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September 6, 2011

Wellness pizza Blog Post About medication

Filed under: food — Tags: , , — parbux @ 3:48 pm

When it comes to the Japanese delicacy known as Sushi, people either love it or they hate it. There’s just no in between and this is probably because Sushi is made from raw fish and other ingredients that evoke strong reactions of love and hate.

Those who love their Sushi agree that there are certain tips that will help those starting out to have the best possible experience as they try a new food. Follow these guidelines, and it’s possible you may end up in the Sushi-lovers camp.

Start by checking out any Sushi restaurants in your city. All quality sushi establishments have a bar where the fish is displayed. Don’t be reluctant to take a look, that’s what the bar is there for. Take a good look at the fish. It should look juicy, not dry, and it should be what the chef is using to prepare sushi dishes. If he isn’t using the display fish, ask why not. Truly reputable sushi restaurants take great pride in showing off the quality and freshness of their fish, which is what this culinary specialty is all about. If the restaurant doesn’t have a fish display, don’t even think of eating sushi there.

Next, avoid any “all you can eat” sushi restaurant. Once again, the issue is quality, and places that advertise “all you can eat” typically prepare large amounts of fish in advance. The freshness diminishes the longer the food is held. Granted, top quality seafood is expensive, but when it comes to sushi, diners really do get what they pay for. Those who remain unconvinced ought to try their own taste test. Eat once in an “all you can eat” sushi restaurant, and then go to a traditional establishment where diners pay by the piece. The flavor of premium quality sushi should be all the evidence needed to prefer the traditional restaurant.

Another thing to note is whether diners are forced to order everything all at once, or whether they can order a few pieces of sushi at a time. A quality restaurant will place as much emphasis on the dining experience as on the food, allowing its customers to savor each piece of sushi individually. After all, it’s not Japanese fast food, but a gourmet delicacy in its own right. If the server in a sushi restaurant insists the diners order all at once, that could be a sign that the fish isn’t fresh, or that large amounts have been prepared in advance. Take note, and try another establishment.

Also note the flavor of the rice used in sushi dishes. Sushi rice is short-grained rice combined with sugar, rice vinegar, salt and water. This imparts a delicate flavor to the rice accompanying the fish. If the rice has no flavor, try another restaurant.

Check the menu for a combination of traditional sushi and sashimi dishes and more modern versions such as California Rolls. A lack of traditional dishes on the menu could mean that the sushi chef has not received proper training, and the sushi served there could be less than authentic.

Finally, treat yourself to the “chef’s special. Just as the sushi chef to prepare what he thinks best with the available fish. It’s a risk, true, but it could also lead to a tasty experience – to say nothing of creating a good relationship with the chef!

Japanese chef and sushi bar owner Okistugu Kado carves out detailed vegetable sculptures inspired by movies, in this case, Star Wars. The sculptures are edible, but held together with bamboo skewers and toothpicks, so one might want to be careful if they feel the need to eat a sculpture that tastes like a vegetable that a chef put hours — sometimes upwards of ten — into creating. Read on below to see some of the other detailed sculptures, and after that, head on over to Kado’s personal blog to see more of his work, including a sushi cake that may not turn out to be what you envisioned when you heard the phrase “sushi cake.”

(Metro.co.uk via Oddity Central)

A new sushi restaurant in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan has taken to making some outrageously massive rolls and nigiri. They also serve up some absolutely tiny pieces with each order to absolutely mess with the minds of anyone enjoying their treats. In the picture above, regular sushi has been included to give perspective to the other trays. You can watch a video of it at the link, but be warned the dialogue is in Japanese.

Link Via InventorSpot

Worth Checking

For some Chinese Eats in Doraville, GA check out ‘Buford Tea House And Restaurant’ at 5150 Buford Hwy. 770-458-1818

pozycjonowanie

June 15, 2010

What is ur beloved pastaIT food ?

