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THE FOOD REFERENCE NEWSLETTER
August 2, 2004 Vol 5 #25 ISSN 1535-5659
IN THIS ISSUE
=> Website News
=> This weeks FREE Cookbook Drawing & Winner
=> 'Food for Thought' by Mark Vogel
=> Quotes and Trivia
=> Website of the Week
=> Food Trivia Quiz
=> Readers questions
=> Ancient & Classic Recipes
=> Did you know?
=> Who's Who in the Culinary Arts
=> Requested Recipes
=> Kitchen & Cooking Tips
=> Culinary Calendar - selected events
=> General information and Copyright
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WEBSITE NEWS http://www.foodreference.com
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Over the past few weeks I have been doing some minor design & organization changes on the website. For example, the Articles section has been reorganized.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/foodarticles.html
Comments on that and the new logo on the website are welcome.
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WEEKLY FREE COOKBOOK DRAWING
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Congratulations to the winner of last week's Free Cookbook Drawing, Mary Thompson. She wins a signed copy of "MEATLESS EASY-OVEN COOKBOOK: Menu Planning Made Simple With Vegetarian Recipes That Let You Bake a Whole Meal at the Same Time" by Jim Pedersen, Debi Pedersen
THIS WEEK'S DRAWING will be for a signed copy of "THE SPICE IS RIGHT: Easy Indian Cooking for Today." by Monica Bhide.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/thespiceisright.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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Rocket Man - Arugula, also known as rocket, rucola, and roquette, is a spicy, bitter, and peppery salad green with diverse culinary uses. Arugula originated in the Mediterranean and has been a long .........
http://www.foodreference.com/html/markvogelweeklycolumn.html
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QUOTE
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"In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection."
Curnonsky
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TRIVIA
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Caraway seeds have been found in lake dwellings in Switzerland dating back up to 8,000 years ago. The ancient Romans used the root as a vegetable.
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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=089CFHWHH
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THIS WEEK'S WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:
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Kitchen Gardeners International has recently launched a new web-based information campaign ( http://www.eatrealfood.org ) whose goal is to encourage people to eat healthy, delicious, whole foods as opposed to heavily processed ones. The site features a short educational cartoon (Quicktime required) created by Eliot Morrison, an award-winning 18 year-old computer animator from the San Francisco Bay Area.
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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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READERS QUESTIONS
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QUESTION: I recently found out I am allergic to carrots. I love to cook and it seems every recipe I am considering making has carrots. Can you please tell me what you would use as a substitute? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much Syl
ANSWER: I would suggest kohlrabi as a good substitute.
QUESTION: please tell me what the difference is in the two cheeses, chevre cheese and feta cheese. thanks sharon
ANSWER: Feta cheese is a Greek curd cheese traditionally made with goat's or sheep's milk.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artfetacheese.html
Chevre is a French term for any cheese made from goats milk.
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TRIVIA
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Flowers have been used in cooking, aromatic drinks, wines and spirits throughout history, including a recipe in the earliest surviving cookbook by the Roman Apicius for brains with rose petals.
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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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STUFFED ONIONS
Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Farmer (1896)
Remove skins from onions, and parboil ten minutes in boiling salted water to cover. Turn upside down to cool, and remove part of centres. Fill cavities with equal parts of finely chopped cooked chicken, stale soft bread crumbs, and finely chopped onion which was removed, seasoned with salt and pepper, and moistened with cream or melted butter. Place in buttered shallow baking-pan, sprinkle with buttered crumbs, and bake in a moderate oven* until onions are soft.
(* 350-375, Chef James)
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QUOTE
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"I'm Frank Thompson, all the way from 'down east.' I've been through the mill, ground, and bolted, and come out a regular-built down-east johnny-cake, when it's hot, damned good; but when it's cold, damned sour and indigestible; --and you'll find me so."
Richard Henry Dana
'Two Years Before The Mast' (1840) The Captain talks to his crew
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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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Freezer burn does not make food unsafe, merely dry in spots. It appears as grayish-brown leathery spots and is caused by air reaching the surface of the food. Cut freezer-burned portions away either before or after cooking the food. Heavily freezer-burned foods may have to be discarded for quality reasons.
