Recipes - Pork

Smoked Pork Chop
Submitted by Melissa Cookston, Yazoo’s Delta Q
1 6-8 lb Bone in Pork loin
2 Tablespoons Yazoo’s Ultimate BBQ Rub
1 cup Yazoo’s Original BBQ Sauce
Smoker heated to 250 degrees
Fruit wood chunks

To prepare pork loin, rinse and pat dry. Using a filet knife, carefully remove silverskin from loin. French the bones by trimming meat from between bones and then scraping away any meat/silverskin from bones. Season loin liberally with Yazoo’s Ultimate BBQ rub or your favorite seasonings. Allow to marinate covered for a minimum of four hours or overnight.

Prepare smoker and preheat to 250 degrees. We like to use fruit wood chunks such as cherry or apple when we smoke pork along with a base of charcoal. Cover bones with aluminum foil to keep from darkening, then place in smoker for 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 155°. Remove from smoker and allow to rest loosely covered with a sheet of foil for at least 15 minutes. Slice between every other bone to get a show-stopping double-cut pork chop that will rival any you can get in a restaurant. Lightly glaze each chop with Yazoo’s Chipotle Bold BBQ Sauce or your favorite sauce and serve.

Chops can also be wrapped individually in clear wrap, then refrigerated. When you are ready to serve, fire up the grill and sear each side to warm up and get an impressive grill mark for your guests, then lightly glaze with sauce and serve.

BBQ Beer-Brined Pork Chops
Submitted by Daddy's BBQ Sauce
• (4-6) thick, fresh pork chops
• 4 tsp. Daddy's BBQ Sweet Love Original Rub
• (1) 12 oz. Lazy Magnolia Indian Summer spiced ale
• Daddy's BBQ Brown Sugar & Honey sauce
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons pure cane syrup
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• handful ice cubes
• 1 gallon-size resealable plastic bags
• meat thermometer

Set aside pork chops & Daddy's BBQ Brown Sugar & Honey sauce. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl until salt and sugar dissolve, pour into the resealable plastic bag; add pork chops & ice.

Allow to marinate in fridge or in an ice chest for 4 hours. Sprinkle a light amount of Daddy's BBQ Sweet Love Original Rub on top side of chops. (for more heat, add more rub) Cook on the grill (you'll need to turn about every 10 minutes) or in the oven until chops reach an internal temp of 145 degrees.

Allow meat to rest 3 minutes before cutting. Serve with Daddy's BBQ Brown Sugar & Honey sauce and your choice of sides and additional Lazy Magnolia Indian Summer beer!


Barbecued Spareribs on a Charcoal Grill

2 full slabs pork spareribs (about 6 lbs. total)
3/4 cup dry rub for barbecue
2 (3-inch) wood chunks or 2 cups wood chips
Heavy-duty aluminum foil
Brown paper grocery bag
2 cups barbecue sauce (optional)

Rub both sides of the ribs with the dry rub and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. For stronger flavor, wrap the rubbed ribs in a double layer of plastic and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Soak wood chunks in cold water to cover for 1 hour and drain, or place the wood chips on an 18-inch square of aluminum foil, seal to make a packet, and use a fork to create about six holes to allow smoke to escape. Hickory is the traditional wood choice with ribs, but some like mesquite as well.

Meanwhile, light a large chimney filled a bit less than halfway with charcoal briquettes (about 2-1/2 lbs. or 40 coals) and allow to burn until covered with a thin layer of gray ash. Empty the coals into one side of the grill, piling them up in a mound two or three briquettes high.

Keep the bottom vents completely open. Place the wood chunks or the packet with the chips on top of the charcoal. Put the cooking grate in place, open the grill lid vents completely, and cover, turning the lid so that the vents are opposite the wood chunks or chips to draw smoke through the grill. Let the grate heat for 5 minutes and clean it with a wire brush.


Position the ribs over the cool part of the grill. Turn the ribs every 30 minutes until the meat starts to pull away from the bones and has a rosy glow on the exterior (2 to 3 hours). The initial temperature inside the grill will be about 350 degrees; it will drop to 250 degrees after 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the grill and completely wrap each slab in foil. Put the foil-wrapped slabs in a brown paper bag and crimp the top of the bag to seal tightly. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Unwrap the ribs and brush with barbecue sauce if desired, or serve with sauce on the side.


Grilled Barbecue Pork Steaks
4 pork blade steaks with 1 inch or more thickness
1 half cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
1 third cup of natural honey (may substitute brown sugar or molasses for variations).
1 tablespoon of Worchester sauce
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
1 half teaspoon of favorite mustard


Bring barbecue grill to acceptable cooking level. Place steaks on the grill grate about four inches just above the medium to slow coals and cook for approximately 5-8 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer indicates about 150 degrees internal temperature.


