Archive for May, 2009

Scrambled Eggs

Monday, May 18th, 2009

OK so this is the basic dish we all learned as kids with a couple of addition tips.  Compare, modify, improve.  The thing that is great about the simple egg dishes is ease you can incorporate your leftovers into the meal.

Ingredients

3 large eggs per person

Butter

green onions, mushrooms, diced potato ham – almost any leftovers

Tablespoon of heavy cream or milk

Salt and pepper

Crack and mix your eggs in a small bowl.  Season with pepper and salt.  Whisk briskly until the mixture is uniform in color then add a the heavy cream or milk. 

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Crème Brulee (Simplified)

Friday, May 15th, 2009

Equipment

6 6 oz Ramekins

1 baking dish large enough to hold all ramekins

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks

2.5 cups of heavy cream

2/3 cup of sugar

1 or 2 vanilla bean

bittersweet chocolate bar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Finely cut/shave bittersweet chocolate and place in even proportions in bottom of ramekins

Whisk egg yolks in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of sugar.

Scald cream in sauce pan until.  Cut the vanilla bean length wise and scrape the seeds.  Add the bean pod and seeds to the scalding cream.  Stir thoroughly for 5 minutes.  Remove the vanilla bean pod.

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A Brief History of Pizza in the United States

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

by Marq Blanks, Food Tour Guide, Culinary Escapes LLC

pizza1The origins of pizza can be traced back to 6th century BC Persians or 3rd century BC Greeks.  But for Americans, the modern love affair with the flat dish began in New York at the turn of the last century.

In 1897, Gennaro Lombardi, an Italian immigrant in New York, opened a store in Little Italy where one of his employees made pizza. It became so popular that by 1905, Lombardi had opened New York’s first stand alone pizzeria. Its popularity picked up in the Italian communities and the ethnic restaurant became a profitable enterprise. According to US pizza history, Lombardi’s pizzeria was the first U.S. restaurant to dedicate its entire menu solely to the Italian favorite.

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