Students Of Success

While some people really seem to have a knack for barbequing - always grilling up a perfect meal - for the rest of us, it is something that must be learned, not something that just comes naturally. Believe it or not, there is technique involved. It’s not just a matter of following your cooking instincts.

One of the main secrets of knowing exactly how to make a beautiful, tasty meal every time is knowing how and when to use high heat or very hot coals.

Though you may have heard the term “seal in the juices” when it came to barbequing, you may even have tried some techniques every now and then, but unless you’re doing it properly, you won’t be getting it right. For the best results, many barbeque chefs cook vegetables and medium-rare steaks by first using a high heat in order to sear the outside of the food and seal both the juices and the flavors inside.

Though this technique is good for foods that you don’t want to cook thoroughly, it shouldn’t be overused. If you’re cooking a meat such as hamburgers or pork ribs, they must be cooked all the way through in order to avoid bacterial contamination. Therefore, searing them to seal in the juices doesn’t do anything but give you dry, or charred food.

This can be explained by understanding the way that meat cooks on a barbeque. As it is heated, the cells and the fibers of the meat will tighten, squeezing out much of the juices. Therefore, if you’re only cooking a meat partially, searing it will help to seal in the juices by quickly cooking the outer layers of the food. However, if you should leave the food on this high heat, the inner layers will cook too quickly, vaporizing all of your precious and tasty juices. Try the technique a few times until you get it right. Pay attention to what you’re doing, so that when you do accomplish the right technique, you know how to repeat it.

When you are using high heat, the rule of thumb is to cook on each side for a maximum of five minutes (a total of ten minutes). After ten minutes, anything that you’re cooking should be moved aside to a medium heat so that it can finish cooking at that lower temperature.

There are many ways to recognize how hot your fire really is, to make sure that it’s always perfect for any kind of food that you’re cooking on your barbeque. One of the most common tests is simply to hold your hand a couple of inches away from the grill. If you’re only able to keep it there for about a second, your grill is at a high heat (that is, over 600F). If you’re able to hold your hand there fore a few seconds, it’s at a medium heat (around 400F). At a lower heat, you’ll be able to hold your hand there for over five seconds.

Remember, when it comes to high heat, practice makes perfect, and the perfect is well worth the practice!

Richard Cussons is a prolific and diverse writer. You can find out more about the origins of barbecues at Barbeque Grills Expert

Yoruba ethnic group from the Southwestern part of Nigeria call this traditional soup ‘Gbegiri’

Most of the ingredients can be got at ethnic Nigerian or African food markets

Ingredients:

To serve 4 people
Beans - 2 cups of size of small tinned milk
Dried crayfish - 2-table spoonful
Beef - 1kg
African snail - 4 medium size
Dried fish - 1 large size
‘Stock’ (cod) fish (dried) - 4 pieces or medium size
Dried pepper or ground chilly pepper - to taste (depending on your palate)

Seasoning - your choice of brand -2 cubes
West African Palm-oil - 1 cooking spoon
Large pepper - 2 large size
Tomatoes - 2 medium size
Onion - 1 medium size
Salt - a pinch to taste
Water - as -required
Serve hot

The ingredients: Red pepper, tomatoes and onions, pieces or chunks of boiled beef, red palm-oil, dried crayfish, smoked catfish, ground and dry pepper, salt plus 3cubes of food seasoning, pieces of boiled African snail and pieces dried of ’stock’ fish and the washed beans with the skin peeled at the centre.
(To save time, have the mixture of your ground tomatoes, onions and pepper in a blender to a smooth paste prior to the following steps)

1st step: The beans would have been soaked in water for about 5min to soften the skin. Then rubbing very hard against the palm of the hands continuously will peel off the skin.

2nd step: Sieve the peeled beans of their skin several times until the skin is completely removed.

3rd Step: Put the beans in the pot and allow proper cooking for about 40 minutes until it is soft and cooked, adding water when necessary. (With a pressure cooker it might be faster). Then when it is soft, get a wooden blender to mash the beans-while it is still cooking on fire-to a paste adding bits of water to prevent burning as you do this continuously.

