Author Archives: Francis Pitt

6 Fun and Interesting Facts About Cookies

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Cookie gift basket

Hardly anyone can say they do not like cookies. In the United States, nearly two billion are eaten every years. That makes about 300 cookies for every person. It has been estimated that nearly 93% of all households have cookies in their kitchens and pantries. That is a lot of cookies. They are great for snacking and giving away. From being eaten at weddings to given asandnbsp;corporate gifts for employees, there are cookies for every kind of event or occaision.

Fun Cookie Facts:

  1. The Oreo is the world’s most popular cookie and is a knock off. Most Americans have heard of Orea and the similar cookie called the Hydrox. Because Oreo is so well known, many people assume the Hydrox cookie was made to look and taste like the Oreao cookie but it just is not true. The Sunshine company introduced Hydox cookies in 1908 and the name is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Nabisco did not introduce the Oreo cookie until 1912.
  2. “Famous Amos” was a real person. There are so many “people” in food products that are not real that you can be forgiven for not knowing that the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies are named after a real person. Wally Amos learned how to coom and bake from his aunt. After leaving the Air Force, he joined the William Morris Agency where he became a talent agent. To set himself apart from other agents, he sent prospective clients a box of his homemade cookies. that were made from his own cookie recipe. In 1975, after getting a loan from Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy he opened his own chocolate chip cookie business, “Famous Amos.” Amos had to sell the brand in 1988 but has recently come up with a new delight and makes “Unkle Wally’s Muffins.”
  3. Lottery numbers have been found in fortune cookies. Have you ever considered playing lottery with the numbers you see on a fortune cookie? In 2005, there were 110 people who won the United States Powerball drawing. There was one winner for the full jackpot of $13.8 million but 110 people got the second prize. When so many people came forward with winning numbers, a fraud investigation was launched. When that proved nothing, the winners all received their prize. They had all gotten their numbers from cookies made by Wonton Food, Inc. The accompanying fortune read, “All the preparation you have done will finally be paying off.”
  4. Animal crackers are vegan treats. The very popular cookies were invented over a century ago. The iconic box for Nabisco’s “Barnum’s Animal Crackers” was designed to hang on Christmas trees as an ornament. There have been at least 53 different animals to have been featured as animal crackers. If you pick up a box today, you will have lions, monkeys, giraffes, tigers, bears, zebras, horses, camels, crockodiles, elephants and seals. In 2001, after running a contest to pick a new animal, Nabisco briefly put in koala bears.
  5. What’s in the Japanese Unagi Pie? Unlike other kinds of cookies and pies, this Japanese treat, which is often given as corporate gifts for employees, is made of fresh butter, garlic and crushed eel. These are popular throughout the country and are often sold as souvenirs and some fans think these cookies are aphrodisiacs. Their wrappers call them a great snack “for nights.” Businesses will sometimes send these as corporate gifts for employees.
  6. Cookies were invented to be testers. A long time ago, when kings and queens (and other important people) feared their food would be poisoned, they had staff around to taste it for them. When cakes were made, the cook would take some batter and bake it separately to give to the royal taster. These were the world’s first cookies.

Cookies are popular all over the world. They can be made for any taste, allergy or occasion. You can find recipes for gluten free cookies. They also make great gifts. Companies sometime make special cookies to be given as unique corporate gifts for employees. The list of how you can make cookies and the ways you can use them to celebrate any occasion is nearly endless.

What Makes the Best Wedding Menus?

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Hors doeuvres menu

What separates the best wedding menus from the average and the forgettable? When there are so many choices, it can be difficult to decide. Although it would certainly make the planning process easier, there is no specific formula. The key element that will push your reception from predictable to memorable is to put your own spin on the event. But this requires the happy couple to discuss their likes and dislikes, and what they envision for their wedding.

Cocktail Hour Puts Everyone at Ease.

When the reception is set up as a cocktail party, it encourages guests to mingle more freely than a sit-down dinner can allow. It does require some forward planning as to the hour of the party and what to serve. To put things plainly, it is pleasant to have a drink and a few items off the hors doeuvres menu in the late afternoon or early evening. If served during dinner time, it may cause a few guests to be busy plotting where they will stop to grab a “real bite” to eat on the way home. You want your guests to admire the food and decorations, not thinking about how hungry they feel.

