If your mom told you to eat your veggies she was right. If you threw them on the floor and went to bed hungry, you were wrong. Vegetables are good for your. Eat them.
Vegetables are full of vitamins and minerals that provide anti-oxidants, inflammation reducers, blood sugar control and many other healthful benefits from eating.
Cruciferous veggies are particularly good in their benefits to help keep cancer at bay. They include Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts and Cabbage.
They can be stir fried, air fried, sauteed, steamed, grilled, made into tempura, eaten raw or thrown in stews and salads. Remember kids, champions and winners eat vegetables. It’s good for your health. Don’t be afraid to eat them.
As a kid in the mid 80’s we visited the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. I remember being told the story of the owners wife creating the wings for her kids. After school her kids would bring friends over to the bar and grill and she needed to feed the group, without going broke, so she came up with this recipe using the chicken wings. This part of the chicken wasn’t a popular thing to eat back then. They were inexpensive and easy to procure in bulk. Her creation became a hit and ‘Buffalo wings’ were born. Upon reading up for this story I came across another version of the story on the Anchor Bar web page.
On March 4th, 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the now famous Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo, NY. Late that evening, a group of Dominic’s friends arrived at the bar with ravenous appetites. Dominic asked his mother, Teressa, to prepare something for his friends to eat.
She cooked chicken wings, a part of the chicken that usually went into the stock pot for soup. Teressa had deep fried the wings and flavored them with a secret sauce. The wings were an instant hit and it didn’t take long for people to flock to the bar to experience this new taste sensation. From that evening on, Buffalo Wings became a regular part of the menu at the Anchor Bar.
In the early 80’s in Buffalo, one could get a large beer, a basket of hot wings and a ticket to the Sabres game at Garcia’s for $20. Ahhh, the good old days.
The delicious phenomenon created in 1964 by Teressa Bellissimo quickly spread across the globe. Many have tried to duplicate Buffalo Wings but Teressa’s closely guarded secret recipe is what gives Frank & Teressa’s the opportunity to claim the “Best Wings in the World.” Congratulations and thank you Teressa and family.
Historical Fact: In 1799, George Washington’s distillery produced nearly 11,000 gallons of whiskey, making it one of the largest distilleries in America. This national desire to create led many other folks to working on perfecting their blends. Maker’s Mark, created by the Samuels family, became one of these new blends.
Maker’s Mark historical distillery.
Irish and Scottish immigrants came to America and began to brew in the US with local ingredients using the methods of their traditional ways.
During the planning phase of the Maker’s Mark recipe, seven potential mash bills were developed by the Samuels family. As there was no time to distill and age each one for tasting, a loaf of bread from each recipe was made and the one with no rye was judged the best tasting. The Samuels’ also received considerable help from Stitzel-Weller owner Pappy Van Winkle, whose distillery produced the wheat made Old Fitzgerald and W. L. Weller bourbons.
The civil war ended, but a Confederate band of rebels still lingered, headed by William Quantrill. 2 of the rebels in Quantrill’s renegade gang were the James brothers, Jesse and Frank. The James brothers were cousins of the Samuels family who started Marker’s Mark. On July 26, 1865 Frank James handed over his gun to Ora Samuels on the porch of the old Samuels distillery. Frank’s pistol is still there.
Maker’s Mark is one of a handful of American-made whiskies. It’s family history of distillers goes back 7 generations. It uses the Scottish spelling style “whisky” rather than the predominant American ‘whiskey’ spelling.
The cover of the Maker’s Mark autobiography is shown below, and is an interesting read.
A family history.
I became familiar with this brand when they donated a bunch of cases for product placement for the making of the film, ‘Climate For Killing’. One of the local girls in the production office and I would make Maker’s and Cokes after work in her room.
The most famous chef in Cuban history is named Nitza Villapol. She was born on November 20, 1923. Nitza was born to Cuban exiles in New York but moved back to Cuba by the time she was 11. She learned to cook by watching her mother, who focused on quick and easy meals. Her mother believed that women should spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. Nitza went on to study nutrition in London but wasn’t a chef.
