Food and Beverage

March 9, 2009

Burgandy, France – Famous For Its Wines

Filed under: 1 — Tags: , , , — pongchan @ 10:01 am

The terroir is a group of vineyards or vines from the same area which have a common soil and climate. And nowhere else, other than Burgundy in France, is it held so fondly.

Burgundy is a region situated in central east France, which experiences bitter cold winters matched with beautiful warm summers. It is the home of 1.6 million inhabitants.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) is famous throughout the world for its wines. Spanning over 31,500 square kilometers (over 12,000 square miles), with a 360 km (225 mi) strip stretching 100km (60 mi) south of Paris, down from south of Dijon to north of Rho๔ne, houses 99 different wine appellations.

Ranging from the vibrant red Pommard and Corton to the medium Beaune — to the sparkling whites, the dry Chablis or Chassagne Montrachet, over 180 million bottles of some of the fines wines are made in this region.

As an aftermath of the French revolution the vineyards belonging to the monasteries were broken down to smaller plots – which exist even today.

The finest quality wine, designated as “Premier Cru” – is available from 600 of the vineyards in the region while 33 of them is credit to produce the even more classy “Grand Cru” wines. Among these the most renowned are Montrachet, Chambertin and Clos Vougeot.

Made from the pinot noir grapes, the burgundy red wines taste best with Boeuf Bourguignon or pheasant. On the other hand a Chablis or their sparkling white wines go best with anything from shrimps to goat cheese.

The famous white wine called Chablis derives its name from a village of the same name. These are dry whites with an acidity that refreshes. The special Chardonnay grapes thrive in limestone that has been made richer with remains of fossils.

As an accompaniment to lamb or grilled chicken, the best choice is the fruity-flavored, world famous Beaujolais made from the Gamay grape. These grapes grow in granite limestone.

The ever-popular and delicious red is grown in Volnay for the last 8 centuries. The grapes are Pinot Noir grown across 600 acres which is responsible in producing 1.3 million bottles of this amazing wine which has the flavors of raspberries and violets.

And then there is Meursault, located close by, famous for its Premier Cru labels of finest white wines. 2.5 million bottles of the finest wine, Chardonnay, aged anywhere between 3 to 15 years is grown in just over 1000 acres. Fish in white sauce go extremely well with this fine wine with its almond and apple flavors.

But what still makes the headlines is the red Pommard with its tannic and manly flavor, staging a comeback after many years of decline. From just 780 acres of Pinot Noir grown in limestone and red clay are produced 1.8 million bottles of this wine with the flavors of black cherry and black currant. Goes excellent with game venison and roasted red meat with Livarot cheese, these can age from 5 to 15 years.

Whatever your taste buds need, there is very little chance of returning home disappointed with a Burgundy.

Traditional Jamaican Recipes & Food

Filed under: 1 — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — pongchan @ 9:59 am

The flavors of Jamaica are the product of the island’s history combined with a verdant, lush climate. The Spanish, British, African and East Indian have all had an influence over what is today a unique island cuisine made colorful by the many tropical fruits that thrive here.

The waters off Jamaica have always teemed with fish and seafood is the primary protein source for islanders. Snapper, grouper, sea bass and other reef a deep sea fish are caught daily by the many fishermen whose boats line the beaches. Spiny lobster, shrimp and freshwater crustaceans are readily available and cooked usually in a thick sauce. Chicken and goats are well suited to the small mountainous island and are kept by many families but cattle are rare and beef is not the predominant meat.

Many of Jamaica’s fruits, including pineapple, mango, banana and avocado were brought to the region by slave traders and plantation owners experimenting with crops. What were once sugar cane fields are now being used to grow fruits and ackee for export and domestic use.

Few other cuisines mix such a range of spices and tastes – sweet, hot and savory – as Jamaican cooking. Jamaican food wouldn’t be the same without the spices, seasonings and colors from: Allspice, the pimento berry.

Among many of the spices grown in Jamaica are nutmeg, ginger, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, which are integral distinct flavors of Jamaican cooking. The pungent thyme grows rampantly on the island and is found in the majority of Jamaican foods.

Favourite Jamaican foods are those for coconut cake, rum punch & beef jerky recipies.

Real Jamaican food, when cooked with feeling, is a soul-satisfying experience.

For further tips and ideas for cooking great and traditional food from around the world, visit Jamaican Recipes

This article was submitted by Jen Carter, owner of the World Recipes website.

White Barbecue Sauce – Sweet, Sour, Tickling and Tangy

Filed under: Gourmet — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — pongchan @ 9:57 am

BBQ sauce is generally a basic mixture of tomatoes, sugar and vinegar. Tomatoes used can be in various forms such as tomato sauce, paste, puree and even ketchup. Sugar adds sweetness to the barbecue sauce and can either be corn syrup, honey or molasses. The addition of vinegar, on the other hand, lends a sour flavor to the bbq sauce and can be in the form of beer, white or flavored vinegar, wine or citrus juices. In general, bbq sauces can be used throughout the barbecue process from preparation to cooking.

