THE FOOD REFERENCE NEWSLETTER
November 10, 2004 Vol 5 #37 ISSN 1535-5659
IN THIS ISSUE
=> Website News
=> 'Food for Thought' by Mark Vogel
=> Quotes and Trivia
=> Bill Marsano Product Reviews
=> Books of the Week
=> Food Trivia Quiz
=> Readers questions
=> 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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This past week I have added over 100 recipes; lots of new Trivia, New Posters, and many new Articles.
The Events section and the CD version you can purchase, has over 1,000 NEW historical events listed.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/cdfoodrcalendar.html
WEEKLY FREE COOKBOOK DRAWING WINNER
Congratulations to the winner of last week's Free Cookbook Drawing, Edward Harazak, he wins "FISH GRILLED & SMOKED: 150 Recipes for Cooking Rich, Flavorful Fish on the Backyard Grill, Streamside, or in a Home Smoker" by John Manikowski
http://www.foodreference.com/html/fish-grilled-smoked.html
THIS WEEK'S DRAWING will be for FOOD ART: Garnishing Made Easy, by John Gargone
http://www.foodreference.com/html/foodartgarn.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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HAVE A LITTLE TASTE
James Bond enjoys vodka martinis, quail eggs, Bollinger Champagne and Beluga caviar. A man after my own heart. An ardent connoisseur, he can distinguish Beluga from other caviars and tell the year of the Bollinger.......
http://www.foodreference.com/html/markvogelweeklycolumn.html
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QUOTE
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"The whole of nature, as has been said, is a conjugation of the verb to eat, in the active and passive."
William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) 'Outspoken Essays'
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BILL MARSANO PRODUCT REVIEWS
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ZYLISS PIZZA WHEEL
How embarrassing to have to review a $10 item, and a pizza wheel, at that. Embarrassing not for me but for the kitchen-gadget industry, which has taken until now to produce a decent pizza wheel.................
http://www.foodreference.com/html/bill-marsano-review.html
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TRIVIA
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In the 16th century, the Turks were hooked on coffee. Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family's pot filled with coffee.
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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=089CFHPO2
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THIS WEEK'S BOOKS OF THE WEEK:
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COOKING NEW AMERICAN: How to Cook the Food You Love to Eat
Fine Cooking Magazine ed. Martha Holmberg
A private tutorial in preparing the kind of food that Americans truly love to eat. It offers meat and potatoes -- roasted potato salad and sliced steak with rosemary and arugula, that is. And it includes the pastas, polentas, risottos, and grain dishes that are so exciting now.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/cooking-new-amer.html
VICTORIA'S HOME COMPANION; Or The Whole Art of Cooking: A History of 19th Century Foods with Recipes.
Including Descriptions of Vegetables, Fruits, and Domesticated Animals, Methods of Preservation, Preparation, Care of Kitchen Utensils, &c. With Special Emphasis on the Civil War Era.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/victorias-home-comp.html
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FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ
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1) In 1899, Amedeo Obici, age 12, arrived in America from Italy, with no money and no knowledge of the English language. But he knew he had an uncle somewhere in Pennsylvania. He found his uncle, and worked at his fruit stand. In 1906 at age 19, he starts his own business in partnership with his future brother-in-law Mario Peruzzi. By 1912 the business has grown so rapidly that he is buying directly from farmers and opens his own processing plant. The company's "trademark" and "spokes-person" was chosen in a contest conducted at a Suffolk, Virginia high school in 1916.
Can you guess the very well known product and "spokes-person"?
a) Planters Nuts & Mr. Peanut.
b) Cakes and Sarah Lee
c) Pancake Syrup and Mrs. Butterworth
d) Tomato Sauce and Chef Boyardee
e) Milk and Elsie the Cow
2) For the 2003/2004 crop year, choose the 3 largest producers of coffee in order:
Brazil Vietnam Columbia Indonesia Mexico
India Guatemala Ethiopia Uganda Honduras
3) What animal was called "Mr. McDonald's" and why?
4) What is the difference between 'Cajun' and 'Creole'?
5) This Italian skim milk cheese dates back to at least the 13th century and may date even to the 11th century. It is made only from April 1 through November 11 each year with milk from cows that have been feeding on fresh pasture. Most of the cream is skimmed from the milk which is then cooked in copper containers, pressed in cheesecloth lined molds, salted in brine and then allowed to mature.
6) This herb, Salvia sclarea is a relative of sage, but is no longer commonly used as a culinary herb. Previously it's leaves were used in soups and omelets, and the leaves and flowers in salads. The leaves were also used to flavor ale and beer (sometimes as a hops substitute), and to flavor wines and liqueurs. It imparts a muscatel flavor to wine, hence it's German name, Muskateller Salbei which means Muscatel Sage. It is one of the herbs used in Italian Vermouth.
7) About how many feathers does the average mature turkey have?
