Archives for January, 2008
I recently returned from a two-week vacation to the Dominican Republic (D.R.). My wife and I have friends there we visited and stayed with during out trip. This was my second time visiting but my first time really visiting with the people and learning a little more about the culture.
Of course, this being a food blog and all, I have to talk about my food experiences. Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be sharing about some cooking I did while I was there and also cooking I experienced! I can’t wait to share it all and hope that you enjoy reading it!
I want to start with some typical meals that you might experience in some poorer parts of the D.R. I’ve got some photos of the market in La Vega below so that might give you an idea of some of the foods they get to eat (rice, beans, chicken).
The Meal line-up looks like this:
- For breakfast: Hot Chocolate with some really dry bread. The bread is a lot like a hot-dog bun and is commonly found around the country. They have three basic types, large hot-dog bun, regular hot-dog bun, and small. To them, it’s just “pan” (in Spanish) or “bread” (in English). The hot chocolate was really rich and really sweet. Just what you need to kick-start your day!
Of course, as with every meal, you need some coffee! Coffee is absolutely a part of every day life in the D.R. The coffee is not quite like Starbucks, which is fine by me. They use the italian-espresso making device that they call a “greca.” It looks like you can buy them online. The coffee turns out really strong (like an espresso shot) but you wouldn’t find a Dominican drinking a cup without at least 1/8 cup of sugar in each shot! It tastes SO good with all that sugar, but you just know it can’t be good for you.- For lunch, which is the most important — and largest — meal of the day, I ate well. Most of the time I had a plate full of rice and beans. They use a red pinto-like bean there and white rice. The rice is steamed (often with a plastic bag over the pan instead of a solid lid) in a ton of oil and a ton of salt. The beans are pressure cooked and then boiled for a bit with seasonings including (but not limited to): a ton of salt, oil, cilantro, garlic cloves, a type of squash and more salt! This meal is full of salt but that’s probably what makes it soooo good! YUM!Often I would have chicken (sometimes scrambled eggs) with this meal which is cooked in all the same seasonings as the beans plus sugar (for color — they say) and soy sauce (or in Spanish “salsa China”).
- Dinner is light, but full of starch. I ate with a few families in their homes while I was there and typically I had one (or more) of the following three boiled: Yuka, Plantains (Platinos), and bananas. Plantains are a very starchy — almost potato like — version of a banana. These are surprisingly good boiled! Along with the starch you had to have a protein which was one of the following: fried salami (again more oil), fried egg, or we even had freshly butchered pork one night.
I hope this gives you some insight into typical Dominican meals. In the coming week or so I will share some recipes (new and old) along with photos of me preparing food in some interesting places! Stay tuned…
Welcome to your Morning Cuppa for January 31st, 2008
Today is National Brandy Alexander Day
Brandy Alexander always seemed very exotic to me. Probably because my father and my uncle would have them on get togethers.
Today in Food History:
1882 Birth of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. A famous dessert of Australian or New Zealand origin was named for her. It is a meringue with whipped cream and fruit. (Please, no more email on this subject - both countries have strong supporters for the origin, and in an effort at compromise, I have split the credit with both.)
1893 The Coca-Cola trademark was recorded.
1908 Carl von Voit died. German physiologist whose work on metabolism helped establish modern nutritional science.
1930 Scotch tape was developed by Richard Drew of the 3M Company.
1948 The ‘New Yorker’ published J.D. Salinger’s ‘A Perfect Day for Banana Fish.’
1980 Due to record high sugar prices, Coca Cola begins substituting high fructose corn syrup for half of the sucrose (sugar) used in Coca Cola.
1990 The first McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow, Russia opens.
1991 Average U.S. food prices: white bread 71 cents; grade A large eggs $1.10 dz; milk $2.76 per gallon; chicken 89 cents lb; ground beef $1.65 lb
2001 Germany announced plans to destroy 400,000 cattle due to the mad cow crises. The European Union estimates that up to 2 million cattle will be destroyed in EU countries by the end of June.
Your Morning Recipe:
- Brandy Alexander Recipe , from Emerils.com
Today in food history information is gathered by
FoodReference.com
. Check out their food trivia quizzes and more!
(Commentary following the facts is my own doing… don’t blame FoodReference!)
(c) 2008 Cooking… by the seat of my Pants!. This feed contains copyrighted photographs and text from cookingbytheseatofmypants.com . If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, at the aforementioned url, or at foodbuzz.com , the site you are viewing might be guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact jerry[AT]cookingbytheseatofmypants[DOT]com.
These days with restaurant marketing budgets at reduced levels, the most cost effective form of marketing for any restaurant is using press releases to gain publicity in newspapers, radio, TV and now the internet. Using restaurant press releases not only saves the budget but articles about your restaurant build credibility and establishes key staff (such as the executive chef) as authorities on all types of culinary topics.
The first step in developing a relationship with the press is to create a press kit that will best present the restaurant. The folder will not only include the press release, but all material for the press to publish an article on your restaurant. I would suggest purchasing cardboard presentation folders with business card slip the same colour as your restaurant’s logo. Choose something classy that best represent your restaurant. Also purchase some glossy blank stickers which you can print your logo on to or if the budget allows, commercial printed.
Your restaurant press kit must stand out from the crowd, as editors of major magazines and newspapers receive a number restaurant press kits on a daily basis.
Ideally your restaurant press kit should include the following ;
1. Personal covering letter
A covering letter is a must and should be used to introduce the restaurant and chef. Its also a causal way of suggesting story ideas. This is also ideal time to invite the restaurant reviewer / writer for a meal. Make sure you provide in the covering letter your personal email address and mobile phone number so that you are easily contactable when they do wish to visit.