Filed under: food, italian food — Tags: , — parbux @ 11:06 am

Q. Dear Umbra,
I am a fairly active, athletic person; that being said, I love my pasta. When I
boil the water for my pasta, I run the tap water for about 5–10 seconds until
the water becomes very hot, then fill up my pot, and set it on my glass-top
stove to boil. The water seems to boil almost instantaneously when I fill it up
with hot water, and when I fill it up from the tap right away with cooler
water, it takes longer. So, my question is: Is it more wasteful to let the
precious water run to get hot for 5–10 seconds, reducing the boiling time? Or
is it more wasteful to fill it up with cooler water, not wasting any water, but
using more electricity to boil the water? One other consideration is that I
live at high altitude, and water takes longer to boil here. Thanks so
much!

Nate W.
Redmond, Ore.

A. Dearest Nate,

Photo: lucadea via FlickrYou know, I actually dropped a few pounds on a pasta diet
once. I just had to walk pasta the refrigerator, pasta the bakery, and pasta
the ice cream shop. A 3-year-old told me that joke.

But you know what's really nothing to laugh at (besides my
pasta joke)? Wasting our precious resources. Cooking noodles is one of those
small things I'm always telling you not to sweat; but conserving water and
energy is a big honking thing to sweat, so I'm happy to fill you in. Plus, it
gives me a chance to play around in the Grist test kitchen.

Since I have some better solutions to come, let's go ahead
and take the letting-water-run-until-it's-hot option off the table right now.
After space heat—that is, heating your entire home—water heaters are the
largest household energy consumers. And there are more efficient means of
heating such a small amount of water that also don't let natural resources just
run down the drain (I don't suppose you had a bucket there each time to catch
excess water?).

So does that just leave us waiting for the recommended six quarts of cooler tap water to
boil on the stovetop before adding our pasta? Not necessarily. First off, you
do not—I repeat, do not—need six
quarts of water to make a bowl of pasta. Yes, I know that's what it says on the
box. Grist's own food guru, Tom Philpott, and
food-science writer Harold McGee both concur that six quarts are overkill. About a quart and a half should do
the trick (I actually used even less for mine).

Secondly, here's the real coup: You can put the pasta right
into the cold water! That's right. You don't need to boil the water first. Pop
your pasta in, put a lid on the pot (contains the heat), and stir as needed to
prevent sticking. This method produced the same delectable rotini for me as the
boil-first method, saving water (ta-ta, six quarts) and energy, and it was
really no extra effort.

I wasn't satisfied to stop there, though, as I wanted to
give you options, plural. I'm not
sure how the cold water method works at high altitude, or if there's any
difference at all, but let's say you decide to stick with the boil-first
method. We know from my previous column
on boiling water for tea that the electric kettle is No. 1 in water-heating
efficiency. Thusly, how about getting your pasta water started in an electric
kettle? Once it's boiling (or nearly boiling) pour it over your pasta in a pot,
and then pop the lid on. Turn the burner on to keep the water's momentum going,
and voila. Cooked pasta in 10 minutes (or however long your particular type of
pasta takes)—which reminds me of yet another energy-saving tip: You don't have
to leave the stove on for the duration of the cooking time. Turn off the burner
a few minutes before the pasta is finished, leaving the lid on. The pasta will
continue to cook in the pot.

And don't just toss that water post-cooking. Pasta water in
restaurants is liquid gold—used as a sauce thickener. While you may not be able
to replicate the starchy water made from boiling order after order of
spaghetti, you can still try mixing some pasta water in with your next batch of
homemade tomato sauce. Or you can just let the water cool to room temperature
and use it to give your houseplants a little hydration.

