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January 26, 2008

Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well

Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — David Russo @ 4:45 pm

The first collection of fundamental recipes from all of Italy.

As a country Italy is a recent development, so recent that there are still people who believe that it only exists on paper and not in actuality. It seems natural to think that at least the culinary traditions of the Italian peninsula be historically unified, but these too were fragmented. Ages of occupation by different conquerors have produced very different culinary traditions from one end of the boot to the other. It was not until the 19th century, 1891 to be exact, that the cookbook destined to represent the national cuisine and by now used by all Italians was written: "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well" by Pellegrino Artusi. With its 790 recipes, patiently collected by the author over long years and innumerable travels, it is the most famous and widely read Italian cookbook of all time. It is a source of knowledge and inspiration for all the great cooks of the last century, a unique work that exalts the pleasure of eating.

Drawing from Romagna and Tuscan traditions, it has stabilized a single Italian culinary framework. This framework is expressed in the Florentine lexicon, which has subsequently become the Italian standard and effectively ended the spreading regionalism and the use of dialects in pre-unification Italian cookbooks.

More than a cookbook, "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well" is a teacher of taste, written in clean prose and possessed of a convivial spirit that has truly united Italian cuisine.

David Russo, VMD, PhD

Veterinary Scientist, Gourmet Lover and Amateur Cook
GOURMET MEATS AND SEAFOOD

CONTACT US

January 21, 2008

Beat It! A Dude’s Recipe for Buttery Scrambled Eggs

Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Jay Lee @ 4:10 am

This is a recipe I got out of a old Japanese cookbook. I’ve modified it a little bit over the years. But this is my old standby, my bread and butter breakfast/brunch meal I whip up for Mother’s Day/wife’s birthday meal in bed.

What you need:

1. 5 eggs

2. 1/2′ block of butter

3. Dash of salt and pepper

4. Dash of milk

Optional:

* Toast

* Champagne and OJ for the mimosa

What to do:

1. In a bowl, beat the eggs.

2. Add a dash of salt and pepper, then a dollop of milk.

3. Toast the bread.

4. In a small saute pan, melt butter over high heat.

5. When the butter is all melted, add eggs.

6. Using a spatula (wooden is best), stir the eggs in a circular, than make a X figure. Caution: the eggs will cook very quickly, less than a minute.

7. Turn off the heat after about a minute. It will be a little runny, but let the residual heat finish cooking the eggs.

8. Arrange nicely on a plate. Optional: serve with toast and mimosas.

That’s it. If you need a few more brunch ideas, check out Brunch, by Louis Pickford and Ian Wallace (I’m a big fan of the Waffles and Ice Cream, and the Panettone French Bread recipes).

Bon Appetit!

J. Lee writes for mysearchformeaning-money.blogspot.com/ and daddymadeit.blogspot.com/.

January 19, 2008

A Turkish Food Specialty - Aubergine ‘Tongue Sugar’

Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Perihan Masters @ 7:35 am

One of the 99 ways we prepare eggplant in Turkey…

Not everyone likes aubergine, I know. But if you do, or if you know someone who does — or if you’re willing to try something new…you might like this simple but delicious dish we Turks call Domates Soslu Patlican (Aubergine in Tomato Sauce). I’ve been making it since I first learned to cook in my late teens — and after I introduced it in the States to my beloved American mother and sister-in-law, it became their ‘favorite vegetable dish’, bar none.

Aubergine in Tomato Sauce
(Domates Soslu Patlican)

General Ingredients: (I’ll use Turkish measurement terms below [see items with the * notation], but you can find plenty of definitions-help on our Turkish Foods page — for converting to US or British measurements.)

  • 4 medium-sized kemer-style aubergines (with a glossy surface, a curved and slender shape — about 20 cm long, dark purple in color, and almost no seeds)
  • 1 green banana pepper (elongated, light green sweet pepper)
  • 1 red banana pepper (also called salcalik or tarhanalik pepper in Turkey — because it’s used in the making of tomato paste and tarhana)
  • For frying the aubergine: half a water-glass* of Sun Flower Seed Oil
  • For the sauce:

  • 4 medium sized tomatoes, half a yemek kasigi* of tomato paste
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 yemek kasigi* of olive oil
  • 2 yemek kasigi* of vinegar
  • 1 cube of sugar
  • 1 ?ay kasigi* of salt and one of pepper
  • Preparation:

  • Don’t peel the aubergine, instead stripe-strip it lengthwise — leaving strips of unpeeled skin evenly spaced down the length of the aubergine’s surface, from top to bottom. (This ’stripe’ gives the finished dish a more decorative appearance.)
  • Slice the aubergine lengthwise into two sections. Take each section in turn and slice them lengthwise too — into 2 or 3 long strips each (depending on the thickness of the aubergine). At intervals of 1 cm from top to bottom, cut each of these strips cross-wise into chunks.
  • Soak the pieces in salty water for 20-30 minutes. (This removes bitterness from the remaining aubergine skin peel.) Remove the pieces from the salty water and after rinsing them again in unsalted water — dry them on paper towels. Clean the green and red banana peppers and slice them in ring shapes.
  • Heat up the Sunflower Seed Oil in a deep pan and place the aubergine and pepper in the heated oil, cooking until they are quite limp and the aubergine is a medium brown color. Scoop the vegetables out of the oil with a frying spatula and into a dish lined with paper towels. Let dry.
  • To prepare the sauce:

  • Pour the olive oil and toss the (coarsely chopped) garlic into a medium-sized sauce pan. Peel the tomatoes and cube them the size of tavla (backgammon) dice. Mix together in the sauce pan with the tomato paste. Add the vinegar and the cube of sugar — and after sprinkling in the salt and pepper, cook over a medium hot flame, stirring frequently.
  • When the sauce begins to boil, cut the heat way back — and let the ingredients simmer for another 5 minutes.
  • Pour the sauce lightly over the aubergine and peppers and serve at room temperature — as a meze, a snack, or as a vegetable-dish with a meal.

    Whenever we have new foreign guests, Jim always asks that I make this dish for them — as long as I don’t call it eggplant. Seems his mother forced him to eat too many soft-boiled eggs as a child — and the name association still bothers him.

    [Click following to access a fully illustrated HTML version of Aubergine ‘Tongue Sugar’.]

    Jim and Perihan Masters are a husband and wife team,
    living on the Aegean Coast of Turkey just 50 miles south of Izmir.
    Settled now in the heart of what was once the ancient
    Ionian Empire — the couple live an idyllic life by the sea.. writing,
    drawing and painting, teaching English, and providing computing
    service support to local businesses. They also sponsor the MSNBC
    award-winning Learning Practical
    Turkish Website
    which has built an enthusiastic international
    following of devoted Turkophiles and inquisitive language students of
    all ages.

    December 19, 2007

    Smore Brownies Recipe

    Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Griffin Wetzstein @ 2:45 am

    The smore brownies recipe is rich with flavor. Dark chocolate and marshmallows on top of graham crackers! Just like the campfire favorite, this one is best served warm and gooey!

    Ingredients

    8 whole graham crackers, broken crosswise in half (15 squares needed)

    1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter

    4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate

    2 cups granulated sugar

    3 eggs

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1 cup all-purpose flour

    2 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

    1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

    Hardware

    Large microwave safe bowl

    13 x 9-inch baking pan

    Aluminum foil

    Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

    Step 2: Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, with ends of foil extending beyond sides of pan.

    Step 3: Lightly grease the foil lined pan; set aside.

    Step 4: Place 15 of the graham squares on the bottom of the pan, overlapping slightly.

    Step 5: In a large microwave safe bowl, place the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

    Step 6: Stir in granulated sugar.

    Step 7: Add eggs and vanilla extract; mix well.

    Step 8: Stir in the flour until well blended.

    Step 9: Spread over the graham cracker squares in pan.

    Step 10: Bake for 30-32 minutes or until toothpick comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake.

    Step 11: Sprinkle evenly with marshmallows and chocolate chunks. Bake an additional 3-5 minutes or until marshmallows begin to melt. When cooled, lift out of pan with aluminum foil handles. If desired cut into smaller squares.

    Makes 15 large, or 30 smaller brownies.

    For more information on baking procedures and hardware used in this recipe see our Baking Tips section.

    Important: Feel free to republish this article on your website. However, you are not allowed to modify any part of its content and all links should be kept active.

