A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

David Chan, Chinese Restaurant Fan, Eats Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken

(Photo from Springfield News Leader)

David Chan, the man who was profiled in L.A. went virule for having eaten at over 6,000 Chinese restaurants in his city,  traveled to Springfield Missouri last week as a guest of the Convention & Visitors Bureau to have a taste of the Ozarks.

He ate at Leong's on Saturday with both David Leong, creator of Springfield-style cashew chicken, and David's son, Chef Wing Yee Leong.

 

 

For the complete story, see this article in the Springfield News Leader:

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120826/NEWS01/308260032/L-A-man-Chinese-restaurants-Springfield-cashew-chicken?nclick_check=1

For my personal Springfield-style cashew chicken and/or cashew chicken casserole recipes, click here:

http://afridgefulloffood.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/04/voice-of-america-embraces-springfieldstyle-cashew-chicken.html

 

New York City's Next Food Law?

 

American Classics: Julia Child's Deluxe Chicken or Turkey Salad

 

Nobody's perfect. We all have the opportunity to learn and grow our skills in everything in life.  Gene has admitted a couple of times over the years that my chicken salad is, well, a little boring.  He likes the way I make potato salad, devilled eggs, and tuna salad, but says my chicken salad is "just okay".  Not that he's a jerk. He's my most enthusiastic supporter and eater, and over 25 years my cooking has put 20 lbs on his once too-skinny frame, so I take no offense.  He loves my cooking but I took this as an opportunity to improve my skills.

I added a rotisserie chicken to his grocery list this weekend while I was working, just for this purpose, and decided to go back to the basics and re-learn how to make a good, basic, no frills, chicken salad.  Who better than Julia Child to teach me? 

After reading over a dozen recipes that were either similar to my way or added more frills (pineapple, grapes, nuts, pasta, etc) than I wanted for a classic dish, I hit upon Julia Child's "Deluxe Chicken or Turkey Salad from her book The Way to Cook.  The ingredients are basic but the preparation is not.  Julia uses a two-step method with a ten minute recess that does, indeed, produce a classic, no frills, but delicious and flavorful chicken salad perfect for the classic all-American "Iron Kids" sandwich.  With Julia's method, she tosses the chopped meat with olive oil, herbs, and seasonings, and lets those ingredients get comfy with each other before coming back and binding it together with the mayo.  The two step method makes a world of difference in how the final dish's flavor resonates. The chicken and herb flavors take the lead and happen to be bound together with mayo rather than mayo flavor dominating.  Adding the fruit, nuts, etc, would also work well with this recipe but for those like my hubs who like it on the "classic" side, this is the recipe and method we'll be using, and he agrees. (Personally, I love the walnuts in it--I love the crunch!)

In four days, August 15th will be the 100th anniversary of Julia Child's birth. We are all better cooks for her enthusiasm and her career. Thank You, Julia!

Chocolate Company Qzina Builds 18,000 lb Chocolate Mayan Temple for 30th Anniversary

An 18,000 lb CHOCOLATE Mayan temple--in layman's terms:  WOW!

From the Qzina company website:

"IRVINE, Calif.– To celebrate our 30^th anniversary, Qzina Specialty Foods, has broken a Guinness World Record for building the largest chocolate sculpture. The sculpture models an ancient Mayan temple and weighs 18,239 pounds, far surpassing the previous record set in Italy in 2010 by more than 7,500 pounds. 

Qzina chose the Mayan theme because of the crucial role the culture played in the origins of chocolate.  The Mayans were one of the first civilizations to cultivate Cacao trees and discover the true potential of the cocoa bean. Realizing the delicious possibilities of this powerful discovery, the Mayans worshipped the Cacao tree and praised its beans as the food of the Gods.

Qzina’s Corporate Pastry Chef, Francois Mellet, was the lead architect on this massive project and MOF Stephane Treand (Meilleur Ouvrier de France or Best Craftsman in France) lent his artistic touch to the sculpture’s intricate design elements. Mellet, together with his team, spent more than 400 hours constructing this magnificent structure of solid chocolate that was created using an assortment of Qzina’s leading chocolate brands.