Once the hour is planned, it is time to think about what to serve. You are not limited to the standard fare. Caterers are becoming clever with their offerings. Some of the best wedding menus feature unexpected items, such as tiny triangles of grilled cheese perched carefully on a shot glass of chilled tomato-basil soup. This is an example of a couple who wanted to serve their guests childhood favorites; mini hotdogs and ice cream cones also made an appearance on the menu. But the food can be elevated to something finer: roasted baby lamp chops, just big enough for two or three bites, and miniature crab cakes are also items served with the aim to surprise and delight.

Served Plates Are Always Elegant.

The menu for a wedding reception used to be fairly predictable: something would be fried, probably a pork chop, and covered with a heavy cream sauce. The choices were usually a piece of beef or dry piece of chicken (hence the sauce). Now, perhaps due to the proliferation of food shows, there are more interesting choices. Guests may be served appetizers of bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, or Thai chicken skewers with a peanut sauce.

When the reception dinner is served, event menus are more formal. With this option, it is better to time the reception to coincide with dinnertime or brunch. A day-time wedding is growing in popularity among the wedding set; it is generally thought to be slightly less expensive and more casual than an evening wedding. It also allows for menus featuring mimosas, bloody marys, and specialty pancakes or omelets. For couples whose favorite meal of the day is breakfast, a day-wedding could be just the thing.

The Familiar Buffet Is Convenient For Everyone.

Who hasn’t been to a wedding reception with a buffet? They are perhaps the most popular way to serve food at a wedding. The fare does not need to be tired offerings though. The menu for weddings utilizing a buffet can take the route of the cocktail party: numerous small bites. The only thing that changes is how the items are served to the guests. This has the added benefit of making it easy for guests to find the food, instead of stealthily stalking the servers.

The Wonderful World of Stations.

The last option is a combination of buffet and cocktail party. Serving stations give guests the freedom to easily find the exact food offering they want to try, instead of waiting in line. And it helps avoid that long line that forms when everyone lines up to get a plate of food that happens at every buffet. The best wedding menus for stations feature items that offer an impressive visual view as well, such as meat carving or a chocolate fountain.

You will notice that while how the food is served plays a major role in determining the menu, it is really only limited by your imagination.The best wedding menus take into consideration what the couple loves. It will reflect their personalities, and because of that, it will be unforgettable.

How to Approach Sushi for the First Time Ever

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Japan has so much food to offer. A traveler could get lost on an eating tour around the country. One of the top cuisine items it has offered is sushi. Sushi can be eaten in so many ways.

There are so many ways to get sushi now. You don’t have to wonder, “how do I find sushi that delivers around me?” Even curbside service is more than happy to deliver those little pieces to your car.

However, the thought of eating raw fish can be a turn off to the average person. But there is much more to sushi than raw fish. Once you get over that thought, sushi will be like Heaven dancing on your tongue.

You are probably asking, “Are there any vegan options near me?” And there are!

You don’t have to worry. There are so many ways to approach sushi for the first time. Here are some little tips to guide you when ordering sushi:

Seafood appetizers

Trying sushi for the first time can be an interesting experience. You need to ensure that you were eating a good sushi restaurants or you could get a very bad experience of this seafood platter. Don’t settle for the first seafood restaurant that you come across. Good sushi restaurants will specialize in top cuisine and fresh seafood. Sushi is one of those things that people either love or hate it but it is also an acquired taste. Don’t be surprised if you don’t like it at first. There are about 3846 sushi restaurants that are located in the United States but about 45,000 in Japan. This tells you something. Sushi originated in Japan so when you were looking for good sushi restaurants you need to make sure that the owner is Japanese or at least very well trained and knowledgeable in Japanese cuisine.

Cooked Sushi
Eating raw seafood can be very different from anything that you have encountered before so you might want to try the cooked items before delving into the raw ones. There are some sushi that are cooked such as eel which is typically served with a sweet and savory sauce. California rolls usually only have imitation crab meat as well as avocado and cucumber. Grilled squid or octopus and shrimp is a good place to start. Keep in mind, however that the rolls are typically made with seaweed between them so there may still be a strong fish flavor. You can ask your waiter to see if any of the rules can be cooked differently.