After reading about Cuba’s very first television station launching in 1948, Nitza wrote a letter to the owner pitching her idea for a cooking show. The owner liked the idea and created a space for Nitza. Her show Cocina Al Minuto ran on television for almost 50 years, airing its last broadcast in ’97. Nitza featured many dishes from around the globe over the years.
Nitza’s cooking show was very popular in Cuba after the fall of the USSR and her cookbooks are now worth a small fortune. There are many versions of her first cookbook and they are priced anywhere from $650 – 750. I saw one book with 315 recipes where the asking price was $2607! It’s not like these books are everywhere either. Currently they are mostly unavailable. Be warned, there are also many fakes. My curiosity about Nitza definitely has been stirred.
Nitza passed to the big kitchen in the sky on October 20, 1998
The other day the Dude of Food discovered he had extra ground turkey in the fridge and wondered what to make. A quick online search brought his eyes to a site where he witnessed this delicious looking photo for a ground turkey pasta recipe and decided to follow up on it. It turns out the alluring photo was a creation from a food blog titled Krolls Korner.
A big thanks goes out to site creator, registered dietitian, nutritionist and chef Tawnie Graham who shares this recipe with us so we can all learn to easily create this spectacular looking and delicious dish in our kitchens at home.
Before ya’ll get started you’ll need the following items.
INGREDIENTS:
16 oz medium shell pasta
1 lb ground turkey
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 large red bell pepper, diced small
6 white mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 large diced white onion
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1.5 tsp Italian seasoning
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2.5 cups beef or chicken broth
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Begin cooking the ground turkey until no longer pink. Add some salt & pepper and when the pink is gone, pull from heat, put in bowl and set aside. I usually cover my set aside foods as they wait their turn in the mix.
Next add oil and sauté garlic, red bell pepper, white mushrooms, white onion, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. (about 5 minutes, stir occasionally)
Whisk in flour until mixed.
Add broth and tomato sauce. When it begins to simmer add cooked ground turkey to the mix. When heated add cooked pasta, heavy cream and parmesan cheese.
Stir and let thicken.
The choice of pasta shape is yours. Slowly add salt to desired taste. Remember you can always add more but it’s tricky to reduce. Some sharp white cheddar cheese might also be a nice addition. Other seasonings that could make a great addition include fennel seed, red pepper chili flakes, dried oregano, fresh basil or even a pinch of cayenne.
In cleaning up this article I’ll finish by saying, this dish was incredible. By following chef Tawnie’s directions, barring a couple minor tweeks of my own, it was easy to create this dish. If remembering correctly, I used beef broth and didn’t add any mushrooms or red bell pepper and it was still delicious. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of this beautiful pasta dish I created before it was eaten. Give this recipe a try and enjoy.
Thank you Tawnie G. It is a strange phenomenon but for some reason, the fact that you have food titles made the Dude of Food want to trust this recipe more.
The other day I saw calamari rings for sale and said to myself, “Dude of Food, you don’t see calamari rings at this market every day, especially on sale, so take a good look” and I did. The rings still were still vibrant, colorful and fresh looking. I had been wanting to make a red sauce anyways so I decided to buy myself some calamari rings to toss them in the sauce.
Once in the kitchen prepared something similar to a semi spicy Arribbiata sauce with chopped tomato, garlic, onion, chili flakes and the usual assortment of spice suspects. In a separate pan I fried the calamari rings in some olive oil and set them on top of the spaghetti and sauce I had prepared. There was no wine in this sauce. The dish was delicious and a photo is below.
So after this creation I went back to see how a dish like this was supposed to be prepared.
I read a couple of recipes and they recommended that I add a little sugar to my dish. Many folks do this to offset the tomato acidity but I never have and probably never will add any sugar to any of my sauces, coffee, tea or anything else I happen to be preparing, as I don’t have a sweet tooth and don’t like sugary things. The photos below are from other recipes I used to compare my mix to. Click on photo to link to their pages.
