A Source of Inspiration

Themed parties. Some people love them. Some people hate them. Nearly every single party has a theme whether one is desired or not. Just because a party has a theme, it doesn’t mean you need to go to your nearest party supply store and pick up a bunch of “Over the Hill” balloons or “Disco Fever” cake decorations. There are much easier, cheaper, and more elegant ways of adding a theme to your party. And believe it or not… it’s worth it. Just like adding garnish to food, adding simple touches to your party can make the difference between just an average get together and a night toremember. Here are a few easy steps to plan your perfect themed party:

1) Picking a theme. A theme doesn’t have to be traditional or a cartoon character or a time period. A theme can be a color, season, feeling, hobby, country… anything you can think of can be expressed in abstract terms. If you’re throwing a party for someone, like a birthday, anniversary, or wedding… take note of what that person likes.

2) Decorating. One rule of thumb that I try to have when buying decorations is to buy things you can potentially use again. Candles, tablecloths, extra plastic wine glasses, pillows… are all things you can keep in your closet for a rainy day. The big blow-up Elvis hanging from your ceiling probably won’t be useful for anything else. You also don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on things. Thrift stores are your friend when buying little knick knacks. Places like Target or Wal-Mart are a great source for nicer looking table or house decorations as well as affordable tableware. If you want a memorable keepsake for your party guests, spend a little extra money in a nice boutique or craft store. The craft store around here always has an abundance of things you would have trouble finding anywhere else, such as “I love you more than bacon” buttons, space invaders ice trays, creature flash drives, pantone coffee mugs, or “To Do List” hand tattoos.

3) Preparing a menu. Finger foods are always best at a party. Anything messy or sticky leaves an uncomfortable feeling with guests and is also more work for you later when you have to scrub sticky fingerprints off of everything. Two words that will never let you down when planning the food is simplicity and appearance. For my graduation party a couple months back, I made cucumber boats. Halved, sliced cucumbers with a piped star of onion and chive cream cheese. They took about 5 minutes to make, but they were delicious and looked beautiful. Parties are an interesting animal because you’re thinking about 20 different things all at once. The last thing you need is a complicated dish you have to tend for 2 straight hours (if you really want a show stopper dish, try to do it the night before instead).

4) Proactivity. You don’t have to be a psychic to know what sorts of things go down at a party. A couple days before the party happens, start replacing valuable, fragile objects around your house with your new decorations. Make sure you add trash bags to your grocery list. Put a couple of extra rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom. Prepare whatever food you can a day or two before and leave it covered in the refridgerator. Have extra pillows and blankets ready for people wanting to spend the night. Things like this cut down on stress, and make having a party a much easier experience.

5) Don’t worry about sticking to a schedule. Unless it’s a wedding, chances are the party doesn’t depend on a tight timeline to be successful. If the guests don’t arrive precisely at 6, don’t worry… they’ll get there. If the cake isn’t cut at 8, don’t rush people into the kitchen to get the job done. Just let it happen. Trying to rush things will stress you and your guests out, and that is an emotion that no party ever needs. Chances are, you’ve been preparing for the past few days, weeks, or months for this party. Now that it’s here. Enjoy it!

Here is an example scenario: I want to throw my brother Eric a birthday party. His favorite color is blue, he loves music and the beach. Already, you can get three different themes out of this.

a. Blue. Nothing has the potential to wow a crowd more than a color themed party. Color themes give you the ability to directly impact a person’s emotions. With blue, you can create a laid back, tranquil atmosphere with a little bit of modern flair. What’s better, is that blue things are incredibly easy to find! Just go to a thrift store. Grab some blue pillows, candle sticks, curtains, napkins… But don’t go too crazy! Accessories are the key. Small touches here and there go a long way. Maybe you could ask people to wear blue to the party, or just a small touch of blue (like a tie, bracelet, or shoes). Leave out small bowls of blueberries instead of candy. A blue cake might start getting a little weird, but blue iced cupcakes would make a cool, modern statement.

b. Music. With the advancement of ipod technology, comes the advent of the perfect party playlist. Find out what types of music the person likes and customize your playlist accordingly. My brother likes most kinds of music, but let’s just say for this party we’re going to use the jazz trumpet (I’m not prepared to go down the Queen, Styx, or Taylor Swift route with you just yet). What is trumpet jazz like? It’s smooth, classy, and brass. Make people dress up a little bit, like they’re attending a nice concert. Have a classic white cake with a gold flake garnish. Serve sparkling wine and have nice hors d’oeuvres with quiet jazz playing in the background. But also remember to add sparks of flair around, because jazz also contains elements of energy and unpredictability. Light small tea candles, put them in brass or gold containers, and put them all over the place (safely, of course). Turn down the lights. Dim lighting adds an air of sophistication and mystery that a theme of jazz invokes.

c. Beach. Sure everyone has been to a beach party or a luau, but the beach isn’t just about flower necklaces, margaritas, and tiki statues. What do you feel when you go to the beach? Fun, relaxation, heat, refreshment… What’s at the beach? Sand, wind, simple food, water. What colors or objects do you find at the beach? Blue, beige, pastels, sand, crabs, fish, palms, umbrellas, sunshine. Open your windows, keep the porch door open (unless you’re concerned about wandering insects), keep the food on the deck. Keep the feeling of wind moving through your house or apartment. Put votive candles in small dishes filled with sand. Have cool pitchers of water and lemonade lying around with platters of fresh fruits and vegetables. Set out tiki torches when night starts falling. Grill seafood. Instead of a traditional cake, try an ice cream cake or a bombe. It can be at whatever energy level you desire, but it doesn’t have to revolve around fruity frozen beverages, grass skirts, or surfer dudes.

