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Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Food briefsGood small or largeThe August and August /September issues of several food magazines spotlight watermelon. And its no wonder. Summer is prime time to cool off with refreshing super sweet watermelon. We tried one of those personal-sized ones. Its a little pricey at $2 (at Trentwood Farm Market in Woodhaven, Mich.) when compared to buying a 10-pound-plus watermelon for, say, $5-$6. But the rind on the personal-sized melon is thin, so there isnt much waste. One of the best things about any watermelon is that its loaded with the antioxidant lycopene that is also found in tomatoes. What to look for? The National Watermelon Promotion Board says to choose a firm, symmetrical watermelon without bruises, cuts or dents. On the underside, there should be a creamy, yellow spot from where it sat on the ground. For watermelon ideas and recipes go to www.watermelon.org. Gold mine of corn recipesMight be time to haul out grannys corn fritters recipe. Or get your own. We like our fritters spicy, laced with chilies and topped with salsa. The Goldmines version (www.recipegoldmine.com) uses Bisquick, so it whips up quick. Others you might like are: Arizona baked corn, baked corn dressing, baked hominy, buttermilk fried corn, chili corn on the cob, corn fritter cakes, corn on the cob with cayenne and lime, corn pudding breathe and grilled husk-roasted corn with chili butter. Just a taste of whats out there. The site doesnt offer a lot of bells and whistles, but the content is awesome. Recipes for crafts cohabitate with food in the index, so get out your scissors and glue. Drizzled and delightfulDale & Thomas drizzled popcorn big, tender kernels topped with six different flavors are unusual and nibble-riffic. (For sports fans, the Thomas in the name belongs to former NBA great Isiah Thomas.) Our two favorites were toffee crunch and chocolate with white chocolate drizzle; the other flavors are creamy chocolate drizzle, coconut creme, strawberry creme and peanut butter with white chocolate. Prices for single flavors start at $37 for a 2-gallon tin; a six-pack assortment is $28. To order, call 800-679-6677 or visit daleandthomaspopcorn.com. Applesauce vs. fat in bakingQ: I heard I can use applesauce instead of fat in baking, but I dont know how much to use. A: You may indeed substitute applesauce for some of the fat in cakes, quick breads and cookies. The folks at Motts Applesauce say all of the fat in recipes may be replaced with their product, while other baking experts suggest replacing no more than half the fat with applesauce or other pureed fruit. I suggest you start with half fat and half applesauce and experiment with other proportions each time you make the recipe. Dont eliminate all the fat, though, because fat is important for tenderness and flavor. And dont try to make crisp cookies without fat, because it wont work. Sauce successLucini Italias pasta sauces, imported from Calabria, Italy, and starring San Marzano plum tomatoes, pleased tasters with their sublime flavors and thick texture. They have no artificial flavorings or preservatives. Five varieties are offered: Sicilian eggplant and olive, artichoke-tomato, Sicilian olive and wild caper, tomato-basil and spicy tomato Tuscan. Use them on pasta or bruschetta, or get more creative with chicken or seafood. Each 25.5-ounce jar costs $6.70 at Sunset Foods. To order by mail ($11 per jar), call 888-881-1633. Mixing it upTheres a whole lot of mix-ins going on in Ben & Jerrys new ice cream flavors (not that we would expect anything less). Strawberry Cheesecake contains fruit chunks and graham cracker pieces in a creamy berry ice cream; Fossil Fuel is chocolate indulgence with chocolate cookie pieces, fudge dinosaurs and a fudge swirl flavoring vanilla ice cream; Chocolate Therapy will cure any sugar deficiencies with chocolate cookies and chocolate pudding ice cream. Each pint costs $3.10-$4.50. One-time-use grill linersIf cleaning the grill grate is not your favorite part of outdoor cooking, a new product has come to the rescue. New from CleanBBQ are aluminum disposable grill liners that fit on grill grates, eliminating the need for cleaning the grates before or after grilling. The liner allows the grill flavor to reach the meat and lets the fat drip off. The liners are intended for one-time use only and, according to the company, are made of heavy-duty foil, like disposable foil pans. Theyre sold at The Home Depot and at www.cleanbbq.com. A pack of 20 is $17.95. Gourmet greenMache, a green that looks like spinach but has a milder, slightly nutty flavor, has been gaining attention with the gourmet lettuce crowd. If you want part of the action, Earthbound Farm is selling organic mache and mache blend (with frisee and arugula adding