Catering Melbourne Blog

Cinnamon-Sprinkled French Toast

Ingredients:
2 Large eggs
2 tbsp milk, fat free
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soft tub margarine
4 tsp light pancake syrup

Kids: Crack two eggs into flat-bottomed bowl.
Thoroughly stir in milk and cinnamon with a whisk.
Dip bread slices, one at a time, into egg mixture in bowl
Make sure you wet both sides with the egg mixture.
Re-dip until all the egg mixture is absorbed into the bread.
Adults: Meanwhile, heat large, non-stick skillet over medium heat.
Add butter.
Place dipped bread slices in skillet.
Cook for 2½-3 minutes per side, or until both sides are golden brown.
Kids: Drizzle the toast with syrup. Serve when warm.

Fruity Granola Yogurt Parfait

In 1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain. It was one of the most controversial and far-reaching episodes in the whole history of Europe, and one which historians are still wrangling over. But it did not greatly affect Jerez. Thirty aranzadas of sherry vineyards were confiscated from the Jews and given to the Royal Convent of Santo Domingo. In Spain, as elsewhere, the religious houses were amongst the pioneers of viticulture. The great monastery of the Cartuja, or Charterhouse, was founded outside Jerez in 1475, and in 1658 it was reported as having flourishing vineyards that gave excellent wine. The street called Bodegas formerly led to the wine stores of the old monastery of Veracruz.

Before long, droves of foreigners came to fill the vacuum left by the expulsion of the Jews. They were, for the most part, Genoese, Bretons, and English. Some acted as money changers, while the Genoese took over the tanneries and formed their own trade guild. The English were mostly merchants, and many of them were interested in wine. From the earliest days, the merchants trading in Jerez exported their goods from the quays of El Portal, on the River Guadalete, a mile or two from the town.

This river port continued in use until the coming of the railway four hundred years later, and the goods were taken down to the sea on barges. There is still a street called Barqueros, where some of the barge masters had their offices, but the arrangement was never completely satisfactory: the quays were always falling into disrepair, and the river silted up.

The archives at Jerez contain many early references to wine being shipped abroad. As early as 1485 there is a record of wine shipped from Puerto de Santa Maria to ‘Plemma, which is in the kingdom of England’—presumably Plymouth. By that date the vintage was already subject to strict control, and the greatest crime of all was to water down the wine on bar tables (http://www.thirstycoasters.com/servlet/-strse-738/A-Day-in-Paradise/Detail).

The size of a butt, for instance, was fixed at thirty arrobas—precisely as it is today. The coopers were amongst the earliest of the recognized guilds, and in 1482 it was stipulated that wine casks must be made of good wood that was not tainted with any kind of fish, nor with oil. Any cask made of wood that could damage the wine was to be burnt and a fine imposed.

At the end of the fifteenth century, there came to Andalusia the greatest excitement of all: nine months after the conquest of Granada, Columbus discovered America. All his efforts, his intrigues with the Church and the monarchy, his triumphs and disappointments, the elaborate preparations for his voyages, the voyages themselves, all were centred on Andalusia.

From Andalusia he gathered his forces, and many of his men came from the sherry towns. He set forth from Sanlucar de Barrameda on his third journey, to discover the island of Trinidad in 1498, and Sanlucar was soon established as a major port for the new American trade; it was the port from which Pizarro set sail twenty-five years later on his way to conquer Peru. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, who discovered Florida, was the son of a Jerez wine grower.

The ships were well provisioned, and good supplies of wine and beverage coasters were essential(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSoAwLgfwn0). Large quantities were bought from Jerez and it is safe to say that sherry was the first wine to enter the U.S.A. It has been drunk there ever since. Not even the most fanatical prohibitionists could keep it out; they only succeeded in reducing the supplies of good wine and replacing them with poisonous pot-still liquors that blinded men.

The sherry trade with England was well established by the sixteenth century, but it originated much earlier, in the time of the Moorish domination. It may have begun during the reign of King Edward III, whose maritime policy encouraged such trade, and there is a record of Spanish wine being imported in 1340.