Culinary Mash-Up

Once you begin to understand the basic principles of international cooking, a fun exercise would be to try mixing two cuisines together.  In other words, take the ingredients from one recipe and use cooking methods from another.  There are many benefits in trying this:

1) It’s a culinary work-out.  To get good at anything, you have to practice and set difficult goals for yourself.  Not only do culinary mash-ups exercise your cooking abilities, but it also exercises your mind.  As always, start out with something easy- like mixing two cooking styles you’re very familiar with.

Just the other day for a party, I made Churro Cupcakes- an American twist on a Mexican favorite.  I received the idea from another blog and used the outline she provided to make some incredibly tasty treats.  My version uses the cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart’s Snickerdoodle Cupcakes as well as her Cream Cheese Icing recipe with about 1-2 tsp of cinnamon mixed in. To garnish, for half of them I drizzled a mixture of melted semi-sweet chocolate and canola oil, and for the other half, I added a dusting of light brown sugar.  The results turned out beautiful and incredibly tasty!

Once you become comfortable doing cuisines you’re familiar with, start learning about other techniques and try mixing something like Thai and Hispanic.  Make sure the two cooking styles aren’t overly complicated, especially if you’re serving them for somebody else.  A dish with way too many ingredients, spices, and rendered cooking flavors confuse the palate as well as the visual appeal before it is eaten.

2) It’s a very good way to introduce different flavors into your family’s diet.  A culinary mash-up doesn’t need to have radical changes.  It can be as simple as adding foreign flavors to one of your family’s favorite dishes.  Spices like cumin, coriander, paprika, and a good curry powder aren’t completely overpowering and add a nice undertone to any dish.  Adding paprika to macaroni and cheese would add the slightest kick of flavor, but would still be subdued by the cheese.  Last night, I made a simple recipe for salmon with a cumin-honey glaze, and it was amazing.  It makes the salmon deliciously savory and sweet, while adding exotic flare and a really beautiful color.

3) It’s fun!  Like most of my musings, these exercises are meant to excite and inspire you to cook!  You will make plenty of mistakes along the way (Indian Ratatoulle was not a success), but that makes coming up with a really good dish all the better.  Doing something like this is a first step on learning how to come up with your own recipes, or adding your own special touch to a tried and true classic.

On Vegetarianism

Sorry for the long hiatus guys!  I have been part of an awesome show for the past couple of months, and now that it’s over, my evenings are free to muse on the wonders of the culinary environment again.  :)

So!  Let’s kick things off, shall we?

—

In this post, I would like to emphasize two main points about vegetarianism:

1) You do not need to be a vegetarian to eat vegetarian meals

2) In order to be a vegetarian, you need to do your research

Vegetarian Meals

It is quite all right, and in fact, a good thing to eat a couple of vegetarian meals a week.  Not only for health reasons, but it can also save you money.  Vegetables are good for you.  You need them.  The average american probably eats twice as many meats as is generally required and about half as many vegetables.  If we started eating a couple of meals that had only vegetables (and grains and legumes to even out the protein) then we would probably start getting closer to the amount of vegetables that are required to live a healthy lifestyle.

I heard a story on NPR the other week about a small island in Greece called Ikaria.  The laid back island has the one of the highest life expectancies in the world, and its mostly because of their diet.  Here is an excerpt from an article:

—

They found that in Ikaria, and especially in the northeastern end of the island, that over one-third of everyone in the northeastern end reaches age 90. They suffer 20% less cancer and half the rate of heart disease. And there’s virtually no dementia.

In other words, they’re living the good years many people are missing. Years we could possibly have by just adjusting a few simple habits, including:

1. Wild Greens – Greens are abundant in fields and roadsides, Ikarians frequently eat wild green salads and pies. Some contain more antioxidants than green tea or wine.
2. Herbal Teas – The common herbal teas consumed here contain compounds that lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of heart disease and dementia.
3. Low sense of time urgency – Feeling less obligation to one’s schedule and day is shown to lower heart-harming stress hormones.
4. Daily naps – Taking a 30-minute nap at least five times a week can decrease the risk of heart attack by 35 percent.
5. Mountain living – Here, every trip out of the house occasions a mini workout. People get their daily exercise without thinking about it. Studies show the mountain people have lower cardio vascular disease.
6. Strong sense of community – Family and village support create strong social connections, which are proven to promote longevity.
7. Goat’s milk – 80 percent of all people over 90 have consumed goat’s milk many times per week throughout their life. It is rich in blood-pressure lowering tryptophan and antibacterial compounds.
8. Ikarian diet – The Ikarian variation of Mediterranean Diet is high in vegetables, beans, and low in meat and sugar. Uniquely, though, it’s lower in grains and fish, but high in potatoes.

Source: Lessons for a Long Life From the Island of Ikaria, Greece

—

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, vegetables are much cheaper to get than meats, especially in bulk.  Making a large pot of cabbage soup can  cost you about $2.  Making a crock pot full of vegetable stew will cost you about $5 depending on the types of vegetables you get.  Making a rice and chicken dish or even beef tacos can easily take $10+ out of your wallet.