8) In what year was the one billionth can of Spam sold?
9) This member of the squash family is known by at least a dozen names. It is a pear shaped fruit, has a single seed and a taste similar to zucchini. The young root tubers are also eaten. It is native to Mexico and Central America and was a popular vegetable with the Mayas and Aztecs. It's cultivation has spread all over the world, including Algeria, Madagascar, Polynesia, southern U.S., China, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia. How many of its name can you list?
10) This egg-shaped tropical fruit has a brittle, wrinkled rind enclosing flesh-covered seeds. The seeds are edible, so you can eat the orange pulp straight from the shell. Its highly aromatic pulp and juice are used as a flavoring for beverages and sauces. The pulp has an intense aromatic flavor, while the texture is jelly-like and watery. The name of this fruit is:
a) Babaco
b) Pomegranate
c) Mamee Apple
d) Passion Fruit
e) Guava
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ANSWERS TO FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ:
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1) Planters Nuts and Mr. Peanut.
2) The 10 largest producers were listed in the proper order:
BRAZIL, VIETNAM, COLUMBIA, Indonesia, Mexico, India, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Uganda, Honduras
3) In 1980, McDonald's test marketed Chicken McNuggets in Knoxville, Tennessee. The demand was so great that its regular supplier of chicken cannot meet the demand; Tyson Foods became a second supplier, and developed a special chicken that was almost twice as large as a standard broiler chicken. This yields more meat for the same number of cuts in the deboning process. This new bird will be called "Mr. McDonald's."
(The Food Chronology by James Trager)
http://www.foodreference.com/html/thefoodchronology.html
4) 'Creole' refers to the descendants of the original aristocratic French and Spanish (also German & Italian) settlers who came directly from Europe under Spanish sponsorship and rule to establish New Orleans in the 1690s. The cooking also has Native American, West Indian and African influences.
'Cajun' referred to descendants of the former French colony in East Canada, called Acadia (Nova Scotia). They had arrived in Acadia beginning in 1620. They were exiled in 1755 by the English, many eventually making their way to Louisiana, living in the swamps and bayous. Cajun cooking has very little influence of the classical cuisine of Europe - it is truly an American cuisine.
5) Parmigiano-Reggiano from ItalyÂs Parma region, the highest quality and original Parmesan Cheese.
6) Clary or clary sage.
7) The average mature turkey has about 3,500 feathers.
8) The one-billionth can of Spam was sold in 1959.
9) Chayote (Sechium edule), also known as: custard marrow, christophene (France, Caribbean), chouchoute (Madagascar, Polynesia), brione (France, West Indies), vegetable pear, cho-cho, soussous, chuchu, choko, pipinella, xuxu, mirliton (southern U.S.), mango squash, and huisquil. For all these exotic names, this is simply a subtropical member of the squash family, eaten as a vegetable.
10) Passion Fruit.
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ANOTHER FOOD REFERENCE WEBSITE
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FOOD ART AND POSTERS - 1000s OF NEW POSTERS ADDED
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: My husband and I have dentition problems and have a great deal of difficulty in chewing tough or even "sort of" tough meats, poultry etc. We both enjoy beef, veal and pork though we eat a lot of fish as it is softer. Adolph's meat tenderizer does help in some circumstances, though seemingly not in all. Other than pot roasts and brining the roast or steak, any other recommendations? R & S
ANSWER:
The Jaccard Meat Tenderizer is an excellent product. You can tenderize any meat beef, chicken, etc. Use it on both sides of a steak, chicken breast, etc, in both directions, and you can chew the meat even with no teeth at all.
Basically you sort of use it to 'pound' the meat, and each time the Jaccard hits the meat, the 3 rows of needle-like blades go through a slit in the plastic guard and pierce the meat. It is very simple and easy to use. The blades are about 2+ inches, so you can tenderize a roast 4 inches thick.
It is available from Amazon.com for $34.95 - the link is too long to fit on one line, so I have placed an Amazon link on the Home page of the website on the left side, with a photo.
http://www.foodreference.com/index.html
FOLLOWUP:
Many thanks -- you've done it again! I ordered the meat tenderizer you suggested and have now used it twice. Indeed, it did just as you said -- both my husband and I were able to enjoy a piece of beef for the first time in several years. I truly appreciate your help and love your newsletter. R & S.
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TRIVIA
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In the colorful argot of the lunch counter and diner, "cowboy with spurs" is a western omelet with fries.
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CULINARY SCHOOLS, TOURS AND CRUISES
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Culinary Schools & Cooking Classes - Food and Wine Tours for the amateur & the professional. U.S. and abroad.
The best of the best.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/Cooking-Schools.html
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ANCIENT & CLASSIC RECIPES
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PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
(1925 winner of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company Recipe Contest)
http://www.foodreference.com/html/pineappleupsidedowncaker.html
Drain the juice from 1 large can of either Crushed or Sliced Hawaiian Pineapple.
