Fresh Cocktail

A cocktail is a mixed drink containing two or more ingredients. Originally a mixture of distilled spirits, sugar, water, and bitters, the word has gradually come to mean almost any mixed drink containing alcohol.

A cocktail today usually contains one or more types of liquor and one or more mixers, such as bitters, fruit juice, fruit, soda, ice, sugar, honey, milk, cream, or herbs.[

History

The earliest known printed use of the word cocktail was in The Farmer's Cabinet on April 28, 1803:

Drank a glass of cocktail—excellent for the head...Call'd at the Doct's. found Burnham—he looked very wise—drank another glass of cocktail.

The earliest definition of cocktail was in the May 13, 1806, edition of the Balance and Columbian Repository, a publication in Hudson, New York, in which an answer was provided to the question, "What is a cocktail?". It replied:

Cocktail is a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters—it is vulgarly called a bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said, also to be of great use to a Democratic candidate: because a person, having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow anything else.

Compare the ingredients listed (spirits, sugar, water, and bitters) with the ingredients of an Old Fashioned.

The first publication of a bartenders' guide which included cocktail recipes was in 1862 — How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon Vivant's Companion, by "Professor" Jerry Thomas. In addition to listings of recipes for Punches, Sours, Slings, Cobblers, Shrubs, Toddies, Flips, and a variety of other types of mixed drinks were 10 recipes for drinks referred to as "Cocktails". A key ingredient which differentiated "cocktails" from other drinks in this compendium was the use of bitters as an ingredient, although it is not used in many modern cocktail recipes.

The first "cocktail party" ever thrown was allegedly by Mrs. Julius S. Walsh Jr. of St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1917. Mrs. Walsh invited 50 guests to her home at noon on a Sunday. The party lasted an hour, until lunch was served at 1 pm. The site of this first cocktail party still stands. In 1924, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis bought the Walsh mansion at 4510 Lindell Boulevard, and it has served as the local archbishop's residence ever since.

During Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933), when the sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal, cocktails were still consumed illegally in establishments known as speakeasies. The quality of the alcohol available was far lower than was previously used, and bartenders generally put forth less effort in preparing the cocktails. There was a shift from whiskey to gin, which does not require aging and is thus easier to produce illicitly.

Cocktails became less popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, as other recreational drugs became common. In the 1980s cocktails again became popular, with vodka often substituted for gin in drinks such as the martini. Traditional cocktails and gin are starting to make a comeback in the 2000s.

Source: www.wikipedia.com

See also: cake, pasta, marzano

Wow..pasta!

Pasta alla carbonara (usually spaghetti, but also fettuccine, rigatoni or bucatini) is an Italian pasta dish based on eggs, pecorino romano, guanciale, and black pepper. The dish was created in the middle of the 20th century.

The recipes vary, though all agree that cheese (pecorino, Parmesan, or a combination), egg yolks (or whole eggs), cured fatty pork, and black pepper are basic. The pork is fried in fat (olive oil or lard); a mixture of eggs, cheese, and butter or olive oil is combined with the hot pasta, cooking the eggs; the pork is then added to the pasta. Guanciale is the most traditional meat, but pancetta is also used. In the US, it is often made with American bacon.

Cream is not common in Italian recipes, but is used in the United States, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia and Russia (especially in Moscow). Other Anglo/Franco variations on carbonara may include peas, broccoli or other vegetables added for colour. Yet another American version includes mushrooms. Many of these preparations have more sauce than the Italian versions.

In all versions of the recipe, the eggs are added to the sauce raw, and cook (coagulate) with the heat of the pasta itself.

Origin and history

Like most recipes, the origins of the dish are obscure, and there are many legends about it. As the name is derived from the Italian word for charcoal, some believe that the dish was first made as a hearty meal for Italian charcoal workers. This theory gave rise to the term "coal miner's spaghetti", which is used to refer to spaghetti alla carbonara in parts of the United States. Others say that it was originally made over charcoal grills, or that it was made with squid ink, giving it the color of carbon. Another rumour about the origin of the name suggests that the way abundant black pepper was added to the dish (before or after serving) especially during winter, made the black pepper flakes among the whiteish sauce look like charcoal, or perhaps the effect one gets when a casserole dish is accidentally "burnt". It has even been suggested that it was created by, or as a tribute to, the Carbonari ("charcoalmen"), a secret society prominent in the unification of Italy.