So the next time you’re planning your weekly meals, throw a vegetarian chili in there or general tso’s tofu.  Don’t you dare have a “salad” as a vegetarian meal unless it has -a lot- of extra stuff in it (including nuts or chickpeas).  Salads just aren’t adventurous either.  They’re the dieters excuse in my opinion.  A proper meal salad should have meat in it (or tofu, nuts, chickpeas, etc), otherwise, you’ll be hungry again in half an hour.

Be a Smart Vegetarian

As a devout omnivore, I know its a bit strange to be writing this post. I do understand what it takes to be a vegetarian because I’ve known quite a few.  But I also known quite a few people who have tried to be vegetarians for the wrong reasons, and its a pretty important point that I want to bring up.

Most of the successful vegetarians I know have been vegetarians for at least 5 years.  Their reasons are generally because of personal beliefs, family values, and health reasons.  They know that in order to lead a healthy vegetarian lifestyle, you need dive deeper than the average block of tofu and carrot sticks.

Most of the unsuccessful vegetarians I know tried becoming vegetarians because they were trying to lose weight or for social reasons.  If you have eaten meat all your life, you think that being a vegetarian is about only eating vegetables… you are so… so wrong.  Your body needs proteins and fats that are naturally found in meat.  If you’re not eating meat, you need to substitute something else like nuts, tofu, or other items that have the same nutritional value.  The uneducated vegetarian will generally end up substituting chips, pasta, and cheeses to make up for the density that meat gave them.  One: chips, pasta, and cheese do not have the same nutritional value of meat, so you will end up getting sick and probably gaining weight because of this.  Two: you will probably be back to eating meat within a couple of weeks because you get tired of eating the same thing all the time.

To be a successful vegetarian, do your research.  Find out what items you need to substitute in your meals so that you receive a well-rounded diet.  You will be happier, healthier, and have a more likely chance of making a smooth transition.

If you already are a vegetarian, chances are, you’re doing it right.  Keep up the good work

Now for the Goodies

Here is an easy, delicious, exotic recipe to start you on your way to getting a few vegetarian recipes under your belt.

You can exclude the jalapeno if spiciness isn’t your thing…  If you want a little bit of spice, just leave out the seeds.  If you don’t have any curry powder, just use a mix of spices like turmeric, coriander, paprika, and cumin (which actually is what curry powder consists of .

African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas

Recipe courtesy of epicurious.com

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, seeded and peeled, fresh or canned
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 3/4 cup cooked white or brown rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

In a medium stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and chili; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

For the Love of Meat

Most people in this country love meat.  The instant they see a sizzling steak, a jumbo hot dog, or some crispy chicken nuggets, their salivary glands start going wild.  But why is it that the meat that we eat generally comes from one of three animals?  Chickens, cows, and pigs have been the target of the American fork for a couple of decades now.  We used to eat all sorts of game animals, but somewhere along the way, it changed.

Perhaps it has been the gradual decrease in game hunting.  Maybe its because fast food restaurants only sell those types of meat.  Maybe they’re cheaper to raise.  Maybe its because most of us have seen the movie Bambi at some point in our lives… but whatever the reason,  the rest of the world has a huge leg up when it comes to being a carnivore.

In this post, I’m going to get you thinking about the other red and white meats.

Poultry

Of the edible fowl that is generally available at most fresh markets, chicken, in my opinion, is the most tasteless.  It’s an excellent ingredient when cooking, because it absorbs flavors so well.  Chicken is a chameleon.  It tastes like whatever its been cooking on and with.  That’s why most people like fried chicken or chicken nuggets, because they don’t taste the chicken- they taste the fried breading- and fat always taste good.  Turkey is starting to head out of the box a little bit, but tends to be a bit dry if not cooked properly.  The truly tasty birds out there include duck, quail, and Cornish hen.  The meat is darker and has a little more fat (the good, natural kind of fat this time) than chicken or turkey.  This makes these birds incredibly juicy and especially beautiful and exotic when served at a family dinner.

Lamb and Goat

These two meats have very distinctive flavors.  They taste nothing like beef, but can be cooked  in similar ways.  Lamb and goat are generally served in stews because the meats are very good at absorbing flavor.  Traditionally, in Mediterranean, Middle East, and Indian cultures, an entire lamb or goat will be roasted over an open fire for a special event.  The meat cooks all day until its a deep golden brown and nearly melts in your mouth when you eat it.

Beef, Bison, and Venison

Everyone knows the wonders of beef, but one emerging trend in restaurants is bison meat.  The attractive feature it has to buyers is that its way lower in calories and cholesterol than other types of meat.  It also tastes almost exactly like beef and can be substituted for beef in most recipes.  Venison (deer) can also be used and cooked like beef, but the meat is more stringy and has a gamey flavor.

Rabbit

Thumper is in a league of his own when it comes to flavor.  Rabbit meat is juicy and savory no matter how you cook it.  It also is very popular in certain diets due to its incredibly low cholesterol levels and very high protein levels.  Rabbit is very good in stews or roasted whole.

