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------------------THE FOOD REFERENCE NEWSLETTER-----------------
December 6, 2006 Vol 7 #15 ISSN 1535-5659
Food Reference Website - http://www.foodreference.com
TO VIEW THIS NEWSLETTER ONLINE GO TO:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/newsletter.html
-------------------------IN THIS ISSUE--------------------------
-> Website News
-> 'Food for Thought' by Mark Vogel
-> Quotes and Trivia
-> Food Trivia Quiz
-> Readers questions
-> Ancient & Classic Recipes
-> Did you know?
-> Who's Who in the Culinary Arts
-> Requested Recipes
-> Cooking Tips
-> Culinary Calendar - selected events
-> How To Subscribe to this Newsletter
-> How to Stop receiving this Newsletter
-> General information and Copyright
--------------------------WEBSITE NEWS--------------------------
I hope everyone had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving.
I know it has been a while since the last issue, but I promise (again) to try and get back to a weekly schedule for the newsletter.
There are so many new updates on the website I cannot possibly begin to list them here. About 500 new pages have been added since the last newsletter, and hundreds of other entries have been updated.
Beginning with next weeks issue of the newsletter I will be giving away a Cookbook each week to a lucky subscriber. The Cookbook title and simple instructions on how to enter the drawing will be in the newsletter, beginning next week. The drawing will be for newsletter subscribers only, so please do not post it on any blogs, etc.
Please patronize our sponsors - they are the ones that make the newsletter and FoodReference.com possible!
Thank you, Chef James
----------------'FOOD FOR THOUGHT' BY MARK VOGEL----------------
I rarely do restaurant reviews and I’m not really doing one now, but I feel compelled to share with you my dining experiences at The Upper Crust in Boonton, NJ......
http://www.foodreference.com/html/markvogelweeklycolumn.html
-----------------------------QUOTE------------------------------
"It is not wise for a man who can get seasick in a rowboat on a mill-pond to attack a Japanese dinner just after a seventeen days' voyage across the Pacific."
John Fox, Jr. in the introduction to 'The Bluegrass Cook Book' (1904) by Minnie C. Fox
-------------------FOOD ART & CULINARY POSTERS------------------
The finest selection of food and beverage related posters and art work to be found anywhere. There are thousands of posters - food art, restaurant art, kitchen art, culinary art - food posters, culinary posters, food identification posters, fine art, etc, all suitable for your home, kitchen, restaurant or office.
http://www.culinaryposters.com/
-----------------------------TRIVIA-----------------------------
More than 12% of all American workers have worked at McDonald's at some time in their life. (2005)
---------------CULINARY SCHOOLS, TOURS AND CRUISES--------------
Culinary Schools & Cooking Classes - Food and Wine Tours for the amateur & the professional. U.S. and abroad.
The best of the best.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/Cooking-Schools.html
------------------------FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ------------------------
1) Who is the world's largest purchaser of beef?
a) U.S. Military b) McDonald's c) Burger King d) China e) Japan
2) When was milk first sold factory made glass bottles?
3) The following events all took place in the same year. Can you guess what year?
• 'Beard on Bread' by James Beard is published.
• 'Promise' brand margarine was introduced.
• 'Stove Top Dressing' was introduced by General Foods.
• 'Cup O'Noodles' was introduced in the U.S. by Nissin Foods.
• Sales of Vodka beat out whiskey sales in the U.S. for the first time.
• Heinz cannot fill its orders of ketchup to McDonald's due to a tomato shortage.
• Coleman's Mustard celebrates its 150th anniversary.
• The Cuisinart food processor was introduced.
a) 1965 b) 1969 c) 1973 d) 1977 e) 1981
4) In lunch counter slang, what would you get if your order was "bark and belly busters and a city juice"?
5) Popular in the 1970s, this drink had a movie, numerous restaurants, a hit song, a quilt pattern and several flowers named after it. No one knows for sure who invented it, but it was listed in bar guides of the 1960s. It was also featured the 1976 novel by Cyra McFaden 'The Serial.'
6) This herb is a perennial shrub about 2 feet high, it is a member of the mint family and has over 500 varieties. Its flowers are fragrant, usually purple or blue, sometimes white, red or pink. They are rich in nectar, and it's honey is in great demand in Europe because of its spicy flavor. Some varieties, have broad leaves; others have foliage variegated with red, yellow, or white.
For most of its long history it has been a healing herb (supposedly curing everything from snake bites, eye problems, infection, epilepsy, intoxication, memory loss, worms and intestinal problems) or prescribed as an aphrodisiac.
The dried leaves are employed by food manufacturers in seasoning meats, baked goods, and beverages. They are also used to flavor vermouth and various bitters. For years it has been used in the preserving of foods. Now it is known that it contains powerful anti-oxidants which slow spoilage. It is also antibacterial in nature, it is effective in treating sore throats and is even effective as an antiperspirant.
7) What semi firm Italian cheese, originally made from sheep's milk (now frequently made with cow's milk), is sometimes referred to as the poor man's Parmesan?