    For more great brownie recipes visit http://kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/brownie-recipes.html

    For some great tasting scone recipes visit http://kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/scone-recipes.html

    For cookie baking tips and a wide selection of recipes visit http://kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/

    December 17, 2007

    Beef ‘n Green Salsa Stew

    Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Cristie Will @ 3:05 pm

    Ingredients:

    2-pounds Beef roast, cut into small pieces,

    4-tablespoons Oil,

    1-cup Flour,

    4-medium Potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces,

    1-large Onion, chopped,

    8-ounces Chopped & frozen green chilies with juice,

    2-cups Tomatoes and green chilies with juice,

    16-ounces Pinto beans, drained and rinsed,

    1-cup Green salsa,

    1-teaspoon Garlic powder,

    1-teaspoon Salt,

    1-teaspoon Pepper,

    6-regular Flour tortillas.

    Instructions:

    Trim fat from beef and cut into small pieces. Place flour in a 1-gallon zip lock bag; place cut up beef in bag and shake. In a large skillet heat up 4 tablespoons of oil and place beef and flour mixture into hot skillet and brown over medium-high heat.

    Place browned meat in a 4 to 5-quart slow cooker; add 1-inch potatoes, chopped onion, chopped frozen green chilies with juice, tomatoes with green chillies and juice, pinto beans, green salsa, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.

    Serve with warmed tortillas.

    Note: This dish is even better with fresh roasted green chilies chopped, but for those of us on the run the frozen chilies is next to best. Avoid using the canned, because they have no flavor compared to the fresh or frozen.

    Serves 6

    Cooking lessons for Cristie began at 8 years old with the best teacher in the world — her Mom! Later, she cooked for the restaurant the family owned, and her love of the ‘trade’ has grown ever since. Cristie’s creative cooking has continued for over 40 years. Her creations can soon be on your kitchen table.

    Visit http://www.cristiescookin.com to find more recipes, spices, ‘Bling It, Zing It, and Ring It’ and Gotcha Covered aprons. Send in your recipe and you could win a free apron.

    December 16, 2007

    Cristie’s Hot Kissables Snack Mix

    Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Cristie Will @ 12:05 am

    Ingredients:

    8-cups Popcorn, popped,

    1-cup Pretzels, miniature ones,

    1-cup Peanuts, roasted,

    1-cup Red Hots candy,

    ?-cup Peanut butter, creamy,

    1⅓-cups Yogurt covered raisins,

    1-cup Corn syrup, light,

    1-package (10.5 ounces) Kissables chocolate candies by Hershey?s?.

    Instructions:

    Preheat oven to 275?. Grease 9×13-pan. Combine popcorn, pretzels and peanuts in greased pan.

    Combine syrup and peanut butter in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until syrup and peanut butter are blended together, about 10 minutes. Pour over popcorn mixture; stir until evenly coated.

    Bake for 30 minutes, stirring often, about every 5 minutes. Remove from oven; stir every 2 minutes or until cooled. Cool completely; stir in Red Hots and Kissables chocolate candies; store in tightly covered container in cool dry place.

    Makes about 12 cups

    Note: Red hots can be substituted with cinnamon Gummy Bears or Skittles. Substitute regular popcorn with carmel corn. If your a big chocolate lover then substitute the yogurt covered raisins with chocolate covered raisins. Change out pretzels for cheeto’s. This is surprisingly delicious. Last but not least you can change the nuts to any kind. I use roasted pine nuts or macadamia nuts sometimes for a change.

    Cooking lessons for Cristie began at 8 years old with the best teacher in the world — her Mom! Later, she cooked for the restaurant the family owned, and her love of the ‘trade’ has grown ever since. Cristie’s creative cooking has continued for over 40 years. Her creations can soon be on your kitchen table.

    Visit http://www.cristiescookin.com/ for more fabulous recipes, specialty spices, ‘Ring It, Bling It, and Zing It’ along with her trade marked ‘Gotcha Covered’ apron. Submit your favorite recipes and you could win an apron.

    December 4, 2007

    Dough Now or Later

    Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Cristie Will @ 8:25 pm

    MAKE IT AND BAKE IT NOW OR MAKE IT, FREEZE IT AND BAKE LATER

    Ingredients:

    3 to 4 cups Bread flour,
    3-cups Flour,
    1-tablespoon Salt,
    2-tablespoons Butter, softened,

    4-tablespoons Sugar,
    2-packets or 4?-teaspoons Active dry yeast,
    2?-cups Warm water (needs to be 120?F).

