Food and Beverage Blog

Nowadays, there are no teenagers who can imagine themselves a view of an interesting movie without a pizza! In fact, for centuries the technology of pizza production has almost not changed – except that the furnace steel gas and electric. And everything else, including the mandatory manual preparation of the test, remained traditional. Real Italian pizza does not tolerate hack-work and, despite the rapidity of its preparation, does not like the hustle: all processes must take place clear and measured.

The main thing in pizza – tortilla. On the one hand, it serves only the basis for various fillers, and so should be fairly thin. On the other, unsuccessful tortilla spoil all impression of the pizza, which is simply inconvenient (tortilla, like hundreds of years ago, took place of a dish) and tasteless to eat. Cake should be crisp, but soft, so that it can be folded, not broken.

The main thing in cake – batter. It should be prepared with olive oil – then the pizza will not cause heartburn, bringing the guests of pizzerias maximum pleasure.

Pizza – a gastronomic masterpiece, rather than food mass. Its taste should not be monotonous, varying with the consumption of the product (cheese, tomato, spicy, olive, etc.). The taste of one component should not interrupt the taste of another.

Ok, pizza, pasta,.. but what about a party without a dessert? What will you choose for dessert? I’m assured that Tiramisu. This delicious Italian dessert, is cooked on the basis of mascarpone. Also includes Savoyard (Italian Savoyards) – porous, dry biscuits, eggs, sugar, coffee (preferably espresso), alcohol (rum, brandy, Marsala); top dessert is decorated with cocoa powder and grated chocolate. Cake is not baked; the texture is soft, like pudding.

Tiramisu – one of the most popular desserts in the world, as the biggest part of all Italian Foods which conquered the stomachs and hearts of millions of people all over the world.

Rack of lamb is so easy to cook and so impressive. It should be in everyone’s cooking arsenal. The ingredients, other than the rack, aren’t that complicated and substitutions are fine and exact measurements aren’t important either. And you can easily cook on a grill or in the stove. It’s hard to mess up.

First you need a rack of lamb. Try your butcher shop or supermarket. You’ll need to marinade at least all day or preferably over night. Marinade is simple. For two racks, I use 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons freshly chopped garlic and two teaspoons of kosher or sea salt. I’ll also add one to three additional herbs, whatever I have fresh and handy. Oregano, sage, and thyme are my favorites, and if I have some available, great. If not, that’s OK too. Fresh herbs make an enormous difference so don’t waste your time with dried ones for rack of lamb. I may also add some pepper, and the juice of half a lemon or lime. Sometimes I’ll add a couple of tablespoons of tequila or bourbon too. It’s not critical at all; your rack will rock.

Next, cook. On the grill over medium heat is fine or on a rack in the oven at about 350 degrees is good too. You do need an instant read thermometer. I like 125 degrees for rare/medium rare up to maybe 140 degrees for medium rare to medium. Do not over cook! Expect roughly 20 minutes of cooking time.

If cooking on the grill, I’ll often cover each protruding bone with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. It makes for a slightly more impressive presentation, but doesn’t affect the flavor.

French ice cream sundaes might include any combination of flavors, sorbets, syrups, nuts and even alcohols. There really is no limit. However, there are some popular combination that you are quite likely to find on the menu if you visit an ice cream parlor (glacier) in France. These classic sundaes are easy enough to reproduce at home. Add on a fancy French name, and you will have an elegant dessert ready in no time.

If you do decide to serve your dessert with a French touch, do not forget to top it with one or two rolled “cigarette” or fan shaped cookies. Their slightly sweet, crispy crunch is the perfect accompaniment to a cold and rich French sundae.

Chocolate Liegeois – Chocolate and vanilla ice creams, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and shaved chocolate.

Coffee Liegois – This is the same as a chocolate liegeois, except coffee substitutes for the chocolate.

Coupe Antillaise – Here the flavors are supposed to be Caribbean. Many times this means vanilla and rum raisin ice cream, topped with pineapple and whipped cream, but other combinations of rum and fruit are possible.

Coupe Tutti Frutti – A combination of different sorbets (for example, pear, peach, or pineapple) with different fresh fruits (for example, strawberries, grapes, melon, or pineapple), topped with whipped cream and fruit syrup.

Coupe Colonel – Watch out – the colonel has a bite! Lemon sorbet topped with vodka.

Dame Blanche - Just a simple vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The elegance is all in the name.

Peche Melba – This was invented by the renowned French culinary authority, Auguste Escoffier, in testament to his admiration for Nelly Melba, who was a popular turn of the 20th century Australian opera singer. Vanilla ice cream, poached peaches, and raspberry sauce. These days you are likely to find your peche Melba topped with whipped cream as well.