Wine in those days was very properly regarded as a necessity, and the search for it provided one of the greatest incentives towards the development of the mercantile marine, which, in turn, ultimately led to Britain’s immense sea power. One of the earliest trades with southern Spain, however, was in salt, prepared from the sea marshes near Cadiz, and it has been suggested that the local wines were first imported as a make-weight by merchants dealing in the salt and fruit trades.

Did you know that pralines have been around for more than 300 years? This timeless confection has been a part of thousands of family meals, official meetings, and romantic dinners since the early 1600s.

The praline was believed to originate from the court of a certain Marshal de Plessis-Plaslin in Montargis, France. His cook, Clement Lassagne, was credited with making the first pralines. How he thought of it and for what reason he made these pralines are still not known. These questions remain a source of controversy and interesting theories. There are stories which say that the chef should not be credited with the creation of this delicious concoction of sugar and almonds. It is rumored that one evening he saw his children trying to caramelize almonds taken from the kitchen. Another version says it was a kitchen boy who made the first discovery that coating almonds with melted sugar resulted in a delectable treat. Whoever the creator was and whatever the story, the Marshal de Plessis-Plaslin was an enthusiastic patron of pralines. Some say he ate pralines almost daily to aid his digestion. More imaginative individuals claim that these sugar treats were used for a second interesting purpose: wooing the different ladies he visited.

By the 1700s, pralines had become so much a part of French cuisine that the initial French settlers to the Americas brought the recipe with them. Pecans were used instead of the usual almonds since pecans were already growing in abundance in the southern areas where the French chose to reside. The same basic ingredients with pecans and a little cream or milk in a pan over the stove, and pecan pralines were born.

In the Americas, pecan pralines became a specialty of the Creole African-American women. These women became known as pralinieres, vending pecan pralines on the streets during the evenings. As early as 1715, the Southern pecan pralines were already recognized in print for their delightful taste. By the mid-1700s, they had already established a place as one of the Southern dessert favorites.

Through the years, many different variants of pecan pralines have developed. Different ingredients have been added to the basic praline recipe. Bourbon, rum, fruits, marshmallows, and cream have all added that extra spice to make each pecan praline a distinctive treat. Aside from its most common form as candy, pecan pralines can now be poured over desserts when warm, sprinkled on top of sweets when cold, or used as a filling for cakes and other pastries when powdered.

Now in the twenty-first century, almost 400 years after the first praline was created, pecan pralines are a classic Southern tradition. A meal in Louisiana, Texas, or Georgia would not be complete without this delectable dessert. Pecan pralines have become so ingrained in the South that tourists who flock to this area need to have a taste of this sweet before they can fully say that they have been to the South. A meal in Louisiana, Texas, or Georgia would not be complete without this delectable dessert. Pecan pralines are truly a lasting tradition in Southern cuisine.

For a taste of the classic pecan praline, visit Tanner’s Pecans and Candies. You’ll be raving about their pecan pies and other sweets.

There are several ways of preserving chilies and my favorite has to be drying, but more of that later.

The simplest way to preserve a chili is to freeze it. One of the major problems with this is that the chili then loses its eating quality. If you eat a raw chili, and be very careful here about the strength of any chili you eat, there is a crispy crunchy texture to the chili. If you defrost a chili and try this then you will find that this crispness has gone and the texture is soggy. This may not be a problem depending on what you intend to use the chili for. If it is to cook with then there are no drawbacks to freezing and I often just cut the stalk off the chilies and put them through a food processor to make a firm paste which I then freeze in ice cube trays. Once these are frozen I can put them in a bag and take out as many as I need to cook with.

Another way is to make some chili oil. There are many recipes on the internet for this and I suggest you try one of these but they all follow similar principles. Use top quality olive oil as the base, chop your chilies, add other ingredients and gently cook your ingredients in the oil. When finished allow to cool and strain the ingredients out. Bottle the chili oil. When I make this I only make small quantities as I have read that as the oil has had other ingredients added then bacteria could develop over time. I have seen it recommended that you should not keep home made chili oil more than about one month. Just remember that the more chilies you add the stronger the heat. I one tried adding some hot home made chili oil to a salad dressing. It ruined the salad so just think about what you are going to use it for.

