JAKARTA (Reuters) - A hotel in Indonesia is dishing out a hamburger that costs more than twice the monthly minimum wage in some parts of the country.
The $110 (56 pounds) hamburger offered by the Four Seasonss is made of Kobe beef with foie gras, Portobello mushrooms and Korean pears -- served with french fries, of course.
More: http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type
Orange-Glazed Snow Peas
An easy and exotic glaze with a rich flavor.
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbs. julienned orange zest
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. butter
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
Dash ground cloves
1 1/4 lbs. snow peas, strings removed
In Small Saucepan, combine all ingredients except snow peas. Bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced to about cup. Blanch snow peas in boiling water about 30 seconds; drain.
Immediately transfer snow peas to serving dish. Pour orange sauce over snow peas and toss to coat.
Serve hot. Serves 4-6
Coffee Roasts
• American (regular) roast: beans are medium-roasted, resulting in a moderate brew, not too light or too heavy in flavor.
• Viennese roast: one-third heavy-roast beans blended with two-thirds regular-roast.
• European roast: two-thirds heavy-roast beans blended with one-third regular-roast.
• French roast: heavily-roasted beans, a deep chocolate brown which produce a stronger coffee.
• Italian roast: glossy, brown-black, strongly flavored, used for espresso.
• Decaffeinated coffee: caffeine is removed from the beans before roasting via the use of a chemical solvent (which disappears completely when the beans are roasted) or the Swiss water process which steams the beans and then scrapes off the caffeine-laden outer layers.
Sautéed Collard Greens With Balsamic Vinegar
submitted by Susan Dash
2 pounds collards, washed and drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Remove and discard the woody stems from greens. Stack the collard leaves, a few at a time, and roll. Cut them crosswise into 1/4-inch wide strips.
Bring water to a boil in large saucepan. Add collards, cover and cook over medium heat, stirring often until greens are slightly tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Drain greens well. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot.
Add leeks, garlic and crushed red pepper, cook and stir until leeks are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add drained collards and sugar, cook and stir until collards are tender, about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle balsamic vinegar over collards and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
How To Peel Shrimp
Not the sexiest food video from the LookinAtCookin.com list.
But certainly one of the most useful.
Salads and Wine
For a single woman living in New York City, surrounded by new restaurants to discover and hence eating out practically 5-6 times a week there is nothing like taking the time to cook a simple and nutritional meal at home.
And that is what Saturday and Sunday are about for me. Getting out of bed very late, making myself a pot of tea and then trying to decide what to have for lunch. Usually it is not a hard decision to make. I love salads....and yes they are wonderful to enjoy with a glass of wine anytime in the afternoon or evening!
Salads are fun and easy to make and a brief respite from my week eating out in restaurants. A chick pea salad with a beautifully chilled glass of Rose or a Sauvignon Blanc next to my kitchen window just about brings the weekend in. Salads are also wonderfully easy to pair with wines. Preferably lighter whites or rose wines because you do not want the wine to overwhelm the food. You just want a hint of flavor with an adequate amount of acidity to go with fresh vegetables, lentils, herbs and fruits.
Rosés make a surprisingly good salad match. They are light, fresh and completely uncomplicated! And fortunately in the past few years are enjoying a welcome revival. Usually they are simply wonderful during the summer but for me - enjoyed all year round!
What is a rose? Brief skin contact or the blending of a little bit of red wine to white are the two simple ways in which a rose is made. It is the degree of the contact between the skins and the juice that determines the final colour of the wine. The qualities I'd look for in a good rosé would therefore probably be crispness and freshness just like a good salad, buy the most recent vintage, and a good balance of fruit and acidity.
A lovely Rose is the Hill Family Estate Rose of Malbec. It has watermelon and a slight whiff of strawberries on the nose with a hint of spice and then it bursts in the mouth with wild cherry and more watermelon! It is also unique in the fact that this is one of the only roses I have had that is made with juice from the malbec grape.
You can enjoy roses with most white fish and chicken, they are heavenly with cold cuts, Indian food and most Asian cusine...Remember they are not meant to be complex wines but to be enjoyed for their fresh and fun appeal. So try something new...!
Priya Singh Lilliput Enterprises, Inc. 9 Desbrosses Street Suite 525 New York, NY 10013 Ph: 212 343 4202
The Smoke Detector
Little Johnny's preschool class went on a field trip to the fire station.
The firefighter giving the presentation held up a smoke detector and asked the class: "Does anyone know what this is?"
