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| Dining On Bahamas’ Harbour Island by Simon Harris Bahamas vacation destination Harbour Island offers a wide variety of cuisines and quality dining experiences. International, Bahamian, and American cuisines are readily available throughout the island.Angela’s Starfish Restaurant offers both classic and unique native dishes, Bahamian cuisine and some American foods. The native dishes truly have that authentic quality, and many of the customers seen in eating in the restaurant are local people enjoying the classic favorites. Many of these are based on seafood of various types and cracked conch. The setting is simple, small tables on the lawn with folding chairs, and the food is delicious. Credit cards are not accepted, so you’ll need to remember to come prepared to pay cash. The restaurant is open every day, from 7:30am to 8:30pm.The Landing is well known for its fine Australian and international cuisines, Located on Bay Street, the eatery is housed in a beautiful antique building that adds ambiance to an already excellent dining experience. Because fresh ingredients are preferred by the chef, the menu varied with what is in season. House specialties include capellini with lobster, and a very special dish that consists of lobster wrapped in banana leaves, braised romaine, chili, and lime juice. The Landing also serves an excellent pesto sauce, rich in flavor and a delight to the nose. This establishment is open on Sundays, from 8am to 2pm, and Thursday through Tuesday, from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. Reservations are strongly suggested to secure a table for dinner at this quality restaurant.On Court Street, Bahamian and Mediterranean cuisines are presented in their finest forms at Restaurant Sip Sip. It is truly an amazing restaurant. The menu varies, according to the current interest of the proprietors Jim Black and Julie Lightbourne. The menu most often contains dishes based upon Bahamian, Italian, French, Thai, or Pacific Rim cuisines, though the degree to which the focus rests upon any one of these culinary traditionschanges periodically. Occasionally you’ll see eggplant dishes from Lebanon, Mexican inspired cuisine with tropical flavors, and a variety of other culinary inspirations and fusions. This restaurant is open for lunch Wednesdays through Mondays, from 11:30am to 4pm. This is a place that definitely should not be missed.Avery’s Restaurant and Grill is located on Colebrook Street in a small wooden house of orange and yellow. The tiny restaurant is very clean and the food is simple and hearty Bahamian fare, a favorite among locals. It is a family own and operated establishment that does a brisk business all day long. Avery’s Restaurant and Grill is open every day between the hours of 6:30am and #pm and from 5:30 to 10pm.There are numerous little dining spots featuring a variety of culinary experiences, from elegant fine dining to the simple charms to be found in house converted to a restaurant serving dishes made from grandmother’s oldest recipes. Harbor Island is a place to indulge the taste buds, rather than to worry about a waist line. About the Author This article provided courtesy of http://www.cruise-holiday-guide.com |
| Bada Bing Dinner Theater in Las Vegas by Linda Lane Bada Bing Dinner Theater in Las VegasRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.comTo read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/shows/vegas/badabing/bada.htmlAmerica's love affair with The Sopranos, The Godfather, Goodfellas, and a host of equally thrilling mobster tales can be satisfied vicariously by spending an evening at "Ba-Da-Bing", the interactive dinner musical at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.The show is a clever marriage between Gustav Mauler's Italian eatery, Sazio's, and the Ba-Da-Bing repertoire company of wise guys and slick chicks. The occasion is a surprise birthday party for Mr. Big, the Godfather of Las Vegas, and as his guests, audience members get to join one of the families. Mike Hughes, general manager, stage manager, and Mr. Big's Bookie, explained that they have been performing for three years. They've been at Sazio's one year and have become so popular that instead of five nights, they are now running seven nights a week.Certainly, the food plays a major role in the gangster comedy's success. There is a three-course dinner beginning with a crisp, freshly tossed Caesar salad and homemade bread. Black and white helium balloons and stars float above tables reserved for: the Pizza Family, the Antipasto Family, the Pepperoni Family, and so on. The dialogue may be tongue in cheek but the atmosphere is authentic down to the spats, the big rocks, and the pistol packin' mamas. The show's publicist, Bobbie Katz, explains that Ba-Da-Bing is the only interactive musical in Las Vegas. It is more intimate than Tony and Tina's wedding. And thanks to Gustav Mauler's cuisine, the food is far better than most catered dinners.Even Lisa, our waitress, was Jersey through and through, her voice, resonating with Sopranos inflections. "Okay, tonight we got the Chicken Marsala with garlic mashed potatoes, the Meat Lasagna, the Grilled Ribeye Steak with Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce, and the Salmon with Honey Basil Sauce. There's homemade Tiramisu for dessert so save room. And, everybody gets a glass a champagne to toast Mr. Big, the godfather of Las Vegas. Drinks are extra."As we ordered our entrée actors and actresses looking like they came out of a vintage Godfather epic roamed the private dining room, dubbing one man at each table Don for the night. Others were enlisted to participate in one of the sketches. Frankie Marone, or Moron as he's often called, played by Ted Davey is Mr. Big's former right-hand man. Frankie is hosting the boss's surprise party "so's he can get back in the Don's good graces." His former girlfriend, Chickie Parmesan, played by Carrie SaLoutos, happens to be Mr. Big's favorite entertainer. Her version of "Santa Baby" brings back the warm, sultry sounds of Eartha Kitt.Pepper Vega, played by Karin Denise, is a well trained singer/comedienne. Her timing is sharp and her personality vivid enough to be memorable. Her husband, Johnny Vega, Mr. Big's favorite comic, played by Ted Wallek, keeps the show zipping along with fast paced banter, jokes, and colorful tiffs with Pepper.During the main course, Frankie Marone sings a smooth rendition of "Mack The Knife", tells everyone that the Lasagna's never got along with the Pizzas, and the Spaghettis never got along with anybody! He invites all the Don's to stand up while goombas holding machine guns flank a life-sized cutout of Warren Beatty from "Bonnie and Clyde". The keyboardist, Michael Dowe, takes his cues from the action, lending a sense of authenticity and drama.I had the Salmon with Honey Basil Sauce, and much to Gustav Mauler's credit, the fish was fresh, flaky and moist. The sauce was tangy with a hint of sweetness. My new family members at the Antipasto table were very pleased with their entrées. Beer, wine and alcoholic beverages are extra."So it all started with the BadAssio Brothers", Frankie tells the crowd who are well into their main courses. "I need some help up here." He scans the diners and walks over to a beautiful, young woman who he coaxes and cajoles up on stage."Your name?""Yvonne.""So, Yvonne, Where are you from?""Russia. I'm here celebrating my divorce!"The guests are now in full party mode; they cheer and applaud. Eventually they discover that Yvonne is not just an accidental tourist, she is a long-legged, professional dancer who adds more spice to an already hot line-up. Between dinner and dessert guests find themselves singing and dancing the Tarantella.Homemade Tiramisu is served and champagne is poured as the long anticipated moment arrives—Mr. Big, the Godfather of Las Vegas makes his grand entrance. Mr. Big, who is sometimes played by Ben Morgan, the show's producer, or by a guest, is thrilled with the party. There is more tongue-in-cheek mobster humor, vaudevillian jokes and singing. Love is in the air.After the show, guests can take pictures and chat with the actors.To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/shows/vegas/badabing/bada.htmlLinda Lane, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com About the Author Linda Lane, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter. |
| How to Cook Lobster by Michael Sheridan French chefs plunge them into boiling water; English ones, in an attempt to appear more humane, drive kitchen knives through their skulls before doing the same thing. No wonder the miserable creatures go red. They’re mad as hell. What a way to treat the king of crustaceans. Let’s make a pact. From now on let’s treat the lobster with the respect (and humanity) it deserves. Here’s how: Use a pan deep enough to hold 6 liters of salted water to which you have added some shredded onion, a garlic clove or two and a bay leaf. Purists who live by the sea also like to add a pint of seawater. People like me, who’ve seen what gets washed up as a result of coastal run-off, don’t. Put a trivet or round roasting rack in the bottom of the pan, on which you will place the lobster. You do this so that it is not touching the bottom of the pan and will not be burnt as the metal heats up. Does this improve the flavor? No, it’s purely for the comfort of the lobster. So, this is what you have – a pan of cold brine, seasoned, in which a lobster sits on a trivet as happy as a sand boy. How do I know this? Because lobsters have two states of being – they’re either happy or they’re dead. Now, using a gentle heat, gradually raise the temperature of the water to around 90°F, at which point the lobster will be fast asleep and sweetly dreaming. It will never wake up. You can now turn up the heat until the water reaches a gentle simmer and cook the lobster for around 8 minutes a pound. Drain and plunge into iced water. Let it cool in there before draining again and transferring to the fridge until needed. The lobster will reward you for this kindness by being succulent and tender. It won’t be stuffed with adrenalin and its meaty fibers will not have contracted into something resembling India rubber. The next step is to cut the lobster in half and to clean it. Lay it on its back and use a strong, very sharp, knife to cut it in half from tail to head. You will easily see the stomach bag at the back of the head and the blackish gut running the length of the body. Remove these and discard. You may also, if you wish, discard the greenish liver, although aficionados hold this to be a delicacy. It’s certainly edible, but personally I chuck it because I don’t like the color. And that’s it. You can now serve your lobster cold with some freshly made mayonnaise, or indulge in one of the more fanciful hot dishes for which some restaurants have become famous. About the author: During the 1990s Michael Sheridan was head chef of the Pierre Victoire restaurant in London's West End, specializing in French cuisine. An Australian, he is a published author on cooking matters, and runs a free membership club and cooking course for busy home cooks at http://thecoolcook.com |
| Is Your Cookware Poisoning You? by Michael Sheridan For over 40 years scientists have known that the fumes from hot non-stick surfaces can kill birds such as canaries. So just how dangerous are they to you? Several studies have been conducted into health concerns surrounding Teflon, the coating invented and patented by DuPont. The results have been disturbing, if somewhat inconclusive. While the lethal effect on birds is well documented and not in dispute, much of the other evidence tends to be anecdotal at best. And some of it is downright confusing. For example, the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is usually cited as the villain of the piece and the root cause of the illnesses that have allegedly appeared in some users. However DuPont claims Teflon doesn't contain this chemical, although it is used in the manufacturing process. Whatever the truth of that may be, it’s certainly accurate to say that there have been a number of health issues emerging in the community immediately adjacent to the DuPont factory in Parkersburg, West Virginia; more about that later. There also seems to be some disagreement among authorities as to the temperatures at which the bird-lethal fumes are given off. These are quoted as ranging from 285°F to 475° and more. Since both these figures are well within the smoke points of edible oils such as avocado and safflower, keeping your budgie in or near the kitchen is definitely not good for his health. But what about your health? Human victims have complained of flu-like symptoms, some leading to respiratory complications, after using non-stick cookware. Some reactions have been reported as "severe"". At least one report suggests that the fumes may be cancer inducing after prolonged exposure, although none suggest that Teflon itself is harmful if swallowed. If the fumes are harmful to humans, then there is much more to consider than just kitchen items. Some brands of light bulb, portable heaters and even Gore Tex clothing are all produced using PFOA, the same reactive agent used in the case of Teflon. Not surprisingly, DuPont denies there is any problem; but this hasn't prevented the company from paying out millions of dollars in compensation, not only to their employees but to 50,000 people living in the vicinity of the Parkersburg factory. You have to ask yourself "why?". Complaints have included accusations of water pollution, high infant mortality rates and a greater than normal incidence of cancer among the local population. DuPont has never admitted liability in any of these cases. While the jury still seems to be out on the safety or otherwise of Teflon in the home, even DuPont's own experts advise caution when using non-stick items, particularly with regard to high cooking temperatures. And this is something you can rely on: when Teflon and similar coatings are heated to a certain point, fumes are given off. These fumes will kill pet birds that inhale them. It’s therefore reasonable to suppose that other forms of life may also be at risk. You can get more information on the Teflon debate from this address http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon/es.php For a definitive article on the effects of Teflon fumes on birds, visit this site http://www.theaviary.com/teflon.shtml About the author: Michael Sheridan was formerly head chef of the Pierre Victoire restaurant in London's West End, specializing in French cuisine. An Australian, he is a published author on cooking matters and runs a free membership club and cooking course for busy home cooks at http://thecoolcook.com |
