Sonic Supper!

Archive for December, 2009

Now this fondue is not really a crock pot recipe however it is fun to serve it in the crock pot. And the crockpot does a fantastic job of keeping it warm.

So it you don’t have a crock pot (you should get one, but that is another story), you can still make this and serve it in a fondue pot or any other pot.

Fondue is a Swiss dish having thought to date back to the 18th century. It is believed to have come about during long Switzerland winters when all that remained were some dry bread, cheese and wine.

And we are thankful for their thriftiness and culinary skills.

Traditionally at least two cheeses were melted in a dry white wine. The wine helps to keep the direct heat away from the cheese. And of course imparts an extra flavor.

This fondue is a little different in that it has no wine but chicken broth instead along with a few other surprises.

Brie and Onion Fondue

Ingredients

2 oz (50g) butter

2 medium onions

1 oz (25g) all-purpose (plain) flour

½ pint (300ml) chicken stock

Cook Italian Meals at Home

There are not too many people who do not love Italian cooking. Unfortunately, far too many of us discount the possibility of bringing Italian cooking into our very own kitchens for fear that many of the recipes are far too difficult. The truth is that learning to cook Italian food just might make your home the favorite drop in dining spot for friends and family all over.

Believe it or not, most great Italian recipes have an easier version that can be made with very similar effects when it comes to flavor and aroma. Also, despite the commercials of old, all Italian cooking does not require an entire day of simmering in order to achieve great flavor. Though you do not have to let your friends and family in on that little secret. Be a martyr for flavor and they will love you even more. You do not have to let anyone in on your best-kept secrets when it comes to preparing these often simple dishes.

Healthy cooking for couples is a wonderful means of cooking great food for a diligent businessperson currently into a relationship, but minus a family.

Cooking healthy for two persons can enable one to be aware of the right portion size to be made, to avoid wastage, but at the same time will be quite sufficient for a couple or for people residing with a fellow roommate or even to that extent a single career parent with a kid.

A number of cooking healthy for two videos, classes, books and such others are available that can provide you with the ability and skill to cook in a sensible, cost-effective, and smart style. At times, with our taxing workloads, it can be tough taking time out to decide on the right way to prepare healthy food for two. Nevertheless, with a little assistance, you can easily accomplish this job!

Gifting a food basket is popular and well appreciated. Gourmet food gifts for business associates or loved ones have never been easier to dispatch before. Food gift baskets have gained tremendous popularity and the food gift industry has devised new and exciting techniques to attract the customers. The mere word of gourmet gift baskets makes eyes pop out and evokes a craving that is hard to resist.

Gourmet food gifts leave a mark on the recipients mind. It is really a daunting task to find the right kind of gourmet food baskets that can be gifted as ideal corporate gifts or to loved ones. The corporate scene is highly competitive and such gifts create a special impression, hence try and customize your gift if you wish to gift on special occasions like festivals.

Gourmet food gifts are packaged in attractive gift boxes and generally shipped too. You can send gift-packed cheesecake, chocolate gifts, stuffed potatoes, wine gifts, tea gifts or gourmet soups. You can be sure that the recipient will be very happy and appreciative when he or she receives the gift. So whether it’s a holiday, or a birthday or you wish to say thank you or congratulate your loved one, a gourmet food gift is an ideal choice. You can even add a personal touch to the gift for a better response.

Among the cuisines of the many Indian states, the Maharashtra Cuisine is much famous for its unique taste and flavor. Actually Maharashtra a big state of India and its huge size has created two distinct types of cuisines in the state–the Konkani Cuisine and the Varadi Cuisine. While the former is the cuisine of the coastal Maharashtra, the latter is the cuisine of the Vidarbha region–the interiors of the state.

The main difference between the cuisines of these two regions is that Fish is consumed more in the former. Another distinction is the use of grated coconuts. Often grated coconuts are used in the state to flavour the many dishes. But while fresh coconuts are used in the coastal regions, powdered coconuts are used to flavour in the interiors for the purpose.

Otherwise there’s not much difference between the cuisines of these two areas. The people of the state, on the whole, use peanuts and cashew nuts to make their food tasty which is most often cooked in the peanut oil. A variety of fish is consumed throughout the state. The Bombay Duck is the most famous fish delicacy of Maharashtra. Other types of fish consumed include Mackerel and Pomfret.

1. How can I be more creative in my cooking?

Try to use a variety of items in your dishes, stay away from bland cooking or by the box cooking and keep your cooking unique and creative yet healthy.