8) What are the two most cultivated fruit trees in the world?
9) This is the name of a tart, unripened cheese from central Europe. In German, the word is used as a figure of speech for "nonsense." It is also the name of a group of six hypothetical particles that form the basic constituents of 'hadrons'. (Huh?) It is also a word from a line in 'Finnegans Wake' by James Joyce
("Three ______ for Muster Mark!").
What is this curious word?
10) In 1936 Jell-O came out with a new flavor, but it didn't sell and was dropped the following year. What was this unpopular flavor?
---------------------------COOL APRONS--------------------------
Great Gift ideas!Hundreds of designs or Create & Personalize your own for the same low prices!!!
http://www.foodreference.com/html/cookbookskitchentools.html
-------------------ANSWERS TO FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ------------------
1) b) McDonald's restaurants is the largest purchaser of beef in the world.
2) In 1875 the NY Dairy Company was probably the first dairy to use factory made bottles. The first patent for a glass milk container was issued to George Lester in 1878 for the 'Lester Milk Jar.'
3) c) All of the events took place in 1973.
4) Hot dog with baked beans and a glass of water.
5) The Tequila Sunrise.
6) Sage.
7) Asiago
8) Number one is the Apple and number two is the Peach.
9) Quark.
10) Cola flavored Jell-O.
---------------FREE TRIAL ISSUE OF SAVEUR MAGAZINE--------------
Food Reference subscribers can get a FREE trial issue to Saveur magazine - the award winning magazine that celebrates the people, places and rituals that establish culinary traditions.
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------------------------READERS QUESTIONS-----------------------
QUESTION: I was once told that the notched tine in the salad fork was to pierce a cherry tomato so that it did not explode when you put it in your mouth. is this correct? please reply, i have a wager on it! Rebecca
-----
ANSWER: In the late 19th century, refrigerated railroad cars made salad vegetables more abundant, and available for most of the year. The salad fork originally featured curved claw-shaped tines and was known as a 'lettuce fork.' To provide leverage when cutting thick veins of lettuce or broad vegetables served in salad, the salad fork is made with an extrawide left tine that is sometimes grooved. This is the 'notched tine' that you refer to in your email. It was not developed to prevent cherry tomatoes from exploding. :>))
(For additional strength, the second and third tines of the salad fork are also occasionally connected by a rod.)
Some facts are from 'The Art of the Table'
http://www.foodreference.com/html/art-of-table.html
Chef James
Email your questions to me at james@foodreference.com
-----------------------------TRIVIA-----------------------------
Why are the contents of nuts called nut meats? Until about 1300 the term 'meat' referred to any solid food, and 'drink' to liquid food. Around that year, meat began to be used to refer to the flesh of animals. It wasn't until later that the term took on its modern meaning - when animal flesh started to become a significant part of the English diet.
--------------------------FRESH FLOWERS-------------------------
Fresh Flowers Directly from the Growers
BE TRULY ROMANTIC - GIVE FLOWERS FOR NO REASON AT ALL!
http://www.foodreference.com/html/freshflowers.html
--------------------ANCIENT & CLASSIC RECIPES-------------------
As a child, my mother used to make pumpkin pie and the recipe used molasses in it. Somehow, the recipe got misplaced and when she tried to call the molasses company, they didn't have any record of it, or anything similar.
Could you please send the word out to your readers? I would love to give this to her, since she takes a lot of pride in her baking and she always got rave reviews when she made pumpkin pie.
Thanks for your help. Rhoda Ann
-----
Here is a recipe that may be what you are looking for.
MOLASSES PUMPKIN PIE
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 cup undiluted evaporated milk or light cream
9-inch, unbaked 1-crust pie shell
Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Mix together the first 6 ingredients. Add the molasses, pumpkin and the eggs. Mix well. Stir in milk or cream. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Bake in a preheated 400° F. oven 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.
------------------------------QUOTE-----------------------------
"Sticky cinnamon buns belong to Philadelphia as do Independence Hall and the Twelfth Street Market. This is a bun of true cinnamon flavor, of a stickiness incarnate."
'Best Recipes of 1949' (This Week Magazine)
-----------------CATALOGS - CATALOGS - CATALOGS-----------------
Order the world’s best and most unique Catalogs!
Plus save money with exclusive Savings Certificates from every catalog. Voted the #1 source for catalog shopping!
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--------------------------DID YOU KNOW?-------------------------
Dried currants are not the same thing as fresh currants. Dried currants are actually small raisins - the dried fruit of the Zante grape, originally from Corinth, Greece. Fresh currants (red, pink, black and white) are the fruits of plants in the gooseberry family.
-----------------WHO'S WHO IN THE CULINARY ARTS-----------------
Louis, Marquis de Cussy (1766-1837)
Cussy was chief steward of the emperor's household under both Napoleon I and Louis XVIII. Grimod de la Reyniere claims that Cussy created 366 different chicken preparations, one for each day of the year, including leap years. Cussy also published Les 'Classiques de la table' (1843), in which he wrote about the history of gastronomy.