spark) in 3.5- and 4-ounce containers, respectively. Find both varieties at Whole Foods Markets and Sunset Foods for $4-$5 each. A smarter cantaloupeNo more thumping and sniffing. Dulcinea extra sweet Tuscan-style cantaloupes tell you when they are ripe. Exterior grooves change from dark green to golden-cream as the fruit matures, letting buyers know the ripeness of the fruit they are getting. The melons are available in grocery stores nationwide and have a suggested retail price of $2.99 to $4.99. For a list of local stores where they are sold, visit www.dulcinea.com. Tiny treatsWe couldnt stop eating Pan Ducales Bastoncini, small biscotti-like cookies from Italy. These crisp, flavor-packed treats are just 20-30 calories each and taste great alone or with coffee or tea. Flavors include almond, raisin and chocolate chip. Each 8.8-ounce box costs about $3.50. Stashing salsaQ: How long can I store an opened jar of salsa in the refrigerator? A: That depends on whether youre talking about a regular tomato-based salsa or a gourmet salsa such as mango-peach. It also depends on whether you let the open jar sit on the counter at room temperature for a couple of hours while you snacked in front of the TV. But lets assume youve promptly refrigerated an open jar of ordinary tomato-based salsa. It should remain fresh for seven to 10 days, said a representative of Frito Lay, which makes Tostitos brand salsas. Cream puffs make a comebackSure, cream puffs are chock-full of fat and calories and thin is in. But the treats that fell flat among diet-conscious Americans decades ago are making a comeback via Japan. Dueling cream puff shops one a Japanese standby, another a U.S. upstart have popped up on the East Coast, and one plans to expand soon to other parts of the country. The majority of the population doesnt watch their calorie intake, as can be seen with the countrys high obesity rate, said Ron Paul, president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food consulting and research company. I think they are a treat, Paul said. There are enough consumers who are willing to treat themselves frequently or once in a while. Health concerns seem to be the furthest things from the minds of the people standing in lines on the East Coast at Japan-based Beard Papas and Choux Factory, which is New York-based but has Japanese owners. The owners of both chains figured the decades-long popularity of the treats in Japan would easily translate to the United States. Both chains opened their first U.S. stores in New York last year, relying mostly on word of mouth, and have received nonstop inquiries from people wanting to buy a franchise. The shops sell cream puffs filled with whipped cream custard in flavors including chocolate, green tea and mocha, at prices that range from $1.25 to $1.65 each. Secrets out on siliconeBakers Secret takes on the cooking material du jour with its line of bright orange Flexible Silicone Bakeware. We got great results with the pans we tried, especially the 8-1/4-by-3-3/4-inch loaf pan. A 9-inch round and 8-inch-square pan also are offered. The silicone is heat-resistant to 500 degrees and needs to be placed on a baking sheet while cooking (for stability). The pans are dishwasher-safe and cost $9-$10 each at many Wal-Mart stores and online at amazon.com. Time to preserve that abundant fruitBasic information and recipes for marmalades and jams, jellies and other preserves are handily packaged for aspiring cooks in Madelaine Bullwinkels Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine (Surrey Books, $14.95). The books 150 recipes guide readers not only to making the preserves, but also easy muffins, scones and other desserts that use preserves as ingredients or can be served with your fruit confections. Bullwinkel teaches French cooking techniques at her Chez Madelaine Cooking School, in Hinsdale, Ill. Americas top five restaurant citiesBon Appetit magazines September issue, its 12th annual restaurant issue, names what its editors consider Americas top five restaurant cities. Four of them New York, Chicago, San Francisco and New Orleans are longtime favorites for highly rated dining out, but perhaps its a bit of a surprise to find Las Vegas now among the top five. (The cities are not named in ranking order.) Not such a surprise to the magazine. Editor in chief Barbara Fairchild says Las Vegas isnt really up there all of a sudden. In her September letter from the editor, she says Bon Appetit has been reporting on the scene there for a long time. Readers not resident in the top five cities should note that the articles describing favorite eating places in each of the five include chefs recipes you can cook at home anywhere and that Boston, Philadelphia and more than 20 other cities are also covered in the issue. Wire services |
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