273/365: National Hot Mulled Cider Day*

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Midwest Mark

The last day of September marks the fourth beverage holiday in a row, an unprecedented stretch of drink-themed holidays. How you like them apples? A lot, if you celebrate today’s food holiday: 9/30 is National Hot Mulled Cider Day!

Autumn is the perfect time of year to enjoy a steaming mug of hot apple cider. The term “mull” refers to heating a liquid to just under the boiling stage, and adding spices (i.e. cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves) and citrus zest (such as orange peel). It is similar to wassail, though that beverage typically includes ale or beer. Actually, in most of the world, cider refers to a fermented alcoholic beverage, but in the U.S. we denote the liquored-up version as “hard cider.” As if that weren’t confusing enough, we can’t even seem to agree on the difference between apple cider and apple juice, though the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources states, “Apple juice and apple cider are both fruit beverages made from apples, but there is a difference between the two. Fresh cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment. Apple juice is juice that has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer. Vacuum sealing and additional filtering extend the shelf life of the juice.”

I kind of wish this food holiday was occurring a couple of weeks later. Tara and I like to drive out to Hood River every October for the “Fruit Loop” – a meandering drive through the countryside to stock up on apples, pears, cider, and other bounties of fall from the various farm stands and stores scattered along the route. For now, we settled on a pint of apple cider from the grocery store. I added whole cloves and a cinnamon stick left over from our hot toddy challenge (which feels like a lifetime ago!), and grated some orange zest in there, as well. It turned out very good, and really hit the spot on a chilly, damp fall evening.

National Hot Mulled Cider Day

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272/365: National Coffee Day

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Midwest Mark

You’re in for a brewed awakening if you choose to celebrate today’s food holiday. September 29 is National Coffee Day!

Our beloved Keurig.

Our beloved Keurig.

I wrote about one legend surrounding coffee’s origination here. An alternate version claims that a mystic from Yemen, Ghothul Akbar Nooruddin Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, was traveling through Ethiopia and noticed the birds flying about seemed to have a lot of energy. al-Shadhili attributed this to the berries they were eating, and tried a few himself. He returned to his native land with strange requests for “double espressos” and “lattes, skinny, extra foam.” Another story says Sheik Abou’l Hasan Schadheli’s disciple, Omar – who was known for his ability to cure the sick through prayer – was banished from his home in Mocha (seriously) to a cave in the desert. With nothing to eat, he resorted to chewing on berries he found growing on wild shrubbery nearby, but found these too bitter. He attempted roasting them, but they turned too hard, so he boiled them to soften the beans, and subsisted on the ensuing beverage for days. Omar was revitalized, and when word of this “miracle drug” reached Mocha, he was asked to return, and made a Saint. The beverage spread around the globe, but was slow to gain a foothold in the United States until the Boston Tea Party, when colonists rebelling against high tea taxes took up coffee instead. Today, Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee a day, more than any other country in the world.

Tara and I are big coffee fans, and invested in a Keurig coffeemaker last year. It was actually our first joint purchase, one that gets a lot of use in our household. You can’t beat the convenience of k-cups, and there’s very little wasted coffee. To celebrate, we….are you holding your breath in anticipation yet?…drank coffee.

Ooh. Ahh.

National Coffee Day

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271/365: National Drink Beer Day*

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Midwest Mark

You’ll want to hop on over to the fridge in order to take advantage of today’s food holiday. September 28 is National Drink Beer Day!

It’s also National Strawberry Cream Pie Day, but with so many pie holidays already under our belts (plus the fact that I am away from home from before sunrise to after sunset today), we decided to celebrate beer. I should add that I despise beer, so this wasn’t a holiday I was particularly looking forward to. Tara, on the other hand, is a big Bud Light fan, meaning today was no big deal to her.

National Drink Beer DayThere was already a National Drink Wine Day in February, so it’s only fair that beer gets a day devoted to drinking it, as well. Beer is one of the oldest-known beverages humans produced, and was probably discovered by accident after cereal grains containing sugar fermented on their own. Records of beer date back to at least 5000 B.C., and references to the alcoholic beverage have been found in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The oldest known recipe is a 3900 year old Sumerian poem that pays homage to Ninkasi, the goddess of brewing. They really did have gods for everything back then! This beer was made with barley and bread. Beer became such a way of life – it was enjoyed on a daily basis by Egyptian pharaohs, was prescribed to treat illnesses, and was often given as a sacrifice to the gods – it has been argued that man could not have developed technologies and built civilizations without it. I guess after stacking blocks into a pyramid shape all day, nothing hits the spot like a tall, cool one.

