Cooking

Hip Hop Cooking Show

2005-10-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

By PRWEB

Taping and dinner will take place on Tues, August 24, 2004 in ATL during the Atlantic City Film Festival. There will also be a screening of "I Wish I Had A House Like This", and celebrity cast event to follow.

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 20, 2004 -- America’s first, original, Hip Hop Cooking Show is taking the cooking show genre by storm. Chef Chardon is breaking traditional cooking show formats with his undeniably original, Hip Hop twist, and the unprecedented on-location celebrity outings, interviews and performances. Chef Chardon combines comedy, music, entertainment, and celebrity guests with sophisticated and savory American cuisine. The Chef will be hosting all interested media and press as special guests for the show’s second series of tapings in Atlantic City (NY), on Tuesday, August 24, 2004.

Chef Chardon’s menu consists of a fusion of American urban and suburban classic dishes. The show is hosted by Chef Chardon, DJ Tomahawk and the hilarious comedian, Pot Washer. As part of the new and exciting format, celebrity guests will assist Chef Chardon in the preparing of meals. While the meals are cooking, Chef Chardon and his guests will have a question and answer session about current issues in their careers and lives. The Chef will also travel to some of the guests’ homes.

Chef Chardon will take guests shopping for the food and ingredients after assessing the guests’ kitchen supplies and return to their celebrity homes to prepare the meals from scratch.

To compliment his style, Chef Chardon has also launched his own cooking show line products which will include original recipe BBQ, Cajun and Seafood Seasoning sauces.

Media guests for the tapings for the Chef Chardon Cooking Show in Atlantic City, on Tuesday, August 24, 2004, will be provided with complimentary transportation to and from New York City’s Port Authority.

The day will consist of a buffet-style dinner provided for in-studio guests; comedy provided by "Jay the Comedian," and "Chill Bill;" performances by "Shyheim"; music by the world renown DJ Tomahawk; and a private screening of "I Wish I Had A House Like This" (Don Drama Films), with special guests (and cast members) that will include: Strike, N.O.R.E, Capone, Bricks R Us, HaMillions, Diezzle Don, and Pee Wee Kirkland.

For more information and clips on Chef Chardon’s Cooking Show, the dynamic and multi-talented Chef Chardon himself (aka, Diezzle Don), and other Lockdown productions, log onto http://www.bonaficial.com (http://www.bonaficial.com) .

To be a guest for the taping, please email e-mail protected from spam bots with your name, affiliation and contact information to RSVP and/or have transportation arranged for you. Someone will contact you immediately to reserve your place.

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5-Ingredient dessert cookbook offers 300 fast finishes

2005-08-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

By PRWEB

Easy Dessert Cooking with 5 Ingredients contains more than 300 easy dessert recipes prepared in minutes using simple ingredients. Cheesecakes, pastries, cobblers, tarts, cookies, bars, candies, cakes, sherbets, puddings and parfaits are all included.

From cakes to cookies to frozen treats, a new 5-ingredient cookbook promises you’ll always leave room for dessert.
Easy Dessert Cooking with 5 Ingredients contains more than 300 easy dessert recipes prepared in minutes using simple ingredients. Cheesecakes, pastries, cobblers, tarts, cookies, bars, candies, cakes, sherbets, puddings and parfaits are all included.
Desserts like Kiss Me Chocolate, Disappearing Cookies, Cherries Jubilee, Creamy Orange Chiffon Cake, Old-Fashioned Peach Pie and Raspberry Crowned Chocolate Mousse range from the simple to the spectacular, including many elegant desserts appropriate for formal entertaining.
Recipes include serving suggestions and cooking tips.
Author Wilson (Quick Fixes with Mixes, Gifts for the Cookie Jar, Class Treats, Cookie Dough Secrets) is known for her creative ideas in the kitchen. A member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Wilson specializes in unique baked sweets. Her work has been showcased on QVC.
Published by Cookbook Resources of Highland Village, Texas, Easy Dessert Cooking with 5 Ingredients is part of the company’s Cooking by the Numbers series designed for busy cooks.
Other books in the series include The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients, Cooking with 5 Ingredients, Easy Healthy Cooking with 4 Ingredients, Best of Cooking with 3 Ingredients and Easy Gourmet-Style Cooking with 4 Ingredients.
Easy Dessert Cooking with 5 Ingredients is available in hardcover ($19.95) and paperback ($16.95).
The cookbook is available at CookbookResources.com and Amazon.com or by calling toll-free (866) 229-2665.