Pork

Pork has been notorious for having high cholesterol levels and potentially containing certain diseases, such as the H1N1 virus.  Despite all of that, pork and bacon are very delicious and desirable in their own rights.  Pork has a tendency to dry out if over-cooked, but can be juicy and flavorful if watched carefully.  Bacon is very easy to burn, but yields an end product that is perhaps one of the most sinfully delicious meats on the planet.  Bacon is also cooked with other foods because it will yield its fat and provide an extra level of flavor to the accompanying ingredients.

Innards

Tripe, liver, gizzards, hearts, brains… items rarely seen on the American table.  Each innard has its own distinct flavor and is cooked with different outcomes in mind.  I find that intestines tend to be salty and gizzards crunchy.  One advantage to cooking with the less-desired parts of the animal, is that your grocery bill will be very low.  These bits and pieces are very cheap, especially when bought in bulk.  The flavors require a more advanced taste palette if you didn’t grow up eating them, but once you get used to them, they bring interesting flavors to the meal.

If you’ve never tried lamb or rabbit, I challenge you to try cooking up some for dinner this weekend, or trying it the next time you go out to dinner at an exotic restaurant.  Alternative meats also tend to be healthier than the average hamburger or hot dog.  When cooked properly, its almost impossible for these meats not to taste good… you just need to know what seasonings to add!

Back from the Holidays

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

Normal blog posts will resume after today, but I would like to give you a recap of the baking that my mother and I did over the holidays.

My mom and I have been baking for a while (she has about 20 years more experience than I do).  Even so, we still learned a few things along the way, and I would like to share these tips with you to help you out with your next baking venture:

1) Hickory Nuts are a fabulous substitute for any nut in a cookie.  They look a lot like pecans, and they freeze very well once they’re shelled.  They don’t have the bitter taste of pecans, but rather have a maple syrup after taste.  We substituted them for pecans in a couple of recipes.

2) Royal Icing is magical for decorating.  My mom and I were flabbergasted when we found out that you could use royal icing to decorate sugar cookies.  It’s was kind of common sense after a magazine gave us the idea, but we didn’t realize just how good it looked.  Basically you outline the cookie with the icing, fill it in and spread the royal icing over the surface of the cookie.  Then, while it is still wet, pipe little designs in a different color, and the patterns will sink into the first layer.  They look almost professionally done!  There’s a picture of our creations at the bottom of the post.

3) Some recipes suck. At the beginning of our baking venture, we made a list of cookies we wanted to bake and booked marked them in the various magazines and books we got them out of.  A couple of the recipes flopped… even though we followed them to a tee.  Sometimes they didn’t bake right or didn’t taste good.  And you know what?  It happens!  Don’t let it get you down when a recipe doesn’t work out.  Out of 200 cookie recipes in one magazine, all of them are probably not 100% tested.  They just look pretty on the page.

4) Mixing and Matching is important.  I made sure when we were choosing our recipes that there was diversity.  Because these cookies were going to be presented together, there needed to be many different flavors and many different looks.  Palmiers and Macaroons look beautiful and create visual interest within the presentation, but there were still classics and simple treats scattered between the eye candy.  The Snickerdoodles were the first cookies gone and probably the easiest to make.  If you’re baking for a party, try making small batches of different types of cookies instead of huge batches of the same things.  The advantage of diversity is that people will want to try one of each.

So without further adieu, here’s what we made!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Chocolate Covered Peanuts

Classic Snickerdoodles

Assorted Chocolate Truffles

Oatmeal Raisin

Chocolate Palmiers

Double Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Dipped Macaroons

Hickory Nut Crispies

Butter Twists

Gift Bucket filled with the goodies

Royal Iced Sugar Cookies

Global Cuisine Crash Course

When embarking on the adventure that is cooking, it is important to know the tools of the trade.  The most important tool when cooking is not a pot, not a spatula, not even the different ingredients or spices, but the knowledge of cooking methods and styles.  The knowledge of possibilities.  Cooking is an art thousands of years in the making and has sprung up in different ways across the world.  Every culture has a new bit of knowledge to add to world cuisine. I’ve done my best to put together a crash course of different world cuisines.  It was a time consuming process, and very, VERY difficult to sum up the flavors and cooking methods of an entire region, country, or even continent.  I hope that an introduction to another way of developing flavors will enlighten you enough to conduct some research of your own!

I’ve also concluded the post with recipes that I made for my family tonight.  Tagine Beef and Sweet Potatoes with Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert.

South American

It is difficult to sum up the flavors of the whole of South America because the cuisines are so diverse from country to country.  When most people think about SA cuisine, they think Mexican… but even Mexican isn’t just the burrito or chalupa you find at Taco Bell.  South American foods  use lots of tropical and starchy ingredients like plantains, beans, quinoa, coconut, and potatoes, courtesy of the Rain Forrest and warm climate.  They use tortillas (thin pancakes made from flour or corn meal) as a vessel for food, kind of like we use bread, and Asian cultures use rice.  There’s also a wide variety of meats and seafood.

United Kingdom

Foods from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales have simple dishes with scattered foreign accents.  Generally there aren’t any hidden flavors, nothing fancy.  If you see a potato on your plate, it will probably taste like a potato.  Food, especially from England, has been getting a bad wrap over the years for being a little too plain, but lately the cuisine is starting to become more and more.. well.. American, or rather a fusion of cuisine cultures.

