dude food – THE DUDE OF FOOD

The Cadbury family chocolate empire and their philanthropy.

This is the true story of a family that cared a lot about people. Find out how the Cadbury family chocolate business made life better for many folks.

https://www.cadbury.co.uk/about/history/our-story

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.

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.

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.

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, 1899

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.

Thank you very much Cadbury family.

Wondering About Vortex Plus Air Fryers?

Being the son of pioneers I’m not well rehearsed in modern kitchen tools. One gadget that has been getting quite popular recently is known as an air fryer and has me wondering about kitchen tools. Questions like ‘How am I this old and have never used one of these cooking devices?’ and ‘Do I really need this thing?’ kept floating up to the top of my head along with all the things I daydreamed that I could potentially prepare. My neighbor ended up purchasing an Instant Pot Vortex Plus from Amazon and I had to go over and check out the unboxing.

Food Network says the following about the Vortex Plus;
“While it’s very similar to the 4-in-1 air fryer, the standout feature in the Vortex Plus is the dehydrator. If you’re looking for a reliable air fryer that can also produce perfectly dried fruits and veggies, the Vortex Plus is for you. Just like the 4-in-1, the Vortex Plus has a roomy, 6-quart basket with a nonstick coating for easy cleanup. Equipped with pre-programmed settings and a temperature-controlling dial, the interface is also super user-friendly. The only downside to this model is the broiler function, which is preset to 400 degrees F for two minutes and didn’t perform well for us in testing.”

The Instant Pot Vortex Plus has 6 cooking options:

             Air Fry (increments between 180°F and 400°F)
             Roast (180°F–400°F)
             Bake (180°F–400°F)
             Reheat (120°F–360°F)
             Broil (350°F–400°F)
             Dehydrate (95°F–175°F)

Chef Carmen Spillette has created 31 Best Air Fryer Recipes that are worth checking out by clicking on the photo below. Thank you Carmen.

I’m still curious and can hardly wait to prompt my neighbor into making some cauliflower buffalo wings and some of the other things that look really good on the Eat with Carmen page.

Bon Appetit, the Dude of Food

Try Spam for breakfast.

In these high tech times you might be surprised to hear that spam isn’t just for emails. Spam is a versatile ingredient that one can find served in many fine dishes like eggs, stir fry and just sliced and fried for example. I even saw a spam monkey bread recipe online.

For a breakfast change up I decided to use the spam in my kitchen cabinet. I looked up green eggs and spam but didn’t find anything that blew my stomach’s mind. Eventually I came up with the following delicious day starter, simple spam n eggs. I added a little white cheese on top to melt into the mix. If you are looking to try something new for breakfast, give spam ‘n eggs a try. Hawaiians do. Aloha.

Try some. https://www.spam.com/

Salted Cod aka Bacalhau, Portugal and Fishtory.

Did you know that Portugal consumes 20% of all cod fish caught on the planet?! Oddly, cod is not found in the waters surrounding Portugal but the fish is so popular that the Portuguese people have more cod recipes than there are days in a year! Portugal has long had a love affair with cod, especially salted cod or bacalhau. This fish is more than just good food to the Portuguese, it is a part of their culture and everyday life.

Cod was introduced to the Portuguese people by Viking nomads. The Vikings captured abundant amounts of cod in the cold seas off the Nordic countries and tried to preserve the fish by letting it dry in the open air. During the Middle Ages the Vikings began preserving their cod with salt, which they learned from the Romans and the Basque. The Vikings obtained salt from Portugal and traded for cod for it. The Portuguese had plenty of salt to sell and cod fish became a solid source of food amongst the Portuguese people.

Meat was expensive in Portugal during these times and supplying fresh meats and fish to the interior of the country was a complicated task. Salted cod was an easy and inexpensive food alternative that was easier to transport and provide throughout Portugal. Salted cod also had a shelf life much longer than un-refrigerated fresh meat. This kind of exposure plus its nutritional value and likeable flavor made cod a popular thing to eat.

In the mid 1500’s a Portuguese expedition heading to India saw Newfoundland for the first time and a Portuguese cod fishing base began. The Portuguese fishermen were eventually driven away by the English and French corsairs that dominated the fishing activities in the region during these times.

Cod fishing was a hard and dangerous job. These fisherman led a life of sacrifice, as cod fishing was done the traditional way. Sailing from Belém, Lisbon, the cod fishing ships were luggers and sailing ships, which towed dories used for line fishing and had the capacity to carry between 900 and 950 tons of cod. The fishermen were forced to row away from the main ship, sometimes two or three miles, to manually fish with lines and hooks. Each man fished alone for hours until their small boat was full of cod. While fishing they encountered freezing winds, fog, strong waves and icebergs. Some didn’t make it back to the fishing ships and were lost at sea. If they did make it back to the ship they would then unload, scale and salt their catch making for even longer work days.
After reaching land, the fish was washed to remove all the salt and dried until completely dehydrated. The codfish drying process took place outdoors on the South Bank of the Tagus, in Setúbal, Figueira da Foz, Aveiro and Viana do Castelo.