As the steaks cook, combine remaining ingredients in a small mixing bowl, then continue to brush steaks with marinade sauce until cooking is complete (about five minutes). With cooking adjustments, pork chops will also work.
Serve with a mixed salad and foil-wrapped sweet potato or fresh corn for a southern taste delight.


Easy Citrus Pork Chops
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 c. orange juice
Dash of ginger
Salt and pepper
Place your chops in a shallow baking pan and top with the pineapple and orange juice. Bake in a 325° oven, or covered grill for about 1 hour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving.


Cuban Barbecued Pork Shoulder with Pineapple Mango Mojo and Sweet Potato Coconut Hash
Submitted by Robert Meitzer, Palace Arms Restaurant

Pork Shoulder:
Pork Shoulder - 4-6 lbs.
Olive Oil - ¼ cup
Garlic minced - ¼ cup
Cumin ground - ¼ cup
Cilantro chopped - 1 cup
Jalapeno minced - 3 each
Lime juice - 1 each
Ginger minced - 2 Tbsp.
Salt and pepper - 2 Tbsp

Mango Mojo:
Olive Oil - ¼ cup
Yellow onions small dice - 2 each
Fresh pineapple small dice - 4 Cups
Mango diced - 2 Cups
Limes juice and zest - 3 each
Oranges juice and zest - 2 each
Garlic minced - ¼ cup
Parsley fine chop - 1cup
Cilantro fine chop - 1 cup
Red Chili Flakes - 2 Tbsp
Red Bell Pepper small dice - 1 each
Salt and pepper - To taste


Sweet Potato Hash:
Sweet Potato medium dice - 2 cups
Melted Butter - ¼ cup
Yellow Onion diced - ½ each
Shredded Coconut - ½ cup
Cinnamon - 1 tsp.
Allspice - 1/2 tsp.
Brown Sugar - 3 Tbsp.
Salt - To taste


For Pork Shoulder:
Preheat grill and oven to 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl place all ingredients minus pork and stir to a paste. Place pork on grill and cook for 45 minutes turning often. Remove from grill and place in roasting pan. Rub herb paste all over pork and place in oven. Cook coved with foil for 2 hr. Remove from pan and place in paper grocery bag and seal end. Let stand in bag for 1 hr. then remove. Take two forks and shred off meat. (Serve just about any way)


For Mango Mojo:
Caramelize onions in a saute pan and place in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir well.
For Sweet Potato Hash:

Blanch sweet potato and chill. In a medium saute pan on medium high heat and add onions. When caramelized add sweet potato and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and saute till potato is brown.
Orange Marmalade Pork Tenderloin with Smoked Red Onion Confit
2 lb. Pork tenderloin, well trimmed

Brine:
1/4 Cup salt
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Qt water

Glaze:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TBS fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 Cup orange marmalade
1 TBS fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Prepare pork tenderloin by trimming the silverskin and excess fat. Mix brine ingredients using water hot enough to dissolve the sugar and salt. Cool and place in a resealable plastic bag with the pork tenderloin.

Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat grill or prepare a good bed of coals. Remove tenderloin from brine and pat dry. Mix glaze ingredients. Coat tenderloins thoroughly with glaze and cook over high for 7 minutes.

Turn, baste again with glaze and cook for 7 minutes. (A thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat should read 155° to 160°)
Smoked Red Onion Confit:

This can be made a day or two in advance and kept covered and refrigerated.
2 LB red onions, peeled and quartered
1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
1/4 Cup red wine
1/4 Cup brown sugar

Prepare a bed of coals in the smoker. Soak a couple of handfuls of hickory or apple chips for at least 20 minutes. Set up the smoker. Put the onions on the grill and smoke for an hour. Use a grill basket or grill wok to make sure the onions don’t fall through the grate. Meanwhile, heat the wine vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and thoroughly dissolve. Set aside until onions are smoked. When onions are ready, put them in a food processor with the wine, vinegar and sugar mixture. Pulse until you have a marmalade texture.
These will keep for several days, covered and refrigerated.

Pit Stop Bratwurst
1 pkg. Bratwurst
1 onion sliced
1 bell pepper sliced
1 can your favorite beer
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 c. barbecue sauce

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and cover. Chill for as long as possible. Cook on a hot grill with the sliced onions and bell peppers and remaining sauce in a sauce pan. Cook until bratwursts plump up. Serve on a bun or French style roll and top with your cooked onions and bell peppers. Add hot sauce if desired.

Recipes - Beef

Brisket Benedict

Submitted by Roy Slicker, Slick Que Co.

If you’ve ever traveled around The South, and even if you haven’t, there’s nothing like the traditional and smoky heartiness of a Sunday morning Brisket Benedict with some garlic, red bell pepper and onion fried red potatoes. If you don’t have the ability to slow smoke a brisket, and we only use Angus Choice Brisket for the flavor and moisture, head to your favorite BBQ joint and ask ‘em if they will sell you a pound.
4 English muffins, split and toasted
8 slices slow smoked beef brisket, cut in half and warmed
8 eggs poached (or fried if you like)
2 cups cheesy béchamel sauce (hollandaise)
hot sauce (optional)
Place English muffins on a plate and top with two pieces of beef brisket. Add one poached egg per muffin and pour over 1/4 cup of cheesy béchamel sauce. Add a few dashes of hot sauce if so desired.