Little Johnny's hand shot up and the firefighter called on him.
Little Johnny replied: "That's how Mommy knows supper is ready!"
Russian Borsch
8 medium beets
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 pounds beef chuck
3 cracked soup bones
1/2 pound lean fresh pork
1 bay leaf
8 peppercorns -- bruised
2 sprigs parsley
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 carrots; scraped, sliced
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
3 leeks; white parts only, cleaned and sliced
1 small head green cabbage, shredded
3 medium tomatoes; peeled, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
11/2 cups sour cream
Salt as needed
1 cup chopped fresh dill
Wash beets and cook 7 of them, whole and unpeeled, in 1/4 cup vinegar an salted water to cover until tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain; peel and cut into julienne strips.
Put beef, bones and pork with 10 cups water in a large kettle.
Bring to a boil; skim. Add bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley, garlic, carrots, onions, and leeks.
Cook slowly, covered, 1 1/2 hours, until meat is tender.
Add cooked beets, cabbage and tomatoes. Continue to cook slowly another 30 minutes, until all the ingredients are tender.
Remove from heat. Remove bones, gristle, and discard along with bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley, and garlic.
Cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Return cut up meat to kettle. Season with salt.
Peel and grate remaining beet. Put into a saucepan with 1 cup hot soup stock, remaining 1/4 cup vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Stir into soup and reheat.
Ladle soup into soup bowls and garnish with a spoonful of sour cream and fresh dill.
Serves 8 to 10.
Optional: Two peeled, diced medium-sized potatoes may be added to soup 20 minutes before it is finished, if desired.
Gracie Allen's Roast Beef Recipe
Gracie Allen of the comedy duo, Burns and Allen, was the original BLONDE!!!!!!
Gracie Allen's Classic Recipe for Roast Beef
1 large Roast of beef
1 small Roast of beef
Take the two roasts and put them in the oven. When the little one burns, the big one is done.
thanx to Jane P
Gingered Spinach In Tomato Cups
4 small tomatoes
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce 1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
1 pound fresh spinach, cleaned and stems removed
Remove 1/4 inch from top of tomato, scoop out seeds and pulp, lightly sprinkle with salt; set aside.
Cook and stir gingerroot in oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
Stir in garlic, soy sauce, green onions and half of the spinach. Cook and stir until spinach begins to wilt.
Stir in remaining spinach. Cook and stir until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes longer.
Fill tomatoes with spinach mixture.
Place in shallow baking dish. Bake tomato cups in 375-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
How To Carve The Thanksgiving Bird Tips
There is no one way to cut a turkey down to size. But here are some helpful tips
TURKEY. Let the cooked bird rest: at least 20 minutes before carving to give juices time to settle and allow the meat to firm.
TOOLS. Use 2 sharp knives: a long, thin one for slicing and a short-bladed one (4 to 6 in.) for poking into joints. Use a carving fork to hold the bird in place or, for more control, grip the bird with your hand, using a clean pot holder or napkin to protect your fingers and the bird.
LEGS. With a long knife, make a cut parallel to the carcass at the base of the thigh on each side of the joint
Then press the turkey leg down to expose the hip joint, poke a short-bladed knife into the joint, and cut and twist to sever the tendon
Lay the leg on a plate and cut through the knee joint. Slice the meat off the thigh parallel to the bone.
WINGS. Use a long knife to cut under the wing parallel to the carcass on each side of the shoulder joint (tilt the knife at an angle). Push the wing down to expose the joint, poke a short-bladed knife tip into the joint, and cut and twist to sever the tendon.
Cut wings apart at the joints.
BREAST. Use a long knife to make a horizontal cut along the bottom of the breast, starting at the wing joint . Then angle the blade upward, under the breast, parallel to the carcass, until you hit the vertical breastbone.
Slice the breast parallel to the carcass; the base cut lets slices separate neatly. Or, to cut the breast free and carve it off the bird, make the same first cut along the base of the breast and upward.
Then, from the top of the bird, cut between the breastbone and the meat along the length of the breast, angling the knife down, parallel to the carcass, to meet the first cut.
Lift the breast half off, set it on a platter, and slice crosswise.
Corn and Shiitake Mushrooms
A different side dish for Thanksgiving
2 Tbs. butter
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
16-oz. bag frozen corn,defrosted or 6 ears corn,
kernels removed
3 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
1tsp. soy sauce
Freshly ground pepper to taste
In Large Skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, about 2 minutes, stirring often, until softened,. Add remaining ingredients; cook, stirring often, 3 more minutes. Serve hot.
