Have you ever been to a restaurant and had so much that you couldn't finish your meal ?
Recently that happened to me, I asked to take the rest of the food home in a doggie bag. It was Chinese food and funny enough it wasn't a doggie bag but a plastic container that I took my food home in.
This made me think, how and where did this start?
Most people say the doggie bag started around World War II. People wanting to take home their steak bones for the dog. Restaurants in America started to accommodate the customer by doing so.
One story I read from 1949 was a restaurant named "Dan Stampler's Steak Joint" in Greenwich Ave, New York.
It is believed the restaurant always served large meals which customers often could not finish.
Mr Stampler knew most of his customers would be too embarrassed to ask for doggie bags, so he encouraged them to take the bone home for the dog.
He was clever and had a doggie bag created for his restaurant. He designed a bag with an image of a Scottish terrier and called it a "Doggie Bag". A company in Chicago manufactured them for him. The bags were grease proof, so no other container was needed.
The company manufacturing the bags was the Bagcraft Corporation of Chicago. It is said Albert Meister and Norman Ressner company partners came up with the idea and put them into general distribution with restaurants. The co founders wife, Jane Meister wrote a poem for the doggie bag, which has been reprinted over 150 million times.
The poem:
Oh where, oh where have your leftovers gone?
Oh where, oh where can they be?
If you've had all you can possibly eat
Please bring home the rest to me!
So next time you are at a restaurant and take home a doggie bag, remember this story.
Something delicious you can have with your steak is my sauce recipe. I don't think you'll need a doggie bag for my food!
Shallot and Red Wine Gravy
Ingredients
250grams of shallots, sliced thinly
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
A sprig of rosemary
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
400 mls of red wine
400 mls of beef stock
1 tablespoon of butter
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Method
In a medium saucepan on a low heat, place the shallots and oil, cook for about 3 minutes stirring until light brown. Season with a little salt and pepper, then add garlic and rosemary. Cook for a further couple of minutes always stirring to stop the shallots from burning.
Pour the vinegar in and cook until reduced to a syrup, then pour in the red wine and cook until reduced by two thirds.
Lastly, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until reduced by two thirds. Remove the rosemary sprig. Then place in the butter and whisk.
This is a rich sauce and delicious with steak. I place it in a gravy jug so people can add how much they would like. Serve with steamed vegetables and Potato Noisettes.
Enjoy!!!
Food is a journey and this is one I would love to share with you.
I heard this particular story a few times in my later life from a very special person, my father. Most of his stories were told at the kitchen table over a cup of tea.
My father was the backbone of my family. He supported us in every decision we made, whether it was right or wrong, he knew it would be a learning curve for us. If we fell, he was always there to help us back on our feet and move forward.
He has passed now and I feel it fitting to share one of his stories with you.
It was World War 2 and most men in Australia had joined the armed services to fight and protect our country.
My father was average height, with dark slightly curly hair and solid build. He joined the Australian Army and became a Signalman. His job as signalman was to lay the lines for communications.
The story began when he was in an Australian Army camp in Borneo. He did not tell me how long they had been there, my guess is it wasn't very long.
Borneo is a island to the north of Australia.
One morning, the Sargent in charge told him he would have to lay a cable to a camp not far away. I never asked how far it was because I never wanted to interrupt him. He did say he packed enough rations in his kit for a couple of days.
He set out with his rifle, kit, the line to lay and map. The weather was hot and humid. As he made his way, he did not go through the jungle but followed the clearing along side it.
At times he heard noises and wondered if it was Japanese soldiers. He kept moving and made his way to the destination unscathed.
His destination was an American Camp. The officer in charge told him that they were grateful to have the communication line laid. My father intended to head back to his camp, but the American officer wouldn't have it. "You must be tired, sit down and I will have lunch brought to us."
The officer outranked my father, but he wanted to have lunch and this was overlooked.
Never one to turn down a meal, my father took him up on the offer and had lunch. It was turkey with trimmings. Not sure what the trimmings were!
While eating, my father commented how nice it was to have something other than bully beef. The officer could not believe what he was hearing, "Did you say beef?" The description of bully beef is it came in a can like spam, but they say it was like a salted- beef cured product more like corned beef.
I am not sure if it was the first trade negotiations my father made, but one was made!
The Americans were tired of turkey and the Australians tired of bully beef. An agreement was settled and somehow a couple of cartons of bully beef was swapped for a couple cartons of turkey.
On his return to the Australian camp he visited the the cooks tent and told them of his wonderful news. Yes, the cook was happy to swap.
They Australian's ate the turkey and loved it.......Never heard how the Americans liked the bully beef!
