53/365: National Margarita Day

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Ole! Today’s food holiday is one we were eager to wrap our lips around. It’s National Margarita Day! Both Tara and I love a good margarita. A few caveats, though: it’s got to be served on the rocks – never blended. And under no circumstances should you use a bottled mix from a grocery shelf, even if it’s got the word Cuervo on it. The best margaritas are made fresh, with tequila, lime juice, triple sec, and a salted rim.

We are very picky about our margaritas.

Almost as many people claim to have invented the margarita as insist they were at Woodstock, so while its true origin is up for debate, we do know that the drink was first served in the 1940s. Many believe a bartender in Ensenada, Mexico named Don Carlos Orozco invented the drink in 1941. One day Margarita Henkel, the daughter of a German ambassador, stopped by for a drink. Orozco had been experimenting with some new creations and offered her the first taste of a cocktail he’d made with equal parts tequila, Damiana liqueur, and lime. Other stories give credit to Carlos Herrera, a Mexican restauranteur, who allegedly created the cocktail for dancer Marjorie King, who was allergic to all hard alcohol except tequila; to Santos Cruz, a bartender in Galveston, Texas who named the drink for singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee (“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”); and to Dallas socialite Margarita Sames, who made the drink for a house full of guests that included Tommy Hilton (hotel chain baron and unfortunate relative of Paris), who was so impressed he added the drink to the hotel’s bar menu.

MargaritaOthers insist the margarita is simply another version of a popular American drink at that time named the Daisy, and tequila was substituted for brandy because Prohibition drove people across the Mexican border for their alcohol (and pinata) fix. Indeed, “margarita” is the Spanish word for “daisy” (aha!) so this story is probably the most likely.

Really, who cares who came up with it first? The important thing is, somebody did. And that’s good enough for me. Margaritas were the first mixed drink I really got into, and are still the best part of any Mexican dining experience. I always judge a Mexican restaurant based on the attention they give to their margarita; invariably, the places with the best food always serve the best margaritas, too. I’ve had a lot of really good margaritas over the years; oddly enough, one of the best is available at Chili’s, and made with Presidente brandy in addition to the other usual ingredients. I was able to recreate this recipe at home, and now churn out a really good margarita whenever the occasion calls for it.

This being Friday, however, Tara and I weren’t sitting around the house, so we met up at a Mexican restaurant called Catedral Tapatia for margaritas. And dinner, of course! They were big…and tasted great, the perfect celebration to mark the end of another work week!

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52/365: National Sticky Bun Day

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Midwest Mark

February 21st is National Sticky Bun Day. I’d always assumed sticky buns and cinnamon rolls were the same thing, but Tara informed me that they are actually different. Both are decadent, both contain cinnamon, and both are pastries made with leavened dough that is topped with sticky, sweet icing. But the similarities end there.

I think. Sticky buns usually include nuts. But otherwise…well, I don’t see much difference myself. Let’s ask Tara!

Cinnamon rolls have a mixture of butter, cinnamon, and sugar spread onto dough that is then rolled up and cut into sections.  It’s topped with cream cheese frosting or icing.

Sticky buns are like cinnamon rolls, except they are topped with a caramel sauce and pecans.  When I was a baker at JB’s Restaurant in Idaho Falls (holy crap…was that really almost 20 years ago?!?!?) we would use a small round pan, pour in the caramel sauce, add pecans, and then place a section of the cinnamon roll on top.  After rising it would be baked and then while still warm, turned out on a plate.

Yum! Sounds delicious, babe. Thanks for the clarification.

Sticky buns originated in Germany, where they were called “schnecken” (German for “snails”). Luckily, this referred to their shape, rather than their flavor or ingredient list. The only country that can get away with actually cooking snails is France, dammit! German settlers immigrating to the United States in the 17th century brought schnecken along with them, and when they settled in and around Germantown, Pennsylvania (homesick much?), sticky buns became a popular local treat.