Milk Facts
The average American cow can make 5,792 quarts of milk a year, enough to keep more than 60 people supplied with milk to drink all year.
It takes about 350 squirts for each gallon of milk from a cow.
A gallon of milk weighs 8.59 lbs
It takes 21.2 lbs. whole milk or 2.46 gallons to make a pound of butter.
It takes 10.0 lbs. whole milk or 1.16 gallons to make a pound of cheese.
It takes 12.0 lbs. whole milk or 1.39 gallons to make a gallon of Ice Cream.
65% of the milk produced in the U.S. and Canada is made into dairy products while 35% is consumed as milk or cream. North Americans eat almost one-third of their milk in the form of cheese.
Homogenization is the pushing of raw milk through an atomizer to form tiny particles so that the fat is dispersed evenly throughout the liquid, thereby stopping fat from floating to the top of the container and forming cream.
The French eat more cheese than any other people in the world. On average, each Frenchman eats 43 pounds of cheese per year -- almost twice the amount eaten by North America
Old-Fashioned Chicken & Rice Soup
Susan Dash
"There's nothing quite like homemade chicken soup," my dear mom would always say and her’s was the best.
6 -8 cups water
One whole chicken, cut into eights
1 cup chopped celery,
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 bay leaves
5 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 tsp. dry thyme
1/4 tsp. dry marjoram
optional 1 cup chopped turnips
optional 1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice
Grated Romano cheese to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Rinse and clean chicken thoroughly. Remove excess skin and fat, but leave some on for flavor and body.
Add the water and chicken to a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for a half hour, stirring occasionally.
Add the rest of the ingredients except for the rice and cheese and simmer covered for another twenty minutes.
Stir in the rice and continue for 15 minutes.
Take out the chicken pieces and remove the chicken from the bones. Return the chicken to the pot and add the cheese.
Cook for five minutes more. Remove bay leaves and add salt and pepper. Serve.
Makes 6-8 servings
Apple A Day May Keep Dementia Away
Apple products may protect against cell damage that contributes to age-related memory loss, according to a new animal study.
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell report that apple juice protected the memory of test animals even if they weren't already prone to developing Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
"This new study suggests that eating and drinking apples and apple juice, in conjunction with a balanced diet, can protect the brain from the effects of oxidative stress—and that we should eat such antioxidant-rich foods," notes lead researcher Thomas B. Shea.
The study, supported by the U.S. Apple Association and the Apple Products Research and Education Council, was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Little Known Oil Facts
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Canola Oil
Canola, a word created, by combining Canada and oil, is a modified form of the rapeseed plant. Also used in cosmetics, suntan oil and pesticides.
Olive Oil
In ancient Greece olive oil was awarded to the winners of th Panathenaic Games,
and Homer referred to it as “liquid gold.”
In fact, olives proved so important to the Greek economy that in the 6th century B.C., the lawmaker Solon made it a capital offense to uproot or destroy an olive tree.
Corn Oil
A 56-pound bushel of corn yields only 1/2 pounds of corn oil. The remainder of that bushel is transformed into 15. pounds of animal feed and 17 pounds of carbon dioxide for use in carbonating soft drinks
Chicken Breasts With Apple Stuffing
For a complete meal, serve the chicken breasts with steamed broccoli or carrots and a green salad on the side.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 4-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves
2 slices whole-grain bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
Preheat oven to 400 [degrees] F.
Coat a shallow baking pan with vegetable oil.
Using a sharp knife, slice horizontally through the middle of each piece of chicken (like you're slicing a bagel), stopping before you cut all the way through.
Spread open chicken pieces, press down gently with the palm of your hand and place on prepared pan..
Mix remaining ingredients well in a large bowl. Spoon onto one half of each piece of chicken, then fold other half over. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
Bake 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
Serves 4
Apple Peeling the Video
What is the best way to peel an apple?
LookinAtCookin videos will show you how:
Apple Peeling Video
OF ADAM'S APPLES PASSION
By L Veltman
The legend says that once Adam succumbed to the wiles of the wily Eve
and bit from the apple of which she took the first bite, a piece stuck in his
throat thus forming that lump that we call the Adam's apple.
Shame, man! Shame! Men have ever since been doomed to prominently
display this mark of their “fall”. That's what we would call a folk anatomy.