German, Scandinavian, and Russian

Foods from these northern countries are pretty much the comfort foods of the world.  There are sausages, meatballs, soups and stews and lots of sea fish- hearty foods and plenty of them.   These countries are also renowned for their alcohols, such as German beer and vodka.  This is the type of food you want to curl up with on a cold winter night.

French

French cuisine is light and perfect.  Any chef who serves meat with a small side and a simple drizzle of a sauce  has probably had French influence.  Even though the dish is small and simple… chances are the meat will be absolutely tender and perfect, and the sauce will be one of the best flavors your mouth has encountered.  French cooking methods are very strict and precise, and a good base for any chef- amateur or professional.

Spanish

Spanish food involves lots of seafood, beans, rice, sausages, and paella (a rice dish with a mixture of meats and seafood, generally

seasoned with saffron).  Even though this country specializes in one pot miracles, they also have developed smaller portions called “tapas”.  Tapas are usually served at bars or before major meals.

Italian

Italy is pasta, cheese, coffee and wine.  Its not like over here where going to an Italian restaurant means getting a huge plate of chicken alfredo.  Chances are, if you’re in Italy, the meat served with pasta won’t be chicken breast.  It will be a part of an animal you’ve never imagined eating.  The Italians take their meals seriously and usually spend a couple of hours with family and friends around the table.  As with most countries… the flavors vary from province to province, but every step along the way you’ll find a huge variety of fresh produce and seafood and plenty of it.

Greek

Greek cuisine is the home cooking of Europe.  It uses lots of meats and fresh Mediterranean produce like olives, lentils, eggplant, and bell peppers.  Fresh herbs are sprinkled over everything and frequently baked under a layer of phyllo with a drizzle of olive oil.  Desserts are made with seasonal fruits, nuts, and honey (similar to african desserts).  Feta cheese is also available at every meal underneath some cracked pepper and olive oil, alongside some kalamata olives.  Like the Italians, meal times are an event, which means lots of food spread out over a long period of time.

Middle Eastern

Like South American cuisine,  its a bit silly to group together such a diverse set of countries, but this post would take me forever to write if I dove into them individually when they do share common qualities.  Middle Eastern food uses Greek meats and North African vegetables in the style of Spanish tapas… with many different twists thrown in.  Starches, root vegetables, and seafood dominate the meals. Chickpeas are common in Middle Eastern and African cuisine because they’re easy to grow in warmer, dry climates, and can be mashed up to form hummus (which is served with everything, all the time).

African

Like Middle Eastern cuisine, meals dominated by vegetables moreso than meats (its kind of hard to herd lion, camels,

and wildebeests for a regular food source… but less dangerous game animals do appear in dishes on occasion, like antelope).  Different vegetables can be found down the length of the continent, but plantains, corn, rice, peanuts, and potatoes are predominant throughout.  Central Africa is a lot like Central America since they are on the same latitude. They use the same produce with different cooking methods.  They also eat more meat than the rest of Africa.  East Africa is influenced by Portuguese cooking styles (similar to Spanish) with Indian spices.  North African has Mediterranean influence, and South African cuisine is a true melting pot of flavors from the Mediterranean, India, China, and Malaysia.

Indian

Indian cuisine is a true palette of flavor, which the rest of the world has tapped into at some point in history.  The whole of India eats rice and legumes (lentels, grams, and dals) with their food.  They also use a variety of intense, flavorful spices such as cumin, turmeric, coriander, chili powder, and then garam masala (which is actually a mix of spices that varies from region to region).  Northern Indian cuisine uses lots of milk  (used to make curries)  and is typically what you will see in American Indian restaurants… samosas, pani puri, tandoori chicken, roti, and kebabs.  Southern cuisine uses more rice, pickles (not the green things you find in a jar… but vegetables and fruits that have been pickled to create more of a flavorful relish), and coconut, which are used to make foods such as  dosas and biryani.

Chinese

Millions of different cooking methods are found in China, but to narrow them down they can be grouped into eight different cuisines: Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Anhui.  Shandong chefs use a lot of shallots and garlic and tend to be masters of their ingredients.  Sichuan style produces spicy, aromatic, and flavorful dishes and are cooked using many different methods.  Guangdong uses rare ingredients and has a polished and dainty style with an emphasis on presentation.  Fujian chefs specialize in fine cutting techniques and rely on the freshness of their produce with a variety of seasonings.  Jiangsu chefs enhance flavor through cooking methods, mainly by braising and stewing.  Zhejiang cuisine is very diverse, comes in small dishes, and is generally fried or steamed.  Hunan chefs use oil to create savory, crisp dishes. Anhui uses local flavors and ham and sugar to enrich freshness.  Source: travelchinaguide.com

Japanese

Japanese staples are rice, noodles, and bread.  Foods usually come bite-sized or served as a single dish.  Fresh seafood is all over the place (naturally as an island nation). Japanese cuisine is as much about etiquette and presentation as it’s about the food.  Its not just a matter of putting food in platters on a table and have everyone go at it…  Eating is almost ritualistic and shows appreciation to the host and food.

Malaysian

Malaysian food is similar to other Asian cuisines but uses more meats and is served along with fragrant rice and noodles.  The flavors are largely influenced by India and China.  Unlike most countries, the climate is not seasonal so the same fresh ingredients are usually year-round. Dishes incorporate lots of fresh vegetables and tropical fruits, like lychee, durian, and mango.

