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Ok – was it just me or did this week seem extra fast? Got to love holiday Monday’s! Now for some stuff to keep you entertained for a minute or two this Friday. Up first – the Culinary Word A Day’s!
Condiment – a broad term for a preparation (herb, relish, sauce or spice) used to enhance the flavour of a dish.
Salmagundi – a dish of cooked meats, anchovies, onions, eggs and vegetables on lettuce with vinaigrette.
Okra – a plant of the mallow family eaten as a vegetable and also used to thicken soups and stews.
Ghee – Clarified butter made from the milk of a buffalo or cow, used in Indian cooking.
Absinthe – bitter green liqueur of distilled wine mixed with oil of wormwood, anise and herbs. Years ago, it was banned in several countries because it was thought to spark violent crimes and social disorder.
Pomelo – The largest of the citrus fruits, with a thick yellow skin and bitter pulp that resembles grapefruit in flavor.
Paring Knife – A small knife used mainly for peeling fruits and vegetables.
If it is on the net it *must* be true… or at least fun.
Surprisingly non-vegetarian foods. I knew about some of these, but nerds, really?!?
Can’t wait for food truck season?? Here is a little sneak peak!
Need something to do with those left over Easter chocolates?? Lyne at the Twisted Chef has a kick ass cupcake recipe!
Wolfgang Puck’s greatest story ever…
One of my bucket list items was to spend time in 3 neighbourhoods in Ottawa that I don’t usually visit. And of course they needed to be chock full of great food.
Living in lower town, so close to the ByWard Market, I’m rarely in the Glebe. For some reason or another, I decided to rectify this during the Easter weekend when we were having that nasty April Fool’s winter storm. It is really saying something that I had a great time out in that weather. I hate being cold, more than I hate raw onion.
Here are some photos from my adventure – I’m looking forward to coming back when I don’t have to rush into stores just to escape the wind. Also because I need to spend time in Cats R Us. Seriously a boutique of all things cats?? I’m a dog person and I still need to check this out.
I know today feels like Saturday… but it’s not. Sorry. Bubble burst I’m sure. But no worries! Here is a round up of the Culinary Word A Day’s from this week!!
Cappelletti – small triangular hat shaped dough filled with meat or cheese.
Lox - smoked salmon, usually brine, salt or sugar cured. Normally eaten with bagels and cream cheese.
Sour Cream – cream that has been deliberately fermented with bacteria in lactic acid.
Cutlet – a thin, tender cut of meat taken from the leg or rib section of the animal. Usually flattened and breaded.
Shad – A fish of the herring family that spends much of its life in the sea, typically entering rivers to spawn.
Rind – the hard / tough covering or skin on fruits such as oranges and melons. Once removed it is called the peel.
Coulis - a thin sauce os strained, pureed raw or cooked vegetables or fruit. Used as a flavourful garnish.
A short list of things worth wasting time on during a beautiful spring day:
Ten reasons to eat breakfast.
Are you awesome? A chick? Do you like beer? Want to hang out with some other awesome chicks who like beer? Check out Barley’s Angels!
If I was a comic I would be Jim Gaffigan. Pale, a little pudgy and always talking about food. Enjoy!
Ok… so this week was a bit of a struggle! The weekend was spent in beautiful Prince Edward County (one hell of a post to come… scratch that… I don’t want you to have really high expectations. A pretty decent… a respectable… a post to come!! ) where I completely forgot about the world outside the county and forgot to post my Culinary Word A Day’s. But I’m all caught up now and here they are – culinary terms that might be new to you, some of them are to me! Hominy?? What??
Grappa – an Italian brandy made from the fermented residue of grapes that have been pressed while wine making.
Snickerdoodle – a sugar cookie with a cracked surface made with cream of tartar and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Cheshire – a mild yellow cow’s milk cheese with a crumbly texture from Cheshire England. It’s particular taste comes from salt deposits in the pasture where the cows graze.
Jimmies – see Sprinkles.
Peach Melba – dessert of peach halves with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. Created by French Chef Escoffier.
Hominy – hulled yellow or white corn with the bran and germ removed. Most often coarsely ground and boiled with water or milk to make grits.