    Instructions:

    Combine 3? cups of the bread flour, sugar, salt, butter and yeast in a large bowl. Slowly add warm water; beat with mixer on low speed for about a minute, scraping the bowl often. Stir in ?-cup of bread flour and start adding the regular flour one cup at a time until dough is easy to handle.

    Lightly flour some wax paper, place dough on floured wax paper and knead dough for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Divide dough in half and shape, place in bowl and let rise. Take dough out of bowl and knead a few minutes; place into a 9×5-inch loaf pan and let rise again. Preheat oven to 425?; bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until loaf is a golden brown. Remove from pan to let cool and brush with butter.

    Instructions for dinner rolls: After letting dough rise once, divide dough into 30 pieces and place into pan or cup cake pan and let rise again. Bake at 375? for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

    To freeze and make later just divide dough in half; wrap each half-in airtight gallon plastic freezer bags. Frozen dough will keep for 1 to 2 months. When ready to use remove from freezer and place sealed bag in refrigerator for 8 to 16 hours or place sealed bag on your countertop for 5 to 10 hours. Remember to keep checking during this period to see if dough has thawed. Once the dough has thawed, follow the instructions above on rising and baking.

    Makes 2 loaves or approximately 30 dinner rolls

    Note: If you want wheat bread then use Whole Wheat flour in place of the 3 cups of regular flour. You can also add 1/2 cup of finely chopped nuts or 1 cup of finely shredded cheddar cheese to change it up.

    Cooking lessons for Cristie began at 8 years old with the best teacher in the world — her Mom! Later, she cooked for the restaurant the family owned, and her love of the ‘trade’ has grown ever since. Cristie’s creative cooking has continued for over 40 years. Her creations can soon be on your kitchen table. Check out Cristie’s books at http://www.cristiescookin.com and http://www.tjstokes.com

    October 27, 2007

    Party with Glowsticks: Menu Ideas

    Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Gail Leino @ 10:13 am

    You may be looking around for a good glowsticks menu that goes well with the glowsticks party that is becoming popular these days. It can be hard to come up with a good menu with edible foods. After all the chemicals in glowsticks aren?t exactly edible. And I don?t believe there are any food additives on the market that will make food glow in the dark, safely at any rate.

    You can work with the idea of light in the dark when preparing your menu. Drinks can easily be accented with glowsticks products. Many companies create bottles that glow in the dark that are safe to drink from and there are also glow in the dark bands that can be snapped onto the bottom of glass beer bottles to make an interesting glowing drink.

    Other edible treats can be found that used glowsticks, but they aren?t like real menu items. Many companies sell lighted, floating LED ice cubes. They are plastic and don?t try to eat them. They just make a decorative accent. You?ll also find glow in the dark plates at a few places that you can place food on.

    If you are looking for foods that can actually make a dramatic entrance, think about trying out some flamb? recipes. Flamb? involves lighting the alcohol used in many food recipes on fire. It creates a short lived, but dramatic flame to wow the guests at the table with. I recommend that you have at least dim lighting in the room where guests will be eating and you?ll be attempting flamb??s. It?s much safer that way, plus it?s easier for the guests to eat. There are also some recipes that make use of lighted sparklers as accents and you may even come across a flaming meatball recipe or two in your search for menu items at your next glowsticks party.

    Gail Leino is known throughout the internet world as Mrs. Party. She has become the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies with clever themes. Her simple party planning approach demostrates how to use proper manners while teaching etiquette with organizational skills. She shares lots of interesting fun facts. Huge selection of Glow Sticks, free party games, and party planning ideas.

    Glowsticks Recipes for Your Party: Flambe

    Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Gail Leino @ 10:02 am

    So you?ve decided to look for a couple glowsticks recipes for your glowstick party. Well, there aren?t many food recipes that make use of glow sticks, except as an accent on the side of the plate. However, you can come up with a few well-lit recipes for your glowsticks party that will still wow your guests. Flamb? recipes are a great themed food to feature at your next glowsticks party.