At Camp Walden, an all-girl’s summer camp in Maine, a longstanding tradition involving schnecken continues to this day. It is served every Sunday morning for breakfast, along with eggs, oatmeal, cereal, and yogurt. The Girl Scouts have their cookies, and Waldenites (as they refer to themselves) have their sticky buns. I’m not sure what Boy Scouts have, other than outdated moral principles.

Ooh, slam.

Tara picked us up a sticky bun from Shari’s last night, which we shared this morning for breakfast before work. It was sweet and decadent, and included a topping of pralines, which – according to my fountain-of-knowledge fiance – are caramelized pecans. Hmm. I had no idea! All I know is, the sticky bun was deliciously satisfying.

Schnecken

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51/365: National Cherry Pie Day

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Today’s food holiday warrants a big celebration: it’s National Cherry Pie Day! In case that reference is a little too subtle (or a little too 1990) for you, here’s what I’m talking about.

Warrant takes “innuendo” to a whole new level there! But they are singing about cherry pie, so it was only appropriate to share.

The fact that National Cherry Pie Day is celebrated in February – and within days of President’s Day – can’t be a coincidence. After all, George Washington will forever be associated with cherries thanks to his famous “I cannot tell a lie; I chopped down the cherry tree” admission of guilt. Even though cherry pies are a quintessentially American dessert, credit for their invention actually goes to Queen Elizabeth I of England, whom it is believed not only came up with the idea for the pie but allegedly baked it herself in the royal kitchen back in the 16th century. In fact, the girl in Warrant’s video is modeled after Her Highness. Pies (originally spelled “pyes”) have been around a lot longer than that, but were usually made with meat. During the Medieval period, whole birds were typically baked into pies and their feet were left dangling out of the crust, to be used as handles. You might think that sounds disgusting, but I say it’s handy and convenient! Fruit pies (or pasties) were developed right around the time of the Queen’s reign. When pies came to North America, colonists added sugar and spices to the crusts to make them edible; prior to this, crusts were called “coffyns,” oddly appropriate considering they once contained whole dead birds inside, and were virtually inedible. Thankfully, cherries are a whole lot more palatable than dead foul, which probably explains why cherry pie is such a popular dessert. It was, in fact, a favorite of Kyle MacLachlan’s character, Dale Cooper, on Twin Peaks, who enjoyed his pie with a cup of coffee.

Hey, it's got natural AND artificial flavors!

Hey, it’s got natural AND artificial flavors!

Perhaps that was the inspiration for our celebration this morning. Or maybe we were just feeling lazy. There are other pie holidays to celebrate this year, and I promise at some point we’ll make a homemade one – when the ingredients are in season (i.e. strawberry rhubarb pie in June). But today, we shared one of those cheap prepackaged cherry pies that didn’t even have the decency to be Hostess, for crying out loud! But hey, it still counts. And, much like Agent Cooper, we had ours with coffee.

Thank you, Queen Elizabeth I.

Thank you, Queen Elizabeth I.

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50/365: National Chocolate Mint Day

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Today we celebrate two great tastes that taste great together: chocolate and mint. It’s National Chocolate Mint Day!

Granted, it seems like we just celebrated this holiday last week with Peppermint Patties. But there are enough combinations of chocolate and mint that we could eat (or drink) something different every day for a couple of weeks. Not that we’d want to do that, of course.

Chocolate pairs well with many different foods. Classic pairings include chocolate and red wine, chocolate and strawberries, chocolate and orange, and chocolate and muenster cheese. Chocolate and mint are no exception, either. Mint is derived from the Latin word mentha, which in turn comes from the Greek word minthe. In Greek mythology, Minthe was a female spirit…okay, she was a nymph…who tried to seduce Hades with her feminine wiles and awesome cleavage, but Queen Persephone stepped in and turned Minthe into a mint plant. Boy, when they say there’s no such thing as a woman scorned, they mean it!

