Traditional Food

Archive for August, 2009

Hispanic recipes differ for each country, region, and town. Food is not only prepared in different ways, they also enhance it by mixing and experimenting on their ingredients and spices. Hispanic recipes involve the culinary tradition of different countries, promoting their own distinct taste when it comes to flavors and spices.

Hispanic people prefer certain types of foods. Food preferences usually reflect a certain culture. Hispanic groups like Mexicans favor amaranth and corn. South Americans favor potatoes, wheat, and quinoa but a large quantity of meat is eaten in livestock. In the Caribbean and coastal regions of Latin America, they prefer rice.

Tortillas are prepared differently in various Spanish American cultures. You will find more beef in Texan tortillas compared to Spain’s.

Portuguese cuisines also offer a combination of ingredients such as pickled pork with shellfish, and roast duck with ham and chorizo.

Popular Hispanic recipes:
Spanish:
• Gazpacho
• Arroces y Pastas
• Postres

Mexican:
• Fajitas – tortillas filled with choices of meat and vegetables.
• Paella – a sea food rice dish
• Arroz con Pollo- a chicken and rice dish
• Rice pudding
• Shrimp salads
• Meats with aromatic spices

Bolivian:
• Conejo Estirado – rabbit dish
• Turkey mole

Restaurants serving Hispanic foods have so much to offer, especially when it comes to the cultural aspect of a country. Hispanic foods basically connote good meals and a balanced diet.

In some supermarkets, similar to every one else, Hispanic shoppers really look for the freshness and authenticity of the fruits and vegetables they buy. They define authentic foods as a mixture of sweetness and spiciness.

Certain Hispanic cuisines also group their food according to flavors. Techniques vary, especially in food preparation.

Spanish-Americans prepare their recipes very differently. In Venezuela for example, they develop their recipes through some kind of special cultivation process.

There are also Hispanic recipes that are influenced by the European. They use both fresh and dried ingredients for their recipes. Since the culinary system offers a wide array of ideas in preparing Hispanic dishes, familiarizing yourself with their way of cooking will enable you to understand its cultural and sociological aspect as well. This would go with the different tastes and wild texture of spices.

Raisins are commonly used in other traditional Hispanic recipes. Tacos are eventually made from a variety of fresh ingredients, with a choice of the finest meats. Fruit juices can sometimes be served hot. It will even have a side delicacy.

Here are some traditional healthy recipes:
• Squash, black bean goat dish
• Blueberry-banana batido
• Tacos

More about Mexican Appetizers and Salsas:
For a hearty Mexican meal, you can start with some appetizers like the:
• Velvety Guacamole
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Mexican Cornbread
• Mexican Artichoke Dip

For breakfast, most Mexicans prefer:
• Cheese
• Egg
• Chili Casserole

Salsa is a common dip made from tomatoes for Mexican foods. For salads, one favorite Mexican recipe is the Tostadas Compuesta, meaning “toasted mixed salad.” This is considered as a special Mexican recipe because of the way it is placed inside the oven, making the beans so hot prior to putting the lettuce as well as all other delectable ingredients on top. Then, the dressing has an amazing aroma that seems to sizzle and fill the room. This dressing actually adds the flavor onto the beef and beans.

Despite new trends, hype and marketing, tradition has never been stronger. In France, good food still means authentic cooking by using natural products from diverse regions. This is how we celebrate human being by offering the best food to all our senses.
For more details go to:  www.tailgating-recipe.com cooking home-made food and eating at the table make your appetite grow stronger. The challenge is to combine ingredients together to get the best taste out of them. However anyone from anywhere can explore the world of french cooking. To start with, let’s find out what french people enjoy to eat.

Here are the top 10 most popular recipes in France:

Roast Chicken
Indeed roast chicken is not a notorious french recipe but cooked everywhere around the world from Asia and Africa to America. However it is the most popular french dish. Roast chicken is not stuffed inside. The secret is to baste the poultry several times during roasting with butter and cooking oil and to add an onion in the roasting pan. Roast chicken is traditionally served with potatoes and green beans.