As I have already mentioned, my favorite way of preserving chilies has to be drying and there are a few ways of doing this, some complicated, some easy. You can dry them overnight in an oven at a very low setting but I have never done this as it just seems too complicated. As easier way, (if you have one), is to use a food dryer and set this to the time recommended by your manufacturer. For those of you who do not have a food dryer, you simply space the food out on trays and switch it on. It dehumidifies the food and removes the moisture, preserving it over time. Simple enough to use, but I do not have one and I do not fancy spending lots of money to buy one just to dry chilies.

A shopkeeper in an Asian supermarket I use once told me the best way to dry chilies is simply to wrap a bunch of chilies in newspaper, put it on the top of a cupboard and just leave them. I tried this but one of the chilies rotted and this spoiled several more. If you use this method check them regularly for chilies which are spoiling. Another method is to string the chilies and air dry. Do this by threading the chilies using a needle on to a strong thread and hanging in a warm room to dry.

Whilst both these methods work, I have also tried two more methods. One is to dry them in a muslin bag next to a radiator. This works very well but the chilies dry very fast and become hard, so hard in fact that you cannot easily cut them with a knife. This is fine if you want to grind the chilies into chili powder or flakes for cooking but they are not too good for eating.

My favorite method of drying chilies is to simply put them in a tray and dry them on a windowsill. This is near a radiator but this is not always on. The windowsill gets sun on it for about 5 hours a day, (when it is sunny). Every couple of days, I simply stir the chilies up with my fingers and this also allows me to spot any which are spoiling. I remove these. The chilies are finished when I feel they are dry enough but still feel leathery. At this stage I simply keep them in an old biscuit tin and use them as needed. One thing I do though is keep the green stalks on the end of the chilies as these help to draw the moisture out from the middle of the chili. I cut this off when using the dried chilies.

Whichever method you use just make sure that surfaces and any utensils you use are clean as you do not want to introduce any disease to your harvest. You can also start the drying process off by leaving the chilies on the plant and not watering but only do this at the end of the growing season when production of new chilies has stopped. By leaving the chilies on the plant they will start to dry out naturally. Just watch them for mould or rot though and harvest immediately this is spotted on any plant.

As you contemplate the prospect of how to make homemade wine, you will need to decide whether you want to use fruit, such as grapes, or packaged fruit juices. Packaged juices are known as concentrates and can be easily purchased online as well as in home brewing stores. Many novice winemakers feel that concentrates are a great introduction to the process of winemaking. There are also advantages to using fruit rather than concentrates; however. The main advantage to using fruit is that you have more control over the process, and thus the results, when you use fruits.

For the most part, the process of making wine from fruit is similar to making it using concentrates. You will need at least 70 pounds of grapes in order to produce six gallons of wine. In that case you will only need about 25 pounds of grapes due to the fact that wild grapes tend to have a stronger flavor as well as more acid.

You can easily remove the stems as well as crush the grapes by hand. For small batches of grapes, you can use something as simple as a potato masher to crush the grapes; just make sure it has been cleaned and sanitized first. If you are dealing with larger amounts of grapes it may be worth it to go ahead and invest in a grape crusher as this will speed the process along.

An acid test kit may also be helpful in controlling and monitoring the levels of acid that are present in your wine when you are using fruit rather than concentrate. When the acid level in the wine is too high, the resulting wine will typically have a taste that is too sour or sharp. If there is not enough acid; however, the wine may taste somewhat flat.

If you do not have a recipe available you may be tempted to begin throwing some things together and creating your own wine recipe. If you have only made grape wine in the past you may be tempted to believe that you will be able to use the same amount of any other kind of produce that you use when making grape wine. If you are using a produce that is very strong and/or contains a high amount of acid then you will need to make sure that you balance that with some water for dilution purposes. If you used the same amount of elderberries to make a batch of wine as you use to make grape wine, you will likely end up with a batch of wine that is practically undrinkable.

