Transcript Talking About Food - Spring & Summer

Talking About Food
American Food - Spring & Summer
Instructor: Virginia Guilford
Cooking, American Style
• Is there an American Cuisine?
• Seasonal Flavors
– Fall
– Winter
– Spring
– Summer
•
•
•
•
Spring Holidays
Cooking for the Spring
Summer Holidays
Cooking for the Summer
Is There an American Cuisine?
• Is American cuisine simply a mix of food
from other countries?
• Are there any uniquely American dishes?
• Is there a uniquely American style of
cooking and eating?
Seasonal Foods
• Why do we associate certain foods with certain
seasons?
– The food ripens in that season
– The food is good to eat in a particular weather
• Food for cold weather
• Food for hot weather
– The food is right for activities in that season
• Food for formal dinner parties
• Food for casual picnics
– The flavor is associated with a seasonal food
• Some food is strongly associated with one season, other
food is seen as suitable for many seasons.
Spring Foods & Flavors
• Spring
– Chicken, Veal, Ham
– Filet of Sole, Salmon
– Spinach, Asparagus, Peas
– Rhubarb, Strawberries
– Lemon, Parsley, Dill
– White Wine, Iced Tea, Lemonade
Summer Foods & Flavors
• Summer
– Hot Dogs & Hamburgers, Grilled Steak
– Lobster, Steamed Clams
– Corn, Green Beans, Tomatoes
– Peaches, Apricots
– Raspberries, Blackberries
– Limes, Watermelon, Cantaloupe
– Gin, Tequila, Beer, Coca Cola
Fall Foods & Flavors
• Fall
– Pork, Turkey
– Clam Chowder, Halibut
– Mushrooms, Parsnips, Turnips, Kale, Sweet
Potatoes, Eggplant
– Apples, Pears, Pomegranates, Pumpkin
– Pecans, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg,
Cloves
– Bourbon, Rum, Apple Cider
Winter Foods & Flavors
• Winter
– Roast Beef, Goose, Cornish Game Hens
– Oysters, Caviar
– Carrots, Potatoes, Turnips,
– Pineapples, Oranges, Grapefuit
– Peppermint, Chocolate, Meringue
– Champagne, Scotch, Cognac
American Spring
Spring Activities & Holidays
• Visiting Flower Gardens & Flower Shows
• Kite Flying
• Trout Fishing
• Easter
• Derby Day
• Mother’s Day
Easter
American Easter Traditions
• The day for Easter is different each year
– The stock exchange, and most brokerage houses are closed on
Good Friday
– Easter Monday is not usually celebrated in the US
• The period of Lent precedes Easter, and the
beginning of Lent is marked by Mardi Gras
• We say that the Easter Bunny brings baskets
filled with candy and dyed eggs.
• Pastel colors and pretty hats are considered
appropriate to wear for Easter celebrations
• Easter is usually celebrated with a family dinner.
Derby Day
Derby Day Traditions
• The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held
annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States,
on the first Saturday in May
– The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports”
– "The Run for the Roses
• It is the first race of the American Triple Crown
and is followed by the Preakness Stakes, then
the Belmont Stakes.
• Mint Julep – a bourbon cocktail.
• Women dress up and wear large, elaborate hats
Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day Traditions
• Mother's Day is a day when you honor your own
mother, or mothers in general.
• Many countries have a holiday like Mother’s
Day.
• Mother’s Day in the US is celebrated on the 2nd
Sunday in May
• Mother’s Day is usually celebrated with food and
activities that women are thought to like –
brunch, tea, flowers
Cook Spring
• Foods that are ready to eat in April, May, and
June
– Strawberries
– Lettuce, Radishes
– Asparagus, Spinach
• Grow your own herbs & vegetables &
flowers
Spring Recipes
•
•
•
•
Mint Julep Cocktail
Mustard Glazed Salmon
Lemon Cake
Microwave Strawberry Jam
The Mint Julep Cocktail
• The Mint Julep cocktail is often served at parties
before and after the Kentucky Derby horse race.
• Traditionally, a mint julep was served in a silver
or pewter cup. The cup was held only by the
bottom and top edges so that the drink would
keep cold.
• The term "julep" means a sweet drink,
particularly one used for medicine. The word
itself is derived from the Persian word ‫گالب‬
(Golâb), meaning rose water.
