Fight Bac (Bacteria, that is!). Safe Food Handling PSA

Know these steps to "FIGHT BAC (teria)" and prevent foodborne illness!

 










The PSA campaign is created by http://www.foodsafety.gov/

No Win at Victory Brewpub Restaurant

I had high hopes for Victory Brewpub because it's beer is so great and because the brand is fun, clever, and well executed.  In a nutshell, the beer brand is everything that the Victory Brewpub is not.  The pub is boring, poorly managed, and out of focus.  In all fairness, and to be clear, my blog review concerns the gastropub operated by the brewing company and not the beer itself.  The beer is very drinkable and the packaging makes a memorable gift when one is bringing a 6-pack to a friend's house.

Photo by Victory Brewing Co

Now for the unfavorable review.  I went to lunch at the pub on a recent Saturday.  I thought I was in a rundown version of Triumph for most of the lunch.  Definitely the place needs to create its own menu, look and "experience" for customers.

Verdict:  Go to Triumph instead!   You will not be disappointed!  The beer is not as good there, but the meal experience - from food to serving to atmosphere - is masterful!  And, the brand makes sense.  They are into the whole idea of boutique, organic, upscale everyday dining.  The menu matches the craft brew approach and the design.  Enjoy!

Triumph of New Hope PA

 Photo by Triumph Brewing Co.

Word of the Day: REMOULADE **RECIPES INSIDE**

The word of the day came to me recently when I ate a lunch salad served with a remoulade.  I was pleased with myself for just being able to pronounce the name of the sauce.  I observed other diners pause in front of the cafe item's label and scratch their heads.  I ordered it anyway.  The sauce was pink in color and mildly spicy.  I was not entirely sure of the composition.  It tasted like a cousin to Thousand Island dressing with more taste of lemon, cream and capers. The texture was a thick cream with bits of tomatoes, capers, and pickles within.  The remoulade sauce made a fine accompaniment to seafood served cold on top of a salad.  Back at home, I looked online for more information about the sauce.

Remoulade is a French sauce with a mayonnaise base that is used for dipping or topping meat.  It is served with seafood in America and Europe, and at times with beef products in Europe.  European remoulades are typically parsnip in color (see photo below!), owing to the use of mustard seed. 

Parsnips

 

 European versions often include celery root or cabbage in combination with herbs and spices.  American remoulades tend to be more vibrant in color, either pink or yellow, due to the addition of paprika or curry to the base.  Remoulades have a mild pungency of flavor that is tempered by the mayonnaise.  It is suitable for serving with appetizers, brunch, or as a dipping sauce for fish.  All ages can enjoy remoulade sauce.  Caution for anyone with allergy to EGG, NUTS or SHELLFISH; ask the cook for the ingredients before ingesting.  I've scoured the web to bring you the best recipes for

• FRENCH REMOULADE
• LOUISIANA REMOULADE
• OIL-BASED REMOULADE
• DANISH REMOULADE

Enjoy!!
Gardentina

 Click for the recipe!

French-style Crab and Celery Remoulade

  Click for the recipe!

Louisiana-style Remoulade

Occasionally a remoulade is made with an oil base in place of the mayonnaise base.  Chef Emeril LaGasse's version is an example of this take on the sauce.

Click for the recipe!

Oil-based Remoulade

Danish remoulade is simple to make and much sweeter in taste than traditional remoulade. It is used there as a sauce for everything from fried fish to hot dogs.

Click for the recipe!

Danish-style Remoulade

Find more recipes and crafts at blog parties online:

Recipe for Quick Almost Tiramisu

Try this recipe for Quick Almost Tiramisu!  

Are you out of time to bake dessert for guests and out of money to buy a fancy cake?  NO PROBLEM!  Pickup a carton of rice pudding and a pack of sugar wafer cookies. The rest of the ingredients are in the pantry!

Secret Ingredient #1 of 2:  Rice Pudding (like Kozy Shack)

 Secret Ingredient #2 of 2:  Sugar Wafer Cookies (like Murray)

Recipe:  Quick Almost Tiramisu

Ingredients:

• Rice Pudding * Available in gluten free
• Sugar Wafer Cookies, cut into bite size pieces  *Available in Sugar Free
• Ground coffee
• Cocoa powder
• Cinnamon, allspice, or other spice (to taste)
• Granulated sugar (to taste)

Directions:

Mix the toppings (cocoa, coffee, spice and sugar) together in a bowl.  Assemble the dessert in layers like a lasagna:  Cookies, Pudding, Sprinkled Toppings.  Cookies, Pudding, Sprinkled Toppings.  Just like that, you're done in minutes!

Q.  Why rice pudding? 

A.  It gives the mouth a good texture to offset the airy feel of the sugar wafers.

Q.  Can I use the pink (strawberry) sugar wafers?  Or the chocolate (brown) ones?

A.  Of course!  In a glass bowl or serving dish, you can create dramatic effect by layering the different colors of wafers. 

Frequently Asked Recipe Question: Why aren't exact measurements given?

Answer:  (1) To keep the cooking explanation simple.  (2) To encourage your own modification. Every cook likes a different taste!  However, feel free to comment to the blog post for guidance!

Today we are celebrating online blog party with:

and

Blogger's Test Kitchen: Salt Baked Potatoes

Come along for a test drive of a recipe from the September 2011 issue of Cooks Illustrated, relative of "America's Test Kitchen".  We are trying out Salt Baked Potatoes.  The concept is to pack potatoes in regular Morton salt, layer in some herbs, and wait for the outcome.  The hypothesis is that the salt makes the potatoes more tender. My potatoes were fully immersed in salt.  (Note: I would have done sea salt, but since the fancy cooks at the magazine didn't, this home cook's not going to question it!)  Surrounding the potatoes were shallots, rosemary, and cloves of garlic.