Scientifically this encumbrance of the neck, most prominent during
adolescence, is the anterior thyroid cartilage of the larynx. But old-time
anatomists, all the way through the mid-18th century, perpetuated the
myth since they could find no other explanation for this weird lump that seemed
to move up and down.
It was St. Jerome, in the fourth century, who first claimed that the Apple
was the forbidden fruit in question in Paradise.
This belief was perpetuated all the way to John Milton who claimed that it
was the carnal desire enflaming qualities of the innocent Apple that caused
Adam to cast lascivious eyes upon Eve.
Maybe that's where the phrase: got a lump in his throat comes from. In
any case is unlikely that he Apple has this lustful effect. The passion fruit
seems a more likely candidate.
Roasted Apple, Bacon, Frisee And Endive Salad
A great combination of sweet, sour, and salty.
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut into
1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper, or to taste
2 medium shallots, very thinly sliced and separated into rings
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
2 medium bunches frisee lettuce, tough outer leaves removed
2 sliced raw endives
1. Preheat oven to 400[degrees]. In a small bowl, combine apples, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat, then transfer apple slices to a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir, then continue to cook until golden brown and tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine shallots and vinegar. Set aside.
3. In a heavy frying pan over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp and brown, about 7 minutes; drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 3 tbsp. of the accumulated bacon fat and return pan to low heat. Remove shallots from vinegar, reserving shallots, and add vinegar to hot bacon fat, whisking until dressing is emulsified.
4. Arrange frisee in a bowl and add apples, bacon pieces, and shallots. Pour warm dressing over greens and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
The Apple: from Kazakhstan to You
What is probably the most universal fruit in the world had it's origins in the mountains of central Asia where a species of tree that still grows there has been tentatively indentified as the ancestor of every apple we eat today. The "Alma", as it's known in the region, was eventually domesticated into the many varieties of apple we see today.
Chiefly propagated by grafting, eating apples are one of the first examples of bio-engineering by humans. Plant a seed from a store bought apple and you'll get a tree with very different fruit. Apples as we know them can only be obtained by human intervention and humans have been hard at work. There are thousands of apple varieties recorded and probably many more that have been lost to history.
Due to their easy storage in a cold cellar, apples are known the world over as a winter fruit. The apple provided an essential nutritional boost to people living in temperate zones where food became scarce in the cold. In Britain where the very tart Crab Apple has been grown since ancient times, cider was an important product as the nutritious and potentially very alcoholic drink could be stored and consumed over the long dark winter. Olden herbal medicine recommended drinking unsweetened apple cider to prevent kidney stones.
A dish called "Apple Moyse" was once concocted from leftover cider mash by combining it with egg yolks, sugar, butter and rose water. Cooked in a steamer, the resulting dish was seasoned with cinnamon and spread on biscuits. Apple butter seems to be an American decendent of this ancient recipe.
Apples were used medicinally in Europe for a variety of conditions, from gout to rheumatism to indigestion. It was thought that apple sauce helped the body digest greasy foods like goose and roast pig. Even rotten apples found a use as a poultice for sore eyes. I'll skip that one. The Chinese claim that apples are cooling to the body while strengthening the heart and lubricating the lungs. A lubricated lung is a good thing in Chinese medicine.
The United States was for many years an apple eaters paradise with hundreds of varieties bred around the country. This was almost completely lost with the advent of long-distance trucking. Before the 1930's, every region had it's own unique varieties of apple. Some were so esteemed that people would plan trips just to savor a particular region's specialty.
Most apple varieties don't travel well so unique apples would stay near the region they were grown. When the food industry turned to trucking after World War II, the search turned to finding apples that could stand the jostling of an extended truck journey. By the 1960's only a few apple varieties could be purchased at your supermarket. And to many these apples were not the best as the time it took to get the apple to the shelf lost the just picked flavor.
Fortunately an apple renaissance is on it's way as people are rediscovering the apple heritage of the United States. Many varieties presumed lost are being rediscovered in abandoned orchards or in hidden corners of old estates and farms. And many apple farmers are experimenting and discovering new varieties never seen before. It's now not unusual to find dozens of different apples at local farmer markets. The range of flavors is amazing compared to the common store apple. From tastes that suggest rose perfume to very strong wine-like aromas.
Lookin At Cookin strongly suggests that the next time you visit a farmers market, try one of each, we are sure you'll discover a variety you'll like. This writer's favorite last year was the Northern Spy apple, a variety discovered in the early 1800's. How it got that name I couldn't guess. For further info on the many apple varieties, here is an excellent website: http://www.applejournal.com/use.htm .