Begin with what’s familiar
This is always wise when trying new food but especially with sushi. Trying to think of sushi is just another type of fish. If you like grilled salmon then try a roll of salmon sushi so that you were getting the sushi experience without going too far out of your comfort zone. If you like calamari then try the squid role. Many people like scallops and scallop sushi is almost exactly like the seared scallops served in any other restaurant; fried on the outside, raw in the middle. By starting with what you know you will introduce your taste buds to the way that sushi is made and the flavors that are used without overloading or overstimulating yourself with new flavors.

Start mild
Starting out with the milder food items is a good idea too. Red snapper, halibut and tuna are all great place for beginners to start at good sushi restaurants. These fish or a very mild tasting fish and very common for sushi restaurants to carry. If you were extremely adventurous starting out with a mouthful of mackerel maybe to your liking but it may put you off sushi for life if it is not what you were expecting. Keep in mind that the less oily the type of fish is, the less fishy it will taste. This is a good rule of thumb when trying out sushi for the first time.

Cut rolls
Maki, or cut rolls is a way of serving sushi so that all the components of the role are inside. This might be more appealing and easier on the mental side of eating sushi. If you were hesitant about trying sushi then coveralls are the way to go. They are covered in rice which helps the texture and flavor as well as sealing all of the food inside. This is a perfectly acceptable way of eating sushi until you become more comfortable with the idea of raw fish. It may take you awhile to really get in to the whole concept and that is perfectly fine.

Everyone has different tastes and ideas about food, especially when it comes to seafood so there is no good or bad way to approach sushi for the first time. Keep within your comfort zone but don’t be afraid to take a few risks a little at a time. Sushi may be one of those things that has to grow on you and you may eventually grow to love it but there is nothing wrong with you if you hate it. Also, good sushi restaurants are used to people trying to sushi for the first time so they will have some great recommendations for you.

Party Appetizer Ideas Why We Love Hummus

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Deviled egg recipes

Where is hummus from? What is its ethnic origin? We find this popular dish in a variety of ethnic cuisines: Greek, Israeli, Lebanese, Egyptian, all claiming hummus as their own. To whom does hummus truly belong, and why is this centuries-old recipe the subject of such a heated argument?
Whether you’re eating a Lebanese dish or a Greek dish, the primary ingredient in the hummus will always be chickpeas. What few people know is that Canada is one of the top exporters of chickpeas in the world. In 2012 and 2013, Canadian farmers grew 158,000 tons of chickpeas in response to a higher demand for hummus.

Besides its smooth and creamy texture that pairs perfectly with a base of pita bread, hummus is gaining popularity due to its health benefits. A 2014 study shows that people who choose to snack on hummus are 51% less likely to have high blood sugar than those who select other snacks. Not enough protein in your diet? Canada’s Food Guide states that three-fourths of a cup of hummus is the equivalent of one serving of meat.
Because hummus recipes vary so much from one type of cuisine to another, there is an infinite number of unique dishes one can prepare using hummus as the fundamental element. Hummus is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and kosher. With so many things to celebrate here in Canada, why not include hummus in your party appetizer ideas?
We all know that hummus can be used for dips and spreads, riding on the backs of pita chips or raw vegetables. However, there are many creative uses for hummus spread that will keep your party fresh and fun.
Try adding some hummus to the filling of your deviled eggs, or spreading it on toasted bread for a Mediterranean bruschetta. Hummus also makes an excellent substitution for mayonnaise on sandwiches or in wraps.

So, to whom does hummus truly belong? It belongs to you. Use it in any delicious form you choose, and share it with the world as party appetizer ideas or just a quick snack.

Which is Better for You When on a Diet Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt?