Timbale – a mix of poultry, seafood, veggies and noodles in cream sauce that is baked in a drum shaped mold of the same name.
Food fun that is better than work on a Friday afternoon –
This isn’t quite food related unless you count the pot brownies.
The kick ass Bethany from Second Ferment talks about the wines of Prince Edward County during our Indulge PEC trip – happy to know there are responsible bloggers who took notes and stuff. I, on the other hand, have a “woo spring break” style of writing.
Jamie McDonald is a competitive eater who is devouring Chicago’s food challenges one plate and stomach ache at a time!
One of my favourite all time jokes:
St. Patty’s day this Sunday!! Remember to drink responsibly. By which I mean drink something worth drinking and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Myself?? I’ll be spending the weekend in Prince Edward County where good wine flows like water!
Let’s get to the round up – here are this week’s Culinary Word A Day words:
Naan – a flat oval or round white flour bread cooked in a tandoor oven.
Ginkgo – a large shade tree native to China that produces seeds with edible ginkgo nuts.
Robusta – a species of coffee plant that grows beans of the same name.
Gemelli – a type of pasta made of two strands of pasta twisted together in short pieces.
Radicchio - Italian for red leafed chicory. An herb with crisp, slightly bitter leaves.
Daube – a stew of meat, braised in red wine, veg, herbs and spices or the pot in which such a stew is cooked.
Reduction – The action or fact of making a specified thing smaller or less in amount, degree, or size. In cooking it is normally referring to liquid and is achieved through simmering.
As always – here are some awesome foodie time wasters to make your Friday awesome!
What does your favourite beer say about you??
The wicked funny Jim Gaffigan’s late night snack suggestions.
The cool folks at FoodiePrints have awesome wine suggestions for under $10.
As always something yummy from The Gouda Life! Here is hoping that Maple Porter Chocolate Cake lifted your spirits Kelly!
NYC soda ban has been rejected… seriously, if I want to drown my sorrows in 50 litres of Pepsi, stand aside.
This is by far the funniest story about a grapefruit I have ever seen:
Julienne – A portion of food cut into short, thin strips.
Ricer – Utensil with small holes through which soft food (boiled potatoes) can be pushed to form particles of a similar size to grains.
Brunoise - knife cut in which the food is first julienned, turned a quarter turn and diced again, producing small cubes.
Dice – to cut in cube shaped pieces (like playing dice). Size varies from 1/8 to 1/2 inch.
Kosher – a variety of foods that have been prepared, grown, killed and processed in accordance with Jewish laws.
Compound Butter – a chilled mixture of butter and flavour ingredients (such as herbs, zest or spices) that is used to colour or flavour a dish.
Blenny – a small, scaleless fish found in rocky coastal areas and coral reefs.
Something interesting, something sad and two wicked funny things.
A culinary trip around the world with the wicked awesome Susar Lee.
What if babies were giant subs?
An absolutely heart breaking story about Massimo Marti a local baker from Preston Street who has had his wife and kids deported. Cruel is the only word that comes to mind.
March already… crazyness. Her e is a look at this week’s Culinary Word A Day!
Hot Toddy – a mixed drink of hot water, sugar, spices and liquor.
Nectar – refers to undiluted fruit juice or a drink made of puréed fruit. It can also refer to any enjoyable drink.
Batter – a thin (usually pourable) mixture of flour, eggs and liquid. Used for baking and coating foods before frying.
Beggar’s Purse – a crepe made to look like a mini purse/sack containing sweet or savoury fillings and tied with a chive.
Polonaise – indicates a dish is garnished with chopped hard cooked egg yolk, bread crumbs fried in butter and parsley.
Waldorf Salad – mix of diced raw apples, walnuts, celery, raisins and mayonnaise. Named for the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City.
Dumpling – A small savory ball of dough that may be boiled, fried, or baked in a casserole.
Things I learned on the internet, so they *must* be true!
A new study looking at the sodium content of restaurant foods. Turns out fast food may not be the worst choice salt-wise.
The top American cities to find the best pizza?? I vote Chicago!
The latest issue of Eat In, Eat Out Magazine is posted online! Love this so very much.
