more  moisture will evaporate. The evaporation of some of the meat's moisture serves to concentrate and intensify it's flavor. Too much evaporation, however, will dry out the meat, thus, the three day limit on the drying process.

FOOD TRIVIA: Mexican Food Consumption

Norway consumes more Mexican food than any other European country.

FOOD HISTORY: Gyro Sandwich

The Gyro is a Greek-American sandwich consisting of well- seasoned ground meat, usually beef or lamb, cooked on a slow turning vertical spit.  Gyro, as in gyroscope, comes from the Greek word gyrizo, meaning "to rotate". As the meat is cooked,  thin slices are shaved off and  placed in or on pita bread. The sandwich is garnished with diced tomato, lettuce and onions  and  topped with a sauce of diced cucumbers in yogurt (Tsatziki). This type of sandwich has been found in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East since the time of Alexander the Great when his soldiers used their long knlves to skewer  and continue to turn meat over fire until cooked.The Greek Gyro was derived from the Turkish Doner Kabab which was invented in Bursa, Turkey and introduced into Greece in the 1970's, either from the Toumba district  of Thessaloniki, as one story suggests, or from a cook from Constantinople in the 1950's.The Doner Kabab, however, consists of sliced, not ground, meat layered on a vertical spit and roasted on a vertical grill. The Gyro was first introduced to the American public by  George Apostolou in 1965 at the Parkview Restaurant, Chicago, IL, which was owned byApostolou and his cousin. The new sandwich became popular and other restaurants wanted to offer Gyros as alternatives to the ubiquitous hamburger. Apostolou began to manufacture Gyros in large quantities to sell to other restaurants and the demand became so great that George sold his restaurant and opened a U.S.D.A. approved Gyros factory in 1975. From that beginning,Gyros became available and enjoyed throughout the United States. In spite of its popularity, the Gyro is one of the most mispronounced of any food item, being pronounced "jee-ros", "jai-ros" or "gee-ros"when the correct Greek pronunciation is 'Yeh-ro". There is no true letter G, in the English sense, in the Greek language and the Greek letter gamma is pronounced "yeh".

FOOD TRIVIA: Origin of Food Names

Food Name               Language of Origin                    Meaning in Original Language

tapioca                              Brazilian                                      "to squeeze out the dregs"

vermicelli                          Italian                                           "little worms"

phyllo                                Greek                                             leaf

porcini                                Italian                                          "little pigs"

avocado                              Aztec                                             testicle
                                         (abucatl)

lasagna                              ancient Greek                               "chamber pot"
                                             (lasanon)
                                          adapted by Romans                       "large cooking pot"
                                                (lasanum)

succatash                            Narraganset Indian                 "boiled whole kernels of  corn"
                                              (msickquatash)
                                                      

COOKING TIP: Chef's Seasoning Strategy

The following is a  seasoning tip from Chef Emma Hearst of Sorella Restaurant in New York City. It was published in the July 2011 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

"People who cook at home go to restaurants and wonder, Why does the food taste so good? So much of that is seasoning. Tasting every step of the way is important, because flavors change. Tasting before seasoning and after seasoning is one great way to learn -add salt, taste, add salt, taste more. Experiment until the dish gets too salty; that's how you learn."

FOOD HISTORY: Puff Pastry

Puff pastry, a light pastry made by repeatedly layering pastry dough and fat (usually butter) to form a thin dough which, when baked, causes steam pockets to form that separates the dough into multi-layered and very flaky pastry, originated in France in 1645. It's inventor was an apprentice pastry cook named Claudius Gele, whose sick father could only eat a prescribed diet consisting of water, flour and butter. Claudius, a good son, wanted to bake a delicious bread for his father using only those three ingredients. Gele apparently forgot to cream  the butter into the flour before adding the water so, to mask his mistake, he placed lumps of butter into the already formed dough, folded the buttered dough over several times and formed this dough into a loaf to bake. The Pastry Chef, who watched Claudius' preparation of this "dough", warned him not to bake the loaf because he thought that the butter lumps would melt when heated in the oven and run out of the bread. In spite of the Pastry Chef''s concern, the loaf was placed in the oven. When removed from the oven, much to the great and very pleasant surprise of both Claudius and the Pastry Chef, the loaf had been "puffed" into thousands of flaky layers in the oven. Thus, Puff Pastry was born, even though it was not named Puff Pastry until, much later. When Gele finished his apprenticeship, he left for Paris where he was hired by the famous Rosabau Patisserie. At Rosabau, he perfected his new pastry invention; now calling it, "Puff Pastry". Gele became rich and famous in Paris but later moved to Florence, Italy where he brought his Puff Pastry (Pasta Sfoglia -  in Italian) to the Mosca Pastry Shop. Eventually, other Italian bakers learned how to make Puff Pastry and some of these bakers brought the invention  to Austria where it became popular. When a strike of bakers in Copenhagen, Dennmark went on too long, Danish pastry shop owners imported Austrian bakers into Denmark, where Puff Pastry was transformed, further, into Danish Pastry. 