Smoked Prime Rib (aka Lip-On Rib Eye)
1 lip-on Rib-Eye (9 to 12 pounds)
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon dried chopped garlic
1 tablespoon coarse or cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
Rub the roast all over with the balsamic vinegar and season with each of the seasonings to taste. Smoke at 230ºF to 250ºF for about four hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 140ºF for medium rare or longer if desired. Slice to order and enjoy.
Ultimate Tailgate Beef Kabobs
1 lb. stew cut steak
Steak sauce
Steak sauce
Hot sauce
1 can sliced pineapple
1 lg. onion
1 bell pepper
Steak cut French fries
Marinate the steak cubes in the steak sauce, hot sauce, and juice from the pineapples as long as possible. Place the steak and remaining ingredients on the skewers. Make sure the French fries are still pretty solid. They cook faster than regular potatoes. However, if they are too thawed, they will crumble and fall off the skewer. Brush with extra marinade while cooking over high heat.
Mustard Short Ribs
4 pounds of ribs
1/3 cup yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves of crushed garlic
4 medium onions, sliced

Steak sauce
Hot sauce
1 can sliced pineapple
1 lg. onion
1 bell pepper
Steak cut French fries
Marinate the steak cubes in the steak sauce, hot sauce, and juice from the pineapples as long as possible. Place the steak and remaining ingredients on the skewers. Make sure the French fries are still pretty solid. They cook faster than regular potatoes. However, if they are too thawed, they will crumble and fall off the skewer. Brush with extra marinade while cooking over high heat.
Mustard Short Ribs
4 pounds of ribs
1/3 cup yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves of crushed garlic
4 medium onions, sliced

Place buffalo ribs in shallow baking dish. Mix mustard, sugar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic; pour over the ribs. Top with onions. Cover and refrigerate, turning ribs occasionally, for 4 to 24 hours.

Place ribs with marinade and onions in Dutch oven or any other oven proof baking dish, and cook at 350 degrees for about 2 hours. Check for tenderness. Cook longer, if necessary, for 10-minute intervals until the ribs are tender.

Instead of the mustard marinade, you can also use your favorite BBQ sauce and spice it up with onions and garlic.
Ain't Momma's Meat Loaf
As with a hamburger, smoking can raise meat loaf from the mundane to the sublime. We like this version, but if you or your momma have a favorite recipe, it can be modified for barbecuing by making the meat mixture extra moist and by adding plenty of Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, or other sharp flavor to cut the richness of the smoke.

Meatloaf:
1 Tbsp. oil, preferably canola or corn
1/2 c. minced onion
1/2 green or red bell pepper, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/4 lbs. ground beef
3/4 lb. ground pork
1-1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
3 Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/4 c. stock, preferably beef
1 tsp. Tabasco or other hot pepper
sauce to taste
Basic Beer Mop (optional):
12 oz. beer
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. oil, preferable canola or corn
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. savory season blend (your favorite rub)
Spicy tomato-based barbecue sauce

Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 to 220ºF. In a heavy skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, pepper, salt and cumin, and sauté until the vegetables are softened. Spoon the vegetable mixture into a large bowl. Add the remaining meat loaf ingredients and mix well with your hands. Mound the meat into a smoke-proof loaf pan. If you plan to baste the meat, stir the mop ingredients together in a small sauce pan and warm the mixture over low heat. Transfer the loaf to the smoker. Cook for 45 minutes or until the meat has shrunk away from the sides of the pan. Gently ease the meat loaf out of the pan and place directly onto the grate of the smoker. Continue cooking the meat for an additional 1-1/2 hours, dabbing it every 30 minutes in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker. When 30 minutes of cooking time remain, apply the barbecue sauce to the top of the meat loaf. After removing the loaf from the smoker, allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing and serve warm or refrigerate for later use in sandwiches.
Bad weather? Use the same recipe, kick it up a notch with a little liquid smoke (not too much) and cook in the oven for about 1 hour. Not bad, and it gives you that outside taste inside!

Hot vs. Cold Smoking

Key Cooking and Smoking Temperatures


Cold Smoke: Smoking occurs at 70°F to 100°F, imparting flavor without firming proteins. Items may be cold smoked, then finished in the oven. 80 degrees is average in a smoke house. There will be slight dehydration but very little actual cooking.