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Plastic ice cream cups

You are trying to lose weight or be healthy for whatever reason it is that you’re staying away from carbs and sugar. But you have such a sweet tooth and it’s killing you. You’ve done so good for two weeks and not even had a cheat meal, would one ice cream cup really set you back that far? It’s so hot outside and at least there are no bad carbs in ice cream. It’s the sugar right? Maybe if you just use tasting spoons you’ll eat less. You could justify but you know what happens if you cheat: you’ll spend the next month trying to get back on track after eating every single thing you’ve deprived yourself of for the past week. What about frozen yogurt? If it’s that much healthier than ice cream, you wouldn’t have to limit yourself or to eat it with tasting spoons or toothpicks or however you control yourself or even feel guilty. Could frozen yogurt really be healthy as they say? Well, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of frozen yogurt and see if that might be an option for you today.

  1. Frozen yogurt does have more minerals and nutrients than ice cream such as protein that can be beneficial to us.
  2. Frozen yogurt contains enzymatic benefits that help with digestion so that even if you are lactose intolerant, you may be able to digest frozen yogurt because of the enzymes that are naturally in yogurt already and therefore also in frozen yogurt.
  3. There is a fat free option if you are trying to stay away from fat.

However…

  1. If you do not choose the fat free option, the fat in yogurt can be almost as high as ice cream, depending on the flavor you choose because of the fruits and flavor enhancers that are added later to the yogurt.
  2. All frozen yogurt, even fat free options, are extremely high in sugar in order to get them that sweet taste. They are basically just as high in sugar as ice cream is.
  3. The protein in frozen yogurt could be no more then the size of one of those tasting spoons. Research has shown that frozen yogurt contains less than a third of the protein that the same size regular yogurt would have.

Let’s take a look at how frozen yogurt is actually made to help us get a better understanding of how it compares to ice cream on the healthy scale.

The lactic acid that is released in the milk of the yogurt by live bacterial cultures cause the milk proteins to thicken well at the same time protecting it against bad bacteria. The best yogurt for you still has the live bacterial properties at the end of the process.

Frozen yogurt in particular is made by replacing the cream content of ice cream with regular yogurt but other than that most of the same ingredients are used such as sugar. This is the main reason why frozen yogurt is not as healthy as regular yogurt. Sugar can be very bad for the body if to much is ingested.

Basically, you can put frozen yogurt between regular yogurt and ice cream on the scale of healthiness; not as good for you as a regular pot of yogurt, but not as bad as a bowl of ice cream either.

In order to make your frozen yogurt snack healthy enough to not feel guilty about you would need to find a fat free, sugar-free option which can be very difficult to find in a regular yogurt store. Try calling around to some different yogurt shops and see what they have. You may want to use tasting spoons to make sure than any sugar free, fat free options are even appealing to your taste buds and satisfy that sweet tooth.

However, to answer the original question or questions, although frozen yogurt is not necessarily as healthy as a piece of fruit or vegetables, it is definitely better than ice cream. You can think of it as the same as surveys or frozen milk.

Party Catering Service a way for Bars, Restaurants to Increase Business

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Craft beer bars

Having a bar that also serves food or a restaurant with a liquor license is a good idea. Offering both services is much more likely to make your business successful. Your menu doesn’t even have to be that sophisticated. Just offering burgers for happy hour can be enough, because the average American eats about one burger a week. On top of that, the craft beer market is worth almost $20 million a year, so just by offering burgers and craft beer, you may be able to make a go of it. You don’t even need to offer wine and spirits, because 41% of Americans name beer as their top alcoholic drink. On the other hand, it’s always good to diversify and offer as many services as people will buy with your business, which is why it can be a good idea to offer party catering services.

When you offer party catering services, it can take your business to a whole new level by offering you additional business that is outside your regular bar or restaurant customers. To keep your catering business successful, however, you shouldn’t try to do too much. For instance, if your regular business is American craft beers and burgers, you shouldn’t try to offer wine and full course meals as part of your professional catering services. Because of that, your clientele is probably not going to be weddings or high school graduation parties. More than likely, you will be tapped to provide food for things like Super Bowl parties or bachelor parties.

If your bar or restaurant is big enough, you might even offer it as a party hall venue where people can host their events. If you require that they get the food and drinks from you while renting out your space, it can boost your business.

While a party catering service may help you boost your bar and restaurant business, you have to keep in mind that it is a lot work and may require extra time and money to get started. For example, you may need to get a separate catering license, and you may need additional equipment and additional staff to have enough people for the events you cater. You should weigh both the pros and cons before adding catering services to your business.