I always told him to write his stories for people to read. Sadly, my father never did. I wish he had, there were so many to tell.
I will share another with you soon.
This is not beef or turkey, but a delicious lamb dish.
Braised lamb with red wine and prunes
Ingredients
1 Kilo or 2.2lbs of lamb shoulder
Half a cup of plain flour
1 cup of pitted prunes
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 chopped onion
A quarter of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of minced ginger
1 and half cups of red wine
Half a cup of beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Method
Cut lamb into cubes and coat with flour. In a large fry pan on low heat put in half olive oil and cubed lamb. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, stirring until meat browns. Remove from stove, take out lamb and put to one side.
Return fry pan to stove and put in remaining olive oil, onions, garlic, prunes, ginger and cinnamon. Stir until well combined for a few minutes. Add wine, stock, lamb and simmer on a low heat for about 2 hours until tender. You can add water if the gravy starts to dry out.
I like to serve with mashed potato and steamed green beans.
Enjoy!
Paris is well known for being the city of romance. I would like to share a story with you that has a bit of history with a modern twist!
There is a pedestrian bridge called the Pont des Arts, or Passerelle des Arts, which crosses the River Seine.
It is said that in 1802 Napoleon had a nine-arch metallic bridge constructed for pedestrians. It is believed to be the first metal bridge in Paris. The engineers were Louis-Alexandre de Cessart and Jacques Dillon.
On 17th March 1975, the French Ministry of Culture listed the bridge as a national historic monument.
In 1976, the Inspector of Bridges and Causeways reported several deficiencies on the bridge. He noted damage caused by two aerial bombardments sustained in World War 1 and World War 2, as well as multiple boat collisions over the years. He closed the bridge in 1977 and in 1979, a barge rammed into it causing a 60 meter collapse.
The present bridge was completed in 1984 and was meant to be identical of Louis Arretche. The only difference was they reduced the number of arches from nine to seven.This would allow the look of the old bridge to be preserved while realigning the new structure with the Pont Neuf. On the 27th June 1984, the newly constructed bridge was inaugurated by Jacques Chirac, then Mayor of Paris.
The modern twist is something for the romantics. Since 2008 it is believed the romance between not only the people of Paris but the world and this bridge took a different turn.
It started when a tourist with a padlock wrote the initials, or name, of their loved one on the lock and then placed it on the the side of the bridge, locked it and tossed the key into the Seine. It is meant to represent their love for each other.
Over the years people came from every part of the world to pledge a love lock. Unfortunately the locks grew and grew until the bridge could not stand the weight. Part of the grate came away with all the locks. On the 1st June 2015 the locks had to be removed as they thought it would be a danger. They say over a million locks were removed weighing 45 tons!
Caramelized Onion and Bacon Tart
Ingredients
Pastry
One and a third cups of plain flour
125grams of cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of iced water
pinch of salt
Filling
4 slices of bacon cut into half inch pieces
4 small onions peeled and thickly sliced
One teaspoon of dried thyme
Salt & Pepper
1 cup of ricotta
1 egg yolk
Half a cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Method
Pastry
Put the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk egg and water in a bowl until combined. Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour in the food processor until the mixture forms a ball.
Turn pastry out on to a work surface and gently knead it. Form a disc shape for a round tart or log shape for a rectangular tart. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for two hours.
After two hours take pastry out of fridge and roll out. Make sure your tart tin is greased and lightly floured.
Place the rolled pastry into the tin and gently press into shape, with a fork prick the pastry on the base. Place baking paper over the pastry and then top with dry beans. This stops the pastry from rising too high.
Place in a moderate oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Take out of oven and remove paper and beans. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes until lightly golden.
Take out of oven and put to one side to cool while you make filling.
Filling
Cook the bacon in a fry pan on a medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp around the edges. Don't over cook the bacon as it will need further cooking later. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
Place the onions to the pan and cook over medium heat until they start to golden brown, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat to low, add half the thyme and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are meltingly soft and deep golden brown, about 20 minutes.
In a bowl combine ricotta and egg yolk, a quarter of a teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste, the remaining thyme and a quarter of a cup of the Parmigiano. Make sure it is stirred well. Spread the ricotta mixture over the pastry evenly, then arrange the onion mixture over the top of that. Sprinkle the remaining quarter of cup of Parmigiano and the bacon over the top.
Place back in the oven and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, until the bacon is crispy and the ricotta filling is puffed and set.
Serve at room temperature with a fresh garden salad on the side
Enjoy!
Everyday there is a wedding somewhere in the world. It can be a simple ceremony to an elaborate affair. To celebrate the occasion there is always a cake.
