A Brief History of Pizza: The Dish that Conquered the World

Pizza, the way we know it today, is a derivation from focaccia (from the Latin word for fire), flat bread that has been prepared since antiquity in different forms and garnished with herbs, olives, fat, raisin, honey, and nuts.

The word pizza in Italian identifies any type of flat bread or pie—fried or baked. Although you’d find many types of pitas or pizzas around the Mediterranean, it is in Naples that pizza in the form we know it today first emerged, after the tomato appeared on the table in the 1700s. Naples has many records of pizza since around the year 1000; the first mentions call these flat breads laganae, and later they are referred to as picea. In those times, pizzas were dressed with garlic and olive oil, or cheese and anchovies, or small local fish. They were baked on the open fire and sometimes were closed in two, as a book, to form a calzone.

In Naples is also where the first pizzerias opened up, with brick wood-burning oven, covered with lava stones from the Mount Vesuvius. The chefs of those times ignored pizza because was considered a poor people’s food, but the new combination with the tomato, when it entered the kitchen around the 1770s, must have raised some curiosity, even in the royal palace. Ferdinand I Bourbon, King of Naples, loved the simple food of the people and went to taste the pizzas made in the shop of Antonio Testa. He liked it so much that he wanted pizza to be included in the menu at the court. He failed after the opposition of his wife, Queen Maria Carolina. His son Ferdinand II also liked all kind of popular food and he loved pizza to the point that he hired Domenico Testa, son of the now famous Antonio, to build a pizza oven in the royal palace of Capodimonte.

Pizza became very popular, earning its place in Neapolitan folklore. Simple and economical, it turned into the food for all people, even sold on the streets, as shown in many illustrations of the time.

A famous episode extended the popularity of pizza beyond the limits of the city of Naples. It was 1889, and Margherita, queen of Italy, was visiting the city. She was told about pizza and wanted to taste it. A famous cook by the name of Don Raffaele, helped by his wife Donna Rosa, was invited to cook pizza at the royal palace. They prepared three pizzas, typical of that time: one with cheese and basil; one with garlic, oil, and tomato; and one with mozzarella, basil, and tomato. The queen, impressed by the colors of the last pizza, which resembled the national flag, preferred that one. Since then this pizza is known as Pizza Margherita, and Don Raffaele is credited with its invention, even if we know that it already existed for a long time.

At the beginning of the last century, with Italian immigrants, the first pizzerias appeared also in the United States, where pizza has become a mass phenomenon. Yet, even today the best pizza is found in Naples, where it is rigorously made with buffalo mozzarella. Superior pizzas are considered those obtained by moderate variations of the simplest and most popular: Pizza Napoletana with tomato, garlic, oil, and oregano; Pizza Margherita; Pizza Marinara with tomato, anchovies, capers, and olives; and Pizza Four Seasons, divided in four quadrants, each dressed in a different way. Pizza with hot salami, the American pepperoni pizza, is instead found in the Calabria region south of Naples, where this type of hot sausage is produced.

4000 Year Old Secrets of Green Tea

The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea for over 4,000 years. But recent studies are just starting to unlock these ancient secrets of green tea.

Today, a great deal of research is being carried out about green tea health benefits and the findings are very exciting.

Here are just a few medical conditions that drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful with:

• Cancer
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• High cholesterol levels
• Cardiovascular disease
• Infection
• Impaired immune function
• Controlling high blood pressure
• Lowering blood sugar

Researchers believe the real secret of green tea lies in the fact that it is rich in EGCG which is a powerful anti-oxidant. EGCG has been found to kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.

A University of Purdue study recently concluded that a compound in green tea actually inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

Red wine has been long studied because it contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet.

But researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese and French men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent of them are smokers.


Research also indicates that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.


But the health benefits of green tea don't end there. Green tea has been found to inhibit the abnormal formation of blood clots which is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.


New studies have actually shown that green tea can even help you loose weight. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition performed a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

It has also been shown that drinking green tea can give your body a greater ability to fight infection and kill bacteria.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay. Its bacteria-destroying abilities kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque and aids the immune system with its antifungal properties by improving digestive function.

You may be asking if other Chinese teas offer similar health benefits. But the answer is no. Although green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, the way green tea is processed is what sets them apart.

Green tea leaves are steamed, and that prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. Black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which converts the EGCG into other compounds. This process makes oolong and black teas much less effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

So how much green tea should you drink? There are as many answers to this question as there are researchers investigating the health properties of green tea.

While some companies selling green tea say that ten cups per day are necessary to reap the maximum benefits, a University of California study on the cancer-preventative qualities of green tea concluded that you could probably attain the desired level of polyphenols by drinking two cups a day.

The research of this ancient beverage continues, and it may take decades to unlock all of the secrets it holds. Although green tea should not be considered to be a magic bullet, researchers agree the positive health benefits are very promising.

Serving Wine Serving Temperatures

The flavors of both red and white wines fall apart if they are too warm. It is advisable to chill your reds in the fridge for about twenty minutes before serving them, and whites can generally be left in the fridge altogether. When in doubt, it's better to serve the wine colder and let it warm in the glass than to serve it too warm.

More flavorful, fuller bodied white wines can be served at a slightly warmer temperature than bone dry whites. There are an impressive amount of wine coolers on the market that allow you to temperature control the environment your favorite wines. If you have room for it, pick one up! They can add a great deal of enjoyment to your wine drinking experience - just be sure that there is an actual barrier separating the red wine and white wine compartments. Simply stacking the reds on the top portions of the cooler in the hopes that the air will be warmer there will could make your reds too cold and your whites too warm. Most reputable coolers have separate temperature controls for both types of wine.