Hot Smoke: Smoking occurs at 160°F to 225°F, imparting flavor and cooking the product. Temperature of smokehouse 160°F for all sausage (casings), 185°F for all solid meats. Final internal temperature of uncured hot smoked items Beef (suitable cuts) 130°F to 135°F for rare

Barbecue habits around the world

Posted by macmodi in Entertainment, Environment, Guests Posts


The word ‘barbecue’ is a synonym to any kind of outdoors social gathering where food is being cooked and served fresh. People around the world tend to think that it has been their country, nation, race, or ethnicity that invented barbecue. The truth, however, lies elsewhere as different people from different cultures have been cooking their meat with the high heat of a fire, usually lit outdoors, since thousands of years ago. Smoking, baking, braising, grilling using would, charcoal, natural gas or electricity, barbeques have always been popular in every corner of the planet.



Argentina ‘Gauchos’, the traditional inhabitants of the vast Argentinean plains (Pampa) have a long tradition in ‘asado’ (grilled meat), accompanied by a piece of bread so they don’t get burnt. Argentines claim they are blessed producing ‘world’s best meat’, which may be true given the size of the country in relation to its population, as well as the free lifestyle of their cattle. Using high quality meat is half the secret, though. What makes the real difference is how the meat has been cut, which putting it in simple words is ‘as thick as possible’ but it is much more complicated. The seasoning is always quite simple, as good quality meat doesn’t’ need any kind of special sauce, apart from a generous amount of salt.


Australia Barbecues a.k.a. ‘barbies’ are so popular, especially during the summer, that free or coin-operated gas or electric BBQs are available in many city parks. Apart from barbecuing meat, the use of prawns is increasingly popular. So, phrases such “I’ll slip an extra prawn on the barbie for you” are not uncommon…


Brazil In Southern Brazil, ‘Churrasco’ is very common as Brazilian ‘gauchos’ from Rio Grande do Sul, residing in the extensive region of natural pasture (Pampa), developed similar habits to those living in neighbouring Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Living mainly outdoors, grilling the meat was the easier food to prepare given the circumstances, as there was plenty of cattle and wood in the surrounding environment. Again, salt is the only ingredient used in the BBQ preparation.


Greece In ancient Greece, religious festivals were consisting mainly of roast meat and wine, as only the rich could afford eating meat regularly. Today, unlike most Catholic dominant countries where Christmas is the most important annual event, the biggest and most celebrated religious Greek-orthodox festival takes place during the Easter, and it is on Easter Sunday and Monday, when the whole country is in flames. The custom of turning the spit (‘souvla’) by hand for four, or even more hours, over an outdoors fire, comes along with the arrival of spring and the rebirth of nature. Those days come after a 40-day fast, where no meat or fish is supposed to be consumed. Seasoning is a combination of sea salt, oregano, pepper, and lemon juice, which adds to the flavour.

 Mexico ‘Barbacoa’ traditionally consists of a one and a half meters deep hole, dug in the ground, where the meat, placed in a pot, is being grilled over maguey or banana leaves. It is believed that both, the word barbecue, which means ‘sacred fire pit’, as well as the cooking technique, come from the neighbouring Caribbean islands. Even though the method dates back to the pre-Columbian era, there are many common European-introduced ingredients used such as oregano, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, lemon juice.

South-eastern Asia In Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia it is called ‘Satay’ and consists of marinated diced pieces of meat, fish, or tofu, skewered on a bamboo stick. It can be served with various spicy seasonings, with turmeric and spicy peanut being the most common ones. Satay, is quite popular in the US and Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, who in the past, used to occupy Indonesia.

 USA Barbecues vary from place to place, not only in the way they are being prepared and served, but also in the type of meat used. For instance, in the southeast the preferred meat is pork, while in the southwest they mainly use beef and in the state of Kentucky they use sheep (mutton). There is a great variety of different ingredients for the sauce, based on vinegar, tomatoes, horseradish, mustard, mayonnaise or ketchup. The most common devices used to prepare a ‘cookout’ include barbecue grills and portable barbecues. The most well-known barbeques outside the country are the Texan ones, and many restaurants around the world claim to specialise on that. The biggest annual events are ‘The American Royal Barbecue Contest’ in Kansas City and the ‘The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest’ in Memphis. If you enjoyed reading this post, then please remember to post a comment, Subscribe to my RSS feed.

According to the Menu?

A La Carte is a French term which means – “From the Menu”. Technically the expression refers to particular restaurant menus that have several items that can be purchased separately.

So, the next time you visit your favorite place for lunch and you decide to order according to “your taste”, rather than what is already paired for you, (make sure they allow it)don’t automatically assume that you are being difficult or picky. You are simply recognizing that you have certain uniqueness when it comes to choosing food.

If you are the type of person who enjoys putting different types of food together to make your favorite meal, post your creations to this site so we can all see what food parings you are most affectionate of.

Here is a clever blend of items I have compiled that resemble a bistro style lunch menu (my favorite)!