FOOD TRIVIA: Tiered Wedding Cake

The tiered wedding cake was inspired by St. Bride's Church, in London, England, because of  it's tiered spire.

COOKING TIP: Basil Pesto

To avoid your Basil Pesto from darkening, blanch (put in boiling water for 20 -30 seconds), then "shock" the leaves (plunge into an ice water bath until cold) to stop the cooking. Dry the cold leaves and proceed to make the Pesto. Pesto made this way will retain bright green color for one week in the refrigerator and, even after freezing, for up to three weeks.

FOOD HISTORY: White Castle

 In 1916, Walter Anderson, a fry cook living in Witchita, KS develped a unique way of preparing small hamburgers by cooking them on one side, 'flipping' them, adding shredded onions on top and placing both halves of the buns he developed over the sizzling meat. The bun he developed was made from dough that was heavier than ordinary bread dough which allowed the aroma and juices of the cooking meat to permeate the bun and provide a unique taste and texture to his hamburgers. Soon thereafter, Anderson used his savings to buy a trolley car which became a diner in which he featured his hamburgers. While hamburgers were not very popular at that time, due in large part to the publication of Upton Sincliar's 1908 book, "The Jungle" which described the extremely dirty and unsanitary conditions that were common in the slaughterhouses of that day, the businessman Bill Ingram saw the future potential for hamburgers prepared in the Anderson manner. Ingram and Anderson became partners and Ingram financed the expansion of Anderson's restaurants across the U.S. Their first joint venture, which opened in 1921, was in a building designed to convey cleanliness and sanitation, above all else. The building was gleaming white, the customers could view the cooking process and they would be served by "the most courteous personnel" dressed in clean uniforms with caps covering their hair. The name "White Castle" was chosen for the new white buildings - White, to denote purity and "Castle" to suggest strength, stability and permenance.White Castle  became the first fast food hamburger chain, the first to sell over one billiion burgers and the first to sell hamburgers made from frozen beef.  In 1933, Anderson sold his interest in the company to Ingram. The use of the "five hole' hamburger, familiar to all today, was introduced in 1949 to reduce the cooking time and to avoid having to "flip" the burger. The chain still is owned by members of the Ingram family and the company's headquarters are now located in Columbus, OH. Curiously, no White Castles exist in Kansas today. Kansans have to leave their state to get the famous fast food that originated in one of their own cities.

FOOD TRIVIA: Pasta

While Italy leads the world in consumption of Pasta - 61.7 pounds/person/year - you may be surprised that the second in consumption is Venezuela, where 27.9 pounds/person/year is eaten.

COOKIING TIP: Blueberry Muffins/ Pancakes

When making Blueberry muffins or pancakes, using a recipe calling for frozen Blueberries, do NOT allow the berries to thaw. Add the FROZEN  berries to the batter before baking or frying to avoid juice "bleeding" into the batter and turning your muffins or pancakes a bluish - purple.

FOOD HISTORY: Lox/Smoked Salmon

The term Lox comes from the German word for salmon - "lachs". Lox, is not smoked, however, as is commonly believed. While all Lox is cured (dry or wet, in a brine) with salt/ sugar and sometimes spices, Lox  becomes Smoked Salmon when it is further cold smoked (submitted to smoke at between 70 - 90F for 1 - 3 days). This does not cook the salmon but imparts a smokey flavor to the fish. The salting of fish became known to populations living by the sea in ancient times when they discovered that they could make salt by evaporation of sea water.They discovered that, in addition to the salt enhancing the flavor of  fish, packing it in salt or placing it into a salt solution (brine) could preserve the fish, as well. The earliest record of salt preservation of food comes from the writings of Cato the Elder, in about 200 BC. In the Middle Ages, fishermen in Scandinavia found that salmon buried in the sand  at seaside could be cured and, thus, have enhanced flavor and, also, be preserved  by the salty ocean water washing over the buried fish. In Scandinavian languages, this kind of cured salmon is called Gravlax"; "grav" meaning "coffin" or "hole in the ground" and "lax" or "laks" meaning salmon. While this way of curing salmon is not used today, cured, unsmoked salmon still is called Gravlax in the Scandinavian countries. In Britian and Europe, smoking and drying fish as a means of preserving was known from very early times. This knowledge allowed merchants  to be able to transport the preserved fish very long distances as a means of  trade. However, in the 1840's more rapid means of  transportation (railroads, steamships, etc.) made the demand (and need) for heavily salted and heavily smoked preserved fish decline. At the same time, Lox and Smoked Salmon, as we know it today, came into being. Because  heavily salted, smoked fish was not needed for long distance transportation any more, the reason to lightly cure salmon, with or without further smoking, was only to flavor the fish rather than preserve it. The various and diversly flavored cured salmon products available today from different parts of the world have to do with several factors; the local source of the salmon used, the salting process (wet or dry cured), the smoking process, if used, and the type of wood (usually of local origin) used to provide the smoke.