Boeuf bourguignon
The most famous beef stew in France. Boeuf bourguignon is a traditional recipe from Burgundy. A recipe that French people use to cook at least once every winter. The beef meat is cooked in a red wine sauce, obviously a red wine from Burgundy. Bacon, onions, mushrooms and carrots add flavor to the recipe. But thyme, garlic and beef stock are essential to cook a good boeuf bourguignon.

Mussels mariniere
A typical summer recipe very popular along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. Mussels are fresh and cooked in a white wine sauce with parsley, thyme, bay leaf and onion. For help visit: www.apples-recipes.com it takes only 5 minutes to cook a tasteful mussel’s mariniere. The secret is to season carefully the meal and to discard any mussels that don’t look good enough.

Sole meuniere
Although sole is an expensive fish, the taste is so elegant that it is considered as the noblest fish. Sole meuniere is a recipe from Normandy. The fish is cooked in a butter sauce with a little bit of flour and lemon juice. Sole is traditionally served with rice or green vegetables.

Pot au feu
A typical family meal coming once again from Normandy. Pot au feu is a boiled beef with pork, chicken and vegetables. It takes about 4 hours an a half to cook as the beef has to simmer slowly to extract all its flavor. Pot au feu is also called Potee Normande in France.

Sauerkraut
Quite similar to the german sauerkraut, the french sauerkraut called choucroute comes from Alsace. However the French recipe can be traced back to 6 centuries ago! Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage. Commonly sauerkraut includes sausages, pork knuckle and bacon. Two essential ingredients are Alsatian white wine and juniper berries.

Veal stew
Called Blanquette de veal in France, this is another stew recipe from Normandy. The veal meat simmers in white sauce – as Blanquette from Blanc stands for white in French – with mushrooms and onions. The white sauce is made of egg yolks, whipping cream and lemon juice. Veal stew is usually served with rice.

Lamb navarin
Another stew but this one is made of lamb meat. It is also called spring lamb as it comes with green vegetables available in spring. Navarin comes from navet which stands for turnips in French. Other ingredients are tomatoes, lamb stock and carrots. This stew takes less time to simmer than any other.

Cassoulet
A strange recipe that English people often confuse with their traditional breakfast! A traditional meal from south west of France. Each village has its own recipe but it always includes beans and meats. Cassoulet is a rich combination of white beans and depending on the village lamb, pork, mutton or sausage meat. Cassoulet is the cornerstone of the French paradox study describing why people from south west of France suffer less than others from infarcts.

Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is closely linked with the city of Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. The recipe is a fish soup from local fish and seafood products including crabs, scorpion fish, monk fish and others. Provencal herbs and olive oil are essential. For a long time, the recipe was a secret jealously kept by the people from Marseille.

The All American Nut

By Sandy Powers

The Native Americans used them to make an intoxicating drink called “Powcohicora.”  George Washington was frequently seen munching them.  He filled his pockets with them to continue munching throughout the Revolutionary War.  Thomas Jefferson planted the trees at his beloved Monticello.  In 1865, they became popular in the North when Union soldiers carried them home after the Civil War.  They are called pecans, a Native American word of Algonquin origin that once meant “all nuts requiring a stone to crack.”  Today, the pecan is that All American Nut.

The pecan is the only major tree nut that grows naturally in North America.  Wild pecans were so available they became a major food source for early American Natives during the autumn season.  First to cultivate the pecan tree, these early Americans adapted their settlements near the plantings.  Colonists in the late 1770’s soon caught on to the versatility of the pecan and began exporting the nut to Europe.  Demand for the pecan grew, resulting in the nut becoming a more valuable crop than cotton.

The recipe below is a delicious variation of Pecan Pie.  It is hard to beat the traditional Pecan Pie but Cheesecake Pecan Pie meets that challenge.

Cheesecake Pecan Pie

1 unbaked Pie Shell

3 eggs

1 cup corn syrup

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and ½ cup pecans

Beat eggs until light.  Add corn syrup, melted butter, and vanilla to eggs.  Beat well.  Stir in pecans and pour into pastry lined pie pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.  Spoon cheesecake topping (below) over top of pecan pie.  Return to oven and continue baking until topping is firm, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Cheesecake Topping.

8 oz. package of cream cheese

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg, beaten

Beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Add remaining ingredients.  Beat until light.  Spoon on pie.  Return to oven.