If you are using wine grapes, you typically do not need to add any water at all to make up your full five gallons. With a lot of produce, you may not actually need to add any sugar because the produce may have enough of its own to support the fermentation process. If you are not sure whether the produce you are using needs to have any sugar added, use a hydrometer to test the juice. This scale measures the potential amount of alcohol that can be produced from the juice in terms of percentages from zero to twenty. This will give you a good idea of how much alcohol can be produced from the sugar level that is already present in the must.

For example, if you get a reading of 4 on the hydrometer then you know you have enough sugar to produce 4% alcohol content in your wine. In most cases, one pound of sugar will raise the alcohol level by approximately 1%. Do keep in mind that it is usually not a good idea to try to produce a wine that with an alcohol content of more than 13%; however, because higher alcohol contents could interfere with the stability and balance of the wine.

A friend of mine told me that my article, ” Mouth-Watering Thai Desserts” on August 9th, 2008, does not have information on flour used in Thai desserts. My friend was right - I mentioned flour in one of the seven main ingredients but I did not write anything about flour. Thus, continuing from the previous article on “Mouth-Watering Thai Desserts” this article will focus on flour used in Thai desserts. Taken together, these two articles give a fuller picture of Thai desserts.

The following are the common flours used in Thai desserts: sticky rice flour, rice flour, cassave starch, corn starch, wheat flour, arrowroot starch and mung bean flour.

Sticky Rice Flour (paeng khao niaw)

Sticky rice flour is also referred to as “sweet rice powder” or “glutinous rice flour.” It is made from short-grain sticky rice that becomes moist, firm and sticky when cooked. This is due to its proportionally higher number of waxy starch molecules. With its chewy texture, sticky rice flour is a favorite base for buns and pastries. Sticky rice flour is often combined with plain rice flour to create a variety of Thai desserts.

In Thailand there are 2 types of sticky rice flour: wet and dry. Wet sticky rice flour is finely milled with water, whereas dry sticky rice flour is finely milled without water. When buying sticky rice flour, choose products that have a white color and no smell or moisture.

Example desserts using sticky rice flour are Paeng Jee (grilled coconut cakes), Bua Loy Benjarong (taro, pumpkin, and mung dal bean balls in coconut milk) and Khanom Thua Paep (mung bean stuffing coated with shredded coconut meat).

Rice Flour (paeng khao jao)

Rice flour is used to thicken various dishes and is also an important ingredient in various Thai desserts. Rice flour is a good substitute for wheat flour, in that the latter causes digestive system irritation in those who are gluten intolerant. However, rice flour should not be used or substituted in some desserts like cakes. This is because rice flour is not finely milled like cake flour, and would not yield the same quality of desserts. In Thailand, there are 3 types of rice flour:

* rice flour made from rice older than a year - good for absorbing water,

* rice flour made from new rice - does not absorb water as well because of its moisture, and

* rice flour made from new rice without water - excellent at absorbing water.

Beyond the type of flour, there are many grades for each type. To buy rice flour, choose products with a white color and absence of an old smell. If you plan to make a dessert using rice flour, find flour that was finely milled so your dessert will have a smooth texture.

Example desserts using rice flour are Khanom Chan (nine-layered dessert) and Khanom Thuay (coconut cakes).

Wheat Flour (paeng sa lee)

Wheat flour is a fine white powder that has high gluten content. There are different types of wheat flour depending on the types/characteristics of wheat used and the milling process. The common wheat flours are bread flour, all purpose flour and cake flour. These 3 types of wheat flour are different in the percentage of protein contained in the flour. Bread flour has the highest percentage of protein, 12%-13%, followed by all purpose flour at 9%-10% and cake four at 6%-9%.

Protein content is an important key for a buyer to know because it yields different result in cooking. High protein content means more water will be absorbed and there will be a longer mixing time to achieve optimum consistency. Thus the desserts/snacks that are chewy or sticky usually use the high protein content wheat flour.