| Oil or Butter? They Are Both Fat! by Michael Sheridan Newsflash: there is a world beyond olive oil. Look, I like olive oil as much as the next person and I use it extensively in my cooking. However there are alternatives and there are very good reasons for using some of them. But let’s just stay with olive oil for a second or two longer. How often have you seen this statement in a recipe; ”use the best olive oil you can afford.” Well I’m here to tell you that is nonsense. The quality of olive oil is not determined by its price, nor by its fancy packaging. It’s determined by its flavor and what you propose using it for. For example, while extra virgin olive oil is perfect for salads, there is absolutely no point in using it for high temperature cooking. When heated beyond a certain point it loses its flavor and most of its characteristics, although not its nutritional value. You might just as well use the home brand oil of the store you’re shopping in. What’s more, the store’s own brand of extra virgin olive oil will be every bit as good as those costing many dollars more. I never buy anything else, and I have yet to come across anyone who can tell the difference. Just don’t let them see the bottle. Adding flavor I mentioned before that with high temperature cooking, such as frying, olive oil quickly loses its flavor. Fortunately, all fats are not the same and the best way to overcome this problem is to mix the olive oil with something else. You could use sesame oil for example, or add a knob of butter which will not burn because, although the oil reaches its smoking point at a higher temperature than animal fats, the overall cooking temperature will be reduced by the butter. This is not always a disadvantage and I frequently use butter instead of oil for much of the cooking I do. However I use clarified butter, or “Ghee”, which is simply the Asian form of clarified butter and is usually sold in tins. Clarified butter is butter with the milk solids removed so that it can be heated to a high temperature without burning. It’s also much better for you than the full fat alternative. You can make it yourself simply by bringing ordinary butter to the boil, skimming off the solids which rise to the surface and then filtering the remainder. But for the life of me I cannot imagine why you would want to do that when you can buy a tin of it that will just about last for ever if kept in the fridge. The great thing about using Ghee is that it retains its flavor no matter what temperature you cook it at without overpowering the rest of the ingredients. Dangerous liaisons Despite what the recipes may tell you, olive oil is worse than useless when used in egg liaison sauces. It makes them taste bitter. For things like mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce, I invariably use grape seed oil. I find this has a light, clean finish and produces perfect results every time. Corn oil and canola, which is called rape-seed oil in Britain, tend to be rather too oily and I also find them very bland. As a matter of fact, I never cook with either of them. Even my deep fat frying is done with olive oil. Which brings me to another point. Fats and oils in cooking are mainly used for either deep or shallow frying. In both cases the food that results, with just a few exceptions such as omelets, should be crisp and fat free. The main reason this doesn’t happen is because the fat was not able to get hot enough before the food was added. Don’t let this happen to you. Heat your frying pan until it begins to smoke. Then remove it from the heat for a minute before adding food. Do the same with your wok, and make sure that your deep fat fryer has reached full temperature before you even think about adding the tiniest morsel. If you have any trouble judging the correct temperature, drop a small scrap of fresh bread into the fat and see what it does. It should sizzle immediately and crisp up in a couple of seconds. Remember that all fats are not the same. Refined oils such as sunflower, peanut and corn are best for frying because they reach a smoke point of 450°F, while olive oil – which is what I use for general cooking – comes in at 410°F. To give you some idea of the difference in cooking temperatures, ordinary butter has a smoke point of around 300°F. One more point. Don’t try to cook too much food at once. If you do, you will find that the temperature will drop rapidly, the food will shed water and instead of frying your chicken or whatever, you will stew it. Better by far to cook small amounts at a time, allowing the oil to reheat between each batch. Do this, and you will avoid the limp vegetables and soggy chips (French fries) that bedevil so many home cooks. About the author: Michael Sheridan was formerly head chef of the Pierre Victoire restaurant in London's West End, specializing in French cuisine. An Australian, he is a published author on cooking matters and runs a free membership club and cooking course for busy home cooks at http://thecoolcook.com |
| Exotic Dining: Classic Indian Dishes Made Simple by News Canada Exotic Dining: Classic Indian Dishes Made Simple News Canada NC—Indias ancient cultures have left an indelible stamp on civilization but perhaps no single aspect has impacted day-to-day life in Canada quite as much as the cuisine of India. In cities and towns from Victoria to St. Johns Indian restaurants have sprung up and been eagerly embraced by a Canadian audience with an increasingly sophisticated taste for the new and exotic. More and more Canadians are discovering the astonishing range of Indian foods and how easy it is to prepare them at home. Indian food is much, much more than just a plate of curry. Regional and cultural influences Hindus do not eat beef, some are strict vegetarians who even shun eggs and fish; Muslims do not eat pork or shellfish have given rise to an immense number of dishes, some hot and spicy, others mild and velvety. What makes Indian cuisine so different from others is the skilful and imaginative use of blended spices and herbs in the preparation of food. Cooks add their own special ingredients and guard the secrets of their recipes. But all use various combinations of spices such as cardamom, cloves and ginger to add aroma to the dish; red peppers, ginger and mango powder for flavour; paprika, saffron and turmeric for colour. The best Indian chefs grind their own spices, shred their own herbs and can often take hours to prepare the selection of dishes that make up a meal. For cooks who do not have that much time, there is a simpler process. Sharwoods line of sauces make it possible to prepare a delicious Indian meal in minutes. Balti sauce, the newest in the line, is a rich tomato-based cooking sauce piquantly seasoned with coriander, red chillies and fenugreek. It can be used to give an entirely new perspective on chicken, lamb, beef or even vegetables. Butter chicken, a mouth-watering favourite in many restaurants, is made simple with Tandoori Makhani, in which cardamom and cream blend smoothly to produce a dish fit for the Moghul princes themselves. Tikka Masala is yet another rich sauce flavoured with caraway seeds and coriander - again, ideal with chicken. These sauces are far too delicious to waste so, to soak them up, Sharwoods has introduced Naan Bread Mix. Quick and easy to make, it adds a real home made feel to an exciting meal. All sauces come with simple directions and have a shelf life of 18 months unopened - seven days opened. If youd like to delve deeper into the secrets of this great cuisine, check out the wealth of information in the Internet at www.sharwoods.com. - News Canada
About The Author News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web. News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services. |
| The True Hystory of Tiramisu by Anna Maria Volpi The True Hystory of Tiramisu Anna Maria Volpi Open an old Italian cookbook, browse through the index and… surprise! No Tiramisu’. My first encounter with Tiramisu’ was in 1985. I was in Italy at that time: A friend of mine told me about this new recipe she got. She was so enthusiastic about it that I felt compelled to try it immediately. The taste was unbelievably good, as never I had tasted before. Since then I fell in love with this dessert. Everybody knows by now that Tiramisu’ means “pick-me-up” in Italian, for the high energetic content eggs and sugar and the caffeine of the strong espresso coffee. There are many different stories about the origin of Tiramisu’. It is a layered cake; therefore some place its origin in Tuscany, where another famous layered Italian dessert is very popular. It is called “Zuppa Inglese” English Soup. It is not English and it is not a soup. Instead is a simple cake of ladyfingers or sponge cake, soaked in “alkermes” liquor, and alternated layers of chocolate and egg custard. Layered cakes have been around for long time. The brilliant idea in Tiramisu’ is not in the technique of layering, but in the components. The great invention of combining together coffee, zabaglione cream, and chocolate: This is the true innovation in Tiramisu’. I love to study history of food. In my book “The Timeless Art of Italian Cuisine – Centuries of Scrumptious Dining”, there is extensive information about culinary history of the various regions of Italy. I tried to trace the origin of Tiramisu’ investigating many Italian cookbooks. The first clue is by the famous Italian gastronome Giuseppe Maffioli. In his book “Il ghiottone Veneto”, The Venetian Glutton first published in 1968, he talks extensively about Zabaglione custard. The name of this cream originates from Zabaja, a sweet dessert popular in the Illiria region. It is the coastal area across the Adriatic Sea that was Venetian territory for long time during the golden age of the “Repubblica Serenissima” The Most Serene Republic of Venice. Zabaglione was prepared in those times with sweet Cyprus wine. “The groom’s bachelor friends”, says Maffioli, “at the end of the long wedding banquet, maliciously teasing, gave to him before the couple retired a big bottle of zabajon, to guarantee a successful and prolonged honeymoon”. “The zabajon”, Maffioli continues, “was sometimes added of whipped cream, but in this case was served very cold, almost frozen, and accompanied by the baicoli, small thin Venetian cookies invented in the 1700’s by a baker in the Santa Margherita suburb of Venice”. As we can notice, the addition of whipped cream, the serving temperature, the cookies, all these elements are close to the modern Tiramisu’ recipe. And even the allusion to the energetic properties of the Zabaglione, seem to refer to the Tiramisu’ name. Later in my research the oldest recipe I could find was in the book by Giovanni Capnist “I Dolci del Veneto” The Desserts of Veneto. The first edition was published in 1983 and has a classic recipe for Tiramisu’. “Recent recipe with infinite variations from the town of Treviso”, says Capnist, “discovery of restaurants more then family tradition”. But the final word on the origin of Tiramisu’ is from the book by Fernando e Tina Raris “La Marca Gastronomica” published in 1998, a book entirely dedicated to the cuisine from the town of Treviso. The authors remember what Giuseppe Maffioli wrote in an article in 1981: “Tiramisu’ was born recently, just 10 years ago in the town of Treviso. It was proposed for the first time in the restaurant . The dessert and its name became immediately extremely popular, and this cake and the name where copied by many restaurants first in Treviso then all around Italy”. Still today the restaurant “Le Beccherie” makes the dessert with the classical recipe: ladyfingers soaked in bitter strong espresso coffee, mascarpone-zabaglione cream, and bitter cocoa powder. Alba and Ado Campeol, owners of the restaurant regret they didn’t patent the name and the recipe, especially to avoid all the speculation and guesses on the origin of this cake, and the diffusion of so many recipes that have nothing to do with the original Tiramisu’. I tried countless different recipes form the infinite variations of Tiramisu’, but the classic one, the recipe I show on my website, the recipe from the “Le Beccherie” restaurant, is still the one I prepare today and the one I prefer. As an example of one of the many delicious variation of Tiramisu’ I am showing on my website a step-by-step recipe for the “Tiramisu’ with Mixed Berries” that is quickly becoming a new classic. Anna Maria Volpi Nov.20, 2003
About The Author Anna Maria Volpi is a chef, award winning cookbook writer, and cooking instructor. Her website and newsletter http://www.annamariavolpi.com/page28.html has taken recipe-writing to a higher standard featuring step-by-step illustrated traditional Italian recipes. anna@annamariavolpi.com Please notify the author if and when you decide to publish this article. |
| The History of Thai Food by Andrew Hall The History of Thai Food Andrew Hall Thai food is famous all over the world. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony and contrast are the guiding principles behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. Characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked. Dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all tastes. The Tai people migrated from valley settlements in the mountainous region of Southwest China now Yunnan province between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, into what is now known as Thailand, Laos, the Shan States of upper Burma, and northwest Vietnam. Influenced by Chinese cooking techniques, Thai cuisine flourished with the rich biodiversity of the Thai peninsula. As a result, Thai dishes today have some similarities to Szechwan Chinese dishes. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plant and herbs were major ingredients. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking. With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and blended with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir-frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese techniques. Chillies were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America. Thais were very adapt at adapting foreign cooking methods, and substituting ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for other dairy products. Overpowering pure spices were toned down and enhanced by fresh herbs such as lemon grass and galanga. Eventually, fewer and less spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh herbs increased. It is generally acknowledged that Thai curries burn intensely, but briefly, whereas other curries, with strong spices, burn for longer periods. Instead of serving dishes in courses, a Thai meal is served all at once, permitting diners to enjoy complementory combinations of different tastes. A proper Thai meal should consist of a soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip with accompanying fish and vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish. The soup can also be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by a non-spiced item. There must be harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the entire meal.