4th Step: Once a paste is established add all the ingredients including palm-oil, salt and food seasoning to taste at reduced heat. 2 minutes after, the soup is ready.

The Bean Soup can be served hot as starters or as a compliment with the main menu as done by the Yoruba ethnic group of Southwetsern Nigeria in Africa who take it with rice, foofoo or eba -both made from cassava processed flour.

Muyiwa Osifuye
I have prepared an illustrative free photo essay that accompanies this delicacy to show how the soup is prepared.

You can ask for this in my newsletter at http://www.pictures-of-nigeria.com

What’s your favorite chocolates? It’s true that only the very few of us can say “no” to the temptations of chocolates. There’s just something about that amazing, yet incomparable taste. This fine delicacy has been around for centuries and only seems to get better with time. These times people from all walks of life search for the worlds finest chocolates. Piece every corner convenient shop does carry a variety of chocolates, some of us are a little more finicky. In fact, some of us demand only the worlds finest chocolates to melt on in our mouths and caress our gustatory perceptual experience sensation sensation buds. Fortunately these times we can have those much desired treats without a hassle. All you need is a computer and Internet entree.

Where do you buy your favourite chocolates? Are you interested in the worlds finest chocolates, or will any old hot chocolate-based candy do the fast one? Back in my teenage years, I genuinely didn’t have a preference when it come up up to chocolates. Okeh, well I say there are the 3 rudiments. You have milk chocolates, which is the best common in candy analogue bars and easy the best popular, then you have darkness chocolates and white chocolates. Overall my favorite family is for sure milk chocolates. However, I would ever eat any variety, no substance the quality or price. These days my tastes have evolved. Now that I look for finer nutrient and chocolatess, the cheap stuff left over from Easter doesn’t tickle my fancy. I want the worlds finest chocolates. The company that initiated this corruptness was Noblewoman Lady Godiva. Onetime you’ve waded through a box of these babies, your taste buds be given to alteration. Suddenly a Hershey bar look banal. If you’ve never saunter into a Peeress Godiva store, you’re lacking out. I should warn you, the worlds finest chocolates are more expensive. However, in my view, worth the terms tag. I don’t aid what your preference, whiteness, milk, or dark, you will place it in Godiva.

The World-Wide-Web is an ideal place for purchasing the worlds finest chocolates. Ever here of a place called Belgium? They offering some of the worlds finest chocolates and much more. With the world at your fingertips, it is executable to by any chocolates of your choice. Do a search for those outstanding chocolatess found beyond the borders of the USA. You can easy have them delivered to your presence door. The worlds finest chocolates will certainly alter your taste perception buds once you’ve tasted them.

Coffee may be a chief source of antioxidants in the American diet, as recently reported at the meeting of the American Chemical Society by Dr. Joe Vinson of the University of Scranton, but “that is not a license to make it a mainstay of your health regimen,” says Dr. Keith I. Block of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care & Optimal Health in Evanston, Illinois. Vinson recently found that, based on both the concentration of antioxidants in coffee and the relative amounts we consume of coffee and the more conventionally acknowledged antioxidant sources - fruits and vegetables - coffee contributes more to our antioxidant intake than any other food.

“Vinson’s results are perhaps more a reflection on the inadequacy of our fruit and vegetable intake than on the health benefits of coffee, which has some significant health concerns for many people,” noted Block. Caffeinated coffee joins several other popular caffeine sources in the diet in contributing to excess intake of this natural drug. Recent studies highlight the role that caffeine overdose plays in insomnia, anxiety disorders, elevation of stress hormones, urination and bladder problems in older women, and non-cancerous breast lumps. It produces a small but disturbingly significant elevation of blood pressure. Even decaffeinated coffee contributes to health problems. When it’s combined with high-fat milk, cream, sugar or flavorings, a single 16-oz cup can have over 250 calories - a questionable addition to the diet of anyone trying to keep their weight under control (not to mention their budget)! “Decaf and caffeinated coffee alike contribute to a range of gastric problems that are becoming ever more important in contemporary society, including both ulcers and the widespread gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD or chronic heartburn), which can be a precursor to esophageal cancer,” explained Block, who is co-founder and Medical/Scientific Director of the Block Center. “While a little coffee can be fine for most people, increasing beyond a cup or two a day can lead to clinical problems. The supersized caffeinated blends can actually be toxic! In fact some studies have found that increases in blood levels can be responsible for adverse effects among persons consuming only moderately increased doses over average consumption. Though usually toxic dosing requires quite high dosing, upwards of 150 ounces daily, toxicity can result for some people if they were to consume 35 to 70 ounces in a short period. This is only 7 to 14 cups at only 5 ounces per cup. Or, at the supersize 16+ ounce level, only a few!”