So excited for Chef Richard Nigro’s Kitchen opening in mid March – a sneak peak from Paula Roy on Constantly Cooking!
A wonderful looking Green Goodness smoothie from the lovely Tracey of The Lemon Kitchen.
Tomato Knife - A small serrated knife for slicing tomatoes. Sometimes with a pronged tip.
Carob – A powder extracted from the carob bean, used as a substitute for chocolate from a mediterranean evergreen tree.
Ladyfinger - A small finger shaped sponge cake.
Kumquat – Small, oval or round, orange fruit with a sweet rind and very sour pulp.
Convection Oven – A cooking device that heats food by the circulation of hot air so that food cooks fast and uniformly.
Muesli – A mixture of usually untoasted rolled oats and dried fruit, often used as a breakfast cereal.
Fumet - A strongly flavoured and reduced stock made of fish, chicken or game. Most commonly it is made with fish and mushrooms. It is used to flavour less intensely flavoured stocks.
Things to spend your Friday afternoon on instead of work:
Why would Maker’s Mark ever think it would make customers happy by lowering the amount of alcohol in their whiskey? I could have “consulted” for a small fee to have told them the same thing.
Ooohhh! Looks like Kraft is bringing back those old “Grey Poupon” commercials after 16 years. It wasn’t that funny the first time…
But THIS is hilarious - a non fan of Guy Fieri makes a fake menu site for Guy’s newest restaurant.
I just hate you so much Monsanto. So very, very much. And I don’t hate anything. Here is the latest case of the GMO soy bean seed / pesticide manufacturer suing a farmer. He’s one of 146.
It’s been a hell of a week – but now that Valentine’s Day is over, we can get to a holiday that really matters. St. Patrick’s Day!! But in the mean time – here are some culinary words for you to look over.
Roe – fish eggs or the eggs from certain crustations such as lobster (hard roe) or the sperm of a male fish (soft roe).
Horehound – various aromatic herbs from the mint family, the juice from those herbs or candy from that juice.
Orzo – a little pasta shaped like a pearl of barley or grain of rice.
Spatzle – egg noodles or dumplings of irregular shapes made by pressing dough through a colander or sieve.
Egg Cream – a carbonated drink made with milk, syrup (usually chocolate) and soda water. Has no egg or cream.
Grillade – the act of grilling or a dish of grilled meat. In French and Cajun cooking it is also a meat stew.
Standing Rib Roast – a cut of beef taken from the small end of the ribs on the outer side. It’s made up of a large ribeye and two more ribs.
Things I learned from the Internet so they must be true:
Hitler was a vegetarian?? What??
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Julia Child’s show the French Chef – the Smithsonian has a new exhibit! Here is a look at the items they have.
Heading to Winterbrewed this weekend?? Pick up your beer tokens here and save the line up! Thanks to Katy from Sheltered Girl Meets World - an awesome beer and food blog – for the info!
Some obesity myths are shattered – so much for sex instead of the gym!
Another week down! Happy Friday to all!
Culinary Word A Day
Breading – a coating of crumbs applied to food to give it a crispy texture after cooking.
Enriched – when a nutrient that is lost during early stages of food processing is restored to the finished food product.
Heavy Cream – cream with a high butterfat content. Usually between 35% – 40%. Called double cream in the UK.
Oysters Rockefeller – Oysters baked in a sauce of butter, spinach, watercress, shallots, celery and seasonings; served on the half shell.
Golden Raisin – aka Sultana, small, light coloured raisin that is more tart and made from white grapes.
Brine – strongly salted water used for preserving, curing, canning, pickling and developing flavour in food.
Darjeeling – black tea grown in the mountains of Northern India and named for a city there.
Some kind of amazing stuff that the internet told me about this week:
This has nothing to do with food… but think of all the dinners out you could buy if you found this guy’s life savings at his art exhibit?!?!
Have you had your vote in the Terroir 2013 GE Monogram® – Terroir Awards for Excellence in Hospitality yet?? Why not vote for your favourite Chef, Beverage Professional or Front of House employee?? You can do it here.
Speaking of some pretty excellent people – Stephen Beckta (Beckta, Play and Gezellig) is featured on Kickass Canadians with a pretty wicked write up.