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WHO'S WHO IN THE CULINARY ARTS
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Cussy, Louis, Marquis de (1766-1837)
Cussy was chief steward of the emperor's household under both Napoleon I and Louis XVIII. Grimod de la Reyniere claims that Cussy created 366 different chicken preparations, one for each day of the year, including leap years. Cussy also published Les Classiques de la table (1843), in which he wrote about the history of gastronomy.
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RECIPE REQUESTS FROM READERS
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GRAND MARNIER CHOCOLATE CAKE
14 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
3/4 cup plus 2 TB unsalted butter
10 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
1 TB Pure Vanilla extract
1 TB Grand Marnier
1 tsp Lime Juice
10 egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
- - powdered sugar and whipped cream for garnish
1) Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. When melted, hold aside.
2) Beat the egg yolks and 1 cup granulated sugar until smooth, then stir in the vanilla, Grand Marnier and lime juice. Add this to chocolate and blend together.
3) Beat the egg whites in large bowl until SOFT peaks form. Slowly add the 1/2 cup of sugar, beating until STIFF peaks form.
4) Lightly STIR 1 cup of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then FOLD in the remaining egg whites with a rubber spatula. Don’t stir - FOLD - this keeps the air in the egg whites.
5) Flour and grease a 10 or 12 inch springform pan, and pour the batter into pans.
Bake in preheated 250 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours. Cool COMPLETELY before removing from pan.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with dollop of whipped cream.
Email your recipe requests, food info or history
questions to me at james@foodreference.com
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SPONSOR
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Tupperware® - The original is still the best.
http://my.tupperware.com/FOODREFERENCE
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QUOTE
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"In the Barbecue is any four footed animal -- be it mouse or mastodon -- whose dressed carcass is roasted whole.... at its best it is a fat steer, and must be eaten within an hour of when it is cooked. For if ever the sun rises upon Barbecue, its flavor vanishes like Cinderella's silks, and it becomes cold baked beef -- staler in the chill dawn then illicit love."
William Allen White (19th century)
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COOKING TIPS
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Beef steaks and other cuts will keep 5 days at 35 degrees F, and 8 days at 30 degrees F. Frozen quickly at 0 degrees F in airtight packages, beef cuts will keep up to 6 months. This does NOT apply to ground beef.
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CULINARY CALENDAR - A Few Selected Events
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 3
1811 Elisha Graves Otis was born. He invented the first safe elevator, and opened the door to rooftop restaurants.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4
1693 Dom Perignon discovers the process for making champagne. "Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!"
THURSDAY, AUGUST 5
1955 Carmen Miranda died. Fabulous fruit for head gear.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 6
1889 The Savoy Hotel opened in London, with Cesar Ritz and Escoffier.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 7
1991 The world's largest Burger King opened in Budapest.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 8
1927 Alfalfa was born on this day. Actually, it was Carl Switzer who played Alfalfa in the ‘Our Gang’ short film series.
MONDAY, AUGUST 9
1762 Mary Randolph was born. She was a Southern U.S. cookbook author, whose 'The Virginia Housewife' (1824) is considered the first cookbook of the American South, and one of the most influential cookbooks of the 19th century. It contains hints of the influence of African cooking on the cooking of the American South. Mrs. Randolph was also one of the first to use measurements in her recipes, rather than just a list of ingredients.
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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'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.
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.
*(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).
Russian service was introduced in Russia about 1810 by an ambassador of the Russian czar.
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QUOTE
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"Salt is the policeman of taste: it keeps the various flavors of a dish in order and restrains the stronger from tyrannizing over the weaker."
Margaret Visser, 20th century author
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KITCHEN TIPS
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Blueberry season is from May to September. Look for berries with a silvery 'bloom', this is a natural protective coating. They should be refrigerated as quickly as possible and kept dry. Do not wash until you are ready to use them. They will last for up to 2 weeks if stored properly. Blueberries are a good source of Vitamin C.
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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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