THINGS I LIKE: Alan's Maraschino Cherries

MARASCHINO CHERRIES evolved from the Marasca, a small, sour black cherry that grew wild on the coast of Dalmatia. Hundreds of years ago when there were no good methods of preserving fruit, these cherries were brined in sea water, then marinated in a liqueur called “Maraschino”, made from the juice, pits and leaves of the Marasca cherry. Cherries preserved in this manner were called, “Maraschino Cherries”. Wealthy Europeans developed a taste for these cherries and before long, imitations began to appear. The French took those cherries, colored them bright red and called these, “Maraschinos”. In the 1800’s, rich Americans, traveling abroad  to France, brought these cherries home where they became very popular. In the early 1900’s, U.S. cherry growers, in order  to compete with expensive imported, liqueur marinated Maraschino cherries, came up with their own version. Because of concern about opposition from the active Temperance movement at that time, U.S. Maraschinos were made using brines, chemical baths, bleaches, artificial flavors, sugar syrup and red dyes, but no alcohol. Thus, a new product was created. Real “Maraschino Cherries” became and still are virtually unknown in the U.S.

 

From: The Foodie’s Companion: Cooking Tips and Tables, Food History and Fun Food Facts”. 2011, p. 79

             ALAN’S   MARASCHINO  CHERRY  RECIPES

My Maraschino Cherries differ greatly from the jarred, overly sweet, bright red cherries that are passed off as Maraschino Cherries in the US which are used in cocktails or as a “crown” on top of an ice cream sundae,. My Maraschino Cherries, closer to the original, have a low alcohol liqueur base and can be used as a topping for ice cream, pound cake, crepes, French toast, as part of a sauce for pork or game dishes or any other use your imagination can conjure up.

                                      RECIPE # 1 (Using fresh cherries)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 C sugar
1 C sour cherry juice*1 lb. fresh cherries, pitted **
1 C Luxardo Sangre Morlacco Cherry liqueur

PREPARATION

 

 Put sugar and cherry juice into a pot and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar.

 Place cherries in a jar, add hot cherry syrup, cover jar, shake to mix and allow to cool. ***

Add liqueur, mix, recover the jar and refrigerate for at least one week (but more is better), shaking jar to mix, occasionally, to allow cherries to fully absorb juice and liqueur.   

* I use Trader Joe’s Sour Cherrie juice. Because this juice is cloudy, I  pass it through a coffee filter before using to give me a totally clear final product. If this is not important to you, it is not necessary.

** I used Bing cherries but any kind of fresh, sweet cherry will do.  

 

*** I like my cherries crisp and only use the heat of the hot cherry juice and the steam it produces in the closed jar to soften them slightly. However, if you like them softer, they can be added to the syrup and cooked until they are the texture that suits your taste, then, continue as outlined above.

 

                       RECIPE # 2 (using jarred cherries)

                             

  INGREDIENTS

1 jar Morello Cherries in light syrup*

1/2 C syrup from cherries

1/2 C plus 2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 C Luxardo Cherry Sangre Morlacco Liqueur

 

  PREPARATION

Drain cherries, thoroughly. Reserve 1/2 C syrup, but save the rest.** Replace cherries in jar.

Put the reserved syrup and sugar into a pot and boil to just dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and allow to cool, completely.

Add sweetened cherry syrup back to drained cherries, add liqueur, recover jar, shake gently to mix and refrigerate, as above.

*I use the jar of Morello Cherries in light syrup (24.7oz) from Trader Joe’s. These cherries will be softer than those made with fresh cherries made in recipe 1.

 

** The extra syrup may be sweetened to your taste and can be used as a drink base, with or without alcohol. I like 1oz.Vodka, mixed with 2 oz. cherry syrup and 4 oz. seltzer. Make yours in the proportions to suit your own palate.

FOOD HISTORY: Dishes named , "a la Florentine".