Mung Bean Flour (paeng tao khiaw)

Mung bean flour is made from mung beans. It is a gluten-free flour. Some brands offer a very fine texture of flour. If the flour is not finely ground, one must grind it before use to prevent lumps. Mung bean flour comes in a variety of colors depending on how much it has been precessed. When cooking mung bean flour (with water on a stove), it turns transparent. One of the most well-known uses for mung bean flour is in so-called glass/clear noodles, very fine noodles made with a highly refined form of mung bean flour. When raw, these noodles are almost transparent, and they turn completely transparent when cooked. Khanom Salim is a Thai dessert that requires mung bean flour and cannot be substituted. Khanom Salim is sweet mung bean threads in syrup with coconut milk on top. It is served cold with ice. The mung bean thread is colored with natural colors like Flower of Chitoria Tematea Linn (Dok Un Chun) yielding a blue or lac (krang) yielding a red.

Cassave Starch (paeng mun)

Cassave starch is often called tapioca starch (paeng sa koo). It is a refined white flour which is made from cassava root. Cassave starch is very finely textured, and is a common substitute for arrowroot starch and cornstarch. Cassave starch is gluten-free and easy to digest. It is often added to gluten-free baking as a thickener. It is broadly used as a thickener for sauces, soups and desserts in Thailand. In desserts, cassave starch is almost always used in blends with other types of flour so that desserts are more soft and sticky than when using only one type of flour.

Corn Starch (paeng khao pod)

Corn starch is made from corn kernels and is finely textured. Corn starch is best dissolved in cold water. When cooking corn starch (with water on a stove), corn starch tends to form lumps. Thus, it is important to stir frequently on low heat. It is used as a thickener and used in blends with other types of flour like rice flour.

Arrowroot Starch (paeng thao yay mom)

Arrowroot Starch is made from the root of the marantha arundinacea. In Thailand, arrowroot starch consists of tiny white balls that must be ground before using. However, in some brands, arrowroot starch is a fine powder just like cassave starch. Arrowroot starch is a gluten-free flour that has no identifying taste or scent. It is used as a clear thickener with any mixture or in blends with other types of flour. Its thickening power is about twice that of cassave starch. Arrowroot starch is used in many Thai desserts.

Thais love desserts and they have been a part of our lives for a long time. Thai desserts cannot be perfected without attentive use of flour. For some desserts, some types of flour can be substituted for each other, but in other cases substitution is not advisable. Each type of flour has its own characteristics, which in some cases preclude substitution, depending on how they interact with the rest of the dessert. When making delicious authentic Thai desserts, it is more important to closely follow the recipe than it is for non-dessert kinds of dishes. Enjoy the many wonderful tastes and textures of Thai desserts!

When people hear the words “Thai Curry”, the first thing that comes to their mind is some spicy coconut milk with curry paste. This is not totally true. Thais say “Kaeng” which means “Curry”. However, Kaeng in Thailand does not only mean curry, but it means the cooking process of mixing various kinds of vegetables with liquid like water or coconut milk. It can be spicy or non-spicy or a vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish like soup, stew, curry or even dessert. I will use the word “Kaeng” throughout this article. In Thailand, there are 2 types of Kaeng: Kaeng Jued and Kaeng Ped. Ped literally means spicy and Jued means tasteless. Kaeng Jued usually refers to non-spicy soup dishes.

Kaeng Jued

Kaeng Jued dishes are usually comprise of broth, vegetables and meat. Homemade broth is preferred over bouillon cubes. Broth is made from boiling pork ribs or chicken bones in water for a long period of time. You will often hear Thais say “nam soup” which means broth. To make broth, the bones should have a little bit of meat and fat left on them. On low heat, boil meat in water. Once the boil begins, reduce heat to its lowest point so that the broth just barely simmers. The longer the simmering, the more flavor you will get. One and a half to two hours usually is enough to extract flavors from meats. Before using broth, straining is a must. In Thai cooking, some recipes would add Chinese cellery or white radish during the simmering to add more sweetness to the broth.