My A La Carte Menu
Crab Cake
Mixed greens, fines herbs, George Paul vinaigrette,
classic sauce – beurre blanc

Garden Vegetable Pasta
Capelli d’ angelo, asparagus, haricot verts, shitake mushroom,
preserved lemon, grape tomatoes, light lemon cream sauce

Baked Cod alla Puttanesca
Roasted new potatoes, sautéed summer squash,
putanesca sauce

Seared Atlantic Salmon
Minnesota wild rice blend, grilled asparagus, béarnaise sauce

Reuben Sandwich
Grilled marble rye, thin cut corned beef, Russian dressing,
sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, French fries

Grilled Turkey Sandwich
Ciabatta roll, gruyere, guacamole, bacon,
roma tomato, French fries

The Diet of the Ancient Egyptians

by Sarah Phillips


Doubtless, ancient Egypt's probably eat better than many others in the ancient world. After all, KMT, a name for ancient Egypt refers to its rich, dark, fertile soil and we have no doubt that since the invention of agriculture, Egyptians, with the Nile Valley and Delta, had a distinct advantage over many others when it came to food. Of course, there were lean times, when the inundation of the Nile failed them, but most often, this was not the case. In fact, we find many statues and pictures of ancient Egyptians who are well overweight.

However, it is very easy to describe any process in ancient Egypt in too broad of terms. We also must keep in mind that ancient Egypt spans thousands of years, and during that period their diets varied to some extent, while new foods were also added to their menus.


Bread and Cereal Food
Agriculture existed from an early date in Egypt. For the common people of Egypt, cereal foods formed the main backbone of their diet from the predynastic period onward Even for the rich, this staple mean generally consisted of a variety of different breads, often with other ingredients mixed in.

Sometimes these ingredients were purposeful, while at other times not. Because of the crude utensils used to make bread, quartz, felspar, mica, ferro magnesium minerals and other foreign bodies, including germs were almost always present in the flour. bread was made by mixing the dough, kneading it with both hands or sometimes with the feet in large containers. Yeast, salt, spices, milk and sometimes butter and eggs were then added, before the bread was placed in a baking form or patted into various shapes.

At first it was cooked in open fires or even on the embers. But from the Old Kingdom on, bread-moulds were used which were preheated, wiped with fat and filled with the dough. Slowly this process became more sophisticated.

In the Middle Kingdom, tall, tapered bread ovens with a firebox at the bottom, a grating and domed, upper compartment which was open at the top were used. At first, and really for even later common consumption, bread was usually cooked in the shape of a pancake. However, later bread was made in long or round rolls, and sometimes even shaped into figures, particularly for ceremonial purposes. Large, soft griddle cakes were also made, just as in Nubia today.

Sometimes thick loaves were made, with a hollow center that was then filled with beans, vegetables or other items. Sometimes flat bread was made with raised edges in order to hold eggs, or other fillings. Eventually, bread was made with various other ingredients, but there was no distinction between bread and pastries. Yet bread was often sweetened with honey or dates, or flavored with sesame, aniseed or fruit.

Vegetables
Obviously, even for the poor, other items such as vegetables, fruit and fish were consumed, all gifts of the Nile. They often ate beans, chick peas, lentils and green peas, just as modern Egyptians do today. Leeks and Egyptian lettuce was also popular. garlic were eaten, as well as thought to repel agents of diseases, and onions were popular, as well as being used for medical purposes. Though Herodotus tells us otherwise, radishes do not appear to have been consumed much.

Fruit
Chances are we do not know all the different types of fruit consumed. The most popular fruit in ancient Egypt was probably dates, which are rich in sugar and protein. While the rich used honey as a sweetener, the poor more often employed dates. They were also dried for later consumption, and were sometimes fermented to make wine.

We know that figs were eaten, but mostly from illustrations and references. Grapes were popular when available, and were also sun-dried to make raisins. Persea Mimusops laurifolia we know from the food left in tombs, as well as pomegranates, which have been found as far back as the 12th Dynasty.

We have even found a watermelon in the New Kingdom tomb of Nebseni. We only know of Egyptian plums from the New Kingdom, and the peach does not show up until the Ptolemaic (Greek) period. Olives were probably bought into Egypt with the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period, but walnuts and carob pods (St. John's bread) are only known from the New Kingdom onward.

Meat, Fish and Poultry

While it is difficult to believe that certain meats, such as fish and wild poultry did not show up fairly frequently on the tables of common people, we are told by Egyptologists that it was for the most part only the rich who regularly feasted on most meat. The poor ate geese, ducks, quails, cranes and other species, and from the New Kingdom onward raised domesticated fowl. Most edible fish from the Nile were consumed, though some fish, such as the genera Lepidotus and Phragus and a few others were forbidden because of their connection with the myth of Osiris.

In some locations, even the Nile perch was worshipped, and therefore never eaten. While fish were roasted or boiled, most frequently they were salted and preserved and dried in the sun.

Beef from cattle was frequently eaten by the rich, but appeared on the tables of common people usually only during festive occasions, when a sheep or goat might be slaughtered. We also see from tomb paintings, the preparation of wild game such as antelope, ibex, gazelles and deer. Pork was eaten, though the animal was associated with the evil god Seth. Early on it was widely consumed in Lower Egypt, but rarely in Upper Egypt. Yet we know that pigs were later bred and pork widely eaten throughout Egypt.