About The Author Andrew Hall http://www.all-free-recipes.com |
| Finding the Best Recipes by Keith Kingston Finding the Best Recipes Keith Kingston Trying to find a dynamite recipe to wow guests or cook up a special supper for your special someone Finding the best recipes is simple. First, perform a careful analysis of the situation for which you are cooking to narrow down the search. Cookbooks are very specific, so whether you are a hometown soup cook, a college student, or a soon-to-be fine cuisine artist, there is a cookbook for you. Find your niche, and get cooking! Weight loss cookbooks are currently all the rage among dieters. There is a cookbook for every new fad diet around, be it South Beach, Atkins, or Weight Watchers. These cookbooks contain ideas for recipes that help you forget you are on a diet. Magazines like Cosmopolitan and Shape also contain delectable, yet guilt-free recipes if you are watching your waistline. The downside of these cookbooks is that you will spend a fortune purchasing all the diet-friendly ingredients. Another large recipe market is the young-person-learning-to-cook cookbook. My favorite in this group is A Man, A Can, A Plan. This book contains simple recipes for the most novice of cooks. It details how to make delicious and filling dinners using mostly canned ingredients. Cooking for Dummies makes even the most exotic of dishes attainable, and these books come in several subgroups for ethnic recipes as well. Several cookbooks exist on that limit the supplies needed to a meager four ingredients, perfect for those twenty-somethings who cannot cook and feel strapped for cash. For a special occasion, cooking shows are a fabulous resource to find recipes to amaze your guests. These recipes tend to be a bit more complicated and are not for the weak of heart, but if you are feeling up for a challenge, tune into the food network for an afternoon of yummy learning. Be sure to make notes, as there will be several ingredients to remember as well as cooking strategies and techniques that may be unfamiliar. These shows often supply other trade secrets as well on topics such as creating an atmosphere to compliment your cooking. The true secret for finding the best recipes is to use personalized cookbooks. Everyone has them. You know, the church fundraiser where everyone turned in their favorite recipe and sold the compiled book to foot the youth groups bus bill to Habitat for Humanity The inherited cookbook that gets passed through the generations of your family is another great place to find scrumptious recipes. Often these homemade cookbooks contain the best recipe secrets because they are unique. Also, people relate food to emotions, so when you cook Great Aunt Sallys famous meatloaf, a certain joy comes from the connection one feels through creating a dish that was created long ago by a special relative.
About The Author Keith Kingston is a professional web publisher offering tips on easy chicken recipes, chocolate chip and salad recipes http://recipes.allspecialoffers.com |
| Exploring World Flavours In The Comfort Of Your Own Backyard by News Canada Exploring World Flavours In The Comfort Of Your Own Backyard News Canada NC—Summer is almost here, which means backyard entertaining and patio parties with family and friends. As cross-cultural cuisine continues to gain in popularity, guests will be craving foods with more intense, diverse flavours this season. The standard fare associated with the much anticipated barbecue season can be easily enhanced by adding Caribbean, Mexican or Asian influences to your summer meals. There are many ways to perk up the flavour of simple favourites such as adding unique spices to a light pasta salad, incorporating mouth-watering marinades to meats and vegetables or utilizing fruits, nuts and dips. Asian Adventurer. Asian cuisine incorporates a diverse set of flavours, ranging from mild to very hot, and from sweet to savoury. Asian sauces often incude sweet, spicy and sour flavours such as: lemongrass, plum paste, sesame oil, chilies and ginger. Asian cooking generally uses small bites of lean cuts of meat, flavourful marinades, quick cooking over high heat and dipping sauce accompaniments. Caribbean Crusader. Caribbean cooking is the essence of fusion style as the islands were first settled by the Spanish, then the Dutch, French, British and Danish – the combination of these flavours developed the nature of the cuisine. Caribbean flavours tend to combine ingredients such as curry, allspice, lime, thyme, ginger, chilies and tropical fruits. A unique blend of spices and fruit components such as papaya, mango and guava can bring the vibrancy of an island sunset into any kitchen. Mouth-watering Mexican. Descended from the food of the Mayans, authentic Mexican takes advantage of the varied food sources in Mexico with small meals often served wrapped in a fresh tortilla. Mexican and Central American cuisine incorporates beans, corn, tomatoes, jicama, chocolate, avocado, papaya, vanilla and chili peppers. Experimenting with presentation, spices and seasonings, and flavourful rubs and marinades can bring a world of flavours to your own backyard: Create bite-size appetizers. Satays, small wooden skewers threaded with bite-size chunks of meat, are a popular street snack food in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and make wonderful starters. Use marinades to infuse flavour. Marinades are fantastic for tenderizing, enhancing flavour and preserving food. New Knorr® Spicy Caribbean Marinade with Papaya Juice or Knorr® Sesame Ginger Marinade with Mandarin Orange Juice spice up meats, vegetables and tofu for a glorious taste experience. Incorporate spices to traditional offerings. The chili pepper has become the single most widely used spice in the world, except for salt. Chili peppers vary in strength and flavour. Give your barbecue sauce or salsa a little zip by adding chili peppers into the mixture. Experiment with fruit. Try pairing new and unusual fresh fruits from your supermarket produce aisle such as mango, avocado, star fruit, pineapple, coconut, guava and papaya with your meals. They are full of vitamins and flavour and can be used in entrées or desserts. Jazz up a family favourite. Dry soup mixes have many uses and have become a widely used ingredient in hundreds of recipes. To attain a delicious, savoury flavour in traditional hamburger recipes, sprinkle a package of Knorr® Onion Soup Mix into the meat mixture. - News Canada
About The Author News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web. News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services. |
| Culinary Star in the Naiton's Capital - Ceiba by Karin Leperi Washington , D.C. has been harboring a secret for the last decade; a secret that is getting harder and harder to keep from the nation. Alhough D.C. was noted as a magnet for excellent ethnic cuisine in the past, it never savored a reputation for fine dining. Maybe it was the conservative streak prevalent in the city and surrounding suburbs, or maybe it was a reputation of having loads of lowly paid federal workers lacking sophisticated palates and owning tightly zipped wallets. Whatever the reason, the sidewalks of D.C. basically folded at night. Those were the days when gourmands in search of great food traveled to the likes of Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York City. A secret no more! Over the last decade, Washington, D.C. dining has arrived on the culinary scene in a big way, easily competing with culinary greats such as San Francisco and New York. One of the more innovative and latest entries into the world of sophisticated dining is Ceiba — a Latin-American fusion restaurant with contemporary flair and urban chic. The restaurant’s name is the same as the magnificent umbrella-shaped ceiba tree. Native throughout the American tropics, the ceiba was considered sacred by the ancient Maya, supposedly connecting earth with the celestial heavens. One thing is for certain about Ceiba — its star is rapidly rising. Ceiba offers an engaging menu inspired by our neighbors to the South: Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean, El Salvador, and Peru. Specialties also include Mexican fresh flavors and favorites from Veracruz and the Yucatan. What is presented is a wonderful fusion of exotic and festive tastes, capturing the world of sun-drenched lands with a vigor and intensity without equal on today’s dining scene. Read the full article with photos for free at:http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/food/dc/ceiba/ceiba.html ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karin Leperi, Jetsetters Magazine feature writer for Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com |
| Eating Well on a Travel Budget by Jed Clark When you're traveling it can be difficult to find good food at reasonable prices especially if you happen to be staying in a big city that has an established food and restaurant culture. When you're faced with a budget, you want to try and maximize your enjoyment per buck. If you want to eat well and sample the local cuisine for a budget price, you'll need to do a little research to find that perfect restaurant that offers a balance between quality and price. First, check with your hotel or hostel and inquire whether breakfast is included in your stay. In Europe many hotels provide breakfast. If you're hotel does provide breakfast, don't skip it in favor for paying for food elsewhere. Some of my most memorable meals were hostel breakfasts that were nothing more that a roll, butter, jam and some coffee with milk. Hotel and hostel breakfasts are also a great way to get to know other guests. One option for budget eating is to eat at a chain restaurant that you a familiar with, such as McDonald's, Burger King or Kentucky Fried Chicken. You can find a McDonald's about anywhere world-wide. I made my way through Rome using a free McDonald's map that in addition to indicating all the tourist attractions had a mark for every McDonald's in Rome. However, if you want to become familiar with the culture of the country you are visiting, eating at a fast food restaurant is not a good option. Another option is to buy groceries and make your own food. If you don't have a fridge or hot plate in your hotel room, this option may not be very feasible. Still, you can buy items that don't need to be heated and make a meal out of those. When I was in Florence, a loaf of bread, parma ham and cheese coupled with a Chianti made a very nice picnic that I enjoyed thoroughly. Make sure you try to sample items from the local cuisine. Eating one or two meals a day from a street vendor or take-out restaurant may also be a good way to still eat great, but save some money. In Paris, I got great ham and cheese sandwiches from a street vendor for lunch. They were delicious, kept me going and didn't break the budget. When I was at a conference in Washington D.C., I discovered a little convenience store that made fresh egg and cheese sandwiches on toast to order. They sold them for only $2.00 and I ate there every morning. In Rome, I discovered a little take-out pizza shop around the corner from the Pantheon. The restaurant made pizzas on huge rectangular sheet pans and put them in a deli case with a clear glass window. You could order by pointing to the kind you wanted, motioning for how big you wanted your piece (they charge by weight), and asking for it to be heated. Then you happily take your piece of pizza over to the square, sit on the steps and enjoy. Being friendly with other guests in the hotel, the concierge and the locals, is another great way to discover good food that won't break the budget. Ask a local if they know any good restaurants that aren't too expensive. They should be able to come up with a few good options for you. Make sure you indicate that you want to sample some local cooking. I've even known friends that have gotten themselves invited over to dinner (not that this should be your objective). Another good way to find inexpensive restaurants is to always be looking for a good place to eat. If you're out visiting a tourist site, stop by a few restaurants and read their menus (usually posted in the window). Even if you are not hungry, you may decide to come back later. I've had better luck with this technique when I'm in an area of the city that is not your standard tourist destination. Eating in a sit-down full service restaurant is the most expensive dining option, so if you are really on a budget, you may want to limit the number of full service meals you eat. Also, in some countries eating at the counter is less expensive that sitting at a table. By listening to recommendations and doing a little research, you can avoid the expensive restaurants that cater to tourists. If you're on a budget, you can still eat great during your travels, you just need to be aware of all your food options. Ask around with locals for recommendations. Make sure you know the price before you eat. Most important of all, try new things. Stretch your boundaries and try something that you would never eat at home. After all isn't the reason you travel is to discover something different. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jed Clark is a travel writer, photographer and long-time San Francisco resident. For more travel tips and information about San Francisco destinations, attractions and neighborhoods, visit Zurdo Go - a destination guide to San Francisco. |
| Chicken Korma by News Canada (NC)—The Royal chefs of the great Moghul Emperors made an enormous contribution to the richness of the celebrated Northern Indian cuisine, using cooking techniques which were mainly similar to those of the western world but raising them to new heights with their exquisite blends of spices and herbs. Kormas were created for festive occasions and are considered by many experts top be the greatest expression of the master chef's skills. A korma is mildly spiced and enriched by cream and ground almonds. The korma technique can be applied to meats or to vegetables and calls for a thicker braising sauce than that normally used in western cooking. The use of butter and cream in the preparation results in a thick, savoury sauce that clings generously to meats and vegetables. Chicken Korma, reduced to simple terms, is nothing more than braised chicken but the judicious blending of spices that are used to create the braising sauce makes it one of India's most popular dishes. There are many great and complicated recipes but this one is simple, quick to prepare and will have your tastebuds dancing: 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cubed 1/3 jar of Sharwood's Curry Stir Fry Sauce 1/2 cup chicken stock 2 tbsp ground almonds 3 tbsp light cream 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish Heat the oil in a wok or deep-sided frying pan, add the chicken and stir for 5 minutes until almost cooked. Add the curry sauce, chicken stock, ground almonds and cream. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately with plain boiled Basmati rice, garnished with the cilantro. Delicious with spoonfuls of Sharwood's Major Gray Chutney. Preparation time: 5 minutes; cooking time: 10 minutes. Serves 3-4. - News Canada About the Author News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web. News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services. |
