COOKING TIP: Use a Grapefruit Spoon.

Using a Grapefruit spoon, with its serrated edge, makes removing "eyes from pineapples very easy. The spoon can be used to remove seeds from zucchini, summer squash and chile peppers, as well.

THINGS I LIKE: Sweet/Sour Onion Hot Dog Topping

When I was growing up and in Public School 134 in Brooklyn, NY,  sometimes instead of my mother making a sandwich for me to brown bag it, she gave me money to by my favorite lunch, two hot dogs with mustard and sauerkraut from the school's neighborhood Kosher Delicatessen. For the rest of my life, I have loved hot dogs from these kinds of deli's (which, today,  have almost all passed away)  but also from other brick and mortar places such as Nedick's,and  from the many hot dog carts found all over New York City. I especially enjoyed those from Sabrett carts, because of the sweet/sour onion topping they offer to top my hot dog. After reviewing several recipes, I came up with the following one of my own. While it is not exactly the Sabrett onion condiment (their recipe is secret), I think it is a reasonable facsimile but the recipe can stand on it's own, as well. The recipe is given below but you can adjust the ingredients to your own taste for sweetness, saltiness or heat.

INGREDIENTS

1 large onion, thinly sliced into half - moons
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp tomato paste, 2 x concentration*
1/2 C water
 3/4  tsp sugar
2 drops Tabasco sauce **
salt

PROCEDURE;
 Heat olive oil  over medium heat. Add onions, sprinkle with a pinch of  salt and cook, stirring, until soft, but not browned. Make a well in the onions and add tomato paste. Cook tomato paste for a minute or two and add water, sugar and hot sauce. Cook until water is reduced and the onion mixture is thick.Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste. Serve.

Steam, boil or grill hot dogs, put on bun, add mustard, slather on onions and EN JOY!

*  2 x concentrated tomato paste comes in tubes, Good brands are Amore, San Marzano and Cento.

** For more "heat" adjust the amount of Tabasco sauce to your taste. I like Tabasco because it brings a "touch" of  vinegar along with it's heat. However, use whatever hot sauce suits your own palate.

FOOD HISTORY: Pancakes

 Griddlecakes or griddle breads, the antecedent to "pancakes" are an ancient food. While the word
"pancake" appears in print in 1430, griddle cakes/ breads have been around since Neolithic man domesticated einkorn wheat (Farro-an ancient grain), made flour from it, added a birds egg and goats milk to it and cooked it on a heated rock. Ancient "pancakes" differ from modern "pancakes" in that while they approximated "pancakes", they may have been more like fritters made with either  sweet or savory ingredients.The first "pancake" that could be distinguished from older griddlecakes/breads was described by the Roman gourmet, Apicius who recorded recipes, in Latin, using batters of eggs, milk and oil, some with, some without flour, that were either baked in an oven or fried in a pan. These were  served with lemon and pepper or placed in between layers of savory foods in a casserole. However, it wasn't until 1430, that an English culinary manuscript used the name "pancake" to describe this dish. In early Catholic Europe, pancakes had a large place among Easter foods. Shrove*Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of day of Lent, a long period of fasting and of denial of eating certain foods forbidden by the church. These include flour and fat. Pancakes became a means by which people could deplete their supplies of these items which would not hold up for the long duration of the Lenten fast. This tradition remains in in many countries around the world with large Catholic populations. However, during the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant groups rejected Shrove Tuesday as a day of religious significance. Whether Shove Tuesday is considered a religiously important day or not, the tradition of eating pancakes on the day before Lent begins, continues in many countries; only what the day is called differs. It is "Pancake Day" in the UK, Australia and New Zealand and "Pancake Tuesday" in Ireland and Scotland. In Brazil and the US it is called "Mardi Gras" (Fat Tuesday), "Carnavale" in Italy, "Fasnacht" in Germany and "Apocreas" in Greece. Australians use the name "Mardi Gras" as well as "Pancake Day". The religious aspects of pancakes associated with Christian tradition aside, sweet and savory pancakes are enjoyed everywhere. How pancakes "traveled" around the world is unknown but they are a delicious food eaten  everywhere,  differing only in their shape and ingredients. The French have their crepes; Germans their potato pancakes. In Hungary there are palasinta, blinis in Russia, trid in Morocco, pannekoeken in Holland, jeon in Korea, taginetes in Greece and bao bung in China. In colonial American there were cornmeal Indian cakes and in 19th century America, people ate flapjacks. From the American flapjack, drenched in butter and drowned in maple syrup to the Russian blini served with caviar and sour cream to the Chinese pancakes served with Peking Duck, pancakes are prepared, worldwide, and served and enjoyed regardless of religious belief.




*Shrove comes from the word, "shrive" which means "to confess". The day before Lent was a time for confession in the early church, so, that one was was clean and forgiven before Lent started.

FOOD TRIVIA: Shoe Sizes

In the early 1300's, King Edward I of England decreed that one inch should be the measure of three barleycorns (grains of barley). This was the beginning of how English shoe sizes began. A child's shoe that measured thirteen  barleycorns became size 13 and so forth.

COOKING TIP: More Uses for Baking Sheets other Than Making Cookies.

There are many things for which baking sheets can be used other than baking cookies: several follow:

1) Place food between two baking sheets to increase the heating surface 2x and allow for more even and uniform browning and a more tidy shape.