Trendy Food Manufacturing

2005-07-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

By Dilip Shaw

"By the time a trendy food becomes mass produced, it is usually on its way out," says Dana Cowin, editor in chief of Food & Wine magazine. While it is true that the culinary world leads in food trends, the staying power of a trend can be best determined by its overall contributions to a society`s culinary habit.

For instance, roasting - a popular classic cooking method - is making a strong comeback in Americans` food fare and has the potential for much more than a passing fad. Roasting develops desirable flavors within a food product. In addition, it provides other benefits such as healthful cooking, convenience, and simplicity. The result is a cooking method that is likely to become more popular within our cooking culture.

Grilling is another cooking method that provides the same benefits. However, "Trends start and stop whether we think they should or not," says Cowin. One might have assumed that the lowfat food trend would have stayed forever, but it has lost some of its initial steam. This may eventually happen to the roasting and grilling trend as well.

Other trends in the food world include more regional ethnic foods. For instance, Italian food has been big for years, but now food magazines and cookbooks feature Umbrian, Tuscan, and Sicilian food. Food manufacturing companies are starting to jump on this bandwagon as well.

Before developing products to match a trend, the industry considers many factors. According to corporate chef Matthew Walter`s experience, food manufacturing companies are looking to develop products that will be around for the long haul. Western foods that typically require less preparation time and slower cooking methods are easier to mimic in a manufacturing setting.

However, trendy Asian foods such as Thai traditionally require greater prep time and shorter cook times to retain flavor and color. Thai tends to be more difficult to duplicate because the types of cooking methods and large batches produced do not match traditional preparation methods.

Culinary Artist - Specializes in French & Thai Cuisine
Date Posted : 14 - Feb - 2005
Website : http://www.best-cooking-school-culinary-arts-schools-classes.com

Restaurant Reality

2005-07-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

By Dilip Shaw

Preface: Get information on career as a chef. Read this article to know whether you are fit to be a chef.

While you can break into the kitchen for an entry-level position and learn on the job, if you have aspirations to be a chef, advanced training is a must.

The American Culinary Federation accredits over 100 formal training programs and sponsors apprenticeship programs around the country. Typical apprenticeships last three years and combine classroom training and work experience. The ACF also certifies pastry professionals and culinary educators in addition to various levels of chefs.

Vocational or trade-school programs typically offer more basic training in preparing food, such as food handling and sanitation procedures, nutrition, slicing and dicing methods for various kinds of meats and vegetables, and basic cooking methods, such as baking, broiling and grilling.

To determine if you are cut out for a cooking career, consider these important characteristics: chefs, cooks and food preparation workers need to be able to work well as part of a team, have a keen sense of taste and smell, and work efficiently to turn out meals as quickly as possible. Knowledge of a foreign language may improve communication with other restaurant staff, vendors, and the restaurant`s clientele.

Advancement is common in the field. For example, many food preparation workers move easily into assistant or line cook positions. Chefs and cooks who demonstrate an eagerness to learn new cooking skills and to accept greater responsibility may move up within the kitchen and take on responsibility for training or supervising newer or lesser-skilled kitchen staff. And there are always opportunities to move from one kitchen or restaurant to another.

Culinary Artist - Specializes in French & Thai Cuisine
Date Posted : 14 - Feb - 2005
Website : http://www.best-cooking-school-culinary-arts-schools-classes.com

Culinologist Curriculum

2005-07-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

By Dilip Shaw

Preface: Learn the culinologist curriculum to get help when you enroll in a culinary school. Get names of a few great culinary books.

The Research Chefs Association has mandated that education and certification are two strategic goals for the future and has created a new category of food professional - the "Culinologist [TM]."

