The Greatest American Dish Potato Salad

 What is the greatest American dish> It could be hamburgers or French fries. it could be turkey and gravy. yet since it;s summer and salad season - it's potato salad. This mix if spuds ,onions,eggs and mayo is the dish of the summer reflecting everyone's heritage and taste.

Regular contributor and James Beard winner, Wesley Morris,a food historian wrote about this classic in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. He believes it truly is an American dish because anyone from the most novice home chef to the most experienced one can make it. Every ethnic group in this country has there version of it. The Spanish invented it, first dressing the newest sensation from the New World with boiling them in wine or vinegar and serving then with herbs. Yet it was the Germans who recharged the recipes for Kartoffelslat ,  a warn version with bacon eggs and herbs.It changed in the 1920's when mayo was added and became a cold dish.In Peru ,it;s insalata rusa and in Spain it's ensaladilla rusa , both made with potatoes carrots and peas.Sometimes  cubed beets are added with mayonnaise.The Japanese version has rice win e vinegar added while the French version calls for a light vinaigrette plus a heavy sprinkling of such fresh herbs as tarragon chervil ,parsley and chives.

Mr Morris gives his recipes. he has been making his mother version since  the age of eleven.By the time he was fourteen he took on more responsibility , mincing the celery, pulverizing a dozen eggs, peeling and dicing the potatoes and drizzling n the mustard. What kind of potatoes are recommended? Mr Morris uses Yukon Gold which are always recommended He also uses a yellow onion and  four meaty celery stalks. Five hard boiled eggs are also used  a long with a cup of mayonnaise. A sweet pickle relish is mixed in to give the salad a sweet flavor. Don;t use a dill pickle one because I would be too tangy.A quarter to a half cup of mustard is used to tingle the salad its' traditional yellow hue. Remember to use the freshest one (check the experiation date when buying it)White granted sugar is added - but just a tiny pinch to meld out the other flavors. He sprinkled hot paprika on the finished salad l Sweet paprika along with the tiniest pinch of cayenne can be subbed in too. There should be a subtle hotness that's felt at the back of the throat

America's favorite salad and side has to be potato salad. It is  a perfect blend of textures and flavors. What better to celebrate a country on its' 250th anniversary?

The Branding Of Simple Berries

 Years ago it was a big deal to go strawberry and blueberry picking in June and early July. There was a thrill to getting baskets and and finding ruby and sapphire gems, stealing a few to nibble on while picking Not any more. Berries are now a year round food tat has been well branded and well cultivated.

Regular contributor julia Moskin wrote about this new way of seeing and selling simple fruit in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Branding fruit is nothing new. Dole did it with their pineapple in 1933 Chicquita branded their banana in 1944. However it's reached new heights with the Twenty-First Century. A popular company and staple in many produce aisles, Driscoll's now offers all sorts of berries year round. It used to be that any kind of berry, from blackberry to raspberry cane out during the summer  and early fall. Now comsumers can get them all year round whether for smoothies cakes, or just healthy snacking.They can be seen around the world, from Costcos in Korea to bakeries in Dubai. In just the past decade alone strawberries have gone from a fragile seasonal fruit to a worldwide refrigerator staple. Global production has tripled since 2000 according to research from the UN's Food and Agriculture. Berries are the fastest growing category in American produce.

Driscoll's is behind that growth. The company started out as a small multifamily farm in 1904, with Ed Reiter, a farmer from Alsace France and Ed Driscoll. Along with Thomas Loftus the three formed a partner ship to protect and promote strawberries in northern Shasta County, California, North of Sacramento.  Driscoll strawberries were first sold in San Franscisco. Every crate was  wrapped in ribbon, giving them the name Banner. Driscoll's started breeding new varieties of berries in the 1920's after a blight  and then patented them in 1957 after taking ten years to develop. Now there are panels to evaluate and rate everything about all the berries they produce. There are 210 strains of raspberries  p[produce but only two  will actually make it to market.  For example Maravilla raspberries many look great on the outside but taste tart dry or stiff. The mission across Driscoll's thirty-five test plots is to eliminate them. Try test not only for the overt sweetness and raspberry flavor but also undertones of cotton candy rose and banana to name a few. Also how they're grown is evaluated for easy picking  for the workers.

Berries are not what they used t9o be .Thanks to Driscoll's they['re an international brand that everyone , n o matter where they are can have. They;re not just fruit anymore.They're super fruit.

Healthy Summer Eating

 After a weekend of celebrating - and still some celebrating it;s time to look at good , healthy eating. Tis is the perfect time of year for it. There are so many fruits and veggies to use.It;s impossible NOT to eat nutritiously .