| Dining On Bahamas' Paradise Island by Simon Harris When it comes to opportunities to enjoy good food, Paradise Island of the Bahamas is aptly named. On this small island, the cuisines of the world are represented. There are a wide range of cuisine choices and dining settings. Anthony's Caribbean Grill, located at the Paradise Island Shopping Mall, serves Caribbean and American foods. While the Caribbean is – to be truthful – rather Americanized, the quality of the ingredients is high, and the food, whichever culinary genre it may properly or officially belong to, tastes good and is satisfying. Among the eatery's offerings are pizzas with a plethora of available toppings, barbecued chicken and ribs, fried chicken, ribs with Caribbean-style barbecue sauce and a host of large sized salads that serve as meals. A broad range of mixed drinks is available. The hours are from 7:30am to 11pm, and it is open daily. At The Water's Edge, a nightly seafood buffet is served. The culinary influence is decidedly Mediterranean, and in addition to an abundance of seafood, there are many pasta dishes, including penne a l'arrabbiata. Pizzas of various types and styles are also a part of the buffet. The dining area itself is beautiful and works to set the tone of the meal. There are immense chandeliers and an artificially created miniature lagoon with three waterfalls adds an interesting touch. Reservations are strongly suggested for this establishment, found at the Atlantis. It is open daily, from 6pm to 10pm. Mama Loo's specializes in Asian cuisine, though there are a few dishes with a Caribbean touch. The décor of the restaurant, with its ceiling fans and potted palms, does add a sort of Far East mystique that is enjoyable. Szechwan, Cantonese, and Polynesian cuisines make up most of the menu, though there are a few Caribbean dishes as well. The specialties of the house are the stir-fried lobster, beef, and broccoli with ginger, the shrimp in spicy chili sauce with a peanut sauce, and the deep-fried chicken filets with honey-flavored garlic sauce. Reservations are strongly suggested for this restaurant, located in the Coral Tower of the Atlantis. Mama Loo's is open Tuesday through Sunday from 6pm to 10pm. The Cave, located at the Atlantis, offers simple fare that is delicious. Burgers, sandwiches, salads and ice cream draw a casual crowd, many right off the beach which is close by, and many families with children. The prices are reasonable and the hours are from 10am to 6pm every day. Villa D'Este serves what many consider to be the best Italian food on the Island. Located in the Coral Tower of the Atlantis, this restaurant serves a variety of traditional favorites that take their influence from the Tuscany region of Italy. Some of the more interesting dishes are whole roasted rack of lamb coated with red wine sauce and rosemary potatoes and pan-fried chicken breast with artichokes and mushrooms in a lemony white wine sauce. Reservations are essential and the hours are 6pm to 10pm, Thursday through Tuesday. Paradise Island is indeed a heavenly experience for those with an adventurous and discerning type of culinary taste. There's a lot to choose from, and certainly nobody will have to leave the island hungry. About The Author: This article provided courtesy of http://www.holiday-bahamas.com Copyright Simon Harris - http://www.holiday-bahamas.com |
| Ten Steps to Perfect Pasta by Skip Lombardi Ten Steps to Perfect Pasta Skip Lombardi Im amazed at how often I get e-mail from a disgruntled home cook, lamenting the fact that, once again, a dish of pasta has turned into a culinary disaster. I hear stories of overcooked, undercooked, tasteless pasta that may also be stuck together, or otherwise inedible. In fact, I recently had the experience where I was shopping with a friend and I suggested that she buy some pasta. Her response was that it was too unpredictable to cook. It neednt be that way. First of all, 90% of cooking is being there. That is, letting the telephone ring through to voice-mail; perhaps leaving guests in the living room sipping their Chardonnay and simply keeping your focus on the task at hand. And by being there-that is, tending the pasta-youll be able to do the only test available to judge its doneness: to taste. Those two tips alone will improve your pasta-cooking skills, but I offer here, ten little steps that, taken together, will guarantee a perfect dish of pasta every time. Follow these steps, and youll prepare pasta that will consistently impress your family, your friends, and your harshest critic; you. 1. All pasta is not created equal. Choose a brand with a solid reputation in the marketplace. De Cecco and Barilla are two fine brands readily available in supermarkets. 2. Use a pot thats large enough to accommodate the pasta without crowding. For one pound of pasta, an eight-quart pot is good; a ten-quart pot is better. Pasta needs room to move freely as it cooks. At a minimum, use nothing smaller than a six-quart pot. 3. Use plenty of water. For one pound of pasta, you should use at least six quarts of water. 4. Add salt to the water. About 1 Tbs. per gallon. Salt adds flavor to the pasta that helps to create a well-seasoned dish. Often, a perfectly seasoned sauce will still taste like it needs "something" because the pasta is unseasoned. 5. Bring the water to a full, rolling boil before adding the pasta. One of the prime causes for pasta sticking together is that the water had not yet come to a full boil. When you add pasta to water that has not yet reached the boiling point, it releases natural starches, which act like glue. Since the pasta is simply sitting in the water at the time, the strands stick together. 6. Bring the water back to the boil as quickly as possible after adding the pasta. In the case of pasta strands, like spaghetti or linguine, stir the pasta until it has wilted and become submerged in the cooking water, then cover the pot until the water returns to the boil. When the water has boiled, though, uncover the pot, and finish cooking uncovered. 7. Stir the pasta two or three times throughout the cooking process. Pasta cooks in eight to ten minutes. The brief time you spend attending to it away from family or guests will reap huge rewards at the dinner table. 8. Never add olive oil to the pasta cooking water. The olive oil coats the pasta, and prevents sauce from adhering to it when youve put the entire dish together. 9. Cook the pasta to the al dente state. The only way to judge this is by tasting. Manufacturers cooking times are mere guidelines. Begin tasting the pasta about two minutes before the manufacturer says it should be done. Also, there will be a small amount of carryover cooking between the time you remove the pasta from the stove, drain in the sink, and combine with the sauce. 10. Never rinse pasta. When you rinse pasta, youre washing away most of the starches and nutrients that you were seeking to enjoy in the first place. So be there. Be attentive. Taste, and learn when pasta has cooked to the consistency that you like. Follow these ten little steps, and youll develop a reputation as a miracle worker with pasta. And with the myriad of sauces in the Italian and Italian-American cuisines, you will have expanded your cooking repertoire beyond your wildest dreams.
About The Author Skip Lombardi is the author of two cookbooks: "La Cucina dei Poveri: Recipes from my Sicilian Grandparents," and "Almost Italian: Recipes from Americas Little Italys." He has been a Broadway musician, high-school math teacher, software engineer, and a fledgeling blogger. But he has never let any of those pursuits get in the way of his passion for cooking and eating. Visit his Web site to learn more about his cookbooks. http://www.skiplombardi.com or mailto:info@skiplombardi.com. |
| Madam Ha's Kitchen - A Taste of Sarawak by Jane Ha With a multicultural background that consists of Chinese, Malay, Indian and minority ethnic groups from both East and West Malaysia, borrowing and adapting from each other's cooking techniques and ingredients that spice up the kitchen, it is hardly surprisingly that Malaysian cuisine is often considered as one of the most well known in the region and has increasingly became popular throughout the world. Many of the dishes are moderately spicy and rich in flavors from a mixture of ingredients including coconut, coriander, cumin, ginger, mint, nutmeg, pepper, tamarind, turmeric and many others. Amongst the various spices mentioned, we’ll be looking at one particular ingredient that has been widely used by the locals and one that has earned international recognition over the years and is now synonymous with quality in the spice trade – “The Sarawak Pepper”.Pepper, the “King of Spices”, originated from the south-western part of India and was first introduced to Sarawak by Spencer St John in 1856. The tropical climate of Sarawak is ideal for pepper cultivation, and is often available in white and black, ground or whole.Over the past 100 years, Sarawak pepper has been exported throughout the world and has earned numerous awards and recognition and often featured in their culinary creations by top gourmet chefs all over the world due to its distinctive aroma and flavour.This absolutely delicious dish is very easy to prepare and your family, friends and guests will, without a doubt, find it most palatable.Ingredients:500 g of fish fillet ( eg. cod )1 tablespoon of olive oilDressing:2 tablespoons of crushed black peppercorns1 teaspoon of sugar4 tablespoons of good quality oyster sauce3 tablespoons of sweet cooking wine (or sherry)Preparation:Pour the tablespoonful of olive oil into the frying pan and gently heat up the oil.Now place the fish fillet into the frying pan and fry the fillet on both sides until cooked. Remove the cooked fillet onto the serving dish, leaving the excess oil in the frying pan.Add the crushed black peppercorns into the remaining oil in the frying pan and turn up the heat slightly and stir fry until you smell the distinctively and spicy aroma rise from the pan. Add the oyster sauce into the frying pan and continue to stir. Add a little water if the sauce appears too thick. It should be slightly runny.Add the sugar to give it that little taste of sweetness to tame the pepper.Lastly, add the cooking wine / sherry to give it the final sweet peppery flavour.You are now ready to pour the hot mixture over the cooked fillet and serve.Enjoy !Copyright © 2004, MillionEbooks.com. All rights reserved. http://www.MillionEbooks.com~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Permission is hereby granted for this article to be freely published and distributed in e-zines, included in ebook compilations, sold or given away as a bonus provided the article is not modified in any way and the copyright and web links are included as it appears. About the Author Renowned cooking instructor / presenter of ASEAN cuisine |
| Casino Food 101 by Mansi Aggarwal Over the years, the various gambling games and the gambling joints or the casinos have undergone a change, making the experience riskier, adventurous and unique in itself. An often overlooked, but yet important component in the entire casino experience is the food. The casino towns have a variety of buffets and joints to offer to its tourist population. Cities like Las Vegas, Atlantic and Monte Carlo are revolutionizing their food regime. Las Vegas, the God of all gambling cities has moved from being just a casino city to has now become a complete recreational hub. The city’s primary focus for ages had on casinos. Incidentally, it left out the entire food experience. Consequently, it lost many of its tourists who were non serious gamblers. Investors and casino owners have now realized that with state lotteries and Indian casinos soon catching up, they need to diversify. Many resorts and casinos have now come up which promise a complete holiday. If this is not enough, restaurants with celebrity chefs coming from all over the world have a wide range of cuisines to offer. While Caesar’s Palace now has two dozen restaurants, Bellagio has the one of the best cuisines of the place. Numerous other dining joints offer a mix of various cuisines, like the Olives which has exotic Mediterranean – American dishes on its menu. Vegas also has the famous Emeril Lagasse’s restaurants. The renowned chef, who has an entire range of cooking accessories attributed to him, opened the New Orlean’s Fish House in the MGM Grand Hotel. The menu chiefly comprises of sea food. Delmonico’s Steakhouse, another grand experience is well known for its bar and cigar collection. This Lagasse brainwave specializes in steaks. Wolfgang Puck is another brand name in food design. Spago, a chain of hotels opened by Puck started business in Vegas in 1992. This famous chain is the Synonym of wealth and style. Situated in the Caesar’s Palace, this hotel offers both, light dishes and dinner. The menu includes oven pizzas and pastas. Postrio another one of Puck establishments offer the New American menu. The list comprises of fish and other sea food dishes. It also has a good wine collection. Other Puck restaurants in Vegas include Lupo and Chinois. A factor that perhaps forced Atlantic City to catch up with the ‘new casino experience’ was its geographic location. New York and Connecticut have both seen an escalation in the number of casinos in the past years. This in turn has forced many gamblers to stay home and visit these weekend joints. The first step in the evolution of the Atlantic City’s casino front was the opening of a casino cum resort in 2003. The sea food buffets in the Atlantic are similar to those found in the Vegas. The Caesar’s Palace is the venue of a number of award winning restaurants of the place. Some of them include the Primavera, which is hugely dominated by the Italian Cuisine, Bacchanal which is a mini Rome, and Nero’s Grill , a famous steak and seas food restaurant. Monte Carlo is situated between France and Italy, along the French Riviera. The city is a luxury niche which advertises its luxurious gambling experience. It boast various villas and secluded beaches, providing ultimate European comfort. Louis XV, a name that stands for wealth, royalty and prestige is an exclusive dining experience. The menu comprises of fish and local vegetables cooked in French style. Le Grill, another restaurant, popular for its Mediterranean view has grilled sea food on its food list. For years, the gambling destinations have offered cheap sea food and buffets for the serious gamblers who visit these cities. The new resort concept, complete with its multi cuisine dining rooms, now promise to offer something more than just slot machines. About the Author: Mansi aggarwal writes about casino food. Learn more at http://www.casinofoodspot.com Source: www.isnare.com |