Saucily,
Umbra

Other helpful links:

Ask Umbra on
water conservation
Ask Umbra on
boiling water for tea
Ask
Umbra on water heaters
Ask Umbra on
waiting for warm water

Q. Dear Umbra,
My granddaughter uses Clorox Disinfecting Wipes constantly on everything. She
has a 2-year-old son, who is asthmatic and seems to have a somewhat compromised
immune system. The least little trigger can set him off into an asthma
attack, which on occasion has developed into pneumonia and resulted in hospital
stays. She is obsessed with certain hygiene, and I tend to think she overdoes
it. Plus, she tends not to wipe off the kitchen counters with a dishrag before
she uses the wipes, which leaves scum on the counters. Please help me with
recommendations I can pass on to her. Thanks!

Carol J.
Scottsdale, Ariz.

A. Dearest Carol,

Advising loved ones on child-rearing or cleaning techniques is
a slippery slope indeed, as is giving this question a definitive answer.

Let's first start by breaking down what exactly is in these
wipes. A couple of the key ingredients are alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl
ammonium chloride (whew, glad I didn't get those words in my fourth grade
spelling bee). The production of these compounds results in harmful dioxins,
which can cause cancer, immune system problems, and reproductive issues.
Additionally, the ingredients themselves can cause skin irritation, headaches,
and respiratory issues. In short, these chems are not a good thing to have around a child who's
already having his share of breathing problems, methinks.

Plus, these wipes are utterly disposable, equaling a lot of unnecessary
waste. One swipe, and then into the trash bin—sad. Not to mention the fact that
they are packaged in a plastic bottle, which is a big petroleum-sucking no-no
in my book.

I'm not a doctor and don't even pretend to play one in this column
(though I do look mighty authoritative wearing a stethoscope), so I'm not going
to try to diagnose whether your great-grandson's condition warrants the kind of
disinfection these wipes offer, harsh though their ingredients may be. Try
referring his mom to my April
12 column on sanitizing counters with white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide
(in two separate bottles). The combo kills almost all Salmonella, Shigella, and
E. coli bacteria. However, if whiter,
grime-free surfaces are all your granddaughter is after, then our friends vinegar,
baking soda, and castile soap along with a reusable dishcloth and a little
elbow grease should do the trick.

Spotlessly,
Umbra

Other helpful links:

Ask Umbra
on bleach
Ask
Umbra on green cleaning
Ask Umbra
on having kids
Ask
Umbra on mini-dilemmas

In my April
5 column, I responded to 9-year-old Ian's question about eco-friendly
packaging for his newly designed card game. In return, I received a package
this week with a handmade thank-you card from Ian, a lovely letter from his
mom, and pictures of Ian and his completed product, which I wanted to share
with you guys.

Ian, rocking a rad fedora and showing off his upcycled game packaging.Hello! I wanted to say thanks, because your ideas really
helped! My updated format looks great, and it's eco-friendly, not to mention
cheap. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Ian

Dear Umbra,

Several weeks ago, you answered my 9-year-old son's question
about creating eco-friendly packaging for a game he's invented. Your reply
thrilled him—he was surprised that he got a reply. It made his day. He ended up
rethinking his packaging and created drawstring bags out of a variety of
leftover fabrics. It significantly lowered his costs, taught him sewing skills,
and added an element of personalization to each game. And eco-friendly to boot!

Many thanks from a grateful mom,
Gwyn R.


Courtesy of Universal Studios

Before the park’s grand opening, Harry Potter expert Melissa Anelli was magically granted access into Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter for a “chill-inducing” walk through the gates of Hogwarts and a taste of some genuine “butterbeer.”

I will never get over the bizarre feeling of strolling through a snowy British town in air so hot and so humid I could boil pasta in the palm of my hand. Nor will it ever feel natural to gaze upon Hogwarts, flanked by its iconic boars—and the palm trees that surround it—from afar. But (sorry, mayor of London), there really isn’t a better place than Florida for the wedge of Harry Potter paradise that is Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter. After a few minutes, the superb detailing of the attraction fully distracts from the environmental ironies.

Months ago, I attended a press preview of the theme park on behalf of my website, The Leaky Cauldron. During that preview we were given a quick tour of the still-under-construction park and offered samples of food from its Three Broomsticks restaurant. After all the deliciousness that ensued, I started joking that we fans were going to enter the park, which officially opens this week, as our normal selves, but walk out fat and poor.