Bechamel sauce or White Barbecue Sauce has a long and illustrious history. It has been a pet of the French food connoisseurs, since 1651. One of the mother sauces of French cuisine, the white sauce is nowadays made by whisking scalded milk gradually into a white flour-butter roux. However, it can also be made by whisking a kneaded flour-butter beurre mani้ into scalded milk. The thickness of the final sauce depends on the proportions of milk and flour. White Barbecue sauce, unquestionably adds a delicate flavoring to your meat dishes.

White Barbecue Sauces of Alabama are different from most other barbecue sauces in the use of their bases. These sauces are predominantly mayonnaise based, unlike the traditional and ubiquitous tomato. Chicken, turkey or pork – these white sauces are taste uppers beyond imagination. Like its tomato- and mustard-based cousins, white barbecue sauce comes in shades ranging from porcelain to putty. There are also differences in consistency. Some sauces flow like fat free milk, while others are more reminiscent of a creamy dressing. As for the ingredients, well, purists such as Myra Grissom, owner of Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, insists there are only four items who play the role: mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, and coarsely ground pepper. Perking up salads or topping pulled pork sandwiches or grilled fish whatever you are up to these sauces are great.

Smuggler’s Run White Grilling Sauce and Big Bob Gibson White BBQ sauce are sauces that can be recommended, without any hesitation. Mayonnaise, Egg Yolks, Water, Corn Syrup, Vinegar, Salt, Spices, Calcium Disodium, Cider Vinegar, Onion, Garlic, White Pepper, Salt and Xanthium Gum are what goes into the making of this taste bud rocker.

Big Bob Gibson White BBQ sauce comprises distilled vinegar, sugar, salt, spices, egg yolks, mustard flour, paprika and garlic. Poultry, pork, seafood, and wild game-Big Bob, goes with them comfortably enough.

Barbecue Sauce For A Perfect Barbeque

Filed under: Cooking — Tags: — pongchan @ 9:56 am

When someone mentions barbecue images comes to the mind like cooking at the backyard grill, a social gathering, cooking outdoors and cooking meat slowly over wood and smoke that adds flavor to the food.

Different cooks have different preferences and style in their cooking. Some prefer rubbing the seasoning whether wet or dry prior to cooking and some prefers to soak the meat first in special marinades that could be sops, mops and finishing. The preparation and ingredients for marinating may differ from region to region the preferred wood to be used can also differ. However, no perfect barbecue will taste as good without the perfect barbecue sauce.

Barbecue sauces can generally be categorized by what they are based on. Common examples are tomato, vinegar and mustard based sauces. To give the barbecue its distinctive taste and prevent the meat from burning easily, barbecue sauces are applied to the meat while being cooked with the exemption of tomato based barbecue sauces as tomato based sauces burns easier than the other kinds of sauces.

Barbecue sauce preparation can either be sweet, sour, tangy, spicy, hot, thick or thin. The varieties are almost endless which makes barbecues popular because anyone can make his own special preparation depending on taste and anyone can create his own way of serving the barbecue.

Recipes for barbecues can also be guarded. And good barbecue sauces can be purchased at almost any store. But the only perfect barbecue sauce is the one that you can create for yourself.
Remember whatever works for you and your family can be a great barbecue sauce. So start experimenting that is the only way to start good cooking.

The basics of Barbecue sauces…

Tomato based barbecue sauce is the most widely used. Some say that it is the most popular. Its popularity however may be due to the simplicity of preparation and besides; tomatoes are ingredients that could easily be found. The point to remember in preparing tomato-based barbecue sauces is to cook the tomatoes very well in order for the flavor to blend with the other ingredients.

Tomato based barbecue sauces are acidic. Because of this, it has the property to breakdown all the flavor of other ingredients blending them with its own. But because of its propensity to burn, limit the usage of tomato based barbecue sauce while cooking. To make it even more flavorful, prepare tomato barbecue sauces a day in advance.

Mustard based sauces are preferred in North Carolina. The mustard based barbecue sauce is great for grilling pork.

Vinegar is great meat tenderizer. It is also more acidic than tomatoes. Because of its acidic content, vinegar based sauces has a tendency to penetrate deep into the meat. To make this barbecue sauce more flavorful, experiment mixing it with chili, cider vinegar or red pepper, sugar salt and all the other ingredients that you want it to have.

Barbecue sauces today has different uses departing from its traditional purpose. It now serves as a condiment that is present on almost any table like ketchup, salsa, salt, pepper and Tabasco.