    Fruity Rum Flamb?: This is an easy recipe that needs only a few items and then you can play with the fire. You?ll need,

    2 tablespoons butter

    2 tablespoons brown sugar

    1 can pineapple slices, drained

    1 banana, sliced

    1 mango, sliced

    1/4 cup of room temperature rum

    Cook the butter and brown sugar in a skillet until the sugar has dissolved. Don?t burn the butter. Place the fruit on the skillet in one layer. Leave it until browned on one side and gently turn the fruit pieces. When other side of fruit is browned you are ready to flamb?.

    Add the rum and light with a long match or automatic lighter. Keep yourself and your guests away from the flame.

    Flamb? Fajitas: These are a great menu item for the typical party and will light up the night. You?ll need:

    Chicken or Steak, cut into strips

    Fajita toppings, diced peppers, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, cilantro, etc.

    Flour tortillas, warmed

    1/4 cup of room temperature brandy

    Cook the Chicken or Steak as you would for regular fajitas. Season as you like with lime, salt, pepper, cilantro, etc. Get the skillet very hot. Once the meat is thoroughly cooked and browned. Add the brandy and light with a matchstick. Remember to keep clear of the flames.

    The flour tortillas should be warmed and remember to set your fajita toppings out on a buffet or on the dinner table. Once the flames go out you can dig in. Keep a lid or some aluminum foil on hand to put out the flames if they don?t appear to want to go out on their own.

    Gail Leino is known throughout the internet world as Mrs. Party. She has become the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies with clever themes. Her simple party planning approach demostrates how to use proper manners while teaching etiquette with organizational skills. She shares lots of interesting fun facts. Huge selection of Glow Sticks, free party games, and party planning ideas.

    The Perfect Steak Dinner - 3 Dishes (and One Drink) to Food Nirvana

    Filed under: Food-and-Drink, Recipes — Nathan Pennington @ 5:33 am

    Here are four items that I think make the perfect steak dinner. Do all four. You won’t disagree with me. What are the four?

    Spicy Smoked Steak
    Cheese Fries
    Seasoned Green Beans
    Homemade Milkshake

    I’m getting hungry, so let’s get started.

    Spicy Smoked Steak
    2 pounds of steak (round steak works fine)
    MSG (sold as Accent in the seasoning section)
    1 tablespoon of butter
    1/4 cup cider vinegar
    2 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
    1 eight ounce can of tomato sauce
    1 large can mushrooms
    1 banana pepper
    2 bell green peppers
    2 mid-sized onions
    Some salt and pepper
    Liquid smoke

    Directions:
    Tenderize the meat with a mallet and lightly coat the meat with the MSG powder. Take all the other ingredients, except the tomato sauce and put them on the top of the meat. It’s important to keep it all on top.

    Regarding the liquid smoke vary the amount you use to the amount of smokiness you want (don’t overdo it, it’s strong stuff). Pour the tomato sauce over the top of everything else.

    Cover the steak snugly with foil. Poke holes in the foil. Cook it for half an hour at 400 degrees. It’s a good idea to have a cookie sheet under the steak in the oven to catch drippings. Cover the cookie sheet with foil for easy clean up. Reduce heat to 200 degrees and continue cooking for an hour.

    Cheesy Fries
    3 potatoes (scrubbed and sliced in to French fry shapes)
    3 tablespoons of melted butter
    1/3 cup parmesan cheese (not fresh-grated)
    3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
    3/4 teaspoon paprika
    1/2 chives

    Directions:
    Coat the fries in the butter. Mix the other ingredients together. Coat the fries in the mixture. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook them uncovered for forty minutes (less if you’ve thinly sliced them).

    Seasoned Green Beans
    10 fresh mushrooms
    1 yellow onion
    4 cups of frozen green beans
    1 stick of butter
    Mrs. Dash seasoning

    Directions:
    Chop the mushrooms and onions. Saute them until the onion is translucent. Heat the beans until they are tender. Drain the veggies and place them in a dish. Mix in the mushrooms, onion, butter, and Mrs. Dash.

    Homemade Milkshake
    4 cups of cold milk
    4 cups of vanilla ice cream

    Directions: Blend together in at high speed in a blender. Serves 4 to 5.

    So there you have the perfect steak dinner. Personally, I think I’ll fix this again tomorrow night. Good food is truly my weakness. Enjoy!

    Nathan Pennington runs http://www.meatlodge.com. The Meat Lodge is devoted to all kinds of delicious meats and is full of recipes, short how-to’s, and the like.

    Click here now! ==> http://www.meatlodge.com

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