Wedding cakes
have changed over the years. My mother was very talented and went to
night school to learn the fine art of cake decorating. This is what she did for fun or as a hobby. Often her talents
were called upon to make a beautiful cake for a wedding, engagement or 21st birthday. The cakes she made were a fruit cake base and then iced with a heavy icing which she called
plastic icing. Don't panic, it wasn't plastic but a heavy fondant icing. Most were decorated with beautiful lace work made from lighter icing that she piped.
Recently, a friend of mine was getting married and she asked me to go with her to look at cakes. We tasted many flavours and ate that much cake we felt sick! Finally, a decision on the style and flavour of cake was made. The wedding was beautiful and the cake enjoyed by all.
Have you ever wondered where wedding cakes originated? After some research, I found different stories from Ancient Rome, Medieval England and France. One thing is common with all the stories, wedding cakes were made for good luck and prosperity for the bride and groom. Over the centuries wedding cakes were decorated with little pillars between the layers, wedding rings to the bride and groom on top. One thing, no matter how you decorate your cake there will always be someone to eat it!
This recipe is not ideal for a wedding cake, but is certainly delicious.
Lumberjack Cake
Ingredients
2 apples peeled, cored and finely grated
1 cup of dates seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 cup of boiling water
125grams of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of castor sugar
1 egg
One and a half cups of plain flour
Coconut Topping
60 grams of butter
Half a cup of brown sugar
Half a cup of milk
Two thirds of a cup of shredded coconut
Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees, a moderate oven. Grease and line a square cake tin.
Combine apple, dates and soda in a large bowl cover with hot water, stir then cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 minutes.
In another bowl put butter, vanilla, sugar, egg and beat till light and fluffy. Take this mixture and add to apple mixture.
Gradually add flour and stir gently.
Pour mixture into pan and bake for 50 minutes.
To Make Topping
Place coconut, milk, butter and sugar into a saucepan and place on a low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and butter melted.
Take cake from the oven and place on table or bench and pour the coconut mixture over the cake and spread evenly with a metal spatula.
Place cake back in the oven and bake a further 15 minutes, or until coconut mix is golden brown. Stand and cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
This is delicious if served with a little whipped cream.
Enjoy!
In the golfing world there is one event that stands out.
"The Masters" held annually in April at Augusta, Georgia, USA.
The event itself has grown over the years. Today in 2015 the purse (the prize money shared) is about $9 million dollars.
It is held over four days, after the second day they have a cut. The players with better scores go forth and play for the trophy prize. The prize is not only the money and a trophy on which their name is placed, but also a green jacket. The prestigious jacket is presented by the previous year's winner. I feel the jacket is a more treasured award than the money for some players.
The course itself is perfectly manicured with pine trees, dogwood trees, magnolias, flowering azaleas and other beautiful plants. There are old brick bridges and water features in which players balls sometimes end up. The holes from one to eighteen are all named after the different flora and fauna!
The idea for the Augusta National originated with Bobby Jones (a golf professional), who wanted to build a golf course after his retirement from the game. He sought advice from Clifford Roberts, who later became the chairman of the club.
They came across a piece of land in Augusta, Georgia, which was a plantation in the early 19th century and a plant nursery since 1857. Jones hired Alister MacKenzie to help design the course and work began in 1932. The course was formally opened in 1933. Unfortunately, MacKenzie died before the first tournament was played.
Food is a very important part of this event. Every year they have a Champions Dinner, an annual tradition since 1952, when Ben Hogan suggested and hosted the first dinner.
The idea is simple, winners of the Masters are members of an exclusive club. They get together each year on the Tuesday night of tournament week to welcome the previous year's winner to the club. That club is known as 'The Masters Club', unofficially the previous year's winner gets to select the menu and also pays for producing that menu.
Over the years, the dinner has ranged from cheeseburgers to sushi to haggis. The former champions aren't required to eat what the defending champion selects. They can order from the Augusta Nationals regular menu (which has steaks, chicken and fish dishes).
There were 11 attendees at the first dinner on April 4th 1952 - 9 were Masters winners, plus honorary members Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts. It is difficult to find information on Champions Dinner menus from the early days of the event.
Now something I am sure the golfers would like to eat, my Blue Cheese Burgers!
