Monthly Archives: February 2013

39/365: National Molasses Bar Day

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Midwest Mark

February 8 is National Molasses Bar Day! If your first reaction is “What the heck is a molasses bar?!,” you are not alone. Tara and I wondered the same thing. Turns out it’s sort of like a brownie, only without the chocolate. Which makes for a pretty pointless brownie, if you ask me.

One website describes molasses bars as “a vintage favorite brought back to life” and mentions visits to grandma’s house. Neither of my grandmothers ever made molasses bars, so I was really in the dark on what they were, but there are enough recipe links online to be able to cobble something together, which is exactly what my sweet cobbler-slash-baker, Tara, did.

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919.

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919.

Molasses is really good when it’s turned into rum, but is too richly flavored to slurp right out of the bottle by itself. Trust me on this. When sugar cane or sugar beets are processed, the sugar crystallizes and turns into a thick syrup. This is molasses. The word comes from melaco, Portugese for honey. Christopher Columbus introduced molasses to the Americas when he brought sugar cane to the West Indies in 1493, and it quickly became an important trade item for the early Colonists, who used it to bake gingerbread and taffy when they weren’t getting plastered on rum. Molasses may be sweet and sticky, but it is also deadly: in 1919 a tank of molasses at the Purity Baking Company in Boston exploded, generating an 8′ high sticky flood of hot molasses that traveled through the north end of town at 35 mph. Known as the Great Molasses Flood, it ended up killing 21 people and injuring 150. What a horrible disas-tah. Local residents claim they can still catch a hint of molasses in the air on warm and windy days. Now, that’s morbid. And what a horrible way to go, smothered by thick, hot syrup. Kinda makes you feel bad for pancakes.

As tragic as this was, we have to remember: molasses doesn’t kill people, people kill people. Only, in this case, molasses did kill people…

Anyway. Molasses bars! Tara made them last night, and we enjoyed them with coffee this morning. But “enjoyed” is a strong word, because honestly, neither of us were blown away. They taste sort of like spice cake, and were awfully crumbly. And neither of us is particularly keen on the flavor of molasses anyway. But hey, that’s another one in the books!

Molasses Bar

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38/365: National Fettuccine Alfredo Day

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Since no food holidays can get pasta me, today we are celebrating National Fettuccine Alfredo Day! (Bad Pun Day is every day in my book. Lucky you).

Fettuccine Alfredo was invented by a guy named Bob. OK, just kidding. His name was Alfredo. Bet you didn’t see that one coming! Alfredo Di Lelio owned a restaurant called Alfredo in Rome in 1914. While his wife was pregnant with their first son in 1914, she didn’t have much of an appetite. Since Alfredo liked a woman with a little junk in her trunk, he was desperate to get her to eat again, so he created a dish with fettuccine noodles, butter, and parmesan cheese that he knew she would be unable to resist. He was right, and it was so good he added it to his restaurant’s menu, where it quickly gained cult status. Hollywood stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were honeymooning in Rome in 1920, and stopped in for a plate of Alfredo’s alfredo at Alfredo. They loved the dish so much, they gave Alfredo a golden fork and spoon, and a photo of them eating in his restaurant. He proudly displayed these items on the wall, where they still hang to this day (the restaurant is still open, under the name Alfredo alla Scrofa. Next time I’m in Rome, I’m checking it out). Fairbanks and Pickford helped spread the word, and the dish became wildly popular. Interestingly enough, even though Fettuccine Alfredo is just as popular in Italy and Europe, nobody over there calls it that. It is known, instead, as “Fettuccine al burro;” burro meaning butter in Italian, not a type of ass.

Nowadays, Fettuccine Alfredo is typically made with cream, because butter only didn’t provide quite enough fat and calories. Other ingredients, such as chicken or shrimp, are often added. I used a jar of Alfredo sauce with mushrooms, and it turned out delicious. Not homemade? So what. There is no denying the importance of convenience during this challenge. Besides, we have to work on tomorrow’s food tonight, so…yeah. All hail Bertolli.

Fettuccine Alfredo

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37/365: National Nutella Day

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Today is an unusually confusing day. As you know, we have an official food calendar we are consulting for these various holidays. Just for fun, I double check several other sites every day, to verify there isn’t a mistake. It’s all about authenticity, folks! 99% of the time there are no issues. Today? Ugh. Our calendar says it’s National Nutella Day. Some online sources agree, but others say that was yesterday. Depending on who you believe, today is either Nutella Day, Chopsticks Day, Frozen Yogurt Day, or even Food Checkout Day. Weird that February 6 is so full of disagreement. Since at least 4 or 5 different sites match our calendar, and we’d already planned for it, we are sticking to our guns. With that in mind, Happy National Nutella Day!