Mint is classified as an herb and belongs to the same family as basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, and catnip. It grows vigorously when planted, and can take over an entire garden. I know this firsthand: I once planted a single mint plant in the backyard, and before long every time I cut the grass it smelled like a Junior Mints factory had exploded. Good stuff, but man, be careful or it’ll get out of control, much like bamboo and the ridiculous claims over at Fox News.

We could have gone in a dozen different directions with today’s challenge, but since it’s Girl Scout cookie season, we decided to go with Thin Mint cookies. A timeless classic, if you will (and straight out of the freezer, ’cause that’s how we roll). Yum!

Thin Mints

Thin Mint cookies are in season, so we indulged!

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49/365: National Drink Wine Day*

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Midwest Mark

I don’t mean to whine over today’s food holiday. Well, actually, I do. Today is National Drink Wine Day! It’s also National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day, but holy crap, that sounds like a lot of work. We were much more eager to just sit back and sip some vino, so that’s precisely what we did!

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes, and has been a popular drink throughout the ages, dating back as far as 6000 B.C. A few years ago, archaeologists found wine residue inside 8,000 year old ceramic storage jars in Georgia (the country, not the state), making Russians the world’s first winos! It was very popular in ancient Greece and Rome; both countries honored gods of wine (Dionysus for the Greeks, Bacchus for the Romans). Catholics associate it with religion, as well; according to the Bible, Jesus famously turned water into wine, which you’ve gotta admit is a pretty nifty parlor trick, ranking right up there with the parting of the Red Sea. Take that, Moses! Ancient bottles from Christ’s private cellar are listed at upwards of $1000 on eBay. Eventually wine made its way to Asia and spread throughout Europe. Thomas Jefferson became a big wine aficionado after serving as ambassador to France, and attempted to plant vineyards in his home state of Virginia. The French grapes were just as snobby as their home country, and refused to grow in the Virginian soil. Jimmy Carter was more successful; to this day his family produces and bottles their own wine in Georgia (the state, not the country), perhaps in an effort to distance themselves from the whole Billy Beer fiasco.

My parents have loved wine since the 1970s, but it took me a lot longer to develop an appreciation for it. It’s really only happened within the past seven years or so. Nowadays, I enjoy it on occasion. I’m partial to white wines, especially sauvignon blancs from the Marlboro region of New Zealand, though sometimes red, red wine makes me feel so fine and keeps me rocking all of the time, too. This evening Tara and I enjoyed a German Riesling from Trader Joe’s.

Here’s a little music to get you in the mood.

Cheers!

Drink Wine Day

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48/365: National Cabbage Day*

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Happy February 17th! There are three holidays on the ol’ food calendar today: National Indian Pudding Day, National Cafe Au Lait Day, and National Cabbage Day. When given an option we’re likely to avoid a dessert, since there are so many. And drinking coffee is too easy. So, we opted today to celebrate National Cabbage Day.

Do you know where cabbage grows? In a cabbage patch, dolls and guys.

(See what I did there?)

Wild cabbage existed long before creepy looking dolls, first appearing in England. It was cultivated and domesticated around 1000 B.C. and spread throughout Europe, where it grew very well in the cool northern climate. Greeks and Romans believed cabbage had medicinal properties, and could help those suffering from gout, headaches, and poisonous mushroom ingestion. Dutch sailors went so far as using sauerkraut to prevent scurvy. By the 17th century it became a food staple in many countries, including Germany and Russia, and is in fact considered Russia’s National Food (a fact which surprises me…I’d have guessed beets). Cabbage is considered a good cash crop due to its short growing season (three months). It can be used in many different ways: from eaten raw to steamed, pickled, sauteed, stewed, and braised. But the reward for Oddest Use Of Cabbage Ever goes to baseball legend Babe Ruth, who wore a cabbage leaf beneath his cap during games in order to keep his head cool. He would switch it out for a new leaf every two innings. I’m not sure what he did with the old leaf, but I gotta admit it wouldn’t totally surprise me if he just ate it.

Cabbage is closely related to broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel’s sprouts, and my aunt Nancy. Interestingly, I despise cauliflower and Brussel’s sprouts, but am quite fond of broccoli and cabbage. (And my aunt Nancy, too).

