Smoking Bishop

"A Merry Christmas, Bob!" said Scrooge with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! I'll raise your salary, and endeavor to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon over a bowl of Smoking Bishop, Bob!"

At the end of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, a reformed Ebenezer Scrooge invites his clerk, Bob Cratchit, to join him in a bowl of Smoking Bishop, to plan for Bob's future, and the future of Bob's family, especially Tim.

"Smoking Bishop" is a member of that special category of wine-based drinks intended for Winter consumption. It's a close relative of mulled wine. It was traditionally served at Christmas-tide, when people might be able to afford, as a special occasion, things like cloves, and citrus, red wine, and port. It was a middle-class sort of drink, one two gentleman might procure at a tavern or public house.

Cedric Dickens, Charles Dickens' great-great grandson, wrote a book called Drinking with Dickens, in which he offers a recipe for Smoking Bishop that you can read here.

Essentially, Smoking Bishop calls for six Seville Oranges (a bitter-sweet orange available in Europe, often used for orange liquers like Cointreau), whole cloves, 1/4 pound of sugar, a bottle of robust red wine, and one of port. Where Seville oranges are not available, use four or five oranges (navel oranges work well) and one large grapefruit.

  1. Bake the oranges in a moderate oven (350 F. or so) until much of the orange skin turns pale brown. I'd use a cookie sheet, covered with tin foil. You don't want the fruit to be cooked; you merely want to encourage the oil to emerge since it will add flavor and aroma to the Smoking Bishop. When you can smell the oranges, or see or feel the orange oil on the rind of the fruit, they're probably browned enough. You don't want to smell something vaguely like burned toast. Turn the fruit at least once.
  2. Remove the oranges from the oven, and let them cool for a few minutes. Insert five or six whole cloves in the peel of each orange. Place the oranges in a warmed glass or porcelain baking dish, with a quarter pound of sugar, and a 750 ml bottle of a robust red wine. (We are using a Spanish La Granja 360 Tempranillo Garnacha Cariñena blend, but Gallo Hearty Burgundy or a similar hearty red would work quite well.)
  3. Cover the dish, and leave it in a warm place for 24 hours. You might check it every few hours and stir the sugar gently to encourage it to dissolve.
  4. Remove the fruit from the mixture, cut them in half or quarters and squeeze them to remove the juice, adding it to the sugar and wine.
  5. Pour the mixture into a saucepan using a sieve, add a 750 ml bottle of port.
  6. Heat the mixture gently, without allowing it to boil, and serve in warmed glasses or mugs.

Zoi Yogurt: "Epic Taste - Fit for the Gods"

After having been eating yogurt that seemed overly sweetened and looks like goo, I wanted something heartier and less sweet yet satisfying so I trotted down to the local grocer to see if they had any good quality yogurt that I was looking for.

Eureka!

There it was – Zoi Greek Yogurt “Epic Taste – Fit for the Gods.” It was beckoning me to have a taste. (Cue heavenly melody.) Since I’ve never tried Greek yogurt before but have heard that it was supposed to be good for you, I picked up their honey flavored one just to check it out.

The texture was quite unique. It was thick, smooth and creamy with a slight tang to it. By straining the yogurt of its excess moisture creates this unique texture. It was as if cream cheese and sour cream met and the texture created would be of Greek yogurt. I like how it just sticks to your spoon and being able to savor its unique texture. The tanginess was a bit much for me so to sweeten it up a bit, I added some Smucker’s Raspberry Preserves and that just hit the spot. Quite delicious!

Zoi Yogurt is made by Auburn Dairy Products Inc, located in Auburn, WA. Since it’s a local brand, I’m all for supporting them. I love their packaging too, simple yet it’s attention grabbing. Zoi Greek Yogurt also comes in Plain, Blueberry Cream, Strawberry Cream, and Vanilla. The ones that are fruit flavored have “Fruit on the Bottom” rather than mixed in so you can tailor the flavoring to your liking.

What I love about Zoi Yogurt is that their ingredients are all – natural, contains Calcium, Vitamin A and Vitamin D3 and have 6 live cultures (S. thermalphilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidphilus, Bfido. Lactis, L. rhamnosus, and L. casei) for a healthy GI tract. They’re also gluten free so if you’re allergic to wheat, then this tasty yogurt might be for you.

Although, it’s heavy on the caloric side (240 Cal/130 Cal from Fat (Honey, 6 oz)), it’s quite satisfying and keeps you full so no need to feel bad. It took me two sitting to finish off my container of yogurt. It also contains 7 grams of protein as well so it’s great for those who are vegetarians too.