Mint Julep
Ingredients
Directions
•
•
•
•
•
½ oz. superfine sugar
1 oz. hot water
8 spearmint leaves, plus one
spearmint sprig
2 oz. bourbon
•
•
•
Dissolve the sugar in the hot water
in a silver julep cup or in a short
glass.
Add the mint leaves and press them
lightly with a spoon — just enough
to release the oil from the mint
leaves.
Add the bourbon, fill the glass with
crushed ice, and stir.
Push the mint sprig into the ice, add
a short straw, and serve.
•
This recipe makes one drink.
Multiple the ingredient amounts by
the number of drinks you want to
serve.
•
Usually, you should allow 3 drinks
per person for a party lasting 2
hours, but a mint julep is pretty
strong, so you may need less.
About Bourbon
• Bourbon is an American whiskey made from corn and aged in
wooden barrels. It is supposed to be made in Kentucky.
• Bourbon is served alone (“neat”), diluted with water, served
over ice cubes ("on the rocks"), mixed with soda, or made into
cocktails:
•
•
•
•
Manhattan
Old Fashioned
Whiskey Sour
Mint Julep
• Well-known Bourbon Brands
– Blantons
– Jack Daniels
– Maker’s Mark
Mustard Glazed Salmon
• Ingredients
– 2 lemons, zested &
juiced
– 1/8 cup olive oil
– 1/8 cup Dijon mustard
– 2 garlic cloves, minced
– 1 large salmon filet,
with skin on
• Directions
– Place the salmon, skin side down,
on a large baking sheet lined with
aluminum foil.
– Mix together the juice & zest of the
lemons, the olive oil, the mustard,
and the minced garlic cloves.
Drizzle the mixture on the salmon.
– Let the salmon rest for 15 minutes.
– Roast at 500 degrees for 15
minutes, or until almost done.
– Let sit for 15 minutes, remove skin,
serve.
About Salmon
• Salmon
– Wild salmon, troll-caught is best.
– King (Chinook) salmon is most popular
– Alaskan Sockeye is bright red with a firm
texture.
– Coho is milder.
– Wild Sockeye & Coho salmon is only available
in the summer.
Maida Heatter
“The Queen of Cakes”
• Maida Heatter is a pastry chef and cookbook
author who specializes in baking and desserts.
• She wrote cookbooks in the 1970s & 1980s
• Her recipes are detailed and easy to follow
• One of her most popular cakes is her tart, sweet
East 62nd Street Lemon Cake”
• She is “The Queen of Cakes”
Maida Heatter’s
East 62nd Street Lemon Cake
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE:
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
Finely grated rind of 2 large lemons
FOR THE GLAZE:
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
⅔ cup sugar
Lemon Cake, directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. You need a 9" x 4½" tube pan or Bundt pan that will
hold 12 cups of batter. Butter the pan (or spray lightly with PAM oil spray) and
then cover the surface of the pan with 1 or 2 teaspoons of fine, dry bread
crumbs or a teaspoon of flour.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the
butter with an electric mixer until soft. Add the sugar and beat until smooth.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl as necessary with a rubber
spatula. (The mixture might look curdled—it's okay.) On lowest speed, add the
dry ingredients alternately in three additions, with the milk in two additions,
beating only until incorporated after each addition.
3. Stir in the lemon rind. Scoop the batter out of the bowl into the prepared pan.
Level the top of the batter by rotating the pan briskly.
4. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick pushed into the cake comes out
clean. Let the cake stand in the pan for 5 minutes and then cover with a rack
and invert. Lift pan from cake, leaving the cake upside down. Place rack over a
large piece of foil or wax paper and prepare the glaze.
5. To make the glaze, mix the lemon juice with the sugar and brush all over the
hot cake. The cake will absorb it. Let cool completely and then transfer to a
cake plate. Wait a few hours before cutting the cake.
About Lemons
• Lemons
– Meyer lemons have a very smooth skin and
are known for their delicious sweet flavor
– Eureka lemons are the most common
supermarket lemon
• Best Lemons
– Heavy for their size.
– Slightly soft.
– Smooth skin with no blemishes or green spots.
Strawberry Jam
• It is fun to make your own jam. And if you
have a microwave, it is easy to do!
• Don’t try to double this microwave recipe
– if you want to make more jam, you
should use traditional methods of stovetop cooking.