Look to the fruits of the season for dessert. A simple peach or plum is the perfect breakfast on the go.  Slice them into the latest morning craze = overnight oats. Put the oats in a small container with enough milk. These will soak the grains until they;re a pudding like mash. The oats themselves are healthy and using plant, nut or low fat milk also adds toteir nutritional value. Slice any often stone or pitted fruits in them along with berries  such as strawberries,raspberries and blueberries Sweeten with all natural honey or agave. Hot oatmeal can benefit from fresh fruit slices as well along with cold cerial such as Rice Krispies  and Cheerios. Even a meal as decadent as brunch can be made healthy. Think the egg substitute Just Egg with such fresh veggies as spinach and bell peppers in a tasty omelet Whole wheat Crepes can be made and filled with both sauteed veggies for a savory main  course or fresh fruit and Greek yogurt for the dessert. Serve with mocktails for added fun.

Lunches and dinners can be made with the harvests of the season. The Spanish cold soup gazpacho is the perfect lunch or dinner course.It is so delicious that you'll want to put in on your meal rotation two to three times a week.It's a blended mix f tomatoes, green bell peppers, cucumber ,olive oil and red wine vinegar.Chill it for two to three hours in the fridge before serving .I;ts great with a crusty whole wheat bread but also crackers work too. Another favorite veggie dish is ratatouille. This Southern French classic starts with sliced eggplants, tomatoes , onions and garlic. I prefer the stovetop method where the veggies are cooked in a skillet in olive oil plus a tablespoon of the plant butter Melt. I also sub in zucchini - which is in abundance right now for the eggplant since the eggplant sometimes has a bitter taste. Do use fresh picked herbs to flavor this. It goes well with a crusty bread but try a whole wheat boule wit it to sop up the sauces.Any stuffed veggie is a good lunch or dinner. Us brown rice and spicing for fillings for tomatoes , peppers and mushrooms

It;s time to eat healthy again.It;s easy to do in the summer. The harvests are in full force right now and it's time to take advantage of them.

Quiet Times Quiet Meals

 July has started with the biggest of blow outs. it was a party weekend  between FIFA , America's 250th anniversary and Taylor 'sand Travis' big day /It was party, party  and party until we collectively almost burst. now it;s quiet time. Time for quiet meals al fresco or a simple barbecue.

This is the time to enjoy a meal outdoors - without all that hoopla and spangles. Why not try a simple pasta con salsa al cruda for a lovely dinner? Pasta cruda is one of the easiest sauces to make. Take ripe -tomatoes and roughly chop them. Marinate in good olive oil for about half an hour as the pasta cooks. I like mine with some garlic powder but you can also add chopped onions, basil and then at the last minutes mozzarella chunks. The pasta will cook the sauce to give to a semi cooked taste and soften the tomatoes. Any kind of pasta is used,Spaghetti is a good choice but chunkier pasta is also tasty too. Another quiet meals ,perfect for an al fresco dinner is spaghetti with lemon sauce. This is a mix of lemon zest , minced garlic and butter cooked while the pasta is  cooking. When t epasta is dine coat it wit this sauce with half a cup of the pasta water. Toss well until the pasta is coated.Add  quarter of a cup of Parnesan cheese. Mix it coat. then ad the another quarter cup and  one to two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to taste.  Serve with a light white wine.

Te Fourth may be over but you can still barbecue .Do it without the hullabaloo. Simple burgers work  A good homemade recipe is ground chuck mixed with egg yolk to hold it together. Flavorings can be a dash of Worcestershire sauce, diced onion or minced garlic , and of course salt and pepper. You could serve it on buns but it actually tastes better on slices of rye toast. Serve with simple salads like tomato or broccoli , These are nothing fancy..Just good veggies mixed with a simple vinaigrette and flavored with minced garlic. Barbecued chicken is another nice meal that has all that flavor without all the fancy .Rub the chicken wit either melted butter or olive oil , then rub on sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Barbecue for forty-five to sixty minutes if you have the whole chicken (Spatchcock or butterfly it first for all over heat distribution.) Again any plain veggie salad is a great side here along with grilled corn. Forgot all the cheese and fixings on the corn. Just smearing it with butter is the best taste.

All the b ig shebangs are over with it and so are those party foods. Go back to  quiet dinners with simple quiet food. Enjoy them without all the razzle dazzle but with delicious simplicity.

HAPPY 250TH AMERICA

 HAPPY  250th Birthday America.

The world influenced how we eat and we influence the world  on what to eat.

We invented comfort food and soda.potato chips and ranch dressing. We created brunch and PB and J sandwiches. TV and microwave dinners are ours too.

We are brave - in everything - especially in eating and drinking.

Celebrate not just our values on freedom and democracy

But how we come together for feasting despite our differences

Happiest of milestone birthdays !!!!!!!

Happiness IS American Food.

 As the nation celebrates it;s 250t birthday ,it;s time to also celebrate the American cuisine. It's is the comfort food that not only we Yanks crave.The world also love our food too and considers it a big comfort.

