Argentine Choripan

The first bite is spice... not hot spice in the way of Mexican jalapenos or Thai green curry, or even the mystery culprit that makes you sweat within an Indian curry... no, I mean a whole spice that cracks between your molars and explodes with flavor. I am talking about the feeling you get when your mouth barely fits over two thick slabs of toasted bread and messily manages to bite into a juicy sausage. I am talking about when that sausage splits open with the impact of your teeth. I am talking about the unmistakable taste of famous Argentine chorizo, smoked on a grill, and served as a sandwich. I am talking choripan.

You won't find street vendors peddling these delicacies in Microcentro or Recoletta. No, you have to venture a little off the beaten track for a choripan. But not far. The parks are the hot-spots. Whether it is the lush fields of the Palermo parks to the sun-dried beauty of the Ecological Reserve, once you enter the seclusion of the city's green zones, you can not miss the gleam of the choripan man's silver cart. And once you spot him, I recommend that you approach his booth as quickly as possible, proceed to order at least one choripan, but probably two, especially if it is your first time. The total cost will be between three and four pesos (roughly one dollar to a dollar and a half).

Once you are handed your choripan, you will notice the array of sauces on the ledge. These sauces will be in plastic containers, and will have titles such as salsa golf (a surprisingly good blend of ketchup and mayonnaise), mayonesa aceituna (olive mayonnaise), ketchup (not everything is so exotic), and queso cheddar (a cheesy sauce, a classy version of cheez-whiz). Remove the top bun of your choripan and start squirting. Once you finish piling on your condiments, look to either the far-left of the ledge or perhaps the far-right. You will undoubtedly see a plastic tub of an oily-looking mixture with all different colored spice flakes. This is chimichurri. It may look unconvincing, but trust me, it is the ultimate clincher to this culinary experience. Spoon that spicy oil on top of your already-sauce-covered chorizo, and replace your top bun. Now bite.

There are times to be gentlemanly or ladylike, respectively, and there are times to throw caution to the wind. Eating a choripan is one of the latter times. Forego your table manners, and take no notice of the salsa golf dripping down your chin, or the chimichurri that has managed to run down your arm (how it got all the way to your elbow is still a mystery, but oh well). Someday I will confess to you of my adventures chomping on choripan outside of some classy discos. But we will save that for a later day. For now, try to get your hands on some choripan.

Rotisserie Grilling: Cooking With a Spit

Rotisserie grilling is a relatively simple method of cooking over an open fire, in which meat is skewered with a spit, and slowly rotated to expose each side to heat. This method is popular with poultry in the US, and is typically how whole chickens are prepared for retail sale at grocery stores. It is also used to prepare various other dishes, such as gyro meat, from Greece. Using this type of grill is relatively easy to learn, and can be left to cook without much interference.

There are a myriad of options when considering a rotisserie grill, so it's important to keep in mind its intended usage. If it is only going to be used for the winter holiday season's turkeys, then something large and collapsible would be preferred. However if this is your cooking method of choice, many more attractive counter top options are also available.

Fire based rotisseries are available, but since these take a while, electric is going to be the better option. Another thing to consider is whether to have an open air model, allowing easy access to the bird on the spit- which makes basting less of a chore, and more of a fun activity. However the open air model will let most of the heat pass right by the bird, and result in a much longer cook time. A closed, oven like model is your other option. These will cook the dish much faster, but would require opening, and removing the bird for basting if you chose to do it. Also keep in mind that if cooking turkey, it is expected to take several hours to cook, and having an open air model may not be a bad thing. Also look for an easily removable drip pan. This is a pan underneath the bird that collects and stores drippings from the bird. You want it to come away easily in either model choice for cleaning, or better yet, for gravy.

You've also got to contend with lost counter space. They are large, unwieldy beasts. If you do not anticipate regular use, get something you can break down and store easily. The added time assembling (usually only a few minutes, depending on your model) will be a blessing compared to the lost real estate otherwise. Collapsible models will only be available in the open air type. The thing to remember here is that poultry takes a while to cook, so don't be too easily swayed by promises of speedy cook times. Slow, even cooking is the way to go.

Snack Foods: Juicy!

You might think that all we need for a juicy snack is fresh fruit, and you would be right in your supposition. We can improve upon that fresh fruit though, in really decadent ways. Not low-calorie ways, but tasty and sinful ways. Obviously, if one is diabetic or dieting, one should stick with just the fresh fruit...or just have a little bit of this sinful stuff I'm about to suggest. The most obvious way to make fresh fruit tastier is to roll it in something good like sugar, chocolate or nuts. Oh yeah, I'm going there...and maybe all three!