Dairy Products

While milk, cheese and butter are not well attested to, at least in text, we certainly believe that the early Egyptians were familiar with all of these dairy products. We do find a number of scenes showing men carrying what appears to be pots of milk or cream, and in one Theban tomb from the 19th dynasty, we find a seated woman pulling white cones of what is probably butter or cheese out of a large vessel.


Fats and Oil
There were also a number of different oils and fat used in the preparation of food. We know of beef, goat and other fats, and the Egyptian language had 21 different names for vegetable oils obtained from sesame, caster-oil plants, flax seed, radish seed, horseradish, safflower and colocynth. Horseradish oil was particularly popular. Oil and fat was mostly used for frying meat and vegetables, though food was also cooked in milk or butter.


Seasonings and Sweeteners
Sea salt, because of its connection to the evil Seth, was not consumed but salt from the Siwa Oasis was available. Pepper, however, only appears from the Greek period, but other spices were also used, including aniseed, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, fenugreek, marjoram, mustard and thyme. Sugar itself does not appear in the Egyptian diet until late in history, though honey was used by the rich for a sweetener, but was probably too expensive for the poor.

Common people used various fruits as sweeteners, though the most popular seems to have been dates. Without doubt, because of Egypt's rich soil and lush vegetation, the rich of Egypt probably always ate well, even during times of drought. In the worst of times, common people probably suffered to some extent, but mostly they were probably fed well, though not as lavishly as the rich.

Banquets were frequent, as were various festivals and other celebrations, and at these times, it is likely that everyone enjoyed the bounty of the Black Land. In fact, it is likely that their superior nutrition had much to do with their success in the ancient world.

Common bakeries were not known until the New Kingdom, but larger kitchens were manned for work gangs, the military as well as the royal household and temple personnel. Common meals were often served with beer, or for the very rich, wine. Beer was fermented mostly from wheat, though occasionally stale bread was utilized. Notation: While one may discover "ancient Egyptian recipes" on the internet, text for recipes on cooking food are notoriously absent from the archaeological record.


Ancient Egyptian Alcohol
By Caroline Seawright

Serving girl, pouring wine at a banquet


The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer.

-- 2200 BC inscription

[She] sent you to school when you were ready to be taught writing, and she waited for you daily at home with bread and beer.

-- Instructions of Ani, regarding his mother

Beer, called hqt by the ancients and zythus by the Greeks, was a very important Egyptian drink. It was a drink for adults and children alike. It was the staple drink of the poor (wages were sometimes paid in beer), it was a drink of the rich and wealthy, and a drink offered to the gods and placed in the tombs of the dead.

Beer in the morning, beer in the afternoon and beer at night. A little wine thrown in for good measure. And after a hard day of cutting stones for the pharaoh, time and energy left for a bit of hanky-panky.


Workmen at the pyramids of the Giza Plateau were given beer, thrice daily -five kinds of beer and four kinds of wine were found by archaeologists "poking through dumps, examining skeletons, probing texts and studying remains of beer jars, and wine vats" at Giza.

In 1990, the Egyptian Exploration Society approached Scottish and Newcastle Breweries for help. This was the beginning of a partnership which, over the past five years, has considerably increased the understanding of the brewing process as it was at the time of Tutankhamun.

Beer was depicted on the walls of the tombs, as were scenes of the ancient Egyptian brewery. It was probably very similar to the way beer is still produced in Sudan today. Traditionally, beer was regarded as a female activity as it was an off-shoot of bread making - the basis of the beer were loaves of specially made bread.

Most likely, the beer was not very intoxicating, nutritious, sweet, without bubbles, and thick (the beer had to be strained with wooden syphons, used as a straw, because it was filled with impurities). Though the later Greek accounts suggest that the beer, instead, was as intoxicating as the strongest wine, and it is clear that the worshipers of Bast , Sekhmet and Hathor got drunk on beer as part of their worship of these goddesses, because of their aspect of the Eye of Ra. Tenenit was another ancient Egyptian goddess of beer.

Broadly speaking, the established view of ancient Egyptian brewing, drawn from tomb scenes, is as follows. Beer loaves were made from a richly yeasted dough. Malt may or may not have been used. This dough was lightly baked and the resulting bread was crumbled and strained through a sieve with water. Ingredients like dates or extra yeast might have been added. The dissolved mixture was fermented in large vats and then the liquid was decanted into jars which were sealed for storage or transport.