Fast-forward to Memorial Day weekend, when all three hosts of The Leaky Cauldron’s PotterCast—John Noe, Frank Franco, and I—gained entrance to the park during its soft opening period. We get a lot of tips in our inboxes, and quite a few of them indicated a soft open around the end of May. Nothing was certain, but we knew there would be a theme park “experience” for people who had bought a certain vacation package, so we figured, why not just spend Memorial Day in Orlando… just in case? The gamble paid off. It turned out that a guest at one of the Universal Resort hotels could get into the park an hour before it opened to everyone else—and that was how we got into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It closed after a few hours, but we spent those hours making the most of everything and my wisecracking prediction came true inside two hours. Three butterbeers, five souvenir pins, a Hog's Head Ale, a pumpkin juice, a Cauldron Cake, a set of wax seals, a Hogwarts shirt, and an annual pass later, my stomach had grown as my bank balance diminished—and I can honestly say it was the happiest I've ever been under such conditions.

At 7:30 a.m. sharp on May 29, we stood on line with roughly 400 other people, awaiting entrance to the Promised Land. Every last person there was part of the largest human train I’ve ever seen, speed-walking like ducks all the way to the back of Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure theme park to get into Hogsmeade. We squealed like children as the arch, with its wrought-iron sign that reads “Please respect spell limits,” drew near, and almost ran to get right into Hogwarts and onto the Forbidden Journey ride, the park’s signature attraction.

Sadly, we never got on: As we were reminded, the soft opening was like the technical rehearsal for a show. We instead spent 20 minutes wandering around the magnificently built Hogwarts, ogling the so-real-looking moving portraits and trying to restrain ourselves from hopping into a seat next to the Gryffindor common room fire, before the queue came to a standstill and a mild-voiced announcer evacuated us.

Who cared? We had all of Hogsmeade to explore—a life-size recreation of the world I’ve immersed myself in for nearly a decade. We moved on to Ollivanders, the wand shop from the franchise, where a wand master carefully selected two young children from our group and performed tests on them to determine their wands. Of course, in true theme park tradition, this meant they would have to buy them in the neighboring shop.

April 12, 2010

Which are yours beloved recipes?

Filed under: food — Tags: , , , — parbux @ 10:12 pm

You are almost certainly aware of this, but this day is not just any Monday. In the same way that we all remember September 26, 2006 as the debut of Burger King's Chicken Fries, April 12th, 2010 will be seared upon our historical consciousness as the premiere of the new KFC sandwich, the Double Down. I'm afraid I must confess that when I—a connoisseur of speedily-prepared foodstuffs—first heard about this sandwich, I found the concept distasteful and thought myself unlikely to sample it. But here I am, having eaten both of the available versions and writing about them on the internet.

If you aren't familiar with the Double Down, here's some marketing language from the Colonel's website that breaks it down:

The new KFC Double Down sandwich is real and it's coming April 12th! This very special sandwich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!

One of the ideal things about this blurb is that they had to make sure people understood that this was not actually some sort of amusing prank or illusion. Which makes sense really. If someone told you KFC was coming out with a sandwich that used either grilled or fried chicken in place of bread and bacon as the "meat," accompanied by multiple layers of cheese, and then a sauce, you might assume it was some clever comment on America's obsession with fast food and subsequent obesity. So I suppose an assertion of the product's actuality is both warranted and necessary.

Also, KFC is not lying. An accurate review of the sandwich is pretty much: "This product is so meaty, there's no room for a bun!" In fact, I should probably stop wasting everyone's time because that's the most systematic description of the sandwich that could ever be written. But you know what? I ate both of these things. You're going to sit here as I walk you through each component of this "sandwich"/"product" and like it.

So let's get to it and break the Double Down piece by piece.