---------------CULINARY SCHOOLS, TOURS AND CRUISES--------------
Culinary Schools & Cooking Classes - Food and Wine Tours for the amateur & the professional. U.S. and abroad.
The best of the best.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/Cooking-Schools.html
-----------------------------QUOTE------------------------------
"It is to be regretted that domestication has seriously deteriorated the moral character of the duck. In a wild state, he is a faithful husband.....but no sooner is he domesticated than he becomes polygamous, and makes nothing of owning ten or a dozen wives at a time."
Isabella Beeton (1836-1865)
------------------RECIPE REQUESTS FROM READERS------------------
Hi. My mom used to make a candy called Penuche; I also was able to buy it at See's years ago. Don't know why they stopped making it. Do you have a recipe for this that you would share?
Thanks in advance. Marilyn
-----
Penuche (panocha, penuchi) is a fudge-like candy usually made with brown sugar, butter, milk and nuts.
PENUCHE
Ingredients:
2 pounds light brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
(Optional: 3/4 cup chopped candied cherries)
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, mix brown sugar, milk, butter, and salt. Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring until soft ball stage* is reached or to 238° on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Add vanilla, pecans (and cherries, if using). Beat until thick. Pour into a buttered 9-inch square pan or an 11x7-inch pan. When firm, cut into squares.
Makes about 3 pounds of penuche.
Tip: If using a heavy-duty stand mixer with paddle, don't add the pecans until last thing. Make sure to watch it carefully. As soon as the mixture loses its glossiness and begins to hold its shape a bit, stir in pecans and spread in the pan.
*Soft Ball Stage
Drop a small amount of syrup into chilled water. It should form a ball, but be soft enough to flatten a bit when picked up with fingers (234° to 240° on a candy thermometer).
Email your recipe requests, food info or history
questions to me at james@foodreference.com
--------------------FOOD ART AND FOOD POSTERS-------------------
The finest selection of food and beverage related posters and art work to be found anywhere. There are thousands of posters - food art, restaurant art, kitchen art, culinary art - food posters, culinary posters, food identification posters, fine art, etc, all suitable for your home, kitchen, restaurant or office.
http://www.culinaryposters.com/
--------------------------COOKING TIPS--------------------------
Dried mushrooms are intensely concentrated in flavor and should be treated more like a seasoning than a vegetable. You'll need to soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for 20-30 minutes, rinse, then chop, and use. Saving the soaking water and adding it to your sauces or soups will intensify the mushroom flavor.
------------CULINARY CALENDAR - A FEW SELECTED EVENTS-----------
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7
1909 Leo Hendrik Baekeland was issued a patent for 'Bakelite,' the first plastic that did not soften when heated. Those black plastic knobs on stoves, and distributor caps for car engines are examples.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8
1896 J.T. White was issued a patent for an improved lemon squeezer.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9
1993 On the TV show 'Seinfield,' Kramer came up with the idea to write a coffee table book about coffee tables.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10
1958 A National Airlines Boeing 707 with 111 passengers flew from New York to Miami. It was the first domestic passenger jet flight. Anyone with knowledge of the food served, please contact me chefjames@foodreference.com
MONDAY, DECEMBER 11
1940 David Gates of the music group 'Bread' was born.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12
1929 Charles Goodnight died. He is said to have devised the first 'chuck wagon' from an Army wagon in the 1850s or 1860s, with various shelves and compartments for food, equipment, utensils, medical supplies, etc.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13
1838 Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet was born. A French botanist, he saved the vineyards of France from total destruction by the grape phylloxera, a small greenish-yellow insect which sucks the fluid from grapevines. He did so by grafting the French vines on American rootstock, which was resistant to phylloxera. He also developed the first widely used plant fungicide.
For a complete listing of each day's events, go here:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/HistoricEvents.html
----------------FOOD & WINE MAGAZINES & CATALOGS----------------
Hundreds of Food, Recipe, Wine and Beer Magazines at great discount prices. Also Health & Fitness, Home & Gardening, Hunting & Fishing, Environmental, Travel, Nature, Recreation etc. Magazines - and more!
http://www.foodreference.com/html/food-magazines.html
-----------------------------TRIVIA-----------------------------
Fiddlehead ferns are a stage in the growth of all ferns - the tightly coiled young shoot. They resemble the head of a violin, hence the name. Edible fiddleheads are the fiddleheads of the Ostrich Fern. Be careful, because there are many look-alikes (including the Braken Fern and Royal Fern), which have been shown to cause stomach cancer in a relatively short time (2 to 5 years).
-----------------------------QUOTE------------------------------
"There is a vast difference between the savage and the civilised man, but it is never apparent to their wives until after breakfast."
Helen Rowland (1876-1950) 'A Guide to Men'
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Food Reference Newsletter ISSN 1535-5659
James T Ehler (Exec. Chef, Editor & Publisher)
166 W. Broadway
Suite 315
Winona, Minnesota 55987-6259
E-mail: james@foodreference.com Phone: (507) 474-1689
Food Reference WebSite: http://www.foodreference.com
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