I would highly recommend Zoi Yogurt to anyone who wants “Epic Taste – Fit for the Gods” and a healthy snack that will tide you over between meals or even have it for a meal like breakfast and maybe even lunch. Just writing about this makes me want one!

Here are the places that you can find yourself some deliciousness: QFC, Top Foods, Haggen, and Winco. They also have a coupon too!

Totino's Pizza Rolls

Oh my darlings, I don't know what's come over me.  Most of the time I'm really good about eating quality food, made by hand (if not completely from scratch), with maximum nutritional value and everything.

But sometimes you just want Pop-Tarts and Pizza Rolls.

(Any time you're capitalizing the food you had for lunch, you're in trouble.  Usually I would have a homemade "sandwich" or a "salad."  Today I had "Pop-Tarts and Pizza Rolls.")

Pizza Rolls are a special kind of crack.  I can go for months - years, even - without thinking about them.  Then the next thing you know, I gotta have them.  I can trace my most recent Pizza Roll cravings down to a Twitter message from a distant friend.  I think it just said "Pizza Rolls, so gross, so yum!"  And the instant I read her message, I HAD TO HAVE SOME.

For the uninitiated, Pizza Rolls are basically very small calzones, each about an inch long.  Except gross, made from the lowest-quality ingredients, bathed in additives and preservatives and a strange oily coating, and sweeter than you might expect.

Pizza Rolls have the potential to be an amazing finger food.  Sadly, they are made with Totino's pizza, one of the cheapest frozen pizzas you'll find.  And that's saying something.  You can occasionally find Totino's pizzas on sale for about $2 each.

These delicious little chemical concoctions are packed full of calories, fat, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and who knows what else.  They have little to recommend them in the abstract.  I'm pretty sure they put some kind of addictive substance in them, though.  (I had some Pizza Rolls for lunch, and I already want to eat more.  What's wrong with me?)  It's probably the same addictive substance that keeps tricking me into buying McRib sandwiches, over and over again, even though they are disgusting. 

I have learned that at my advanced age (of 38) I must stay away from the Pepperoni and Combination flavors.  Both of which are guaranteed to give me heartburn for hours afterward.  This is helpful, actually, because it can be hard to find the plain Cheese flavor.  And when you do, it's usually in a smaller bag.  (They save the giant King-size-bed-pillow-size bags of Pizza Rolls for Pepperoni flavor.)

There are several ways to prepare Pizza Rolls.  Although you certainly can microwave them - there's no law against it - yet - I don't recommend this.  It results in soggy, unappealing Pizza Rolls which leave a strange kind of greasy sweat on the plate.  Instead, wait the required time to heat up your oven to 425.  It's worth it.  (If you have a toaster oven, more power to you.)

As the bag itself warns, "Caution!  Pizza Roll filling may be hot!"  May be, indeed.  The experienced eater of Pizza Rolls knows to nibble off the corner first, to let the steam escape.  Even so, the first few Pizza Rolls are best eaten with extreme care.  Otherwise, the reactor-hot cheese inside will squirt straight onto the roof of your mouth, and you will be very sorry.

Tasty Homemade Tomatillo Salsa

In my last two posts here on Hungry Blogger, I talked about how to make homemade lime cilantro vinaigrette that will make even the most basic salad ingredients delicious! I also talked about how to make authentic Mexican tortilla soup. The process really isn’t that hard at all and the result is amazing! In this post, I’m going to talk about how we made homemade tomatillo salsa. These are all recipes from Rick Bayless’ cookbook: Everyday Mexican.

You will need about a pound of tomatillos (6-8). These should be husked and then rinsed before use. You’ll also need 1/3-1/2 an ounce of dried red chipotle chiles (also known as moritas), 1 small white onion, 4 garlic cloves and a pinch of salt to taste.

First, my dinner companion roasted the tomatillo s in a pan for 5 minutes until they were blackened and hot on both sides. Then he let them cool and scraped them into a blender jar. Then he took the dried red chipotle chiles and roasted them slightly on the burner until they started to retain their original shape. Then he chopped those up and added them to the blender as well.

I peeled the garlic cloves and he roasted them in the same pan he roasted the tomatillos in to retain flavor. I chopped the onion into ¼ inch diced pieces and he tossed them into the blender with the roasted chiles and tomatillos.

We added all the ingredients together in a blender along with about ¾ cup of water. The consistency of the salsa was a little too runny for my dinner companion’s liking. Thinking quickly, I flipped to the end of the recipe and Rick suggested adding fruit for a sweeter taste. I dug out a green apple from the fridge and sliced, then diced it into very fine thin little pieces and tossed it into our salsa.