2. How can I make sure that everything is being cooked properly and not overdone?

Be sure to time out your entire dish, so if your cooking potatoes, vegetables and a steak. Consider the time on each item which means we don’t want to cook everything at the exact same time. Potatoes take the longest to cook out of the above 3 items in which case you would start with those, depending on the rareness of the steak were probably looking at around 10 minutes on each side of the steak roughly so that would be the next item you cook. Then finally the vegetables are the last item as you NEVER want to overcook them, it looses the flavour and it make the vegetables less crisp. So give yourself about 10 minutes to cook the vegetables and by the time they are done so is everything else!

Several different types of cooking ingredients come from corn. Corn bread, stews and even fried catfish recipes call for some form of corn. If you are missing an ingredient knowing its equivalent or substitution can save grandma’s recipe from oblivion. If you know the use of an ingredient, it is easier to come up with a substitution. Today Mom explains corn starch, corn flour, cornmeal and that Johnny Cake.

Corn Starch: Made from the endosperm of the corn kernel. Cornstarch is used to thicken sauces, soups and stews. Substitutions for cornstarch are as follows: 1 tablespoon cornstarch = 2/3 tablespoon arrowroot OR 2 tablespoons all purpose flour OR 1 tablespoon potato starch OR 2 tablespoons quick-cooking (instant) tapioca.

Corn Flour: Made by grinding whole corn kernels into a fine powder. It is used in combination with other flours to make breads, or for breading items for frying. Corn flour contains less gluten than wheat flour. When baking, substituting corn flour instead of wheat flour will result in a heavier bread. If you just need corn flour for breading, you can use regular flour instead.

1)Prevent apples from turning brown: It’s annoying to see the apple slices in your fruit salad looking tired and rusty. You can prevent this by simply squeezing a little lemon juice on the apple pieces. They will stay fresh and snowy-white. You can also just drop them into slightly salted, cold water. The same can be done for pears and potatoes.

2)Keep blueberries frozen for cakes and muffins: Blueberries contain heaps of antioxidants which excellent for your body. Do not thaw frozen blueberries for cakes, muffins, pies etc.. Thawing them will make the blueberry juice run all over your creation.

3)Test your cake with a spaghetti: Can’t find your bamboo/metal skewer to test if your cake is done? Simply grab an uncooked spaghetti and gently poke the center of the cake. If you find batter sticking to the pasta, then it needs to bake a little longer. If the spaghetti stick comes out clean, the cake is cooked.

4)Drizzle melted chocolate like a pastry chef: Want your cake to look like it’s professionally decorated? Place some plain chocolate bar in a small microwaveable plastic bag. Heat till the chocolate melts. Then snip a tiny bit off a corner of the bag and squeeze as you drizzle a design or message on your creation.

Save Time and Money by Cooking Once a Month

Do you find your time stretched to the limit and it is an effort to prepare good meals for your family? Unfortunately, cooking a good family meal requires both time and energy. A few wise moms have discovered a concept that has become known as once a month or freezer cooking to assist in those nights when time, energy, or both are in short supply.

The thought behind once a month cooking is that for one or two days (if you prefer to spread the process out over a couple of shorter days rather than one long day of cooking) of intense culinary effort your family can dine well for an entire month. Many women who have tried this have also discovered that not only does it help by always having something nice and home cooked for dinner, but also helps families stay within budget.

Far too many mother?s will guiltily raise their hands when asked whether or not they?ve ever resorted to fast food or junk food meals simply because they were too tired to cook or were missing one ingredient for a meal and did not feel up to running to the grocery store in order to pick up the missing ingredient. This practice can get expensive over time and rob your family of some well-earned fun money.

The term chocolate bar is a popular way of describing a confectionery treat in the form of a bar. This is usually packaged in a bar shape with individual perforations or in a long, narrow, shaped log covered with chocolate. Many types of chocolate bar exist and there are thousands of companies that create chocolate bars. Some of these companies produce many choices of fillings in their chocolate bar, such as nuts, fruit, mint, coconut, marzipan and many more.

The chocolate bar evolved in approximately the late 1900s. Chocolate had become popular many years before the introduction of the bar but the idea of creating a chocolate bar was to provide a more convenient way of consuming the chocolate. The bars could be packaged and sold to eat easily by hand or while on the go. Up to the invention of the chocolate bar, chocolate had been sold by bulk with loose, irregular or formed pieces.