W4 The Other Other White Meat...

Bright-yellow and red tables, silly creatures, a massive playground equipped with slides, and a ball pit combined together amount to one thing, a child's obsession. As like many young children who grew up in America I always jumped for joy at the thought of going to McDonald's. The only thing I ate was chicken nuggets, fries with plenty of ketchup, and a bubbly cool coke. Until one eye opening day I bit into a chicken nugget, expecting the juicy white meat. However, I did not get a bite of juicy white meat, rather, a mouth full of a brown, fatty, and cartilage like substance. After that day, I never ate another chicken nugget at McDonald's fried on the other hand I didn't mind.

Once I began to understand how unhealthy and disgusting those eating establishments are, I stopped altogether. As for the rest of the American society I do not understand why they eat at such places. I do however have some theories. I feel that many Americans have chosen a more convenient path. They choose to go somewhere fast and easy so they don't have to stop to prepare and cook a meal loosing what they consider valuable time. I on the other hand, feel that, that time spent cooking is needed for a sane person to function.

Another theory I believe results in eating at McDonald's is the "cheap appeal" the establishment has signs everywhere promoting special deals, dollar menus, and even the commercials discuss how it can be cheaper to buy a dinner for your family at McDonald's than going to the store. I would like to poke a hole in this idea as well, these people do not see that it adds up. It always adds up to an unreasonable amount of money, not to mention the extra doctor bills and medication to attempt to recover these victims health.

Those commercials are very seductive, I don't know what kind of commercials exists in other countries. So, if you were to watch television here in America it seems like every other commercial is boasting a fast food chain. I think Americans are very susceptible to propaganda, all of those commercials and posters have vibrant colors and attractive people of all ages blissfully happy. And, for only two dollars you to can buy that happiness and that feeling of bliss. Some people might go as far as to eat it to feel they are a part of something, they believe they are connected to society by eating what society eats, they are doing their part to fit in.

I think another reason that Americans rely on fast food industries more than other countries is our shopping habits. Many foreigners buy their food daily, markets and small shops that they stop by after work. Where as, Americans tend to shop in bulk. Since members of other countries shop on a daily basis I feel they have their meals based on what produce is the best quality when they go. I also believe they are more health conscious in general choosing fresh, clean, and healthy produce over cheep and easy.

I also feel that family time dinner is more important in other countries. Now, in America people are working ridiculous hours in which many of the family members are unable to sit down together, so it is not as important to cook for a group.

I wish that America would take a more insightful approach to eating, but time, money, and convenience are important to society as much as I hate to admit it. For some individuals this is a daily habit that if broken they would feel inadequate to presume their daily tasks.      

The Melting Pot Menu W3

My Father has had a few restaurants in his time. So, aside from the standard pizza's, burger's, and fries expected in a "American" food establishment, what can we expect to see? If I owned a "American" style restaurant I would start by breaking down the appetizers. I'm always in search of the best places to go for soup; I think I would have several varieties of soup and have the standard combo option, salad, half sandwich, soup, or baked potato. The kinds of soup I would like to have would be: chicken tortilla, chicken noodle, beef barley, potato, corn chowder, and I would love to incorporate a weekly local produce into new recipes. Along with the many many soup options I would love to have several kinds of salads, as in Greek, the ever popular Cobb salad, and possibly a build your own salad option. I would also love to make homemade dressings.

Although, as I write this I think about some of the times I would go to a restaurant and actually complain about all of the different options there are and that is was to overwhelming. So I think I'm going to change the soup to two options of soup a day. Therefore, depending on the day you go you make have different options but not six or seven different options. As for vegetables I'm a big fan of fresh, crisp, and light meals. I hate when you get soggy mushy foods. I would definitely have to add grilled vegetables and quinoa stuffed mushroom caps to the appetizer portion. I would also have to add sashimi, I think when it's prepared properly it can be a classy fresh mini meal.

I think the stereotype for American cuisine in one word would be "fried" and that is something I would try to stay away from in my restaurant. What makes a restaurant "American" style? I have absolutely no clue, but I know what I like and from what I have heard of my friends and others I have an idea of what appeals to larger masses. I guess one of the best ways to describe my idea to someone else would be a fresh lighter spin on "traditional American meals" 
 
As for lunch options, I would have some nice pasta dishes: Lemon pasta with grilled vegetables, pasta marinara, and pasta with grilled chicken. For sandwiches: a nice turkey club, a grilled vegetable vegetarian option, and I would like to have a nice tofu sandwich. Tofu can be quite flavorful when cooked properly! Of course there is one thing I cannot leave out...CHICKEN FINGERS... there are times throughout the day that all I can think of is these juicy lovely variety stricken pieces of chicken. Also, I would have to stand by my statement of lighter versions of the classics, so they would not be fried but backed and battered in a much lighter coat of bread crumbs.

As for dinner options: tuna steak, Fillet Mignon, chicken breast roasted, also, some kind of pot roast. I think a lot of variation could be done on the classic pot roast with sweet potatoes and possibly fennel. Another, great chance to bring a homemade meal into a new light would be the pot pie. I think there could be separate pot pies with different kinds of dough and fillings used. Such as, filo dough, chicken, sweet potato, parsnips, carrots, and onions.