There is a lot missing, but an important question is what did the beer taste like? Thanks to the work done by the Egyptian Exploration Society and the Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, the ancient beer was probably "strongly influenced by the addition of fruit or spices as flavouring." The word 'bnr'

causes some problem - it is usually translated as 'date', but it may have referred to a different (or to any other) sweet-tasting food the Egyptians used in their beer. Although the dregs from ancient beer jars do show what ingredients were used, further work is needed before the exact flavour of the different beers can be established. In hieroglyphs, the

determinative of the beer jug

were used in words associated with beer - short for 'beer', 'tribute', 'to be drunk', 'food and drink' and 'butler'. The importance of beer in ancient Egypt can not be overlooked. 9 February 1996, the Herald-Sun reported that 'Tutankhamon Ale' will be based on sediment from jars found in a brewery housed in the Sun Temple of Nefertiti, and the team involved has gathered enough of the correct raw materials to produce "just 1000 bottles of the ale".

"We are about to unveil a great Tutankhamon secret," said Jim Merrington, commercial director at Newcastle Breweries, "The liquid gold of the pharaohs. It's a really amazing inheritance they have left us, the origins of beer itself."

The beer was reported to have an alcoholic content of between 5 and 6 percent and was to be produced in April, 1996. They were sold at Harrods for £50 per bottle, the proceeds going towards further research into Egyptian beer making.


Wine

May he (Osiris) give water, a cool breeze and wine to the spirit ...

-- 18th Dynasty, from the stela of Thuthmose the doorkeeper

Wine, known as yrp to the Egyptians, was very expensive. It was drunk by those who could afford it, used as offerings to the gods and to the dead. The resurrected pharaoh was known as one "one of the four gods ... who live on figs and who drink wine." Even in later times, the Greek tourists report that wine was confines to the wealthy. Though wine, too, was occasionally given out as pay - the workmen at the pyramids at Giza had four kinds of wine to drink, along with five kinds of beer.

The word wine, funnily enough, predates the word for vine, so it seems that the Egyptians imported wine long before they imported grapes to the Nile valley.

The Egyptians has several different kinds of wine, some of which have been commended by ancient authors for their excellent qualities. That of Mareotis was the most esteemed, and in the greatest quantity.

Athenæus tells us that the Mareotic wine was "white, its quality excellent, and it is sweet and light with a fragrant bouquet; it is by no means astringent, nor does it affect the head." Strabo wrote that the wine was also known for its long shelf-life.


Other wines of note to the Greeks were Teniotic, Thebiad, Sebennytic, Thasian, Manfesian, Ecbolada (forbidden to newly married brides!) This was only a small sample of wines made throughout Egypt. It seems, though, that the favourite wine from the Old Kingdom onwards was red wine. The white wine that the Greeks favoured was only produced from the Middle Kingdom onwards.


In ancient party scenes on the tomb walls, wine is seen offered to the guests. It seems that a lot of wine was consumed at the banquets, because there are a number of images depicting the guests throwing up or being carried home because of their drunken state - drunkenness was seen as an amusement to the ancient Egyptians!


At celebrations of drunkenness to the Eye of Ra, wine was also drunk by those who could afford it. The temples associated with the goddesses had their own vineyards to make sure that the celebrants had enough wine for the rituals. Wine was also an acceptable offering to the gods.


The search for the recipes and wine types of the Egyptians have yielded mixed results within the delta region of the Nile. Due to the climatic changes since the time of ancient Egypt, quests for the right vine, the right mixture of materials, and other factors, have left the modern renditions of ancient Egyptian wine with something to be desired ... It was not until 1931 that the first modern rendition of ancient Egyptian wine was produced. This rendition of the ancient wine continues to be made in the present day, however, many wine connoisseurs consider it of poor taste. Regardless, the taste of the ancients is still present 3,500 years later.

Egypt had vineyards all over the country, though most of them were in the Nile delta. Grapes were hand picked, then placed in a vat for traditional treading on the grapes, or in special wine presses. The resultant juice was captured in open jars, where the fermentation process took place. When ready, these jugs were sealed and marked with the date, name of the vineyard and the person in charge of the wine. Aged in these earthenware jars, they had to be broken when it was time to decant the wine, and then poured into yet another earthen jar. When the wine was ready to be served, it was poured into shallow vessels with a short stem.

In the Pyramid Texts the god Shezmu (Sesmu) brings the king grape juice for wine production. Although he was a god of wine and of the wine press, he was also a vengeful god - in a papyrus from the XXI Dynasty, Shezmu his cruel side was shown by two hawk deities twisting the net of the wine press which contains three human heads instead of grapes. Hathor , another deity of wine (and beer), was also both a goddess of love and a goddess of destruction.

A tour of the ICA at Metro.

Jim Trebbien

Director - Institute for the Culinary Arts.

Jim is a humble individual who takes pride in running the ICA program at Metro. Because of his contribution, the program has become successful locally and has even gained national attention. Students currently attend from different states because of what they have heard about the program!

I caught Jim taking a stroll through the sage bistro kitchen area, where he popped in to talk to students who were preparing meals for some important guest.

Thanks Jim, you will always have our trust and respect!