Choose Your Glasses
Prevailing wisdom on the subject of wine glasses advises that it is in everybody's interest to show the wine the proper respect by serving it in a tulip shaped glass with a longer, slender stem. It is recommended that the glass be clear in order to best view the color and body of the wine as it is pored and sipped. However, we are going to take this a bit further and suggest that you have to balance the respect you show the wine with the respect you show the occasion.

As world cultures blend and star chefs inspire us with their innovative, fusion like cuisine, more and more types of meals can be enjoyed with more types of wine. Today, it is not uncommon for a big Australian Grenache to be brought out for a barbeque or a fun and fizzy champagne to accompany fish and chips. There are more styles of wine glasses than ever before, so don't be afraid to make the glass casual if it fits the mood. Tumblers for barbeques, boxes for Asian food and Dixie cups for picnics are all perfectly acceptable!

One thing to keep in mind with whatever glass you choose is to be sure you give the wine space - it's best to fill a glass no more than half way in order to give the aromas some room to come out. Click here for more information on wine glass basics: http://www.savoreachglass.com/articles.php/20

If you are using stemware, be wary of the type of detergent you use to clean them and how you store them. Detergent residue can negatively impact the flavor and aroma of wine - if possible, wash your glasses in hot water with no detergent at all and air dry them. Store them upright so odors in your cabinet are not trapped in the glass.

Decanting
There are a number of reasons to decant your wine, not the least of which is that it's fun and can add style to an event. It can also help to remove sediment in wines, particularly aged wines, and it helps the wine breathe. This allows its aromas to interact with the oxygen in the air and become more noticeable.

Choose a decanter that suits your style. Like wine glasses, decanters come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, some plain and other wonderfully ornate. We find that decanting is particularly fun for family style events and opt for plain, unimposing decanters that remind us that we should keep our focus on the celebration rather than fanciness. For more formal occasions we opt to keep the bottle at the table!

Breathing
Breathing refers to allowing the wine to come in contact with the oxygen in the air. For some wines, this allows the full aromas and flavors to come to the surface. Keep in mind that too much oxygen can dull the flavors. Giving certain wines an hour or so before drinking them can do wonders to open-up their flavor and aroma.

There are a number of pervasive myths regarding wine breathing that we would like to set straight. The first is that all wine benefits from breathing, which is patently false. Some reds, particularly big Bordeaux, well-made Syrah/Shiraz and Italian Barolos benefit greatly from having some time to open-up. Barring these players, most wines can be drunk immediately, and white wine in particular will not benefit at all from having time to breathe.

The second major myth is that wine can breathe in the bottle. Simply popping the cork will do little to allow it to breathe, since so little of the wine is able to interact with the air. Allow wine to breathe either in a decanter or your glass.

Handling Leftovers
There are three major methods to preserving leftover wine, the first is simply recorking it and putting it in the refrigerator. If possible, poring the leftover wine into a half bottle and then putting in the fridge is ideal, as the fuller the bottle the less oxygenation can occur. Keep in mind that white wine can last a great deal longer (a week even) than red wine (simply recorking red wine and putting it in the fridge may give you two days - three at the most).

The second method is to vacuum pump the wine with a special pump. This sucks out the air in the bottle and seals it for later use. The wine should still be placed in the fridge, but can last for several days in this fashion.

The last method is a variation on the second, which involves filling up the unused portion of the wine bottle with a special gas that prevents oxygen from interacting with the wine. These canisters are easy to use and can be found at most wine merchants.

A Beginners Guide to Chinese Cookery Introduction

When I first ate Chinese food in the UK in the 1970s, it was really quite unappealing. Everything came in a gloopy sauce and seemed to taste the same, due to the overuse of monosodium glutamate, supposedly a flavour enhancer but in reality, nothing of the kind. Then in the 1980s a new breed of Chinese restaurant arrived (at least it took that long to reach the provinces) which provided lighter, tastier Chinese cooking demonstrating regional differences. There was one drawback, however, which was that this new type of restaurant was much more expensive than the original cheap ‘n tasteless ones. Consequently, I thought how nice it would be to cook Chinese food at home but I had no idea where to start until BBC TV came to my rescue in the shape of Ken Hom, the USA-born chef of Cantonese parents.

Ken presented Chinese cuisine in such an easily-understandable way, demonstrating techniques and suggesting alternative ingredients should the originals not be available in your local supermarket. The book which accompanied the series, Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery became my bible and I still have my copy, pages stained with oil drips and smears of sauce.

To help you on your way to cooking Chinese food at home, I’m going to briefly describe the basic equipment, ingredients and techniques which you need to know so that you can produce some simple and tasty dishes. I hope you enjoy the article and that it inspires you to get cooking!

Equipment
Although there are many implements and pieces of equipment you can buy, to start on the road to cooking your own Chinese food, you really only need a good knife or two and a wok. Woks come in all shapes and sizes, they can be non-stick, flat-bottomed, they can even be electric these days but I still prefer my old carbon steel wok with it’s rounded bottom and one wooden handle. This is a Pau wok. These are readily available in Chinese supermarkets and are much less expensive than other varieties. There is one important task though, before you will be ready to cook with such a wok and that is to season it. You will need to scrub it with a cream cleaner to remove any residues of machine oil and dry it carefully. Put the wok on the hob over a low heat. Rub the inside of the wok with two tablespoons of cooking oil using kitchen towel. Let the wok heat slowly for 10 to 15 minutes then wipe the inside with more kitchen towel. The paper will come away black. Carry on coating, heating and cleaning off until the kitchen towel comes away clean. Your wok is now ready to use. After use, wash only in water without detergent and dry thoroughly over a low heat. You may also apply a little oil if you wish. This should prevent the wok from rusting but if it does develop rust, just scrub and season again.