First let's talk about the easiest one: sugar. There is powdered sugar, regular granulated sugar, and sugar crystals; also colored sugar but don't go there (food colorings are not good for you). After you have washed the fruit, coat it with some simple syrup (sugar in a liquid form) and then roll it in the sugar of your choice. Then set it on a drying rack and place it in wax paper until you are ready to eat the fruits of your labor. It's still fresh fruit so eat it as soon as you would any fresh fruit.

The next, truly decadent, coating is chocolate...yum...which is just melted and then has fruit dipped into it so the fruit is coated except for the stem. Strawberries and cherries are most commonly treated in this manner but you can also coat orange and tangerine slices, other berries, sweet black grapes, bananas (which are great frozen), pear slices, peach, kiwi and apricot slices, and apple slices. Unless you are going to dehydrate the fruit first (which is also a delicious option), this fruit should be refrigerated and eaten as soon as you would eat any fresh fruit.

The healthier alternative to this whole fresh fruit decadence is to roast some chopped nuts, coat the fruit with either simple syrup or melted jelly, and roll the fruit in the nuts. The toasting of the nuts brings out the flavor and then you have the sweetness of the fruit combined with the nutty flavors and it is healthy. Again, it's still fresh fruit so has to be eaten before it spoils.

If you want to get really decadent, dehydrate the fruit, coat it with honey, simple syrup or melted jelly, and then coat it with a combination of the choices. With chocolate dipping you don't have to coat it with syrup, honey or jelly, just the chocolate...and then roll it in the sugar and/or nuts. Once the fruit is dried it will keep longer but you still need to take care to preserve it if you're going to keep it for more than a week (or if it's hot and moist where you live). If you work outside the home you may have to hide this kind of stuff or it will disappear from your desk. If that keeps happening perhaps you should consider selling your handiwork!

2010 Dr.Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved

Simple Dishes for Tonight's Dinner

Are you bored of your monotonous dinner recipes and need some change? If yes, then you have come to the correct place where you will get some ideas to transfer a boring dinner menu into an interesting dinner menu. The idea that I have mentioned in the article is nourishing, substantial plus quick.

Dinner does not to be always a huge meal; it can be light, simple and satisfying. Here I am going to describe into how many ways we can cook a satisfying and filling sandwich.

For example, you can change the normal uninteresting potato sandwich into a baked egg and cucumber sandwich. Both egg and cucumbers are considered to be a healthy food as they are full of nutrients. Take a slice of bread and put one layer of cucumber and then another layer of baked egg. To get more enriched taste, black pepper and salt can be sprinkled.

Secondly, you can prepare a grilled chicken sandwich which is filling as well as delicious. Grilled chicken sandwich is so heavy that you can have it as your complete dinner. For making the sandwich, chicken has to be boiled along with the added salt and pepper. Once the chicken is boiled, make the small pieces of it and keep aside. Take the slice of bread and put some lettuce on it, then the chicken pieces and finally a slice of tomato. Low-fat cheese can also be added as per your choice and put the sandwich into the grill. Grill the sandwich for few minutes until the cheese is melted. In place of flour bread, you can also use whole grain bread.

Thirdly you can put thin slices of onion, tomato and low-fat feta cheese on the whole grain sandwich. Sprinkle some black pepper plus thyme. Making this sandwich is as simple as eating it.

If you have noticed, in all the sandwich recipes, I have used only vegetables, protein rich food for example egg and chicken and low-fat dairy products. Following this pattern, you can make number of tasty, healthy and filling sandwiches which can be served as a dinner in less than 10 minutes.

Macadamia Nut Oil

Nuts are very good for you and they can be used not only as part of your diet and cooking but also your skin care. You will find that some nuts such as the macadamia nut have fantastic qualities and Macadamia nut oil is fantastic for your skin as well as cooking. Macadamia oil has a vast amount of vitamins and nutrients and has some great anti oxidant qualities. Although using this oil is great for your health, you have to be aware that if you are allergic to nuts then you cannot use it.

Macadamia nuts originate from Australia and Madagascar and have been exported around the world for many years. You can now find this fantastic tree in many other areas of the world and this is great for producing the macadamia nut oil. The macadamia oil is extracted directly from the nut meat and is perfect for frying and in dressings. The type of oil is not affected by where the trees are grown so they can be grown happily around the world.

You can use the macadamia nut oil for many different skin care purposes and it is excellent for massages. It is a refined oil that has a very non greasy feel to it and added with the nutty aroma it is very appealing to use for skin care regimes. You can use it for your face, body, homemade lotions and even as soap. Macadamia oil is so gentle that you can even use it for your baby and children and it is excellent for moisturizing your skin.