| New Orleans Parade of Cuisine-LA CÔTE BRASSERIE & The Rene Bistrot by eMergent Marketing |
| Basil for Everything by Judi Singleton I planted three kinds of basil today. I love basil it is one of those herbs that just is is truly indispensible in the kitchen. Ocimum basilicum, Sweet Basil, is the most common. Two or three plants will keep you in fresh Basil all summer, and give you plenty to dry for winter. The flavor is great, but deteriorates some after the plant flowers. Let a stalk or two go to seed for next years crop. Purple basils: have dark purple serrated leaves, pink flowering; good for cooking. 'Purple ruffles' is an example that is good for salad vinegars. East Indian: has a spicy clove-like aroma and flavor; good with tomatoes and curries.Thai basil: is anise flavored and used in Indian and Thai cooking. I also planted some seeds of a globe variety of basil Bush basils: are compact rounded plants, have tiny leaves, good flavor. Examples are 'spicy globe', 'bush' and 'tiny leaf purple'.Try different kinds There are many different kinds of basil that are fun to grow. I like to look for the ones with tiny leaves, and the purple-leafed kind, and also spicy basil. Basil is a polymorph, meaning it occurs in many different forms, varieties and closely related species. The different types are easily hybridized, producing many different kinds of plants with different essential oil constituents and compositions. There are cinnamon, lemon, clove and licorice scented basils; purple and green, curly and lettuce leafed varieties. Dwarf bush types with tiny leaves are grown as ornamental plants. Sweet Basil, Ocimum basilicum is an herbaceous member of the mint family. It is the basil most commonly grown. It is a delicate herb with a bold aroma and flavor, containing about 1% essential oil which has an intense, spicy-sweet, aroma and a slight anise-like undertone. Often associated with Italian cuisine, basil is native to the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Popular as a seasoning and easy to grow, basil is cultivated and used throughout the world. Basil will flourish in your garden or in a pot on a sunny windowsill as long as it gets lots of warmth, water and sun. Pinch the flowers The minute you see flowers, get rid of them. The plant should keep flourishing with hearty leaves thereafter. Pinch your basil back to keep it small and tender even if you are not eating it as fast as it can grow. Last year mine was too top heavy for its root base and tended to fall over on anything unfortunate enough to be nearby. Snails and slugs absolutely love basil, and will devour young tender sprouting basil voraciously. I start my basil indoors so that it's not as much of a problem. I put it in pots outdoors but I surround the pots each night with pans of beer. It has been so wet here this Spring that I had about 40 slugs a night just around one basil plant. Common basil pests are aphids, Japanese beetles and slugs. Knock off aphids with a spray of water, hand pick off Japanese beetles and drop into soapy water. For slugs, put out small containers of beer to attract them to their "fatal beer swim". Basils are also susceptible to fungal leaf spot (caused by poor drainage, high humidity), fusarium wilt, and cucumber mosaic virus (transmitted by aphids). In the garden, basil is a fine ornamental and has a long history as a companion plant; it's supposed to improve the growth and flavor of tomatoes and help repel flying insects. Basil can be grown best in zones 4-10 and prefer warm soils and climate. Start seeds indoors six weeks before the last frost date in a moist medium at 80 degrees F. Or start seeds outdoors after soil is warm. Plant in well-drained soil with a little compost tilled in or add a small amount of balanced organic fertilizer. Optimum soil ph is 5.5 - 7.5. Space plants 12-18 inches apart.You can snip fresh basil leaves into a pasta dish or salad and have your aromatherapy and eat it too! Basil LoreCultivated since antiquity, basil originated in India, where it was regarded as a sacred herb. The name comes from the Greek basileus meaning 'king.' In India, Hindus believed that if a leaf of basil was buried with them, it would get them into heaven. Basil was also sacred to the Gods Krishna, and Vishnu and is still found growing around temples. In Italy, basil was used as a signal for love; a pot of basil placed on the balcony meant that a woman was ready for her suitor to arrive. In England, basil was used to ward off insects and evil spirits. Basil is a part of religious traditions around the world, from Christianity to Hindu. Although there is no mention of basil in the Bible (21), the plant is said to have grown at the site of Christ's crucifixion (21, 24) and is associated with St. Basil, whose feast day is celebrated in Greece on January 1 by having basil blessed at church (21, 45).Holy basil, Ocimum tenuiflorum, is particularly sacred in Hindu tradition. It is thought to be the manifestation of the goddess, Tulasi, and to have grown from her ashes. There are several versions of the legend, but according to a widely known one, Tulasi was tricked into betraying her husband when she was seduced by the god Vishnu in the guise of her husband. In her torment, Tulasi killed herself, and Vishnu declared that she would be "worshipped by women for her faithfulness" and would keep women from becoming widows (37). Thus, holy basil, which also goes by the common name tulsi, an obvious reference to the goddess, became a Hindu symbol of love, eternal life, purification and protection (21, 30, 37). In addition to basil's role in the death of Tulasi in the Hindu legend, basil has played a role in burial rituals and has been grown on graves in various countries. Love and Courtship Basil's love symbolism isn't limited to India. It has been considered an aphrodisiac by some, is associated with the pagan love goddess, Erzuli (20, 56 in 75), and is used in love spells (20). In Italy, where sweet basil is called "kiss me Nicholas," "bacia-nicola," it is thought to attract husbands to wives (21), and a pot of basil on a windowsill is meant to signal a lover (75). In Moldavian folklore, if a man accepts a sprig of basil from a woman, he will fall in love with her (21). As is typical for its folklore, while being linked to love and attraction, basil has also conversely been associated with chastity. In Sicilian folklore, basil is associated with both love and death when basil sprouts from the head of [L]isabetta of Messina's slain lover (21). Protection and Luck Basil is considered a good luck charm in some folklore. It is reportedly used in exorcisms, for protection and to attract wealth (20, 26, 75). Language of Flowers Basil's symbolism in the Victorian language of flowers also reflects its dual nature. It signifies both hatred (for common basil) and best wishes (for sweet basil) (34).History & Folklore Basil has a long and interesting history steeped in legend. Probably originating in Asia and Africa (73), it is thought to have been brought to ancient Greece by Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.), to have made its way to England from India in the mid 1500s and arrived in the U.S in the early 1600s (21). It was grown in medieval gardens (18, 40) and is mentioned in many classic herbals, including those of Culpeper, Gerard, Parkinson and Dioscorides (19, 33, 64).Basil's folklore is as complex as its flavor and aromas. In terms of its legend and symbolism, basil has been both loved and feared. Its associations include such polar opposites as love and hate, danger and protection, and life and death.The generic name, Ocimum, derives from the ancient Greek word, okimon, meaning smell (21, 24, 79), which suggests the impressive nature of basil's fragrance. The specific epithet, basilicum, is Latin for basilikon, which means kingly/royal in Greek (21, 24, 79). Henry Beston, in Herbs of the Earth, suggests that basil was so named for the regal "Tyrian" purple color [of its flowers] (11). According to Parkinson, basil's scent was "fit for a king's house" (35). Many authors suggest that basil's negative associations stem from the similarity of its Latin specific epithet, basilicum, to the name of the basilisk (or basilicus), the mythical serpent with the lethal gaze. According to Helen Noyes Webster's 1936 Herbarist article, the first mention of basil was by Chrysippus (pre-206 B.C.E.): "Ocimum exists only to drive men insane" (78, 82). In his seventeenth-century herbal, Parkinson claimed basil could be used "to procure a cheereful and merry heart" (66). Gerard praised basil as a remedy for melancholy but also repeated Dioscorides' warning that too much basil "dulleth the sight…and is of a hard digestion" (33). Culpeper and Gerard claimed basil would cure scorpion and bee stings, and Gerard mentioned that basil could spontaneously generate worms if chewed and left in the sun (19, 33). Basil was also reputed to cause the spontaneous generation of scorpions and to cause scorpions to grow in the brain (19, 35). This connection with scorpions persists to this day in basil's association with the astrological sign, Scorpio (69). Culpeper sums up the disagreement among ancient writers by deeming basil "the Herb which all Authors are together by the Ears about, and rail at one another like Lawyers" (19).Medically, basil has been used as a sedative, an expectorant, and a laxative but it is not used much in herbal preparations today. Still, adding basil leaves to food is an aid to digestion. The essential oil of basil is used to treat skin conditions such as acne.basil has a long history as a medicinal herb. The Greek physician Dioscorides prescribed basil for headache. Pliny thought it was an aphrodisiac; his contemporaries fed it to horses during the breeding season. In modern aromatherapy, basil is used to cheer the heart and mind. The sweet, energizing aroma seems to help relieve sorrow and melancholy. Growing Basil Folklore holds that you have to curse the ground as you sow basil for it to grow well, but you can forego the cussing and still grow basil successfully. Its main requirements are sun and heat. ---History---The derivation of the name Basil is uncertain. Some authorities say it comes from the Greek basileus, a king, because, as Parkinson says, 'the smell thereof is so excellent that it is fit for a king's house,' or it may have been termed royal, because it was used in some regal unguent or medicine. One rather unlikely theory is that it is shortened from basilisk, a fabulous creature that could kill with a look. This theory may be based on a strange old superstition that connected the plant with scorpions. Parkinson tells us that 'being gently handled it gave a pleasant smell but being hardly wrung and bruised would breed scorpions. It is also observed that scorpions doe much rest and abide under these pots and vessells wherein Basil is planted.' It was generally believed that if a sprig of Basil were left under a pot it would in time turn to a scorpion. Superstition went so far as to affirm that even smelling the plant might bring a scorpion into the brain. Carry it in your pocket and it brings money to your business..Ahh, let's see..Plant basil on your property and it keeps goats away and keeps you from becoming inebriated...It was also thougt to be a soother of tempers...if that were true, parents of teenagers should probably have a lot of it around... and witches were suppose to drink 1/2 cup of basil juice before they took to the air. For anyone out there who is a witch, this is not to make fun of your belief...It is just some things I read and thought were kind of cute ( for lack of a better word.)In Romania if a young lady offers a young man a sprig of basil, and he accepts, they are officially engaged. In Haiti, basil is thought to belong to the goddess Erzulie the voodoo goddess of love. In Italy, basil is thought of as a sign of love. At one time young girls would place some on their windowsill to indicate they were looking for a suitor. In Tudor times, small pots of this were given by farmers' wives to visitors as parting gifts. It is also reputed that any man will fall in love with a woman from whom he accepts some basil from as a gift.Culpepper says: 'Being applied to the place bitten by venomous beasts, or stung by a wasp or hornet, it speedily draws the poison to it. - Every like draws its like. Mizaldus affirms, that being laid to rot in horse-dung, it will breed venomous beasts. Hilarius, a French physician, affirms upon his own knowledge, that an acquaintance of his, by common smelling to it, had a scorpion breed in his brain.' If you're looking for a lot of basil recipes, I recommend picking up "The Basil Book" by Marilyn Hampstead (ISBN 0-671-50685-4). Marilyn runs an annual basil festival at her herb farm. This is the largest collection of pesto recipes that I've seen.ReferencesHarperCollins Practical Gardener: Kitchen Garden : What to Grow and How to Grow It by Lucy Peel The Medicinal Garden: How to Grow and Use Your Own Medicinal Herbs by Anne McIntyre What Herb Is That?: How to Grow and Use the Culinary Herbs by John Hemphill, Rosemary HemphillFood Folklore : Tales and Truths About What We Eat (The Nutrition Now Series) by Roberta Larson Duyff (Paperback)The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore by Gretchen Scoble, Ann FieryCunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Llewellyn's Sourcebook Series) by Scott Cunningham (Paperback)Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs by Claire Kowalchik (Editor), William H. Hylton (Editor) (Paperback) Books: The Green Pharmacy : The Ultimate Compendium Of Natural Remedies From The World's Foremost Authority On Healing Herbs (Green Pharmacy) by James A. Duke About the Author Judi Singleton publishes ten blogs a week if you like this article please go to http://herbalharvest.blogspot.com/ and read other articles by her. |
