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THE FOOD REFERENCE NEWSLETTER
September 1, 2004 Vol 5 #30 ISSN 1535-5659
IN THIS ISSUE
=> Website News
=> Weekly Cookbook Drawing
=> 'Food for Thought' by Mark Vogel
=> Quotes and Trivia
=> Website of the Week
=> Food Trivia Quiz
=> Ancient & Classic Recipes
=> Did you know?
=> Who's Who in the Culinary Arts
=> Requested Recipes
=> Cooking Tips
=> Culinary Calendar - selected events
=> General information and Copyright
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WEBSITE NEWS http://www.foodreference.com
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CHECK THE WEBSITE DAILY - New FOOD QUIZ questions each week on the website, along with a Daily Culinary Quote, Daily Trivia, Today in Food History, Recipe Contests, Food Festivals, etc.
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Another hurricane is on the way - hopefully it will miss Key West. If the website is not updated daily, you know why.
WEEKLY FREE COOKBOOK DRAWING
Congratulations to the winner of last week's Free Cookbook Drawing, Hannah Beck. She wins 'A Sweet Quartet: Sugar, Almonds, Eggs, and Butter - A Baker's Tour" by Fran Gage.
THIS WEEK'S DRAWING will be for 'Semi-Homemade Desserts' by Sandra Lee
http://www.foodreference.com/html/semihomemadedesserts.html
CLICK THIS LINK TO ENTER THIS WEEKS DRAWING -
http://www.foodreference.com/html/feedback-page.html
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'FOOD FOR THOUGHT' BY MARK VOGEL
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COOKING PHOBIA - Are you fearful of cooking? For some it is a mundane chore, to others a joyous hobby, and for some, an absolute terror. An anxiety plagued agony that drives them to a microwaved dinner before a stove. ..............
http://www.foodreference.com/html/markvogelweeklycolumn.html
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QUOTE
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"I've got brown sandwiches and green sandwiches - it's either very new cheese or very old meat."
Oscar Madison in 'The Odd Couple' by Neil Simon (Paramount Pictures, 1968)
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TRIVIA
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Quince must be cooked before eating, and is primarily used for preserves. native to the Middle East, it is one of the candidates as the apple in Biblical references.
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CHEF JAMES HIGHLY RECOMMENDS SAVEUR MAGAZINE
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Food Reference subscribers can get a FREE trial issue to Saveur magazine - the award winning magazine that celebrates the people, places and rituals that establish culinary traditions.
https://secure.palmcoastd.com/pcd/document?ikey=089CFHPP1
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THIS WEEK'S WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:
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PURCELL MOUNTAIN FARMS
If you like beans, lentils or potatoes this is the site for you. Exotic beans, heirloom beans, and organic beans. They have about 85 different varieties, which makes it one of the largest collections in the country. They also have an extensive collection of fingerling and speciality potatoes. Blue potatoes, purple Peruvian potatoes, Russian Banana potatoes, etc.
It is great that some people are preserving these exotic varieties so they are not lost forever.
http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/
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FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ
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The Food Trivia Quizzes are now moved to their own separate section after the newsletter is e-mailed. Check the Navigation Bar at the top of the page.
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ANOTHER FOOD REFERENCE WEBSITE
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FOOD ART AND POSTERS
Art & Posters for your home, office, restaurant, dorm room, kitchen, etc. The best selection - including movie, music, sports, food and culinary art. Famous masters, current unknowns. All the best quality, framed or unframed, low prices.
http://www.culinaryposters.com
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QUOTE
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"My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me. It is a place where the surfaces seem to have significance, where the sounds and odors carry meaning that transfers from the past and bridges to the future."
Pearl Bailey
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TRIVIA
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Roquefort cheese is made from ewes' (sheep's) milk, and is one of the world's oldest known cheeses. It was mentioned by Pliny and was Charlemagne's favorite cheese. The blue veining is the mold Penicillium roqueforti, and originally came from the walls of the limestone caves in the south of France where the cheese was ripened. Today the mold is injected into the cheese to ensure even distribution, but it is still aged in the same caves. All true Roquefort cheese has a red sheep brand on the foil label.
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CULINARY SCHOOLS, TOURS AND CRUISES
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Culinary schools, cooking classes and gourmet tours for the amateur & the professional. U.S. and abroad.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/index.html
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ANCIENT & CLASSIC RECIPES
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THE SOUP BOOK by Louis P. DeGouy (1949)
(Chef at the Waldorf Astoria in New York for 30 years, he apprenticed with Escoffier)
CREAM OF CELERY AND TOMATO SOUP
Wash 1 bunch of celery, the stalks scraped and chopped, the leaves finely chopped also. Cook in a small amount of Chicken Stock, free of fat, until tender, and then rub through a fine-meshed wire sieve into a clean saucepan. To this puree, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, blending thoroughly. Keep hot over hot water, using a double boiler. Scald 3 cups of sweet milk and 1 1/2 cups of sweet heavy cream with 1 bay leaf, 4 thin slices of onion, 1 whole clove, and 6 sprigs of fresh parsley. Strain through a fine sieve, then add to the celery-tomato puree. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and 1 scant teaspoon of paprika, and bring to a boil. Remove from the fire, and let cool slightly. Then beat in 4 fresh egg yolks, adding one at a time, beating well after each addition. Return to the fire, bring to a boil, and let boil 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Taste for seasoning, and serve in a heated soup tureen. Pass a dish of fried well-drained Croutons.
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QUOTE
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"Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with breadcrumbs, fried hencod's roe. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of scented urine."
James Joyce (1882-1941)
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FLOWERS
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Fresh Flowers Directly from the Growers
BE TRULY ROMANTIC - GIVE FLOWERS FOR NO REASON AT ALL!
http://www.foodreference.com/html/freshflowers.html
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DID YOU KNOW?