As well as the wok, you will need a wok stand, particularly if you have an electric hob. This keeps the wok stable if you are using it for braising or deep frying.

You will also need something to stir with – any spatula, slice or slotted spoon will do – metal for a metal wok and plastic or wooden for a non-stick wok.

Ingredients
Before you rush out and buy up the whole Chinese section at the supermarket, bear in mind that some ingredients don’t keep well if left unused. Just select something simple from your chosen cookery book and buy the things that you need for that then you can expand your selection as you progress through different dishes.

Some common store-cupboard ingredients that you will almost certainly need are dark and light soy sauce, some sort of cooking oil and sesame oil, cornflour and rice wine or sherry. For more information, see my article Chinese Cooking - Ingredients and Equipment.

Techniques
Stir-Frying - The most well known Chinese cooking technique is stir-frying. This is where your wok comes into its own as it’s shape and size (at least 14 inches diameter with deep sides) is ideal for quick cooking. The secret to successful stir-frying is to have all your ingredients ready in advance.

Meat should be cut according to the recipe but normally in thin strips. Vegetables likewise but in any event should be of similar shapes and sizes to ensure even cooking. Long thin vegetables such as spring onions, carrots or asparagus are often cut on the diagonal so that more surface area is exposed for quicker cooking. Measure out sauce ingredients - check the recipe - if they are all added to the dish at the same time, you can put them all in one small bowl. If cornflour is included, don’t forget to give it a good stir before adding to the other food.

Once you have everything prepared, heat your wok until it is very hot then add oil and using your chosen stirring implement ensure that the oil is evenly distributed over the surface of the wok. Before you add your ingredients. the wok should be so hot that it is almost smoking - this will prevent the food from being greasy. The exception to this is if you are flavouring your oil with garlic, chilli, spring onions, ginger or salt - these will burn if the oil is too hot.

Now add your other ingredients in the order stated in the recipe and toss them over the surface of the wok ensuring that nothing rests in one place for too long and moving the food from the centre of the wok to the sides. I suggest that you wear an apron or other protective clothing for this operation as the food often spits due to the high temperature it is cooked at.

Deep Frying - You can use your wok for deep frying but be very careful that it is safely balanced on its stand. Under no circumstances leave it unattended. Deep frying in a wok uses less oil than a deep fryer or saucepan but you may find these safer and easier to use.

When deep frying, make sure that the oil is hot enough before adding ingredients or the food will end up very greasy. Test it by dropping in a small piece of prepared food or a cube of bread. If the oil bubbles up around what you dropped in then it’s hot enough.

Make sure that food to be deep fried is dried thoroughly on kitchen paper or drained of its marinade before cooking otherwise it will spit.

Shallow Frying - This is the same as the Western technique. Fry food on one side, then the other and drain off any excess oil before adding sauce ingredients. A normal frying pan is fine for this.

Steaming - Steaming is widely used in Chinese cookery. You can use a bamboo steamer in a wok, a heat-proof plate placed on a rack in a wok or other large pan or you can use a normal European steamer.

If using a bamboo steamer or plate in a wok, bring about 2 inches of water to a simmer. Put your rack into the wok (if the bamboo steamer is big enough and will sit on the sides of the wok without being in the water, you don’t need a rack) and balance your plate or steamer of food on it. Put the lid on your steamer or wok and check occasionally to see if the water needs topping up (use water which is already hot).

Whichever method you use, make sure that the food is above the water level and isn’t getting wet.

Braising - As with Western cooking, braising is used for tougher cuts of meat and involves gentle cooking of meat and/or vegetables in flavored stock. Red-braising is the technique where food is braised in a dark liquid such as soy sauce which gives the food a red/brown color. This type of braising sauce can be frozen and re-used.

4 Problems You Can Cure With Food

Here are 4 problems that you can cure with food (but, not by eating it).

1. Disinfect a Wound - Pour a dab of honey on a cut before covering it with a bandage. Honey has powerful anti-bacterial properties. One New Zealand study found that honey was capable of destroying almost all strains of the most common wound-infecting bacteria. Another equally good option, turmeric.
2. Repair Dry Skin  - Try rubbing a small amount of sesame or corn oil over dry skin on your hands or feet, to add moisture and seal it into the area.
3. Treat Poison Ivy - Got itching? Get milk. Soaking a kerchief in cold milk and then holding it on your skin will dry out the rash of poison ivy and help ease the itch.
4. Soothe a Sunburn - To stop the itch and burn, mix together a bit of dry oatmeal and cool water. Make it slightly slushier than if you were going to eat it, and spread the mixture carefully on your sunburned skin. This will relieve the pain and help reduce swelling.

Supreme Burgers

• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
• 11/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/4 cup Jack Daniel's Whiskey
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Combine ground chuck, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup cream. Shape into six patties. In large skillet, add oil and pan-broil over medium heat until desired degree of doneness. Remove to heated platter. Keep in warm oven while preparing sauce. Cook shallots and mushrooms in pan drippings until tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook for several minutes. Pour sauce over patties. Makes 6 servings.

A Delicious Look at Cuban Food The Internet is a great resource for food lovers. You can find everything from recipes to home delivery of gourmet meals. International foods are a real treat that you can explore and enjoy.

In this article, we will explore Cuban food and offer you an easy recipe. There is a wonderful variety of Cuban food available such as coffee, fruits & jellies, rice dishes, sauces, spices, teas, meats, seafood, desserts, cookies & crackers.

Explore the tastes of light and dark coffee and cappuccino; Café Bustelo, Café Pilon, Café El Pico and several others.

Mango and Guava are used for a variety of fruit dishes and jellies such as Conchita Guava Shells, La Cubanita Mango Cream and La Fe Guava Paste.