Dishes listed on a menu or in a recipe as  "a la Florentine" or just "Florentine" are foods, frequently eggs but other items as well, presented on a bed of spinach and topped with a Mornay (cheese) sauce, sometimes sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and browned lightly in an oven. Examples are, Eggs Florentine where poached eggs are placed on a bed of spinach substituting for the Canadian bacon in Eggs Benedict or fish, beef or chicken placed on spinach and topped with cheese sauce." Florentine" refers to Florence, Italy, and the term, as is used, would translate into "in the manner of Florence." The origin of the term comes from an Italian Noblewoman named Catherine de Médici, who was born in Florence, Italy and in 1533, married Henri (Henry), the second son of King Francois I. Henry was the heir-apparent to the French throne and was  known as the dauphin in those days. When Francois I died in 1547, Henry ascended to the French throne and Catherine became the Queen of France. Quite ruthless and justifiably favorable to the the quality of Italian cookery relative to what she encountered in France, she imported her own cooks from Florence and, also, is said to have brought along spinach seeds to grow. She had her cooks make dishes with spinach in the Italian way and this practice became popular enough that it came to be known as "Spinach à la Florentine", to identify the origin of the spinach; eventually, simply as "Florentine" to denote any dish that used a base of spinach in its preparation. Catherine is also claimed to have introduced many aspects of table etiquette to France and to have introduced the fork to that country. Further, her Italian cooks trained what would become the next generations of French Chefs. Her Italian  influence on French cookery  has been credited as to  how French cuisine began to evolve into one of  the great cuisines of the world.

FOOD TRIVIA: About Tea

1) About 165 million cups of tea are drunk daily in the United Kingdom.

2) Britain is the second largest tea consuming nation per capita; Ireland is the first.

3) 98% of British tea drinkers take their tea with milk; only 35% use sugar.

4) Milk was added to tea because early tea cups were made from delicate China and would crack if hot tea was added. Milk was added first, to cool the tea as it was poured into the cup, to prevent this from happening.

5) The British East India Company brought commercial tea production to India in the early 1800's, planting tea in the area of India called Darjeeling.

6) The tea flavored with the rind of the Bergamot orange was named after the British Primer Minister, Earl Grey (1830-1834).

7) During the Battle of Britain, stocks of tea were hidden in secret locations all over Britain to save them from German bombing.

8) While the country which is easily the largest CONSUMER of tea is China, on a  PER PERSON basis, the picture is quite different. The top ten list of tea drinking countries on a PER PERSON basis follows:

1 Turkey
2 Ireland
3 United Kingdom
4 Russia
5 Morocco
6 New Zealand
7 Egypt
8 Poland
9 Japan
10 Saudi Arabia

COOKING TIP: About Salt

Before discussing salt, some understanding about TASTE BUDS must be presented. for many, many decades, we believed that there were only four primary taste sensations; sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Further, it was believed that these four taste elements were distributed in discrete taste  bud positions in the  the mouth. However, in 1908, a Japanese scientist discovered that there was a FIFTH taste which he called, "UMAMI, which was interpreted to mean, "savory", "meaty" or "delicious". UMAMI taste is found in foods containing high amounts of the compound glutamate, the sodium salt of the amino acid, glutamic acid. Thus, we now know that there are five, not four, primary tastes. Some high glutamate containing foods are tomatoes, meat, mushrooms, soy sauce, Asian fish sauce, Parmesan cheese, etc.


In addition, in spite of what we thought about taste buds being "mapped' in specific positions in the tongue, it has been found that taste buds are distributed throughout the palate, although some areas may be more sensitive than others. With this as background, we can learn about how salt (sodium chloride) can influence taste and flavor well beyond just imparting a salty taste.


As you know. our enjoyment of what we eat is enhanced by a number of senses - sight, smell, touch (texture) and taste. In the case of salt, it's use can stimulate several of our senses. A piece of chocolate or a caramel with a sprinkle of sea salt on it , for example, enhances our sight appeal by presenting a contrast in color - white granules on a dark background - on what you are eating. There is a textural difference, as well - a crunch of salt against the rich, soft, melting feel of the chocolate/caramel in your mouth. Further, salt makes certain molecules in your food more volatile, so the aroma is enhanced, thus adding to  your sense of smell.  Regarding the sense of taste, in addition to imparting salty taste to your food, salt also depresses the sensitivity of  your bitter sense perception. Thus, if your coffee tastes bitter, adding a pinch of salt rather than adding more sugar will increase your sense of sweetness. Also, a sprinkle of salt on watermelon makes the melon "taste" sweeter.The salt, itself, does not add any more sweetness to what you are eating but by "dampening" the sensitivity of your bitter taste buds, you PERCEIVE what you are eating is sweeter. Moreover. recent studies have shown that a "sensor" in the taste buds is activated, which allows the sweet taste buds to react more to glucose (sugar), when salt (rather, the sodium component of it) is present. This allows these  cells to register more sweetness. This is why salt is used in candy making to make the candy taste sweeter and why salt is a part of every recipe used in making cakes and other sweet baked items.