| Street Food in Thailand...A Smorgasbord For All The Senses by Carolyn Nantais Like other Southeast Asian countries, food stalls are everywhere in the streets, markets and festivals of Thailand, providing an endless smorgasbord of aromas, color and flavors - food in Thailand is a feast for all of the senses. Picture a barbecue hotdog stand outside a North American sports stadium. Now, instead of hotdogs and buns sizzling on a grill, the food cart is laden with fresh bananas, which are slathered in batter and deep-fried to golden in a giant wok, then scooped into a paper bag like a super size order of extra thick homecut french fries. That was my first breakfast in Thailand while I watched hundreds of beautifully costumed elephants play soccer and tug-of-war in an annual Elephant Round-up in Surin, in the far northeast of the country!The next 'hotdog stand' does have a grill, placed over a large bin of charcoal, with flattened chicken quarters sizzling on sticks that you eat like a Popsicle; next door to that is yet another steel cart heaped with fresh, ripe pineapple, mango and papaya, and sporting a huge mortar and pestle for transforming the greener papayas into a crunchy, sweet-sour-spicy salad with morsels of shrimp or squid, chiles, garlic and sugar.What makes Thai food so delicious and distinctive among other Southeast Asian food is this unique blending of fresh herbs, spices and other ingredients that combine for a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salt and heat that leaves your mouth feeling clean and your tastebuds popping in the afterglow.Fresh fruit, salads and even soups and noodles are ladled into plastic bags with a skewer, fork, spoon or straw for eating on the go or perched on a folding chair at a nearby metal card table in the market.Thai buses and trains become moving picnic grounds, with everyone chatting, eating and sharing the fare hawked through the vehicles' windows at roadside stops and terminals: Gai Yang, the flattened barbecue chicken on a stick, skewered meat and fish balls and sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.Carnivals and markets feature huge woks at knee-height, bubbling with deep-fried critters of all sorts, many unidentifiable. Are they grasshoppers? crickets? spiders? baby birds? small frogs? -- my mouth and eyes were constantly wide open in wonder and amazement!I spent an inordinate amount of time in the fresh produce and night food markets -- exuberantly fascinated and often visibly discombobulated, to the great amusement of the vendors and shoppers.After traversing every aisle of food carts and woks on my mission to find the freshest, most interesting and tasty-looking dishes, I was often met with earnestly shaking heads or "No, you don't want that - that's Thai food!" by English speaking cooks or bystanders when I pointed and gestured and tried to ask for a meal I knew I truly wanted. On my first such adventure, I did not know that the custom was for the cook to show the ladle with the amount of the garlic and chili for you to indicate how much you wanted: thinking she was simply asking if I wanted those Thai ingredients, I nodded vigorously at the heaped display, and in it all went! Yes, it was Thai food, and I enjoyed every sizzling touch to my lips under the watchful, laughing eyes of the vendors and bystanders who had gathered.I spent as much time learning about, admiring and experiencing the food as I did with major tourist attractions, often spending hours strolling through streets and markets taking in the sights and smells and sounds: quiet clucking rising up from a heap of vibrantly coloured roosters or hens tied together at the feet - a Thai rooster's plumage is extraordinarily beautiful; plastic tubs and buckets just full enough of murky grey water to keep the fish, frogs or turtles alive until a sale was clinched; mounds and mounds of green and red, and purple and orange; the pleasant stench of durian and jackfruit - pleasant because I was just so thrilled and in awe of it all!I tried deep-fried grasshoppers at a carnival in Kanchanaburi during a sound and light show of "The Bridge On The River Kwai" that ended with a fabulous fireworks display recreating the Allied bombing campaign that destroyed the bridges of the Death Railway in 1945. I tried a few tiny roasted wood worms offered by a very thin host in a northern hill-tribe village near the Myanmar border, and feared that I was eating his family out of house and home. I discovered countless traditional dishes I had never tasted and savoured authentic versions of some I had had in Toronto's newly arrived Thai restaurants. As often as I could, I watched their creation so that I could try to replicate them when I got home and got a kitchen again.Many people are alarmed at how daring I was with my stomach. In six months of traveling through Southeast Asia, I only had one tiny bout of queasiness over a couple of days on Sumatra in Indonesia. I must have found the perfect balance of common sense and adventure, or, some might argue, I was just lucky.I don't recommend trying everything, and I do recommend a few common sense tips for sampling the full range of the food on offer throughout your travels:* at street and market stalls, do watch the cooking for awhile to ensure that the ingredients are fresh and the food is being cooked thoroughly; if you have any doubts, move on to the next vendor* choose vendors that have a good steady flow of customers - not only is the food probably very good, but the turnover means fresher food* ask your guesthouse host and any other residents you meet for their favourite places to eat, and for recommendations on dishes to order* follow the other safe eating tips you find in travel guides, like recommendations about water, ice cubes, and peeling fruit and vegetablesOf course, you will find an endless selection of sit-down restaurants where you can savour some of the more familiar Thai dishes now found in restaurants around the world: green curry with chicken, red curry with beef, pad Thai and other noodle dishes, and wonderfully aromatic sweet basil dishes.Whether you plan to sample the fabulous foods from the street vendors and markets or stick to what you know, learn a few tips on deciphering a menu or asking for a type of dish with a few Thai Food Terms.Many supermarkets are now carrying a range of prepared sauces, curries and other Asian products, but if you enjoy adventure and creativity in your own kitchen, many Thai recipes are fairly easy to create once you've mastered a few essentials. Gai Yang, after all, is really just barbequed chicken with a Thai twist! A good food reference guide or cookbook with a glossary of Asian ingredients will help you gain that perfect balance of sour, sweet, salt and heat that is unique to Thai cuisine. © 2005 recipe-for-travel.com About the Author Carolyn Nantais is a freelance writer, website copywriter, world traveler and culinary xenophile who indulges in temporary retirement from time to time to travel and eat around the world. Her new website, The Recipe for Travel, has stories, recipes and practical information gathered through adventures in round-the-world travel and food. |
| College Cuisine by Troy Pentico |
| Eating after a long day at work! by eric - menuserve A long hard day at work. You get home and need dinner. Nothing in the fridge, nothing in the cupboard. Take-out again, but you just can’t decide what to have as you are tired of ordering from the same old places. Re-wind. Once you arrive at home… or better yet at the office before you leave… now you have www.menuserve.com – the ultimate resource in finding takeout and delivery in your local area. Whats at menuserve? How about complete restaurant menus to all the local restaurants in your area. Better yet sorted by town and cuisine to help narrow your selection. It truly is that easy. With just a few clicks of the mouse, a delicious and different meal can be coming to your doorstep. Happy Ordering!www.menuserve.com |
| Japanese Cuisine by Troy Pentico |
| Viva las Vegas Buffets by Dr George Forgan-Smith Viva Las Vegas BuffetsPlease correct me if I am wrong but aren’t Las Vegas Buffets just the best in the world! Ok there are a few ones that are a bit how’s your father (an Australian term for so so) but I am yet to go to a buffet that I havn’t enjoyed. This is probably why I have a Vegas Buffet waist line.Here I would like to share with you my top seven favourite buffets in Las Vegas.1. La Village Buffet as Paris hotel. I have to say that this buffet is total class, great service and the best French cuisine I have ever tasted. They also have a great seafood selection and as far as I know are the only buffet that serves Bananas Foster for dessert! With great atmosphere I give it a 10/102. Spice Market Buffet at Aladdin.This buffet has a similar feel to the buffet at paris but more fake jewels on the walls ?. The food is great but I have to say the selection was not as exciting as at paris. However it really is great value and situated in the middle of some of the best shopping in Vegas, who can complain!3 Todai Japanese Seafood Buffet at Aladdin.If you love Japanese then this is the place for you. More sushi then you can poke a stick at! They seem to have the most fresh and best selection of sushi I have seen in a very long time. Other buffets really could afford to learn from this great place.4.French Market Buffet at OrleansI really liked this buffet. It was clean with a great selection of French foods on show. Judging by the size of some of the partrons of this place they could not either! If you are over that way and looking for a not too expensive lunch or dinner option then this is place for you. 5. Village Seafood Buffet as RioIf you love seafood then you will be in heaven! Well worth the wait for the bus ride to Rio (you catch it a Bally’s) the seafood here is the best in Vegas. The ironic thing is that I can’t eat seafood, but I was taking my Mom out so I wanted to make sure she had a great night. Despite not being able to eat much of the buffet, I was still able to leave with a more then full feeling that left me more then satisfied. By the way Mom says the seafood was fantastic!6. The Buffet at Bellagio at BellagioFor a place that is as glitzy and showy as the Bellagio I have to say I was a little disappointed at the fare they presented. Don’t get me wrong it was all very nice but perhaps just not at the level you would expect of such a “high roller” establishment. The day I was there they did have lovely duck and I had just lost $100 on blackjack so let’s not mention that again ?7. Garden Court Buffet at Main Street Station.Ok Ok I know that this place is off the beaten track but really it’s worth the cab ride. This has to be the absolutely best priced, quality buffet in town. It’s cheep and cheerful and boy the food and service was great. Sometimes it’s nice to get off Las Vegas Blvd for a change after all, and you get to avoid all the snooty high rollers that wouldn’t be seen dead here! Save your pennies for the craps table and still leave as full as an egg.Well that’s my top seven buffets. But before you run off don’t forget to have a look for some of the discounts that are available with great coupons and clubs. These books are great, you get to rub shoulders with the stars and still have cab fare home!Viva Las Vegas Buffets! ABOUT THE AUTHOR An avid traveler and keen buffet afficiando enjoy this vegas buffet review.http://www.las-vegas-entertainment-and-shows.com/las-vegas-buffets.html |
| Herbs and Spices by Michael Sheridan In any number of cookbooks and recipes you will find advice on which herbs go with what. I’m not going to take that route. While there certainly are marriages that are tried and tested, such as tomatoes and basil or lamb and rosemary, the reality is that the use of herbs is every bit as much a matter of personal taste as any other aspect of cooking. Consequently, what I want you to do is to sample as many herbs as you can and try to marry up the flavors with the foods you are familiar with. That’s not as difficult as it sounds. Just close your eyes and think about it. You will find, after a while, that you will instinctively know which flavoring to use, when to use it and how much of it you need. Do this with both fresh and dried herbs. Crush a little between finger and thumb and smell it. This is much more important than your sense of taste. Something magical will happen. You will come to realize that fresh herbs are not better than dried ones, they simply impart a different flavor. There are two major exceptions to this. One is mint, which has a strange musty flavor when dried, and the other is chives, which are so delicate that the flavor rarely survives cooking. Using dried chives is therefore pretty pointless. One other point to watch out for is that some dried herbs can remained inedible even after thorough cooking. Rosemary is a very good example of this and needs to be filtered out of any liquids in which it has been used as a flavoring. In any case, fresh or dried, it is better to chop up herbs such as this before using them. Using herbs in cooking Many herbs, such as basil and coriander (sometimes called Chinese parsley and cilantro in the USA) are terrific simply torn up in salads. Note that I said torn up and not cut; only cut herbs if you intend to cook them. It’s important to recognize that some herbs lose flavor with extended cooking, even in their dried state. Fortunately it’s fairly easy to spot which those are. Tough leaved herbs such as bay can be safely added at the start of cooking time and will maintain their flavor. In fact, they may need to be in the food for as long as possible in order for their flavor to fully develop. Herbs with light and delicate leaves, however, will lose their flavor very quickly once in contact with heat. To use basil in a