The clear broth then will be used in a different kind of Kaeng Jued. A common way to make Kaeng Jued is to 1) bring broth to boil 2) add meat, 3) add vegetables and 4) add flavor. Example Kaeng Jued dishes are:

* Kaeng Jued Fak: chicken/pork broth with winter melon
* Kaeng Jued Mara: chicken/pork broth with bitter melon
* Kaeng Jued Mara Yat Sai: chicken/pork broth with stuffed bitter melon
* Kaeng Jued Pla Muek Yat Sai: chicken/pork broth with stuffed squid
* Kaeng Jued Taeng Gwa: chicken/pork broth with cucumber
* Kaeng Jued Taeng Gwa Yat Sai: chicken/pork broth with stuffed cucumber
* Kaeng Jued Tao Hu: chicken/pork broth with bean curd
* Kaeng Jued Wun Sen: chicken/pork broth with clear noodles

Kaeng Ped

Most Kaeng Ped dishes differ in degree of spiciness. Some are very spicy and some are mild. Some have coconut milk and some do not. Kaeng Ped can be categorized into 6 different types: Kaeng Ped, Kaeng Khua, Kaeng Liang, Kaeng Som, Tom Yum and Pad Ped.

1) Kaeng Ped

It can be confusing that Kaeng Ped is a subcategory of Kaeng Ped. There are 2 distinct types of Kaeng Ped: Kaeng Ped with coconut milk and Keang Ped without coconut milk. The key to a delicious Kaeng Ped is curry paste. Either homemade or commercial curry paste must be finely ground. Fish sauce and sugar are the two main ingredients to flavor Kaeng Ped dishes.

Examples of water-based curry dishes are:

* Kaeng Hang Le: Northern style curry with meat, curry powder, lemongrass, ginger, shallots, shrimp paste, chilies and peanuts

* Kaeng Pa: jungle curry, Northen curry. This curry is hot and full of flavor from fingerroot, kaffir lime zest, lemon grass, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste and chilies

* Kaeng Leung: hot yellow curry, most common meat used is fish. Other ingredients are winter melon, chilies, garlic, turmeric, lemon grass, shallots and shrimp paste.

Examples of coconut-based curry dishes are:

* Kaeng Daeng: red curry with meat, bamboo shoots, Thai sweet basil, kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk

* Kaeng Kari: Indian style curry with meat, potatoes and coconut milk

* Kaeng Kiaw Waan: a slightly sweet green curry with meat, Thai eggplants, pea eggplants, winter melon, Thai sweet basil (Bai Horapa), kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk

* Kaeng Matsaman: curry with meat, potatoes, peanuts and coconut milk (a mild curry from the Muslim Southern part of Thailand)

* Kaeng Phed: spicy curry with meat and chilies

2) Kaeng Khua

Kaeng Khua curry paste makes this curry dish distinct and different from Kaeng Ped dishes. Kaeng Khua curry paste has either deep-fried fish, grilled fish or dried small shrimp as part of its ingredients. Most Kaeng Khua will not have added spices because of its strong aroma. The typical flavors of this curry are sweet, sour and salty. The most common meat is fish, shrimp or clam. Main added ingredients typically used in this curry can be pineapple, mushrooms or winter melon. Other ingredients are galangal, kaffir lime zest, dried chilies, lemon grass and shrimp paste.

Some people might confuse Kaeng Khua and Kaeng Pa because they look similar and both are coconut-based curry. However, both use different curry paste and Kaeng Pa mostly has only a salty taste.

3) Kaeng Liang

Many say Kaeng Liang is Thai vegetarian curry. The main ingredients of this curry are vegetables, usually there is no meat. Some recipes may add chicken or shrimp. However, if we look at Kaeng Liang curry paste, this dish is not vegetarian. Part of Kaeng Liang curry paste is dried shrimp paste (ka pi), dried shrimp and deep-fried fish or grilled fish. This curry is a water-based curry that is quite thick. The most common vegetables are sponge gourd (buab liam), gourd leaves (bai tam leung), “hairy” basil (bai Maeng Luk) and baby corn.

4) Kaeng Som

Kaeng Som is a water-based curry that in flavor combines sour, saltiness and a little sweetness. The common meat used in this curry is fish or shrimp. Some recipes use clams. Common vegetables are morning glory (phak bueng), bottle gourd (phak nam tao), water mimosa (phak kra ched), Vegetable Humming Bird (dok kae), cabbage (kra lum plee) and juice-based tamarind. Other ingredients are shrimp paste, dried shrimp and shallots. The famous Kaeng Som is Kaeng Som Pla Chon Phak Kra Ched which has striped snakehead (pla chon) and water mimosa (phak kra ched) as main ingredients.