We now know, also, for some of the reasons listed above, that the UMAMI taste component of foods containing high amounts of glutamate is enhanced in the presence of  salt. One of the high glutamate foods, rich in UMAMI taste is the tomato.You know that adding salt when eating them intensifies their favor. You know, also, that adding a rind of glutamate-rich Parmesan cheese to a sauce or soup, which always contain some salt, enhances and intensifies the flavor. Now you know why.

THINGS I LIKE: Adobo - Filipino Chicken

When I was taking my Master's degree  at night at Brooklyn College, CUNY, I was working full-time during the day as a research assistant in the Burn Research Laboratory of Dr. Charles Fox. The lab was located in New York's  Bellevue Hospital and was serviced at that time, jointly, by  New York University, Cornell and Columbia University Surgical Departments. Dr. Fox was part of the First Columbia Surgical Division at Bellevue. I joined his lab after getting my BA degree,  taking additional courses required to get into the Masters program and serving in the Army. Thus, I was older than most new, young research assistants in his lab; my age being closer to the age of some of the  surgical residents who were getting research training in Dr. Fox's lab, as well.  Two of these were  from the Philippines: Drs. Ramon DeJesus and Ben Zamora. We became fast friends and they introduced me to the pleasures of Filipino food. Fortunately, probably the only Filipino restaurant in New York City (whose name escapes me) was within walking distance of the hospital. Ramon, Ben and I spent many lunch hours there, where I was introduced to Filipino dishes: Lumpia, Filipino spring rolls filled with pork or shrimp that rival any from Chinese restaurants, Pancit, a wonderful fried, thin rice noodle dish with  meat and vegetables, Flan, a very rich caramel coated dessert custard that differed from Spanish/ Mexican Flans by being more dense, having been made using more egg yolks and condensed milk rather than fresh. The BEST OF ALL, however, was the Filipino national dish, Adobo; chicken or pork braised in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. Simple, easy to prepare with fabulous taste! Recipe follows.




INGREDIENTS


3 Lbs chicken, cut up, or thighs
                    or
1-2 inch squares of pork belly, shoulder or butt


1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 c vinegar*
2 cloves garlic, minced
TT black pepper, freshly ground






PREPARATION




Mix soy, vinegar and garlic in a bowl. Add chicken or pork. Mix to coat. Marinate 15 minutes in refrigerator. Place chicken or pork, with marinade, into a heavy cooking pot. Bring to a boil, mix, lower heat to simmer, cover pot and simmer 20 minutes. Uncover pot and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens and the meat is done; 15-20 minutes more. Add black pepper to taste.






Serve with rice.






* I use white vinegar but rice or wine vinegar, red or white, can be substituted. Each will give a subtle change in the taste but all will give an equally delicious dish.

THINGS I LIKE: Farro Salad

When taking a cooking class with the famous Chef/Salumeria ( one who makes sausages),  Cesare Casella, I was introduced to the ancient grain Farro. The Chef had us make a risotto using Farro instead of rice. The grain was chewy, nutty and totally delicious. In addition, it is very nutritious. It has become one of my favorite grains. In the warm summer weather, my wife and I eat more light dishes, such as salads, rather than our usual much heavier winter dishes. One of the salads I particularly like is Farro salad. The following recipe is one I have put together combining several elements I have liked in some different recipes I have tried.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 C Farro
1/2 C diced red pepper
I/2 C sugar snap peas*, sliced diagonally into 3-4 pieces
3/4 C corn kernels**
1 C cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, both white and green parts
an assortment of various fresh herbs, eg., parsley, basil, chives, tarragon (or others you like), chopped

DRESSING

3/4 C extra virgin olive oil
Zest from one lemon plus 3 Tbsp. juice
1 Tbsp. chopped shallot
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


DIRECTIONS


Fill pot with 1 1/2 quarts of water with 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt. Bring to boil, Add Farro and cook for 15-20 minutes.*** Drain thoroughly.


While Farro is cooking, Make dressing by adding all ingredients together and mix or whisk until completely combined.


Mix all salad ingredients in a bowl and toss with dressing.


Serve cold or at room temperature.




* Blanched 2-3 minutes in boiling water, drained and plunged into ice water until cold; then
dried.