I have never tasted salsa that had apple used as a constituent, but surprisingly the taste was just a subtle sweetness. The apple really complimented the flavors of the other ingredients. It also served to thicken up the salsa to a better consistency. My dinner companion and I were duly impressed.

Simple tortilla chips and this salsa was a nice appetizer. We munched on it in the kitchen as we prepared the authentic Mexican tortilla soup. For more information about how to prepare the soup, refer to my previous post: Adventures in Cooking with Rick Bayless: Part 2.

No feast for two is complete without a terrific wine to compliment the dinner and to bring out the flavors. The wine we chose to pair our Mexican feast was a French cabernet called Lazy Bones. On the bottle’s label, “I don’t care if you call me Lazy Bones. I love to lounge away the day alone. Why mix with others when being myself is so beautiful? When the day’s at my pace, I can relish small pleasures like ripe cherries, spiced blackberries and the aromas of sweet wood and fresh herbs. After all, there’s no shame in putting off today what can truly wait ‘till tomorrow.”

This meal was an exercise in acting gluttonous for pleasure, sure. Though, when it’s the weekend, does it really matter? I think not.

Pasar bien!

Branston Pickle

A surprising number of Americans are unaware that a sandwich doesn't necessarily have to include meat.  To most Americans (non-vegetarians, obviously) the phrase "cheese sandwich" doesn't really parse. 

Such was the case when I was a teenager reading Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the first time.  When Arthur Dent repairs to the pub at the beginning of the book, he famously orders a cheese sandwich.

I assumed he meant "grilled cheese" until someone set me straight many years later.  And if Arthur ordered a cheese sandwich in an English pub, then it's very likely that it had Branston Pickle on it.

"Cheese and pickle" is a classic British sandwich.  The pickle in this case isn't the sandwich pickle we know in America.  An American pickle is a cucumber which has been brined.  But "pickle" in the British sense means something more like a chutney or a relish.

Branston Pickle is the king of the pickle.  To most British people, the brand is synonymous with pickle.   This substance is mysterious to the uninitiated.  I was spurred to hunt some down when an English acquaintance made a disparaging Twitter remark that something disappointing was "like a cheese sandwich without Branston Pickle." 

Although there are a few places you can order it online, the weight of the package makes shipping prohibitive.  Luckily I was able to buy some locally at Cost Plus Imports.

Branston Pickle doesn't contain Worcestershire sauce, but that's what my brain keeps insisting it tastes like.  It has that same blend of flavors, and the two substances share many of the same ingredients (including malt vinegar, a classic British flavor in and of itself).

There are many things which are un-American about Branston Pickle.  Perhaps the biggest is that it is made with chunks of what most Americans would consider to be very weird vegetables.  It includes chunks of carrots, rutabaga, onions, cauliflower, marrows, and gherkins.  (I must confess, I did not know what marrows are, and had to look it up just now.  It's squash.)

These vegetables are uncooked, and pickled.  This lets them keep their firm texture and crunch, but leaves them more tender than they would be raw.  Branston Pickle is eaten as a sort of side dish in the classic Ploughman's Lunch, and its consistency lends itself to stand-alone snacking (albeit in small amounts).  The matrix material has a thick consistency which lets you mound up a dollop on your plate, and allows it to even be eaten by fork.

The flavor is indescribably complex, reminding me of some Thai dishes (albeit without the ever-present heat of Thai food).  It has tangy notes, spicy notes, a salty undertone, and a sweetness as well.  It is, I can assure you, amazingly delicious on a cheese sandwich. 

Among other things, Branston Pickle has a lot of umami, that difficult-to-pin-down savory flavor found in fish sauce, Worcestershire, ketchup, and other substances.  It's a real pity that our national umami condiment is ketchup: overly sweet, vividly artificial colored, thin, watery, and bland.

Authentic Mexican Tortilla Soup

This past weekend, I had the most delicious memorable authentic Mexican feast! I credit it to recipes from Rick Bayless’ cookbook: Everyday Mexican. My dinner companion and I made homemade tomatillo apple salsa with chips, authentic Mexican tortilla soup and a lovely red leaf lettuce salad tossed with homemade zesty lime cilantro vinaigrette.

In my last post, I talked briefly about part of the process of making the tortilla soup, but allow me to go into a little more detail. The recipe called for 2 quarts of vegetable broth, 1 can (in juice) fire roasted tomatoes, 1 whole white onion, pan roasted tomatillos and a little olive oil. I had some leftover asparagus stalks and a Portobello mushroom in the fridge, so we tossed that in too. At first, my dinner companion was a little hesitant to add those two extras, wondering if it would detract from the taste we were trying to achieve. It didn’t detract from it at all, and if anything added to the flavor, if only subtly.

