A few years ago I wanted to have an All American Fourth of July party for friends who left their homes in countries all over the world to settle in America. Some of these friends were recent arrivals, and others had been in the United States long enough for their grandchildren to be second generation Americans.
Of course, the idea was just an excuse to have an All American Fourth of July party with good friends. The challenge was to come up with Only American foods to serve instead of our usual international potluck. Following is the menu I created for the occasion: Read the rest of this entry »
Is it just cranky ole me, or do we have a serious lack of table manners for kids running rampant among our youth these days? I’ve noticed it in restaurants mostly. Parents are either not paying attention to how their kids are feeding themselves, or the parents in question don’t seem to know the difference between bad table manners for kids and good ones.
I did a little research on the subject of table manners for kids, and here are what some experts say are the top 10 basic table manners for kids: Read the rest of this entry »
Does barbecue and BBQ sauce fit in the entrée, appetizer, condiments, or snacks section of my family cookbook? I think it all depends on where the barbecue recipe comes from. For example, Kansas City ribs are certainly dessert; Texas brisket is certainly an entrée.
There are more opinions about what makes good barbecue than probably can be counted.
And, maybe I’m stepping into a subject best left unaddressed on these blog pages. However, with the coming of summer and an increase in outdoor dining, it seems logical to mention some of the barbecue traditions that define some regions of these United States.
You be the judge where they fit into your family cookbook. Read the rest of this entry »
With the arrival of summer comes a dilemma I always face. Do I make and drink standard unsweetened iced tea or indulge myself with iced sweet tea? Both are delightful on hot summer days and warm summer evenings.
In the winter, the choice is easy for me: hot tea with sugar and milk. Sometimes I’ll vary the taste with hot tea that features different flavors, such as:
- Chai (with its warm rich blend of cinnamon cardamom, and cloves)
- Fruit flavored teas (such as peach, mango, raspberry)
- Green teas (fresh leafy tasting)
- Flower-flavored teas (such as jasmine or rose)
- Herbal teas or tisanes (no caffeine style chamomile, mint, rose hip, or lemon verbena) Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a scenario that most cooks will find familiar:
1. Mixing spoon in one hand.
2. Deep mixing bowl held tightly with the other hand.
3. Cookbook flat on the countertop, pages flapping in the breeze just as you try to read the next ingredient in the recipe you’re making.
Of course, the mixing spoon hand has some sticky stuff on the fingers, so after you release the spoon (and carefully position it so it doesn’t sink into whatever you’re making), you have to rinse and wipe your fingers off before attacking the cookbook pages in an attempt to keep them from flapping further.
Let’s explore 10 ways to keep a cookbook open to the right recipe: Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes your friends are your family.
Sometimes friends expand our dining horizons more than family members can — teaching us new ways to enjoy food, or broadening our exposure to exotic ingredients they’ve gleaned from traveling, networking or socializing with other friends.
I once introduced a friend to the wonders of jicama with lime and salted chile powder, and 25 years later he still remembers me for that as we reconnected on Facebook! Read the rest of this entry »
My father had some unusual tastes in food to a kid hanging around wondering what all the fuss was in the kitchen. Burnt toast eaten with sunny side up eggs was one combination I remember. The smell of charred forgotten toast still makes me think of him. Scrapple. Corn pancakes. He also liked raw oysters, and it wasn’t until I was in my mid-30s that I learned to appreciate them.
My father grew up in hard times just after the turn of the 20th century, when men changed their shirt collars instead of their shirts, and bread that you sliced yourself was a few pennies a loaf. Read the rest of this entry »
Earlier this month, the final results of the 2009 Zagat Fast Food Survey were released and happy foodies who participated in providing answers were quick to click to see if their favorites made the grade.
If you missed the results, here are some of the overall winners:
Best Burger – In-N-Out Burger
Best French Fries – McDonald’s
Best Salads – Panera Bread
Best Fried Chicken – KFC
Best Grilled Chicken – Chick-fil-A
Best Value Menu – McDonald’s
Best Coffee – Starbucks Coffee
Best Milkshake – Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops
You may or may not have all of the winning fast food places in your area. No matter. This column really isn’t about the results of the 2009 Zagat Fast Food Survey. It is about how your family cookbook resembles the winning fast food places of the 2009 Zagat Fast Food Survey. Just like the fast food winners, your family cookbook should: Read the rest of this entry »
Some of our lovely “Matilda’s” users have asked questions in the past regarding printing their cookbooks at the neighborhood quick print shop or at one of the national chains instead of printing their cookbook at home.
Many of them would like to get printing quotes from several shops around town in order to get the best product at the best price. We think this is a good idea, and often suggest a standard format for providing this information to the printer/counter person. Read the rest of this entry »
“1-2-3 is the basic recipe,” I said to Ruth, who was having a slight senior moment regarding how to cook rice. “One cup rice and two cups of water makes three cups of food.”
“Oh yes,” Ruth said. “I was thinking 3 cups of water to one cup rice was how my mother used to make rice. It was always so moist and tender. I forgot the 1-2-3 rule.”
“Well, all I know is that one cup of rice can feed three people. I play The Rice Game quite a bit, and it is amazing how one cup of rice can swell up and make a difference for people in so many countries. It is one staple that truly has global reach.”
That little conversation got me thinking about all the rice in the world, and how odd it is that June brides of the past could waste such a precious food by having guests throw rice at weddings. (While I understand the custom, I much prefer the more recent rose petal tossing or bubble blowing activities at weddings instead of getting whacked in the eyes by errant grains of rice.) Read the rest of this entry »
Grandpa Joe’s banana splits by the river in summer.
Auntie Marie’s enormous Cranberry Fluff served once a year at Thanksgiving.
Cousin Linda’s hot French fries with tartar sauce on a cold beach day.
Such memories of food and family may not be yours personally, but you can relate to them because you may have many similar memories of your own. They are a precious link to another era, when life was seemingly less complicated. A time softened by reflection, and where relatives become oddly appealing with the passage of time.
Preserving the essence of such memories in a family cookbook is becoming very popular these days as we seek comfort in familiar, less-tech touches to our daily lives. Many of us are choosing to preserve both heirloom recipes and family genealogy all in one place — in a family heritage cookbook. Read the rest of this entry »
Last weekend I was invited to a poolside birthday party for a lovely girl who was turning 12 years old. I asked what I could bring, suggesting a salad to go along with the hamburgers and hot dogs on the menu. Julie brightened up and volunteered: “My favorite is Greek Salad.”
So, Greek Salad it was.
With ripe tomatoes and cucumbers hitting supermarkets just about now, Greek Salad was a good choice for a crowd. It always holds well, and has a fresh taste. Known in Greece mainly as country salad, or horiatiki, the Greek Salad we know here is basically a combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta cheese, and Kalamata olives, all dressed up with an olive oil and vinegar blend. Read the rest of this entry »
In case you didn’t know already, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to stay between the lines. So it was a real eye-opener for me to learn that most people like to have lines to stay between. So, when we started designing Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software, I began to understand why easy-to-use recipe templates are the key to creating cookbooks.
Using a recipe template to create a cookbook is really an idea that was borrowed from the crafting world. For example, sewing hobbyists use patterns. Interior decorators use stencils. Painters and muralists use outlines. Thus, using a recipe template to automatically produce a professional-looking family recipe cookbook made sense. (At least that’s what I thought when I imagined a recipe template that I would use.) Read the rest of this entry »