soup, for example, you needed to add it, not to the hot liquid as you might expect, but rather to the warm plate you intend to serve the soup in. Then pour the soup on top of it. Alternatively, simply sprinkle it on top of the soup and leave it there. It will make an attractive decoration and impart a wonderful aroma as you take the soup to the table. What’s that? You want to use a tureen and server the soup at the table? No problem. Sprinkle the herb in its raw state on top of the soup anyway. The effect, when you remove the lid, will be the same. Just stir it in as you serve. The spices of life Most people, including most professional chefs, use spices that have already been prepared. That is to say they have been ground up, ready to use. The main exception to this is probably black pepper, which you should always grind yourself. Not difficult. You can buy a pepper grinder just about anywhere and the peppercorns are available in any supermarket. Of course you can, if you wish, go to the trouble of buying a pestle and mortar, tracking down the raw spices and then grind them yourself. If you do this, you will be richly rewarded with deep and penetrating flavors. You may also find that you get tired of doing it very quickly. However I would highly recommend it for a special occasion, or a wet weekend in Bargo! Generally speaking, though, the shop bought variety are fine, providing you don’t keep them hanging around in a cupboard for too long. They will lose their flavor. As with herbs, it’s very important that you learn the taste and smell of each individual spice and, uniquely, its pungency. This last item is one that is frequently overlooked, even by experienced cooks. Just about everybody is aware that chili needs to be used carefully for obvious reasons. But for some reason they do not pay the same attention to turmeric – which is quite delicate – and, say, star anise which can strangle an incautious palate at a hundred paces. Both give themselves away, however, if you simply take the lid off the jar and sniff them. Mixing spice Generally speaking, it is a rare thing to add more than a couple of spices to the same dish. The obvious exceptions to this are Asian and Indian dishes, where the carefully blended mix of flavors will be both traditional and subtle. You have a choice with these. You either follow a recipe, or you use one of the many excellent pre-prepared pastes that are now available. I tend towards the latter choice, although I do still mix my own spices from time to time. You should do the same. It’s fun and you learn a great deal about which spices mix well and which are best kept as an individual flavoring. However you choose to cook with spice, treat it with respect and always add it a little at a time, tasting as you go. Remember also, that the flavor will change with the length of cooking time. It may deepen, or it may lessen in its effect. Only experience will teach you what each individual spice does and how quickly it does it. One excellent way to test the effect of adding spice, is to cook your rice with something like cardamom seeds. These come in little pods that needed to be cracked open and the seeds extracted. Do this by placing them on a stable surface, place the flat of a cleaver blade over them and apply a bit of pressure. They will open easily. Use about two pods for one dish of rice. You could also add some turmeric to the same rice dish. This will turn it yellow and also add a subtle flavor which complements the pungency of the cardamom. Call it saffron rice if you like, very few people will be able to tell the difference. Rice is a good way to test any number of flavorings. Personally I find it a bit boring on its own, and I frequently add something to it to jazz it up a little. Experiment. You will be pleasantly surprised at what a difference a new flavor can make. You will also be pleasantly surprised at your growing reputation. About the author: During the 1990s Michael Sheridan was head chef of the Pierre Victoire restaurant in London's West End, specializing in French cuisine. An Australian, he is a published author on cooking matters, and runs a free membership club and cooking course for busy home cooks at http://thecoolcook.com |
| Eating out in Paris on a Budget by Gareth Powell This is Paris and it is raining, which is as it should be. Paris rain is not as the rain of other cities. It is softer, benevolent. It caresses, rather than soaks.Perhaps the main reason I come to Paris is because of the food. Not that I am a true gourmet. More a gourmand. It is perfectly possible to spend an arm and a leg on food in Paris. I am still in a state of shock after paying $17.50 for a single glass of beer. Granted, I was sitting on the pavement on the Champs Elysees and granted, I could have sat there all day. But I am still in shock. Normally I steer well away from such high-priced nonsense.When you go to Paris – and you should go at least once in a lifetime – make your own discoveries. I am assured it is possible to get a bad meal in Paris. It simply has never happened to me. At the following restaurants you will only get great meals.First and foremost, La Crémerie Polidor. If it was good enough for Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Andre Gide, Jack Kerouac, Paul Verlaine and Paul Valery, it is good enough for me. For lunch yesterday I had the plat du jour, which was cassoulet in the classic style. It cost $10.This restaurant has never heard of nouvelle cuisine. Its style of cooking is still firmly embedded in the twenties. (In fact, it opened 20 years earlier.) As are its decor and standard of service. And the fact that it does not accept credit cards.With my meal I had a pichet, a small jug, which is about a third of a bottle of Chateau Magondeau, a Merlot, which has won a Medaille Concours Agricole and is generally well spoken of. A full bottle would have been silly, but a pichet at $10 was just right. This system of serving excellent wines in less than bottle quantities is splendidi. In most restaurants you can have a carafe of house wine, which normally will be singularly nasty and probably will have come from Algeria or Morocco and be chemically treated. Sometimes you can detect that someone are the grapes first. You can drink it at a pinch. But you have to be desperate.A step up from that is réserve maison, or réserve du patron. This is much better and very drinkable. At the top in quality and price are the wines which qualify for the title vin delimité de qualité supérieur (VDQS), or appellation d'origine controlée (AOC). These can be truly splendid wines, but can be pricey and a bottle much too much to drink for one person.Some restaurants serve great wines by the glass or small jug and the good ones get the Coupe de Meilleur Pot, which is a much-coveted award. This means that you can sample the grand wines of France – and grand wines, indeed, they are - without doing dire damage to either your wallet or your liver.The best places to experience this superior plonk by the glass are in bars run by the Ecluse chain which keeps expanding. Originally there was one Now, I think, there are five bars. On offer are Bordeaux wines by the glass, some of them grand cru. These bars also have, beyond argument, the best chocolate.Back to Polidor for the moment. The ideal time to go there is around 1.30, when the first mad rush is over, but the atmosphere is still there. They don't accept telephone bookings.To get to it, take the Métro to Odeon on Boulevard St Germain de Près and walk through Carrefour Odeon and then up Rue Monsieur le Prince to number 41. It is not a flashy frontage and easy to miss. The unisex toilets are very probably a historic monument.After eating a literary lunch, go back down to St Germain de Près and turn left. You will shortly come to three great Paris institutions: Aux Deux Magots, the Café Floré and Brasserie Lipp. It was at Aux Deux Magots in 1964 and 1965 Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir held literary court.You can have a glass of wine or a tea, typically with lemon, or a coffee and huddle over it for hours without disturbing the waiters of Aux Deux Magots, who have seen it all.Always and ever you will see some tables occupied by Parisian lovers. They lean forward over the table with their spines concave, their buttocks jutting and their legs intertwined under the tables. Looks damned uncomfortable, but they do it by the hour. In Aux Deux Magots there was a dark-haired couple - both handsome – who were seemingly frozen eternally in this posture of adoration.If you are on a tight budget, there are many restaurants which serve better than acceptable food at ludicrously low prices.One example is Chartier, in Montmartre, which is at 7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre. Take the Métro to Montmartre, come out into Rue Montmartre and take the first turning on your left.This is an immense restaurant, which looks like a set designer's idea of a waiting room for the Orient Express – always crowded, always noisy. In the old French tradition, the waiter writes your order on the paper table-cloth. At dinner for two, one had fish soup (great), the other fresh shrimps (likewise), followed by veal (better than good) and shashlik (dreadful). To go with this, a bottle of Côtes de Provence rosé and some cheese to follow.Total price 28 euros, under $40.If you are on a very tight budget the answer is to picnic. Start off with a loaf of bread. These are called baguettes, cost three francs each, and were the glory of France. Sadly, they have in recent years deteriorated because the bakers do not like working through the night to make fresh batches. So they make them the day before and deep freeze them. Another black mark to progress. Baguettes, nevertheless, are still better than any other bread.To buy it, head for a boulangerie. Easy to find – they are everywhere and emit a glorious smell of warm bread. If you want the best baguettes, head for the shop with the biggest queues, Parisians know their bread.Nearby will be a charcuterie – food shops in Paris come in clumps - where you can buy pâte, quiche, ham, saucissons (sausages) in all varieties, especially the dried, smaller kind. They will slice up the sausages for you. Many charcuteries also sell hot take-away dishes in plastic containers although I tend to avoid these as being too messy.An example: for lunch in a charcuterie in the Rue du Faubourg du Temple I bought a portion of feuillette de jambon; a portion of museau de porc vinaigrette; some potato salad and a portion of salade Chinoise. There was enough there to feed me until I was full to groaning and yet it only cost a few euros.Now, if you are a greater glutton than I, nip into the fromagerie, which will be somewhere on the same block, and experiment with cheeses you have never tried before. If you are quite open with the shopkeeper and confess ignorance you will sometimes find a selection of small portions being made up for you as a sampling kit.Lastly, the wine. Treat yourself to a bottle with a cork in it. Again, tell the wine merchant the type of wine you want and that you are learning about French wines and you are poor. You will be pleasantly surprised at the friendly advice and assistance you will be given.Where to eat your picnic? On a recent trip I ate my picnic meals in the little park at the Pont Neuf end of the Île de la Cité. Behind me, the Gothic wonders of Notre Dame. In front of me, the Seine.I ate like a king in solitary splendor. I was alone, but I was not lonely, I had all of Paris around me. About the Author Gareth Powell is the author of several travel books, has been the travel editor of two metropolitan newspapers and has a travel website - http://www.travelhopefully.com |
| Eating Outside Your Box by Jackie Stanley Eating Outside Your Box Jackie Stanley One way to combat the boredom many people complain accompanies eating healthy is to “eat outside your box,” by experimenting with new foods and cuisines and by challenging your long held notions about what to eat and when. Iceberg is not the only kind of lettuce, apples and oranges aren’t the only fruits and there is no law that says you can’t eat mushroom lasagna for breakfast and a southwestern omelet for dinner. And just because your parents always eat turkey on Thanksgiving, fish on Friday and meatloaf on Mondays doesn’t mean you have to. Dare to step outside your comfort zone and put an end to your eating rut, by accepting one or more of the following challenges to eat and live more healthily and creatively. 1. Make a list of 10 foods that you eat on a regular basis. Over the course of the next month, eat outside your box by avoiding these foods. 2. Try a new food every day. Have you knocked eating brown rice, tofu, sushi or kiwi without ever giving it a try Don’t allow the opinions of others to inhibit your pallet. Give your taste buds an opportunity to decide. 3. Look back at your food diary. Don’t eat any of the same foods you ate last month. Use cookbooks to invigorate your mundane menus. 4. Do not visit any of the same restaurants you tried last month. If you eat out, it must be somewhere new. And don’t forget to order something new and nutritious off the menu. 5. Look back at your food diary from last month. Use a cookbook to explore ways to make the foods you ate more nutritious – and unusual. 6. Ask people from different racial, regional and religious and cultural backgrounds to share their favorite foods and recipes. Incorporate at least 2 of these into your menus. 7. Buy a new cookbook with recipes from a cuisine you have never tried. Prepare at least one meal a week from the cookbook. 8. Sit down with a healthy cookbook. Make a list of 30 recipes that look appealing. You don’t have to use them immediately – but they will be there when you need them. 9. Make a special trip to the grocery store to shop for herbs and spices. Buy at least 5 you’ve never tried and experiment with at least 1 new herb or spice each week. 10. Take a cooking class. Check your local YMCA or community center for course offerings. 11. Flip the script. Make a list of the meals you usually eat for breakfast, a list of meals you usually eat for lunch and a list for dinner. Then eat what you normally eat for lunch for dinner, dinner for breakfast and breakfast for lunch. 12. Each time you go grocery shopping buy at least 5 different brands than you usually do. You may be surprised to learn that different brands offer better taste, nutrition and price.
