Meat Glazes Making Your Dinner Special

Glazing is one of the best things to happen to meats. It not only makes any roast look picture perfect it imparts a better taste to sometimes bland tasting meats. Glazes are one of the fanciest yet easiest techniques to do. The best thing is you can turn a potentially bland dinner into a gourmet offering just by a simple glaze.

Glazes are pretty simple to make. A standard one is taking the juice from any roast beef and then simmering it with five cups of beef stock. This will take up to three hours to reduce it to three quarters of a pot. The glaze will be ready when it is thick enough to cat the back of a spoon.Use a pastry brush to spread it on your roast. If you're glazing lamb or chicken you can add herbs to this to make it more flavorful as well. However remember to strain the glaze through cheesecloth . This enables the meat to have a very smooth clear looking coating and gets rids of the herbs..

Honey and red wine are also used for glazing. The first is primarily for hams to balance the meat's saltiness. The second is usually used with meat loafs to give this ordinary dish some oomph. Barbecue ribs are always glazed usually with a mix of prepared sauces along with ketchup and a dash of HP or Worcester sauce thrown in. Jame and marmalade can also be used for glazes, primarily if you're cooking pork, ham or duck.

If you want to rev up your roast . then add a glaze. It not only makes the dish look better but also gives it a better flavor. The best part is that glazing is easy and can be done anytime during the roasting process. It doesn't take much effort to create this wonderful finish.

A Slice Of French Luxury Brie Cheese

Nothing beats Brie cheese. It has the perfect mild , slightly fruity creamy taste. It's not strong or highly aromatic like other cheeses. It's good on crackers, even better on a thick crusty slice of baguette. Best of all nowadays it's not so much of a luxury . Many grocery stores have a variety of good imported and domestic Bries.



Brie originated from the Seine et Marne region of France, an area where both the rivers Seine and Marne meet. This is also the same region where Paris is located. Brie has been manufactured since the 8th Century and was known as the King's Cheese until the French Revolution. It was the Emperor Charlemagne's favorite along with being Louis XVI's favorite and last meal request. There are two varieties of brie sold. One is Brie di Meaux a straw yellow in coloring with a red spotted white mould coating. Other types are Brie de Melun and Brie de Montereau. American made Brie has to be made with pasteurized milk whether whole or skim. You can also find it coated with ground pepper, nuts,herbs and even mushrooms. There is even a hybrid Brie called Brie Bleu, the result of combining with bleu cheese.The cheese can be sold as whole wheel for parties or in wedges.



What to do with a good wedge of brie? Personally I would just have mine spread on slices of a crusty, chewy baguette washed down with real Breton cider. That to me is the ultimate meals. You can also serve in on cracker s or the more popular method, Brie en croute. This last is the cheese baked in a puff pastry and served warm. it makes for a good appetizer at a small party.



Brie is a wonderful cheese that every foodie should experience. Whether you try the real French or the American , it;s still is the most delicious taste on the planet. Buy some today along with a crusty baguette. some good red wine or Breton cider.

In The Spirit Of MLK Day

This is the American holiday of Martin Luther King Day, when we honor a great man of service and dedication as well as of passion. However his message was not just American , it was universal . We are all equal. We all are linked together. We have to look out for each other.


How can we foodies honor such a legacy? By donating to food banks to help our fellow brethren .There are so many people unemployed and desperate right now who need our help. If you can spare a couple of cans of veggies or packages of pasta , please do so. Help out at the banks too if you can. There are also soup kitchens everywhere that always need a helping hand. if you own a restaurant you may want to donate any extra food to them as well or open up your place solely for the homeless and unemployed.

Today also think about the Haitians who have almost no food and water much less anything else. This is the time to donate so that they can receive some sort of decent victuals. Your best bet is the Red Cross who will get food and supplies to Port Au Prince and other devastated areas.

Give up the little luxury of gourmet candy or sea salt and spend the money you would have spent on cans of food and donations. Instead of whipping up a batch of cookies fro yourself, make a few or organize a bake sale to help those in need. Remember we all share this planet. We all have to look out for each other.

A Tribute To Haiti -Its' Cuisine and Its' People

Haiti is an interesting combination of African, Arabic, Amerind and French culture. it combines the legumes of one continents with the meat s of another along with island spices to create a unique and varied palate. The tastes can range anywhere from lightly spiced to fiery. It's an interesting mix from an interesting culture.

Haitian cooking or Manje Kreyol is a form of Creole cooking similar to what you would find in Louisiana. In fact one influenced the other there are the same components - rice beans and different kinds of meat and seafood. One famous dish is du riz colée a pois , brown rice with kidney or pinto beans, this is glazed with marinade and topped off with a red snapper. Goat meat or kabrit is also popular on the island as well as beef. There is a hearty stew called bouillon made wit red peppers ,beef or goat as well as tomatoes and potatoes. It is chicken that is the backbone of Haitian diets. It;s usually boiled and then marinaded in a mix of lemon juice, black pepper and garlic.

