Recipe Mutiny steals recipes from food blogs and recipe sites. Then we publish them. With credit (Naturally).
Friday, December 15, 2017
Eggnog
A traditional holiday drink dating back hundreds of years, eggnog is made with eggs (hence the name), milk, cream, spices like nutmeg and vanilla, and fortified with rum, whisky, and/or brandy.
We grew up with eggnog, the kind you buy in a carton, and every Christmas holiday we kids drank up as much of it as we could.
I didn’t even know that eggnog was a “spiked” drink until well into my adult years!
Even now, I prefer my eggnog only lightly boozed, if at all. So this recipe is only lightly spiked; feel free to increase the rum and bourbon to your heart’s delight, or omit altogether if it’s for the kids.
from Simply Recipes http://ift.tt/2om86IX
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Everything You Know About Expiration Dates Is Wrong
Earlier this month, a supermarket in England made a bold and surprising decision to sell food past their “Best Before” date, marking the first time a a major retailer has chosen to do so. As of earlier this month, a wide variety of foods that exceed the date will be available for purchase at all 125 of Co-op’s stores. This includes canned goods, cereals, rice, and pastas, all of which will be sold at a discount price.
While the decision initially caused a bit of a stir, it’s actually part of a conscious effort to help mitigate England’s food waste epidemic, and one that’s hoping to dispel some of the biggest misconceptions about food labeling. The British government estimates that around £16 billion (about 21 billion in U.S. dollars) worth of produce—equivalent to £700 ($938) for every UK household—is thrown away each year. The United States has an equally egregious track record when it comes to food loss as well. The USDA estimates 30 percent of the food supply is wasted at retail or consumer levels.
So why are we wasting so much food and how is ignoring labels going to stop this?
Shoppers are overwhelmed with so many labels and suggestions that it can be hard to navigate the slew of “Sell By” dates, “Best Before” dates, and “Use By” dates. It also doesn’t help that the science and meaning behind all these numbers is surprisingly inexact and nebulous. What do they all mean and and why does food accrue more dates than a month-old Tinder profile anyway?
Most people rely on “Use by” dates as a measure of health and safety. To many they act as the only stop sign between you and that two-day old can of tuna. But it turns out we’ve been interpreting them incorrectly after all. What if they aren’t meant to warn you against food poisoning in the first place? Brace for a sinking sense of betrayal. Because things are about to get real.
The biggest misconception about “Sell By” is that they indicate food safety. They don’t.
Instead, “sell by” dates indicate peak freshness. The label is just a recommendation manufacturers provide stores letting them know how long they think the item should be on shelves. However, it doesn’t mean that a product is not safe or even edible after that date.
But what about “Best Before” and “Use By” dates?
These also don’t have anything to do with safety. “Best Before” dates are flavor and quality recommendations for consumers and, similarly, “Use By” dates are indications of the last date that the item is at optimum freshness. In other words, taste, color, and texture may be compromised after the date on the label, but the food in question may still be totally edible.
How are these dates determined anyway?
Manufacturers turn to firms like the National Food Lab for these guidelines, not government agencies. The labs determine the dates by leaving the food out on shelves for days, weeks, and months at a time and then a panel assesses the texture, taste, and freshness of the food of assigning it a numerical value. Ultimately, however, it’s up to the food manufacturers to determine where they draw the line on ideal quality.
All of this amounts to a confusing a way of ensuring brand reputations, and not gauging your chance of getting a stomach ache. And the USDA explicitly states on their website that none of these dates are safety standards. The lone exception is the “Use By” date on infant formula. Probably because babies are precious.
Co-op’s decision to disregard these labels is actually a way to combat these common misperceptions. After all, just because a can of veggies is a day or two doesn’t necessarily mean they’re rotten.
And food safety experts seem to be on board with this approach. In recent years the USDA has tried to encourage greater transparency behind the true meaning of expiration labels. Their website even explicitly states “Foods not exhibiting signs of spoilage should be wholesome and may be sold, purchased, donated and consumed beyond the labeled ‘Best If Used By’ date.”
So how can we tell if our food will make us sick?