Given the variety of preparation methods, we could have gone in a dozen different directions for this challenge. In the end, Tara made fish tacos topped with a mixture of onions, Anaheim chilies, and strips of raw cabbage. The crunchiness of the cabbage perfectly complemented the soft chewiness of the fish and the kicked-up tartar sauce. It was delicious, and the cabbage was a perfect accompaniment.

Cabbage on fish taco

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47/365: National Almond Day

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Some of these food holidays are downright nutty. Take, for instance, today: it’s National Almond Day!

Actually, I should strike that joke from the blog, because it turns out almonds aren’t true nuts at all – they are actually a fruit, more closely related to cherries and plums than to cashews or walnuts. The almond “nut” is the seed of the green, fleshy fruit. I guess the folks at Almond Joy never got the memo; their candy bar slogan – “Almond Joy’s got nuts, Mounds don’t” – is just plain wrong (not to mention grammatically clunky to begin with). In truth, Almond Joy’s got fruit, Mounds don’t.

Almonds are native to the Middle East, where they grew like weeds in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea, and were one of the first trees domesticated by man. Most ancient civilizations relied on almonds as a food source; they date back to 4000 B.C. They are mentioned numerous times in the Bible, where they were revered as symbols of divine approval and hope. The Book of Genesis calls almonds “among the best of fruits,” and almond branches were a symbol of the virgin birth of Jesus. In fact, many paintings depict almonds circling the baby Jesus (though it could be that the artists had merely worked up hearty appetites while slapping oil on canvas). King Tut was buried with several handfuls of almonds when he died, in order to nourish him on his journey to the afterlife. I’d have preferred a pizza myself, but maybe all their Round Tables were closed for the night.

Cultivated almonds are delicious and nutritious, but wild almonds are another story. Their kernels contain prussic acid, a fancy name for cyanide, and are deadly if eaten raw. Domesticated almonds are safe due to a genetic mutation that eliminated the toxic substance.Today, nearly 80% of all almonds in the world are grown in California. Earlier attempts to grow the fruit in southern states were unsuccessful due to killing frosts and high humidity, but the Golden State’s climate proved to be ideal for these little suckers.

We could have just eaten a handful of almonds to celebrate today’s holiday, but it’s the weekend and we wanted to get creative, so we decided on a chicken teriyaki stir-fry topped with slivered almonds. It was a delicious combination!

Stir-fry with slivered almonds

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46/365: National Gumdrop Day

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Oh, good. Just in case anybody’s sweet tooth wasn’t satisfied with all that chocolate yesterday, today we get to celebrate National Gumdrop Day.

Gumdrops were supposedly invented by a man named Percy Trusdale in 1801, but there is no information on this mystery man. This is going to be a fun post, I can tell already! I’m sure Percy was an upstanding citizen, doing whatever he did wherever he lived for however long he lived and with whomever he lived.

Gumdrops are brightly colored, sugar laden treats that have been popular for at least 200 years. They are usually fruit flavored (except the ones sold on the Hogwarts Express, which may taste like grass, boogers, dirt, or snot). References to the sweet treat abound in pop culture: the board game Candy Land pays homage by featuring a place called Gumdrop Mountain, Buddy the Elf had to pass through a sea of swirly twirly gumdrops (after conquering the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest) on his way to New York City in Elf, and BJ Thomas had a hit song in the ’70s called “Gumdrops Keep Falling On My Head.”

The most popular brand of gumdrops in America is DOTS. They were launched in 1945, and acquired by Tootsie Roll in 1972. Gumdrops have never really excited me. What can I say about a candy that is more a decorative feature of gingerbread houses than something you’d actually want to eat?  Give me sour Zotz any ol’ day!

To celebrate today’s holiday, Tara and I simply ate a few DOTS gumdrops. They were chewy and fruity and…well, not all that great. But the orange ones were the best.

