The Newest Italian Phenomenon - Bruschetta

There's nothing like a good brushetta. That age old Italian hors oeuvre has hit American shores with a big wallop. Now it's all over from pizzerias selling it as a topping to homemakers incorporating it on their holiday menus. It's one of the easiest dishes to make and the most tastiest.

Bruschetta is nothing new. The Italians have been making it since the 1500s. The name comes from the Roman dialect "bruscare" or to be roasted over coals. It's just simpkyslices of oil brushed Italian bread roasted over a fire. Bruschetta means the whole slice but in the US its' meaning has shifted to also mean the topping. The Tuscans call it fettunta meaning oiled slice. In the southern Abruzzi region it's known as ventricina and covered with a raw spiced pork paste and then grilled.

Americans usually like their bruschetta with equal parts mozzarella and tomato.Basil is added to give it a woodsy "green flavor" You can also buy a veggie mix known as vegetable bruschetta which can be slathered on hot grilled Italian bread slices. To mix it up, make your bruschetta with a base of any Italian cold cuts from soprasutta to salami. You can also sub the mozzarella with Parmesan cheese and add chopped peppers to the tomato mix,. Olive, whole or minced are another good topping.


Bruschetta may be a new phenomenon here in the States but it's got old country goodness added to it. It's the perfect pre-meal appetizer to feed hungry guests and the perfect hors d'oeuvre for holiday get togethers.

Mall Food

I was one of the first generation of mall rats. Weekends were spent at the local mall shopping and heading to the food court. Some thirty years I'm still a mall rat (and thankfully a much smarter shopper.) Yet I can't resist the lure of anything my neighborhood mall has to offer. Nowadays there's some really good stuff there. It's not just burgers and fries anymore.

I have to admit my new favorite is Villa Pizza. This is a spin off from New York City's Villa Pizza near the famous Ed Sullivan Theater. Their avocado salad is the best. Imagine a Caesar salad chock full of thick ,creamy slices of avocado covered in Parmesan cheese.Another favorite is their Neapolitan pizza which is a thin, crispy, crust topped with a rich tomato sauce. Not to be outdone is the chain Great Wraps. This is a neat place where you can buy any kind of wrap along with their curly fries. The fries themselves are awesome because there are six different kind of flavored salts you can sprinkle on them.

Looking for dessert? If you haven't tried the Yolato stand in your mall now is the time. It sells both low cal yogurt gelati and sorbet in a host of flavors. I'm gearing up for their watermelon sorbet on my next trip. Another mall must have is the Nestle's cookies. These stands are few and far between but the product, fresh baked toll house cookies are even better than Mrs Fields's. (sorry, Mrs, F)

OK, America and the world (who has surely visited at least one American shopping mall by now) What's your favorite mall food? Write me here at Foodie Pantry. I'm up for shopping around for a new mall favorite.

Vote!!!! Read This Tomorrow!

Today is one of the most historic election days in US history. Instead of reading about the history of the tomatillo here go out and contribute to the never ending history of this amazing and great nation.

If you do feel foodie patriotic, then have a slice of apple pie or a malted or that US dinner standard: mashed potatoes (like I just did).

The most important thing you do today is not have three square meals but to go out and vote. Yours means something.

Then tonight, kick back with your favorite snacks and watch the election returns. I have my bottle of champagne ready for when my candidate wins. You should too.

Make Wiggle Room For Jello

There's nothing like the American classic, Jello. It's perfect for dessert or even as a side dish at a buffet.Not only that it's low in calories so you can splurge on it without feeling guilty. It's also versatile and you can eat it plain, with fruits or whipped cream.

Jello was invented in 1897 by Pearle Waite of Le Roy , New York. Gelatin was nothing new. The French had been creating it since 1682 when gelatin's; inventor Dennis Papin boiled animal bones and culled the glutinous matter from them. The result was a clear sticky , protein enriched gel. This used it in all aspects of cooking from meats to sweet desserts. Gelatin dishes in the 1800's were not widely consumed nor were they popular. It took Mr. Waite a little over two centuries later, to develop a palatable gelatin that would be tasty and easy to make. He added fruit syrup for color and taste and a new American classic was born. His wife named it "Jell-O". Waite sold the patent for it to Frank Woodward. Woodward was able to make it the most popular dish out there.