FOOD TRIVIA: Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Dinner

The White House menu for the 1st Presidential Inaugural Dinner for Abraham Lincoln, which occurred on March 4, 1864, consisted of mock turtle soup, corned beef and cabbage with parsley potatoes and blackberry pie. Seventeen people, mostly family members, arttended.

COOKING TIP: Instant Flour

Instant flour (eg. Wondra) is a low-protein, pre-gelatinized wheat flour to which malted barley flour has been added. This allows it to dissolve quickly in either hot or cold liquids and, therefore, it can be used to thicken gravies and sauces without the likelyhood of forming lumps.

FOOD HISTORY: Milk Duds

Milk Duds,  bite sized, chocolate covered, caramel  candies, were created in 1928 by Hoffman and Co., one of the original inventors of chocolate covered caramels. The Hoffman Co. wanted to make a  round, chocolate covered, caramel candy confection but, no matter how they tried, their equipment could not make a perfectly round product. Therefore, they called these less-than-perfectly round candies "duds" and, further, because of the large amount of milk that went into their making, "milk duds'. In 1928, Milton J. Holloway purchased the Hoffman Co.and started to market the "defective candy duds" under the name, "Holloway's Milk Duds". This new candy became a world-wide favorite and sold particularly well in movie theater concession stands. In 1960, after Holloway sold the company, it has passed through several corporate hands and is now made by the Hershey Co. However, the current formulation for "Milk Duds" is NOT the same as tthe original Hoffman/Holloway product.

FOOD TRIVIA: "Cake" Expressions

The expressions,"Cake Walk", "A piece of cake" and "Takes the cake" probably derive from the 19th century African - American competitions where couples who strutted most gracefully and stylishly were awarded a cake as a prize.

COOKING TIP: Crostini vs Bruschetta

Originally, Crostini, "little toasts" in Italian, were thin slices of toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and served warm as a base for canapes made from a large variety of savory ingredients;  from meats to seafood to cheeses or vegetables.

On the other hand, Bruschetta comes from the Italian word, "bruscare" - to roast over coals. In Tuscany, the original Bruschetta were thick slices of rustic bread, toasted, rubbed with garlic cloves, with salt and pepper  added. Then, the bread was drizzled with the years new crop of olive oil. The point was to feature the flavor of the new oils. Sometimes a diced tomato salad was added onto the warm bread.

While both Crostini and Bruschetta were introduced into the US from Italy, over time  the original distinction between these two food items became blurred and now, frequently, the  names are used interchangably.

In any case, Bruschetta should be pronounced, "Brus' Ket. ta" since, in Italian, "CH" is always pronounced with a hard "K' sound, not an "SH' sound. In this regard, think of chianti, zucchini and Pinocchio.

FOOD HISTORY: Cheese Doodles

After World War II, Morry Yohai took over the Old London Foods business.The company, founded by Yohai's father in the 1920's as King Kone, made ice cream cones, melba toast, cheese crackers and caramel popcorn. In the 1950's, Yohai and his partners, working at the company's Old Melba Toast factory building in the Bronx, NY, were looking for a new product. They found a machine that extruded corn meal that "popped" almost  like popcorn. Yohai decided to cut the cornmeal product into child-like pieces, to coat them with cheddar cheese and bake them, rather than fry them, to make this new food product  more healthy. Because the popped cornmeal tubes, which in those days were very thin, looked to Yohai and his parthers like "doodles", the new snack food was christened "Cheese Doodles". The rest, as is said, is history!

COOKING TIP: Defatting Soups/Sauces

To defat soups or sauces, put several slotted spoons into the freezer. Use frozen spoons to skim the tops of your soups/sauces. Soup or sauce will slip through the holes in the spoon while the fat will adhere to the frozen metal of the spoon. Change spoons, as needed.

FOOD TRIVIA: Cola Products

Today, Coca Cola and PepsiCo products are sold in every country in the world except North Korea.

FOOD TRIVIA "Not worth his salt".

Roman soldiers were paid, in part, by being given salt, which in those days, was a highly prized commodity used for trading. Thus, a soldier who was, "Not worth his salt" was a worthless warrier.

FOOD HISTORY: Est! Est! Est!

 Est! Est! Est! is a semi-sweet, slightly effervescent white wine made from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes which was created in Montefiascone, a town north of Rome in the Italian province of Lazio.

In the early 1100's an entourage was traveling to Rome for the Coronation of King Henry V. Traveling with them was a Bavarian Bishop, Johannes de Fugger, a lover of good wines. Because of this love, de Fugger sent one of his servants ahead to scout out Inns on the way to Rome which served wine of particularly good quality. When such an Inn was found, the servant was to write "EST!" (THIS IS IT!, in Latin) on the wall or door of the Inn so the Bishop would know where to stop for a meal and, especially, good wine.

When the servant tasted the wine at the Inn in Montefiascone, he was so excited about it, that he wrote-   EST!  EST!  EST! - on the doors. Bishop de Fugger liked the wines so much that, after the Coronation, he returned to Montefiascone and lived there until his deatth.

De Fugger is buried in Montefiascone in the local church of San Flavanio where each year, in his honor, a barrel of his beloved wine is poured over his tomb.