• Serve your jam on buttered toast, on
muffins or scones or popovers, or over
vanilla ice cream.
Small Batch Microwave
Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
•
•
Stir the strawberries and sugar
together into a microwave-safe
bowl. The bowl should be a lot
bigger than the fruit so that there will
be plenty of room for the jam to
expand when it boils.
•
Microwave at high. Stop every 5-10
minutes to stir the fruit and scrape
down the sides. Continue
microwaving the fruit, until the jam is
really thick. This will probably take
about 30-35 minutes.
•
This recipe makes about 1 cup of
jam.
•
Jam will keep for a few weeks in the
refrigerator. To keep longer, store in
the freezer.
•
2 cups strawberries, hulls
removed, and cut into quarters
1 cup sugar
About Strawberries
• Strawberries are available year-round, but they ripen
locally in early June
• All strawberries have a wonderful flavor, but the small
berries have more flavor than the large ones.
– French strawberries – ‘Fraises des bois’ – are small, sweet, dark
red berries. These have the best flavor.
– Wild strawberries – are similar in size to Fraises des bois and
grow wild in fields and pastures in upstate New York
American Summer
Summer Activites & Holidays
•
•
•
•
Picnics
Sun-tanning, Surfing, Swimming
Hiking, Bicycling, Boating
Camping
• Father’s Day
• Graduation
• Fourth of July
Fathers Day
Father’s Day History
• Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers
and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and
the influence of fathers in society.
• Many countries have a holiday like Father’s Day.
• Father’s Day in the US is celebrated on the 3rd
Sunday in June
• Father’s Day is usually celebrated with food and
activities that men are thought to like –
barbecued meats, beer, sports
Fourth of July
American Fourth of July History
• July 4th is national holiday
– Most offices and businesses are closed
– Restaurants and retail stores are usually open
• July 4th is also called Independence Day. It
commemorates the adoption of the Declaration
of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring
independence from Great Britain.
• Red, White, & Blue are the colors of the
American Flag, and these colors are popular for
this holiday
• Usually celebrated with a picnic and fireworks.
Cook Summer
• Foods that are ready to eat in June, July, and
August
–
–
–
–
Raspberries, Blackberries, Apricots, Plums, Peaches
Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Corn
Cucumbers, Tomatoes
Zucchini, Summer Squash, Eggplant
• Farmers Markets
– Farmers markets may be year round, or may only
happen in the summer
– Farmers markets usually allow you to buy produce
directly from the grower
Summer Recipes
•
•
•
•
Sparkling Sherbet Floats
Corn on the Cob & Corn Salad
Grilled Hamburgers
Flag Cake
Sparkling Sherbet Floats
Ingredients
Directions - Single
• Lime or Raspberry
Sherbet
• 7-Up
•Put 1 or 2 tablespoons of
sherbet into a tall glass
•Fill up the glass with 7-Up.
•Makes 1 servings
Directions – Punch
Bowl
•Put 1 pint of sherbet into a
large punch bowl
•Add 2 liters of 7-Up.
•Makes 16 1-cup servings.
About Corn
• Corn on the cob is a classic American side dish. Serve
corn on the cob with grilled meat or fish plus a salad and
you will have a very American dinner. Serve corn on the
cob with steamed clams and lobsters and potatoes and
you will have a classic New England Clambake.
• To boil corn on the cob, you will need a pot large enough
to hold water to cover your ears of corn, plus a stove top
to heat the water.. You will also need tongs to help you
remove the corn from the water. (If you don’t have tongs,
you can use two spoons to lift the corn out of the water.)
• To roast corn on the cob on a grill, you will just need the
grill. Pull back the green leaves, remove the corn silk,
replace the husks. Sprinkle the husks with water, and
place on the grill for 15-20 minutes.
Choosing the Best Corn
• Choosing corn
– Buy corn when it is ‘in season’ and fresh –
July and August
– Buy corn with the husks on. Choose corn that
has green, fresh-looking husks and golden
brown corn silk
– Buy corn that feels heavy
Corn Varieties
• Corn Varieties – there are several types of
corn: sweet corn, field corn, blue corn,
popping corn. But sweet corn is the one
we eat as corn on the cob.