Rice dishes are very popular, including those produced by Goya; Paella Dinner, Rice & Black Beans, Rice & Pigeon Peas and tasteful Yellow Rice.

Several sauces and spices add variety to the meals. Brands include Badia, Batey, Conchita and Goya. There is a little bit of everything to add additional flavor to your meals.

Teas are a favorite in the Cuban food line; several varieties from Chamomile to Mango are available.

Even meats can be purchased, Goya Chorizos (sausages), Pamplona Mussels in Brine, Pamplona Octopus in Oil and Sauce.

For dessert, there is Goya Flan, Majarete and Tembleque . Enjoy a variety of Gilda and La Estrella crackers and cookies with a cup of your favorite coffee or tea.

Declare an International Food night and include the Cuban dish below.

Spanish Sausage and Peppers

• 1 Goya Chorizo Sausage
• Olive Oil
• 1 Pepper (Your choice of sweet, red, cayenne, chili, etc.)
• Sherry vinegar
• Fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Chop sausage into bite size chunks. Put olive oil into a frying pan and fry sausage on high heat. Let the fat from the sausage come out into the oil. Cut the pepper into bite size squares. Turn the sausage and add the pepper to the pan. Add a splash of vinegar and the parsley and then mix everything. Skewer pieces of sausage and pepper with toothpicks and put onto a warm plate and serve.

The Art of the Marinade It's a sad fact that these days it has become almost essential to marinade most cuts of meat, unless you intend to casserole them.

I'll go into why that is the case a bit later on, but for the time being let's just examine why we use marinades at all.

Principally there are two reasons. One is to add flavor, and the other is to tenderize. Usually, we are trying to do both.

It's worth bearing in mind that marinating is a cooking process, even though heat is rarely applied. The importance of recognizing this is that, like any other cooking process, you can overdo it.

It's not just a case of putting the meat or fish in a sauce and leaving it there until you are ready to use it. Many of the fruit juices we use in marinades, such as lemon and pineapple, contain enzymes that break down proteins. In essence, what they do is digest them.

Leaving meat in them for too long would result in an unpalatable mush. If you want to try this for yourself, leave a piece of pork in fresh pineapple juice overnight and then see what happens when you cook it.

You probably won't like the result.

Why is meat tough?

It's a tragedy that although we are killing our animals at an earlier age in order to satisfy the demand for fresh meat, the end product still tends to be tough.

There are good reasons for this and it is useful to have a working knowledge of them if only to avoid potential disasters.

It is not, as some cooks would have you believe, simply a matter of finding a butcher who will take the trouble to discuss your needs with you, if indeed such a person still exists outside of the more fanciful cookbooks.

Our meat is tough because it started out that way. And here’s why (if you are squeamish, skip this section):

When an animal is killed its muscles (protein) go into spasm caused by the injection of the well-known fight or flight chemicals released by the brain.

Under normal conditions, that is to say in the natural world, this would be followed by rigor mortis setting in, followed by a gradual relaxing of the proteins back to their normal state.

However because of the speed at which the slaughter and preparation of carcasses is carried out, this vital, natural step is rarely if ever completed. The animal is killed, cooled and frozen in one continuous process.

The result is toughened proteins.

A butcher who hangs his meat can, to some extent, reverse this effect. If you ever find one, hang on to him for dear life. You have found a rapidly disappearing treasure.

The alternative is to use marinades.

Basic principles
Marinades can be wet or dry and you can add just about any flavor you desire to them.

When a marinade is liquid, the base is usually acidic. As I said earlier, this may be fruit juice, but wine, vinegar or even beer may also be used. As a matter of fact I know of one cook who uses Coca-Cola.

If it marinades meat, just think what it's doing to your insides.

Steeping in the marinade may take anything from a few minutes to several hours, and even overnight in the refrigerator.

The more delicate the proteins, though, the more chance there is of overdoing things. Fish, for example, should rarely be in a marinade for more than 30 minutes, particularly if lemon juice is involved (which it usually is).

Red meat, on the other hand, can sit in the refrigerator all night without coming to any harm. So can pork and chicken, providing there are no enzymes present of the type described above.

In other words, if you are using fresh fruit juice, keep the marinating time to a minimum. That is to say, no more than an hour at the outside.

Come to think of it, if either of those meats needs longer than that to tenderize it, it’s definitely time to change your supplier.

Caution
Whatever marinade you use, throw away any uncooked portion once you have finished with it. Do not taste it after the meat has been put in it, and do not use it for anything else.

If you want to heat it through to use it as an accompanying sauce, by all means do so, but ensure that it comes to the boil and that it cooks for at least 10 minutes.

Alternatively, heat it in the microwave, which will achieve the same thing in a shorter space of time.

Marinades are the perfect medium for food poisoning bugs to take their vacations in, and when bugs are on holiday they are happy. And when they are happy, they multiply. A bit like us, really.

If in doubt, throw it away.

Spanish Food - How To Make Spicy Gazpacho Soup. Home-made soups are so good for you - all that nourishing stock and chock-a-block full of vitamins and minerals.

But ... who on earth could face boiling bones for hours on end during the scorching Spanish summer weather, not to mention preparing the soup once the stock is made? I don´t think it would tickle anybody´s fancy to then have to tuck into a piping-hot soup!

For this reason, the Spanish came up with their wonderful, ice-cold soup - gazpacho - beautifully colorful, packed with goodness, cheap and simple to prepare, no cooking and ... most important of all, an absolute delight to drink.

Traditional gazpacho originates from romantic Andalucia - that large, exotic southerly region of Spain which is home to such extensive Arabic influence.

