British Cuisine
February 28, 2009
British Cuisine
by: Kirsten Hawkins
British cuisine has always suffered from bad press. The simple homespun fare and plain preparation of most traditional British foods pales when compared to French haute cuisine, and it’s not uncommon for food critics to sound almost apologetic when writing about traditional British dishes as if there were something shameful in enjoying a good, thick joint of beef with an accompaniment of Yorkshire pudding. If they speak in glowing terms of anything at all, it is a nod to the clever naming of British foods, where dishes like bubble and squeak and spotted dick appear on restaurant menus.
And yet, for all the snickering and apologetic references, British cuisine at its best is hearty, delicious, simple fare on which to fuel the nation that influenced the entire world. There is no other nation in the world that does a roast of beef to such perfection, nor any better accompaniment to the succulent meat than a puffed, piping hot Yorkshire pudding prepared in its drippings, and few cuisines have a dessert that can compare with the pure heaven that is a well made trifle or treacle tart.
Easy Dinner Recipes: Roast Chicken and Roasted Root Vegetables
February 28, 2009
Easy Dinner Recipes: Roast Chicken and Roasted Root Vegetables
by: Karen Ciancio
Easy dinner recipes make life so much easier for us.
As much as we want to make healthy food choices for ourselves and our families, busy lives sometimes makes it difficult. With a few easy dinner recipes in your recipe box it’s a cinch.
This is a complete meal that bakes in the oven at the same time. With just a little bit of preparation time you can pop the whole meal in the oven and go off to spend your time doing things other than stirring and watching. Come back in a bit and dinner’s done. Couldn’t be easier or more delicious.
Roast Chicken
- 1 whole chicken, about lbs
- butter
- salt and pepper
- 1 whole bulb of garlic (optional), with the outside papery layers removed
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Wash and dry the chicken. Thoroughly rinse and dry the inside cavity as well. Salt and pepper the cavity and place the whole bulb of garlic inside.
Braised Fish in Soy Sauce (Hong Shao Yu)
February 27, 2009
Braised fish in soy sauce is the basic craft of Chinese dish. The distinguishing characteristics are it looks red and glossy, rich in smell and thick in gravy. Both sides of the fish slice must be fried to become golden yellow, a thin crispy layer of skin should be left on the top before you take it out of the hot oil pot. This is the key step of forming the gloss, or you may have a dish that looks gloomy and gets torn to pieces during cooking process.
Ingredients:
a). For step 1:
- 4 ~ 5 slices grass carp (or other fish you prefer)
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
b). For step 2:
- 5 slices of ginger
- 1 green onion (scallion). Chop into few pieces.
- 3 tablespoons oil
c). For step 3:
- 4 star anise
- A piece of cinnamon
- 4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 cups of water
d). For step 4:
- 2 tablespoons cooking wine
- dash of monosodium glutamate
Method:
Roasting Meat - Temperatures and Times
February 26, 2009
Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, I still see recipes that insist you should cook meat at high temperature for the first twenty minutes or so to seal it and then lower the level for the rest of the cooking time.
This has become the fashionable way and I’m not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of time in an age when both partners tend to work for a living.
What I am certain about is that this is not the best way to treat a prime roast. Nor does it ’seal’ it. Let’s put this myth to bed once and for all.
Cooking meat at high temperature, whether in the oven, on the barbecue or in a pan does not seal it!
It burns it. That’s why it goes brown. And it introduces extra flavor, because the outside of the meat generally has a covering of fat. Fat is what gives meat it’s unique flavor.
However adding this crust to the outside of the meat will also speed up the cooking of the rest of the joint, and reduce the amount that remains rare.
Italian Sweets
February 25, 2009
Italian Sweets
by: Kirsten Hawkins
The regional cuisine of Italy is surely a delight to the senses. With the pasta, seafood, savory meats and cheeses, and delicious crusty breads, it is hard to stop yourself from eating until you are packed full. However, if you do not remember to save a little room, you may miss out on the best part: dessert. No one does desserts quite like the Italians. From simple fruity finger foods to savory layered tortes, the Italian’s make desserts for every palette. From the chocolate lover to someone looking for something lighter and more refreshing, you are sure to find something to your looking in an Italian bakery.
One of my favorite Italian desserts has been a staple of my Grandmother’s dessert table at holiday dinners for as long as I can remember. The best part is that it is something that I was always able to help with. Stuffed dates were always a task that the kids could do, by simply taking the pre-sliced dates and stuffing about a tea spoon full of cream cheese into them and then dotting them each with a pecan, we could be happy to know we had helped. Even if we ate a date or two along the way.