Macadamia oil is perfect for sunburn, acne and oily skin and if you include it in your daily skin care routine then you will see the difference very quickly. Macadamia nut oil includes vitamin E which is perfect for healing small wounds. Pregnant women find macadamia oil to be excellent for preventing stretch marks and can help with fine lines on your face and neck. The level of anti oxidants in the macadamia oil allows it to have a very long shelf life; in the right conditions it can last for up to two years.

There are many vitamins and nutrients in macadamia nut oil which means that it has excellent health properties. It is also high in protein which your body needs. The fat which is in the oil is the good type of fat and this is perfect to help balance your body. Macadamia oil is also high in omega 3 which is great to lower the risk of health problems including heart disease, migraines and even cancer. No matter how you use macadamia nut oil you will find that it is great for both your body and beauty regimen. It is very affordable and easy to find which makes it ideal for everyday use and you can include it in your daily diet and skin care routine easily.

Smoker Grills: Slow Cooking at Its Best

When it comes to BBQ compared to smoking grills they are opposite extremes. BBQ aficionados are quick to point out the difference between real slow cooked BBQ compared to just a back yard grill. Grilling is hot and fast, with cook times measured in minutes, if not seconds, depending on the cut and type of food. Smoking is low heat and long cook times and is measured in hours. These long hours are used to convey more flavors to the meat, while preserving the meat's natural juices and tenderness. Many times natural juices are lost in high intensity fires found in grills.

Smokers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, with plenty of different features. They, like any other grill, are plentiful in choice, depending on whether you want to hot smoke, or cold smoke your meal. The simplest models can be found for right around thirty to forty dollars, and resemble a chimney with some racks on the inside. They will also have a heating element at the bottom, either electric or coal powered. For beginners, or for only occasional smokers, these models will be just enough.

The way the smoker works is the heating element at the bottom is used to essentially cook wooden blocks to produce smoke. These blocks are soaked in water beforehand, and will burn without igniting for quite some time. This smoke conveys heat and flavor to a cut of meat stored above, which slowly cooks it.

Unless you really want to smoke a lot of food, all the time, a small simple model is probably for you. There are a lot of bells and whistles available, but every smoker is going to have the same essential components, and added extras are not necessary. You should be able to remove the top, to get to the food, and remove the bottom for cleaning. There should be a door, giving you access to the midsection as well. You can use a coal fire, but keep in mind that these cook times go on for hours, and a coal fire would require regular maintenance. For ease of preparation, an electric heating element will serve the same purpose, but give an added reliability. Just be sure to plug it in to a dedicated grounded, or GFCI outlet to ensure shorts do not halt the cooking process.

A side note on cold smoking. Cold smoking functions the same way hot smoking does, except an additional system is installed to allow heat to exit the device, but keeps the smoke inside, which finds its way to the meat, and brings more flavor, this meat would then later be prepared regularly. (Smoked bacon is prepared this way)

Charcoal Grills: Backyard Favorite

Charcoal Grilling is what most people think of when they think of back yard cooking. Though many families have traded in their older charcoal models for a new shiny propane number, charcoal is praised by many as the best way to make the best tasting food on the grill. Due to the simplicity of the grill itself, charcoal grills stand the best chance of facing the test of time.

Well made and well maintained grills will last a lifetime. Because there are virtually no extra parts to be concerned with, there is little chance of anything breaking down. Properly covered when, your charcoal grill will function as long as its standing. As with any other grill, there are plenty of options available to you.

The best models are sturdy and heavy duty, made out of thick rolled steel and will have plenty of ventilation for the fire. Because of the high temperatures, smaller, cheaper models are prone to warping. It is also important to note how deep the bucket for the charcoal is. Too deep, and it will be hard to keep clean. Ashes tend to build up over time, and can reduce the heat of your fire.

Also important to note, is the weight and size of the grill surface. Again, heavy duty is preferred. Thick cast iron bars are best, for a number of reasons. Thick bars will retain more heat, and convey that to the food faster. Cast iron grill tops can be thrown into the oven to clean, just run the oven's self clean cycle. The flatter, wider bars will also make getting underneath sticky food easier.

As was mentioned earlier, a well ventilated fire is necessary. Charcoal fires require a lot of oxygen to keep the heat up. The more air you allow through the bottom, the more heat comes out the top. The smaller, bowl model grills usually have a few small holes drilled in the bottom that can be opened and closed from there. These should be avoided when possible. It is quite easy to forget to open and close the vents, and once the fire is started, it is to late to reach down and open them up, as the fire is just too hot. Instead, opt for a model with vents that can be easily opened and closed away from the fire, in the eventuality that you forget to do so ahead of time. This also allows you to close the vents once you're done cooking, to kill the fire a bit faster.