I had no idea beer was so highly revered by ancient peeps! Kinda makes me feel bad for not appreciating it more, but try as I might, I have never been able to stomach the stuff. I know it’s an acquired taste, but I’d rather spend my time acquiring liquor or wine. Still, when in Rome and all that jazz, so I made sure to snag a beer during today’s symposium. We happened to be at McMenamin’s Edgefield, which has an onsite distillery. I asked the bartender, “What kind of beer would you recommend for somebody who doesn’t like beer?” He suggested a “Ruby,” so I took him up on his suggestion. As far as beers go, not exactly terrible, I’m still not a fan. I drank a little over half, though. Tara celebrated at home with, of course, Bud Light.

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270/365: National Chocolate Milk Day*

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Moo-ve yourself over to the refrigerator if you’re looking forward to celebrating today’s food holiday. September 27 is National Chocolate Milk Day!

It’s also National Corned Beef Hash Day, and while that is one of my favorite breakfasts, it wasn’t on the menu at my work symposium this morning, so we had to settle for chocolate milk. “Settle” is kind of harsh though, considering how creamy, smooth, and delicious chocolate milk is!IMAG1596

Chocolate milk was the brainchild of Sir Hans Sloane, President of the Royal Society of Britain (he actually succeeded Sir Isaac Newton), founder of the British Museum, and personal physician to Queen Anne and George II. While on a trip to Jamaica in 1687, he witnessed malnourished babies being given a mixture of cocoa, water, and spices to help cure their ailments. Upon returning home, he added cocoa to milk, and touted it as a therapeutic beverage with “health giving” qualities. “Take that, Mr. an-apple-fell-on-my-head-and-now-I’m-famous!” he may or may not have remarked, referring to his well-known contemporary’s discovery of gravity. Chocolate milk was considered a medicinal drink for about 200 years, until the Cadbury brothers invented their own version of drinking chocolate in 1820. Over time, this tasty beverage became a childhood classic, and is served either premade, or mixed at home using either cocoa powder or chocolate syrup.

To celebrate, Tara and I enjoyed a glass of chocolate milk for breakfast. I drank mine before I left the house, so this food challenge was completed especially early! (Though chances are we’ll never top the one-minute-past-midnight mark as we did with vanilla custard).

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269/365: National Pancake Day

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Today’s food holiday is flat out delicious. September 26 is National Pancake Day!

We knew when embarking upon this pursuit that there were sure to be some challenges coming our way, commitments that might make completing the challenge tricky or difficult. You know, like camping trips and weddings and stuff. What I didn’t foresee was a three-day work symposium that would have me out of the house some 17 hours a day. Fortunately, the timing works out in my favor: the three food holidays we’re celebrating during this stretch – pancakes, chocolate milk, and beer – require little prep and are easy to consume on the go. Whew! Had roast leg of lamb or escargot or baked alaska landed somewhere in here, we’d be in trouble. (Tara and I also have a weekend trip to Denver planned in a month, but again, it looks like we’ll be able to handle those challenges easily from a few states away).

There is some debate over exactly when National Pancake Day lands. IHOP created its own National Pancake Day on February 5, advertising it heavily and offering free pancakes that day, but they went outside of the system and didn’t bother to get their day “officially” recognized, so we never believed that counted (February 5 was National Chocolate Fondue Day on our calendar). Pancakes are also popularly consumed on Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before Lent, a floating holiday every year. Not a big deal, since we knew we’d have the opportunity to celebrate pancakes later on in the year. Later on is now.

The ancient Greeks made the first pancakes, known as τηγανίτης. If that’s too tricky for you to pronounce, it’s simply the Greek word for “frying pan.” These “tagenites” were made with wheat flour, olive oil, honey, and curdled milk (yum!) and date back to at least the 5th century B.C. The word “pancake” first appeared in the 1400s. There are many regional variations of this flat breakfast dish including crepes, blinis, latkes, and Dutch babies. They were an important food source in Colonial America, where residents enjoyed “Indian cakes” and Johnnycakes. They are also known as hotcakes, griddle cakes, and flapjacks. Aunt Jemima introduced the first boxed pancake mix in 1889; its ease of use and convenience helped pancakes become a staple of American breakfasts in the 20th century.