Poire Belle Helene – Another cold dessert inspired by the opera – this one commemorates the presentation in 1864 of La Belle Helene, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach. Vanilla ice cream, poached pears, and chocolate sauce.

Profiteroles – This is not a sundae, but you will find it frequently offered on the menu in a French glacier. Cream puffs are typically filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

One of the things I most love about my crockpots is that you can make breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert in them.

I’d like to share a few dessert recipes with you. This first recipe is a chocolate cake that uses a boxed cake mix. I find them on sale and then buy them for later use.

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 small box of chocolate sugar free pudding
4 eggs
1 cup water
¾ cup oil
12 ounce container of low fat or fat free sour cream

Mix all ingredients together and pour into the crockpot. Cook on low about 6 hours. Allow to cool about 2 hours before removing from crockpot.

We love peanut butter and chocolate. You can add either chocolate chips or peanut butter chips to this recipe for a great added taste. Mix them in at the end and mix just enough to distribute them in the batter.

This next recipe is very similar. It’s a blueberry cake, which also begins with a cake mix.

1 box yellow cake mix
1 can – 21 ounces blueberry pie filling
½ cup butter, softened

Pour the pie filling in the crockpot. Mix together the butter and cake mix. Pour this on top of the blueberry pie filling. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours.

Try this recipe using a chocolate cake mix and a can of cherry pie filling.

In both cases, serve the cake warm and put a bit of Cool Whip on top.

I happen to love Crème Brulee. Imagine my delight when I discovered this wonderful recipe could be made in the crockpot and that it was hard to mess it up.

You’ll need ramekin dishes and a crockpot for this dish. I found Ramekin dishes at our local bed and bath store. They had sets of four on sale for under $10. They are basically single serving casserole dishes that can go into your oven. So for this recipe, you’ll need 4 ramekin dishes and a crockpot large enough to hold all 4 of them. My 6 quart crockpot works great. Place the ramekin dishes in the crockpot and then add enough hot water that the water comes about ¾ of the way up the side of the dishes.

Now, create the crème brulee:

5 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

Whip these ingredients together and pout into the ramekins. You’ll cook on high 2-4 hours. Check your brulee after 2 hours. The edges should be set, the center will still be a little soft. What’s very nice is that it’s hard to overcook these in the crockpot.

Once done, remove from crockpot and allow to cool completely on the countertop. Once they are cool, place the dishes in the refrigerator about four hours.

Sprinkle raw sugar on top of each dish and then place dishes in oven on broil. Get the dishes as close to the broiler as possible. Brown for 3-5 minutes. Allow to cool and then refrigerate until ready to serve. When serving, place a strawberry half on top of each dish.

Crockpots are amazing. You truly can make just about anything in them.

Taking dinner on Sunday is very enjoyable and full of excitement. However I have found many times that on certain days people like to take dinner outside. They don’t feel it urgent to cook food at home and enjoy the evening. However, so far as my knowledge goes, they have lack of confidence to prepare food items in their own kitchen. You should be a good planner and need to pay huge concentration to select the items for cooking nicely so that in the long run you will be free to eat various delicious dishes on Sunday evening. It is a common scenario that people like to purchase the packed of fried chickens for eating on Sunday evening. They have no intention to bring some changes to the food items.

In different ways you can spend the Sunday evening by preparing good dishes. You can prepare yourself for making casserole or dessert which will be very tasty at the dinner table. If it is small get together at your home, you will have made the proper arrangement of the several dishes for the guests and invitees. There will be everyone at the dinner table at your home they will appreciate you for your wonderful dish items which you have made only for the Sunday special.

However, only the arrangement of the spicy and fast food will not work out on the special day. You need to take care of the geriatric community. Those who are old and the aged will come to your house to celebrate the evening. Now it is your turn to take care of their health. You need to prepare the first quality salads and the nutritious food items which will be free of high cholesterol level and fat.

Those who suffer from the obesity will take the special food for safeguarding their health. Cooking for potlucks will really provide much amusement. You should take care of the interest of others who will be present at the dinner table for eating different types of food items on Sunday evening. If you are not too much experienced and competent, you must go to the online sites for collecting the information and data regarding the different types of food items for your invited foodies. If they are real connoisseur of food and beverage they will surely appreciate your cooked dishes which will be delicious, tasty and highly qualitative. Be patient and take time to choose the correct recipe for the preparation of dishes to enjoy every moment on Sunday.