Lasagne - Primitive Italian gift..

Lasagne are wide, flat pasta shaped dish of Italian origin.It is considered as a primitive form of pasta, made with several layers of lasagne sheets alternated with sauces and other ingredients.

Lasagne

Various kinds of meats like beef, pork and chicken along with several kinds of vegetables like spinach, zucchini and mushrooms were used in this dish to fill in between the layers.Flavouring agents like wine, onion, garlic and oregano were added to get the characteristic flavour.In all cases the lasagne are oven-baked.

Petite marmite soup

It is a beef and chicken flavoured soup,garnished with turned root vegetables and dice of beef and chicken.

Petite marmite soup

The soup is eaten by the guest from the petite marmite dish itself and not poured into a soup plate or consomme cup.

petite marmite dish

Accompaniments: Grated Parmesan cheese, poached bone marrow. 

Types of sparkling wine production

There are four main methods for the production of sparkling wine.They are.

1. Carbon dioxide injection method.
2. Bulk tank secondary fermentation method(Martinotti method).
3. Methode champenoise.
4. Transfer method.

Carbon dioxide injection method: This is a simple method while we are considering sparkling wine production,because in this method simply the injection of carbon dioxide is taking place as in that of the production of soft drinks.

Sparkling wines

Martinotti method: In this method, the wine undergoes secondary fermentation in bulk tanks,and is bottled under pressure.

Premium sparkling wines

Methode champenoise: This is some what a little complicated compared with that of the above mentioned methods.Because in this method, effervescence is produced by secondary fermentation in the bottle itself.

Champagne

Transfer method: This is a complicated method in the production of sparkling wine.In this method the cuvee(blended base wine) is first bottled for secondary fermentation, then will transfer the wine out of the individual bottled into a large tank after it has spent the desired time on yeast.

sparkling wine

Madeira wine-Portuguese wine classic

Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Madeira islands,which is an archipelago of Portugal.Different varieties are there for this Madeira wine ranging from dry wines,which can be consumed as an aperitif to the cheaper versions are often flavoured with salt and pepper mainly used in cooking.Sweet wines are also there in this long array of wine, which are usually consumed along with desserts.

Madeira wine

The peculiarity of Madeira wines from others is that, neutral grape spirits were added to it to prevent the wine from spoiling.Besides that Madeira is noted for its unique wine making process which involves heating the wine upto temperature as high as 60 degree celsius(140 degree farenheit) for an extended period of time and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of oxidation.This makes it a long lived wine even after being opened.

Kugel- A Jewish savoureaux

Kugel is a baked savoury Jewish pudding made out of egg noodles or potatoes along with vegetables and fruits like zucchini, apples, spinach, broccoli, cranberry etc.It is some what similar to a 'pie' and usually it is served as a side dish on Sabbath and other Jewish holidays.

Kugel

Merguez-delicacy from North African cuisine

Merguez is a spicy beef and lamb sausage with red peppers.Originally made in parts of North Africa,but now it is popular in almost all European countries especially France.

Merguez

Mayonnaise sauce

Mayonnaise is one of the mother sauces,having a white,cream or pale yellow colour and with a thick, creamy consistency.It is often used as a condiment.

Mayonnaise sauce

Actually mayonnaise is an emulsified product of egg yolk in oil.In European countries olive oil is used for emulsification.But it may varey from place to place according to their culture.Usually it contains oil,egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice.But many options are there for embellishment with other herbs and spices.

Mayonnaise

The important thing is that,unlike other mother sauces mayonnaise is a cold sauce,as it  doesn't need the medium of heat during its preparation.

Tomato sauce

Tomato sauce is a bright red coloured sauce among the mother sauces.It is a well known sauce all around the world.Umpteen number of derivatives are being made from this sauce,also it is used in many dishes especially of Italian,Spanish and Chinese cuisine.Hence it is referred as a mother sauce.

Tomato sauce with tomatoes

It is commonly used along with meat as well as vegetable dishes without any discrimination.But they are perhaps best known as sauces for pasta dishes.

Tomato sauce

The simplest tomato sauce consists of chopped tomato flesh cooked in a little olive oil and simmered until it loses its raw flavour and taste and seasoned with salt.Stock or wine is sometimes added to keep from drying and also to get a rich flavour.To add more flavour we can optionally add some other spices such as basil,oregano,parsley,red pepper or black pepper as a seasoning agent.

Veloute sauce

Veloute sauce is a pale yellow coloured sauce among the mother sauces.The word meaning of 'veloute' is 'velvet'.

Veloute sauce

It is prepared by using a light stock(one in which the bones used have not been previously roasted) eg: chicken stock, fish stock, veal stock etc is thickened with a blond roux(prepared by mixing equal parts of mass butter and flour).Seasoning will be done with salt and pepper.Derivatives of veloute sauces are garlic sauce, mole sauce, mushroom sauce etc.