Chef Brian O’Malley
Chef – Instructor, Institute for the Culinary Arts

Chef O’Malley was my first instructor when I started the program at Metro. He helped me corral my thoughts and energy in the beginning, so that I could focus on a clear path that would lead to success. I didn’t really understand all of the advice he was offering at the time but I trusted him. Today, I am very clear about the direction I must take in order to make an impact in the hospitality industry. It is never about the money in this business, it’s always about the people and the community.

Thanks for taking the time to teach me that Chef O’Malley, its great advice!




Exterior of the Institute for Culinary Arts Building

Guest having lunch prepared by students at the Sage Bistro!

High school students taking a tour.

Students working their baking skills!

New students to the program learning knife skills!

Azalea "of Philly"

http://www.bonsai4me.com/Gallery/GalleryPhilippeMassard.htm


Azaleas are beautiful spring shrubs that are grown in different parts of the globe. In Japan, they have been known to live for hundreds of years. They are said to be of the genius Rhododendron family, and you can see why many worldwide are drawn to them.

If you enjoyed seeing and learning a little about this beautiful spectacle, you will be surprised to know that a different version has sprouted in the City of Philadelphia. That’s right! “Azaleas of Philly”, caught my eye while browsing and looking for intriguing restaurants to post on my blog.


Here is a very pleasant story about the restaurant, and the people who make Azaleas one of the must visit’s, if you are ever in this part of “the States”.

Click the link above to view!

Neapolitan-Style Pizza with Mozzarella, Prosciutto, and Roasted Red Pepper Sponsored by CIA

Fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of fruity, extra-virgin olive oil give this pizza a special character.

Makes 4 servings

2 red bell peppers
Two 12-inch Pizza Crusts (recipe follows)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3/4 lb sliced fresh mozzarella
8 thin slices prosciutto
Extra-virgin olive oil as needed
Salt as needed
Freshly ground black pepper as needed



1.Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets by scattering them with cornmeal.
2.Char the red peppers directly in a gas flame until they are charred and blistered on all sides. Immediately place in a bowl or plastic bag and cover the peppers. Once they are cool enough to handle, pull away the skin and cut out the stem, ribs, and seeds. Cut into strips. Set aside.
3.Shape the pizza dough into two 12-inch rounds. Transfer the dough rounds to the cornmeal-scattered baking sheets. Bake the crust until firmed and set, about 10 minutes.
4.Spread 1/4 cup tomato sauce on each pizza. Layer the cheese, prosciutto, and peppers on the pizza crusts. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
5.Bake the pizza until the crust is golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pizza Crust
Makes one 16-inch or two 12-inch pizzas

3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus as needed
1/2 cup semolina or durum flour
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups room-temperature water (68–76°F)
3 tbsp olive oil, plus as needed
2 tsp salt
Cornmeal for dusting



1.To prepare the dough, combine the flours and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the water, olive oil, and salt and mix on low speed for 2 minutes.
2.Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is quite elastic but still a little sticky, 4 minutes.
3.Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough to coat it with the oil, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and allow to rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
4.Fold the dough gently, cover, and let rest until relaxed, 15–20 minutes, before cutting it into 2 equal pieces, if necessary, and rounding the dough into a smooth ball(s). Cover the dough and let rest another 15–20 minutes before shaping into a pizza crust.
Cook with the proper tools. Use the 9 1/2" x 13" Baking Sheet and the Pizza Wheel to create Neapolitan-Style Pizza.

How to Clean and Prepare Leeks!

I was in class last week and someone asked me if I knew the proper way to prepare leeks. Well, I told her that I had a good idea but I really wasn’t sure. I promised to do a little research and post the results on my blog. So, here you go Nicki, I hope this help!

Courtesy of startcooking.com

Well, leeks are part of the onion family and, in fact, look like a giant version of green onions. However, the little green onion has a much stronger onion flavor then the leek. Another difference is that you need to cook leeks before eating them. Unlike an onion, you would not add an uncooked leek to a salad!

Green Onions

Leeks are a very mellow version of an onion and when cut they have a beautiful variation in color. They go from white down by the root, to a yellow center, to a really dark green at the top.

Cut the leek just below the really dark green part. Those really dark, green leaves are very tough and you don’t eat them. Like an onion, the leek has a lot of layers on the inside, except that the leek has a lot more finer layers. Each of these layers has an amazing amount of sandy grit between them. Leeks have to get washed really well to get rid of all that grit.

If you are going to cut the leaks into rings or small strips, do that first, and then put them in a bowl of cool water.

I’m using my salad spinner. The leeks will float to the top and the grit will sink to the bottom of the bowl. You will need to swish everything around a bit to make sure all the layers of leek are separated.

You can then run them through your salad spinner or just lay them out on a towel to dry off.


If you are going to cook the leek whole, you still have to cut it in half to wash it. (Or you could just make a cut half way through and spread open the leaves.) Fan out the layers with your fingers and let the water run through.

Now you are ready to cook with leeks!