2. Fact sheet about the restaurant
This two page document should include specific information about the restaurant as well as basics like;
- Restaurant Name
- Address
- Phone
- Fax
- Website
- Key staff names (owner, chef, general manager, head waiter, sommelier )
- Outline of the restaurant concept
- Décor
- Seating capacity (including private rooms)
- Menu description
- Wine list description
- Average price per head.
- Public Relations contact information ( name, address, phone, fax and email information)
3. Current seasonal menu
Full menu including banqueting menus, set menus etc. If the menu changes daily then a detailed selection of dishes to highlight the style of the food.
4. Wine list
The entire wine list should be included in the media list as well as information about the sommelier or who assembled the wine list. If the wine list has some notable wines its well worth highlighting these.
5. Staff biographies
An up to date biography on key staff including the owner, chef and sommelier should be included. Ideally they should be professional written and their images provided on the images CD.
6. CD of restaurant images
Often major magazines and newspapers have their own photographers who they send out, however its best to send a CD of images with your restaurant press kit. I would recommend that any images included on the CD will have been taken by a professional photographer. All images supplied to the media need to be over 300dpi and at least 15cm wide. Maybe include large prints of two of photos in the kit, which are of interest.
Ideally you should include both portrait and action shots for the chef, sommelier and head waiter. Along with this include at least five dishes prepared by the chef, interior shots, exterior, bar and views. Also include a few shots that are unique to your restaurant.
7. Recipes by the Chef
As part of the restaurant press kit at least two recipes should be provided by the chef to show the style of the restaurant. Ideally these two recipes will be included on the images CD. This allows for the media to run a recipe by your chef as well as a restaurant review.
8. Previous newspaper and magazine articles about the restaurant & chef
Be sure to include two or three previous articles which have been written about the restaurant or the chef. This gives the restaurant reviewer /writer an idea of what the restaurant is like from another point of view. Obviously only include glowing reviews.
9. Summary of restaurant awards
It’s a good idea to include a one page of the awards the restaurant has won over the past three years. Most restaurant reviewers / writers will have a good idea of the awards, however its always good to provide a summary and refresh their memory.
Apart from hard copies in your restaurant press kit, be sure to make PDF copies of everything so they can be emailed. There could journalist on the other side of the world who is doing a review about your restaurant.
Benjamin Christie's Australian Food, BBQ Recipes and Australian Recipes feature bush tucker ingredients like lemon myrtle and wattleseed. Check out recipes like shrimp on the barbie, anzac biscuits, lamingtons and banana bread.
Food Service professionals will be interested in his chef blog as well as articles on menu planning, food photography, cooking kangaroo, menu engineering and food costing.
1/4 cup Granola
1 egg
1 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbs melted butter or veg oil
1 tsp vanilla
Beat together egg, salt, sugar, milk and vanilla.
Sift together flour and baking powder and mix into liquid until smooth.
Add melted butter. Stir in granola and stir slightly.
Cook.
Makes four medium sized pancakes.
Pancake Recipes
While I'm not much of a football fan, I thought I'd post this guacamole recipe (from the archives), in case some of you were looking for a bit of inspiration this weekend. I'll have a new post tomorrow (with a bit of video even).
I'm particular about how I like my guacamole. Restaurants are typically too cheap to do it right - adding all sorts of ingredients to stretch the green gold. Pre-made guacamole products? Well, they run the spectrum from not-very-good to outright inedible. I hate to say it, but it's a rare thing to come across the perfect guacamole specimen - or guacamole recipe for that matter.
Great guacamole starts with perfectly ripe avocados (I always have to remind myself to plan ahead a day or two) - you'll know they are ready by cradling each candidate in your palm and pressing confidently against the the pebbled skin with the pads of your fingertips. If the flesh feels as if you might leave a faint mark, you likely have a good one. If the flesh feels as if it might collapse beneath your grip, move to the next - over ripe. Some people prefer the button test - you'll know an avocado is under ripe if you attempt to jostle the little stem button around a bit and it won't budge. Falls right out? It might be too ripe.
Other things to consider:
Resist the urge to over mix guacamole, it should have lots of big chunks and unruly texture bound together loosely with vibrant green avocado flesh. It is not a puree.
Tomatoes or no tomatoes? For the record, I'm against them. But more people than not use chopped tomatoes in their guacamole. They might actually work nicely in this variation I'm exploring today, but when I'm playing it straight - it's simply avocado, onions, garlic, lime and salt.
White onions, not yellow. White onions deliver a clean, sharp onion flavor that is less sweet and soft than your standard yellow onion. White onions cut through the richness of the avocado nicely.
I've been thinking about a way to put a twist on traditional guacamole, without it ending up gimmicky. I was after something familiar, yet different - a version of the chips/salsa/guac thing that happens at various social gatherings but with a fresh interpretation. It also occurred to me that if I was going to experiment, this might be the week to do it - with many of you heading to Superbowl parties and that sort of thing. So, here's what I came up with - an Indian-inspired variation of my favorite guacamole recipe. Instead of chips, I cut wedges of naan bread and baked them off in the oven for a bit until they crisped up. I subtly spiced the avocado with cumin and curry powder.
Continue reading A Twist on Guacamole...1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup white rice
1
Cut chicken breasts into large chunks.
2
Place the chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup and the rice in a crockpot. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 4 hours.
Pancake Recipes