Thai

Thai cuisine is aromatic and spicy.  Its similar to its other Asian counterparts with various influences and less of an emphasis on

presentation.  Cooking is 100% about flavor and chefs strive to balance sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and savory in every dish.

American

To be frank, there isn’t any type of cooking that is known as “American Cuisine”.  The only thing that comes close is American Southern- home of butter, okra, and fried chicken.  American cooking is world cooking.  As a country that lets everyone in, we’re influenced by almost every single cuisine on the planet.  We have chefs trained from other countries coming in and heading the kitchens of our best restaurants.  Grocery stores, global importation, and modern preservation methods make seasonal ingredients from all over the world available year round.  American chefs are best known for their fusion cuisine.  They’re grilling steaks with Indian spices, and adding French sauces over the top alongside South American side dishes.  The plight of such a young country is this: We need to keep up with the rest of the world cuisines that have centuries of a head start.  We need to create American cuisine. The best way to learn is by example.  The best example is by looking at other countries and how they have developed- by figuring out what ingredients are available to them.  If all ingredients are available to us, then we need to try them all!  It’s a daunting, yet exciting task.

Try this Moroccan dish for dinner and this French dessert!

—–

Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes

(From Taste of Morocco by Rebekah Hassan)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 lbs stewing beef
• 2 tbs sunflower oil
• good pinch of ground turmeric
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 fresh red or green chili, seeded and chopped
• 1.5 tsp paprika
• generous pinch of cayenne pepper
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 lb sweet potatoes
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper

1) Trim the meat and cut into 3/4 inch cubes.  Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish (or a dutch oven) and fry the meat, together with the turmeric and salt and pepper, over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until evenly brown, stirring frequently.

2) Cover the pan tightly and cook for 15 minutes over fairly low heat, without lifting the lid.  Preheat the oven to 350.

3) Add the onion, chili, paprika, cayenne pepper and cumin to the pan together with just enough water to cover the meat.  Cover tightly, put in oven, and cook for 1-1.5 hours until the meat is very tender, checking occasionally and adding a little extra water to keep the stew fairly moist.

4) Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and slice them straight into a bowl of salted water (sweet potatoes discolor very quickly).  Transfer to a pan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes, until just tender.  Drain.

5) Stir the herbs into the meat, adding a little extra water if the stew appears dry.  Arrange the potato slices over the meat and dot with the butter.  Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes feel very tender.  Increase the oven temperature to 400 or heat the broiler.

6) Remove the lid of the casserole and cook in the oven or under the broiler for another 5-10 minutes, until the potatoes are golden.

—–

Moelleux au Chocolat (or Chocolate Lava Cake)

(from famousfrenchdesserts.com)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 oz semisweet chocolate
• 12 tbsp butter, diced at room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350.

1) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.

2) Stir in diced butter, until it melts.

3) In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar, until it starts to whiten.

4) Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour.

5) Butter 4 individual ramekins, and pour in chocolate batter.

6) Cook for about 10 minutes.

7) Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve.

Tips from the recipe author:

You can definitely prepare your chocolate lava cake recipe ahead of time, and then bake 10 minutes before serving.  I always do it this way!

In terms of buttering the ramekins: butter the bottoms first, and then butter the sides, wiping from the bottom up to the top.  It helps the chocolate to rise even more.

In terms of baking time… well, it depends on how runny you want it!  I like it with a super-liquid-oozing center — so do my guests!  For this, you want the top to be cooked through, but the center to be liquid.  You can check with a toothpick after 10 minutes of baking.  If you don’t like liquid-center chocolate desserts, just cook for a little longer, and you will have an incredibly moist chocolate cake.  So either way, you can’t go wrong!

Simply Gourmet

gourmet (adj) : of or characteristic of a gourmet, esp. in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation

I know I’ve been talking a lot about garnishes, but most of work when designing gourmet food goes in how you make your dish as well.  You can spend all evening making brownies from scratch, but if you bake them in a casserole dish and cut them into squares, they don’t look any different from brownies out of a box.  If you make the brownies in a round dish and cut them like you would a pie… suddenly there’s something unique about your dish.  You take them to a party and say that you’ve brought brownies.  People will notice them more since they aren’t what one would expect of a brownie.  ”Woah!  Those look fancy!  Those are brownies?”  You’d get comments like this simply because of what cut you make.

I made chocolate truffles the other night to take to a dance. Here is the recipe.  They’re nothing special…  You mix cream cheese and sugar together, add melted chocolate, refrigerate, form into balls, and you’re done.  But what can you do to these treats to make them special?  At the bottom, the recipe says that you can add liqueurs instead of vanilla extract and roll the truffles in different toppings.  Sounds like a good start!  I took a look at my liqueur collection (not terribly impressive, unfortunately).  What do I have… chocolate, cappuccino, orange, and pomegranate.  What toppings would go well with these?  For my chocolate truffle, I did large chocolate sprinkles.  For cappuccino, I did dark cocoa.  For orange, crushed macadamia  nuts.  For pomegranate, coconut flakes (this flavor combination was very flavorful and exotic).  Most of these I had lying around in my pantry.