The culinologist curriculum will combine food technology and culinary arts courses, allowing students to pursue a four-year college degree. Presently, both Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., and Metropolitan College, Omaha, offer RCA-initiated short courses in food science for chefs.

What do they teach you?

In the planning stage is a one-week basic professional cooking course, sponsored by the RCA and the Culinary Institute of America. Its titled "Culinary Workshop for Food Technologists,".

Culinary Arts Resources

Many programs are now being offered at local culinary arts schools, including both short courses and full-term classes. You can get a list of schools at the site http://www.best-cooking-school-culinary-arts-schools-classes.com.

Recommended Culinary Books:

1. On Cooking by Labensky and Hause (Prentice Hall).

2. Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen (John Wiley).

3. The New Professional Chef, The Culinary Institute of America (Von Nostrand-Rheinhold).

Basic outline of courses taught in culinary arts courses:

* Culinary arts in modern food service.

* Culinary terms.

* Utensils, modern kitchen equipment, knives, and techniques of their usage.

* Basic cooking principles (dry and moist cooking and alternative methods).

* Five basic ("leading") sauces, secondary sauces ("small"), manufacture of stocks, soups.

* Seasoning and chefs flavoring.

* Classes in meat, poultry and seafood butchering and preparation.

* Ethnic cuisine, essential baking, starch and potato cookery, and vegetable cooking.

* Salads and "garde manger," breakfast service, sandwich making.

* Recipes and menu design.

Culinary Artist - Specializes in French & Thai Cuisine
Date Posted : 14 - Feb - 2005
Website : http://www.best-cooking-school-culinary-arts-schools-classes.com

Culinary Education

2005-06-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

By Dilip Shaw

Preface: This article is intended to introduce you to cooking schools and culinary institutes, and to give you a few things to think about as you investigate a culinary education and career.

Do people like your cooking? Do the dinners you serve make guests say "How lovely!" or "Mean spread, dude!"? Have you worked your way through a recipe book or two? Do people tell you that you ought to be "a chef or something"? Or do you just feel like you could really get into food and hospitality? If the answers to any of these questions are "yes," maybe you should look into attending a culinary program such as those offered by a cooking school or culinary institute.

At such a school, you can quickly master culinary techniques that took the chefs of centuries past lifetimes to create and perfect. As at other schools, you can make good friends while studying in a culinary program, but you can also learn the deeper trust and skilled interpersonal organization it takes to function as part of a team in a restaurant or hotel. If you`re so inclined, you can learn how to manage such a team. You might even learn how to make dozens of new dishes well enough to dazzle your family and friends, and not just your customers.

Culinary Artist - Specializes in French & Thai Cuisine
Date Posted : 14 - Feb - 2005
Website : http://www.best-cooking-school-culinary-arts-schools-classes.com

Career Change - Why Culinary?

2005-06-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

By Dilip Shaw

Most culinary colleges and cooking schools nationwide report that an increasing number of students are older adults with prior careers. Whether fulfilling lifelong dreams or trying something different, the old students are attracted to the wide variety of jobs in food service and to the
possibility of success in an industry the National Restaurant Association projects will need an additional 1.8 million workers in the next 10 years.

A recent survey concludes that fifteen percent of this year`s freshman class at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., are career changers or are those who previously studied subjects other than hospitality.

There is a strong response to recruitment efforts with students from other careers. There are many who want admission to improve their skills and increase their likelihood of achieving the goals they set for themselves.

To appeal to older career changers, schools are offering shortened programs, smaller classes, fast-track application processes and internships in restaurant and food operations.

Along with two-year associate`s and four-year bachelor`s degrees, the culinary-arts school of the art Institute in Denver offers a one-year cooking program for older students who already have degrees in other disciplines or who want to enter the industry quickly.

Whats most discouraging is that career changers may be naive about what it takes to become a professional chef, and therefore most do not fare well in their courses.

Most people get into culinary because of the glamor. You have to be organized, think on your feet and have a certain temperament for it. There is stress, heat, hot oils, boiling water, sharp knives. You have to be organized and focused and have a real passion for it. Cooking in a restaurant is very different from cooking at home.

