How do you start off a meal? Serve appetizers to whet the appetite as well as to quell any hunger pains. What's great about them is that you can make them as simple or as elaborate as the occasion calls for. Sometimes all it requires is just fancy cheese on crackers , sometimes it's more complicated and involves ingredients used in making a meal. Either way you can be creative and have fun with them.
Appetizers have been around since Roman and Greek times. The ancient Athenians loved to have them served in a buffet where everyone could taste and sample delicacies and favorites. Today's restaurants offer this wide range. You can choose everything from jalapeno poppers to shrimp kabobs along with today's most popular , bruschetta. Restaurants can make any appetizer in large quantities and they are easy to serve. If you're having a large party or affair then ask your caterer to create your favorite restaurant appetizers. After all no one can make 300 bruschetta , fried zucchini or deviled eggs in their kitchen. Let the professionals do the big quantities.
If you're having a small , cozy party then think about just having an appetizer bar. This cuts out the time and hassle of having full courses and lets you have more time with your guests. You can create platters of mini quesadillas and tacos for a Mexican themed one. Tartlets, whether they be filled with Gruyere cheese, spinach or shredded chicken and turkey are also good starters. I love mini quiches in a variety of flavors. These are not only fun to eat but also go well with a host of wines and champagnes. Bruschetta is another favorite of mine but I prefer a vegetable one that also has minced artichoke hearts, cauliflower and broccoli in it. Serve this on slightly oiled and toasted Italian bread and it's a superb hors d' ouevre. You can also add salami to give it more oomph if it's the only appetizer being served.
Appetizers are a fun way to start any meal whether it be in your favorite restaurant or at home. Enjoy them. They make any party more fun and are a great introduction to a good meal.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Langues du Chat- Le Chat's Meow
There is a phenomenal French cookie, known as the langue du chat or cat's tongue. It's a buttery crisp in the shape of a feline's tongue and is a wonderment to our own tongues. This a cookie that goes equally well at a party or an elegant tea. They're also good for an indulgent snack.
Langue du chat got their start in 17th Century Europe. They were also big in Italy where they're known as lingua du gatti and Germany where they're known as katzenzungen. The last is also made into melt in your mouth milk chocolate candy wafers. They are very thin cookies, resembling more of a wafer. Langue du chats have rounded edges and skinny middles , resembling - what else - kitties' tongues. The shape is made by squeezing the dough out of a pastry tube with a blob of dough at one end, followed by a streak and then another blob. The trick to making cat's tongues is to be stingy when putting them on the cookie sheet. Too large and they'll look like lady fingers. Too small and they burn quickly. These cookies only take six minutes to bake up.
If you haven't experienced this treat yet, now is the time. I'm including a recipe I found on a z French studies site from Mississippi State University , Splendors of Versailles http://splendors-versailles.org/Activities/2.html. However you can also log on to www.latulipedesserts where they're $11.50 for a package. Either way you will enjoy them.
Langue du chats recipe
Langue Du Chat (Cat's Tongues)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract, or lemon rind
3/4 cup flour
Steps:
Cream together 1/2 cup butter with 1/2 cup white sugar.
Add 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract, or lemon rind.
Beat in 3/4 cup flour into mixture.
Drop cookies onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375%F for about 6 minutes.
Comments:
These delicate buttery cookies will have slightly browned edges.
Note: Please use real butter for this and not margerine. Make these the way the French do for a more delicate and authentic taste.
Langue du chat got their start in 17th Century Europe. They were also big in Italy where they're known as lingua du gatti and Germany where they're known as katzenzungen. The last is also made into melt in your mouth milk chocolate candy wafers. They are very thin cookies, resembling more of a wafer. Langue du chats have rounded edges and skinny middles , resembling - what else - kitties' tongues. The shape is made by squeezing the dough out of a pastry tube with a blob of dough at one end, followed by a streak and then another blob. The trick to making cat's tongues is to be stingy when putting them on the cookie sheet. Too large and they'll look like lady fingers. Too small and they burn quickly. These cookies only take six minutes to bake up.