**Sliced off from about 2-3 freshly cooked ears.


*** Cook Farro to your taste. I like mine 'al dente" (with a little chew); if you like it softer, increase the cooking time

THE FOODIES" COMPANION"S COMMENTS.

This recipe was made to suit my taste. It can be used, as is, for your salad or it can serve only as a guideline, as, well. As I have said in many recipes posted on my blog or presented in my second book, "The Foodies" Companion II", most recipes (except for those for baking) are only guides that you can change to suit your own personal taste. For example, if you like Greek flavors, add cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber,diced red onion, slices of Kalamata olives and crumbled Feta cheese to the Farro. Dress your salad with a lemon juice/Greek yogurt dressing and chopped mint leaves and what do you get?  GREEK FARRO SALAD -  OR -  add chunky Salsa (home made or store bought) to your Farro, Add crumbled Cotija cheese and dress with olive oil and lime juice. Garnish with cilantro leaves and you have - MEXICAN FARRO SALAD.  EXPLORE, INVENT, BE ADVENTUROUS, MAKE IT YOUR OWN.

FOOD TRIVIA: Berries

Blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit. Antioxidants are responsible for neutralizing free radicals in the body, which can affect aging and contraction of diseases.




The strawberry is the only agricultural product that bears its seeds on its outside.




flavor.

COOKING TIP: Onions and Garlic

To avoid your eyes from "tearing" when cutting large amounts of onions, put the peeled onions in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting. Time carefully: do not let the onion get too hard in which case it may make you work a little harder to slice, dice, etc. The "flash" of cold prevents the release of sulfuric acid which is the compound in the onion that makes your eyes tear. When finished cutting the onion into the shapes you want - slices. dice, etc. - allow the onion to come to room temperature before using. Freezing in this manner will not affect the flavor of the onions.








Making guacamole or salsa? Tame the "heat" of  chopped onions by running boiling water over them just before adding them to your preparation. This treatment will make them more mellow.








Wiping your cutting board with vinegar before cutting onions will help prevent your eyes from watering when you cut them.


To remove garlic odor from your hands, rub them, vigorously, on stainless steel sink or other stainless sink items, eg; faucets, for 30 seconds before washing them

FOOD TRIVIA: A Bit About Beer

In 1759, the Irish brewer, Arthur Guinness signed a lease for the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin for 9000 years, paying an annual fee of 45 British pounds.  Therefore, avid Guinness drinkers have only 8747 more years to enjoy their favorite beverage brewed at that location. Get With It!!!

Guinness buys 66% of the entire barley crop in Ireland each year to make their brew.

Hops was first added to beer because beer makers found that hops retarded spoilage. It was only later that it was added because it enhanced the beers flavor. 


India Pale Ale is not named after the country India. Its strong alcohol content and the addition of hops helped preserve the beer on its long journey, in the 18th century, from Great Britain to the British colonists in India. Hence the name.

Belgians consume an average of 150 liters of beer/person/year.

THINGS I LIKE: Debbie's Cookies

From early in my childhood, I have loved cookies. I remember sharing a glass of milk and chocolate covered Graham crackers with my father, a musician, when he came home from a "gig" at 2, 3, or 4 o'clock in the morning, Competing with my brother to see who could "steal' more Toll House cookies that  my mother was baking or coming home from school to get some  "Zebra" cookies, with swirls of chocolate and white dough or sugar "thumb - print" cookies, made with a thumb indentation in the middle that was filled with various jams that my mother made. In my later years , Tate's Chocolate Chip  Cookies and Pat Lemay's shortbread were among my favorites.When I started working at Mumford's Culinary Center, I tasted several of Debbie Mumford's cookies. Debbie is a CIA trained Pastry Chef, the Chef co - owner of Mumford's and, in 2017, was voted "Outstanding Pastry Chef" by The Garden State  Culinary Society's  awards committee. Two of her cookies have been added to my 'favorite" cookie list; the Macadamia Toffee Chip and the Amazing Chocolate.  Debbie has allowed me to print her recipes and has provided some short comments about how the cookie were derived or named. The recipes and the stories are presented below.