About The Author Jackie Stanley is the author of a series of personal wellness and weigth loss journals titled Lettuce Is Not Enough. She can be reached at 336-854-8667 or at www.lettuceisnotenough.com. jackie@lettuceisnotenough.com |
| What is Nouvelle Cuisine? by Troy Pentico |
| Dog Stew by Ron Swerdfiger Dog Stew By Jon Dunkerley www.web-rover.com Food is a substance that holds cultures together. Common foods unify and define countries and regions. However, a food that one group considers a delicacy, another group may find offensive. The French have long been called "frogs" because of their taste for the amphibians. The English once were sneered upon as "beefsteak" because of their trend-setting use of cattle, and in the Philippines at least one tribe is nicknamed "dogeaters." The name Dogeaters has not been confined to the Philippines, however. The summer 1988 Seoul Olympics focused the world's attention on South Korea. One aspect of Korean cuisine the government preferred not to have spotlighted was the use of dog meat. A dog stew, called Poshintang, is commonly available in restaurants in Seoul and the rest of the country. As an ingredient, dog is not as ubiquitous as beef is in the U.S.; it is considered to be something of a delicacy. Traditionally, it has been a seasonal favorite, most popular in the summer. Dogmeat is also purported to be effective as a male stimulant, increasing sexual stamina, even though there is no scientific literature to support this claim. Even before the Olympics, there was concern that foreign visitors to Seoul might be offended by restaurants offering dog meat. The Ministry of Health and Welfare ordered measures to prevent such a conflict. In 1986, a ban was placed on the sale of dog meat as an "unseemly" food. The practical result was that most restaurants in city limits replaced signs offering dog meat with smaller, less conspicuous versions, or they renamed the dish to "health stew." This did not prevent criticism. "How can a nation that will cheerfully eat its best friend be relied upon to host a small dinner party, let alone the Olympic Games?" 1 In spite of this kind of pressure, dog meat sales continue. There are plans to open two dog slaughterhouses on Chejun Island, 450 km south of Seoul.2 One entrepreneur has opened a chain of dog meat restaurants. China Trading, the company behind the new restaurant chain, estimates there are now about 20,000 dog meat restaurnats throughout the country. It says one restaurant can rack up sales of 10 million won (about US$6020) a day during peak dog eating season from April to July." 3 In the U.S., the estimated number of animals euthanized ranges from 6-150 million per year. If half of the number is composed of dogs, that leaves a lot of potential meat to be exported. Legally, the only barrier would be the Animal Welfare Act, a federal law that covers any "live or dead dog, cat, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or any other warm-blooded animal which is being used, or is intended for use for research, teaching, testing, experimentation or exhibition purposes. The USDA interprets the act to exclude birds, rats, and mice bred for research, and horses and other farm animals, such as livestock and poultry, used or intended for use as food or fiber." It is conceivable that dogs raised as livestock would be excluded as well, once it is established that they are being raised as food. Another rule governing the trade of livestock is the "Twenty- Eight Hour Law" which simply outlines minimum guidelines for the care of animals as they are transported to market. There are certain feed, space, and water requirements if the transit time exceeds a twenty-eight hour period. If the dogs were slaughtered in the U.S., that would eliminate concerns about these regulations. Shipping meat instead of live animals also avoids the problems associated with the quarantine of live animals. Even though the dog meat market does not seem to be growing at a fast rate, it is conceivable that American exporters could make inroads in a niche market. The breed of dog that is farm- raised in Korea and China is a large dog similar in appearance to the German Shepherd. It is difficult to say whether the variety of breeds in the U.S. would be considered suitable choices for the dog meat market abroad. Market research would need to be done. Initially, it appears that there may be enough demand to support dog meat export, however, the impediments must be overcome. The voice of the American citizen is one factor that should not be underestimated. Grass roots lobbying has great potential to raise public awareness against export efforts. Boycotts of company family products has the potential to eliminate economic gains realized from coordinated dog exports. Because the concept of sending dogs overseas to be eaten may be distasteful, it is helpful to examine the current status of unwanted dogs to gauge our attitudes towards the situation. The SF SPCA claims to be the only public animal shelter with a no-kill policy. They euthanize an animal only if it is suffering from an incurable illness. The policy of other shelters is to "put down" animals if no one claims them after a certain period, which differs in each jurisdiction. The result is millions of pounds of flesh to be dealt with. Some of it enters landfills where it eventually decomposes. A small amount of dogs are buried in pet cemeteries. The rest are "recycled." Rendering plants process the carcasses for use in dog food and as feed for other animals. "In addition, some 40 billion pounds of year of slaughterhouse wastes like blood, bone, and viscera, as well as the remains of millions of euthanized cats and dogs passed along by veterinarians and animal shelters, are rendered annually into livestock feed - in the process turning cattle and hogs, which are natural herbivores, into unwitting carnivores." (U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 1, 1997 p.23) A good model for export of dog meat is provided by the horsemeat industry. "In the last ten years, more than 3 million American horses have been slaughtered in the U.S. for human consumption abroad." ( http://www.equus.org) In 1994, 105,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. Another 35,000 were shipped live to Canada for slaughter, and another 30,000 were shipped live to Mexico for slaughter ( http://www.igha.org) for a total of $66 million. Dividing sales by the number of animals slaughtered for the last ten years shows that each animal produced about $400 in income. Considering that a horse typically weights 8? times more than a 30-pound dog, there is a certain economy of scale that is advantageous when dealing with the larger animal. Another interesting feature of the horsemeat export industry is its use of Canada and Mexico as export outlets. This strategy is used possibly because the slaughter process is less expensive in Mexico and Canada. These countries may also have more beneficial agreements with trading partners than the U.S. |
| Dining In The Bahamas’ Abaco Islands by Simon Harris One of the things that make a vacation destination special is the food, and dining in the Bahamas’ Abaco Islands is sure to please. The islands offer a wide variety of cuisine in a multitude of settings, ranging from the luxuriously formal to beach side casual.Abaco Inn, located just outside of Hope Town, specializes in Bahamian and American cuisines. The menu is variable, changing with what fresh ingredients are in season. In addition to seafood dishes and meat dishes, they also offer vegetarian selections, including an impressive pasta primavera. Diet plans should be postponed until the return home, because the desserts at this restaurant are fabulous. Offerings include key lime pie, coconut cream pie, chocolate silk pie and even a fine crème brulee. Open daily, the hours are from 8am to 10:30am, from 12pm to 3pm and from 6pm to 8pm. Reservations are essential for dinner.Mangoes Restaurant is located on Front Street in March Harbor. Bahamian and American foods are served in a tasteful atmosphere, to a crowd that includes local residents. The fish is excellent – fresh, then fabulous after it leaves the skilled hands of the chef. Reservations are strongly suggested for this establishment, which is open daily. Hours are 7am to 3pm and 6:30pm to 9:30pm.The Jib Room is a must do for those who like to eat where the locals do. It’s a relaxed place, where diners do not feel rushed out the door. The food is hearty Bahamian and American fare, with barbecue, steaks, baby back ribs and lobster being among the favored items. Found in the Marsh Harbor Marina, this restaurant and bar is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 11am to 2:30pm and from 7pm to 11pm.Mother Merles Fishnet is a take-out joint beyond compare, serving among other dishes, fish and chicken cooked Bahamas style. This is a cash only enterprise, no credit cards accepted, so enter prepared. An island favorite, located in Dundas Town on the main drag – you won’t miss the cement house with the delicious smells wafting out into the air -- this spot is open Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 10:30.Wally’s is a different sort of dining experience, as the restaurant features not only the cuisine of the Bahamas, but also features international cuisine with a distinct French influence. The setting is lovely, though pretty might be a better word. This Marsh Harbor eatery serves a variety of foods and the cooks have a fine hand with their spices and fresh herbs. In addition to delicately flavored seafood dishes, there is filet mignon, tarragon chicken and lamb chops prepared just right. Entrees are served with house salads and vegetables. Reservations should be made for dinner. Wally’s is open Monday through Saturday, from 11:30am to 3pm and on Fridays and Saturdays the restaurant is also open for dinner from 6pm to 9pm.Dining in the Abaco Islands is a pleasant culinary adventure and a social delight. The excellent and varied cuisines are the perfect complement to an Acabo Islands Bahamas vacation. About the Author This article provided courtesy of http://www.cruise-vacation-guide.net |