If you haven't experienced this treat yet, now is the time. I'm including a recipe I found on a z French studies site from Mississippi State University , Splendors of Versailles http://splendors-versailles.org/Activities/2.html. However you can also log on to www.latulipedesserts where they're $11.50 for a package. Either way you will enjoy them.
Langue du chats recipe
Langue Du Chat (Cat's Tongues)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract, or lemon rind
3/4 cup flour
Steps:
Cream together 1/2 cup butter with 1/2 cup white sugar.
Add 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract, or lemon rind.
Beat in 3/4 cup flour into mixture.
Drop cookies onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375%F for about 6 minutes.
Comments:
These delicate buttery cookies will have slightly browned edges.
Note: Please use real butter for this and not margerine. Make these the way the French do for a more delicate and authentic taste.
Monday, March 23, 2009
On Target
.It's no secret that I love Target and everything about the store. Let's face it it , the place has cool, designer clothing and neat stuff for the home and yard. I adore the soaps and som eof the cosmetics from there. Yet it's the food that's really something. You can buy national brands such as Pepperidge Farm and Wise there but you can also get Archer Farms and Market Pantry Target's in house brands.
I love Archer Farms 100 calorie packs of cookies. The flavors are so decadent , like the espresso flavor, that i forget that they're meant for dieting. There's a richness in those little rounds that other brands don't have. I also am a big fan of the Chai Petite tea cookies which taste like buttery pfefferneusse. Archer Farms also makes spritzes, buttery, ridged cookies in intriguing flavors like lime and raspberry. Another good product from this division is their Italian sodas which come in deeply intense flavors like blood orange and pomegranate.
Target's Market Pantry has some good stuff as well such as their staples like breads and soups. I also live the market Pantry popcorn.It's much better than any of the national brands and doesn't have that metallic taste some microwave popcorn's do. There's a whole grained version which I 've just bought. This should be interesting and I'm wondering if the flavor is different from regular popcorn too.
The next time you hit your local (or favorite) Target, head over to their food sections. they have so many different in house products. Soon enough you'll realize that this is not only a shopper's paradise but a foodie's one as well.
I love Archer Farms 100 calorie packs of cookies. The flavors are so decadent , like the espresso flavor, that i forget that they're meant for dieting. There's a richness in those little rounds that other brands don't have. I also am a big fan of the Chai Petite tea cookies which taste like buttery pfefferneusse. Archer Farms also makes spritzes, buttery, ridged cookies in intriguing flavors like lime and raspberry. Another good product from this division is their Italian sodas which come in deeply intense flavors like blood orange and pomegranate.
Target's Market Pantry has some good stuff as well such as their staples like breads and soups. I also live the market Pantry popcorn.It's much better than any of the national brands and doesn't have that metallic taste some microwave popcorn's do. There's a whole grained version which I 've just bought. This should be interesting and I'm wondering if the flavor is different from regular popcorn too.
The next time you hit your local (or favorite) Target, head over to their food sections. they have so many different in house products. Soon enough you'll realize that this is not only a shopper's paradise but a foodie's one as well.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saffron The Delicate Spice
Nothing gives flavor, substance and color like saffron. It's the most delicate of all the spices yet it can transform simple dishes into gourmet treats. Even though it is one of the most expensive flavorings, the price is well worth it. Its' mellow taste and golden color is worth a million bucks and really, no other spice is comparable to it.
Saffron 's history starts off 3,500 years ago. Cooks first noticed that crocuses produced stigmas coated in a flavorful pollen. It was a staple in many Bronze Age Greek dishes as well as being a dye and a medicine during that time It was so populat that even. Ovid mentioned it in his Metamorphosis. Other ancient cultures used it in their cooking and for therapy as well. Saffron became the gold of spices during the Middle Ages and was also thought of as such, centuries later, in the American colonies. Even the Pennsylvania Dutch had an offshoot sect where the worshippers put saffron on a pedestal, using it in many trout, cake, chicken and noodle dishes.
