Poutine is and excellent Canadian dish started from humble beginnings.
Poutine
Cuisine of the Philippines
Philippine food comes from a diverse trading culture.
Simple Louisiana Remoulade Sauce
Rémoulade sauce is a creole recipe coming from French origins. In 17th century France, the name derived from remolas. This was from the Northern dialect of Picardy meaning horseradish. Picardy, part of Hauts-de-France, is a historical region of northern France. It stretches north from the suburbs of Paris and vineyards of Champagne to the …
Cheddar Cheese
By Tatiana Pietrzak Origins Cheddar cheese is the second most popular cheese in the US, behind Mozzarella. Originally it came from the town of Cheddar in Somerset County in South West England. Cheesemakers made this cheese since at least the 12th century. From the Cantel region of France, Romans may have brought this recipe to …
Lasagna
Lasagna has an unknown origin. It has also gone through many transformations.
Camembert de Normandie
By Tatiana Pietrzak True Camembert is a small soft-rind bloomy cheese made in the northern region of France called Normandy. The region boarders on the English Channel (French: La Manche). Its terrain is lush and green. A good place to raise grass-fed cows. Cows here are prodigious grazers and producers of milk. Traditional practices for …
French Onion Soup
By Tatiana Pietrzak Onions in ancient times, as well as now, were a cheap, plentiful and easy to grow vegetable. So, no wonder why it was food for poor people. Onion soups were popular at least as far back as Roman times. Some say it is a dish over 8,000 years old. Food culturists also …
Raclette Cheese
By Tatiana Pietrzak Raclette is an indigenous Swiss dish, but also the name of a cheese. The cheese Raclette is melted, and traditionally potatoes and pickles were used to dip into it and scrape it from the bottom of the pot. Swiss shepherds would bring the cheap, hardy cheese along with potatoes up to the …
Manchego Cheese
Manchego cheese is Spain's most popular cheese. It is mentioned in the novel Don Quixote by Cervantes.
Fondue
By Tatiana Pietrzak Cooking with cheese and wine. This is the foundation of Fondue. First mentioned around 800 – 725 BC, cooking cheese with wine started with goat cheese, wine, and flour. Homer’s Iliad was the first source to mention this. Greeks called it “kykeon”, a common drink among peasants or something used to break …
Gruyère Cheese
By Tatiana Pietrzak Gruyère (grew-YAIR) cheese is considered a Swiss product although it was formed a thousand years ago during Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire (800-1806 AD). The empire included areas now known as France, Switzerland, and parts of Germany. At the time, the forests where called gruyères. Lumberjacks sold wood to cheesemakers who made Comté …
Kung Pao Chicken
By Tatiana Pietrzak Traditional Kung Pao Chicken uses Sichuan peppercorns. This gives off a “ma” sensation or numbing effect on the tongue and mouth. This was not used in the American version of Kung Pao Chicken because Sichuan peppercorns were banned by the US Food and Drug Administration until 2005. The peppercorns could carry citrus …
Humboldt Fog Cheese
By Tatiana Pietrzak A remarkable goat cheese that won first place from the American Cheese Society is Humboldt Fog, produced by Cypress Grove. The center of the cheese feels like a cloud is melting in your mouth. It echoes the place where it is made – the northwest coast of California in Humboldt County, a …
Morbier Cheese
By Tatiana Pietrzak When shopping for the perfect Morbier cheese watch out for labels with “Fabriqué en Poitou” or “Fabriqué en Auvergne.” These are bland and not true Morbiers. True morbier is from Franche-Conté, Jura, or Doubs. It is a semi-soft cheese labeled as “au lait cru,” meaning raw milk (as opposed to pasteurized.) The …
Brisket
By Tatiana Pietrzak When most Americans hear the word brisket, they immediately think of Texan smoked meat with barbeque sauce, “The National Dish of Texas.” And they wouldn’t be far from wrong. Brisket is a part of Southern history. However, it actually originated as Jewish cuisine. The Ashkenazi Jewish community started cooking brisket in Central …
Coq au Vin
By Tatiana Pietrzak Coq au Vin is commonly known as chicken in wine. However, coq actually means rooster. Therefore, Poulet au Vin would be more accurate to what is popularly known today. The term coq implies to many that Coq au Vin is a peasant dish in origin due to the fact that rooster meat …
Sichuan Pork in Chili Broth
One of my all-time favorite dishes is Shui Zhu Rou Pian (shway joo row pyan – this is my own Romanization! Pinyin, the standardized Romanization for Chinese, is based on the Russian pronunciation of words because Russia and China were so close politically.) Literally Shui Zhu Rou Pian means water boiled meat slices, also known …
Aparajita Flower Tea
By Tatiana Pietrzak The deep blue indigo flower, Aparajita, looks like female genitalia. This is why German botanist explorer Johann Philipp Breyre gave it the Latin genus name Clitoria (as in clitoris). He found it in its original terrain on Ternate Island, East Indonesia in the 1800s, although traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines had been …
Bibimbap
By Tatiana Pietrzak Bibimbap is a traditional ethnic dish of Korea that has now made itself known around the world. In fact, it has made its way into military combat rations and space food. Korean Air began serving it in the 1990’s and it has become one of their most desired dishes, Bibim means mixed …
Tlalpeño
By Tatiana Pietrzak One of the most famous soups in Mexico is Caldo Tlalpeño. It is one of my favorites too and I order it at Los Potrillos, Santa Fe, NM every time I go there. It is made up of chicken, chickpeas, various vegetables (carrots, zucchini, chayote squash, onions, garlic or tomatoes) and chicken …
Pu erh Tea
By Tatiana Pietrzak Pu erh tea originated in Yunnan province in the southwest region of China some 4700 years ago. This is the region where it is thought that tea originated. Yunan borders on the countries of Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). The area is known to be tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. Thousands …
Cinnamon and Cassia
Cinnamon (Cinnamomon verum), considered true cinnamon, is one of the oldest spices recorded in history. Cassia (Cinnamomon cassia) is a cheaper and similar tasting spice but does not have the same health benefits as cinnamon. In fact, in large doses it can cause liver cancer and disfunctions. Cassia is a little more pungent and so …
Chili Rellenos
Chili Rellenos, literally “stuffed chili”, is a fusion between Mexican and Spanish cooking. The origin is from Puebla, Mexico and the chili most commonly used for the dish is Poblano, derived from the city’s name. Other peppers that are now used are Anaheim, pasilla, and jalapeno. It can basically be described as a Spanish “hot …
Oolong Tea
What is Oolong tea? The name is derived from Chinese for “black dragon.” It is a tea that comes from the plant Camellia sinensis as do other green and black teas. The difference is in how Oolong teas are processed. They are oxidized more than green teas but less than black teas. Then they are …
Salt
Salt has a long and interesting history. The word salary, origin Latin salarium, is derived from salt because it was used as a form of trade and currency. “Not worth his salt” comes from the idea that Greek slave traders used salt to barter for slaves. Ethiopians still use salt as money among the nomads. …
Gorgonzola
Gorgonzola is one of the world's most popular cheeses. It is made in Lombardy, Italy where the cows trek long distances to various Alpine and lowland pastures.