Hollandaise sauce

Hollandaise sauce is an yellow coloured sauce and is considered as one of the mother sauces.Actually it is an emulsion of egg yolk and butter, seasoned with lemon juice and salt along with a little bit of white pepper or cayenne pepper.Derivatives of hollandaise sauce are bearnaise sauce, vin blanc etc.

Hollandaise sauce

Hollandaise sauce is so named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch sauce for the King of Netherland's state visit to France.It is a key ingredient of egg's benedict.Also used along with vegetables such as steamed asparagus.

Espagnole sauce

Espagnole sauce is also known as brown sauce.It has a strong taste and is rarely used directly on food.As it is a mother sauce,it has umpteen number of derivatives,such as sauce africaine, sauce bigarade, sauce bourguignonne, sauce aux champignous, sauce charcutiere, sauce chasseur,sauce chevrenil ,demi-glace etc.

Espagnole sauce

There is a story that explains why the most important basic brown sauce in French cuisine is called as Espagnole sauce or Spanish sauce.According to the story, the Spanish cooks of Louis XIII's bride,Anne helped to prepare their wedding feast, and insisted upon improving the rich brown sauce of France with Spanish tomatoes.This new sauce was an instant success,and was gratefully named in honour of its creators.

Bechamel sauce

Bechamel sauce is otherwise known as white sauce, because of its characteristic white colour and is made with a roux of butter and flour cooked in milk.It is used as a base for other sauces such as mornay sauce,cheese sauce, alfredo etc.

Bechamel sauce

Recipe: White roux moistened with milk, salt, onion stock with clove, cook for 20 minutes.

Croque monsieur and Croque madame

Croque monsieur is a sandwich consists of sandwich bread, grilled ham and cheese(either Emmental or Gruyere is used).It is believed to be originated in French cafes and snack-bars as a quick snack.

Croque monsieur

Croque madame is a variation of Croque monsieur,in which a Croque monsieur is served along with a fried egg or poached egg on top of it.

Croque madame

Eggs benedict

Eggs benedict is a breakfast dish of American origin, consists of two halves of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon along with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.

Eggs benedict

Mother sauces

Auguste Escoffier is the man who is credited with making the list of mother sauces that we are using and following today.In his book "Le guide cuilinaire" and its abridged translation "A guide to modern cookery" he has mentioned about the same.He mentioned about the 5 mother sauces namely, Bechamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomato and Veloute.All these are hot sauces,but the newly entered one is a cold sauce,that is mayonnaise because it doesn't need the medium of heat during its preparation.

Mother sauces

Kozhipidi or kozhimbidi or steamed rice dumplings in chicken curry- delicacy of Trichur

Ingredients:

• Chicken with fat   - 2kg
• Pepper powder    -2tsp
• Turmeric              -1tsp
• Salt                      -as needed
• Garlic                   -3nos
• Cumin                  -2tsp
• Rice powder        -1kg
• Coconut               -2nos
• Shallot                  -200 gm
• Curry leaves         -few sprigs
• Coconut oil           -2tsp

Method of preparation:

• Clean the chicken,wash and cut into small pieces.Add turmeric,salt and pepper powder and cook chicken in minimum water.
• Grate coconut.Grind half of the coconut with garlic and cumin.Other half of the coconut is mixed with rice powder and salt after grinding and dough is prepared with boiled water.
• Tiny balls having the size of a cherry are made with dough by rolling under palm and is placed in a tray containing fine rice flour.This prevents sticking the balls each other.
• Pour required quantity of water in a kadai, add salt and allow it to boil.
• Put the prepared rice balls into it along with the rice flour in the tray.
• Add the paste of grinded coconut,garlic with cumin.
• Put cooked chicken and continue to boil in low flames.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry shallots and curry leaves and add to the above preparation.
• The cooked item is light yellowish in colour with riceballs and chicken in thick gravy.

  

  Kozhipidi

Lobster thermidor: French lobster delicacy having a little cognac.

Lobster thermidor is a rich,lobster delicacy of French cuisine.The dish consists of lobster meat and egg yolk along with cognac or any other kind of brandy,altogether having a creamy consistency.The gravy or sauce must contain powdered mustard and is served along with Gruyere which is a typical Swiss cheese.

lobster thermidor

Thermidor is usually considered as a recipe for special occasions.

Baba ganoush: Levantine egg plant dish

Baba ganoush is an aubergine(egg plant) dish of Levantine cuisine(region shared by many cuilinary traditions under the Ottoman empire,mainly Egypt,Jordan,Lebanon,Palestine,Israel,Syria,southern Turkey and northern Iraq.)

Baba ganoush

It is a thick dip made from pureed aubergines, tahini, lemon and garlic.

Bouillabaisse:from the port city of Marseille

It is a Mediterranean fish stew.The soup is made with assorted shellfish and fish-two or three varieties of shell fish(lobster,prawn,shrimp etc),two or three varieties of fish(sole,salmon etc).The fish is cut into two pieces and cooked along with vegetables and served as such with the pieces of fish and vegetables.

bouillabaisse

Accompaniment:Thin slices of french bread dipped in oil and grilled.