The Haitians crave their sweets too .Sugar cane has been grown on this island for the last three centuries so it figures prominently in the diet. Some it;s sold on the streets where it can be eaten as a snack or as a sweet afterthought. The Haitian version of Italian ice or fresco is sold on the streets. this is shaved ice with syrup. They do make their own desserts such as banana fritters known as benets as well as sweet potato pie and sweet breads made with sweet potatoes, evaporate d milk and cinnamon,

Haitian cuisine is as varied and interesting as the Haitians themselves. it;s an interesting mix of native spices and vegetables mixed with French and African cooking techniques.It is strong and long lasting as the people who make it.


Please remember the Haitians in their time of need. Donate to the Red The need it desperately and ASAP.

Take Home Homemade Goodness

I've noticed a phenomenon in recent months in my local supermarket. There seems to be a glut of plastic containers not unlike what your mom or any other relative gives you when you've had dinner over at their house. Except these have Marie Callender or Stouffer's labels on them. What they are are dinners or sides in a microwavable , reusable container,

I guess putting food in these containers give s them a homey feel .Yet in the end they're just like a TV dinner or even takeout.I'm sure they taste good but they still processed food. There is a big variety from steak tips and rice to meatloaf and gravy. There are even pasta selections that can be downright fancy. These are not badly priced and I can see a lot of single twenty and thirty somethings stocking up on these. After all these meals are probably the closest to homemade that they'll eat.

To be honest if you have the time you can make these dinners yourself on a Saturday or Sunday night.It's a no brainer to prepare a big pot of pasta or a meat loaf or anything else and freeze it into microwavable containers. This way, you're cutting on down on the amount of sodium added as well as nixing the preservatives. Your creationswill have a somewhat fresher taste than the store bought variety. A good thing is you can do this after large holidays meals and still enjoy the taste a month after.

Ready to eat meals are fine if you re in a hurry and don't have the time to make and freeze your own. They're quick and easy , along with being the closest to a fresh from the stove or oven taste.If you can't make your own, then go this route.

Perking Up Chicken Breasts

tYesterday's New York Times Dining Section honed in on an old kitchen standby - chicken breasts. These have been one of the staples of both home and restaurant cooking for more than a century. Unfortunately the desire for them has waned due to the fact that chickens are pumped with hormones and other additives thus creating a bigger but tasteless breast meat. That's all going to change.

The article, expertly written by the Dining' regular Melissa Clark tells of her hatred of this meat and why she didn't want to deal with them. She writes of them being too dry and flavorless. However thanks to the help of some chefs she manages to create some tasty dishes. She puts an Asian spin on them with a garlic chili ginger sauce. Of course the breasts are cooked in a chicken broth first which renders them better tasting . other ingredients such as soy sauce - always good bet - and brown sugar are also added. Like Goldilocks looking for that just right blend, Ms., Clark then does a variation of a Spanish style stuffed and crisped chicken breast .the stuffing calls forr ham and cheese, - wonderful but then she adds sauerkraut, I'm not a fan of this so this wouldn't appeal to me.

I'm a big believer that chicken breasts are at their best when grilled. Drizzle olive oil and just season with salt and pepper and to me they're fine.If you want a more tender meat then marinade them in a mix of olive oil and lemon juice for a n hour before cooking. This way they'll absorb the flavor while the citric acid breaks down the meat.

Chicken breasts should aways be a kitchen standard. Maybe they have changed in texture and taste over the years but that doesn't mean to abandon them. There are several ways t bring them back tot heir former glory. It's just a question of how to do it.

Sick Day Food

Every year around this time I write about food s for a sick day. I know it becomes tedious but ther'es a reason I write an entry like this. I'm a magnet for all sorts of germs and right now I'm fighting off the double whammy of a cold and a virus. The problem for me is what to eat without upsetting the apple cart (pardon the bad analogy). The thing is I'm probably not the only one with the question of what to eat when you' re sick.

Soup is always good. It calms a restless stomach and it;s easy to make. , especially the homemade kind. I always have to boxes of bouillon on hand for my family's recipe of pompeist. it;s Piedmonte version of chicken soup - a cure all for anything. That's made for any illness .it has gotten me through a lot of colds and viruses over the years. It'sa simple recipe of making chicken or vegetable broth. adding beaten eggs and then bread crumbs. Another good soup is pastina. You can make pastina soup thick or thin . It's better when there it's thick though, it's hardier and more nutritious.

Another problem is snacking. Of course no one wants to have guacamole dip after a bout of a nasty stomach flu (ewww, looks like soemthing you just got rid of anyway) however if you're hungry nibble. Thin pretzels or dry Saltines are fine. They're not greasy and satisfy your need for crunch. Have these with Coke or ginger ale . These last are perfect for helping sooth a stomach irritated by the ravages of a virus. A sweet snack is any Social tea or Lorna Doone cookie. Stick with plain bland, short breads and some hot lightly sweetened tea.Don't munch or fruit or ice cream until you feel your stomach is up to it. Wait a few days before heading back to old favorites.

The best bet for any cold, flu or virus is eat light but nutritiously . You'll still receive your daily dose of vitamins and minerals but in a lighter form.these will help you fight whatever nasty bug you;re battling and also keep you satisfied.