5) Tom Yum

Tom Yum is a hot and sour soup. Tom Yum soup dishes have lots of herbs and meat as the main ingredients. Few vegetables are used in Tom Yum soup, although usually included are oyster mushrooms or straw mushrooms. Common herbs used in Tom Yum soup are kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, chilies and coriander roots. The common meats used in Tom Yum soup are chicken, shrimp and fish. The ingredients used in flavoring Tom Yum are lemon juice, tamarind juice, sugar and fish sauce.

Tom Yum soup can also be categorized into 2 different types: coconut-based Tom Yum soup and water/broth-based Tom Yum soup. Examples of Tom Yum soup dishes are:

* Tom Kha Gai: coconut-based hot and sour soup with chicken
* Tom Kha Pla Duk: coconut-based hot and sour soup with catfish
* Tom Kha Ta Le: coconut-based hot and sour soup with seafood
* Tom Yum Gai: water/broth-based hot and sour soup with chicken
* Tom Yum Goong: water/broth-based hot and sour soup with prawn
* Tom Yum Hua Pla: water/broth-based hot and sour soup with fish head
* Tom Yam Moo Pa: water/broth-based hot and sour soup with boar

6) Pad Ped

Pad Ped is similar to Kaeng Ped; however, Pad Ped dishes use less coconut milk or water than Kaeng Ped. Thus Pad Ped is more like a stir-fried dried curry paste dish with meat and vegetables. Example vegetables are Thai eggplants, yard long beans, bamboo shoots and pea eggplants. Two main ingredients used in flavoring Pad Ped dishes are fish sauce and sugar. Example dishes are:

* Pad Ped Moo Tao Fak Yao: stir-fried red curry paste with pork and yard long beans
* Pad Ped Pla Duk: stir-fried catfish with chili paste
* Phanaeng Gai: stir-fried phanaeng curry paste with chicken and kaffir lime leaves
* Phanaeng Moo: stir-fried phanaeng curry paste with pork and kaffir lime leaves
* Phanaeng Nuea: stir-fried phanaeng curry paste with beef and kaffir lime leaves

The example dishes listed above are famous dishes in Thailand. Of course, there are more dishes than I can name here. “Kaeng” has more than just the one meaning of spicy curry like many believe about Thai curry. Thais even use the word “Kaeng” in desserts like Kaeng Buat. Kaeng Buat is a dessert that has pumpkin, taro and/or potatoes in coconut milk. Most Thai restaurants in the U.S offer coconut-based Kaeng Ped, Pad Ped and Tom Yum soup. If you have a chance to visit Thailand, I hope you will have a chance to enjoy all different kinds of Kaeng.

When people think of chocolate no two people are the same

Most chocolates that people are familiar with are dark, milk, white, semi-sweet, and maybe sugar-free.

But there are so many more out there.

Take AERATED chocolate for instance. It usually dark or white chocolate where air bubbles are introduced to the chocolate as it is being made.

And then there is FILLED Chocolate. It is a chocolate that additives were added. Things like nuts, jelly pieces, dried fruits and even cereals.

As for Organic, it is made from the raw material that the farmers produce.

In the 1990’s chocolates with a high content of cocoa became very popular in Europe. The content of cocoa was 40-60%. Now some producers make chocolate ranging from 70 to 85%. There are even some that contain 99%!

Here is a list of unknown or unimagined chocolates.

Raw or Roasted Cacao— this the whole cacao bean minus the shell.

Cacao Nibs—this the broken up pieces of the bean.

Ground Cacao—as the name suggests it’s the bean ground up.

It is the healthiest form of chocolate there is however it can be quite bitter to the taste.

Chocolate Liquor— Unlike what it’s name may suggest there is no alcohol added. This how chocolate starts. Producers start by grinding cacao nibs into a liquid paste in which nothing is added. It has about 53% cocoa butter at this stage.

Unsweetened Chocolate—this what people use to bake with. It is sometimes referred as pure or bitter chocolate. It contains at least 35% chocolate liquor. There is cocoa and sugar in various amounts. There really no difference between bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate. Often times they are referred as dark chocolate. The chocolate bittersweet or semi-sweet (the type baked with) is sweetened by adding cocoa liquor without adding the cocoa butter.

