Sonic Supper!

Archive for June, 2009

I have been wondering about desserts the last few days. The irresistible charm that these rich combination of ingredients offer is truly amazing. I surely can’t seem to stay away from the charisma that pulls me so strongly towards them whichever corner of the room I may be.

I have this friend who is real far from the world of sweets and desserts. In fact, she just doesn’t even feel the urge to try out any desserts even at a party once a while. The pains the hostess has taken to create this visual marvel too doesn’t move my friend here in any way. Kudos to her!!I guess it is great being like this because then you are not running on the treadmill to loose all those sinful calories nor do you have a weight problem that makes you sulk at times.

Here on the other hand, I have reached the stage of being obsessed with my craving for sweets. Just can’t seem to resist all the delicious desserts, ice creams, cakes and cookies that come my way at every gathering. It is hard to say no to a generous helping of such great looking divine delicacies. In fact, they all seem to be inviting me to dig into this sugary world that provides such a wonderful experience.

A Look At Champagne Racks

In the process of manufacturing Champagne, riddling racks are a must have. Once the sparkling wine has began to age on the less, it will be time for the concluding stages. Riddling is essential to the life of Champagne as it collects the sediment in bottles and deposits it near the bottle?s mouth. This sediment is what helps to bring the bubbles bursting out when you pop the cork.

Champagne bottles are put on riddling racks at a 45 degree angle, comprising the two rectangular boards that have been hinged at the top of the rack. On each side of the rack, there are ten rows that contain six holes for the necks of the bottles. Due to their structure and shape, each riddling rack is capable of holding 120 bottles, although there are special models that are made to hold more.

The riddler, who places the bottles, will place a bottle neck into each one of the holes on the riddling racks. There are painted lines at the bottom of each bottle, which acts as a marker for placing the bottles. All markers point in the same direction, which makes it easy for the riddler to put the bottles on the racks.

Casserole recipes offer something for everyone. Casseroles feed large groups, they are budget friendly and easy to prepare. You can easily use leftover meat or other ingredients in your casserole, which also saves time and money and you can also serve your casserole in the same dish you cooked it in, saving clean up. What more could you ask from one versatile dish?

Here are some tips for creating the perfect casserole dishes.

Casserole Dish Size

The most versatile casserole dish is the 13×9 rectangular dish. This holds about 15 cups of delicious casserole.

Casserole dishes also come in 8×8 inches, which holds about 8 cups and is good for a couple or a smaller family. It also comes in handy for baking recipes like cornbread or smaller cakes.

Here are some other sizes of casserole dish and their volume:

11×7 inches - holds 10 cups
9×9 inch - holds 10 cups
1 quart - holds 4 cups
2 quart - holds 8 cups
3 quart - holds 12 cups

Freezing Your Casseroles

One budget friendly recipe idea is to make a large casserole and freeze the left overs. Here are some helpful hints for freezing your casserole dishes:

In today’s modern Chinese restaurants even a more traditional menu will come with English translations for many of the more common Chinese food terms. It is, however, always handy to have knowledge of some to the basic terms just in case you find yourself in need.

Here are eleven definitions that range from vegetables to duck for some of the more common items found in Chinese restaurants.

Choy = vegetable. Vegetables or Choy are found in many Chinese food dishes. This versatile ingredient can be found in stand alone dishes or accompanied by meat.

Dun = egg and is often found in dishes like Egg Foo Young where eggs or Dun are combined with a wide variety of accompaniments like rice, chicken, vegetables and bean sprouts.

Fon = rice and is most familiar in Fried Rice which comes with peas, carrots and pork or in sticky short grained white rice.

Gai = chicken and is a very adaptable ingredient to use in dishes like Cashew Chicken or Moo Shu Chicken where the chicken is thin sliced and served with vegetables, plum sauce and a thin pancake.

Jollof Rice is a food most common in West Africa. Although many dispute its origins, most seem to believe that Senegal ought to take credit for its creation. To the Western world, however, it could be compared to ‘Spanish Rice’ where white rice is boiled and added to flavorful stock to make a delicious meal. There are many different ways of preparing this dish, but this is a recipe, learned from my mother, and my favorite by far. It will no doubt be a great addition to your dinner menu.

Preparation Time: 1 hr and 30 mins

Ingredients [Serves 4-6] : 4 cups of long-grained rice, 2 medium-sized cans of tomato sauce or tomato paste, I pound of gizzards (chicken) (shrimps or fish can be substituted), I can of corned beef, 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables, 1 medium-sized white onion (chopped), 2 small yellow peppers (chopped), cooking oil, salt, blend of spices (basil, thyme, curry), beef stock cubes (Knorr/Maggi are the more common types) and seasonings (usually Creole/Greek) to taste.

