Although nothing is more ideal than toasting a celebration with a true French Champagne, it would be hard on the pocketbook for everyday drinking.  We like to substitute Prosecco or Cava for a more affordable libation and combine with fun additions to make these refreshing summer cocktails!

Put additions into glass and then top with 5 ounces of sparkling wine for these classics:

*Champagne cocktail - 1 sugar cube, 2 drops bitters, 1/3 ounce cognac or brandy

*Bellini - 1 ounce peach puree

*Mimosa - 1 ounce orange juice

*Kir Royale - 1 ounce creme de cassis or Chambord with a lemon twist garnish

*Poinsettia - 1/2 ounce cranberry juice and 1/4 ounce triple sec

*Champear - 1 ounce pear brandy

*The Ghost - 1 ounce melon liqueur (Midori)

*French 75 - 1.5 ounces gin, juice from 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar

It’s always awkward using chopsticks in public if you weren’t raised eating with them.  And, just with fork and knife etiquette, there is a lot more to it than just holding them the right way.  Here are some dos and don’ts of using chopsticks.

Do!!

*Hold your chopsticks close to the ends.  This shows affluence and good upbringing.
*Use separate chopsticks for serving yourself from a dish in the center of the table.  If extra chopsticks are not available, use the clean holding end to serve yourself with.  This shows interest in fellow diners’ well-being.
*Place chopsticks side-by-side on your plate if resting or engaged in conversation.  Crossing chopsticks on your plate is a sign of bad luck.
*Eat all of the rice portioned to you.  It is acceptable in China to pick up your rice bowl and use a quick shoveling motion to easily eat rice.

Don’t!!

*Pass food from one set of chopsticks to another or store your chopsticks speared into food (especially rice).  Both of these things are representative of rituals used for funerals and are very offensive to others.
*Use chopsticks for moving plates.
*Rifle through dishes looking for the best bits.  This shows greed and arrogance.
*Stab at food with chopsticks.
*Rub the ends of disposable chopsticks together.  Although most think this rids the chance of getting splinters, you are telling your host that you believe him to be cheap.
*Use chopsticks as drum sticks.  Banging on plates or bowls is only done by beggars demanding attention to empty bowls.
*Point at someone with chopsticks.  This is the equivalent to an American finger gesture.

Unfortunately, these rules apply to most but not all Asian countries.  The best rule of thumb is to watch those around you and immediately apologize for any offensive transgression.

Tip:  Get the most juice from your lemons, microwave them for 10 seconds.  It works!
 

   It’s amazing what food can do besides nourish our bodies.  The right smell or flavor can transport us to a different time or special memory.  Food can connect us to the people we love.
   Case in point:  Growing up, my mom would surprise me with an iced sugar cookie from our local bakery.  One day it would be a horse; the next, a bear.  Then it happened; I hit 8th grade!  Well, no self-respecting 8th grader would look forward to a sugar cookie.  Years later, I came across this recipe for what would become the “very sophisticated afternoon nosh” that I secretly looked forward to.

Lemon Bars

You’ll need:

Crust:
8 oz. (2 sticks) Butter
1/2 c Confectioner’s Sugar (powdered)
2 c. Flour
1/8 teaspoon Salt

Filling:
4 eggs
2 c. Granulated Sugar
4 tablespoons Flour
1/4 c. Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 13×9x2 pan with butter or cooking spray.

For the crust:   Beat together (with a stand mixer or hand mixer) butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add flour and salt and continue mixing just until dough comes together.  Press into greased pan.  Cook 18-20 minutes on center rack of oven.

For the filling:  While your crust is baking, combine eggs and sugar (with stand mixer or hand mixer) until well incorporated.  Fold in flour and lemon juice.  Pour over par-cooked crust.  Continue baking and additional 20 minutes or until filling is set. 

Cool on wire rack, then cut into squares.  These are best the day they are made, but can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 2 days or so. 

America’s favorite vegetable is the potato.  Statistics show that the average American eats about 130 pounds of potatoes per year.  Russet potatoes make up a large percentage due to french fry and potato chip consumption.  But what about all of the other varieties popping up on grocery store shelves?  There are white, red and even purple ones! Marble sized and finger shaped!  What is the purpose behind so many types?  They are just potatoes after all, right?  Not exactly.

Potatoes can be (pretty much) broken into two groups- starchy/mealy and waxy.  Sounds delicious, huh?  While starchy potatoes (i.e. Russets and Idaho) are great to bake, mash and french fry, they don’t hold their shape very well when boiled.  That’s where waxy potatoes (i.e. red skinned, white skinned and fingerling) come in.  For boiled, steamed, sauteed, scalloped and au gratin, low starch potatoes are your best bet.  They also make much creamier soups and hold their shape in potato salad.

Sometimes, just using the right tool for the job can make all the difference!

Could it be??  Could my wildest dreams be coming true? 

Waking up to an alarm is probably the worst part of the day.  But what if you could soften the blow by taking out the annoying buzzer and replacing it with the mouthwatering smell of fresh cooked bacon?  Introducing!!  The Wake ‘n Bacon Alarm Clock!! 

How it works:  Before bed, you place a frozen piece of bacon into the tray inside.  When the alarm is set to go off, a pair of halogen bulbs click on and slowly sizzle your bacon.  You are then gently wooed from sleep.  It truly is a thing of beauty!!