Culinary Artist - Specializes in French & Thai Cuisine
Date Posted : 14 - Feb - 2005
Website : http://www.best-cooking-school-culinary-arts-schools-classes.com

Frugal Outdoor Cooking

2005-06-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

By Cyndi Roberts

Firing up the grill is a great way to cook in the summer! Here are a few grilling tips and a couple of recipes, too.

For great grilled burgers, form the patty gently. Smashing the meat forces out moisture.

Sear both sides of the burger on both sides, then move the burger and cook with indirect heat till done.

Use a meat thermometer to gauge when the meat is done. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

When grilling chicken, remember that dark meat needs longer on the grill than breast meat. Also, bone-in parts cook longer than boneless parts.

Place the pieces that need to cook the longest on the grill first, and then move them to a cooler area of the grill to finish cooking after they have browned.

Again, use a meat thermometer to tell when chicken is done. Bone-in parts should be cooked to an internal temperature of 170 degrees; boneless parts to about 160 degrees.

Tropical Glaze for Grilled Chicken 1 small can crushed pineapple 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon mustard

Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons of juice. Mix pineapple, reserved juice, brown sugar, lemon juice and mustard.

Brush chicken parts with glaze often during last 10 minutes of grilling.

Barbecue Sauce 1 cup ketchup 1 cup water 1/4 cup vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon celery seed 2 or 3 dashes hot pepper sauce (optional)

Mix all ingredients in saucepan; bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Use to baste burgers or pork chops during last 10-15 minutes of grilling.

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Always be sure to cook on a clean grill. If you have a gas grill, leave it on for a couple of minutes after you finish cooking, with the lid down. If you have a charcoal grill, just close the lid and let it burn out. Then you can scrub the grate with a wad of aluminum foil.

Don`t cook at too high a temperature and don`t lift the lid and peek too many times. You`ll just be adding to the cooking time, because the temperature will be lowered.

For a great warm weather dessert, try this cool fruit combination. 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt 1 tablespoon honey 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Stir together and spoon over sliced fresh bananas.

Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" bi-weekly newsletter and founder of the website of the same name. Visit http://www.cynroberts.com to find creative tips, articles, and a free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the free
e-course "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".
editor@cynroberts.com

Sauces for Quick Gourmet Cooking

2005-05-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

By Alannah Moore

The saying goes that "The French have a hundred sauces to
disguise a few foods - and the Americans have a hundred
foods disguised only by white sauce!"

It is true that many great gourmet dishes involve a special
sauce, which used to take hours to prepare. For the quick
gourmet chef, there`s a way around this:

1. Hollandaise and Béarnaise: Both are available in glass
jars. You should be able to find them in your local gourmet
shop or supermarket.

2. Madeira, Armoricaine, Newburg, Supreme, et al: These,
too, are available in jars or frozen, and will transform the
humble hamburger or leftover into a gourmet`s dream.

3. Bottled Meat Sauces: Diable, Robert or Cumberland sauce,
Worcestershire, and a wide range of mustards from Devilled
to Bahamian to Dijon. Wash your hands thoroughly, use a
judicious few tablespoons of whatever you fancy, and rub it
thoroughly into chops and steaks. This replaces the
marinades which used to take hours.

4. Dessert Sauces: Be cautious about these! There are lots
of edible varieties - but very few that come up to a
gourmet`s standard! . . . as you will see in our gourmet
dessert section, there are innumerable quick tricks with
liqueurs and fresh fruit for presenting gourmet desserts in
a minute.
( http://www.easy-gourmet-cooking.com/gourmet-desserts/ )

5. Basting Sauces: Here you begin to be a gourmet chef, for
a basting sauce is largely invention based on experience as
you grow proficient with recipes. Basting sauces are used
with fish, meat and poultry. Generally, they are melted
butter blended with herbs - or spices - or fruit and fruit
peels - with or without a dash of cooking wine. The precise
ingredients depend upon the final flavor desired: tangy,
sultry, or sweetish.

The basting sauce should be made at the start of the cooking
operation, placed over the lowest possible heat, allowed to
sit and grow acquainted with itself. A quarter pound of
butter makes an adequate basting sauce; half a pound is
sometimes better-if you can bring yourself to it!