The best known saffron recipe today is risotto Milanese. This is where alborio rice is cooked with onion and chicken stock. A generous amount of saffron threads and butter are later added to produce the most heavenly dish on earth. I love this form of risot (as we call it). Actually it tastes better reheated with more butter. There's something in the reheating that brings out the true flavor of this spice. Saffron can be used in other rice dishes such as paella. The English were famous for making saffron buns which are a nice treat if you're having a formal tea. You can add it to any chicken or fish dish for flavor and color.
The one spice to add to your spice rack is saffron. Never be without it. It adds to so many different dishes, transforming ordinary dishes into gourmet fare. it is just pure magic!!!
Saffron 's history starts off 3,500 years ago. Cooks first noticed that crocuses produced stigmas coated in a flavorful pollen. It was a staple in many Bronze Age Greek dishes as well as being a dye and a medicine during that time It was so populat that even. Ovid mentioned it in his Metamorphosis. Other ancient cultures used it in their cooking and for therapy as well. Saffron became the gold of spices during the Middle Ages and was also thought of as such, centuries later, in the American colonies. Even the Pennsylvania Dutch had an offshoot sect where the worshippers put saffron on a pedestal, using it in many trout, cake, chicken and noodle dishes.
The best known saffron recipe today is risotto Milanese. This is where alborio rice is cooked with onion and chicken stock. A generous amount of saffron threads and butter are later added to produce the most heavenly dish on earth. I love this form of risot (as we call it). Actually it tastes better reheated with more butter. There's something in the reheating that brings out the true flavor of this spice. Saffron can be used in other rice dishes such as paella. The English were famous for making saffron buns which are a nice treat if you're having a formal tea. You can add it to any chicken or fish dish for flavor and color.
The one spice to add to your spice rack is saffron. Never be without it. It adds to so many different dishes, transforming ordinary dishes into gourmet fare. it is just pure magic!!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Where Do Sporks Come From?
Ever wonder how your common utensils came to be? That was the question that was brought up by my brother over lunch today . Since I sometimes write about the history of food, why had I never written about the history of utensils, he had wondered. Where did forks, knives spoons and even that modern invention , the spork come from.
The spoon is the earliest invention. It's name drives from the Anglo Saxon spon meaning chip or splinter. It gives you an idea that the earliest ones were taken from tree bark and somehow fashioned into scoops. The Romans had two kinds of spoons, one a cochleare for eggs and shell fish, the other,a ligula for soups and sweets. Forks were a bit trickier to sell to the public. People were using their fingers just fine and thought that any imitation of body was an insult to the Creator. After all we had been made in His Image. Despite the fact that the clergy deemed forks scandalous , they prevailed and were often seen at the end of dinner knives. The spork , the marriage of fork and spoon, came in 1909 in a supply catalog.It wasn't until KFC used it in their meals in the 1970's when it really gained popularity.
Luckily knives were seen as blessings, used for both killing one's dinner and cutting it up into pieces. It was Louis XIV that decreed that all sharp knives be outlawed from the dinner table and the birth of the butter knife came into being. The American colonists loved this idea and quickly incorporated it into their table ware. Of course with the birth of the steak house , sharp knives were seen at tables once more.
So that's where our basic utensils came from. To be honest you never really think of them as being nothing more than a utensil as opposed to being an object of history. Now it's fascinating to know who used the earlier versions of them and where.
The spoon is the earliest invention. It's name drives from the Anglo Saxon spon meaning chip or splinter. It gives you an idea that the earliest ones were taken from tree bark and somehow fashioned into scoops. The Romans had two kinds of spoons, one a cochleare for eggs and shell fish, the other,a ligula for soups and sweets. Forks were a bit trickier to sell to the public. People were using their fingers just fine and thought that any imitation of body was an insult to the Creator. After all we had been made in His Image. Despite the fact that the clergy deemed forks scandalous , they prevailed and were often seen at the end of dinner knives. The spork , the marriage of fork and spoon, came in 1909 in a supply catalog.It wasn't until KFC used it in their meals in the 1970's when it really gained popularity.