Salt dipped potatoes going into the oven

The potatoes baked happily along for normal length for baked potatoes, at the usual temperature.  Really the "trick" in the recipe was to douse them in salt.  The aroma coming out of the oven was not the best. It smelled like potato skins.  The potatoes looked amazing when they were done.

Potatoes oven-baked in herbed salt

The moment of truth came when the potatoes were served!  They were DRY beyond belief.  The potato SKINS were nice and salty, but....a skin does not a meal make! 

VERDICT:  Serve your potatoes with salted herbed butter instead of baking them in salt!   It was a totally fun experiment to try out the recipe though!

Grilled Chicken or Veggie Burgers with Asparagus and Mushrooms

RECIPE:   Grilled Chicken or Veggie Burgers with Asparagus and Mushrooms

1. Stir fry asparagus and mushrooms in wok or skillet.  I used olive oil, kosher salt, and a variety of peppercorns for seasoning.  Red pepper flakes would give a nice kick for those of you who like things spicy!
2. Cook the chicken burgers.  Once cooked, top with cheese to make cheeseburgers if you like.  I used a white cheddar cheese.
3. Top burgers with stir fried veggies.  To keep the burger from being too dry, I recommend a very light spread on the bun of mayonnaise, Miracle Whip or soy/vegan mayonnaise.

ENJOY!

Recipe for Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

 Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

 

 

 

Recipe:  Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

1. The recipe will dress up your favorite brand of instant Cinnamon Rolls placed into a greased glass dish.
2. Peel and dice 3 apples.  Layer in pan.
3. Chop nuts to bite size (I'd use walnut or pecan nuts).  Layer in pan.
4. Top with brown sugar and any spices you desire.  I had apple pie spice on hand.
5. Top with pats of butter.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees.
6. When rolls are baked, top with caramel sauce if desired, in place of the sweet cream cheese icing that comes inside the cinnamon roll package.  Even better than store-bought is home-made caramel sauce, but we'll leave that recipe for another day.   Enjoy breakfast!   - Gardentina

Cinnamon rolls going into the oven

 

Frequently Asked Recipe Question: Why aren't exact measurements given?

Answer:  (1) To keep the cooking explanation simple.  (2) To encourage your own modification. Every cook likes a different taste!  However, feel free to comment to the blog post for guidance!

Organize Gift Wrapping in a Central Station

One of my greatest pleasures is giving a gift to someone else.  The joy of giving is an admirable quality that many women share.  The amount of closet, basement and attic space dedicated to such estimable efforts is also a common point of contention within families.  My solution to the dilemma is a spare console table tucked within a walk-in closet where there is floor-space to spare.  I have my very own Gift Wrapping Central Station.

My table is from IKEA, similar to the NORDEN Sideboard at $149 USD

My Gift Wrapping Central Station is about five years old now.  It makes last-minute wrapping a cinch because gift bags are sorted by size and theme, greeting cards are organized by theme, and it's only a quick reach of the hand to attach bows, ribbons, or grab for some tissue paper.  Those pesky little Christmas gift tags are easy to find in a big Ziplock bag.  Even the sticky bows are organized:  one bag for Christmas colors, and another for multi.  After organizing all of my gift wrapping goods, I found room to spare to store floral foam and related flower-arranging supplies; and spare cloth remnants and ribbons.

Not pictured here is my second secret weapon to the Gift Wrapping Central Station:  my organized Shipping supplies.  Adjacent to Central Station is a plastic tub full holding folded boxes of all sizes and shapes arranged from biggest to smallest.  In the back, the "big box" section, are one-rate priority shipping boxes from the USPS.  Spare jewelry boxes fill the "tiny box" section.  Priority shipping rates are posted on the wall for handy reference.  Packing materials like "air pouches" and bubble wrap are stashed nearby.  Essentially I can wrap, label, and pack a gift for shipping in the same place.  From my home computer, I can then print out shipping labels.

The Gift Wrapping Central Station has eliminated my habit of keeping too many empty boxes, spare rolls of gift wrap, and gift bags waiting to be re-used.  If my gift wrapping materials do not fit in the allocated space, I make decisions about what to toss and what to keep.  I find it is easier to let go of old unused stuff when I can see the old things sitting next to shiny new spare materials of the same type.  My recycle bin stays full and my pocketbook stays full too, because I no longer need to run to the store in a hurry to shell out big bucks for gift wrap or gift bags.  My gift wrapping time is cut by more than half.  I spend more time now on congratulating my gift recipients on their accomplishments in person than I do wrapping their gifts, and, I feel, that is how it should be: Joy shared with the important people in our lives , rather than a lot of time spent in an attic, basement or closet!

Happy gift-giving this 2012!
Gardentina

Today's Blog Parties:  Transformation Thursday at Shabby Creek Cottage; and Crafty Soiree at Katie's Nesting Spot

Restaurant Review: Ship Inn, Exton, PA

The Ship Inn has a fine dining side and a casual side.  The menus fit the respective occasions.  Menus are traditional.  This is a solid standby restaurant for formal events.  The waitstaff is above average.  The food is good. It doesn't take enough risks, in my opinion, but pays off when it does.  For instance: the pineapple salad with pineapple on top of greens.  Click here for the Valentine's Day menu.  Reservations required.