On the 9th of July 1920, the Portuguese Fishing Company was founded by four small shipowners. They set up headquarters in the old facilities of the Lisbon Company Cotton Factory in Olho de Boi, Almada. In an attempt to reduce foreign dependency and guarantee the country’s food supply Portugal’s leader, Antonio Salazar, made moves to centralize, organize and create cooperatives and cartels that handled the fish supplies which became the famous Codfish Campaign in 1934.

During World War II, Portugal maintained its fishing activity. While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, two cod fishing ships, ‘Maria de Gloria’ and ‘Delães’ were sunk by Nazi submarines. An agreement with the Allies would state that these Portuguese cod fishing ships be painted white to signal Portugal’s neutrality in the conflict and allow them to safely sail the Atlantic, thus becoming known as the ‘White Fleet’.

In 1957, Portugal was already the largest salt codfish producer in the world and peaking. By this time, wheat and codfish were the commodities with the greatest impact on both the country’s diet and its trade balance.

The last three large cod fishing ships set sail for Newfoundland for the last time in 1974, coinciding with the fall of the dictatorship and the peaceful revolution of April 25th which brought democracy to the country.

The Portuguese still love codfish today and it is now claimed they have 1001 ways of cooking it. Presently, 70% of codfish comes from Norway and the Portuguese are always taking sustainable consumption, climatic change and versatility into consideration.

SALT FACT: Portuguese salt (Flor de Sal) is internationally popular and is similar to French salt (Fluer de Sel). Portuguese salt is collected from evaporation pools of sea water like they do in Nicaragua. With an area of 360 hectares or just under 900 acres, the Samouco Salt Pans in Alcochete were the main source of salt farming near Lisbon.

Did someone say Chicken Cacciatore?

The old adage about ‘nice guys finish last’ comes to us from the world of baseball by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher in 1946. In the cooking world it’s a bit different as a nice dish can finish first and be very popular among restaurant eaters. Having just returned from 2 weeks of hell in the Pacific Northwest I was craving a nice, easy home cooked meal and decided a chicken cacciatore style plate is what I’d like to eat to bring some joy back into my life.

Many things in life start with desire and once I set my taste buds on this plate my mind focused and this dish was easy to pull together.

Sauce is a big part of a pasta dish and making a good one from scratch usually takes the better part of a day or a second day to have it set right. The Dude of Food believes that sauce is always better the second day. I decided to cut corners and use Private Selection sauce made in Italy and distributed by Kroger of Cincinnati. I actually used 2 jars of sauce. The first jar was Porcini Arrabbiata and the second jar was Tomato and Black Truffle.

Below is the simple ingredient list and procedure for preparation.

Kroger Private Reserve sauce – 2 jars
1 Porcini Arrabbiata and 1 Tomato Black Truffle
1 chopped yellow onion
6 chopped garlic cloves
1 tray of rubbed chicken: 8 legs
salt
pepper

Mushrooms, grated carrots, celery, olives or any other favorites are ingredients that could also be added to this dish.

Start by chopping up the onion and garlic. Put a small amount of wine in a pan and warm. Once the wine has warmed, the alcohol will lift. Then add a little olive oil into the pan with a touch of butter, salt and the onions. Simmer the onions on low to medium heat. When the onions begin to clear up add the garlic and let them warm up together. Once the garlic has had a chance to expand and release its flavor it’s time to add the 2 jars of sauce. Stir, cover and let simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally.

As the sauce does its magic it is time to start heating the rubbed chicken. Get another pan and add a small amount of olive oil and a touch of water and heat. As the pan heats add the 8 rubbed chicken legs, lightly salt and cover. Pan fry the chicken on stove top over low to medium heat. You are trying to heat the chicken thoroughly but not overcook it or dry out. Low and slow is the way to go.

Time to check the sauce and stir.

Next add a pot of water to the stove top to boil the pasta and begin to heat. Salt can be added to this water if you salt your pasta water. Some folks do.
Boil enough water for 1lb of fettuccine or your favorite noodle shape.

Now you have all the moving parts working and it’s time to clean up as you monitor and stir the heating pans.

The noodles will be ready first. Drain the pasta and add a little of the starch water to the sauce. Cover the drained noodles and let sit.

Once the sauce has simmered enough to be considered ready and the chicken is cooked enough to eat turn all of the heat off and prepare to plate these items.