The chilled, raw soup was originally made by pounding bread and garlic with tomatoes, cucumber and peppers but, nowadays, your electric blender renders this effortless! Olive oil endows it with a smooth, creamy consistency and vinegar adds a refreshing tang - just what you need when life gets too hot to handle!

The spicy soup should be served in true Spanish style with small bowls of accompaniments - finely chopped peppers, cucumber, onion ... even hard-boiled eggs and croutons, if you feel up to it! Guests will then sprinkle what appeals to them on the soup.

Traditional gazpacho is tomato-based, with most Spanish families having developed their own, unique recipes. However, nowadays, you will also find gazpacho recipes that have nothing to do with tomatoes - white, almond-based gazpachos, fruit-based gazpachos, etc.

Do you suffer from insomnia? Could be that drinking gazpacho is the answer, for in Pedro Almodovar´s 1987 film "Mujeres Al Borde De Un Ataque De Nervios", various characters help themselves to the soup and promptly fall asleep!

However, don´t fall asleep just yet as you haven´t read over the recipe!

Ingrediants for 4 servings:

• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 1 onion
• ½ red pepper
• ½ green pepper
• ½ cucumber
• 3 cloves garlic
• 50 g bread
• 3 dessertspoons vinegar
• 8 dessertspoons olive oil
• Water
• Salt/pepper
• ¼ chilli pepper (optional)

Garnishings:

• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• ½ finely chopped onion
• ½ finely chopped red pepper
• ½ finely chopped green pepper
• ½ finely chopped cucumber

Method:
Break up bread and soak in water for 30 minutes.
Skin tomatoes, remove seeds and stalks from peppers.
Peel cucumber, onion and garlic.
Chop onion, garlic, tomatoes, peppers and cucumber.
Place in electric blender.
Squeeze out excess water from bread and add to blender.
Add oil and vinegar.
Blend well.
If necessary, add sufficient water for soup-like consistency.
Pour into a bowl with ice cubes.
Fridge for a couple of hours.
Serve in bowls, with garnishing's in separate dishes.

Gazpacho is best enjoyed sitting in the shade, looking out onto an azure sea, blue sky and golden sun and sands!

The Best Cup of Drip Coffee Possible

Be willing to experiment with different bean types to find the kind of coffee you like best. For what it is worth, more times than not, I’ve found that a good espresso roast makes a great cup of drip coffee as well. Do experiment though, you just might be surprised at what you find.

Good beans deserve a good grind. You’d be surprised at the difference between a good grind and a bad one. If you don’t have a good grinder at home, consider grinding the beans at the store where they were purchased as the grinders there often do a great job. Burr grinders are the best, and the most expensive.

It is probably obvious but good water makes a difference as well. The more things you take out of the water, the better your coffee will taste.

A good drip machine is also a must. More than anything else, the warming element is what you need to worry about. If you find that your coffee often has that scalded burned taste, the warmer might be too hot. And, of course, there is seldom a way to change that so, … you’ll need a new machine.

Consider the French Press alternative. French presses are dirt cheap, make an incredible cup of coffee, and never leave you worrying about overactive warmers, water tube build-up and the like. Remember that the grind for French Press is different than normal drip coffee so grind accordingly.

What about people stuck in a bad coffee situation in the office or somewhere else? Here’s a trick that can help with some issues: Bring in a cinnamon shaker and dash a little on the grinds before starting the machine. This will give the coffee a bit more taste, hide some of the bad taste and help with the aroma. Grab the coffee as soon as is brewed and, most of all, lobby for better coffee.

The Skinny On Chicken

Eating well isn't always easy let alone finding the time to cook. But if your secret ingredient is chicken, maintaining a healthy diet is much less work. Dishing up a high-protein, low-fat meal, chicken is one of the leanest meats on grocery store shelves.

In fact, a skinless chicken breast contains less than 1.5 grams of fat per 100 gram serving, according to Bryan Hughes, New Product Development Manager, Maple Lodge Farms. An essential ingredient to every meal, low-fat protein in chicken boosts your energy level by transporting oxygen and nutrients in your blood and cells while replacing and forming new tissue.

More Canadians are weighing in on the benefits of chicken than ever before. "Chicken consumption has almost doubled over the past 20 years in a country where over 75 per cent of households eat at least one chicken meal each week," says Hughes. "The trend in comfort foods has hit home and consumers are turning to chicken as essential to a well-balanced meal."

And it's simple to be creative when serving chicken, adds Hughes. From picnic salads to garden party entrees, Maple Lodge Farm's Premium Oven Roasted and Seasoned Chicken Breasts are quick suggestions to spice up any meal…and you can save the leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

Both products are easy to find at your neighbourhood Sobey's, IGA or Knechtel's.

But when it comes to food safety, refrigerate cooked chicken promptly after serving to protect yourself from harmful bacteria. Spread out large quantities of leftovers in a shallow container to chill faster. But leave the dishes for later.

International Gourmet Deliveries Take the Hassle Out of Gift Giving

In our global economy, everyone from the businessperson to the neighbor who traveled abroad on holiday is facing the same dilemma: how to send gifts to business associates and new friends who live overseas. Increasingly, gift givers are choosing the convenience of international gourmet deliveries over the hassle of shipping gifts overseas through conventional methods.

Utilizing the availability of gourmet gifts worldwide, many gift givers are sending hampers to Britain and other nations. Of the hamper baskets worldwide, the most popular gourmet baskets to Britain include fruits, cheeses, and meats. Companies known for their outstanding gourmet baskets to Britain, such as www.gourmetgiftuk.com, have established local shipping posts in nations around the world. Therefore, gourmet gift baskets can be shipped from a location close to the recipient, ensuring the utmost in freshness and quality.