Gumdrops

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45/365: National Cream-Filled Chocolate Day

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Once in awhile these food holidays make perfect sense, and today is one of those occasions: it’s Valentine’s Day, and also, National Cream-Filled Chocolate Day. The two go together like peas and carrots, as Forrest Gump would say. (Forrest was also known to enjoy a box of chocolates every now and then, making the analogy especially appropriate).

Today’s history lesson is a little different. You’ll get the story behind Valentine’s Day, and how chocolate came to be associated with it.

There were no fewer than three Catholic saints named Valentine, making that name the “John Smith” of ancient times, I suppose. Most people believe the holiday honors the saint who defied Roman emperor Claudius II’s orders outlawing marriage for single men, who were forced into the army instead. Valentine performed the marriages in secret and, when caught, was sentenced to death. While languishing in prison he fell for the jailor’s daughter, and before his execution sent the girl a letter which he signed “from, your Valentine” – a phrase that has been around ever since. Because of his sympathy toward those in love, and his own romantic gestures, St. Valentine was given his own holiday, one that has come to symbolize love. By the 15th century, lovers were presenting gifts to one another to mark the occasion; these included flowers, sweets, and greeting cards. Why chocolate? Because it has long been a symbol of love thanks to its, ahem, “mood-enhancing” properties (read: it’s an aphrodisiac, yo). Even the Aztecs would give cocoa as offerings to their gods, as a sign of appreciation. Appreciation for not smiting them with bolts of lightning, I guess? Anyhoo, the tradition persists to this day. More than 36 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate are sold on Valentine’s Day, and it’s a good bet that many of those chocolates are filled with cream!

I have often said that if anything trips us up during this challenge, it won’t be something tricky like Peking Duck or Chocolate Souffle. It’ll be something deceptively simple, like cream-filled chocolates. Sure enough, I found myself digging frantically through nearly-empty shelves of Target today on my lunch, searching for a box of chocolates. We had all kinds of chocolate in the house, but none of it contained cream in the middle, and truffles don’t really count. Fortunately, I happened upon one overlooked box of Russell Stover – the last one in the entire store. Whew! I had a piece of coconut cream, and Tara indulged in butter cream. Good stuff. Happy V-Day!

Russell Stover to the rescue!

Russell Stover to the rescue!

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44/365: National Tortellini Day

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Midwest Mark

When it comes to stuffed pasta, tortellini ranks right up there in my top three! Right behind ravioli, but ahead of manicotti. Then again, there are really only those three varieties of stuffed pasta  in the first place. Technicalities aside, Happy National Tortellini Day!

Tortellini has a sensual history; it is rumored to be the creation of a Peeping Tom. Lucrezia Borgia, the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI, was a stunning beauty with long blonde hair, hazel eyes, and an ample bosom. One night she checked into an inn in Modena, Italy. The host was so entranced by her beauty that he spied on her through the keyhole to her room, where he caught a glimpse of her navel. Captivated by the sight, he created a pasta shaped like her belly button that very night, and to this day tortellini is also known as umbellico (“belly button”). No word on whether the pervert served the dish with two ripe cantaloupes. Others say it was the goddess Venus’s navel that inspired the dish. An alternate theory claims that tortellini represent turtles, which decorated many of the buildings in 17th-century Modena. The Bolognese, on the other hand, say these  stories are bunk, and that tortellini originated in their fair burg. These guys are so hardcore about the pasta, they created the Learned Order of Tortellini, a secret group based in Bologna that is dedicated to the preservation of the pasta. During their gatherings members wear red and gold hats shaped like tortellini and ribbon necklaces adorned with a gold tortellini. Members do not speak a word until after finishing a meal of tortellini in broth. (I know I tend to joke around a lot on this blog, but I am not making this shit up, I swear!). And we poke fun at Green Bay Packers fans for wearing cheese-shaped hats on their heads…

Regardless of where it came from and what it represents, tortellini are delicious! Tara and I were looking forward to today’s challenge. And to be honest, there wasn’t anything “challenging” about it, thanks to a package of refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini and a jar of pasta sauce.

Tortellini

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