Super Bowl Food

We usually have what I call "junk food" but more properly is called snacks ... the kind that everyone winds up making a meal out of anyway if given a chance. Rotel Cheese Dip, Taquitos, Eggrolls, Marcia's Cheese Log ... and here's a perfect fit to that menu that I used to make but had forgotten about (and us so close to New Orleans) - Muffalettas. The Dallas Morning News' much improved food section featured this recipe that looks fairly close to the one I used to make (free registration required). We prefer our Muffalettas with ham instead of salami. It's really the olive salad that makes the sandwich more than anything. Mmmmm ... olive salad.

Weekend Jokes

Why did the cookie visit the doctor?
He felt crummy.

What did the hot dog say when he crossed the finish line?
I'm the weiner!

What did one hot dog say to another?
Hi, Frank.

What is bright orange and sounds like a parrot?
A carrot.

A Prairie Home Companion Pretty Good Joke Book

Thought for Food

Nobody seems more obsessed by diet than our anti-materialistic, otherworldly, New Age spiritual types. But if the material world is merely illusion, an honest guru should be as content with Budweiser and bratwurst as with raw carrot juice, tofu and seaweed slime.

Edward Abbey

Nutrition Basics - Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the preferred energy source of the brain and nervous system. They provide energy for muscle movement and red blood cells, and they play a role in the regulation of fat metabolism. Fifty-five to 60 percent of a person's daily calories should come from carbohydrates -- in a 2,000-calorie diet, that is approximately 1,100 to 1,200 calories (275 to 300 grams of carbohydrate).

Carbohydrates are composed of smaller units containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, otherwise known as sugars, and are classified as simple or complex. Simple carbohydrates, such as sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and lactose (the sugar found in milk), are more quickly broken down into glucose and absorbed by the body than complex carbohydrated, found in plant-based foods such as grains, legumes, and vegetables.

The Professional Chef, 7th Edition by The Culinary Institute of America

Friday Five - Food Memories

Today's Friday Five is about food memories from your childhood. I already did this over at the "mother blog," Happy Catholic, so just drop by and read them over there.

Spinach and Tofu Paneer

This is for Alicia. It isn't exactly what she wanted but I discovered that out of my 154 cookbooks (I actually stopped to count them ... shocking number!), I have only 3 Indian cookbooks and neither had it. However, I did have this recipe that sounds pretty close from This Can't Be Tofu by Deborah Madison. Also using tofu sounds a lot easier than coming up with fresh Indian cheese. I really detest "vegetarian" cookbooks but this one grabbed me when it came out. It was riveting and made me believe I actually could cook and enjoy tofu. Too bad I've never put that to the test by making a recipe from it. This might be the one that breaks that barrier. I will include Madison's introduction because it explains why I thought Alicia might like the recipe.

For a long time it seemed to me that there was more than a superficial resemblance between the white Indian cheese called paneer and tofu. When I finally made the classic Indian dish of spinach and paneer using tofu, it tasted amazingly at home in the cumin, ginger, and chile-laced sauce. There's a little going back and forth between the skillet and a food processor but this is an easy dish to make. I serve it over rice with a sprinkling of toasted black sesame seeds.

1 carton firm or soft tofu
Salt
1 large bunch spinach, stems discarded, leaves well washed
1 jalapeño, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 serrano chile, coarsely chopped (I would seed this too)
1-inch knob ginger, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons ghee, butter, or vegetable oil
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon, plus a pinch, nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup yogurt

Dice the tofu into pieces about the size of a sugar cube or a little smaller. Bring 6 cups water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the tofu, turn off the heat, and leave for 4 or 5 minutes pour into a colander to drain. (If you've used soft tofu, remove it with a slotted spoon.) Set aside.

Steam the spinach until wilted, then remove it to a cutting board and chop. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water.

Put the chiles, ginger, garlic, and onion in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Heat the ghee or butter in a nonstick skillet, add the onion mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.

Add 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, nutmeg, cayenne, and 1 cup water. Simmer for 5 minutes, then return the mixture to the food processor, add the spinach, and puree.

Return the mixture to the skillet, add the half-and-half and the tofu, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt. Serve over basmati rice.

The Essential Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

From The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. What better way to test a cookbook than with something we all know and love? This cookie passed with flying colors with a small group of women devouring a large plate of cookies one evening ... and our family didn't turn any down either. Personally, I prefer a little more depth of flavor to my cookies and probably will continue using my current favorite recipe from Cookies Unlimited.

Rose used a bag of them to thank one of Hannah's friends who had lent her a textbook in an hour of need. He had heard of Rose's cookie baking fame before. "I can't believe I now hold a 'Rose' cookie in my hands," he said, beaming. That was right before a horde of friends descended on the cookies...

Rose's comment? She couldn't believe there were only three steps. "And two of those are pre-heating the oven and baking the cookies!"

The strange ingredient in these is the vinegar which the KA people say tempers the sweetness of the sugar and reacts with the baking soda to give the cookies extra lift ... I didn't notice much effect and might try this again without the vinegar and baking soda to see just what difference there actually is.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies
Baking temperature: 375° F
Baking time: 10 minutes

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
2/3 cup (5-1/4 ounces) dark brown sugar
2/3 cup (4-3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (1-1/4 ounces) light corn syrup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or white vinegar
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/4 cups (9-1/2 ounces) unbleached, all-purpose flour
3 cups (18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, corn syrup, and vinegar, then beat in the eggs. Beat in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until they're just set; the centers may still look a bit underdone. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

Food Section Roundup

Too Many Chefs checks up on what's being written about in food sections of newspapers around the country. I can attest to anyone in interested in vanilla from Paplanta, Mexico ... the Dallas Morning News piece was on top of the situation.

Cookies Galore

The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion:
The Essential Cookie Cookbook
by King Arthur Flour

This is a fascinating cookbook to read, although with over 400 recipes eventually I was tired of all the variations and varieties. However, I do admit that is not really the point as a cookbook is to cook from, not to read, and chances are, if you are looking for any type of cookie, you will find what you want here. I especially was intrigued by the King Arthur approach to the essential American cookies, which offered recipes to encompass every taste from Chewy to Crisp and in-between; including Chocolate Chip, Sugar Cookies, Brownies, and Biscotti (although the variations on that cookie ran between Italian and American styles). Frankly, I probably will never care enough to make their version of Oreos or Whoopie Pies (that is what grocery stores are for in my estimation), but those sorts of recipes are included too for the avid do-it-yourselfer.

This definitely is a great resource book also as it has all sorts of charts, tips and "how-to's" scattered throughout the pages. For instance, we used their staggered pan layout for making chocolate chip cookies to fit more on the sheet ... and it worked like a charm. Now, why didn't I think of that? Helpful illustrations walk the reader through techniques that may be difficult to understand from the written word alone. An ending section on ingredients not only has all the basic information but answers questions such as "What's the difference between an extract, an oil, and a flavor?" or "What if I run out of baking powder?"

We tried the Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from this book and, although I have another recipe I like better, everyone else raved over them ... obviously that is a matter of personal taste. The recipe worked like a charm, was simple and well explained, and delivered just what it promised. I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

So the bottom line is, do I like this cookbook enough to buy it? Yes. I'd like to work my way through all the variations of the essential cookies and the tips and hints are practical enough to make this book a worthwhile investment.

Here's What Kills You

Shamelessly lifted from Under the Sky (via Donna at Quiet Life who did the very same thing, so I'm copying her too!).

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.


2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.


4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.


5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION:Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Secret Agent Man Discovers Food Blogs

The quintessential Catholic blogger broadens his horizons with ... yep, you guessed it ... food blogs!