“Breaking a Guinness World Record for building the largest chocolate sculpture will be Qzina’s greatest masterpiece yet,” said Richard Foley, founder and CEO of Qzina. “We studied Mayan pyramids at great lengths to create an exact replica of the Temple Kukulkan 
at Chichen Itza to honor the original chocolatiers.It was important for us to create something memorable in celebration of our 30th anniversary and the grand opening of the Qzina Institute of Chocolate & Pastry.”

Extensive planning and research set the groundwork to accurately capture the details and intricacies of an authentic Mayan temple down to the exact number of steps and panels representing numbers significant to the Mayan calendar. Built proportionally to the ancient temple’s true size, the solid chocolate pyramid is six feet tall and its base measures 10 feet by 10 feet – exactly one-thirtieth the size. The sculpture’s base alone weighs more than 3,000 pounds.

“It’s amazing how far the company has come; from the basement of my family home to a key player in the specialty dessert industry,” said Foley. “From day one, I’ve been as interested in the story behind the chocolate we source as the quality of the chocolate itself. We’ve built a rich 30-year history in the world of chocolate and pastry and I wanted to commemorate this milestone in a big way while showing our appreciation for where it all began.”

The chocolate pyramid will be displayed at the Qzina Institute of Chocolate & Pastry, located in Irvine, California, and will be available to view beginning June 4, 2012 when the institute and product showroom is officially open to the public (Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. –  5:00 p.m.). Qzina plans to destroy the chocolate sculpture on December 21, 2012 when the Mayan calendar comes to an end. The method for destruction is yet to be determined.

To see pictures of the world’s largest chocolate sculpture, visit the Qzina image gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/qzina "

Pepperoni & Provolone Crescent Rolls

Another kid-friendly recipe that my sister, Suzanne, served for lunch to the kids (toddler through seven) she babysits this summer.  They were easy to make, the kids helped, and they loved them.  I think one of the great things about simple recipes like this is that it gets kids in the kitchen, on their level, doing something they can gain confidence with and then when they love the taste, it gets them even more excited about cooking and trying more complicated things.  It's about building a foundation of skill and confidence.

For parents, it's quick, easy, and tasty, so that's ALWAYS a winning combination!

Slow Cooker/Crock-pot Three Bean "Baked" Beans

 

 In honor of my Mom, Karen's, birthday this week I'm posting real baked beans from scratch the way she taught me when I was, being the oldest of five kids, her sargeant-in-arms in the kitchen. She died in 1988 when I was 23 years old.  I could spin a tale about my Mom and I being really close and best friends, but the truth was that we had a very volatile relationship. Even though I can't say I missed a great relationship, she was my Mom. I loved her and I know she loved me.  What I miss most is the potential for what could have been.  We had just started to become friends when she passed away so I like to think had we had more time together we would have become close with time, patience, and practice on both of our parts. I also like to think that despite the fact that I have now lived longer without my mom than I lived with her in my life that we've both found peace about our relationship and have forgiven each other for our faults.

Happy Birthday, Mom.  I love you.

Mark's Holiday Bacon Leg

One of my friends put this photo up on Facebook on 4th of July and I don't remember the rest of what he said about his family (sorry, Mark!) because I was too busy worshipping the divine bacon.  I confess I don't eat a lot of meat but I could also never be a vegetarian simply because of the divine-ness of bacon.  A few years ago, I said that to a friend and he said "Let me let you in on a little secret: even vegetarians eat bacon."  It was a joke, so no outraged letters from vegetarians, please, but I completely understood what he was saying.  There is something about bacon that no matter how bad it is for me...I really really want it.  Maybe that's the reason why.  Nah, it's really the salty, savory goodness that makes my heart go pitter-pat (or stop so I don't eat it often)..  I really do try to eat good-for-me stuff most of the time but, then again, we're talking about bacon and bacon breaks all the rules.

Then Mark posted another pic of what was inside the basketweave bacon leg and if I had not been sold before, I certainly was then.  Tater tots.  And cheese.  'nuff said.

Well, one more thing to say:  Recipe, please!   Mark obliged.  Gene looked at the pictures, made sure he gave me the recipe, and said "Thank you, Mark!"