Well for deserts I would love fried cheesecake with ice cream and strawberries, flowerless chocolate cake, a fruit tart, tiramisu and then smoothies. I think smoothies would be a great option because you can use local seasonal fruit and always try and add new flavors. Also, I know a lot of people love to have coffee after dinner, so I would like to have some lovely post-dinner beverages.

I find that an "American" style menu would incorporate different parts of the world, different cooking styles and foods all melded into one cohesive plate.          
 

The Perfect Meal in a Glass W2

Ah I flip through my cook books I state the obvious; I much rather read from a book than off of a computer screen. I really do not enjoy having a blog it confuses me and I find more frustrations with it than good. So to try and get on a lighter topic, as opposed to blogs which I hate, reading recipes I love.

Something I noticed more when watching Julie and Julia is that the beverage is forgotten, as with many cook books or culinary films. I have many cookbooks but I would like to talk about one that my mom got me. It is a smoothie book, and yes there is cooking involved in some of these rather complicated meals in a glass. My mom got me hooked on anything blended and cold from when she blended up a fancy sundae smoothie to the healthier fruit smoothies.

There is so much you can create with a juicer and a blender, one thing I never thought I would love is vegetables in a fruity beverage. Now the thought of a smoothie with apple, spinach, pear, carrots, and strawberries sounds delicious. As I read about all of the fruits and vegetables you can juice and the beautiful colors that are pressed out of the machine in a lovely stream shown on a picture I suddenly have a craving for one of theses rainbow drinks.

Another great thing about this cook book is that it explains to the reader all of the minerals and vitamins you can get from each fruit or vegetable. It breaks down drinks into breakfast, lunch, dessert, and healthy snack. I regularly have a smoothie in place of a full meal. The cool frozen chunks of fruit whipped into a frenzy, and I love to see what kind of healthy additives I can pour into the blender, suggestions from the cook book such as silken tofu or wheat germ or even rolled oats. I love to see what kind of flavor and textures such additives will bring if they will be pleasant or down right nasty. 

Let me tell you wheat germ if used in too great a quantity will have a grainy texture but taste wise you never notice, about 2 tablespoons should do. I found I really love silken tofu to replace yogurt, as many yogurts have ridiculous amounts of hidden sugar. Also, my lactose and tolerance makes it a bad idea for me to use yogurt. But the tofu (must be silken) adds a nice creamy rich texture, I must admit if you use to much without adding enough separate flavors from different fruits or vegetables, you can taste a slight hint of plain tofu. Which isn't horrible, but it is enough to notice and want to eat something else to subside the taste which is quite the opposite affect the smoothie should have.

It is interesting I am always in the mood for smoothies, I can never turn one down. I love trying different exotic flavors like papaya juice, guava nectar, star anise, or even lemon grass if blended properly.

 You can make them to your exact specifications and they can be great in the morning adding different kinds of powdered nuts or peanut butter and of course tofu add great protein for when you wake up and need to get going.

As for desert they can be sweet with ice cream or strong with coffee the limits are non existent when making smoothies, and this cook book explains it all and has the most delicious mouth watering illustrations to hook line and sink anyone who picks it up. Anyone who reads this will swap a heavy early day meal for a delicious quick and easy to eat beverage.

It's All in the Sauce W1

After reading some of the assigned passages for the course I tried to figure out what foods were important in my family. Having divorced parents the morning breakfast rituals and the elementary school brown bag specials varied greatly. With my mom breakfast was either peanut butter and jelly on white or Campbell's vegetable beef soup. Seriously, that was my breakfast, I hated anything considered breakfast food. During lunch at school I always felt like an outsider; instead of having a purple carton of nice cold milk like the other students, I was forced to drink a small plastic cup of either orange, grape, or apple juice (you know the ones, with the foil over the top you have to violently jab a straw into and in turn the half the juice spurts out at you.) The only thing my lactose and tolerance treated me to during my younger years was being known by name by all of the lunch ladies, who took full advantage of that. Aside from the food catastrophe my young mind created I was always more excited to eat at my dads. He was a fan of ribs with homemade sauce, marinated grilled pork loin, steak with his homemade super secret special seasoning (which I have just become responsible enough to come into contact with.) And the Sunday special; grandpa's house for a big old pot of homemade pasta sauce and meatballs. For my family it was considered a large accomplishment to eat seven  meatballs in one sitting. A challenge I constantly attempted and sometimes succeeded on improving upon. But at those Sunday family feasts I love watching my family in the kitchen arguing over the perfect taste smell and consistency of "the sauce" and the secrets of its velvety texture. Watching and then partaking in creating and shaping the perfect sized meatball is something I follow even now. I always loved mixing my hands in the raw meat I looked forward to cracking eggs into the mounds of red ripples and watching the egg whites slide down the side. I always aimed my finger to the target of the bright yellow yolks on my way into the bowl to begin to mix. Always making sure not to ever mix and churn the meat, smelling it to discover the right amount of seasonings for the bliss we always looked for and expected in each pot of sauce. As an adult I still feel like the taste testing of my sauce by anyone and especially my family is exactly that, a test. And I await for the mmms and ahhs I anticipate and desire so badly to hear.My father's side had breaded a full bread Italian who loves food and dissects every aspect of it. It's always all in the sauce for me. When i want to cook for my friends at school, special occasions, or to treat myself, it is always all in the sauce and the memories it brings me back to.