Bernadette's Blue Cheese Burgers
Ingredients
Burger Mix
1 kilogram of lean beef mince
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
100 grams of blue cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons of fresh chives, chopped
A few dashes of Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of mustard
1 egg
1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs
Olive oil
To Assemble the burgers
6 to 8 Turkish rolls or burger buns
3 sliced tomatoes
2 sliced avocados
A hand full of mixed lettuce leaves
Mayonnaise and or tomato relish
Method
Place all the ingredients into a
bowl, leave the olive oil out. Mix well and divide mixture into equal portions
6 to 8 depending on the size you want.
Put the meat patties on a plate
and place in a fridge for two hours, this allows them to become firm.
Pre heat grilling pan or the
barbeque. Wipe each meat patty with olive oil, so it dose not stick. Cook for
approximately 8 to 10 minutes. They should be slightly pink in centre. Put to
one side.
Cut each burger bun or Turkish
rolls in half. Lightly brush each bun with a little olive oil and place cut
side down on pan or barbeque. Lightly toast.
To assemble burgers. Place bun
or bread on plate and add cooked meat patty. Top with tomato, avocado, lettuce
leaves and lastly place mayonnaise and or relish.
Enjoy!
The other day when I was cooking in the kitchen, I was cutting tomatoes and it made me think. From where did they originate? After further investigation, here are my findings.
Tomatoes are one of the oldest fruits around. Yes, I said fruit, not many people know this.
It is said tomatoes originated from the Andes, in what is now called Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador - where they grew wild. 700AD is when the Incas first cultivated them.
Tomatoes didn't arrive in Europe until the 16th Century and it is not known how. It has been said that they were brought back from Central America by the Spanish Conquistadors. Another legend is that Jesuit priests brought them to Italy from Mexico. Others say Columbus brought the first tomato to Europe.
The first cultivated tomatoes were yellow and cherry-sized, earning them the name, "Golden Apples". They were considered poisonous, but were appreciated for their beauty.
In fact, tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family (Solanaceane), which includes henbane, mandrake and deadly nightshade, all of which are poisonous. Potatoes, peppers and aubergines (egg plant) are also members of this plant family, as is tobacco.
The first known British tomato grower was Patrick Bellow, who successfully reared plants from seeds in 1554.
Legend has it that the first tomato to be eaten in the United States was consumed in a public demonstration by John Gibbon of Salem, Massachusetts in 1830. Despite warnings its poison would turn his blood to acid, he did not fall to the ground frothing at the mouth!
Now to throw a twist about the tomato, in Australia we have another type. It is
called a bush tomato (desert raisin). We learned about this from the aboriginals, it is edible and part of their bush tucker. A small native tomato that grows on a small prickly shrubs, the fruit has a strong flavour and is vitamin C-rich.
There are a number of species which contain significant levels of solanine and are highly poisonous. It is strongly recommended people unfamiliar with the plant do not experiment with the different species, as differentiating between them can be difficult.
I have tasted them. They were like a sun dried tomato, but bitter in taste.
Why not try making your own tomato sauce? Try my recipe, you may be surprised and know fresh ingredients are going into it!
Wash 2kg ripe tomatoes and
look for any that are rotten and discard them. I always use good quality tomatoes.
I can't see any reason to make sauce if it's not the very best.
Chop the tomatoes
and place into a large stainless saucepan or stockpot.
Chop up 500grams of green apples,
cored, peeled and add to the tomatoes.
Chop up 500grams of onions,
peeled and add to the tomatoes and apples.
In a cheesecloth or
muslin place 4 tablespoons of whole cloves, 2 tablespoons of whole allspice, 1 and a
half tablespoons of whole black peppercorns and a teaspoon of fennel seeds. Tie to form a bag with string (butchers twine).
Now, add to the tomato mixture in the pot, 500grams of white sugar, 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 and a quarter teaspoons
of cayenne pepper, 1 and a quarter cups of malt vinegar and drop in the spice bag.
Note: Salt should be preserving salt (no iodine or
anti-caking agent).
Bring to the boil.
Now, cook uncovered for 1 to 1 and a half hours, depending on the
tomatoes used and thickness of the sauce.
Take spice bag out of the pot and at this point I use a stick
blender and whizz up the sauce.
Then push through a sieve.
I sit the sieve over
a jug and then the sauce is ready to pour in hot sterilised jars, using a
funnel so not to drip hot sauce on yourself.
Screw lids on
tightly and leave to cool before labelling and putting in a cool dry cupboard.
Note: I wash jars and lids in hot
soapy water, rinse in very hot water and then place in the oven set to 120
degrees Celsius for half an hour. I put the lids into a heat proof bowl and add
boiling water. Then, I use stainless steel tongs to take the lids from the
water, taking care not to touch the inside of the lids (can contaminate). Place lids on a paper towel to thoroughly dry. Take
care removing jars from the oven.