Regional Cuisine - Down Home Southern Cooking
February 24, 2009
Regional Cuisine - Down Home Southern Cooking
by: Kirsten Hawkins
I grew up in New England, the home of ‘plain cooking’, where corn on the cob is served as is with a slab of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. We boil salted meats with vegetables and call it - well, a boiled dinner. Our clam chowder is white, our baked beans have bacon and molasses in them, and no one in the world has ever invented a food that was improved by the addition of curry. By the time I was eighteen, I could boil a lobster, steam clams and grill a pork chop to perfection. Then I moved to Virginia, picked up a roommate from North Carolina - and discovered a whole new world of down home country cooking goodness.
Low Fat, Low Carb Baked Tortilla Chip with a Mango Salsa Dressing
February 23, 2009
Many low fat low cholesterol recipes are usually bland and un-flavorful but you can find some unique and tasty treats on our website that are full of flavor.
Here are a couple of low fat low cholesterol recipes that are just great for sitting around watching television. For this first Baked Tortilla chip recipe that is fast to create in your microwave you will need 12 corn tortilla chips, vegetable oil, and salt. Use the vegetable oil and brush the tortilla shells on both sides, now cut each tortilla chip into 6 separate wedges. Place in a single layer in your microwave. Microwave on high for around 1 ½ minutes, then turn the wedges and microwave again for another 1 ½ minutes. Continue turning and cooking at the same intervals until all tortilla chips are crisp. They will become crisper after you remove them from the microwave. Salt the chips after removing them from the microwave. The normal cooking time is around 7 minutes.
Regional Cuisines Of China
February 23, 2009
Regional Cuisines Of China
by: Kirsten Hawkins
It’s easily one of the world’s favorite foods. No matter where you are, someone you know is bound to suggest, “Hey, let’s do Chinese.” For decades, Chinese food meant one thing - Cantonese cuisine. It was the style of Chinese cooking with which most of the world was familiar - the appetizers and roasted meats and delicate sauces that blend vegetables and spices in a perfect marriage of flavors. But Chinese food is far more than just the Cantonese cuisine. There are four major styles of cooking across China, and several more subdivisions to divide them even further.
Cantonese is the most well-known and popular of the Chinese regional cuisine styles. Cantonese chefs specialize in delicate sauces and roasted meats, in steamed and stir-fried dishes with vegetables that are as carefully chosen for appearance and appeal to the eye as to the palate. Steamed rice is a staple of Cantonese cuisine, and is the base of most meals. Every vegetable is sliced to best show off its color and shape, even in a stir-fry or sauce. One of the more enduring and widely enjoyed traditions of Cantonese cooking is ‘dim sum’ - ‘little hearts’. In many cities, both in China and in other countries around the world, you’ll find little dim sum shops tucked beneath stairways and in storefront shops. They serve tea and the delicious savory and sweet little dim sum pastries to businessmen and afternoon shoppers.
Puerto Rican Cuisine
February 22, 2009
Puerto Rican Cuisine
by: Kirsten Hawkins
Puerto Rico is an island nation that is officially a territory of the United States. Puerto Rican cuisine has evolved from several strong influences, including those of the original peoples, such as the Tainos, and the Spanish conquerors that drove most of the natives out and enslaved the remaining. African and Caribbean influence is also reflected in the cuisine of the island, which has also been shaped significantly by its climate and geology.
Cocina criolla, one of the main cuisine styles particular to the island has deep roots, extending far back to the native Tainos and Arawaks. Their culinary traditions were based tropical fruits, native vegetables, seafood, and corn. With the Spanish came a host of other ingredients that expanded the criolla style. These included olive oil, rice, wheat and meats, such as pork and beef. As enslaved African peoples were imported for work on the sugar cane plantations, their culinary traditions took root as well, and their contributions, which included taro and okra, became assimilated into the whole of criolla cuisine.
How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (includes recipes)
February 21, 2009
Some of the best meals I’ve ever eaten were made by my grandmothers in their cast iron skillets. Tender, flaky catfish; finger-lickin’ chicken; and mouth watering cornbread were the traditional scrumptious fare. Today, we have a new generation of cooks, and they are conjuring up all sorts of new and tempting recipes to cook in cast iron skillets that have either been handed down through generations, or picked up brand-spanking-new at the local Williams-Sonoma store. But before I share some of those unusual recipes with you, I would like to first educate you on how to care for your skillet.
First rule: Don’t ever wash your cast iron skillet! Doesn’t that just blow your mind? I was positive that my mother was slipping into early dementia when she told me that years ago. But I soon found out she knew what she was talking about, as always. Actually, you should wash your skillet the first time, but afterwards, put away the soap when it comes to cleaning your skillet. And never put it in the dishwasher.