The basic procedure is to combine butter chunks and desired
seasonings or flavorings in a small saucepot (a stainless
steel one-cup measure with a handle is satisfactory), and to
obtain the full savory blend by simmering gently during the
first steps of searing meat or poultry, firming the fish
flesh, etc. A basting sauce is used to moisten and flavor a
dish during its cooking; it is brushed directly onto
roasting meat or poultry with a pastry brush at 10 or 15
minute intervals, or poured over fish and broiled dishes
every 5 minutes for quick cookery.

For long cooking roasts, when the basting sauce has all been
used, a roaster baster will pick up pan juices for
moistening the dish.

6. Wine & Wine Sauces: "The better the wine, the better the
dish" is the gourmet standard ... although it`s not
necessary to buy fine vintage drinking wines for use in the
kitchen. If you have good local wine, do use it for cooking.

Never buy cooking wine or liquor purely on a price basis;
the cheap brands do not have sufficient alcoholic content to
create a flambee dish - and will not have enough flavor to
remain in the sauce. White wines can be used for any
recipes, but red wines can only be used for dark meats . . .
when they will not discolor the dish.

At table, the only standard today is flavor, and red or
white wines are served interchangeably. Traditionally, red
is for meat and white is for chicken or fish - but these
days, you can do as you please!

When wine is added directly to a dish during cooking, lower
the heat immediately or the meat will toughen.

7. Fats and Oils: For true gourmet cooking, there is no
substitute for butter unless particularly specified. Sweet
butter is preferable, because the amount of salt varies in
commercial brands; if salt butter is used, decrease the
amount of salt in a recipe and check seasoning just before
you serve.

Butter is absolutely essential for sauces and basting, but
cannot be used for frying; at high temperatures, it
decomposes chemically and burns.

For Deep-Fat Frying, use liquid or hydrogenated oils such as
Crisco. These can be re-used once or twice, if you allow
sediment to settle and decant (pour off) the clear top fat
after each frying. Once frying fat has been used for fish,
it cannot be used for anything else! If you enjoy fried
foods, it`s wise to have two fat kettles - one for fish, and
one for everything else.

For all Italian, Spanish or Latin-American dishes, a
tablespoon of olive oil should replace butter in starting
the dish.

Lard is excellent for greasing baking potatoes or pan-frying
fish. It cannot be re-used, but is inexpensive enough to
discard and start fresh next time. Bacon grease is equally
good for baking potatoes or to saute fish, and can be
smeared thickly over chicken breasts or squab before
roasting. Because of its positive flavor, only tangy herbs
will combine with it for added taste.

No gourmet cook ever uses margarine for anything.

8. Meat Glazes: For a handsome browned surface to meat or
poultry, mix a tablespoon of commercial gravy coloring with
two table spoons of water. Paint all exposed parts of the
poultry or meat before placing in the oven.

9. Shallots are a small onion bulb resembling garlic in
formation of cloves, but very mild in flavor. Typically
French, they are not always available but make all the
difference in a sauce if they can be had. Minced scallions
(spring onions) are an acceptable substitute - and in
moments of stress, a tablespoon of grated white onion will
equal 2 minced shallots.

10. Grated orange and lemon peel are readily available in
jars; a teaspoon equals the grated rind of a whole medium-
sized fruit.

11. Garlic can be bought powdered (a quarter teaspon equals
a fresh clove), but a garlic press will produce a much
better flavor from a peeled garlic clove.

Onion and garlic juice are also available; use them purely
for flavoring, as many dishes are better with sauteed pieces
of onion. Onion flakes are good for home-cooking, but not
sufficient for gourmet results.

Good luck with your quick gourmet sauces!

If you`d like to prepare wonderful, delicious and stylish
dishes that will delight your family and amaze your friends
- without spending hours struggling in the kitchen with
complicated and potentially disastrous recipes - then our
website is for you! All our recipes can be completed in
just 30 minutes and are fun and easy to prepare.
http://www.Easy-Gourmet-Cooking.com