Devils on horseback: appetizer as well as savoury titbit

Devils on horseback is considered both as an appetizer as well as a savoury tit-bit.It is a variant of angels on horseback which is also an appetizer and savoury tit-bit.

Devils on horseback

The difference of devils on horseback from angels on horseback is that the oysters in angels on horseback is being replaced by either dry fruits like pitted dates or prunes.While the prunes or dry fruits are stuffed with mango chutney sprinkled with cayenne pepper,then wrapped in bacon and grilled on a skewer.

Types of food and beverage service:English, American, French, Gueridon and others

The process that we are adopted to serve the food and beverage to a dignified guest in an elegant and neat manner is known as food service.

English service or platter to plate service: In this kind of service,the f&b assistant or steward will hold the platter in his/her left hand and serve from the left side of the customers,using a service fork and service spoon,together called as stempler.
Note:In North America it is known as French service.

English service

American service or pre-plated service or plate service:In this service, the dishes are prepared and decorated or garnished in the kitchen then served in the same plate.Unlike English service here the service will done from the right side of the customer.

American service

French service:French service is an alternate form of English service,here the f&b assistant or steward will hold the platter in his left arm or putting platters on the table so the customer can help themselves.In this type also the f&b assistant or steward will serve from the left side of the customer.

French service

Gueridon service or trolley service: Gueridon service is a very different style of service,and is considered as an elegant service,only employed in some class restaurants and food service establishments.The person who performs this service should have high expertise in doing this.Actually gueridon is a kind of trolley in which it is equipped with almost all necessary equipments and articles for the preparation of a dish,and the person who taking care of the gueridon will perform the preparation of the dish,and the guest can view and enjoy the scene.

Gueridon service

Buffet service or self service:Buffet service is considered as an informal form of food service.Since it involves service by the guest themselves.This kind of service is offered in various places including hotels and social events.In this the guest can serve and eat according to their choice.

Buffet

Note:In all formal service methods,beverages have to serve from the right side. 

Special kinds of services:

• Flambe service:Service of food with the fancy of flame.
• Sizzler service:Service of food with the fancy of fume and sizzling sound. eg: chicken steak sizzler.

Angels on horseback: English hors d' oeuvre and savoureux

Angels on horseback is a hot hors d' oeuvre(appetizer) of English cuisine,consisting of oysters individually wrapped in bacon and served on toast.We can also used it as a savoury, which is the final course of a traditional English meal.

Angels on horseback

Compote:cut fruits and nuts with spices and raisins

Compote is a dessert from the traditional French cuisine.The word meaning of 'compote' is 'mixture' actually it is composed of various fruit cuts,and is believed to be originated in the 17th century.

fruit compote

Preparation of the compote is pretty simple,that is fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices and the sugar syrup will get a pleasant aroma with the addition of certain spices like cinnamon bark or powder,cloves etc.Along with that additional flavouring elements such as vanilla,lemon,orange peel etc may be added to get desired flavour. At last for getting a rich feeling,we can add some almonds,coconut and raisins.And can serve either warm or cold.

Rogan josh:from Kashmiri cuisine..

Rogan josh is a spicy,flavoury dish made with lamb,and is considered as the signature recipe of Kashmiri cuisine.But its origin is from Persia(Iran),because it was brought to India(particularly Kashmir)by the Mughals(while the Mughal cuisine was a lot influenced by that of Persians).

Rogan josh

There were two interpretations about the name "Rogan josh".First one is that the 'Rogan' means 'clarified butter' or 'fat' and the 'josh' means 'heat' or 'passionate'.The other one claims that the 'Rogan' means 'red colour' and the 'josh' has the same interpretation as that of first one.

Black bun: Scottish delight

Black bun is a rich fruit cake in a pastry case,traditionally eaten in Scotland at New Year.The cake typically contains raisins, currants, almonds, citrus peel, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and English pepper.

Black bun

Greek salad; summer salad; rustic salad

Greek salad or summer salad is a salad of Greek cuisine.The main ingredients for this salad are tomato, sliced cucumber, onion, feta cheese and olives.Seasoning will be done with salt and oregano(an Italian spice) and the dressing of this salad will be done with olive oil.

Greek salad

Optional ingredients are pickled leaves,buds or berries of capers(flinder's rose).

BLT: an interesting sandwich fact

BLT is a kind of sandwich in which the main ingredients are bacon, lettuce and tomato.The additional ingredients that comes along with BLT are mayonnaise and bread.

BLT sandwich

Yorkshire pudding or batter pudding

Yorkshire pudding or batter pudding is a pudding of English cuisine which is usually served with roast meat and gravy as a main course but we can also serve it as a dessert.

yorkshire pudding

It is made with batter consisting of eggs,flour and milk,and the high moisture content in it will help in it's proper cooking.