Sweet Chocolate—this chocolate is sometimes mistaken for bittersweet. The reason being that it contains at least 15% chocolate liquor in which cocoa butter and sugar is added in various amounts.

Milk Chocolate: This chocolate contains at least 10% chocolate liquor then cocoa butter and sugar is added in various amounts then at least 12% milk, cream, or milk powder is added.

White Chocolate: technically isn’t considered a type of chocolate since it doesn’t contain chocolate liquor. But it must have at least 20% cocoa butter and 14% milk with sugar added in various amounts. No wonder my white fudge never turns out!

Cocoa powder— is really cocoa powder or unsweetened cocoa.

Then the last on my list is Dutched Chocolate.

It is formed by washing cocoa powder in an alkali solution of Potassium Carbonate. This wash darkens the color and neutralizes acidity of the cocoa powder. Cocoa that is very alkalized is called Black cocoa. This is the chocolate used in Oreo cookies.

In short the use and types of chocolate just depends on the imagination of the producers. Then in turn the consumer who is using the chocolate. Well I can say for this, my imagination turned to making white chocolate fudge and as I stated earlier it didn’t turn out. OH,well back to the drawing board. I haven’t given up.

The key to building a restaurant brand with staying power is not only creating your competitive edge but also keeping it. Obviously many things go into making that happen, but for your customers it always comes back to the food and the right restaurant equipment makes great food possible.

As our economy is quickly changing so are the likes and dislikes of our clients. When purchasing restaurant equipment, you will need to decide if it is possible to use existing equipment behind the line to adapt to the emerging trends in today’s fierce competition for the consumer dollar. If you are in the restaurant industry, I do not need to tell you that everything about the restaurant industry has changed, is changing and will continue to change. With this being said, it is imperative to become one of the success stories you will need to be the quickest and the best at adapting and keeping your food fresh. As a restaurateur, we need to look into our crystal ball and ask ourselves if the equipment we purchase today has the flexibility to meet the unforeseen needs that could be in front of us.

Use these three simple rules when researching your next piece of restaurant equipment prior to making your purchase:

1. Is the piece of restaurant equipment easy to use? Add-ons and extra features may sound like a good idea but what does it deliver to the operation and the customer aside from extra parts? Are training times increased, is the through-put time getting longer with additional steps and options, and are these extras just more things to repair? One-touch simplicity is the name of the game throughout our fast-casual concepts, which helps maintain efficiency levels during peak periods.

2. What is the quality of the restaurant equipment and what is its output? The least expensive equipment is not always the best choice when you factor in the output. Many of us do not want to hear this in these tight economic times. Be real about what the output will be for the dollars that you are spending. Although you may be a fast-casual operation, faster is not the goal. Faster is a result of developing a winning system using quality restaurant equipment products that allow us to present great food.

3. Will the through-put of this machine meet your goals and expectations? So far, you have determined that the piece of restaurant equipment is easy to use, of high quality but it needs to answer the question of can it reliably serve the needs of 400 consumers during a lunch rush? Assuming that you are not in business to turn people away, your restaurant equipment MUST be able to deliver.

A lot of time and effort must go into purchasing a piece of restaurant equipment. The decision is a big commitment and will help you to determine the success or failure of your venture. You will receive better results if you are able to build good relationships with your suppliers as they will be able to guide you in the right direction. With this being said, DO NOT solely rely on what they say as gospel as what is best for your facility. Remember, it is still your decision to make.

Ingredients:
1 large lamb, ground; lean
1 onion salt
1 garlic salt
1/4 cup butter (or marg.); softened
1/2 teaspoon curry powder; to 3/4 ts.
4 hamburger buns
Instructions:
Spape ground lamb into 4 patties, 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle both sides wiht onion salt and garlic salt. Cook under broiler until brown, about 15 to 20 minutes, turning to brown on both sides. In the meantime, combine softened butter with curry powder and spread generously on both sides of the cooked patties. Serve between warm hamburger buns.