Nutella (like carrot cake) is another food item we can thank World War II for. Chocolate rationing left Italian baker Pietro Ferrero in a lurch. Chocolate was his bread and butter, so to speak. Looking for a way to make his supply last, he turned to hazelnuts, which grew like weeds in and around his hometown of Alba, in the Piedmont region of Italy. Ferrero initially created a solid block of hazelnuts and chocolate, but in 1951 he produced a creamy version he called Supercrema. In 1963 his son Michele (yes, son) wanted to sell the product all over Europe, so he modified the recipe and renamed it Nutella. It was an instant global success. But Nutella has lately suffered from some negative press. A class action lawsuit against Ferrero was settled just last year, after it was deemed that Nutella’s marketing claim of being “part of a nutritious breakfast” was, to put it mildly, not exactly the truth. Well, duh! One glance at the label – sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa solids, and milk – should give a clue to even the most naive consumer that Nutella is not on par health-wise with, say, oatmeal. Half of the calories come from fat, and 40% from sugar. If you really think that’s nutritious, I’ve got a bridge for sale.

Nutritious or not, Nutella is good. I had never tried it before today! I know, I know. I lead a sheltered life. Since I was a Nurgin® (a Nutella virgin, and yes, I’m trademarking that), I figured the simplest presentation would be best. A slice of white bread toast topped with Nutella. I’m not a big fan of sweet breakfasts unless there is something savory to accompany them, which may be why I said, two bites in, that the Nutella toast would have been perfect if it were topped with bacon. I wish I’d thought of that sooner! But, it was good. Nutty and chocolatey and creamy and smooth. I get the appeal now.

IMAG0503

Nutella on toast. Not a bad morning pick-me-up!

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36/365: National Chocolate Fondue Day

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Anybody longing for the 1970s should get a kick out of today’s food holiday: February 5 is National Chocolate Fondue Day!

Fondue pots (along with disco, polyester, and Bert Reynolds movies) might be synonymous with the 70s, but fondue has been around for a lot longer. The Swiss have a lot of cheese, you know, and needed a way to use it up once it became hard, so they figured they could melt it down and dip things in it. Surprisingly, even though Switzerland is just as well known for its chocolates as for cheese, it was a restaurant in New York City called Suisse Chalet that actually created chocolate fondue. Chef/Owner Konni Egli was looking for inventive new dishes to promote his restaurant in 1966, and turned to the Swiss National Tourist Office, conveniently located a block away. They were looking to promote a new chocolate bar called Toblerone whose oddly-shaped triangular pieces were meant to be eaten individually, each one resembling the Matterhorn (the mountain in Switzerland, not the theme park ride in Disneyland). Konni hit upon the idea of melting down the chocolate and creating a new type of fondue, one that was sweet instead of savory.

Incidentally, Toblerone chocolates were at the heart of a Swedish political scandal in 1995 when Mona Sahlin, a candidate for Prime Minister, used taxpayer money to purchase two Toblerone bars. She ended up dropping out of the race. Which begs the question: if the chocolate is known for its distinctive shape and tastes so good you’d risk your political career for a bite, why were the chefs at the Swiss Chalet trying to melt it down in the first place? But they were, and they did, and the rest is chocolate fondue history.Chocolate Fondue ingredients

When we were discussing what to dip in our chocolate fondue, I suggested apples. Tara thought that was an odd choice, but it turns out apples and other fruit (strawberries and bananas) are popular accompaniments, as are marshmallows, pretzels, and graham crackers.

I decided, in the interest of authenticity, to make Konni Egli’s original chocolate fondue recipe, using Toblerone, heavy cream, and a splash of brandy. We don’t own a fondue pot, which is a bit shocking considering our (ok, MY) penchant for anything retro. But I set up a poor man’s double boiler (a small pot inside a big pot), melted the chocolate, added the cream, and – voila! We had a chocolate fondue dish that would make ol’ Mr. Egli proud.

By the way, the Toblerone chocolate bar itself? Out of this world! I balked at the $2.69 price tag, but man, that’s some seriously good chocolate. And the little chocolate triangles really do look like the Matterhorn. Groovy.

Dig the fancy plating, yo.

Dig the fancy plating, yo.

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35/365: National Stuffed Mushroom Day*

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Midwest Mark

There are two food holidays celebrated on February 4, but since I’m a fun guy, we’re going with National Stuffed Mushroom Day! (The other is Homemade Soup Day. I actually did an Italian Wedding Soup a little over a week ago, but haven’t had stuffed mushrooms in ages. This decision was pretty much a no-brainer).

Besides, Tara and I both love mushrooms. We joke about this, because whenever we write up our weekly grocery list, we always put Mushrooms on there. And, in parentheses, add the word “lots.” I don’t think a week goes by where we don’t buy mushrooms…yet, we had never stuffed them before. Go figure.