Luckily knives were seen as blessings, used for both killing one's dinner and cutting it up into pieces. It was Louis XIV that decreed that all sharp knives be outlawed from the dinner table and the birth of the butter knife came into being. The American colonists loved this idea and quickly incorporated it into their table ware. Of course with the birth of the steak house , sharp knives were seen at tables once more.
So that's where our basic utensils came from. To be honest you never really think of them as being nothing more than a utensil as opposed to being an object of history. Now it's fascinating to know who used the earlier versions of them and where.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
A Celebration Of Treats For Saint Joseph's Day
After St. Patrick's Day comes St Joseph's Day. This is also Father's Day in Italy and it's celebrated with gifts and pastries. Here in the States, Italian Americans still celebrate with special cakes and cream puffs usually for men named Joseph or even for carpenters (St Joseph was also the patron saint of this profession). Mostly it is the Southern Italians who observe the feast.
St Joseph's Day pastries are usually cream filled zeppoli. Anyone who has ever attended an Italian feast should be familiar with them. These are pillows of dough fried in deep fat and then heavily dusted with confectioner's sugar. ForSt. Joseph's Day any kind of pudding or sweet cream is injected into them and served. You can also make cream puffs and fill them with cannoli cream. This is a simple mixture of ricotta and confectioner's sugar along with milk, chocolate chips, sugar and cornstarch. Of course you can make a filling from lemon pudding or a vanilla one flavored with rum as well. These are also popular for St. Joseph's Day and are served on both here and in Italy.
Celebrate this great saint's day with zeppolis or cream puffs. these sweet treats not only honor the man who took care of Jesus but also honor his loyalty and dedication.
St Joseph's Day pastries are usually cream filled zeppoli. Anyone who has ever attended an Italian feast should be familiar with them. These are pillows of dough fried in deep fat and then heavily dusted with confectioner's sugar. ForSt. Joseph's Day any kind of pudding or sweet cream is injected into them and served. You can also make cream puffs and fill them with cannoli cream. This is a simple mixture of ricotta and confectioner's sugar along with milk, chocolate chips, sugar and cornstarch. Of course you can make a filling from lemon pudding or a vanilla one flavored with rum as well. These are also popular for St. Joseph's Day and are served on both here and in Italy.
Celebrate this great saint's day with zeppolis or cream puffs. these sweet treats not only honor the man who took care of Jesus but also honor his loyalty and dedication.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
To Eat Meat On Lenten Wednesdays
During these Lenten Wednesdays some people are forgoing even eating meat. Is it part of the church tradition or rule? Is it possible to ignore this and just omit meat from our Friday diets?
Yes, any Catholic can eat meat today. It's The Greek Orthodox who usually give up meat on both Wednesdays and Fridays. We're OK with this unless it happens to be Ash Wednesday. However if you want to give up meat entirely and adapt a vegan diet for Lent , that's your choosing. The Greek Orthodoxy usually declares its' members to also give up any dairy products , from milk to butter along with eggs during Lent. Karpathian friends of mine usually adhere to a very Spartan (no pun intended here) diet in which they exist on vegetable broth, fresh produce and tea. It's part of the culture and tradition and leaves room for the big lamb centered feast on their Easter.
Don't feel guilty if you're eating that roast beef sandwich right about now. Go ahead. It's allowed. Just remember not to eat it on Friday. That's the day reserved for fish.
Yes, any Catholic can eat meat today. It's The Greek Orthodox who usually give up meat on both Wednesdays and Fridays. We're OK with this unless it happens to be Ash Wednesday. However if you want to give up meat entirely and adapt a vegan diet for Lent , that's your choosing. The Greek Orthodoxy usually declares its' members to also give up any dairy products , from milk to butter along with eggs during Lent. Karpathian friends of mine usually adhere to a very Spartan (no pun intended here) diet in which they exist on vegetable broth, fresh produce and tea. It's part of the culture and tradition and leaves room for the big lamb centered feast on their Easter.
Don't feel guilty if you're eating that roast beef sandwich right about now. Go ahead. It's allowed. Just remember not to eat it on Friday. That's the day reserved for fish.
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