MACADAMIA TOFFEE CHIP COOKIES



" I am not sure where the original cookie recipe came from but I had an assistant and her husband was coming for lunch so we asked him to pick up some (plain)  toffee chips to use in baking them.. He came with CHOCOLATE COVERED toffee pieces. We used them in our recipe and it was so good  that we have used them ever since. This is how in this recipe was derived." DM



INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 C butter, room temperature
1 C sugar
 2/3 C light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 C cake flour
2  C AP flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp, salt
2 C milk chocolate toffee chips
2 1/2 C macadamia nuts, chopped into large pieces



PROCEDURE

Heat over to 350 F. (300 F if using a convention oven)

1) Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy  with no sugar crystals still visible.
2) Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating the first before adding the second. Incorporate the second.
3) Add vanilla, then dry ingredients, slowly, and mix until all combined.
4) Add toffee chips and nuts until incorporated and distributed throughout the dough.



*Scoop or spoon onto baking sheets and bake until lightly brown, 20 - 25 minutes. Remove and cool before serving.



THE  AMAZING CHOCOLATE COOKIE



"The Amazing Chocolate Cookie recipe came from "who knows", but the name came from an apprentice that I was working with who said "These are amazing.";
hence the name." DM



INGREDIENTS

2/3 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 oz.(6 tbsp) unsalted butter
6 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1 lb semi - sweet chocolate, chopped
5 eggs, room temperature
 1 3/4 Csugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb milk chocolate, chopped

PROCEDURE



Preheat oven to 350 F. (300 if using a convection oven)

1) Mix flour, baking powder and salt
2) Melt unsweetened , semi - sweet chocolate and butter, mix
3) Whip eggs and sugar to until pale in color
4) Fold chocolate mixture with egg mixture
5) Add vanilla
6) Fold in flour mixture
7) Fold in milk chocolate



* Scoop or spoon onto baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.

These cookies break easily so allow them to cool completely before removing from baking sheet.



* Debbie makes these cookies in large size, 3 inches in diameter. You will have to adjust the size of your scoops or spoonfuls to give cookies of the size you desire.

FOOD HISTORY: Tea - Part 4 United States***

When tea is thought about in what was to become the United States of America, the Boston Tea Party protest against high taxes on tea from England usually comes to most people’s mind. However, tea was first brought by the Dutch who, in 1624, established a colony on Manhattan Island which grew to encompass all of what is now New York City and parts of Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey They named the settlement New Netherland. The site was considered the optimal place by the Dutch West India Company for them to carry on trade in the New World. To encourage colonization, the Dutch company offered free land along the Hudson river. In 1626, a town was established on the southern tip of Manhattan Island which was to become the capital of New Netherland. It was named New Amsterdam after the Dutch capital city. When Peter Stuyvesant became the Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam in 1647, he brought tea with him and introduced it to the colonists. Since the Dutch were confirmed drinkers of high quality of both Chinese and Japanese teas called “Bai Hao”  in Chinese, which means, “white tip”, the Dutch colonists readily adapted tea drinking. (The Chinese word, “Bai Hao” had been corrupted by the Dutch to “Pekoe” and because the best quality tea was presented to the Dutch royalty, the highest grades of tea reserved for the royalty were called “Orange Pekoe” since the Dutch royal lineage came from the House of Orange). England and the Netherlands were both maritime powers in the 17th century and several wars occurred between them. One of these wars took place in 1664 and involved New Netherland where a British fleet appeared off New Amsterdam and forced Stuyvesant to surrender. New Amsterdam came under British rule. The name was changed to New York, when King Charles II awarded the Dutch colonies to his brother, the Duke of York. When the British settlers arrived in the colonies, they found that the small Dutch settlements consumed more tea, at that time, than the whole of England. It was not until 1670 that the English colonists in Boston became aware of tea and it was not available for sale until 20 years later. However, by 1720 tea was an accepted trade staple between England and the colonies. The tea trade centered around Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Because English tea was very heavily taxed a “Black Market” flourished with tea smuggled in by enterprising merchants. This angered the British East India Company, England’s tea trading organization and they petitioned Parliament for relief. Parliament responded by imposing even higher tea taxes over a several years period. Finally, it became too much for the colonists and, on December 16, 1773, a group, of patriots from the Sons of Liberty organization dressed as American Indians, boarded three ships in Boston harbor and threw a cargo of tea into Boston Harbor. This not only set the events of the American revolution into motion but it turned Americans away from tea and into coffee drinking. While tea started to be traded slowly again by the United States after the revolution, a 2014 market research study still confirmed that Americans still preferred coffee by a three to one margin. Tea, however, owing to more recent information about its health benefits, appears to be growing in popularity, particularly among young Americans. According to the US Tea Association, the wholesale value of the USA tea industry increased from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 10.8 billion in 2014.