While many people may be able to tolerate coffee in the small cup or two per day that Dr. Vinson points out as being reasonable, anyone with health problems that are potentially coffee- or caffeine-related needs to examine their daily coffee intake closely.

“Yes, coffee is chock full of antioxidants,” says Dr. Block, “but don’t run to your neighborhood coffee-house in place of consuming fruits and vegetables. These colorful plants contain an array of plant chemicals that help reduce your risks of killer diseases like cancer and heart disease.”

The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care and Optimal Health, located in Evanston, Illinois, was founded in 1980 by Penny and Keith Block, M.D. with a focus on treating the patient as a whole person, not treating just the diagnosis or symptoms. The Center’s research-based treatment integrates an innovative approach to the best of conventional medicine with scientifically sound complementary therapies — therapeutic nutrition, botanical and phytonutrient supplementation, prescriptive exercise, and systematic mind-body strategies — to enhance the recovery process. Block has pioneered this “middle ground” approach to cancer care and optimal health - designing a total treatment plan that is tailored to the precise needs of each patient, using a unique set of clinical and laboratory assessments. The Block Center is breaking new ground with the creation and development of Cancer Rehab as an innovative treatment modality, and currently is the only private North American medical center using chrono-modulated chemotherapy. While the Block Center is a full treatment clinic, it is involved in collaborative research with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas as a Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) and is also engaged in clinical cancer research with other university facilities in the United States and Israel (www.blockmd.com)

Betty Hoeffner has been writing articles for various media outlets for the past 30 years. She is currently producer of a patient safety film called Things You Should Know Before You Enter the Hospital and president of Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. NFP, a 501C3 nonprofit organization that empowers teens with self-esteem building tools, to help them counter challenges such as eating disorders, bullying, violence, substance abuse and suicide. U.G.L.Y. is an acronym meaning Unique Gifted Lovable You.

If you want a good cup a coffee, you will need to add some oil. Coffee oil is very flavorful and improves the taste of coffee, but it is lost during the normal filtered brewing process. Coffee made with a French press doesn’t pass through a filter so you don’t lose those natural aromatic coffee oils. Most coffee lover’s agree that a French press makes a superior cup of coffee.

A French press (sometimes called a coffee press) is usually a glass cylinder with a plumber like device inside. You place your coffee grinds inside and pour hot water into it. The water should not be boiling or you will scald your grinds, which will affect the taste. 200 degree water is the optimum temperature for a fine cup of coffee. If you’re using a kettle to heat your water, remove it from the heat before if starts whistling. Either that or you can let the water boil but let it sit for a few minutes before pouring it into your coffee press. Remember to leave at least an inch of space when filling up the French press.

Coffee beans that are ground too finely will clog the filter. You will probably be okay with automatic drip coffee grinds but the best way to enjoy French press coffee is to grind the beans yourself. Try to grind the beans to a size a little bigger than automatic drip coffee grinds. This may take some practice to get comfortable with your coffee grinder but it’s worth it. And remember that once you grind your coffee beans they should be used immediately or kept in an air tight container to keep them from getting stale.

Let the coffee steep in the water for about 4 minutes. Now it’s time for the press part of the French press. Place the French press on a no slip surface and slowly and smoothly press the plunger down. Press too hard or too quickly and in a worst case scenario, you could have boiling hot water shoot out all over you. This step is how the coffee grinds are forced to the bottom of the container and you’re left with delicious fresh brewed coffee in the top chamber. You are now ready to pour and serve.

