National Macaroon Day!

Today, May 31st, is National Macaroon Day. I know what you are all probably thinking, "oh yeah, those little sandwich cookies that look like a Spongebob Squarepants pretty patty! I'm talking about the picture on the left.  This is actually a macaron.  1 "o"is the picture to my right.

National Macaroon Day is all about the coconut macaroon!

This is a beautiful prime example of a real coconut macaroon.  It is true that both macaroons are made from a type of almond flour mixed together with sugar and egg whites mixed in with it.  As you can see the coconut macaroon is much easier to make than a traditional macaroon.

Culinary historians claim that macaroons can be traced to an Italian monastery of the 9th century.
Two benedictine nuns in France paid for housing during the French Revolution by selling macaroons and they became known as the "Macaroon Sisters".

I have honestly never made a traditional coconut macaroon but this recipe looks really good and I think I might try it this weekend! Be sure to come back tomorrow as we start our first FULL MONTH of National Food Holidays!

COCONUT MACAROONS

INGREDIENTS:

4 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup white sugar

3 cups flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. In your mixer beat egg whites, vanilla and salt until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and beat another 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in coconut.

Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop drop on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a rack and allow to cool.

National Mint Julep Day!

Today, May 30th, is National Mint Julep Day!

Mint Julep in a classic "Julep Glass"

A Mint Julep is a cocktail made by muddling mint leaves, sugar, and water (spearmint is most popular in the southern states).  The glass is then filled with ice and the bourbon is poured over top. It is usually stirred until the glass is well frosted.

I for one am not a fan of mint juleps.  I have never really liked bourbon and the drink tastes like a stick of Spearmint Orbit to be completely honest with you.  You may be wondering though, how did this drink come about?

The origin of the Mint Julep is actually widely unknown. It seems as though it was originally used as a medicine of some sorts to cure stomach pains. An appearance of a Mint Julep actually printed in a book came from John Davis in London in 1803, it was described as "A dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it, taken by Virginians of a morning". It was not described as bourbon being the main liquor.  It was served as the "Old White".

So what is the most popular reason why we know this drink as we do today? The Mint Julep originated in the southern United States, probably during the 18th century. U.S. Senator, Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced the drink to Washington, D.C., at the Round Robin Bar in the famous Willard Hotel during his residence in the city. The term "julep" is traditionally described as a sweet drink, particularily one used as a vehicle for medicine. Bourbon is traditionally the spirit used in this cocktail although there are also gin-based juleps.

You may be thinking "The Mint Julep sounds so familiar and it's all coming to me now.." That's right, the Mint Julep is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby.  It has been promoted with the Kentucky Derby since 1938.  Each year, over 120,000 Mint Juleps are served over the two day period.  If you don't know what the Kentucky Derby is...it might be a good time to pull out the Google machine and look it up.  This is an article about the Mint Julep, not a horse race :).

I have included two recipes.. one is for you people who are of legal age and can have a proper Mint Julep.  I also have included a non-alcoholic version for you kids under 21 who maybe want to have a Kentucky Derby inspired party, or if you want to celebrate National Mint Julep Day.

The Disneyland (non-alcoholic) Mint Julep

Ingredients:
1 lb granulated sugar 
6 cups water 
1 1/4 ounces lime juice concentrate 
8 1/2 ounces lemonade concentrate 
3/4 cup creme de menthe (syrup available at liquor stores. Do not confuse it with creme de menthe liqueur) 

Directions:
1. Combine the sugar and water in a 3 quart saucepan. Stir the contents until the sugar is dissolved. 

2. Stir in lime and lemonade concentrate next. Continue stirring and bring to boil just below the boiling point (210 degrees.) DO NOT BOIL! 
3. Remove pan from heat and chill. Once chilled, add a ratio of 1 part syrup to 5 parts chilled water. 
4. Transfer beverage to pitcher and enjoy! 
5. Garnish each serving with mint leaves, lime slice and a maraschino cherry. 

I hope you guys enjoyed today's National Food Holiday! Remember to come back everyday to see what we will be celebrating next. 

National Coq au Vin day!

Today, May 29th, is National Coq au Vin day!  "Coq au Vin" (pronounced like Coke wan vah) translates literally to "rooster in wine".  It is a chicken dish, traditionally braised in wine with lardons (pork fat) and mushrooms.  Garlic is sometimes also included in the mixture.

How did Coq au Vin come about?  Coq au Vin is said to date back as early as Julius Caesar and to ancient Gaul.  The recipe though, was not documented until the early 20th century.  It was made most popular in Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 1961. She also made the dish on her television show on PBS The French Chef. This helped the dish become popular in the United States and is said to be one of Julia Child's signature dishes.

 Coq au Vin is made usually from rooster meat.  Roosters are not typically butchered until they are very old and their meat is almost inedible.  It was said that this dish was invented by peasants in France who did not waste any part of an animal.  The recipe is said to be a similar of Beef Bourguignon in preparation.