Other than that sugar difference, my recipe and process were pretty much on point. This is an easy to prepare dish that can be enjoyed by all. Go get in that kitchen and prepare a meal surprise for someone special.
Visit the Cadbury web address above and you’ll find the following statement; “From a grocery shop, to a factory, to the Cadbury we know today. This is the story of a father and two sons and how their generosity inspired generations to come. They poured a ‘glass and a half’ into their Dairy Milk and into their workers and communities too. At Cadbury, people always have been and will be at the heart of everything we do.”
Quaker John Cadbury was first apprenticed to a tea dealer in Leeds in 1818. In 1824, John opened a grocery shop at 93 Bull Street, Birmingham, England. He sold tea, coffee, hops and mustard along with cocoa and drinking chocolate. John prepared the drinking chocolate himself by using a mortar and pestle and crushing the cocoa. The treat became quite popular and eventually John decided to start commercial manufacturing. He opened a warehouse on Crooked Lane in 1831 where he started his drinking chocolate operations with the help of his 2 sons, Richard and George. By 1842, the Cadbury’s were selling 16 varieties of drinking chocolate and 11 varieties of cocoa. In 1850, John’s oldest son, Richard and his brother George were learning to handle operations and 11 years later John Cadbury retired from the business and Richard and George took over.
George heard about a Dutch chocolate maker, Coenraad van Houten, who had devised a method of extracting most of the fat from cocoa, which made it a more appealing drink. George went to Holland to see Van Houten and returned with a cocoa fat removal machine which proved successful. By using the cocoa press, Richard and George found they were able to make their cocoa 100% pure. They focused on making totally pure cocoa and in 1866 the Cadbury’s launched their “Absolutely Pure Therefore Best” cocoa product. This product line enabled the Cadbury’s to grow their company into a successful enterprise with a reputation for quality products and for treating its employees well.
Cocoa ad
George had big ideas. He asked, ‘Why should an industrial area be squalid and depressing? If the country is a good place to live in, then why not work in it?’. George wanted to build a place full of green spaces, where Cadbury workers could leave the crowded, dirty city behind and enjoy a better quality of life. He began to draw up plans for his new country factory with Birmingham architect George H. Gadd.
In 1878, Cadbury acquired 14.5 acres of open land, four miles (6 km) south-west of Birmingham. In January 1879, Cadbury, his architect and their construction team building began the factory, along with the first 16 houses for some of his 200 plus employees. September 1879, 230 workers by train to begin their lives in the new town and facility. The name of this new town would be Bournville. This new country live/work concept was a significant upgrade from the poor living conditions of the urban environment. In Bournville, families had houses and could enjoy yards, gardens, parks, schools, medical care and fresh air. Children enjoyed new playgrounds, country outings and summer camps. The men played football, hockey and cricket in the open park spaces. Tennis and squash courts were built, along with a bowling green and swimming pools with heated changing rooms an kitchens for heating up food. All employees were encouraged to become good swimmers. There were no pubs and no alcohol was sold in Bournville and none is sold there still to this day.
Old Bournville street photo
For workers to have facilities and a home life like this was unheard of in Victorian times. Cadbury became one of the first firms to introduce a 1/2 day of work Saturday. “People told us it would mean ruin, but I don’t think any men could have been happier.” said George. By 1899 the company had 2,600 employees and was incorporated as a limited company on June 16, 1899. Richard and George owned all of the ordinary shares in their business.
Bournville locals biking
By 1900 George Cadbury renounced his proprietorship of the estate and set up the Bournville Village Trust. There were 313 houses for various social classes. In 1902, 30% of Cadbury’s capital expenditure was spent on the welfare of its workers. By 1960 the Bournville Village Trust held 1,000 acres with 3,500 houses and to this date, the town still offers affordable housing. After Richard passed, George opened a works committee for each gender to discuss proposals for improving the company. He also pressed ahead with other ideas, like a deposit account and education facilities for every employee. The site also states, “We’ve come a long way in 200 years but one thing that will never change is the generous spirit we bring to everything we do. Another exciting opportunity came along in 2010, when we found a new home alongside the Kraft Foods family. Kraft created a new division in 2012, called ‘Mondelez International’ which we are still proud to be a part of today.”