The French press has undergone a makeover in recent years. Manufacturers have added French presses to travel mugs and thermoses. As long as you have hot water you can make a fresh brewed cup of coffee anywhere. And most of these travel mugs and thermoses are insulated so that your coffee will stay warm longer.

With coffee becoming such an important part of most people’s days, isn’t it time that we pampered ourselves with a better tasting brew. The French press is an easy and flavorful way to make a cup of coffee. So if you’re tired of the brown water that comes out of coffee vending machines in your office, then the French press is perfect for you.

Anthony Tripodi is the webmaster of EndlessCoffeeBreak.com - The Guide To Coffee. For more information about French Press Coffee, visit http://www.endlesscoffeebreak.com

If you want to feel like cooking and baking again it is time for spring cleaning your kitchen cupboards and pantry!

It can be hard to get excited about cooking and baking when you cannot find anything in your kitchen and you question the freshness of ingredients. Do you have any idea just what exactly is in your pantry or how old some of those items may be?

It is time to evaluate, throw it out, and replace! This can be a daunting task, but well worth the effort.

Most television cooking shows stress fresh ingredients for cooking and baking. You may think that only applies to fruits and vegetables, but it also applies to your baking ingredients and canned goods as well.

Step 1: Clean

Take all your food out of your cupboards and pantry. Dust your cupboard shelves, taking the time to wipe out each cupboard with a cleaning cloth and get the gritty flour, salt and grease off of your canned goods and jars.

Wipe off the bottom of jars and bottles and give the entire can or bottle a quick wipe to dust them off. Place all labels forward facing and try not to stack too many cans in a row or you may never know what got pushed to the back of the cupboard.

Step 2: Evaluate

Just how long has that been in my kitchen cupboard?? Will you really use some of those items in your pantry? Throw out anything that you haven’t used in over a year. Chances are you will never use them or maybe they just did not taste as good as you thought they would.

Step 3: Organize

Think you are running out of room in your cupboards? Pull everything out and organize according to cooking type. Organize all baking ingredients together and all main course foods together. Try grouping them by how they are used in your recipes. You would be surprised how much extra room you can find, just by cleaning and organizing.

Step 4: Label and Date

Label anything that you have put into a separate package with a marker and/or masking tape. Write the date purchased on it as well.

Date your canned goods with a black permanent marker on the bottom with the date when you purchased them. This can be especially helpful if you have more than one of a specific item. That way you know which one to use up first. Place the oldest cans or jars to the front of the cupboard.

Whether it is the spring-cleaning bug or a fall-cleaning bug, make some time to clean out your kitchen cupboards. You would be surprised how fast time flies and how long items can stay in your cupboard.

If you cannot remember when you purchased it, you should probably replace it. Be confident that your baking supplies are fresh and you will feel like baking and cooking so much more.

Laura Warnke is a recipe collector who preserves the wonderful recipes from her family that have stood the test of time from many generations. Her latest website, Breakfast and Brunch Recipes.com contains delicious, quick, and easy breakfast and brunch recipes including quiches, breakfast casseroles, pancakes, waffles, crepes, coffee cakes, quick breads, muffins and French toast, along with tips for better baking. Also visit All About Dessert Sauces.com for information and recipes on dessert sauces and ice cream sundae toppings.

Food history has always interested me. We can learn a lot about our present eating habits from what our ancestors ate. I’ve read up on the subject and I’ve even hosted a few parties serving period foods. Today we’ll talk about the Vikings. With the help of our friends the archaeologists, food finds have been made. The Scandinavian people of the 8th through 11th centuries were not as limited in terms of their diet as some might think. They were masters of the sea and ate everything from oysters to whales. They were much more than just avid anglers feasting on a variety of fresh and saltwater fish. They were farmers as well. In the Danish settlement of Jorvik, now called York in Great Britain, finds of both wild and domestic meats were found. Among those were venison, beef, mutton/lamb, goat, pork, chicken, goose, duck, grouse, and wood pigeon. The Vikings cultivated grains such as barley, wheat, rye, and barley. They grew vegetables and fruit like carrots, parsnips, turnips, celery, plums, apples, raspberries, elderberries, and much much more. To top that off, they were not opposed to using spices and herbs other than salt for a little extra flavor.