The best way to decrease your grocery bill is to increase your knowledge of cooking techniques. 

Meats that are meant for the grill or the saute pan are usually very expensive compared to things like roasts and brisket.  Take a pork butt for example.  This cut (which is not a butt at all, but a shoulder) can usually be found for less than $4 per pound.  If you sliced pork butt and grilled it, you’d need a chainsaw to eat it.  But by applying a braising technique, you are left with a fork-tender cut of meat that can be reincarnated into different meals all week. 

What you need:
5 pound Pork Butt
Mirepoix - onion, carrot and celery
Jalapeno, halved
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 heads of garlic, halved
1 (12 oz) beer
1 c. chicken stock

Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Season the pork butt all over with your choice of rub or plain old salt and pepper.  Heat a heavy bottom dutch oven* on high until very hot.  Drizzle a couple tablespoons of oil in.  Gently place your pork butt in the pan.  Brown well on all sides.  When browned, remove from pan and set aside.  In the same pan, add onions.  Saute until lightly browned.  Add carrot and celery to onions.  Saute for 3 minutes more.  Add jalapeno, tomatoes, halved garlic, beer and chicken stock.  Place pork butt back on top of vegetables.  Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven.  Braise for 2 hours.  Check tenderness.  If meat does not pull easily away, cover and continue cooking an additional 30-45 minutes.  Meat can be cooled slightly and then pulled apart with forks.  Strain the liquid from the pot.  This is a great sauce to re-heat the pork in. 

This makes excellent pulled pork tacos, barbecue sandwiches, tamale filling, soup addition - just use your imagination and experiment!!

*If you do not have a dutch oven, or prefer a slow-cooker, brown meat and veg in a heavy saute pan and place in slow cooker with veggies on the bottom.  Increase liquid to fill 3/4 up to top. 

Mirepoix [mihr-PWAH]

So now that you know what mirepoix is (yesterday’s BLT), let’s teach you how to use it.

One of the most important uses for mirepoix is stock making.  You can boil a stock for 3 days and not get the flavor you would with the addition of onion, carrot and celery.  Although you can use mirepoix in any stock (beef, shellfish, vegetable, chicken, etc), the most neutral stock for multi-purpose use is chicken stock.  Most cooks will buy chicken broth at the grocery.  They are great in a pinch, but they are loaded with preservatives and sodium.  Plus, they are way more expensive than making it yourself.  So if you want to make a natural stock on the cheap, here’s the drill-

1.  If you have fresh bones, soak them in cold water to remove impurities.  Dry on paper towels and roast with a splash of olive oil in the oven at 400 degrees until browned.  (I like to grab a rotisserie chicken at the market for a quick dinner the night I have to make stock.  The bones are already pre-roasted for you.)

2.  Place roasted bones in a stock pot with 1/2 an onion, one carrot and a celery stick rough chopped.  A bay leaf and a couple of black peppercorns are also a nice addition.

3.  Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  When the liquid boils, reduce to a low simmer.  Be careful not to leave the stock bubbling!!  This will leave you with a very cloudy stock.  Occasionally, ladle out the cloudy scum that rises to the top.  Allow to simmer 3-4 hours.

4.  Strain through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth.

5.  Cool in an ice water bath.  Divide into smaller containers and place in the refrigerator.  The next day, come back and skim all of the solidified fat from the top and discard.  Now you can freeze the containers of stock for future use.

Mirepoix [mihr-PWAH]

It is used by French chefs the world around, but my mom uses it in her pot roast….

Mirepoix, simply put, is just onions, carrots and celery.  Most cooks will tell you that a 2:1:1 ratio (onions being the largest amount) is the perfect blend.  The culinary “Holy trinity” can be used in stocks, sauces, soups and braises to impart loads of flavor.  If used for quick preparations, a fine dice is perfect.  When intended to cook for more than an hour, you can roughly chop the vegetables or leave them whole.

Tune in tomorrow for your first mirepoix application!

As expensive as Parmigiano-Reggiano is (sometimes up to $50-60 per pound at a deli counter), we just can’t stand to see a single crumb go to waste.  So what do you do when you get down to the hard, waxy rind of a piece of “parm”?  Do you just throw it away??  No way!

Add flavor to your dishes by adding Parmesan rinds to these dishes:

*Tomato Sauce
*Soups
*Beans
*Stock being warmed for risotto
Really, anything that can be simmered for a length of time.

Just remove the Parmesan rind before serving.  Some people even enjoy the cooked and softened rinds as a “cook’s treat” spread onto crusty bread.

Refrigerator Pickles

I dare to say that this may be the perfect accompaniment for any summer lunch.  Alongside a sandwich or tossed onto salads…delicious!!  For this recipe, we like to use English cucumber because the skin is not as fibrous and there are fewer seeds which will produce a much crunchier pickle.

3 large English cucumbers
1 bell pepper (green or red)
1 onion
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons celery seed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar

Wash and scrub cucumbers. Slice into a medium sized bowl, leaving peel on, about 1/8″ thick. Wash and remove seeds from pepper; remove skin from onion and scrub well under cold running water. Finely chop the onion and pepper; add to cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt and celery seed. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour.
In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil then remove immediately from heat. Stir in sugar, stirring until dissolved. Allow to cool, then pour over cucumbers (after they have been sitting for 1 hour, as above).
Mix well; cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.  These pickles will keep about a month - if they last that long!!