However, if experimenting with food is not your greatest strength, you can always find great sauces in any store. To make great barbecues, one rule to follow is not to place too much weight on the “with smoke flavor” label that many bottled tomato sauces advertise itself. Smoke flavor is what is barbecuing all about. The flavor has to come from the wood not the bottle.

Coffee Benefits – Is Coffee Better Than Tea?

Filed under: Coffee — Tags: , , — pongchan @ 9:55 am

Would you like to have tea or coffee? Just what are the specific coffee benefits? You must have heard this offer of choice a thousand times. Be it guests at your house or while visiting someone or from the airhostess in the flight. The general idea in many countries continues to be that tea and coffee are two beverages which have equal importance. However, this is not 100% true. There is a huge divided lobby on this opinion. Many people opine that tea is definitely more popular than coffee as it has medicinal properties and is good for health. Coffee on the other hand is more popular in the workplace. The debate continues on which is more popular.

There are however, some distinct pros and cons of both beverages. Let’s talk about the benefit of tea. As we all know tea was discovered by the Chinese and scientific research has proven than it has very good medicinal properties which can help fight fatigue. Tea is more popular in Asia and Europe where tea drinking is considered to be a proper social function.

Coffee on the other hand gives an instant ’fix’ and helps people be alert and ward off sleepiness when at work thanks to the caffeine content in the drink. The health conscience coffee drinker tends to opt for decaffeinated coffee and thus gets the flavour without the caffeine. Coffee is very popular in the United States and is also an international drink which is appreciated the world over. These are the coffee benefits present in every cup!

It is very difficult to determine which beverage garners more votes with a global audience since each drink has its own fiercely loyal fan following.

Consejos Sabios para Llenar el Alma

Filed under: General — pongchan @ 9:52 am

Aquํ te presento una lista de consejos para que no te sientas vaci๓, y observar al pasado con una sonrisa. Las he obtenido de una persona que estaba al final de su vida y sinti๓ que hubiera hecho muchas cosas diferentes y ha recetado una serie de consejos para aquel que este interesado en cambiar.

1) Habla menos; escucha mแs.
2) Escucha a las historias de tus abuelos a cerca de su juventud. Cuando ya no este, revivirแs sus llamas por sus memorias.
3) Invita a amigos para cenar o picar algo, a pesar de que tu casa no este en condiciones.
4) Come mucho chocolate.
5) Invita amigos con chicos a tu casa a pesar de que hagan li๓.
6) Si้ntate en el pasto a pesar de que ensucie tus pantalones.
7) No compres algo solo porque durara mucho tiempo o porque es practico, hazlo porque quieres.
8) Qu้date en cama relajado si te sientes enfermo y no pretendas que el mundo no puede continuar sin ti por un dํa.
9) Prende las velas que tienes de adorno en el sal๓n y d้jalas encendidas. No las dejes sin uso en el armario.
10) Comparte responsabilidades de la vida con un compa๑ero, no solo las expensas.
11) (Para las mujeres) En vez de esperar al embarazo a que se termine, disfruta cada momento en tu coraz๓n. Aprende que la vida dentro de ti es la ๚nica oportunidad que tienes de ayudar a Dios a crear magia.
12) Deja que tus hijos de abrasen y besen cuando quiera que lo deseen. No los detengas por ninguna raz๓n como: “mas tarde”, “ve a lavarte las manos”, “deberemos comer” o demแs.
13) Di las pr๓ximas dos frases lo mแs seguido que puedas: “Te Amo” y “Lo siento.”
14) Deja de preocuparte por quien te quiere o no te quiere, o que tiene quien o no tiene.
15) Valora todas las relaciones humanas personales.
16) Juega con una mascota cuando puedas. Riete y corre con ella y toma parte en sus juegos.
17) Pasa el mayor tiempo posible con la gente que te quiere.
18) Deja de transpirar por todos los peque๑os detalles y problemas sin sentido de la vida.
19) Toma cada momento, mํralo y d้jalo. Nunca volverแ de nuevo.

La persona que escribi๓ estos sabios consejos se llamaba Susana, y tenia una hija de seis a๑os. Susana ense๑o estos ideales bแsicos a un conocido mํo y yo los he tratado de seguir tambi้n en honor a su memoria. Creo que puedo decir que convertirแ a quienquiera que lo haga en una mejor persona, un mejor esposa o esposa, y en general una persona mas feliz. Inclusive ahora creo que D’os ha bendecido a cada uno de nosotros, y deberemos aceptar estas bendiciones e intentar buscar sentirnos mas fuertes fํsicamente, mentalmente, y emocionalmente. Recuerda que todos tenemos la suerte de estar aquํ, y aprovechar vivir la vida de la mejor manera posible, asํ que consejos para esa receta nunca estแn de mas.

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