What is American food exactly? It's a combination of both indigenous ingredients and international recipes. It;s succotash , a tasty combination of corn and Lima beans. Some home chefs add chopped bell peppers and tomatoes. The name comes from the Narragansett tribe's work for broken corn kernels You can add garlic and herbs to it. I usually like it plain wit just butter added.It;sa great side dish with nay meat from chicken to beef to pork and can easily be made for a Thanksgiving or Other holiday side. Surprisingly America's most comforting food ,meat loaf has it's origins in ancient Rome. yet it came over with German immigrants to Pennsylvania.  They adopted European meat puddings to scrapple , a mix of pork and cornmeal. Modern meatloaf usually has chopped meat, eggs and breadcrumbs. There are variations that also add in chopped onion and ketchup. Many love it drowned in brown gravy with a side of homemade mashed potatoes.Another American classic comfort food is tomato soup. Everyone loves this ,especially on a cold fall or winter day. . It started in the MesoAmericas and found it's way to Spain where the Spanish turned it into gazpacho and then France where cream was probably added. It was mentioned in American cookery books in 1857 and Campbells turned it into a condensed easy to cook soup. The US Navy added grilled cheese to the dish during the Second World War.

What about that Yankee summer must have - ice cream.  This ancient Mesopotamia sweet, also loved by empowers such as Nero is a US freezer must have. It's the Americans that elevated it and improved it.The first crank ice cream maker was manufactured by Nancy M. Johnson in 1943, This innovation eliminate hours or stirring to create a smooth creamy textured.African American inventor Alfred L.Cralie first patented te mechanical ice cream disher which was a precursor to the scoop. e waffle cone was first made at the St. Louis's World's Fair were waffles were rolled into cones to old ice cream scoops. The best ice cream dish the sundae was also inventedd ere wit several different towns claiming to be it's birthplace.It was created to avoid selling the ice cream on sundae law. In Two Rivers Wisconsin  Edward Beaners first drizzled chocolate syrup on ice cream while in Ithica <new York Chester Platt first poured cherry syrup on  vanilla ice cream.A local minister suggested the concoction be named after the day of the week it was made on. Nothing beats a sundae.Make it an American one wit piling blueberries and sliced strawberries on top of scoops of vanilla. You have to add chocolate syrup and wet walnuts too for the ultimate sundae experience. Top wit a huge puff of Reddi-Whip and the add a dusting of sprinkles or a cherry.

American food is just that. It reflects our heritage, and our tastes. It's fun and comforting all at once. It's America at its' best.

America The Food

The US has always been a food forward country. America has given the world great dishes and even greater inventions and innovations. This is what makes this country great.It's recipe.It's chef. Its' people who love a good dish.

Regular contributor Kim Severson wrote about all this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday  Food section. It starts with the indigenous tribes coming to the colonizer's help by swing tem how to use fish asferti;izer and introducing them to the Three Sisters corn, beans and squash to survive.Their johnny cakes, a mix of waterand corn helped many COlonial troops from starving. Of course there are and will be foreign influences in the cuisine. Baked Mac and cheese is one of the country's old recipe imports. Thanks to Tom Jefferson. James Hemings, half brother of Jefferson's wife Martha and brother of Sally was the first haute cuisine chef in the nation. He created baked Mac and cheese from the French macaroni pie, pasta cooked in milk and then baked with cheese.Throughout the centuries waves of immigrants brought such Americna classics as spaghetti, ots dogs, hamburgers and French fries. Today American can appreciate Kim chee and sushi. America hosted the first iimmigrant restaurants too. The Chinese brought their cuisine to the California Gold Rush in 1840.It was the Swiss-Italian brothers Pietro and Giovanni Delmonico who opened up the first fine dining watering, Delmonico' s in New York City['s Financlia District. Diners enjoyed steak Delmonico a tick cur basted in butter along with Oysters Rockefellar. Type were the first eatery to also promote women dining without any male escort.

This country is also the country of innovation. The first American cookbook was written by Amelia Simmons in the 1700;s. Yes there were plenty of British influences tere but there;s also cranberry sauce paired with turkey. and pumpkin pie  Canned food came about in the 1840'with the first cannery opening in New York City. It brought fruits and veggies to cities and helped to preserve veggies during the winter months. The country also created the automated harvest in the 1850s.a decade later Cyrus McCormick created the automated reaper which  can create arvests in fewer hours with lesser hands.This also created a global market for wheat wit America providing grain for France.The US also invented the refrigerated rail car. Packed with ice from frozen lakes it enabled meat packers like Swift and Armor to deliver goods from coast to coasrOf course America also was the first country to sell sliced bread.Otto Rothwedder created a machine that could slice and wrap bread in minutes which helped America;s housewives. Thanks to a great American authors, Upton Sinclair the country has the FDA. Major federal laws were enacted after his eye opening story that took place in Chicago;s meat packing industry.America also gave the world Cheetos, Mc Donald's and Coke.  What would the world be without them.

America is the land if Great food and great inventions. The country represents what's best in diets . The country is the original influencer.