John Cadbury – Aug 12, 1801 – May 11, 1889
Richard Barrow Cadbury – Aug 29, 1835 – March 22, 1899Geo. Cadbury Sr. – Sept 19, 1839 – Oct 24, 1922
Many lives have been touched by the sweet philanthropic gestures of the Cadbury family and to this day 10% of the company profits are still donated to charity.
Clicking on these photos will lead the viewer to the various recipes.
The Hot Brown sandwich (also known as a Louisville Hot Brown or Kentucky Hot Brown) is a variation of a traditional Welsh rarebit in which early variations can be traced back to the Welsh caws pobi or ‘baked cheese’ sandwich from back in the 1500’s. A Welsh rarebit blended with tomato makes a sandwich called the Blushing Bunny.
The Hot Brown was created to serve as an alternative to late-night ham and egg dinners by the chefs at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY which opened in 1923. By 1926 these Hot Brown sandwiches were a huge hit for hotel patrons and locals alike and quickly became the meal choice for 95% of the Brown Hotel’s restaurant customers.
The original Hot Brown included sliced turkey stacked on the open face of white toast with Mornay sauce covering it and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and broiled until the top bubbles. Pimento and bacon strips were then added on top before serving. I like adding a slice of tomato on mine. Some folks make this with sliced ham instead of turkey which is a tasty alternative.
Ham Hot Brown
Q: After the Welsh rarebit which came next, the Hot Brown or the Turkey Devonshire?
A: A few years after the Hot Brown was created Frank Blandi, former owner of the Park Schenley in Pittsburgh, created the Turkey Devonshire. It was 1934 and Frank was running a restaurant by the name of the Stratford Club located on Devonshire Street in Millvale, PA and the name of his edible creation was secured.
Turkey Devonshire
The Turkey Devonshire and a Hot Brown are basically the same hot open-faced sandwich on white bread with turkey, bacon and tomato. The key difference is that a Hot Brown uses a rich Mornay sauce made with Gruyere cheese, while a Turkey Devonshire uses a cheddar cheese sauce. The Hot Brown tastes richer and more creamy compared to the Devonshire due to the cheese sauce ingredients.
Other variations from around the globe include :
Croque_Monsieur
In 1891 the Croque Monsieur sandwich was written about.
Khachapuri
Khachapuri – a Georgian dish probably dates back to the 1100’s and may be a cousin to pizza which came later in history.
Savoury Toast
Savoury toast from Tasmania is a similar creation but wasn’t mentioned until 1865.
Whatever you sandwich preference, there are many good options available to enjoy.
The Dude of Food has noticed that America is particularly funny when it comes to regional foods. For example, many folks who grew up on the east coast do not like avocados. Folks from the north don’t really eat squirrel/ possum stew but might take a road killed deer home to eat. Similar peculiarities exist for some folks from the west as they don’t like lobster as much as folks from the east side of our nation. It could be due to abundance but who knows. I grew up near the beaches of Los Angeles and personally like avocados as well as lobster, crab, oysters, mussels and shrimps. I’ve wondered in the past why do I like all the crustaceans. I like fish too, but aren’t these bottom feeder animals sort of like the liver of the ocean that’s job is to clean up the mess? Also, I can honestly say that possum and squirrel are not items I’ve ever tried nor have sought to try. Slowly coming back from my digression, I’ll add that during the Covid19 timeout I learned to home brew beer. I had some practice time at home and eventually met the owner of the Lobster and Beer chain of restaurants, Mike, who had an available space and he was interested in brewing beer too. Mike let me practice in the empty space and I worked on making brew while I redid the interior design of the place. Six months later the building and my process were both more functional.