Honey was the big sweetener in the Middle Ages. The Vikings used a lot of it to make mead. You can read my article “The Stuff of Poetry Mead” (http://onlinecooking.net/output_story.php?ID=1038) for more information. The Vikings drank more than just mead. They had access to ale and even wines brought back from Italy and France. Bread would have been a staple, since it is filling (it also keeps you pretty regular). I recall a class assignment back in elementary school where we had to prepare a food from our respective cultures. Being proud of my Scandinavian ancestors, I picked something Viking related. I found a recipe in an old issue of Skalk, (http://www.skalk.dk/) an archaeological periodical published in Denmark. It had a lot of different grains in it, and unlike some of the breads we are use to today, this stuff hit your stomach with a “thud”. (One of the things I enjoy doing is making improvised dishes based on ingredients found in the Viking and Medieval ages.)

Here is a recipe that translates pretty well even to modern times. It will keep you going on the coldest of winter nights. Drink a couple horns of mead and you’ll be really happy.

Paul’s Viking Stew

A large piece of meat cut into cubes
One large onion (chopped)
One carrot (chopped)
A few stalks of celery (chopped)
One Parsnip (chopped)
Some cabbage (chopped)
Pearled barley
Beef broth or stock, you can use chicken stock as well
Oil for cooking
Salt and Pepper

Put your vegetables into a big pot and cook on low heat in a little oil. If you want to stay authentic, do not use corn oil. Corn as we know it in the Americas was not used until much later. Olive oil might have been used if some Norwegian traveled to Italy and picked up some.

When the onions and cabbage look translucent, then add the meat and barley. Cover everything with your stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and stir it occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.

Cook until the barley is cooked and the meat is done all the way through. You can also thicken this with a little flour in water.

So there you have it, an interpretation that would probably be a little better than what the standard Viking would have. The point is that this is a dish that would have been made with ingredients that were available at the time. Stay tuned for more medieval recipes.

Paul Rinehart is classically trained and is the founder of Online Cooking.

Choosing the right menu for a special event can be just as important as choosing a location. Food can communicate a theme, convey a feeling or set the mood of an entire night. If you are planning a high-class extravaganza, hot dogs and beer might not be appropriate. However, they might be the perfect choice for a birthday party at the lake. Taking great care in planning a menu shows your guests how much you appreciate them, and a great meal can help make a special day even more memorable.

If you are planning a birthday party for your child, an interactive meal can be a fun activity for your guests. Rather than slaving away in the kitchen all day or spending countless dollars ordering pizzas, you can save time and money by letting the guests make their own special creations. One fun idea is to prepare a multitude of toppings and let the children make their own bagel or English muffin pizzas. They will have a blast piling on strange combinations of toppings, and they will enjoy feeling like grown-ups in the kitchen.

For a more formal occasion like a holiday party, finger foods can be great for mingling guests, and they can be great topics of conversation. The obligatory finger sandwich can be spiced up by adding your own special pesto or cheese spread to an already tried and true recipe. Experiment with different ingredients in the weeks prior to the party, and test them out on your family. You will know when you get the reaction you are looking for, and you might end up spending much of the party writing down your recipe for your guests.

Planning a menu for a wedding can be quite stressful, especially when you are not sure exactly how many guests will be attending. The rule of thumb is that too much is better than not enough, even if it means having a lot of food left over at the end of the night. You can choose to have a buffet-style dinner, or you can have a set menu for your guests. It is important to consider your guests with special dietary needs. You should have vegetarian and low-sodium alternatives to your main courses, and you should have a heart-healthy menu for those who must avoid foods with high fat contents.

Before attempting a large-scale meal, you should make all of the dishes several times to perfect your recipes. Your goal is to have guests asking for more even after it all runs out. Test your creations on a variety of people and make adjustments according to their suggestions. When cooking food from your own recipes, it is important to remember the details of what you did every time you make it. That way you will know what went wrong when something turns out horrible, and more importantly what went right when you receive raving reviews.