My dinner companion pan fried the tomatillos. I had never tasted a raw tomatillo before, so as he was slicing them, preparing them for the pan, he gave me a taste. I nibbled at it a bit—almost hesitant, because I had never had it before. Then once the flavor hit my mouth, I loved it! It tasted, to me, like a cross between a cucumber and tomato. Yum! He pan roasted the tomatillos. I chopped the asparagus and onion into ¼ inch pieces and sliced the mushrooms. Then he poured the vegetables into the pan and let them sauté for about 7 minutes.

When they were brown and coated and looked delicious, he took all the ingredients in the pan (onion, mushroom, asparagus and of course the tomatillos) and poured them into a blender jar. He also added ¾ cup of olive oil and 1 can (in juice) of fire roasted tomatoes. He blended the ingredients together until they resembled a thick tomato paste. I dipped my finger in the paste to check taste and smiled approvingly.

He then poured the vegetable paste pack into the same pan he had sautéed the vegetables in, to retain as much flavor as possible. I then turned the heat on medium and stirred the paste constantly for 6 minutes. Meanwhile, in a big soup pot, he dumped in the 2 quarts of vegetable broth and started to let it simmer. After 6 minutes of stirring the paste, we added it to the simmering broth. Then we proceeded to pan fry the tofu. Refer to my first post for more info on preparing the tofu.

As I was preparing the tofu, my dinner companion prepared the soup bowls. Inside these bowls he tossed in broken up tortillas, diced Monterey Jack cheese and sliced avocado, with fresh sliced lime on the side for taste.

We continued to let the soup simmer for a few minutes and then ladled it into the prepared bowls. This soup was amazing! The cheese and tofu and all the rich vegetable flavors provided not just a comfort on a cold winter’s night, but knowing I had just picked up all these fresh ingredients at the store just a few hours before gave me a sense of pride. I could enjoy this soup and know there were no thickening agents or preservatives added!

So if you’re looking for a comfort food in the midst of this cold La Nina winter, make this authentic Mexican tortilla soup. It’s hot, full of sustenance and most importantly… delicious! Tomorrow, check back for a new post to learn how we made the homemade tomatillo salsa. 

Adventures in Cooking with Rick Bayless

This weekend, I had the most fantastic meal straight out of Rick Bayless’ cookbook: Everyday Mexican. My cooking companion and I made a truly genuine Mexican feast! We made homemade tomatillo apple salsa with chips, authentic Mexican tortilla soup and a lovely red leaf lettuce salad tossed with homemade zesty lime cilantro vinaigrette.

For a nice wine complement, we paired this delightful meal with a red French cabernet (black bottle pictured). The meal was truly a sample of aromas and tastes; my senses were inundated. The kitchen smelled delicious. This meal made for a definite highlight of my weekend.

The tortilla soup in the cookbook called for chicken to be added in the recipe. I’m not a fan of meat, yet we both agreed we really wanted a hot soup on such a cold night in December. When we flipped to the end of the recipe a few pages past the ingredients list, we discovered that Rick provided a vegetarian substitute.

He suggested pan frying tofu in ½ inch slices in a pan until well coated and then slicing the seared tofu into ½ inch chunks and tossing in with the soup, rather than chicken. We used extra firm high protein tofu that was very cheap—less than 2 dollars at our local Trader Joes. We pan seared the tofu with olive oil and the result was amazing! The tofu was chunky and provided a good base and sustenance for the soup. My dinner companion, who is a dedicated meat eater, was very impressed with the soup as well.

The side salad was basic, yet still satisfying. I simply chopped red leaf lettuce and fresh from the vine hot house tomatoes for a good base for our salad. Sometimes it’s the simple wholesome ingredients that make a meal taste so fresh and delicious. The salad may have been ordinary, but the homemade lime vinaigrette (or Lime-Cilantro Vinegreta) was extraordinary!

As he sampled the salad, my dinner companion noted he could really taste the spiciness of the dressing. I agreed that using such simple ingredients: lettuce and tomato for the base, when combined with the homemade vinaigrette made a fresh, flavorful, scrumptious side salad. I attribute the spiciness of the vinaigrette to the fresh green chiles (we used serranos) the recipe called for. The taste was fresh and spicy—a delicious combo.

Tomorrow, learn how we made the authentic Mexican tortilla soup from start to finish. More pictures to come too!

