| Changing with the years - about the development of cooking utensils | | Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2006 4:15:23 PM by Kate Grant | Kitchen gadgets. Don't you love them? I for one, love to visit cooking stores. I love finding special tools and utensils, even if I'm not always sure what purpose they serve. You can trace cooking utensils back many many years ago, in fact, you can trace them back to the times man discovered fire.
S ince they are connected to food, a very basic human need, they were developed in all cultures. Mexican, Indian Chinese, Japanese, European, and many others. Every culture developed it own utensils depending on the food that grew in the area, and was cultivated buy them.
If, at the beginning, they were made out of clay, stone, glass and later on copper and other metals, with the years, and the introduction of new materials, like stainless steel ans non stick Teflon, cooking utensils production have become a huge industry, rolling billions of dollars.
And oh the times, they are a-changing... Think about it. How would your kitchen look without the microwave, the coffee maker or even salad thongs. Quite a change from medieval times, and the pot hanging over the fireplace, won't you agree?
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| | | Smith tragedy may be jackpot for Hard Rock | | Posted Saturday, February 10, 2007 12:50:38 PM by Blog57 Team | | Though time will tell whether the Seminole Hard Rock or Room 607, where Smith stayed, become macabre tourist attractions, public relations specialist Virginia Sheridan said the venue now has a higher profile given the amount of news coverage, television footage and photographs taken of the site. .... | |
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| | | Butternut squash tortellini | | Posted Thursday, January 11, 2007 2:53:51 PM by Blog57 Team | | Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the tortellini and for the butternut squash. Cut the pre-peeled and cut butternut squash into smaller pieces so it's the same size as the tortellini. Use your eye and cut about the same amount of squash as tortellini. Use a large pan to slowly saute the onion and garlic in the butter on medium heat. When the water comes to a boil, carefully add the butternut squash. While the squash is cooking, take a minute to chop the fresh sage. After a few minutes, when the onions are nice and soft, add the chopped sage to that to get that going, and then check the squash to see if it's soft. You want it to be cooked, but not over cooked. Use a slotted utensil to add it to the onions. Gently stir the squash around with the onions and then add the tortellini to the same water.... | |
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| | | Odeon, Nobu Founders Offer a Class in Attitude: Alan Richman | | Posted Saturday, December 09, 2006 12:51:09 PM by Blog57 Team | | Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- New York City increasingly is importing its dining culture -- bringing in megalithic palaces from Las Vegas or megalomaniacal chefs from TV. So when two hometown legends open new restaurants, it awakens yearnings for the days when owners were acquainted with their patrons. Cafe Cluny is a Greenwich Village spot from Lynn Wagenknecht, whose legacy goes back to the storied Odeon. She's papered the front of the house with sketches of much-loved customers, some of them celebrities and some so obscure only she would recognize them. Mai House is a decidedly destination restaurant, simply because TriBeCa doesn't boast enough locals to support a place without outside help. The owner is Drew Nieporent, who was on premises every night I visited, as happy as I've ever seen him, often leaving the kitchen carrying steaming bowls of Vietnamese soup.... | |
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| | | A lifetime of cooking experience impressed all who entered her kitchen | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 2:56:58 PM by Blog57 Team | | She was 84 when she died, but even at 83, she would ring us up to say she'd made macaroni and cheese for our girls, and could we stop by to pick it up? It was her sure hands that we counted on to make the Thanksgiving gravy, and to shell and cook the butterbeans into a delicious soup. She didn't even overreact when her oven was the site of my greatest kitchen disaster, the year that I warmed my homemade rolls in her electric oven, only to discover that the brown paper bag warming method doesn't work in an electric oven. The bag caught fire, the rolls were ruined, and it may have been the only time a vacuum was used as a cooking utensil in her kitchen, to remove ashes from the oven. We counted on Granny's handiwork and her conversation whenever we gathered at the summer table to make pepper relish.... | |
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| | | The secret to good Maryland fried chicken | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 12:53:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | Robert M. Peterson of Keesler Air Force Base searched for Maryland fried chicken recipes for Elizabeth Maddox and her mother and came up with 14 Internet hits. In checking the recipes, all of them contain a heavily seasoned flour coating or marinade. The frying pan also is covered during most of the cooking, but the lid comes off during the last 5 minutes of cooking time to make the chicken crispy. The crispiness is what Maddox was seeking. She said her chicken crust usually falls off or it gets soggy. MARYLAND FRIED CHICKEN 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 eggs 2 tablespoons water 2 cups cracker crumbs, dry bread crumbs, or 1 cup cornmeal 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 to 3 pound broiler/fryer chicken, cut up Vegetable oil Mix flour, 1 teaspoon salt, paprika and pepper in a medium-size bowl.... | |