Planning portions is the most important part of catering your own party. Though most recipes tell you how many people they will feed, it is best to err on the side of caution. If a recipe feeds eight, you might want to count it as six or seven, depending on how many guests you expect. Plan that half of your guests will want to go back for seconds. If you know that one dish will be a favorite, be sure to make extra. Though the green beans may be the healthier option, you can usually bet that the cheesecake will go a lot quicker. Keep in mind that the greater the variety, the more people you will please, so even if you are a steamed vegetable lover, you should probably prepare some beefy options for your less than health conscious guests.

Sintilia Miecevole’s resourceful and most interesting site www.fufood.com provides you with all kinds of food information such as cooking sites, great recipes, meal ideas, catering, nutrition, gifts, organic, cooking advice and much more. Be sure to visit www.fufood.com and enjoy the best of food!

The Crock-Pot is not a new phenomenon and has been around for
many years. However, recently more recipes have been listed
using the Crock-Pot as the ideal appliance. There are a few
reasons why using a Crock-Pot is a great way to cook.

Cooking Using a Crock-Pot is Easy and Convenient

It is so easy to use a Crock-Pot for making some of one’s
favorite recipes. All an individual has to do is to cut up some
vegetables and meat, for example, toss the ingredients in the
Crock-Pot, and let it do its thing. It is not like cooking on
the stove or in the oven where one has to constantly be watching
the meal to make sure it doesn’t burn. By using a Crock-Pot, one
can put the meal in the pot and go off to do other things around
the house and the meal will turn out perfectly. For this reason,
convenience is a key factor with Crock-Pot cooking.

Crock-Pot Meals Are Flavorful

Due to the fact that meals which are prepared with a Crock-Pot
sit and cook for awhile, the end result is a flavorful meal.
Because the juices have had a chance to soak in and marinate the
ingredients within the Crock-Pot, one will have a meal which
will tantalize the taste buds of the entire family.

Many Crock-Pot Recipes Are Unique and Different

Crock-Pot recipes tend to be ones which are a bit different than
the usual recipes that require stovetop or oven cooking. One can
also alter the various Crock-Pot recipes by throwing in some
additional ingredients for added flair or to personal tastes.
Crock-Pot recipes are of such a unique quality that they are
sure to please all who partake in this great type of meal.

These are some of the reasons why those individuals who have to
prepare a meal should dig out their Crock-Pots and make
something fantastic for dinner without spending much time on the
meal.

Omelet(te)s

They’re easy to cook, right?

We’ll see.

The first thing to remember is that you need the right size of frying pan. This is more important than you may think. Too large, and the omelet will dry out; too small, and it will not cook through.

As a basic guide, you need a 15 centimeter pan for a two-egg omelet and a 25 centimeter pan for a four to six egg omelet. That is, 6 in. and 10 in. respectively. Which, handily enough, is pretty much the size of pans you should have in your kitchen anyway.

The second most important thing is not to beat the eggs.

I’ll repeat that for all of those chefs out there who think they can cook omelets: do NOT beat the eggs.

Instead, abandon the habits of a lifetime and stir the yolks into the whites using a knife blade. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Warm your empty pan through on a moderate heat, add a good knob of butter, turn up the heat and swirl it round to coat the bottom and sides of the pan.

When the butter is foaming pour some into the egg mixture, stir it in and then immediately pour the eggs into the pan.

Shake the pan to spread the mixture evenly. Now, using a fork or thin spatula, draw the cooked egg away from the edge of the pan and let the uncooked liquid run into the space created.

When the omelet is almost cooked, but the surface is still soft and liquid, flip one edge of the omelet towards the center of the pan so that it folds over. Then slide the unfolded edge onto a warmed plate, rolling the folded edge over the top of it as you do so.

An omelet cooked in this way requires no filling, except perhaps some fresh, chopped, herbs added to the egg mixture about 15 minutes before cooking.

What’s that? Oh yes, all right; if you must you can use olive oil instead of butter.

About the Author

During the 1990s Michael Sheridan was head chef of the Pierre Victoire restaurant in London’s West End, specializing in French cuisine. An Australian, he is a published author on cooking matters, and runs a free membership club for busy home cooks at http://thecoolcook.com