Start by adding a lump of pasta in plate center.
Surround pasta lump with chicken legs.
Scoop sauce over noodles with plenty for the chicken too.
Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Bon appetit.

Herdez Avocado Hot Sauce is bueno.

The Dude of Food can’t remember where he crossed paths with the Herdez sauce representative but when he did he was given a few bottles to try by the agent.
Since I had a couple bottles to play with I tried experimenting and discovered that this product is a great addition to my Croc Pot with a pork roast and some onions. After a few hours of slow cooking you’ll pull the top off the Croc Pot and discover you have a pretty amazingly concocted Chile Verde. When the Dude of Food tasted this product he realized that this little bottle of green sauce contained a kick.

The avocado hot sauce can simply be used as a dip for tortilla chips but is pleasantly spicy and might be too strong for some on its own. Splashing some hot sauce into freshly crushed avocados works well. Spooning some into a fondue or as a side dip next to a plate of chicken nachos or chicken fingers would also be good options.

Herdez did well when they came up with this product. If you click on the image or Herdez name you will be redirected to Amazon to where you can purchase your own.

Enjoy, the Dude of Food

The Dude of Food loves his Krups bean grinder

I bought a Krups bean grinder for our work truck office as our crew was making many espressos during our night shoots. Like all Krups products the design is simple and functional. This Krups grinding machine is small but mighty. It doesn’t take up very much space on our countertop and has been totally reliable since the first use. It grinds the espresso and coffee beans perfectly and has been used to grind homegrown Rosemary and some smoking herbs too. One of the Dude of Food’s favorite things to take in is the rich scent of freshly ground coffee beans and the linger of good dank but I digress.

To get your very own Krups bean grinder click on this highlighted area and you will be linked to an Amazon page where you can have one delivered to your team.

Pasta Carbonara is awesome.

Carbonara is a popular dish throughout the world. Luca Di Leo from Barilla pasta says, “One of the great traits of pasta is its extraordinary versatility. You can combine it with pretty much anything. A carbonara base allows one to create different variations from experimenting from a roasted artichoke to sautéed shrimp. You can also make a great variation of carbonara with spices different from black pepper. Carbonara is a truly global recipe which can help bring people together.”

Carbonara di mare or seafood carbonara is an Italian beach favorite. For instance, in place of cured pork, 3 star Michelin chef Mauro Uliassi substitutes virtually anything that swims; smoked trout, small raw clams and even canned tuna.
Norbert Niederkofler, another 3 star Michelin chef famed for his “Cook the Mountain” concept, created Tyrolean Carbonara. His version features Italian Alp ingredients including leeks, Malga cheese, dehydrated speck powder and spelt flour fusilli. No beaten eggs appear in his version but he does put one whole yolk on top of the hot seasoned fusilli.

Italians might embrace variations but there are limits. A national food crisis arose when the French attempted to reinvent carbonara as a quick one-pot meal. This ordeal became “Carbonaragate” and sparked outrage and an international debate among Italian food writers, bloggers, chefs, home cooks and pasta makers. A video demonstrating the French style carbonara was viewed by more than a million Italians. They were appalled to witness bow tie pasta cooked in the same pan as diced bacon and onions, finished with crème fraiche and an unidentified cheese. Lastly this mix is topped with a raw egg and parsley.

2 star Michelin chef, Marco Sacco, says “In the kitchen, the protection and care of tradition must be able to coexist with the desire and the possibility to innovate and experiment. The original recipes must be defended and preserved, just as an artistic asset is protected in a museum or a UNESCO site. But this does not mean that maximum freedom should not be given to experiment, innovate or adapt to the territory with new ingredients. After all, it is just food. Various lands offer various cultures and preparation techniques can differ just like people do.”

Traditional Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients

12 oz of spaghetti
7 oz of guanciale
4 whole medium eggs (1 egg per serving)
1 cup + 1 tablespoon of grated Pecorino Romano
ground black pepper

Step 1 – Boil the water for the pasta while you prepare the carbonara sauce. Remember: 4 cups of water for every 3.50 oz of pasta and 1/2 tablespoon of coarse salt per 4 cups of water.
Cut the guanciale into small pieces and cook in a skillet over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir occasionally so that it cooks evenly. The more the guanciale cooks, the more its fat will melt and its meat will become crispy. The level of crisp is up to you. Some people like their guanciale well cooked and others prefer it soft.
No need for oil: guanciale is already fatty, oily and fabulous on its own. If you want, you can add a tablespoon of cooking water and emulsify. This will create a great oily sauce to season the spaghetti nicely. When it’s ready, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and set aside.