– Yellow Sweet Corn – ‘Early Golden Bantam’,
‘Incredible’
– White Sweet Corn – ‘Silver Queen’, ‘Argent’
– Varigated Sweet Corn – ‘Butter & Sugar’,
‘Honey & Cream’,
Corn on the Cob
Ingredients
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 5 ears of corn, husks
removed, and silk pulled
off
• 2 Tablespoons of butter
for each ear of corn
• Salt, to taste
Directions
• Bring a large pot of water
to the boil, add the salt
and the ears of corn.
• When the water with the
corn in it returns to the
boil again, cover the pot,
turn the heat to low, and
let the corn steam for 5
minutes.
• Remove the corn from
the water, and put the
corn on a large platter
and serve hot with butter
& a sprinkle of salt.
Barefoot Contessa Corn Salad
Ingredients
• 5 ears of corn, cooked &
cooled
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup julienned fresh basil
leaves
Directions
• Cut the corn kernels off the
cob. Toss the kernels together
with the diced red onions,
vinegar, olive oil, salt, and
pepper.
• Just before serving, slice the
fresh basil leaves into julienne
strips, and toss into the salad.
Taste for seasonings and
serve cold or at room
temperature
Technique
How to Cut Corn Kernels
• Stand the corn on its end
in a large bowl or on a
plate, and slice down with
a knife, cutting close to
the cob. The corn kernels
will fall off into the bowl.
About Hamburgers
•Burgers taste best when cooked outdoors on a barbecue grill.
But they can also be cooked indoors in a frying pan – a black
cast iron pan is good.
• Use 75% lean if you plan to cook your burgers well done, use
85% lean if you plan to cook your burgers rare or medium
rare.
• Avoid pre-made burger patties – choose your own ground
beef and shape your own patties.
• Don’t add breadcrumbs or other items to the meat – pure beef
is best.
•Use top quality beef – hamburgers are all about the beef.
Wagyu or Kobe beef is sometimes available; and there are
American versions of premium beef
– Certified Angus Beef, which must come from Angus cattle.
– Niman Ranch Natural Beef and Certified Hereford Beef.
– Natural and/or Organic Beef
Grilled Hamburgers
Ingredients
• 2 lbs ground round,75- 85%
lean
• Hamburger Buns
Toppings
• Cheese – cheddar, swiss,
blue, or monterey jack
• Cooked Bacon Strips
• Pickles – dill slices or bread
& butter pickles
• Ketchup or Chile Sauce
• Mayonaise
• Mustard
• Lettuce, Tomato, Onion
Slices
Directions
• Cut the ground meat into 6 equal
parts.
• Gently shape each of the 6 parts
into a round disk, about 1 ½ “
thick.
• Season with cracked pepper.
(Don’t salt until after cooking is
finished.)
• Preheat the grill
• Place the burgers on the grill.
Grill for 5 minutes on the first
side: flip over, and grill for 5
minutes on the second side, or
until done.
• Hamburger buns can be toasted
or used untoasted.
• Place each burger on a bun, and
serve with toppings on the side.
Technique
Shaping Burger Patties
• You can use a press to form your burger patties – many
types of burger presses are available.
• You can shape burger patties with your hands. Use a light
touch – pressing too hard will make your burgers tough.
Technique
Cooking Burgers
• Make a slight depression in the middle of
the patty to help keep the burger flat.
• Keep your burgers chilled & use a hot grill if
you want your burgers rare.
• Don’t press down on the patties as they are
cooking; pressing out the juices and fat can
make the burgers dry and tasteless.
More Burger Tips
• Educate your palate - taste some of the
best burgers in the city:
•
•
•
•
•
Shake Shack Burger
Black Iron Burger
GENUINE Roadside
Hard Times Sundaes
Heartland Brewery
Flag Cake
Ingredients
•1 sheet cake – any flavor
•Whipped cream or white
frosting
•Blueberries
•Raspberries or
Strawberries
Directions
• Cover the cooled cake
with whipped cream or
white frosting.
• Place blueberries in rows
in a square in the upper
left corner to give the
effect of the stars on the
flag.
• Place strawberries or
raspberries in 7 rows on
the rest of the cake.
Technique
How To Decorate a Flag Cake
Your Favorite American Foods
• What American foods have you tried?
• What American food do you like best?
• What would you make for a Mother’s Day
Brunch or Dinner?
• What would you bring to eat for a picnic?
• What is your favorite spring or summer
holiday?