In many cases our own senses are better at detecting unsafe food than the dates on the labels. Weird odors and discoloration are usually telltale signs of rotting food. Does your milk smell rancid? Is that mold growing on your bread? Chuck it. When in doubt, always trust visible markers of spoilage over dates or labels. Also, freezers are your best friend and can considerably lengthen the shelf life of your latest grocery haul. All of this is valuable advice to remember as you head to the supermarket with your mind blown.
from Food News – Chowhound http://ift.tt/2AQGS2K
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How to Stock Your Wine Rack with 8 Bottles for Every Occasion
This is your wine rack speaking. Remember that optimistic moment in which you’d purchased me? You’d recently re-watched “Sideways” and conjured fantasies of curating a modest, eclectic wine collection, the type that might cause a future in-law to remark, “Oh, you have (blank)? I have completely underestimated you…” (You’d worry later about what wine would aptly fill that blank. And how to afford it. And how to snag a partner that would provide you with in-laws.)
Sorry to say it, but my sole tenant since then—the bottle of cheap Merlot that your friend’s parents pity-gifted you three Christmases ago—is not likely to make an appearance even in your tawdriest kitchen fantasies. You are not, as cautioned, drinking any friggin’ Merlot.
The time has come to clear away the cobwebs (and the cheap Merlot) and stock me up with accessible wines so that you will always have just the thing for any meal or occasion. Follow this simple matrix for eight stylistically diverse wines to keep on hand, then replace for each category as needed.
1. Champagne
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Yes, the real thing. Because of its nuanced method of production, Champagne has texture and energy that other, non-Champagne-method sparklers cannot hope to achieve. It pairs with everything and is appropriate for an aperitif, nightcap, or anything in between.
Look for: Brut or Extra Brut selections for maximum versatility
Pair with: literally anything, but especially fried or salty foods, special occasions and occasions such as “Tuesday”
2. Non-Champagne Sparkling
Dan Ciminera via flickr Creative Commons
Because you don’t want to waste the really good stuff on people who won’t appreciate it, and you should have something else to offer. You should also never displace half a glass of real Champagne to make way for fruit juice.
Look for: Prosecco or domestic sparkling wine made in a traditional or Champagne method
Pair with: orange juice. You know the drill.
3. White No. 1
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An unoaked, light-bodied white. It’s what you mean when you call for a “dry” wine. Something crisp and vivacious that goes equally well with sole meunière as with being upended into a S’well bottle alongside a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips. You can also swap in a rosé here, as it functions much the same way, unless you’re the kind of person who believes rosé deserves its own category, perhaps even its own wine rack.
Look for: a zippy Sauvignon Blanc, a mineral-driven Chenin Blanc, a peppery Grüner Veltliner, or an herbaceous rosé. Step away from the Pinot Grigio. We both deserve better.
Pair with: salads, sandwiches, seafood, and sea sides
4. White No. 2
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A full-bodied, textured white. For when conditions are ripe and you lapse into your once-yearly moxie to steam lobsters or roast a chicken.
Look for: Chardonnay. Or if you’ve worked up the nerve to pronounce it, Viognier. Feeling extra? Go for a Marsanne/Roussane blend from France’s Rhone region.
Pair with: butter. Richer preparations of lighter meats and seafood. More butter.
5. Dealer’s Choice White or Rosé
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You may exercise your power of agency here—go ahead, impress me! Are you well-rehearsed in the precise degree of gentle haughtiness with which to proclaim a wine “off dry?” Bonus points if your gut reaction was anything other than “more rosé!” Massive bonus points if you had even a fleeting thought of dessert wine or sherry.
Look for: off-dry Riesling or Vouvray, Sauternes or Tokaji, Fino Sherry
Pair with: (respectively) spicy foods, foie gras or ice cream, open-minded individuals
6. Red No. 1
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A light-bodied, juicy red. The red wine equivalent of a Nancy Meyers film: stylish, breezy, and best enjoyed while not thinking too much.
Look for: Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir
Pair with: lighter meats like pork and chicken, cool evenings with sensitive creative types
7. Red No. 2
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A medium-bodied, earthy or spicy red. These spirited, oft-forgotten reds are the chameleons in the red wine department, who can swing any direction you need them to—juicy enough to use for sangria, supple enough to stand in for a bigger red in a pinch. These also make for excellent cooking wines, both in terms of “the recipe calls for wine” as well as “the cook demands a glass.”
Look for: Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Sangiovese
Pair with: tomato sauce-based dishes, braises, that one jazz album you like to cook to
8. Red #3
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Big red. I mean, big. Huge.
Look for: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz
Pair with: something bold, something stewed, something with marrow, or something blue (i.e. very rare steak)
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