Step 2 – Prepare the cream. In a bowl put the eggs and pecorino Romano cheese.
Use the whole egg. Pecorino Romano, the only cheese that is recommended for making carbonara, is a very salty and flavorful Italian cheese so there is no need to add salt.

Step 3 – Add freshly ground black pepper and mix quickly until you have a creamy sauce.

Step 4 – This egg and pecorino cheese sauce should be quite thick. Set it aside for the moment.
The water should now be boiling so add the salt and cook the spaghetti. If you chose a fairly large pot, the spaghetti should fit comfortably without breaking them. Whole, unbroken spaghetti is best, so you can more easily roll them around on your fork.

Step 5 – Drain the pasta when ready. Then place them in the skillet, over high heat, to season well with the guanciale.
At this step, we have reached the crucial moment of spaghetti carbonara. Not to put tension on it, but this is the fleeting moment in which you can make an immortal dish or one that will be a real failure. So now you have to be quick, ready and dexterous. Here’s how:

Step 6 – When the spaghetti and guanciale sizzle in the pan, TURN OFF THE HEAT, otherwise the eggs will overcook and you’ll end up with scrambled eggs and pasta!
Now quickly add the eggs and pecorino cream to the hot pasta and stir. The pan is not too hot, this way the eggs will cook without lumps. Pay attention to the consistency, which should be creamy, not runny. If you notice that your carbonara is too runny, add some grated pecorino cheese. On the other hand, if you see that it’s too sticky and dense, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of pasta water.

Step 7 – Carbonara is ready. With the help of a ladle and a fork, create a pasta nest and place it on a plate.

Step 8 – Top with what’s left of the guanciale, freshly ground black pepper and grated pecorino romano to taste.

There are many quality recipes online. Check these sites out to get started.

https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/roman-spaghetti-carbonara
https://skinnyspatula.com/tagliatelle-carbonara/
https://www.recipetineats.com/carbonara/
https://recipe30.com/french-spaghetti-carbonara.html/

Seafood carbonara art rendition by p3

Bon Appetit, the Dude of Food

Historically delicious: Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co

The boss of a film crew I was working with gave the 7 member’s of our team thoughtful homemade gift bags for Christmas.
One of the cool gifts in my bag included a bottle of Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company Picante Sauce.
When used in a dish I discovered this product was pleasantly surprising and complimented the dish nicely. The flavor was unique and delicious. The bottle information said the company and sauce were located near my mom. I asked mom if she was familiar with this brand of sauce and she said she knew the brand and told me the family was a well respected part of the local business community. It turns out the granddaughter of the founders of Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co and my mother had met her at an event somewhere in town in the past. My mom confirmed that the granddaughter was a very nice lady whose name is Jeanie England Neubauer.
Jeanie is the granddaughter of an international business agent named Beck Kibbey. Jeanie has done a great job maintaining the business her parents and another couple began in 1943. Her family roots are deep and have ties with the towns of Nogales, Arizona and across the border in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
Her family history is amazing and the Anaheim chili became their friend. Gene England, Jeanie’s grand-father, had developed methods to stew and grind chili’s to make paste. They also ground chili pods down into powder for seasoning.
The folks at Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co still support the family traditions of the founders and have employees generations deep maintaining these traditions.

Go visit their web page. https://santacruzchili.com/

The online sales page will show you the various sauces offered. Other pages will show that these folks support some really cool causes.
If you are near the Tucson area and headed to the Mexican border you can go visit the Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co gift store in person which is located a few minutes south of Tubac. The drive from Tucson is roughly 60 miles and if you love chili, then it’s well worth the trip.

Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company
1868 E. Frontage Road, Tumacacori, AZ 85640

520.398.2591
520.398.2592 Fax

Store Hours
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Closed Sundays and holidays.

Muchas gracias Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company

https://santacruzchili.com/

2022 New Kitchen Tools

This 2022 holiday season I introduced a couple of new items to my kitchen tool box which is important as we grow as chefs.

The paella pan is made by Garcima from Valencia, Spain and is a traditional polished steel paella pan that I plan to use to prepare risotto. The pan seems well made and carries a 2 year guarantee. I look forward to cooking with it.

The Dutch Oven is called Pure Intentions ‘Ecolution’ by Epoca Int’l in Florida. This pan is also stainless steel with a tempered glass top. This item has a Limited Lifetime Warranty and will be good for boiling stuff.

The wooden roller is an Everyday Living item distributed by Inter-American Products and was made in Taiwan. It has held up pretty well so far for helping to thin out homemade pasta for my noodle cutting machine. This item has a quality guarantee or receive a full refund. How can you go wrong?

Whatever your budget or skill level remember that joy comes from sharing and cooking is to be shared, so bring joy to the world and keep cooking. Happy holidays.