June 22, 2015
Days Until. . .
Fourth Of July 11
Today's Flavor
This is Seared Fresh Tuna Salad Day. The timing is perfect. The heat has emphatically set in, and even though eating cold food doesn't actually lower your temperature, the sensation of eating chilled, nearly-raw fish with crisp, cold greens and perhaps some avocado seems a perfect antidote to the weather. The best fresh tuna salads are made with vividly fresh tuna, seared on a very hot grill or pan to a noticeable crust on the outside, but still completely rare on the inside. The color contract between the interior of the tuna (sliced after the searing, of course) and the greens is dramatic and appetizing.
Today is also National Chocolate Eclair Day. The original chocolate eclairs were made with choux pastry--the same stuff creampuffs are made from--and stuffed with pastry cream and topped with chocolate. Now you mostly find a big rectangular doughnut, filled with Bavarian cream and topped with chocolate frosting. Shouldn't be eaten by anyone over sixteen.
Edible Dictionary
passionfruit, n.--A native of Brazil, passionfruit is now grown in most tropical areas in the New World. Its flavor and aroma are so alluring that even though most people couldn't identify it blindfolded, it's almost the definitive tropical fruit flavor. You might say that it reminds you of Hawaiian Punch, in which it is in fact the outstanding flavor. In is indeed much liked in Hawaii, where it's called lilikoi. The fruits are the size of plum tomatoes, with a purple skin. It's packed with seeds, to which the yellow pulp is attached. A juice extractor does the best job of getting the good parts out. They're available in the summer. The best are the heaviest ones. Passionfruits grow on a vine whose flowers are culturally important. Parts of it are said to represent the passion of Jesus, including the nails, crown of thorns, and the Apostles.
Deft Dining Rule #183:
You can tell a lot about a restaurant by the size of the capers in the salade Niçoise. The bigger they are, the less the place spends on ingredients.
Food Through History
Today in 1847, the doughnut was invented when Hanson Gregory watched his mother struggle to get her fried cakes fully cooked in the center. He suggested that she cut a hole in them. It worked! Which explains why beignets are often doughy in the center. If they had holes, they wouldn't.
Great Restaurant Addresses
This is the birthday in 1837 of Paul Morphy, who many chess experts consider the greatest grandmaster of all time. He lived on Royal Street in the building that now houses Brennan's. He also has a street named for him. In his day--and still, among chess enthusiasts--he was a major celebrity in New Orleans.
Music To Eat Bacon And Beans By
On this date in 1959, people around the country had these lyrics running around in their heads: "They took a little bacon and they took a little beans, and they fought the bloody British in the town of New Orleans." Johnny Horton's record The Battle of New Orleans was a million-seller and at the top of the charts.
Food And Drink At War
Back in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, six American ships landed at Cuba's coast. From there the Rough Riders, led by Theodore Roosevelt, invaded the town of Daiquiri. (I suppose they picked up a few in go-cups and rode on.) . . . In another great moment in history, on this date in 1815, Napoleon threw in the towel for the last time after being defeated at Waterloo four days earlier. He abdicated and went into exile, but only after stopping at the Napoleon House for a muffuletta.
Gourmet Gazetteer
Roll is a small farming community on the high plains western Oklahoma, 150 miles due west of Oklahoma City, and 13 miles east of the Texas state line. Enough people live here to make you notice their homes in the vastness of the open fields. No restaurant, though. The nearest one is the Rockin' S Steak House, twelve miles south in Cheyenne. Hope the rolls are good.
Food Namesakes
Gary Beers, bass player and singer for the rock group INXS, was born today in 1957. . . Operatic tenor Peter Pears was born today in 1910. . . Danny Baker, a radio comedian in England, gave his first laugh today in 1957. It would be nice if we had more radio comedians here. . . Stephen Chow is a comedian, too--as well as a film producer and director in Hong Kong. He jumped onto The Big Stage today in 1962.
Words To Eat By
"Many people have eaten and drunk themselves to death. Nobody ever thought himself to death."--Gilbert Highet, Scottish-American author, born today in 1906.
Words To Drink By
"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough."--Mark Twain.
