Fruit For Dinner

Fruit always makes a good dessert. After all there's nothing liked sliced apples and cheddar or a fruit compote or pie. However any fruit can be incorporated into the main course. The flavor gives a sweet taste but it's also earthy and unique. What's even better is that there are so many different fruits you can use to create a variety of different dishes.

Salads and fruits are a natural go to gether. Fruits add texture and crunch as well as color, making any tossed greens that much more appealing. Try adding sliced Bartlett pears to an arugula salad along with Assiago cheese and sliced almonds. For more bite try a Pecorino cheese that will compliment the pear's woody , sweet flavor. You can create a similar dish with apple but used a smoked Gruyere or cheddar and strips of cold grilled chicken.Another idea is a grape and chicken salad . The fruit's taste completes the meats. For all of these a simple vinaigrette dressing, using red wine or apple cider vinegar is the best. Stay away from anything too garlicky or too herbal otherwise it'll overpower the fruit's taste.

You can also use fruit sin roasted or cooked dinners. There's the famous duck a l'orange which doesn't necessarily call for the entire fruit. Just the freshly squeezed juice and zest are used for this. You can also try cherries with duck too for a different spin.Another standard is pineapple with ham. The pineapple has always been used to cut down the protein enzymes in the meat however the extreme sweet and saltiness has been a favorite for generations, Prunes and plums also figure in roasts too. especially in beef. This combo can work well in North African tagines or even in just a simple meat loafs.

Fruit doesn't have to be just in dessert dishes. It can be a chief ingredient in a tasty salad or a flavorful roast. Aadd any kind you want , from apples to cherries from plums to oranges to create tasty and unique dishes that are sure to be enjoyed.

Free Cakes

Some of us can't have our cake and eat it too. Thanks to the many allergies out there a slice of the sweet treat is usually forbidden. However there is hope, thanks to all sorts of cakes being made. Now you can buy or bake a sugar free, gluten free, egg free, and dairy free cake.

Glutens are what hold flour together when it's being mixed That's why all batters have that wall paper paste look and sometimes consistency. You can buy mixes and plain flours that are also free of this . Usually ground brown rice or bean flour is used.Another ingredient you can do without is white cane sugar. There are plenty of natural subs out there that can do the trick too such as beet sugar or even spices.

Cakes can also be made with dairy and egg substitutes . This is to prevent any other allergies from happening as well (considering these can be the most severe). Your best bet with the milk sub is soy milk. I've read online reviews of it and the bakers seems to like it both for its' consistency , and subtle flavor. Rice milk could also be used. For eggs look on line or in the egg section of your supermarket for a decent stand in. If worse comes to worse you can go to bakeries whether in your area or on line that specialize in dairy and egg free cakes.

If you have problems or just want a more healthier treat then think about cakes that are free of glutens, sugars dairy and eggs. You'll be surprised at how good they taste. Not only that, they're also better for you.

Distinctly American Meats

Yesterday's Inauguration lunch featured truly American meats such as pheasant and duck (although these are also found in Europe). This country has a lot of game that has been popular rover our four hundred year history . We've dined on wild turkey and terrapin, sold raccoon and squirrel in our 19th century meat markets, and made chili out of just about any meat we could find. America may be known to embrace foreign dishes but we also love our native meats as well.

Pheasants are primarily found in Asia . How they got to America is anyone's guess, probably crossing over from the land bridge that is now the Bering Strait. They are a small gamy bird, consisting of more bones than meat. Most recipes call for roasting them ,preferably with some kind of juice such as orange or lemon. They can also be sauteed in a port wine. As with any fowl, pheasant meat can be versatile. it can be made into nuggets (tiny) or as a base for a savory pot pie. You can do pheasant wings a la Buffalo style or pan fry the breast meat.

Duck , the other meat served on yesterday, is an American classic. It has been served since our precolonial days by the indigenous peoples of North America. Luckily ,almost every ethnic group that has settled here has duck on their menu. We can enjoy a Peking style or duck a l'orange. It's also good to serve with wild rice and mushrooms for a more American flair. Luckily for foodies it is more readily and more widely available in supermarkets.

America is known for a lot of good food. It should also be recognized for its' variety of distinct meats that have graced tables for four hundred years.

Updating Old Classics

Yesterday I had written about Ida Bailey Allen's wonderful cookbook Delicious Meals At Low Cost. This is a time capsule of great recipes however it is sixty years old. Luckily with any old recipe you can update it and fit it into modern cookery and baking.

Sometimes older recipe s or receipts call for ingredients that were easy to get in the 18 and 1900's but are hard to acquire now. Let's face it we can't easily go out and shoot a brace of partridge. We can substitute them with turkey or even Cornish hen. As far as with different cuts of beef we can more or less replace one cut with another. We can also update prep methods thanks to food processors and portable grills.

Cakes are another matter . Some older recipes call for a pinch of this and a cup of that . Unfortunately there is always some debate about what constitutes a pinch or a cup. Usually housewives added just s few grains of some thing as a pinch. A cup was usually a demitasse cup also used for measuring flour and sugar. A few scratch cakes call for duck eggs which produce a richer taste and a yellower batter. The problem is how many markets still sell them. Another dilemma with older recipes are the tastes. years ago people were quite used to spicier cakes or less sweeter ones. You have to experiment with recipes a few times and adjust the amounts to get the desired taste.

Updating old recipes takes a lot pf thought and consideration. It can be done however. Just work on them and experiment until you get the desired taste.

Hanukkah - The Festival of Food

This time of year menorahs are lit, warming the winter's night. It means that Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights is about to begin. It also means that a festival of eating is also about to start. For centuries mother s and grandmothers have delighted children with all sorts of treats from latkes to brisket. This is the stuff of happy memories even during the bleakest of times.

latkes are an ancient food.They were made to celebrate not just the freedom fighters, the Maccabee brothers who fought the Greco Syrians but also to celebrate the miracle afterwards. After the skirmish, Judah Maccabee had wanted to get rid of the pagan deities the Greeks had se tup. He had also wanted to rid th e temple of the defiled oil used for lighting the menorah. They had found untouched oil, but only enough for one night. The oil lasted for eight nights hence the reason Hanukkah is an eight day festival. The word itself is from Old Hebrew and means to dedicate or possibly educate. For over two thousand years it has been celebrated. Latkes are from this time period however were made with cheese and egg. It was the introduction of the New World potato to Europe that forever changed the latke's basic recipe. The name itself is from Russian, from the Ukranian oldke . This is derived from the old Russian oladya which is derived ironically from the Greek eladia, or little oily thing .

Everyone has their spin on latkes. The best ones are made with starchier potatoes that produce a crunchy, chewy pancake. If you want a more golden latke then use duck eggs which also provide a richer taste. For a different taste use coarsely minced scallions instead of onions. Olive oil is a must for frying. it produces the best results and doesn't burn the way butter does. Latkes can be made up to eight hours in advance of frying if you're busy. Serve with sour cream or applesauce. (this is what this shiksa grew up on).

Hanukkah is the time to celebrate the Maccabees victory over the Greeks and their polytheism. It;s also the time to cherish warm foodie memories of latkes and light on a cold winter's evening.