When the Covid19 lock down was over and restaurants were allowed to open back up our little neighborhood bar in Hawthorne surged with local business. People loved both the lobster and the crab rolls and many local folks spent time socializing at our little spot. I served the beers and a cook made the food. We were both kept busy as we also took online orders for a couple food delivery services. We would do nearly $2k in sales and generate decent tips in 4 hours on a Sunday afternoon with just 3 little sidewalk tables and maybe 8 bar stools.
It was during this time that I learned how to properly prepare these delicious sandwiches to the Lobster and Beer standard. I learned to portion the meats, make the aioli, chop, clean, stock, cook, box, answer the phone and serve as well as run the bar. It got hectic sometimes but it was always fun and I look back fondly to these times sharing with our customers, getting feedback on my beers and operating a fun environment. Thank you Mike and partner. (I forget his partners name but he was cool and taught me a lot.)
Recently I’ve had the craving for a lobster roll so I finally decided to make one and squash my cravings. Below is a photo of the one I made.
Home made Lobster Roll photo: p3
The preparation process is simple.
Procure Lobster and some form of roll from your favorite spot. Soft, split top New England style buns, Hawaiian bread or hot dog buns work well. I used a dinner roll. You’ll also need butter, mayo, chives, minced celery, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
Try adding minced tarragon, red onion or chopped green onion for some variety.
1lb lobster meat ¼ cup minced celery ¼ cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon minced chives 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest ¼ teaspoon salt 4 buns ¼ teaspoon ground pepper 4 approx tablespoons butter
PREPARATION:
Heat lobster in pan with butter. Don’t over cook.
Mix everything but the lobster and bread in a bowl.
Cut bread and place face down on hot buttered grill to lightly toast.
Mix warmed lobster in a bowl with some of the mixed ingredient sauce and load into grilled face bun.
Established in 1990 the pub was owned by Tony Moogan from Liverpool, England. It was voted the best soccer bar in the USA in 2002 by FSC.
Their web site claimed “British pub and restaurant in Santa Monica – we serve British beers and British Food such as Fish & Chips. All of our food is home-made in our kitchen. Try our delicious pies! We are a renowned Sports Bar and have won many awards as the Best Soccer Bar in the USA – come and watch the live English Premier League games, World Cup, Champions League, NHL, NFL and International games on our large Hi-Def screens. We are home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and have the NFL package. Home to a friendly British staff and customers. Frequented by Santa Monica locals and visitors alike.”
This place was great. A typical Irish pub in that you could be from anywhere, walk in and enjoy a pint and bite while feeling like you’re in a local living room. They shared this experience with me. The staff was a family of friendly faces. Everyone was cool and got along well. Davey was a cool bartender. He had a thick accent and I don’t think he heard as well as he could have but his mind was always going. Barney was always cool with everyone and always hand his finger on the pulse of the neighborhood doings. All the staff girls were locals and just lovely. All were strong, smart and driven.
I loved going there for Happy Hour and getting $5 pints. Rich, the road worker, would almost always be there along with all of the other locals. For breakfast they offered King Size, English or Scottish Breakfast and all were a solid plate’s worth of food to help anyone feel better.
I’ve watched many big sports games in that place. The Kings winning the Stanley Cup was a good time as was any Sunday during the NFL season. During big English football matches the place could be so packed the crowd would spill into the parking lot and out onto Lincoln Blvd as seen below.
Sunday nights were reserved for the famous lamb dinners they prepared. Sometimes they would sell out if you arrived too late. The other option was the roast beef dinner. Personally, I much preferred the lamb and almost never asked for the roast beef. On a couple of occasions I actually stuffed 2 lamb dinners into my face!
Sunday lamb dinner
They also had a low rise stage that many entertainers performed on. The photo below was the image painted on the wall behind the stage.
The Cock n Bull was an awesome place and is forever cemented into the history and souls of many south side Santa Monica locals.
Currently, after a couple years of closure, the old place is being renovated to become another Mexican restaurant. Oddly, there are a few well established Mexican restaurants within a couple blocks walk, so competition for Mexican food might swing in the favor of the consumer.
Thank you very much and forever cheers Cock n’ Bull.