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| | | WEEKLY RECIPES | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:53:12 AM by Blog57 Team | | 1 lb. miniature pretzels 1 (9.5 ounce) box peanut butter filled miniature buttery crackers (Ritz Bitz) 1 (12 ounce) box original flavor cheese cracker squares (Cheese Nips) 1 lb. roasted and salted peanuts 3/4 cup butter 1 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup light corn syrup 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (16 ounce) bag candy coated peanut butter candies (Reece's Pieces) 2 (12 ounce) bags candy corn Makes 20 cups. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Using a non-stick cooking spray, coat a VERY large roasting pan (I use a disposable foil pan). Combine first 4 ingredients in prepared pan. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla. Pour over pretzel blend.... | |
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| | | First course: From the gadgeteria | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 2:56:56 PM by Blog57 Team | | We asked readers which gadgets they find most useful in their kitchens. Colin Saeger of Elk Grove wrote, "The one tool that I cannot live without is a good pair of 9-inch, heavy-duty tongs. I know a lot of people have a difficult time using them, but being a chef, they are like an extension of my hand. You can turn, stir, mix and remove food using only one utensil, which is fewer items to wash. I urge all serious cooks to take the time and learn how to use your tongs." Chestnuts, no roasting required Traditionalists will love this little item I picked up at Williams-Sonoma: French chestnuts that are peeled and ready to use. The chestnuts are sweet and crunchy. They would be great for Thanksgiving stuffings or for dressing up steamed vegetables. The jar comes with a collection of recipes.... | |
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| | | LAST-MINUTE IDEAS | | Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2006 12:52:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | A cardboard box can be many things. Secure the top and bottom closed with glue or tape from the inside, cut a hole in the top for your head and one in the bottom for your body and one in each side for your arms. Then use whatever craft materials you have at home to decorate (paint, markers, construction paper, felt, other craft odds and ends): TV set Bar of soap X-Ray machine Robot (multiple, different-sized boxes) Train (great for groups of kids) Vehicle (car, fire engine) Use paper bowls and plates for wheels and headlights. Birthday present Wrap with wrapping paper and add a big bow around neck. Pair of dice (for two people) Skyscraper Box of crayons Lego piece Glue on paper bowls as connector bits. Sweats can be the foundation of many easy costumes, and they'll keep you warm during trick-or-treating: Bunch of grapes: purple or green sweats, purple or green balloons, safety pins.... | |
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| | | They go together | | Posted Monday, October 23, 2006 2:51:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | Cooking is not a solo effort in the Manor Township home of Florence and Ronald Lentz. We work as a team! wrote Flo and Ron. Their kitchen is the scene of day-to-day meals and the source of frequent dinner parties; Flo, 70, is a retired registered nurse and Ron, 71, is a retired Navy physician. That leaves them time to pursue the dishes for which they are best known: Flos Rosemary Flat Bread and Rons Mushroom Soup. Their motto for cooking? Dont be afraid to experiment. How we learned to cook: Trial and error; occasional cooking school. Favorite kitchen utensil/appliance: Flo Cast iron pans and KitchenAid mixer. Ron Smoker. You will never catch us doing this in the kitchen: Flo Using a bread machine.... | |
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| | | Couple taps custom potential of ranch | | Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 10:49:59 AM by Blog57 Team | | Stylish and functional is how Joe and Dianne Landry describe the ranch-style home at 72 Sutherland Road, which they customized during the 20 years they have owned it. The stylish features are found throughout the home in a decor of warm colors, in painted walls with complementary window treatments, furnishings and accessories. They are also found in custom woodwork and cabinetry, both original to the 1953 home and added through renovations done by the Landrys. The front hall and adjacent living room offer a good example of the original features of the home, which include oak floors in both areas and two arched openings in between.The double archway offers a full view of the 16- by 22-foot sunken living room, where a brick fireplace, encased in a white crown molding mantel, is the focal point.Original features in the living room also include an oversized bay window and an oversized arched opening into the dining room.The decor includes lavender walls and white woodwork, complemented by lavender and dark purple sheers on the bay window, an Oriental rug and Queen Anne style furniture.The dining room, which is nicely viewed from the living room, offers another piece of original cabinetry - a white corner hutch, complete with arched display area, as well as its original oak floor.The room features gold-toned walls and white woodwork, complemented by a brass chandelier, cherry furniture and white sheers on a double casement window.The double casement window offers a nice view of the back yard landscaping done by Joe, a mechanical designer, who has created and maintains all of the gardens and landscaped areas about the property.Such layout and custom detail as found in these rooms were among the features that attracted the Landrys to the home and inspired Dianne to enhance it with a few custom details of her own.As a certified kitchen designer, who has won many regional and national awards for her work, Dianne, the director of design at Wood Palace Kitchens in Middleboro, said the home lent itself well to the customized detail she could envision."I could see the potential," Dianne said of the home.... | |
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