The "Buns"/Fried Chicken and Grilled Chicken

There are two options when ordering a Double Down: one can either select the grilled version or the fried version (or, in my case, both). The grilled version offers the breakout (right?) KFC item of last year: the Grilled Recipe filet. It evokes a less ambitious Boston Market/Kenny Rogers' rotisserie chicken. It's not terrible, and is actually probably than you would think it to be, but it's definitely not good. (to clarify the comparison, let's establish in the context of this review that the Boston Market/Kenny Rogers' rotisserie breasts are but not exceptional.)

The fried option is essentially the chicken breast they serve in the buckets that you may or may not remember from your childhood depending how awesome or unawesome your parents were. While undoubtedly palatable, I've never found the Colonel's blend of flavors to be my cup of tea. Which should not be taken as a disparagement of all fast food fried chicken; I am no stranger to Bojangles' and Popeyes—the former being much better than the latter, but both ranking significantly above KFC for me.

What I'd point to as the major flaw in this sandwich—in its underlying principle, really—is that both varieties of chicken, particularly the fried, out-muscle and overpower the rest of the sandwich with the intense taste of saltiness. Make sure you get a drink. Actually, if you're ordering the Double Down, you should probably get water instead of a fountain soda, because you are going to be really parched both during and after the act of consumption. Also, you don't NEED a soda.

The Bacon

Sadly, the belly of the hog is pretty much an afterthought. To be frank, by the time I had turned my attention to the grilled version I was unable to perceive even the existence of bacon. I thought to myself, "Hey, maybe the grilled one is the 'healthy' version! Maybe I could try this again!" But nope, that wasn't the case: There was bacon in that one too, only I just couldn't tell. It's either because the chicken, cheese, and sauce are all so flavor-full/salty and the bacon is kind of "meh," or because the bacon is kind of flimsy and afterthought-y. Or maybe it's because I was eating my second KFC Double Down in the span of 15 minutes and at some point your palate gives up and says, "F you, if you're not going to treat me with respect you don't deserve to taste." I'm still not sure.

The Cheese

If you like gooey cheeses that promise the suggestion of a flavor with which you are familiar without actually presenting such flavor, this is going to be up your alley. The cheese, much like the chicken—or perhaps because of the chicken—has sort of a salty and nutty thing going on. It's more identifiable than the bacon while eating, but this may be more a product of consistency than actual flavor.

The Colonel's Special Sauce TM

It's pretty much Thousand Island dressing. I think it's safe to say that when a fast food chain promises a special sauce, it's going to be Thousand Island dressing. If you're share my affections for the McDonald's Big Mac, note that that special sauce is also Thousand Island dressing, although if have waded this far into a review of a fast food sandwich that uses chicken instead of bread this is certainly a fact of which you had prior knowledge.

(Sidebar: Did you know that there's actually a place in the world that is called Thousand Islands, somewhere between us and Canada, that may be the origin place for Thousand Island dressing? It turns out that there's a pretty interesting—relative, perhaps, to this review—debate about it on the Thousand Island dressing Wikipedia page! Spoiler alert: passive aggressive comments arguing about salad dressings are behind that link!)

Nutrition (LOL!)

So KFC claims that the two Double Downs only have 540 and 460 calories each (fried and grilled, respectively). At the risk of being unfortunately unpleasant, I'm forced to express my disbelief of those numbers, because there's no way that these things have less calories than a Big Mac (without cheese!). Also, if you look on the board at your local KFC (or at least at my local KFC), there's a calorie count for the meal, which comes with potato wedges and a drink (you fatty!), that counts the calories at 475-1080.

Further to this issue, Susan Levine, the nutrition education director for the Doctors Committee for Responsible Medicine, has issued a letter to Yum! Brands Inc. (operators of KFC, obvs) insisting that the shouldn't advertise the Double Down to children. Levine feels that the "sandwich" is a "troubling symbol of corporate irresponsibility." She also believes that the FDA should restrict Double Down advertising in a similar manner to the way it handles tobacco advertising. Sorry, phallus-faced Camel who's eating bacon surrounded by pieces of fried chicken, your kind isn't wanted here.

