March 18th, 2008
Throw A Book Club Party Worth Writing About
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Archive for the ‘Food and Drink’
March 14th, 2008
Gps Savvy Diners Sample More Culinary Delights
You don’t have to be a newspaper’s restaurant reviewer to have tried the cuisine of most restaurants within your area. With more and more culinary cravers equipped with GPS in their own car or that of a dining partner’s, getting to any great restaurant tucked away into an obscure, neighborhood location has become very easy.
When it comes to delicious food, the more the better. Whether having a ready range of restaurants and menus of a single style, or a smorgasbord of restaurants of nearly every style in your dining repetoire, finding the best meal or the best deal are two of every diner’s delights. With a GPS device, really, your guide to the within-commutable world, getting to the restaurant or eatery of the moment is so simple.
March 4th, 2008
Time For A New Coffee Pot?
The time has come to toss out your old percolator and to go out and invest in a new one. There are many different types to choose from. You are part of the new trend that has been sweeping the nation-you have become accustomed to specialty coffee shops and their literally dozens of different flavors of hot and cold drinks made from coffee.
March 3rd, 2008
How To Make Homemade Iced Coffee Like A Pro
Iced coffee has become an increasingly popular beverage choice in recent years. The transformation of a hot cup of coffee into a sweet iced drink makes for a refreshing afternoon treat on those hot summer days. The problem is, iced coffee drinks in most coffee shops are expensive and the cost can add up quick. Luckily, you can learn how to make homemade iced coffee like a pro without having to step into a coffee shop.
February 23rd, 2008
Choosing Teaware - What To Look For
Teaware is the entire spectrum of equipment used in the production of tea. Thanks to the internet, finding teaware online that suits your particular taste and needs, is a snap. The reason is simple: there is more variety in teapots, infusers, strainers, and cups than you can imagine.
A teapot is central to the set and you will find yourself simultaneously frustrated and delighted at the options. You could consume a week just cataloging all the different choices.
Everything from chrome and plastic to ceramic to clay to glass is available and each has its pros and cons. There are teapots with in-built timers and thermometers, detachable base plates and handles… the list is endless.
Some look very much like ordinary traditional coffee pots. But even those have all sorts of extra, modern conveniences like a detachable pot from the heating base for example. Very handy for preparation and pouring.
Others have the look of a much older tradition - the look of ancient China. Yixing clay teapots, of the sort that have been made by fine craftsmen in China for centuries, are both functional and beautiful. Today they have the added advantage of being prepared in modern clay ovens with extraordinary quality control. They represent the best of art and technology combined.
Traditional porcelain teapots from Japan are both works of art and utilitarian objects. Strong, yet with delicate designs, these shining white and blue containers look great and function perfectly even in the most modern of kitchens.
Many American designs now emulate the best of Scandinavia, where tea drinking is an art done with the practical sense of the Danes or Finns. One elegant glass design has an oversized cup with a plate that sits on top and holds a strainer. The assembly on top makes it easy to prepare the tea to perfection, then lift off the upper components and carry the cup to your favorite easy chair for drinking.
The tea devotee will find an equally abundant array of choices for other teaware. Strainers or infusers, which are used to strain hot water through tea leaves, are essential for those who want to expand their choices beyond tea bags. Strainers usually fit into the top of the cup and hold the leaves as the tea is poured through them, when you brew in a pot. Tea strainers of this kind are usually either sterling silver or china. Most strainers come in a set, with the strainer part and a small saucer for it to sit in between cups.
While you’re buying, don’t forget to look for that unique cup that fits your hand and tastes. Some collectors acquire numerous one-of-a-kind cups with matching saucers. Better teacups typically are of fine white translucent porcelain and often decorated with floral patterns. They may also memorialize a location, person, or event.
After all that shopping and decision making, sit down, brew a cup and relax.
February 16th, 2008
Coffee Roasting On An Open Fire - A New Atmosphere For An Old Tradition
Did you know that coffee beans have to be roasted before they are ground or brewed? Most people are not aware of this. Many of our ancestors were master coffee roasters, but this art was almost lost when machines began to be commonly used to roast the beans before they got to market. Because there was no method to keep the beans fresh, Early American homemakers and trail hands purchased raw coffee beans from the mercantile in town, and then took them home or back to camp where they roasted them in an iron skillet on the stove or over an open fire. This method took great skill to determine the degree of roast and bring out the best flavor in every cup.
February 10th, 2008
Real Mexican Guacamole - How To Make It Like Tia Guadalupe
Think you know guacamole? Unless you’ve had the real deal, made by hand in a Mexican kitchen–or at least in an authentic Mexican restaurant–you’re missing out on how sublime this avocado concoction can be.
And “concoction” is exactly the right word for real guacamole. Mole in Nahuatl–the language of the ancient Aztecs–means just that. Guaca comes from the Nahuatl word for avocado. The Aztecs loved this creamy, delicious and very healthy fruit.
OK, so how do you make real “guac” the right way, so it comes out tasting like it just left Tia Guadalupe’s Mexican cocina? Here’s what I learned in a Mexican cooking school.
February 6th, 2008
Save Time In The Kitchen - Cook Pasta The Way Restaurant Chefs Do
Have you ever wondered how a restaurant can get a dish of pasta to your table in about four minutes when you know it takes ten minutes just to cook the pasta? Does the water on their stoves boil at a higher temperature than the water on yours? Do they know a trick that you don’t? As a matter of fact, they do.
They parboil, or partially pre-cook their pasta; so when an order comes in to the kitchen, a cook can turn out a dish of perfectly ‘al dente’ pasta in a minute or two. Pre-cooking is a worthwhile technique for home cooks, because it enables them to pull together a great sit-down meal in practically no time, no matter how busy their day may have been.
February 5th, 2008
A Loaf Of Bread-what Else Could You Need In Orange County California
I used to make bread-lots of it. I loved getting my frustrations out by kneading it. Loved the aroma in my home while it was baking. There was nothing better to serve with one of my homemade stews or soups for dinner. My family loved each loaf. They loved not only the savory ones, they enjoyed the sweet ones as well. Toasting a thick slice with some preserves for breakfast was to drool over on many a cold morning.
February 1st, 2008
I Love French Wine And Food - A Bordeaux Rose
If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the world-famous Bordeaux region of southwestern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a Bordeaux rosé from an internationally renowned producer.
Among France’s eleven wine-growing regions Bordeaux ranks first in acreage with about 50% more land devoted to vineyards than the second-place Rhône Valley. But it’s more than just a question of acreage and volume. Bordeaux is widely considered as one of the top wine producing regions of the entire earth and has been for centuries. The wine reviewed below comes from somewhere in Bordeaux.