The dish is not present in Ada Boni's 1927 classic La Cucina Romana, and is unrecorded before the Second World War. It was first recorded after the war as a Roman dish, when many Italians were eating eggs and bacon supplied by troops from the United States, and the name may be from a Rome restaurant called 'Carbonara'. More recently, a restaurant in Rimini has claimed the original recipe was born during WWII.

The recipe was included in Elizabeth David's 1954 cookbook published in Great Britain. The dish became popular among American troops stationed in Italy; upon their return home, they popularized spaghetti alla carbonara in North America.

Source: www.wikipedia.com

See also: steak, marzano

Kuliner dan Perempuan

Perempuan. Makhluk indah pengundang decak kagum yang mengandung kontroversi ini tak bisa hanya sekejap mata dirangkum dalam sebaris dua baris kata-kata. Kelemahan sekaligus kekuatannya menggetarkan bangsa-bangsa. Ingat Cleopatra? Ratu Mesir cantik yang disegani? Ingat Dewi Sartika, pahlawan pendidikan dari Bandung yang berani membuka sebuah sekolah khusus perempuan? Peran perempuan begitu penting, bukan hanya sebagai seorang individu, tapi juga anak, ibu bahkan pemimpin menjadi bahan menarik yang takkan pernah habis dibicarakan. Dari dulu hingga sekarang. Tabloid Nova sebagai salah satu majalah perempuan menghadirkan sebuah acara yang seolah ingin merangkum kegiatan perempuan sejak dahulu dan kini dalam Pasar Nova 2010. (Ratih)

Saturday July 31, 2010 - Sunday August 1, 2010 from 9:00am - 6:00pm
Plaza dan Parkir Selatan Gelora Bung Karno
Senayan Jakarta, DKI Jakarta


Wahana hiburan kreatif keluarga.

Serba lengkap, Serba murah, Serba unik
Temukan beragam barang dan acara yang tak ada duanya.

Acara:
- Pemecahan rekor MURI: Karaoke bersama 1000 orang
- Demo masak
- Padu padan busana
- Workshop
- Lomba
-- Menghias makanan
-- Mewarnai
-- Girls cheerleading competition
-- Senam ceria bobo
-- Hunting foto
- Acara lain: Aerobik, Perkusi, Band, Karnaval, dll

Stand:
- Pojok kuliner
- Pojok wanita
- Pojok anak
- Pojok hobi
- Pojok wirausaha & komunitas
- Pojok kaki lima

Source: openrice

See also: pasta, steak, pizza

Karier Seorang Chef

Siapa yang mengira, memasak menjadi begitu menjanjikan sekarang ini? Tayangan soal masak memasak di televisi menjadi tren, terbukti hampir setiap stasiun televisi memiliki program kuliner. Bahkan salah satu chef perempuan menjadi seperti selebritis chef yang cantik. Ia tampil di acara gosip untuk bercerita asal muasal pilihannya menjadi ‘tukang masak’. Profesi ini seolah keluar dari kotak kecil dapur menuju dunia luas bernama entertainment. Masak menjadi hobi yang cukup menghasilkan coin and poin di masa sekarang.

Semua ini berawal dari perkembangan industri makanan pada tahun 1980-an, bukan hanya menunjukkan perubahan pada jumlah restoran yang meningkat. Tapi juga adanya tuntutan untuk standar makanan secara global serta profesi yang menjanjikan untuk penyediaan makan malam yang mewah, yaitu Chef. Di Prancis, perubahan ini berpengaruh pada status ekonomi, sosial, dan ideologi.

Kreativitas dalam kuliner memberi kesempatan pada orang yang menyukai makanan untuk berlaku lebih profesional. Sehingga, kreativitas dalam bidang kuliner menjadi begitu dihargai. Restoran bahkan menyediakan budget khusus untuk chef agar mereka lebih berkreasi dalam menciptakan ragam makanan baru, misalnya kreasi cake, pizza, seafood, pasta atau steak. Baik modifikasi dari makanan tradisional maupun makanan yang belum pernah ada.

Kreasi ini mereka peroleh setelah berkeliling Eropa mencicipi aneka makanan yang kemudian mereka masak di negerinya sendiri. Orang Amerika yang menjadi chef pada tahun 1970-an, memilih profesi ini untuk lepas dari pakem pekerjaan yang telah ada disana. Namun, hingga tahun 1980-an, restoran di Amerika yang menyediakan makanan berkelas masih dikuasai chef dari Perancis. Bagaimana dengan Indonesia?

Sumber bacaan:

“Eating Culture” by Ron Scapp dan Brian Seitz.