Mousseron. Wait, no...that's Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation.

Mousseron. Wait, no…that’s Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation.

Mushrooms are a type of fungus that grows either on top of soil, or another food source. Mushrooms bear spores and contain a stem, cap, and gills. The word is derived from the French mousseron, which means “moustached man named Ron.” Err…wrong. It means “moss.” I need to work on my French translation skills. Mushrooms are known as “the meat of the vegetable world,” which explains their popularity with vegetarians, and are cooked in a wide variety of dishes across many cultures. They became popular in the 19th century, when the French began growing them for use as a food source. I’ve often thought it was a brave man who first decided to pluck a fungus from the ground and eat it because, let’s face it, the average mushroom does not look very appetizing, let alone edible. Plus, with so many poisonous varieties out there, it had to be like a foodie version of Russian Roulette.

Stuffed mushrooms are considered an Italian delicacy, typically made with breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and olive oil or butter. However, they can be stuffed with just about anything!

Tara found a recipe online. There are about a million different versions of stuffed mushrooms, and this one is basic but good. Bacon, green onions, cheese, bread crumbs – can’t go wrong with that combination!

Stuffed Mushrooms

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34/365: National Carrot Cake Day

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Today is both Super Bowl Sunday AND National Carrot Cake Day. There would have been less work involved today if we were celebrating chicken wings or chips and dip, I suppose, but we can’t control the calendar!

At least carrot cake is healthier than most other cakes. Carrots have been used to flavor cakes since Medieval times, when sweeteners were hard to come by and expensive. Nothing satisfied a battle-hardened army freshly returned from plundering, pillaging, and ravishing young maidens more than a big ol’ hunk of carrot cake! This practice died out once sugar became more common and cheap, and for centuries the practice of using a veggie in a dessert was about as foreign as Donald Trump ever getting a decent haircut. And then World War II came along, and with it, sugar rationing. (I’ve never understood this. There was also metal and rubber rationing, which I get. Those are both used to make tanks and Jeeps. But while sugar might satisfy the sweet tooth of some boogie woogie bugle boy from Company B, why else was it such a big deal during “the big one”)? The British government promoted desserts using carrots in order to keep its citizens happy, and there was a sudden glut of carrot puddings, pies, and cakes. Carrot cakes first showed up in the U.S. right around the same time as the Beatles in the early 1960s, and were considered a novelty item on restaurant and cafeteria menus. Until people actually tried them, and fell in love. They are now a standard dessert item everywhere.

It’s been a crazy weekend – Tara and I got engaged Friday night (!) so we’ve been sort of preoccupied with thoughts about our future, ya know? But time – and Eat My Words – waits for no man, as they say. Mrs. Smith’s used to sell a frozen carrot cake that was really good, but we couldn’t find it anywhere yesterday, so we resigned ourselves to baking a cake of our own (and by “we” and “ourselves” I mean “Tara” and “herself”).

Tara diggin' in to the carrot cake!

Tara diggin’ in to the carrot cake!

Unfortunately, we had to use a box mix.  I don’t know why I feel like I have defend that choice, but we were already at the store and didn’t have a recipe on hand, so a pre-made mix seemed like the best choice.  And the weird thing is that Carrot Cake is one of the few that I’ve always wanted to make from scratch.  I loves me some Carrot Cake!  But after the excitement from this weekend and a few Bloody Marys during the Super Bowl, this is what we got.

By the way, I tried guilting Mark into baking the cake.  I’ve been up since 4:30am and was downstairs and cleaning the kitchen by 5:30.  We crashed early last night and the house has been neglected pretty much since before Christmas…I was long overdue for some productive chores.  By the time Mark’s parents showed up for lunch at noon, I was dead on my feet.  But at least the house looks good!

Anyway, Mark is always a trooper, but he seemed reluctant to bake that damn cake.  I showed him the instructions on the back of the box and assured him how easy it would be.  He eyed me skeptically, while about to dump the dry mix into a bowl.  I quickly yanked the bowl away and reminded him that Alton Brown always has a Dry Party and a Wet Party!  So I whisked together the eggs, veggie oil, and water…added the dry mix and poured it all into a cake pan.  As I opened the oven door, Mark asked, “Is that it??”

By the time the game was over, the cake had cooled enough for the pre-made (blech) cream cheese frosting.  Mark said it was “Sooooo good!”, but it reminded me too much of plain ol’ Spice Cake.  Definitely not as good as Mrs. Smiths!

I loved it, babe. Carrot cake is always good. (And I would have made it, even though I guess I would have made it wrong). Thanks for your help, as always!