Recipe Note: The “batter” might scare you when you add the melted chocolate and after you refrigerate it.  It’s very thick and doesn’t look like it will form a very good ball.  Don’t worry!  Once you pick up a ping pong sized clump of the chocolate and start rolling it in your hands, it will soften up and begin to look moist.  It’s absolutely perfect for rolling around in a topping because the stuff sticks so well!

After dropping the truffles in plain white, small cupcake wrappers and arranging them on the platter, they looked professionally done.  And believe me… they tasted as good as they looked!

Chocolate Truffles with Chocolate Sprinkles

Orange Truffles with Crushed Macadamia Nuts

Cacppuccino Truffles with Dark Cocoa Powder

Pomegranate Truffles with Coconut Flakes

A lovely arrangement

It’s very easy to think of ways to make the food you make look and taste gourmet.  After studying different flavor combinations and experimenting with simple recipes, you won’t even need to think about what can be done to a dish to make it different.  The only way to learn, of course, is through experience.  Order the weird sounding dish at a restaurant.  Dip carrots in barbecue sauce. Study pictures of fancy dishes in magazines instead of drooling over them.  Figure out what you like about what you see and taste.  Replicate them at home.  You’ll be addicted to the hunt in no time!

Making the Time

Food is an experience.  The ability to eat for pleasure as well as for sustenance sets us apart from the other species on this planet.  We cook for pleasure, not because we have to.  We could eat carrots out of the ground, apples off the tree, and throw a rabbit on the fire and we could survive.  Cooking is a luxury and improves our standard of living.  It makes us happy.

Why should you settle for flavorless chicken nuggets, caramelized carbonated water, white processed bread, plain pasta?  It fills your belly… makes you full.  But when you have the ability to experiment..mix it up..throw a spice on it..roast it..broil it..grill it..bake it.. Why don’t you?  When you can taste the difference.  When the possibilities are endless.  When you can make the same dishes that they are making in cultures across the world.  When you can know what its like to eat a hot, fresh meal that is melt-in-your mouth delicious. Why don’t you?

You don’t have the time.

If there is any advice that you should take from me and would make your life the better.. it is take the time to cook.  Learn to love it.  Don’t settle for being the “clutz of the kitchen” or the “I burn frozen burritos in the microwave” person.  You’re missing out on an entire chapter of life when you do this.

This article really hit home with something that I’ve been trying to put into words for a while.

We don’t have time to actually cook healthy meals for our family. There’s not enough time after we get home from work, help kids with school work, do after school activities and maybe pick the house up a little to plan and cook a healthy meal. Sometimes it’s junk or nothing. Tip: Slow Cooker meals.

We find time to shop for the perfect clothes, get our hair done, get together with friends, brush our teeth, and stop to buy that coffee from Starbucks but we don’t have time to eat healthy. What’s wrong with this picture? Food is what makes our body able to self-heal but we don’t have time to feed it the one thing it needs, real food.

I started to cook as a freshman in college.  It wasn’t because I wanted to be like the chefs on Food Network or to talk with yuppies in coffee shops about my new panini press and knowledge of organic meats…  This is why I cook:

1) I only have one life and there is so much out there that I don’t know about.  One way to learn about other cultures is through their food.  The American life is only one way to live.  You could potentially go through your life saying “I hate peaches”  simply because of the way they look.. never having tried one.  Maybe if you tried it, it would be the best thing you ever tasted.  But if you decide that you don’t like it… you’ll never know.  You’ll live your life never knowing that peaches would have been your favorite food.  This is how I think about different types of cuisines from around the world.  I’ll try pigs heart, cow liver, even durian..because I’ve never had it.  Who knows!  It might end up being the best thing I’ve ever tasted!  If it’s not.. at least I tried it.

2) For my kids.  I don’t have any yet… But when I do, I want to be a cooking mom.  I decided to start cooking in college so that I could go ahead and master cooking techniques, so that when I do have kids, I don’t have to rush to learn.  I want my kids to be healthy, and this is the best way to ensure that.  I’m also planning on being a working woman, not a stay-at-home mom.  Some say that I won’t have as much time to cook as I do now.  That is almost certainly 100% true, but I’m willing to give up things like watching tv at night to cook.  Also, if I master cooking now, I’ll be able to do it much faster a few years from now.

3) I love cooking for people!  When I make things for parties, 50% of the time, I don’t even get to try what I just spent a couple hours making.  But I wouldn’t trade that for the smiles that I just put on 20 peoples’ faces.

It’s a very romantic philosophy… and a tad overdramatic.  But it’s completely true.

I hope that you will learn to love cooking.  You might be busy and feel like passing out once the day comes to an end.  But please try… Make one new dish a week.  Just one or two hours dedicated to discovering a new ingredient  or a new spice.  Who knows?  You might end up loving it.

A Bit of Zest

What is zest?

Zest is the colorful part of the rind of a citrus fruit that contains an extra kick of flavor.  When used correctly, a light grating of zest can make all the difference when trying to achieve the initial pop of flavor when food enters the mouth.

How do I … get it off the citrus?

Grating

There are several ways to “zest” a citrus.  The most common way is to run it across a grater.  The smaller the grating holes, the more evenly distributed the zest will be throughout your dish.  Using larger holes will take off larger chunks of the peels and make for stronger bursts of flavor).  One lemon will yield about one rounded teaspoon of zest.  An orange will give you two or three (depending on the size).