International gourmet deliveries are especially appropriate for business associates and personal acquaintances, for whom gifts are traditionally difficult to choose. A basket containing a bottle of Australian wine and a bottle of South African wine, combined with English cheddar cheese and table biscuits, conveys a sense of adventure to an already thoughtful gift. For those who have a sweet tooth, an international gourmet delivery of chocolate wafers, biscotti, flavored coffee, truffles, and cocoa will be delightfully received. If the gift recipient's tastes run to the savory, a hamper containing corned beef, new potatoes, liver pate, ham, and baked beans will be welcomed.

Distance doesn't have to mean that favorite edibles are lost forever. When friends and family move overseas, international gourmet deliveries are the perfect way to send comfort foods from home. The recipient's pleasure at seeing a basket full of favorites from her country of origin is sure to help keep homesickness at bay. Plus, the satisfaction of giving a loved one a taste of home is unmatched.

International gourmet deliveries are the perfect way to convey appreciation to overseas customers and employees. Personalized wines, cakes, and chocolates are innovative gifts that can be used for corporate entertaining, as incentives, and to announce and celebrate promotions. Virtually every occasion can be commemorated through the personalization of foods and beverages.

Whether it's a wine and champagne basket, a fruit and candy basket, a floral bouquet, or a cheese and meat hamper, an international gourmet delivery is certain to delight business associates, friends, and family members. Such a gift is also easy on the giver, who doesn't have to bother with postal regulations and the high costs associated with shipping overseas.

Make Homemade Pizza

Making pizza from scratch, at home, isn't really as hard as you might think---and once you learn just a few secrets about how to make a great pizza crust, you might never want to "order in" again!

First, there is the matter of a recipe for pizza dough. Most of them call for very similar ingredients, basically water, yeast, oil, and flour. Some have a little more oil, some use less oil and add an egg. Whichever recipe you use, making the pizza dough goes fairly quickly and doesn't need to rise for hours like bread dough.

Here's a tip: If you aren't familiar with working with recipes that call for yeast, you might not know that yeast has to "proof"---that is, activate. You do this by combining it with water water (about 110*), and usually a little bit of sugar (1 teaspoon or less). After you combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar, you need to let this mixture "rest" for about 5 minutes. This allows the yeast to activate or "proof."

Don't just assume that you can run hot water from your tap and it will be "warm" enough, without being "too hot." A small cooking thermometer is handy to have. It might be easier to heat up water to 110* rather than run hot water and then try to cool it down (especially if your water heater is set at 120* or above). I put room temperature water in a Pyrex measuring cup and heat the water in the microwave. After a while, you'll know exactly what setting and how long it takes to heat up the water.

After the yeast has proofed, stir in the other ingredients, following the recipe. You'll probably have to knead the dough a bit to mix all of the flour in, so that you have a smooth and dry mound of pizza dough. Be very careful about kneading the pizza dough---it is easy to knead in too much flour. As long as the dough isn't actually sticking to your fingers, it is OK.

Once the dough is ready, let it "rest" for about 5 minutes. That's right, just let it lay there. This gets the rising process started.

Hand form, or use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to the desired size.

After experimenting with the different types of pizza pans and stones that are available, I have concluded that the one-ply pans with holes in them are the best. This helps to bake a crust that is nicely done on the bottom without being burnt, and yet leaves the dough nice a "chewy" in the middle. Depending on your preference for pizza dough, you can experiment by first baking pizza on regular cookie sheets. After that you can get inexpensive pizza pans at dollar stores or discount stores like Wal-Mart to continue to experiment until you find the pan you prefer.

Now you are ready to bake the pizza. Here's a tip: pre-bake just the pizza crust for about 6 minutes before you load on the sauce and toppings. This helps to cook the crust enough so that the sauce won't sink in too much, leaving a gooey crust.

After you've pre-baked the crust, remove it from the oven and load it with sauce and meat toppings (be sure that anything other than pepperoni is pre-cooked, such as sausage or ground beef). If you like onions and peppers, then here's another tip: pre-cook them so that the onions are almost transparent and the pepper is limp. Load on the onions and peppers. Sprinkle on oregano or any other spices that you desire.

Return to the oven and bake for about 13-15 minutes. This is long enough to heat the sauce and other toppings.

Remove from the oven and add the cheese. (If you are like me and like Hawaiian pizza, add the pineapple now, too.) Return to the oven for about 3 minutes, or just long enough to melt the cheese without burning it.

Once the pizza is baked, I like to slide it onto a pizza stone that I've sprinkled with cornmeal. Then, I let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes. The cornmeal keeps the bottom of the crust from getting soggy, and sure adds a nice "zest" to the taste of it! Cut with a pizza cutter (or kitchen shears---which work great!).

Enjoy with your favorite beverage!

For an illustrated tutorial on making pizza dough and then baking the pizza, go to Jan's Reading Room:
http://jansdough.janktheproofer.com/Make-Pizza-tutorial.htm

For a free recipe for Jan's Dough Sourdough Pizza Crust, go to Jan's Dough:
http://jansdough.janktheproofer.com/Pizza-Crust.htm

Classic Spinach Dip

• 1 pkg (300 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 can (10 oz/284 g) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 pkg Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix or Knorr Leek Soup Mix
• 2 cups (500 mL) sour cream
• 1 cup (250 mL) mayonnaise
• 1 round pumpernickel loaf

Squeeze excess moisture from spinach. Combine all ingredients excluding bread in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours to blend flavours. Spoon mixture into hollowed pumpernickel round loaf. Reserve remaining bread and cut into squares for dipping. Can also be served with fresh vegetables.

Recipe alternative: Broccoli Cheddar Dip.