(Sidebar 2: Did you know that KFC also offers a Double Chocolate Chip Cake that is 1700 calories? I mean, truth be told, it looked pretty dope, but 1700 calories? Holy crap.)

Overall

Should you eat this? Probably not. It is very much what you think it is, a sloppy and salty mess, and will make your stomach for several hours after you've consumed it.

Still, I asked the KFC employee behind the counter how the Double Downs were doing, mostly in the hope that I would have been the first one to order this creation. It was not to be: Apparently my local KFC affiliate has been serving them for "a few days" already. In fact, they are "selling a lot so far." So I guess that's cool. America, we did it! We, like the Double Down, are pretty much exactly what people think we are.


Awl publisher David Cho previously reviewed the products prepared on the new Burger King broiler. The Awl has no financial arrangements with KFC or its parent company Yum! Brands, which should be pretty obvious right now.

Cook the Book: Northern Fried Chicken

Posted by Caroline Russock, April 8, 2010 at 1:00 PM

[Photograph: Caroline Russock]

All of you fried chicken traditionalist out there take warning: This is not a typical Southern fried chicken recipe. There are ingredients and techniques within this recipe for Northern Fried Chicken from Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Bruce Bromberg and Eric Bromberg that will go against all previous fried chicken notions.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's get down to the genius and timeliness of this recipe. In the week following Easter folks are always looking for creative uses for their leftover eggs, but this recipe addresses another holiday leftover: Passover matzo. The Bromberg Brothers' fried chicken is coated in a mix of matzo meal and flour, which gives it a crust that is worlds away from your typical fried chicken. It's lighter and crisp in a way that brings to mind a cornmeal crust. Using egg whites to adhere the coating to the chicken ensures that the crust stays put, even if your chicken sticks to the bottom of the frying pan. The last bit of atypical preparation is sprinkling the hot chicken with the Bromberg's Fried Chicken Seasoning once it comes out of the fryer. Since the coating seasoned at all, this post-fry application of the Old Bay-like spice mix is where the majority of the flavor comes from.

So, there you have it: Northern Fried Chicken thought up by two French trained Jewish boys from New Jersey. This fried chicken was like no other recipe ever attempted at home, or eaten out for that matter, but it was really tasty. On the scale of making fried chicken it all that time consuming since there was no need to soak or preseason. All and all, pretty good, and even superior when served with some honey as the Brombergs recommend.

Win Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook

As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) of Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook to give away this week. Enter to triumph here »

Northern Fried Chicken

- serves 4 -

Adapted from Bromberg Bros.Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Bruce Bromberg and Eric Bromberg.

Ingredients

6 cups soy oil
1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast pieces)
4 egg whites, whisked
1/2 cup matzo meal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Perfect Roast Seasoning (recipe follows)
1 teaspoon Fried Chicken Seasoning (recipe follows)
Mexican honey (or any honey you prefer), for serving

Procedure

1. Fill a pot with about 3 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fat thermometer reads 375°F.

2. Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Place the egg whites in a massive shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, combine the matzo meal, flour, and baking powder. Dip each chicken piece in egg white and let excess drip back into the bowl. Next press each chicken piece into the matzo mix and tap off excess.

3. Working in 2 batches, if necessary, fry the chicken until dark golden, about 10 minutes for white meat and 13 minutes for dark meat. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle immediately with the perfect roast seasoning, then coat the pieces with the fried chicken seasoning. Serve with gravy if you like, and honey, for dipping.

Perfect Roast Seasoning

- makes about 2/3 cup -

Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Procedure

Combine the salt, pepper, and thyme, and store in a covered container.

Fried Chicken Seasoning

- makes about 3 tablespoons -

Ingredients

2 teaspoons hot paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Procedure

Combine the paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, basil, and cayenne
pepper, and store in a covered container.

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