Coq au Vin-Prepared from Julia Child's Cookbook

Coq Au Vin [Chicken in Red Wine with Onions, Mushrooms and Bacon]

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Feeds 4 to 6 people

A 3- to 4-ounce chunk of bacon
A heavy, 10-inch, fireproof casserole
2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 to 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup cognac
3 cups young, full-bodied red wine such as Burgundy, Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Chianti
1 to 2 cups brown chicken stock, brown stock or canned beef bouillon
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
12 to 24 brown-braised onions (recipe follows)
1/2 pound sautéed mushrooms (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons softened butter
Sprigs of fresh parsley

1. Remove the rind of and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4-inch across and 1 inch long). Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. Rinse in cold water. Dry. [Deb note: As noted, I'd totally skip this step next time.]

2. Sauté the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned. Remove to a side dish.

3. Dry the chicken thoroughly. Brown it in the hot fat in the casserole.

4. Season the chicken. Return the bacon to the casserole with the chicken. Cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once.

5. Uncover, and pour in the cognac. Averting your face, ignite the cognac with a lighted match. Shake the casserole back and forth for several seconds until the flames subside.

6. Pour the wine into the casserole. Add just enough stock or bouillon to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Bring to the simmer. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and its juices run a clear yellow when the meat is pricked with a fork. Remove the chicken to a side dish.

7. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms (recipe follows).

8. Simmer the chicken cooking liquid in the casserole for a minute or two, skimming off the fat. Then raise the heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2 1/4 cups. Correct seasoning. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.

9. Blend the butter and flour together into a smooth paste (buerre manie). Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whip. Bring to the simmer, stirring, and simmer for a minute or two. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

10. Arrange the chicken in the casserole, place the mushrooms and onions around it and baste with the sauce. If this dish is not to be served immediately, film the top of the sauce with stock or dot with small pieces of butter. Set aside uncovered. It can now wait indefinitely.

11. Shortly before serving, bring to the simmer, basting the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is hot enough.

12. Sever from the casserole, or arrange on a hot platter. Decorate with spring for parsley.

I refuse to find an "easier" recipe for this.  Julia Child way is the only way to go. 

Today, May 28th, is National Brisket Day

I know when a lot of people think brisket, they think BBQ. I know that's what I think of!  Brisket is a tough cut of meat and it is traditionally smoked. Where does brisket come from?

Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the precise definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals. As cattle do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the body weight of standing/moving cattle. This requires a significant amount of connective tissue, so the resulting meat must be cooked correctly to tenderize the connective tissue.

I know that brisket can look and seem intimidating. I just can't help but share more than one recipe with you today.  I know Memorial Day and summer coming up makes it easy to fire up the grill and want to make some good ole barbecue.  It does depends on where you are from/what region of the United States you live in to how you would prepare your brisket.  I am going to share with you a more traditional barbecue recipe and an easy crockpot recipe. Happy Eating.

I begin by dry rubbing the brisket liberally with my Smokin' Summer Spice Dry Rub all over the outside of the meat. If you can rub the brisket the day before and leave it covered in the fridge, that's even better.

• 8 to 10 pound beef brisket

Smokin' Summer Spice Dry Rub

Makes about 2 cups dry rub.

• 3 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp powdered ginger
• 1 tbsp chipotle powder
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp ground oregano
• 1 tbsp ground thyme
• 1 tbsp ground coriander 
• 2 tbsp dry mustard powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together well and store any unused dry rub in an airtight container in a cool place.

If you are using your gas grill to smoke your brisket, place the meat on one side of the grill and use the burner or burners on the opposite side so that it is not directly over heat. Regulate the gas to keep the temperature at about 225 degrees for slow barbequed flavor. The same technique can also be used with a charcoal grill, just keep the charcoal on one side and the meat on the opposite side. You will only need a small amount of charcoal to create 225 degrees F in a large covered BBQ.

Add the smoke flavor by soaking hardwood chips like mesquite, apple, cherry or hickory in warm water for about a half hour. Several handfuls will do. Wrap a handful of the soaked wood chips in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil and poke only two holes in the foil, one at either end to allow the smoke to escape. On a gas grill, I place the foil packets in a vegetable grill pan so that the packet is not sitting directly on the gas burner. On a charcoal grill, simply toss the packet directly onto the hot coals. You can add more soaked wood chip packets as they burn out, it all depends on how much smoke favor you wish to add. Four to six of these packets should be enough for smoked beef brisket, depending on how long you cook the meat and how much smoked flavor you prefer.

Be sure to let the brisket rest for 15 -20 minutes before slicing thinly against the meat grain to serve.

The above recipe is from http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2013/07/smoked-beef-brisket.html .  It is a more traditional way to prepare brisket.

*Next is a little bit easier of a recipe if you don't have time to smoke or grill meet for a long period of time. 

Dr. Pepper Slow Cooker Brisket Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 8 hours Total Time: 8 hours, 5 minutes Yield: 12

Ingredients

• 1 (5-7 pound) brisket, trimmed
• 1 can Dr. Pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1-2 teaspoons Montreal Steak Seasoning

Instructions

Add brisket to the slow cooker. Pour in Dr. Pepper and water. Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and Montreal Steak Seasoning.

