Food Holidays for the week of 13 April

Which Food Holidays did you celebrate last week? This week's lineup of food holidays represents sweet, savory, and everything in between.

April 13 National Peach Cobbler Day
April 14 National Pecan Day
April 15 National Glazed Ham Day
April 16 National Eggs Benedict Day AND National Baked Ham with Pineapple Day AND Day of the Mushroom
April 17 National Cheeseball Day AND World Malbec Day
April 18 National Animal Crackers Day
April 19 National Rice Ball Day

According to Wikipedia, in the late 19th century, animal-shaped cookies  called "Animals" were imported from England to the United States. Several companies have produced animal crackers including Barnum's (as in Barnum & Bailey Circus), Stauffers, Cadbury, In total, 54 different animals have been represented by animal crackers producers  since 1902. There have been 37 different animals featured in Barnum's Animals Crackers since 1903. The current crackers are bear, bison, camel, cougar, elephant, giraffe, gorilla, hippopotamus, hyena, kangaroo, lion, monkey, rhinoceros, seal, sheep, tiger, and zebra. To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Barnum's added the koala to the menagerie in September 2002. Close contenders were penguin, cobra, and walrus.


Which Food Holidays will you celebrate this week?  Share your comments below. Have a great week!

Be well,

Technicolor girl

Developing and Refining One's Sense of Taste - week 7

I knew this week's class would a challenging  primarily because of my relationship with eggs. As a person who enjoys cooking and baking I realize that eggs are a necessary ingredient in some recipes, but  I don't crave eggs or get excited about a dish featuring eggs like my friend Mimi does. I'm grateful that mother stopped boiling Easter eggs for me and my sister once  it became apparent that we weren't consuming the eggs. In fact, I sometimes avoid dishes with eggs prominently featured in the presentation.

Over a three hour period Chef lectured and demonstrated how to make deviled eggs, hollandaise sauce, omelettes, Floating Island, scrambled eggs,  eggs over easy, eggs sunny side up, eggs Benedict, and crème brulee.

Chef's opening comment was, "The color of the [egg] shell is a function of the breed and the feed, it does not affect flavor or behavior."

What I learned

• The older the egg gets the albumen becomes more watery, but they are easier to peel.
• Washing an egg strips it of some its protective coating.
• 1 egg will bind 1 cup of cream.
• Floating island is a very efficient dessert.
• The queen's eggs: eggs are cooked using a double boiler or low heat.
• 1 egg = 2 ounces (1 ounce egg white, 1 ounce yolks).
• There are three types of meringue: French, Italian, and Swiss.
• Proteins under high heat constrict and become tough.
• Proteins under low hear cook thru and remain tender.

Observations

• I liked crème brulee before this evening and like it more now. Chef used vanilla from pods that he on hand.  He used a  small hand held blow torch to brown the tops of the crème brulee. The crème brulee was dusted liberally with pastry sugar. Chef reminded the class to use granulated or pastry sugar. Confectioner's sugar has cornstarch in it and will not produce the desired result.
• The class inquired what the term "deviled" ( as in deviled eggs) meant. "Deviled" means to prepare (food, usually minced) with hot or savory seasoning. Chef added a few drops of Tabasco to deviled egg mixture and used a pastry bag with a tip to insert the mixture into the egg halves.
• Marl left early, so I worked with Tee. Tee and I usually site next to each other in class. Our temperaments complement each other as well.  We made hollandaise sauce and eggs benedict for Tee . 

Self reflection

• At one point during class I realized that the smell of the eggs doesn't appeal to me. I took one bite of the Floating Island dessert and gave the rest to my  classmate. Same for the eggs Benedict. I ate small amounts of the omelet and scrambled eggs. The crème brulee I consumed easily. Was the vanilla the difference?
• My camera didn't capture all the photos I took. I'm disappointed.
• My plants are in for a treat- I'm bringing two bags of eggshells home to create a nitrogen rich water for them. The eggshells will be placed in an airtight container filled with water for approximately 30 days before watering the plants. Hopefully by the weather will be warmer and I can use some of the water on my outdoor plants as well.
• I survived the class and lived to tell about it.  

A snowstorm is predicted to come to through the vicinity, so tonight's class is cancelled.  Perhaps I'll try making French onion soup again.

Next week: poultry.

Be well,
Technicolor girl

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