To celebrate, Tara made pancakes this morning. What a perfect stack – they turned out to be some of the best I’ve ever had!

National Pancake Day

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268/365: National Crab Meat Newburg Day

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Midwest Mark

You’ll have to claw your way to the seafood aisle in order to enjoy today’s food holiday. September 25 is National Crab Meat Newburg Day!

Crab Newburg evolved from Lobster Newburg, a dish invented by sea captain Ben Wenberg, who had become quite wealthy thanks to the “fruits” of his labor. Literally: he was involved in the fruit trade between Cuba and New York. When Ben wasn’t sailing the high seas, he enjoyed dining at Delmonico’s in NYC. One day he walked in and announced he’d discovered a new way to cook lobster. Charles Delmonico brought him a chafing dish, and he cooked the lobster at the table. Mr. Delmonico was so impressed with the end result he added the dish to his menu and named it in Ben’s honor, Lobster a la Wenberg. It became a big hit with diners, but was removed from the menu after Delmonico and Wenberg got into a skirmish over something, and Ben was banned from the restaurant. Patrons still demanded the dish, so Charles simply rearranged the letters – “Wenberg” became “Newberg” – and added it back to the menu. Creative chefs began substituting shrimp, frog’s legs, and crab in the dish, and for some reason these alternate versions dropped the second “e” in favor of a “u” to make it Newburg. We’ll always remember you though, Ben!

The timing of this holiday was fortunate, considering the leftover Dungeness crab we’ve got from our wedding weekend. We simply had to defrost that, extract the meat, and follow this recipe. What gives the dish its distinct flavor is cream and sherry. Actually, we were out of sherry, but substituted vermouth instead (left over from our martini challenge). I loved this meal, and couldn’t get enough of it! Tara wasn’t quite as impressed, but still enjoyed it.

National Crab Meat Newburg Day

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267/365: National Cherries Jubilee Day

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Hope you’re in the mood for a celebration. September 24 is National Cherries Jubilee Day!

Cherries Jubilee is a dessert made with cherries and liqueur (usually cherry brandy) that is flambéed and served atop vanilla ice cream. It was created by  none other than Auguste Escoffier, who has been responsible for several of our dessert-themed food holidays this year (Peach Melba, Pears Helene, Melba Toast). He prepared the dish for one of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebrations, though it’s unclear whether it was her Golden Jubilee (1887) or Diamond Jubilee (1897). The dessert became a very fashionable menu item, and began appearing on the menus of fine restaurants everywhere. Its popularity peaked in the 1950s and ’60s, falling out of favor when those same fine dining establishments began serving a new dessert sensation, Oreos dunked in milk. 

To celebrate, we made Cherries Jubilee using Rachael Ray’s recipe. This uses far less sugar than other recipes I looked at, relying instead on the juice from the canned cherries to act as a natural sweetener.

Ingredients

2 (15-ounce) cans whole Bing cherries in juice, drained and juice reserved
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup kirsch or cognac, warmed
2 pints vanilla ice cream

Directions

In a small dish, combine a little cherry juice with sugar and cornstarch. In a skillet, heat juice from cherries over moderate heat. Add cornstarch mixture. When juice thickens, add cherries to warm through. Pour in warmed liqueur, then flame the pan to burn off alcohol. Remove cherries from heat. Scoop vanilla ice cream into large cocktail glasses or dessert dishes and spoon cherries down over ice cream.

It turned out delicious! Then again, anytime you get to set your food on fire – on purpose – it tastes better!

National Cherries Jubilee Day

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266/365: National White Chocolate Day

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Midwest Mark

If you’ve got the white stuff, you’ll appreciate today’s food holiday. September 22 is National White Chocolate Day! We have 99 days left in our food challenge, by the way. If nothing else, this should make you realize that Christmas isn’t as far away as you think it is.

White chocolate isn’t technically chocolate, but it does contain cocoa butter – so who’s complaining? Other ingredients include sugar, milk solids, and salt. During manufacturing, the dark-colored solids of the cacao bean are separated from the fat. When regular chocolate is made the ingredients are later recombined, but the cocoa solids are left out of white chocolate, resulting in a pale yellow to ivory color and a lack of antioxidants and other ingredients found in chocolate. Who cares? It’s still pretty damn good!