Categories: Desserts | Tags: , , , , | 11 Comments

33/365: National Heavenly Hash Day

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Today is one of the odder food holidays we’ll be celebrating, because there seems to be no general consensus over what, exactly, “heavenly hash” is. It’s described as a sweet confection containing marshmallows, and can refer to candy, ice cream, cake, cookies, brownies, rice pudding, or ambrosia. I even came across a recipe for a heavenly hash martini. So, I guess, pretty much anything involving marshmallows and fruit, then?

At least it’s not Groundhog Day. I mean, it is Groundhog Day, but at least we don’t have to eat groundhog. Although that would be a lot simpler, and it probably tastes like chicken anyway.

So much confusion reigns that one intrepid blogger contacted several ice cream companies to ask them the difference between Heavenly Hash and Rocky Road (which Wikipedia claims are basically the same thing). The responses are amusing (and still somewhat inconclusive). Rocky Road is a mixture of chocolate ice cream, mini marshmallows, and almonds, while Heavenly Hash is a mixture of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, mini marshmallows, and nuts. Since both Edy’s (Dreyer’s on the west coast) and Ben & Jerry’s agree – and because we’re both slightly hung over and thinking too hard hurts – we’re keeping it simple. We bought a pint of Rocky Road, and we still have leftover vanilla ice cream from our Peach Melba challenge last month. We just mixed the two together and created our own Heavenly Hash. If by definition that’s good enough for the Ice Cream Conglomerates, then it’s good enough for us!

I don’t even have a history on Heavenly Hash (though Rocky Road was created during the Great Depression and its name was meant to make people smile. “We’ve got a rocky road ahead of us.” Ha-ha, yeah, that’s a hoot. Said people jumping to their deaths from tall buildings after losing their life savings in the stock market crash). I guess in that regard, Heavenly Hash is an appropriate name, too…

Heavenly Hash

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32/365: National Baked Alaska Day

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Happy February! Today is National Baked Alaska Day – one of a handful of holidays that gave us pause when initially looking over the food calendar. Because Baked Alaska isn’t a real common dessert, and can be difficult to find when dining out. Plus, it’s a pretty complicated recipe to make yourself. Which wouldn’t be a big deal – Tara and I can handle anything – but we just happen to have plans tonight involving a concert and an overnight stay in Portland. So, we were sweating it a little – until my mom came to the rescue.

“I’ll make a Baked Alaska for you,” she said.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to do that, it’s an awful lot of work and we’d hate to put you out, but…well…okay, if you insist!” we replied. “What time should we be there?”

Whew. Thank you, mom. Growing up, we used to dine often at the NCO Club on Hickam AFB in Hawaii, and I remember my mom was always fond of the Baked Alaska. The servers would light it on fire and carry it to the table, which was a pretty cool spectacle for a kid. Plus, it tasted phenomenal. Ice cream wrapped in sponge cake and topped with meringue – what’s not to love? I hadn’t had Baked Alaska in probably 30 years, before today.

The dish has been around for awhile, and was originally called omelette à la norvégienne (Norwegian omelette). My idea of an omelette differs from the Norwegians’, apparently (where’s the cheese and mushrooms and meat?). Actually, the name makes sense, since meringue is nothing more than whipped egg whites. In 1876, Secretary of State William Seward purchased the Alaska Territory from Russia for $7.2 million, which amounts to two cents per acre, from Czar Alexander II (the same dude who may or may not have been the inspiration for the Brandy Alexander). Despite what seems like a really good deal on paper, critics scorned the move, calling it “Seward’s folly.” One New York Tribune writer said Alaska “contained nothing of value” and “would not be worth taking as a gift.” And then gold was discovered in the 1890s and everybody started praising Seward for his magnificent foresight. Lot of good it did the poor guy, as he was dead by then. Anyhoo, chef Charles Ranhofer at Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York didn’t think Seward was off his rocker, and wanted to celebrate the purchase of Alaska with a dessert. He whipped up a Norwegian omelette and simply renamed it Baked Alaska. Not exactly original, I suppose, but kudos to the guy for not getting all up in Seward’s grill.

A slice of Norwegian omelette. Err...Baked Alaska!

A slice of Norwegian omelette. Err…Baked Alaska!

Since we have plans tonight, we met up at my parents’ house for lunch today. Nothing like a sandwich topped off with a slice of Baked Alaska! There hasn’t been a more interesting combination of hot and cold since Heat Miser and Snow Miser squared off in the Rankin-Bass Christmas classic The Year Without a Santa Claus. The result? Pretty freakin’ delicious! Good job, mom. Not only was it her first time making a Baked Alaska, but she had never even done a sponge cake, either. It turned out great, and saved us a lot of time and trouble.

I told her she was free to make us a carrot cake on Sunday, but she kind of rolled her eyes. I guess the buck has to stop somewhere.

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