Gelatin soon became a staple in American households. Housewives soon realized they could give their families a fun colorful dessert for only pennies.The flavors were good, the original ,being strawberry , lemon ,orange and raspberry (lime was added in the 1930s). In this modern high tech age we still crave the low tech easiness and goodness of a cup of Jello. It's a fun dessert that can come in a variety of ways. Also it's good for nails. Eat Jello three or four times a week and you'll have strong healthy ones.

If any of you have any good Jello recipes please feel free to share them. Do you make yours into shapes? Or add fruits of the season? Do you like bubbly Jello made with club soda or ginger ale? Let Foodie Pantry know about it.

Chestnuts For All Soul's Day

November 1st is All Soul's Day, an important holy day for Catholics throughout the world. It's the day to honor the souls of loved ones who have passed. In Mexico , it's called Day of The Dead. Families spend it at a picnic in the cemetery honoring their ancestors. There are special skull shaped candies and foods that are eaten. My family has always followed my grandmother's Piedmontese tradition and eaten hot chestnuts. Crosses were made on the tops and the steam rising from them represented the souls of the dead.

Chestnuts themselves are a wonderful and versatile food. They are the fruit of the beech tree and grown on five continents. The nuts were first introduced to southern Europe by the ancient Sardis from Asia Minor (present day Turkey) and have become a staple of Italy, southern France and Greece. (Alexander's army were sustained by chestnuts) They are well known in Italy with chestnut festivals during this time in the North. The Tuscans soak them in wine while the French make the decadent treat marron glace or candied chestnut. The flour can also be ground into flour for baking cakes. Chestnut flour was used in making the original version of polenta

The chestnut is the only nut that has Vitamin C in it. Other vitamins are B1, B2 and B3 along with the minerals zinc, magnesium and phosphorous. Because of these it is a good staple to introduce into a fall and winter diet. Most people usually just eat them on Thanksgiving when they're blended with stuffing. However to get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals try to have chestnuts on a twice weekly basis when they're in season.

Today is the day we honor our beloved ones who have left us. With that we eat chestnuts to symbolize them. Chestnuts are truly the food of November .Go out and buy them today.

Happy Halloween What's In Your Candy Bag???

Today is Halloween, full of treats and hopefully not too many treats. This is the day to go hog wild with all sorts of goodies from popcorn balls to M&Ms. This is also the day to gobble up those cupcakes loaded with orange frosting. Get a couple of those and some bat and witch cookies at your bakery.

So what are foodies giving out this year? Luckily i got the Mars mix at my local Target. I'm hoping that there won't be too many little goblins and princesses knocking at my door. I want the stuff ALL to myself. (even though I have my birthday candy from last week to go through). We've got M&Ms Twix and Snickers. Yum. There's nothing like Mars candy . It's been around for ages and it's the best out there

Anyway , I'll let the rest of you go. You have doors to answer, costumes to fix, and candy to check.

Happy Halloween

Liz

Caramel Apples _The Best Halloween Treat Ever!

There's nothing like scoring a caramel apple on Halloween. It and its' cousin, the candy apple, are the best treats out there. There's something satisfying about that first crunchy-soft bite; that perfect blend of candy and fruit. Even as adults we go wild for them.

The caramel apple had its' origins in Britain's toffee apple. People were munching on some form of this in both the US and England as early as the late 1800's.Putting a sugar glaze on any fruit isn't new. That concept goes back to medieval times. Putting that fruit on a stick was. Enrobing apples in caramel was nothing groundbreaking yet a Kraft salesmen, Dan Walker , made it into a big thing during the 1950's. Moms across the country created them for their little Halloweeners, using - what else - Kraft caramels and Macintosh apples. Now it's become a holiday standard.Caramel apples are created in almost every house as well as being sold on every farm stand in the country.

Here's a poser for you foodies out there. How do you like your caramel apples? Purist plain? Covered in nuts and chocolate chips? Looking like a strange creature wrapped in coconut? Write in and let me and our other fellow foodies know.