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Russian service was introduced in Russia about 1810 by an ambassador of the Russian czar. It was in the 1850's that Russian Service was introduced to France and soon spread to other countries. Russian service is what we use today. Each course is served to each guest individually.
'French service' was generally used up until the 1850's. (This was not what French service is today*) Under this method, the usually large menu (as many as 32 courses) was brought to the table in 2 or 3 parts, and all of the dishes of each part would be placed on the table at once. Guests would help themselves to each dish, most often in a confused and combative manner, those with the longest arms getting their favorites first. Frequently by the time you got to much of the food, it was no longer hot. Then all of the dishes from that part of the service would be cleared from the table and next part or 'service' would be placed on the table in the same manner.
*(Today, so called French service refers to restaurant service where a waiter does the serving of the food onto each guests plate, frequently with tableside preparation, rather than the food being plated in the kitchen).
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WHO'S WHO IN THE CULINARY ARTS
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Alexis Benoît Soyer (February 4, 1810 - August 5, 1858)
Alexis Benoit Soyer was born. French chef and author. Chef of the London Reform Club. He opened kitchens in Ireland during the famine to sell food at 1/2 price and was an advisor on food to the British army during the Crimean War. Invented several stoves and kitchen utensils. Wrote 'The Pantropheon; or, History of Food' (1853), 'A Shilling Cookery Book for the People' (1854), Soyer's Charitable Cookery (1847).
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RECIPE REQUESTS FROM READERS
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QUESTION
I would like to perfect a homemade pizza crust that tastes more like the commercial crust of the supreme deep dish pizza from the Pizza Hut franchise. Their crust is very crisp, large cell structure, short bite and does not have the homemade standard white bread flavor...... What is Pizza Hut's secret?
Any help would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks, Bonnie
REPLY
First, your oven temperature is too low. Pizza needs to bake at 450 - 475. A stone helps, and you will find the result is different at 450-475 then it is at 375. Also, keep in mind that restaurant ovens have very efficient forced air convection ovens - with very even temperature and air flow. It is very hard to duplicate these conditions at home. The even temperature and forced air remove moisture from the oven very efficiently.
Don't use machines to make your dough - do it by hand.
Sauce and toppings also affect the crust - don't use too much sauce - use "low moisture" mozzarella cheese.
Here is a recipe that has been floating around for quite a while - it is supposed to be an accurate recipe for Pizza Hut Pan Pizza dough.
PIZZA HUT ORIGINAL PAN PIZZA
1 1/3 cup Warm water (105F)
1/4 cup Non-fat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon Salt
4 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 pk. Dry yeast
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil (for dough)
9 ounces Vegetable oil (3 oz. per pan)
Butter flavored Pam
Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into three balls.
In three 9" cake pans, put 3 Oz. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. Spray the outer edge of dough with Pam. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Bake at 450 - 475
Email your recipe requests, food info or history
questions to me at james@foodreference.com
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SPONSOR
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POSTERS - Culinary posters, movie, music, sports and fine arts posters and prints. Framed and unframed. Largest selection available anywhere, at the lowest prices.
http://www.culinaryposters.com/
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QUOTE
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"Let us candidly admit that there are shameful blemishes on the American past, of which the worst by far is rum. Nevertheless, we have improved man's lot and enriched his civilization with rye, bourbon and the Martini cocktail. In all history has any other nation done so much?"
Bernard De Voto (1897-1955) American writer and critic.
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COOKING TIPS
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When buying dates, avoid ones that are sticky or ones that have crystallized sugar on the surface. Fresh dates should be firm and springy, and should have a fresh smell, not sour. Dried dates should be firm, but not hard. Fresh, soft dates should be kept in plastic bags in the refrigerator, and will keep for several weeks. Dried dates will keep for up to a year, refrigerated.
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CULINARY CALENDAR - A Few Selected Events
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
1666 The Great Fire of London began in the shop of the King's baker. After burning for four days, more than 13,000 buildings had been destroyed.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
1970 Alan Wilson of the music group 'Canned Heat' died.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
1768 Francois Auguste Rene Vicomte de Chateaubriand was born. Chateaubriand was a French writer and politician. His chef, Montmireil, created the famous recipe consisting of a center cut from the beef tenderloin, grilled and served with béarnaise sauce and chateau potatoes. Montmireil named the dish Chateaubriand.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
1949 Clem Clempson of the music group 'Humble Pie' was born.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
1899 Carnation began producing evaporated milk.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
1912 David Packard was born. Founder with William Hewlett of the Hewlett Packard Company. Before they became famous for computers and printers etc., some of their early inventions were an automatic urinal flusher and a weight loss shock machine!
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
1978 'Grease' by Frankie Valli is #1 on the charts
For a complete listing of each day's events, go here:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/HistoricEvents.html
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TRIVIA
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Sara Lee was a real person. In 1935 Charles Lubin and his brother-in-law purchased a chain of small neighborhood bakeries named Community Bake Shops. The business was a success, but Charles parted ways with his brother-in-law in 1949. He named his first product (a cream cheese cake) after his eight year old daughter, and also changed the name of the company, to Kitchens of Sara Lee.
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QUOTE
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"My favorite sandwich is peanut butter, baloney, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise on toasted bread with catsup on the side."
Hubert H. Humphrey (former Senator from Minnesota)
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Food Reference Newsletter ISSN 1535-5659
James T. Ehler (Publisher & Editor)
3920 S. Roosevelt Blvd
Suite 209 South
Key West, Florida 33040
E-mail: james@foodreference.com Phone: (305) 296-2614
Food Reference WebSite: http://www.foodreference.com
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© Copyright 1990-2004 James T. Ehler. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the Copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.
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