2) Pressed sandwich, anyone? Butter both sides of a sandwich and place between two  preheated baking sheets for nicely browned, crispy outside pressed sandwiches.

3) Slice vegetables very thin (mandoline or vegetables peeler), place between sheets and bake to make vegetable chips.

4) Puff pastry gives a firmer texture that is more shatter - proof when baked between two baking sheets.

5) Making lots of toast? Toast in oven between baking sheets.

6) Want prosciutto chips for garnish? Preparing them by baking between baking sheets keeps them flat and makes them  very crispy.

7) Want to make several grilled sandwiches at a time? Place two baking sheets in a 450 F oven for five minutes. Make sandwiches and butter both sides om the bread. Using heat proof gloves or pads remove sheets from oven , place sandwiches on one and place the second on top of the sandwiches and replace sheets in the oven for 10 minutes at which time  sandwiches should be hot, toasted and ready to serve.

THINGS I LIKE: Dolce de Leche

Dolce de leche  (Spanish; "sweetness of milk"; "milk candy") is a mixture of milk and sugar that is heated until  caramelized to form a sweet, thick, creamy spread or sauce. Dolce de leche originated in Argentina in 1829 in the province of Canuelas in Buenos Aires where two opposing factions were at war to determine who would control the area. A meeting had  been arranged to discuss a peace treaty between Generals Lavalle and Manual de Rosas, commanders of the two opposing forces, The meeting was to to be held at the camp of  General de Rosas. When General Lavalle arrived at  General de Rosas tent that evening, he found that de Rosas had been delayed and would not arrive for a while. Lavalle decided that since  he was already in General de Rosas tent and had to wait for him, he would take a short nap in de Rosas bed. While this was happening, a servant woman cook on de Rosas staff, was preparing a treat for the his soldiers; "la Lechada, "a mixture of heated milk and sugar. The cook wanted to clarify some things with General de Rosas and went to his tent, not knowing that the meeting with Lavelle had been planned. When she entered de Rosas tent and saw Lavalle in de Rosas  bed, she thought "the enemy' was invading the camp, Therefore, she raised the alarm and ran around alerting the soldiers. General de Rosas who arrived shortly thereafter, sorted out the confusion, stopped his soldiers from waking Lavalle and allowed his nap to continue. However, because of the confusion, the cook had forgotten about "la Lechada". When she finally got back to it, she found that it had become a thick, brown, creamy substance which a brave soldier tasted and loved. Thus, Dolce de Leche was born!

Dolce de Leche is very simple to make using canned, sweetened  condensed milk.(any brand; any size)

 PROCEDURE

1) Submerge a sealed can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water just brought to the simmer,

2) Simmer for two hours.

3) Cool completely.

4) Open can and VOILA! Dolce de Leche.

5) Use Dolce de Leche as a spread on bread, on slices of or as a filling for cake, as a topping for ice cream, for fresh/canned fruit or any other way that comes to your mind. Dolce de Leche will keep very well in your refrigerator.

FOOD HISTORY: Vermouth

Vermouth is a flavored, fortified (wine with additional alcohol added) wine made from base wines and various herbs and spices, especially Artemisia  plus up to an additional 50 different  ones including, cloves, cinnamon, sage, basil, ginger, star anise, juniper, and gentian,to name just a few. Each producer has their own unique and secret blend. Vermouth is the French word for Artesimia, from the German word, "wermut" or "absinthe  wormwood" in English. Ancient Romans had a wine of this type which they called Absinthiatum vinum. It was first mentioned in what is now Italy in 1773 by  oenologist  C. Villafranchi, in his "Tuscan Oenology" but the first person to duplicate the ancient  recipe was Antonio Bennedetto Carpano, an herbalist, who lived in  the ethnically Italian Piedmonte province of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Carpano combined herbs and spices with the famous Piedmonte sweet Muscatel wine and sold it in his shop. Carpano sent a case of his "new" wine to the King of Sardinia who enjoyed, it so much he adapted it as one of his household wines. As the wine gained in popularity, other wine makers started to make sweet "Vermouths. The Kingdom of Sardinia comprised the island of Sicily and what is now the country of Italy. The province of Savoy, at that time, also, a part of  the Kingdom of Sardinia was ethnically French and the wine makers in that region started to make Vermouth wines, as well..When Italy was unified, the province of Savoy was ceded to France in 1861, by treaty,. In 1813, Joseph Noilly invented the process for making a dry (not sweet) French style of vermouth and in 1855,  his son Louis and his son - in law Claudius Prat founded the Noilly Prat company to produce and sell their Vermouth. Their dry Vermouth is made from white grape varietals noted for their acidity which are aged in large Canadian oak barrels for eight months before being transferred to smaller barrels and moved outdoors for a year where the wine oxidizes and stabilizes while concentrating due to evaporation and picking up oak flavors from the barrels When moved back indoors, brandy and a secret blend of herbs and spices are added. after three weeks infusion the wine is filtered, rested for six more weeks, then bottled and sold. Almost all current Vermouth's are made from white grapes but a few are made from red, as well. Some of the major brands are the European brands,  Cinzano, Noilly Prat, Martini and Rossi and the American companies, Vya, Imbue and Atsby. Most everyone knows that Vermouths can be used a as aperitifs, by themselves, and are  integral ingredients in the well known cocktails; Martini, Manhatten, Negroni and the Americano. However, the dry Vermouth's can be  used in cooking, as well, substituting for any white wine called for in a recipe and will impart its own unique flavor to the dish.