APPLE MONTH
October is apple month at lookin at cookin. In honor of that fruit we will run a series of postings about the apple.
Apple 1
We're talking about the royal family of vegetables here; the Rosaceae which includes the Rose, the Queen of all flowers and the Apple the king of all fruits. Just like the Rose has been used to symbolize all flowers, the Apple has often symbolized all fruits.
Biblical legend has it that in the Garden Of Eden the serpent gave Eve the Apple with which she tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit of knowledge. Thus it appears that the Apple has gotten a bit of a bad rap from day one. Such is not the case.
The Bible does not state that it was an Apple, simply that it was a fruit. So maybe it was an eggplant, a potato or even a baseball that was responsible for man's full from grace.
As a matter of fact maybe the original evildoer were wasn't even a serpent. Maybe he was a lawyer.
Farfalle (Bow Tie Pasta) Salad with Arugula Pesto
MAKES: 4 to 6 servings
8 ounces yellow wax beans and/or green beans, rinsed
ends trimmed, and cut into 1-inch lengths
12 ounces dried farfalle (bow tie) pasta
About 3/4 cup arugula pesto
3 tablespoons grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
1/2 cup yellow and red cherry tomatoes, stemmed, rinsed, and halved
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1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, bring 4 quarts water to a boil; add beans and cook just until barely tender to bite, about 1 minute. With a skimmer or slotted spoon, remove from water and transfer to a colander; rinse under cold running water until cool.
2. Bring water back to a boil. Add farfalle and cook until tender to bite, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain.
3. In a large bowl, mix pasta, beans, and 3/4 cup pesto. If more sauce is desired, add up to 1/4 cup more pesto. Top with cheese and halved cherry tomatoes.
Arugula pesto.
NOTE: This recipe makes extra arugula pesto; cover and chill up to 1 week or freeze airtight up to 1 month.
In a food processor or blender, working in batches if necessary,
1 pound rinsed arugula leaves (about 10 lightly packed cups)
1/2 cup roasted and chopped pine nuts
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt.
Combine the arugula, pine nuts, cheese, lemon juice and garlic in the food processor. Pulse motor a few times, just until mixture begins to come together. With motor running, slowly pour 1/2 cup more extra-virgin olive oil through feed tube or top of blender and whirl until mixture is smooth. Add more salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste. Makes about 3 cups.
How To Make A Great Apple Pie
There hundreds of apple pie recipes, from American apple pie, Amish apple pie to European sour cream apple pie and topsy turvy apple pie.
Yet there is on basic apple pie all the rest are based on, and we have the video that shows you how to make the best basic pie at Lookin At Cookin Apple Pie.
Watch How To Make A Great Apple Pie
Apple Pie Notes
Some History
Apple pie traces its origins to England at the time of Chaucer. Contemporary recipes list the ingredients as good apples, good spices, figs, saffron, cloves, cinnamon raisins and pears. The missing modern ingredient is sugar. No one really knows why but there theories that range from the expense of Egyptian cane sugar to the medieval English lacking a sweet tooth.
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Apple Pie – A very independent and forgotten movie - (1976)
A gangster relates the story of how he started his life of crime, beginning when as a child he faked his own kidnapping in order to get money from his parents for the "ransom". However, it turns out that the "gangster" may not be exactly what he seems.
What Imdb says about the film.
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Apple Pie a la Mode – refers to apple pie served with a scoop of ice cream (usually vanilla) on top.
How Apple Pie a la Mode go it name.
According to the historians of the Cambridge Hotel in Washington County New York, Professor Charles Watson Townsend, dined regularly at the Cambridge Hotel during the mid 1890's.
He often ordered ice cream with his apple pie. A diner seated next to him, asked what it was called. He said it didn’t have a name, and she promptly dubbed it Pie a la mode.
Townsend liked the name so much he asked for it each day by that name.
When Townsend visited the famous Delmonico Restaurant in New York City, he asked for pie a la mode.
When the waiter proclaimed he never heard of it, Townsend chastised him and the manager, and was quoted as saying; "Do you mean to tell me that so famous an eating place as Delmonico's has never heard of Pie a la Mode, when the Hotel Cambridge, up in the village of Cambridge, NY serves it every day? Call the manager at once, I demand as good serve here as I get in Cambridge."
The following day it became a regular at Delmonico and a resulting story in the New York Sun (a reporter was listening to the whole conversation) made it a country favorite with the publicity that ensued.