Senate Passes Food Safety Legislation

 The United States is among the most developed nations in the world, but over the course of the last years, we have had a large number of food safety issues—some of which have resulted in hospitalizations and deaths. Many pointed their finger at the FDA, who I believe has the responsibility of regulating the food and drugs we consume, and now the US Senate has passed legislation which will hopefully help make the food that we eat much safer for all of us. 

 

The legislation—if the same version is passed in the House of Representatives—will help food safety in a number of ways.

 

  • The FDA will now have the ability to recall “tainted foods”.
  • The big food giants will be required by law to work with the FDA in order to create “Food Safety Plans”.
  • Imported foods will be much more regulated than they are now.
  • Food  Facilities will now be inspected more often—at least once every three years.

 

Meat, poultry, and processed eggs are not under the jurisdiction of the FDA, so will not be subject to the new regulations.

 

The House of Representatives passed a similar version of the law earlier this year; however, small farmers had reservations about the legislation and feared that they would go under if they were required to meet all of the regulations, so the House will have to pass an amended version. 

 

As person who likes the idea of eating safer food, I am looking at the legislation as a positive step for the United States and the safety of the food we at. However, not everybody feels the same way towards food safety or the legislation. As Jon Stewart points out, even though the legislation passed easily through the Senate, conservative pundits still found fault with the legislation based on the fact that there would be more frequent inspections of food and that we shouldn’t have the government involved in any kinds of regulation of our food.

 

Glenn Beck and others are a little too concerned that the government control of our food will lead to something sinister—I believe the opposite is true—I’d personally prefer it if the government had more authority to recall tainted food and keep our shelves safe.

 

Watch the following clip from the Daily Show to the end to see some very good reasons why we need our food regulated in the United States.


The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Food, the Bad and the Ugly
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire Blog</a>The Daily Show on Facebook

Ramsay’s Best Restaurant

Tune into BBCA channel for the new premiere of Ramsay’s Best Restaurant on Tuesday, December 7th at 9/8c. starring famous renowned, acclaimed chef, Gordon Ramsay. With over 21 successful high-end restaurants under his belt, Chef Gordon Ramsay has a lot on his plate. With his growing restaurant empire, Chef Ramsay is quite a busy entrepreneur and hard-working man. In his beloved hometown of Scotland, he is ranked as the #3 chef in the country. Not only is that his greatest accomplishment, but Chef Ramsay is determined to deciding each week which two restaurants in Britain that will become a successful restaurant. Can they handle the pressure? Will they fail? Succeed?

Ramsay moved out of his parent’s home at the age of 16 to pursue greater opportunities at a fairly young age. Since the age of 19, Chef Gordon Ramsay had developed a love for culinary cooking. Being a football star during his teenage years, he turned to cooking for love and comfort. Ever since, Ramsay had never stopped his passion for cooking. With successful restaurants found in Europe, Australia, Middle East, Tokyo, and the United States, Chef Ramsay has a busy staff catering at his beautiful high-end restaurants in the world. But can Chef Gordon Ramsay truly find the best restaurants in Britain to rank as #1?

I love watching cooking shows. Ramsay’s Best Restaurant is a reality show based on real competitive restaurants that will go all out to be #1 in Chef Gordon Ramsay's eyes. Hopefully, the cooking staff of the restaurants competing for the title of the best restaurant in Chef Ramsay's approval will cook their mighty heart out. Roar!! The cooking staff will need to have an assertive and cooperative cooking behavior on. Or they may disappoint their restaurant down and be toasted. Or they may play nice and friendly. Will the competitive restaurants work extra hard in achieving to the top of their culinary cooking game?

Every episode of Ramsay’s Best Restaurant features the well-respected, renowned Chef Ramsay traveling to many restaurants across Britain in order to spot a type of cleanliness, friendly atmosphere, appropriate restaurant look, positive energy, hard-working ethic skills, and delicious cooking menus that desperately want to win the royal title of best restaurant in Britain. And indeed…they do.  

Each week, Chef Gordon Ramsay will choose 2 different restaurants that he will put to the test to see how well they will succeed to becoming the grand title of best restaurant in Britain. It will not be an easy task. All of the restaurant staff members will need to put on their best behavior with full attentive cooperation to "wow" Chef Ramsay. He will observe each staff member carefully making sure everything in the restaurant is running smoothly. These restaurants will either make or break it into the restaurant business. But the question is....will they win the title of best restaurant?

Stay tune for more of Ramsay’s Best Restaurant on BBCA channel! For a short clip of the show, click here. 

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