The typical American household budget percentage breakdown looks like the list below. For most of the categories a range is shown. A range makes more sense to help you see where your personal budget fits (or doesn’t fit.) If your budget doesn’t fit the typical American household budget, rejoice! The average American household budget is jacked up - we carry too much debt and we just don’t save enough. We’re so worried about our neighbor’s new pool, our co-worker’s new car and our friend’s new designer shoes that we spend more than we earn to try and keep up. But take heart! Review the percentages below, compare your household budget and then read on to find out how you can move yourself into the elite minority of Americans who have mastered where their money goes.

Typical Household Budget Percentages

33-38% Housing (59%-66% of this is on shelter - mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, and rent, and other items) 15-19% Transportation (up to half of this is vehicle purchase - 2 cars per household average) 13-14% Food Budget (55% at home, 45% away) 0-2% Alcohol 0-3% Tobacco and related products 0-2% Caffeine related products 4-5% On clothing and related services (drycleaning) 4.5 - 6% on out of pocket Health Care 9% Personal Insurance and Pensions (breakdown: 1% life and other personal insurance, 7.5% Social Security, .5% investment 5% Entertainment 2.5% Charitable Contributions 2% Reading and Education 1% Personal Care products and services 2% Miscellaneous 4% Credit Card, Consumer Loan Interest

Healthy cooking for beginners starts with this basic fact: you do not have to sacrifice taste or flavor in order to eat healthily!! Small changes to recipes can make a big difference to your overall nutrition. One of the easiest things you can do to improve your lifestyle is to swap out unhealthy ingredients for more wholesome ones. If you need help with cooking healthy food, you are at the right place. You may find that there is very little difference in taste if you make careful choices, but overall, the dish will be much better for you.

Tip #1: Use Less Fat or Grease

Quite often a recipe will call for butter or oil - perhaps to bind ingredients together, or to help with the cooking process. Avoid lard, and butter, and substitute for vegetable or sunflower oil, and low fat spreads where possible. If you cannot substitute for whatever reason, try using less of the oil or fat, or substitute with something like apple sauce. Also, try using a non stick cooking spray instead of oil if you are only using the oil to lubricate a pan.

Tip #2: Substitute Eggs For Something Better

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner can be fun and overwhelming. Whether it is your first time having the whole family over or your 25th, it can be stressful. Help is here though. With these 5 tips you can plan a Thanksgiving dinner party like a pro and reduce the stress.

1) Plan the menu. The meal is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving. It is a time for family and friends to sit down together and give thanks for all that they have. Small wonder it is also the most stressful part of the day. Sit down and write out everything that you want to serve that day. It should include the main course, 3-4 side dishes, bread, and dessert. Make note of any special dietary restrictions for your guests that you have to work with. Take some time to research how to cook things that you have not before. Look over recipes to make sure the ingredients are readily available and are not something you will need to track down. Make a shopping list and plan on going to the grocery store in advance of the big day so that you are not stuck shopping with everyone else on the day before Thanksgiving.

The Process Of Manufacturing Wine

Wine, which is a drink we all know and love, is produced from fruits such as grapes and berries by drying and then fermenting them. Once the fruits ferment, the sugar within the fruit will turn into alcohol. The wine will display a different color, taste, and aroma depending on the type of fruit that it was made from.

Wine is divided into three main categories - fortified, sparkling, and table. Wine is known as fortified when a bit of brandy is added into it to enrich the alcohol. Wine is deemed as sparkling when it has the right level of C02. Table wine, the third category, is wine in it?s natural form - which is different from any other type of wine.

Normally, grapes are the preferred ingredients for making wine. They contain an equal amount of acid and sugar, which can?t be found in any other type of fruit. When drying the grapes, a high amount of heat is needed. To use grapes with wine though, you need to know the exact harvest season. If you don?t pick the grapes during the right time, your wine will suffer due to the level of increases in sugar and a lack of acidic extent.

Sitting down at a beautifully set table for a nice elegant dinner feels so nice and classy. The nice atmosphere from the candle light to the fine china, you know that you are about to enjoy some good food.

You don’t really need any excuse to have a dinner party, they can be held any time of the year and always welcome by friends and family. When hosting a dinner party you focus more on the food and fewer guests are usually invited, leaving you to plan very differently from a regular party.

Remember to only invite as many guests that you can seat comfortable. It will help if you put some thought in to who to invite, making sure that your guests have something in common or that they are social beings so that no one feels like the odd man out.

At dinner parties leave the plastic utensils and paper plates stowed away. Dinner parties call for fine china and silverware. There is always the option to rent some if you don’t have enough or would like to have a fancy complete set of utensils. Flowers and candles make great centerpieces and set a great atmosphere.