Substitute, 1 pkg (300 g) frozen chopped broccoli for spinach, omit water chestnuts and green onions and add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. In sieve, rinse frozen broccoli under warm water to thaw, squeeze to drain well.

Dessert Parties

Dinner parties are a hot trend and a great way to get together with all of your friends. But do you and your friends have a serious sweet tooth? Do you get more enjoyment out of the desserts than dinner? Why not host an evening dessert party? A dessert party can actually be hosted any time of the day, but a late evening party is typically best.

With desserts, the tiny touches really do completely the big pictures. For instance, doilies on dessert plates when serving a fine piece of cake is a beautiful touch. A nice espresso goes well with pastries.

If have a tasty pound cake and want to make it look beautiful when serving? Use wine or champagne glasses and a flavor or two of ice cream to serve desserts a la mode. Serve flavored coffees and teas with some fresh fruit. All by itself, it can serve as a dessert. Just don't forget the decaf! Frozen desserts are a great idea for an unexpected get-together. Most of the fancier desserts can be frozen and thawed in warm weather for only about an hour.

Need a quick cake decoration? Keep some butterscotch, chocolate, and caramel sauce on hand. Nice thin swirls of a flavored sauce across the dessert plate works especially well with a nice torte or cheesecake. Mini chocolate chips are fabulous when coupled with fresh raspberries and a rich chocolate cake.

Any particular season coming up? A seasonal dessert leaves a great impression on your guests.

Chocolate-coated strawberries are an ideal dessert party treat. You can begin with a carton of large ripe strawberries with stems. Melt two to three large dark or milk chocolate bars per carton in the microwave, in a pyrex measuring cup. Be very careful not to burn the chocolate. Hold strawberries by the stem, dipping them one by one into the cup. On a large plate coated with wax paper, rest the strawberries (which should only be dipped just over halfway) and chill for about forty-five minutes. Serve with Columbian coffee or a designer coffee drink. If you're crafty with drinks, you could concoct a drink specifically for your event!

Always pre-slice cakes, but serve to guests one at a time. Do not have the cake already on a dessert plate, unless the event is directly after a dinner.

Dessert parties are becoming more popular and a little more sophisticated, so soft lighting, candles, and appropriate music are a must. Remember not to serve pies, as they are informal and casual and interfere with the class and mystique of a dessert party.

A Cookie Assembly Line: Efficient Cookie Baking for Busy Cooks

As a busy working mother, I’m short on time, especially during the holidays, but baking Christmas cookies is a family tradition I’m unwilling to give up.

Over the years, I’ve come up with many ways to make the process of baking a large variety of cookies go much smoother and take less time out of my busy life.

You may want to start by checking out my 6-day program for hassle-free Christmas cookie baking ( http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/hassle-free.php ). In addition to the 6-step method, I’ve found an efficient way to prepare a large variety of cookie dough with minimum fuss by setting up a cookie assembly line. The best part about this process is that you can make 12 different batches of cookies and only have to wash the dishes once! This process assumes that you have already chosen your recipes and gone grocery shopping. You will want to use your longest available expanse of countertop for this. My assembly line turns two corners as it winds around my small kitchen, but that is fine.

You may need to make some adjustments depending on your individual recipes, but for most recipes, you can set up your assembly line like so:

Flour Line:

• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Fork for stirring
• Flour
• Baking powder and baking soda
• Salt
• Cocoa powder
• Spices
• Any other dry ingredients that are added to the flour in your recipes

Butter Line

• Another large mixing bowl (or the bowl from your stand mixer)
• A second set of measuring cups and spoons
• Electric mixer
• Wooden spoon
• Rubber spatula
• Butter, shortening, margarine and/or cream cheese
• Sugar (white and brown)
• Eggs
• Vanilla and other extracts
• Chunks such as raisins, nuts, chocolate chips
• Rolled oats
• Any other ingredients that are added to the butter and eggs in your recipes
• Plastic wrap
• Felt-tip marker

To avoid transferring flavors from one recipe to another, you will start with basic recipes that have no spices, chocolate, or other strongly flavored ingredients. Starting with your first recipe, go down the line measuring out the amount of flour, baking powder/soda and salt into one bowl. Then, combine the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla in your larger bowl as directed. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. After that, stir in any chunks.

Next, scrape down the edges of the mixing bowl so that it’s fairly clean, shape the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Identify the recipe by writing its name on the plastic wrap with a felt-tip marker, and refrigerate it. If it is a slice-and-bake refrigerator cookie, form it into a log instead of a ball, according to the directions in your recipe. If you plan to bake much later, you can even freeze the dough. Most cookie doughs freeze very well. Defrost at room temperature while still wrapped in plastic wrap, and unwrap only when dough is thoroughly defrosted. Otherwise condensation could add too much moisture to your dough.

When your first batch of dough is prepared, wrapped, and stored in the refrigerator or freezer, return to the beginning of your assembly line, without washing your dishes, and begin preparing the next batch of dough. When you have prepared all the recipes that contain no spices or cocoa, move on to the recipes that contain cocoa, and finally those that contain spices. This way, you will only have to do dishes once at the end of the process, and you will have several different kinds of dough waiting to be baked.

When all your dough is prepared, then you can finally put away all your ingredients, clean up the kitchen, and do your dishes. Now if you plan to finish your baking today, you’ll have lots of space for rolling out your dough or setting out your cooling racks. If you plan to bake another day, you’re done!

Our Pleasant Meal At C&C Supper Club In Door County Wisconsin

We had the pleasure of enjoying a meal at C&C Supper Club in Fish Creek, Wisconsin (in the heart of Door County) during a recent trip to Door County.

The building houses a supper club for dining along with a bar with games and live entertainment on many weekends.

We were very hungry when we arrived so we went directly to the dining room to eat. We were offered a table near the large fireplace in the dining room. It was a nice cozy place to sit on the cool fall evening we dined there.