Peeling

With a sharp paring knife, one may potentially de-zest an entire lemon with one precise cut.  I certainly can’t do it, but it is possible.  The problem I see with this method is that it’s very easy to cut off the white part of the rind with the zest, which is very bitter and inedible.  Cutting off chunks of the peel is good for boiling in soups, stews, or sauces, but only if it can be fished out before it’s served.

Zesting

There is a tool out there called a zester.  I would love to own one.  It takes the peel off in a nice neat strand, which is perfect for garnishing.  I imagine you could also take a zester to a softened bar of chocolate to make curls for desserts as well.

What is it good for?

The most popular type of zest is lemon.  It is best when cooked with chicken, pork, seafood, and pasta (aka… things that don’t have a whole lot of flavor on their own, but that absorb flavor extremely well).   All you have to do is grate the zest and add it to the meat as its being cooked or just after (just after always for the pasta).  There are also recipes that use the zests of other citruses, but when in doubt- go for the lemon.

Zests are especially important in desserts.  Most fruity desserts use some kind of citrus juice or zest.  Alton Brown has an excellent lemon meringue pie recipe that uses lemon and orange zests.  When baking, it isn’t unusual to see candied orange or grapefruit zest as a garnish (or even eaten alone!).  Here is a good recipe for candied grapefruit peel.

Now let’s give it a try!

Here is one of my custom recipes that uses lemon zest and lemon juice.  It is a perfect dinner for two with a dessert thrown in!

Greek Lemon Chicken with String Zucchini and Pasta

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp grain mustard
• 1 lemon (grate off 1 tsp zest, and squeeze the juice from half of it)
• 1/4 tsp minced garlic
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, Pepper, and Oregano (to taste)
• 1/2 lb spaghetti pasta
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 c. heavy whipping cream
• fresh herbs (garnish)

1) Combine egg, mustard, lemon juice, and garlic in a bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.  Dip each chicken breast in egg mixture and use hands to thoroughly coat the meat.  Reserve extra egg mixture.

2) Add 2 tbsp olive oil to a shallow pan over medium high heat.  Wait about 2 minutes for the oil to heat up and then carefully drop the chicken breasts, one at a time, into the pan.

3) Sprinkle oregano, salt, and pepper over each side of the chicken breast while it is cooking.  The egg on the chicken will begin to brown.  Turn the heat down to medium low.  Cook for 10 minutes, flipping occasionally.

4) Cook pasta according to directions on the box.

5) Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini in ribbons down the length like so:

Then stack all of the ribbons on top of each other and carefully slice lengthwise to create zucchini strings.

6) Remove chicken from pan.  Add zucchini to the same pan and add remaining egg mixture.  Stir vigorously for the next couple of minutes so that the egg doesn’t cook by itself.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

7) Slice chicken into short thin strips.  Meat will be raw on the inside.  Return to pan with the zucchini.  Cook until the meat is cooked through.  Stir occasionally.  About 15 minutes.  Add whipping cream and cook for another 10 minutes until cream turns a light brown and thickens slightly.

8) After draining pasta, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and lemon zest and toss to coat.

9) To plate, grab one tongful of pasta and put in the center of a dish.  Grab a large tongful of chicken and zucchini and place on top of pasta.  Top off with any type of fresh herb.

Chocolate  Mousse

(can’t remember where I found this recipe…)

Serves 2 (twice)

Ingredients:

• 4oz bittersweet chocolate
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 eggs (separated)
• 200ml heavy whipping cream

You’ll need 4 bowls.  In bowl #1, break chocolate into pieces and melt in the microwave in 20 second increments.  Bowl #2, beat egg yolks and sugar together.  Bowl #3, beat egg whites to stiff peaks (you’ll know they’re done when you can turn the bowl to the side and the whites don’t slide out).  Bowl #4, beat whipping cream to stiff peaks.  Add yolk mixture to chocolate.

Using a silicone spatula, add one spatula-full of whipping cream and fold into chocolate mixture.  Then take a spatula-full of egg whites and fold into the same mixture.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you fold.  Repeat these steps until all of the whipped cream and egg whites have been fully incorporated.  Cover mousse and refrigerate for 1 hr.

One way to serve this decadent desert is by scooping it into a wine glass.  Top with sliced kiwi (which is amazing with chocolate) and coarsely grated chocolate.  Here is a quick way to make kiwi garnish:

1) Slice a thick slab of kiwi and peel off rind.

2) CAREFULLY make 3 cuts without going all the way through so that the disks are connected at one end.

3) Cut kiwi section in half making sure to cut across the connected end.

4) Fan out slices.

5) Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving holiday!  There’s nothing like the feeling of gathering with your loved ones around a table packed with warm, delicious home made foods.  Here are some pictures of my family’s Thanksgiving:

Here is a chocolate pumpkin pie that I made. It is garnished with some aromatic flowers from the garden and a sprig of thyme.

It tasted as good as it looked.

Roasted Turkey Breast

Sauteed Green Beans with Bacon

Sweet Potato Casserole

Lovely Relish Dish

Macaroni and Cheese

Stuffing

A chocolate pie my little sister made.

An apple pie my step mother made... it almost made it to dinner.

Luna was camped out underneath the turkey.

Stay tuned later this week for a post on how to experiment while you cook. Its a great way to spice up old classics and invent new recipes of your own!