Cover with lid and set slow cooker timer 8 hours. Remove from slow cooker and slice to serve.

I found the above recipe at http://www.blogher.com/brisket-burritos

It is clear that brisket is not the kind of meal that you could have ready in 30 minutes or less. It is true that both recipes are great for summer as neither a grill or your slow cooker will heat up the house.  I know you will need luck though.  Luck in picking which way you want to prepare this brisket to celebrate this food holiday! :)

National Grape Popsicle Day

Today, May 27th, is National Grape Popsicle Day.

It seems a little fitting considering it is 81 degrees where I live with 68% humidity.  It's hot, it's sticky, I'm not going to complain after our -50 degree days this past winter.

What is it about the Popsicle that's so classic and refreshing?  Let's take a look at how the Popsicle was invented.

In 1905, eleven-year-old Frank Epperson from San Francisco, California invented the popular hot weather treat, the Popsicle as we know it today. However, the invention supposedly came about as a pure accident! According to the Popsicle company, one cold evening Frank left a mixture of powder flavored soda water with a stir stick in it on the porch. Because of the cold weather outside, he awoke to a frozen treat on a stick.

Seventeen years later, in 1922, Epperson served his ice lollipops at a Fireman’s ball and they were a huge hit. It didn’t take long then for Epperson to realize the commercial possibilities of his accidental invention. A year later, in 1923, he introduced the frozen pop on a stick to the public at Neptune Beach, an amusement park in Alameda, California. It was a big success. He soon after applied and received a patent for a “frozen confectionery”, in 1924, which he named the “Epsicle Ice Pop”. He began producing it in different fruit flavors on birch wood sticks.

Epperson and his partners set up a royalty arrangement with the Popsicle Corporation, but Mr. Epperson sold his patent to the Popsicle after 1925, to the Joe Lowe Company of New York. At the time, he was broke and had to liquidate all his assets to stay afloat. The Joe Lowe Company grew the brand as the Popsicle gained popularity, diversifying into similar frozen treats such as the twin Popsicle, Fudgsicle, Creamsicle and Dreamsicle.  The Popsicle brand today belongs to Unilever’s Good Humor division, having been owned by a number of companies since its inception.

There are some sources that say this story is hog-wash, when has it ever been below freezing in San Francisco, CA?  The lowest recorded temperature ever was 23 degrees so I suppose it could happen.  I always remember having boxes full of Popsicles and that grape was always the flavor that we WOULDN'T eat.  I did find this yummy looking recipe made from fresh grapes though that might tantalize some taste buds out there. 

Fresh Grape Sorbet (Turned popsicle form)

About 1 quart (1L)

2 1/4-pounds (1kg) fresh, flavorful grapes (such as Muscat, Zinfandel, Concord or a wine-making variety), rinsed and stemmed

• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 
• 
  
• 1. In a large non-reactive pot, add the grapes along with the water. Cover, stirring from time to time, and cook until the grapes are soft.

2. Remove from heat and pass the grapes through a food mill with the attachment with the smallest holes. If you don’t have a food mill, press them through a fine-mesh strainer, which will take a bit of force. Different grapes will yield differing amounts of juice.

3. Add the sugar and corn syrup and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Chill thoroughly, pour into popsicle molds, and freeze! 

Note: If you wish to omit the corn syrup, you can substitute an equal amount of mild-flavored honey or Golden Syrup, or an additional 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Recipe Courtesy of http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/09/fresh-grape-sherbet/

I found the idea to use this recipe in Popsicle molds from http://i-heart-baking.blogspot.com/2011/04/fresh-grape-popsicles.html who used the above recipe! 

If you're wondering where to get Popsicle molds..I found some great ones on Amazon! 

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-423-Ice-Pop-Maker/dp/B0002IBJOG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1401224736&sr=8-4&keywords=popsicle+molds

Popsicle’s are one of summertime’s favorite treats, for kids of all ages, and today honors one of the most popular flavors, GRAPE!

National Food Days?

I realized something today.  Every single day, all year long, is a National Food Day of some kind.  I have heard of National Ice Cream Month, National Doughnut Week, etc.  I have never heard of a food for every single day of the year.  I have decided that starting today (May 27th). I am going to start posting daily..my first post for that day will be about the Food of the Day..I think that sounds like fun..doesn't it? ;). Of course I will still be sharing other things but I think a fun post every day from me sounds pretty great.  I won't only share what the food of the day is, but I plan on going in detail about the history of that food, where it came from, and finding fun recipes from all over the internet to share with you! I hope this excites everybody as much as it does me :).

Who is HauteDishHospitality?

Who am I? My name is Tina. I am 24 years old.  I love everything about the hospitality industry.  I've been raised by it.  Obtained my first job in it at 14 years old, went to college for it, and now I plan events at a MN resort.  I am obsessed with cookbooks, food, baking, cooking, farmers markets, gourmet kitchen stores, new kitchen gadgets, anything homemade, and entertaining.  I started this blog to share recipes, food history, food facts, favorite restaurants, party ideas, how to find hotel deals, etc.  I just want to share my love of hospitality with the rest of the world.