The dinner entrees at the restaurant come with a choice of potato, soup or salad, and bread. In addition, the supper club has an extensive wine collection they have a suggested wine for each of the entrees they offer.

One of our diners opted for soup with his meal and ordered the French Onion soup. He said it was delicious and that it tasted how French onion soup should taste, with a thick hearty soup base, a piece of crusty French bread placed on top of the soup, and topped with bubbling hot cheese.

The other members of our dining party had salad instead of soup. The restaurant has 4 distinct salad choices; a house salad with your choice of 12 dressings; an iceberg wedge with choice of dressing; beefsteak tomato slices with bleu cheese; and a spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. We had the house salad and spinach salad. Both were very good and had a pretty presentation.

Two of us decided on the Alaskan King Crab Legs as our main entrée. They were a great choice. The crab legs come pre-split so which makes it much easier to pull out the sweet crabmeat and dip it into the melted butter that was provided. Our only complaint was that we couldn’t get all the crab legs finished before they started to get cold.

The other member of our dining party had the surf and turf, of which there were several options. He chose prime ribs and shrimp. Both items were cooked to perfection and tasted very good. The rosemary baby red potatoes that he chose to have with his meal were also very good.

The bread that came with the meal was also very good. Our only complaint was that it was served cold. The bread would have tasted even better had it been served warm.

For dessert one of our dining party had an ice cream drink, the restaurant’s purple hooter which was a combination of vanilla ice cream, raspberry liquor, and crème de cocoa. It was served in tall glass and was topped off with whipped crème and red sprinkles. The other two members of our dining party tried the raspberry éclair cake for dessert. It was a rich dessert that tasted a lot like cheesecake. It had a mousse filling, raspberries, and éclair puffs in it, and was topped with pecans. It was very good.

The meal, including dessert and beverages and tip was a little over $100 for three people and we felt it was well worth the money. Everything we had tasted good and was of good quality. It’s a good place to have a relaxing dinner when you’re in Door County.

Harvest Sweet Potato Pie

Pastry:

• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) Five Roses All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) cold butter, cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp (5 ml) white vinegar
• cold water

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) cooked, mashed sweet potato
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) coffee cream or milk
• 3/4 cup (175 ml) packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
• 1 tsp (5 ml) each salt and ginger
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) each allspice, cloves and nutmeg

Pastry: Combine flour and salt in food processor, fitted with metal blade. Using pulse button, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg and vinegar in measuring cup; add enough cold water to measure 1/3 cup (75 ml). Add to flour mixture and process until dough begins to clump. Press dough into a ball and refrigerate until chilled through. Roll pastry between two pieces of waxed paper. Line a 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate with pastry; chill for 15 min.

Filling: Beat eggs until foamy; blend in sweet potato, cream, brown sugar, salt and spices. Pour into prepared shell. Bake at 425ºF (220ºC) for 15 min,; reduce heat to 350ºF (180ºC) and bake for 40 min. longer or until tester inserted in center of pie comes out clean.

Inexpensive Party Food

Parties are fun but they can be expensive. You have many options to keep the costs down, but the easiest thing you can do is watch how much you are spending on food. If you have hosted parties in the past you know that food can be one of the most expensive aspects of the event. You don’t have to hire an expensive caterer to have a good time. A little imagination and effort can make a low budget party a memorable occasion.

Finger food such as small sandwiches, potato chips, dips, fruit and vegetable trays are fairly inexpensive. This is a great option for informal parties.

A great alternative to a professional caterer is to have each of your guests do the catering for you. A potluck allows your guests to become amateur caterers. It also makes sure that each guest has something they like because it is unlikely that someone would bring something they don’t like. To help your guest and to avoid redundancy, include a suggestion as to what kind of food you would like your guests to bring such as a salad, dessert, and soft drinks.

Pizza is an all time party food. Young and old love pizza, and there is a wide selection of toppings that should satisfy all your guests.

Don’t serve alcohol if you want to save money. Alcohol free parties are safer, and less out of control. You won’t have to worry about designated drivers, or taking peoples’ keys once they had one too many drinks. In addition, you don’t have to worry about people staying over night.

You can have memorable party without spending a bunch of money. When you shop for food use coupons and look for sales. Always give yourself plenty of time to shop, so you can bargain hunt.

Cool Snacks for a Hot Summer

Beat the heat with these cool summer treats!

Mouse Popsicles
It’s not what you’re thinking! The name refers to the size of the Popsicle, not the contents. Wash a bowl of seedless grapes, and then set the grapes in the freezer for about an hour. Poke colored toothpicks into the grapes to serve.

Juice Pops
Summer isn’t complete without homemade juice popsicles. Simply fill a popsicle mold or an ice tray with your favorite fruit juice. Cover the ice tray with clear plastic wrap and poke a toothpick through the plastic into each square. Place the tray into the freezer until the Popsicles are frozen solid.

Frozen Monkey Treats
Here is a healthy snack that your kids will go bananas for! Peel a banana and cut it in half. Insert Popsicle sticks into the cut ends. Dip the bananas into yogurt or melted chocolate, and then roll the bananas in chopped nuts, crushed cereal, or coconut shavings. Place the bananas on a small waxed paper-lined baking sheet and set the sheet into the freezer for an hour or so. Fun to make and even more fun to eat!

Fruit Fizzy
Don’t plan your summer party without this refreshing drink. Pour one can of Sprite (it doesn't have caffeine) into a blender, along with small ice cubes. Add several large strawberries, a handful of blueberries, or other favorite fruit to the mix. Blend the mixture until it has the texture of a slush. Pour into a glass and garnish with a cherry on top.