Nestlé launched a white chocolate candy bar in Switzerland during the 1930s, as a way to get rid of excess powdered milk, which was all the rage during World War I but fell out of widespread use as more consumers turned to fresh milk. Substituting milk solids for cocoa solids resulted in a different product entirely, one that doesn’t always get a lot of respect. Could be due to the name of that Swiss candy bar, Galak. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Ack! I ate a Galak! Savvy marketing, fellas. In 1948 Nestlé launched another white chocolate bar called Nestlé’s Alpine White Chocolate, which was a big hit during the 1980s and ’90s, until it was eventually discontinued. There is currently a push to bring back this candy bar, with a Facebook page dedicated to reviving it. I, for one, hope they succeed. I’m pretty sure I tried the bar and loved it. I’ve always been a big fan of white chocolate, sometimes even craving it more than regular chocolate.

To celebrate, we bought a Toblerone® white chocolate bar. I’ve become a big fan of this brand thanks to the food challenge, and was thrilled to find a white chocolate version of their Matterhorn-shaped chocolate bar. Delicious!

National White Chocolate Day

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265/365: National Ice Cream Cone Day

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Midwest Mark

There’s no sense waffling around when it comes to this holiday, sugar: September 22 is National Ice Cream Cone Day!

I should also point out that there are exactly 100 days left in our challenge. Tomorrow, we’re into double digits for the first time all year! It’s actually felt like the end was in sight for some time now, and today just cements that fact. We can do this!National Ice Cream Cone Day

We’ve already honored numerous flavors of ice cream this year, but today is the first time we pay homage to the invention of the wafer that allows us to hold ice cream in our hands and eat it without a spoon or a bowl. As with many of the food holidays we celebrate, there is some dispute over the invention of this treat. Julien Archambault’s French cookbook published in 1825 mentions rolling a cone from “little waffles” to carry ice cream, and Englishwoman Agnes Marshall’s 1888 tome Mrs A. B. Marshall’s Cookery Book features a recipe for “cornet in a cone,” in which the cornets were made from almonds and baked in an oven. But it was New Yorker Italo Marchioni who filed a patent on this day in 1903 for an edible pastry cup used to hold ice cream. This was not a true cone, and Marchioni later lost a number of lawsuits he filed for patent infringement. Ice cream cones showed up at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, where no fewer than three men claimed to have created it: George Bang, Ernest Hamwi, and Abe Doumar. I guess we’ll never truly know who invented the first ice cream cone, but we can thank Frederick Bruckman of Portland, Oregon for patenting a machine used to roll ice cream cones in 1912. Prior to that, cones were rolled by hand from hot, thin wafers. Fred later went on to sell his company to Nabisco, which still makes ice cream cones to this day.

Cones are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and flavors. The most popular are cake cones, sugar cones, and waffle cones. I’m not much of a sugar cone fan (unless we’re talking about frozen Drumsticks™, which were invented by J.T. “Stubby” Parker in 1928), but have always been partial to either cake cones or waffle cones.

I debated about having fun with this holiday and repurposing the cone to hold something other than ice cream. Like beef stew, maybe. Or spaghetti. After all, we’re celebrating ice cream cones – nobody says we need to eat them with ice cream! In the end, common sense prevailed, and we went ahead and had them with ice cream. Yeah, I know….boring. But good!

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264/365: National Pecan Cookie Day

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Midwest Mark

You won’t have to delete your browsing history to enjoy today’s cookies. September 21 is National Pecan Cookie Day!

We’ve already done this holiday. Kind of. June 23 was National Pecan Sandies Day, and what better type of pecan cookie is there? Speaking of the nuts, I’ve already discussed their background on the first of 2 (!) National Pecan Days. You can say we’ve done more than our fair share of honoring pecans already this year, so all that’s left to talk about is pronunciation. Is it pea-can, pea-con, puh-can, puh-con? This is one of those classic potato/po-tah-to quandaries. I’ve always said pea-con, but I’m not from the South, so for all I know I could be wrong.

Do any regular readers have any questions for us regarding the challenge? Now’s a good time to ask! Gotta do something to fill up all this blank space.

To celebrate, Tara and I picked up a package of Pepperidge Farms’ Dark Chocolate Pecan cookies. These guys never disappoint with their cookies!

National Pecan Cookie Day

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