Sift 2 cups flour. Sift again with 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Cream 1/2 cup butter or substitute, gradually add 1 cup sugar; cream well.
Beat yolks and whites of 2 eggs separately. Add yolks to creamed mixture; mix well, then add flour and 1/2 cup milk alternately, mixing well.
Fold the 2 beaten egg whites and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large frying pan.
Spread 1 cup of brown sugar over pan.
Add pineapple (if Sliced is used, place slices closely together on the sugar; if Crushed, simply pour in the well-drained fruit).
Pour cake batter over fruit.
Bake 45 minutes.
Turn upside-down on serving dish and garnish with maraschino cherries.
Whipped cream may be spread over top.
NOTE: There was no temperature given in the original recipe, but I have made this many times using 350 degrees with excellent results. Chef James.
See Also History of the Cake.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/fpineappleupsidedowncake.html
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QUOTE
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"There are few decisive acts in cookery, each step contributes to the end result."
Claude Peyrot, 20th century French Chef
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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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In the early 19th century a 'porter house' was a coach stop where travelers could dine on steak and ale. In the U.S. around 1814, a porter house keeper in New York City began to serve this steak, and it gained widespread popularity.
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WHO'S WHO IN THE CULINARY ARTS
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Otto Frederick Rohwedder (early 20th century)
Otto Frederick Rohwedder has been called the father of sliced bread. He worked for many years on developing a bread slicer, starting in 1912. His firsts efforts met with resistance from bakers, who informed him that the sliced bread would quickly go stale. By 1928, Rohwedder had finally designed a slicer that would also wrap the bread. He finally perfected it, and the first sliced bread was produced and sold at M.F. Bench's Chillicothe Baking Company, 100 Elm Street in Chillicothe, Missouri. According to the story, Mr. Bench assisted Rohwedder in the fine tuning the new bread slicing machine. The Chillicothe, Missouri Constitution-Tribune of July 7, 1928 carried a story of the new machines first use.
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RECIPE REQUESTS FROM READERS
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BRINED ROAST TURKEY
http://www.foodreference.com/html/brinedroastturkeyr.html
CAJUN DEEP-FRIED TURKEY
http://www.foodreference.com/html/deepfriedturkeyr.html
CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
Serving Size : 6
9 whole Sweet Potatoes
as needed Water
3/4 cup + 2 Tbls Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Apple -- grated
1/4 cup + 1 Tbls Triple Sec
3 Tablespoons Butter
to taste Salt And Pepper
to color Paprika
[1) Cook Sweet Potatoes Unpeeled in water until tender.
Drain.....Peel.....Cut into Quarters
[2) Place Sweet Potatoes in buttered oven proof pan.....Sprinkle with Brown Sugar, Salt, Paprika, Apple, Tripple Sec ----- Dot with Butter
[3) Bake uncovered at 375°F for 20-30 minutes.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/candswtpotr.html
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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"There are two types of people who eat truffles: those who think truffles are good because they are dear and those who know they are dear because they are good."
J.L. Vaudoyer
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COOKING TIPS
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Store fresh cranberries in a tightly-sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. As with all berries, if one starts getting soft and decaying, the others will quickly soften and decay also. Be sure to sort out the soft ones if you plan to store them for more than a few days. Fresh cranberries may last up to 2 months in the refrigerator. Cooked cranberries can last up to a month in a covered container in the refrigerator. Washed cranberries may be frozen for up to 1 year in airtight bags.
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CULINARY CALENDAR - A Few Selected Events
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11
1945 Vincent Martell of the music group 'Vanilla Fudge' was born.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12
1974 After more than 125 years, salmon returned to the River Thames in England.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13
1930 The Rotolactor was developed by the Walker-Gordon Dairy. It was a 50 stall revolving milking platform that could mechanically milk over 1,500 cows in seven hours
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14
1889 George S. Kaufman was born. A playwright, he wrote 'The Man Who Came to Dinner,' and the script for 'Cocoanuts' for the Marx Brothers.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15
1660 Asser Levy from Portugal, applied for a license to sell kosher meat. He was the first kosher butcher in New Amsterdam (New York).
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16
1620 The first corn (maize) was supposedly discovered (by European settlers) by some Pilgrims led by Myles Standish, while exploring the area near Provincetown, Massachusetts. They named the spot Corn Hill.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17
1967 'Incense And Peppermints' by Strawberry Alarm Clock 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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Good, ripe cranberries will bounce, which is why they are nicknamed 'bounceberries.' They should be shiny and plump and range in color from bright light red to dark red. Shriveled berries or those with brown spots should be avoided. Cranberries do not ripen after harvest.
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QUOTE
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"There is nothing better on a cold wintry day than a properly made pot pie."
Craig Claiborne
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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.
