Fare Report: Monkey Bread B5

The Exponent
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013
Telegram
B5
Fare Report: Monkey Bread
There are certain times
of the year that elicit childhood memories. The temperature, the breeze, the
changing leaves or a rainbow after a storm all usher
in nostalgias from a different time.
September in particular
reminds me of one of my
childhood friends. Well, her
birthday party to be exact.
Every year, Steph would
invite a gaggle of little girls
to her home for a slumber
party. And every year, her
mom would make Monkey
Rachel
Jarvis
Columnist
Bread for breakfast.
The usual cast of invitees
would wait excitedly for the
day to arrive. We would
make sure to ask whether
Monkey Bread would make
an appearance.
It always did.
In the mornings, we
would stand around in her
mom’s kitchen waiting for it
to come out of the oven, and
once it did, squeals from little girls could be heard
around the neighborhood.
Monkey bread is a sugary
treat so I wouldn’t recommend it as a regular breakfast staple, but it is perfect
for an indulgent birthday
breakfast snack.
Serve with blueberries,
halved strawberries, milk
and juice for a truly scrumptious breakfast experience.
Monkey Bread
4 tubes of refrigerated
biscuits
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup packed brown
sugar
Pre-heat oven to 350
degrees. Cut each biscuit
into four pieces. Shape
pieces into balls. Combine
sugar and cinnamon in a
small mixing bowl. Roll the
biscuit balls in the sugar
and cinnamon mixture.
Arrange biscuit balls evenly in a greased 10-inch fluted pan.
Sprinkle biscuit balls
with the remaining sugar
and cinnamon mixture.
Combine melted butter and
brown sugar in a small
mixing bowl. Then, pour
the melted butter and
brown sugar mixture over
the biscuit balls and bake
for 35 minutes. Serve warm
with berries, milk and
juice.
Enjoy!
Competition to enhance your next meal
by Brian A. Floyd, CEC, CCE
PIERPONT COMMUNITY
& TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Imagine having to prepare
and
serve a four
course meal
f r o m
scratch in
75 minutes.
In addition,
imagine the
pressure of
having masFloyd
ter
chefs
looking over
your shoulder as you fabricate a whole fish or whole
chicken. Consider having to
perform exact knife cuts on
vegetables that are measured for precise accuracy.
September brings culinary team tryouts for our
students. Believe it or not,
the requirements above are
the exact expectations for
the students that make the
team.
Competition necessitates
efficiency, and often spurs
innovation. The average person at home, of course, probably doesn’t enter judged
culinary competitions. However, most of the food industry trends can be traced to
national and international
competitions.
National
restaurant
chains are a common area
where competition innovation often can be identified.
The flavor combinations
that you see on new menu
selections frequently were at
one time developed as part
of a competition menu.
Another area of the food
service industry that has
benefited from competition
is food safety and sanitation.
The standards for competition insure that the integrity
of food and the practices of
the competitor are impeccable.
The American Culinary
F e d e r a t i o n
(http://www.acfchefs.org/)
is recognized globally as
one of the preeminent
organizations for chefs.
The federation supports
and sponsors the United
States Culinary Olympic
team, and helps to establish competition guidelines.
Competitors at this level
compete on an international
stage. Interestingly, our culinary students are judged by
the same standards. In fact,
in some cases, they are
judged by the same judges.
At the junior hot foods
competition, the four team
members and alternate participate in three separate
phases of competition.
They begin with an 80minute skills relay. One fabricates (or butchers in a
very specific way) a chicken, one member fabricates a
fish, one member performs
intricate vegetable cuts, and
finally, one of the team prepares a list of pastry skills.
Next, the team has 75
minutes to prepare a four
course meal for four people.
The menu includes an appetizer, salad, entrée and
dessert. Either the appetizer
or entrée has to be prepared
Submitted photos
Top, desserts in culinary competitions tend to rely not only on taste, but artistic presentation.
Above, this salade Andalouse is an example of a visually appealing dish.
using a very specific classic
recipe. Generally speaking,
each course may have four
to 10 different recipes.
Lastly, the team prepares
a platter for eight people.
The food for the platter is
not tasted, but rather
designed for artistic presentation.
A number of variables
and guidelines has to be
considered when producing
the platter, but the end
result usually is some of the
most visually appealing,
beautiful food that you will
ever see.
The proliferation of the
Food Network has introduced the American public
to many cooking competitions. The raised consciousness helps us to
appreciate unique ingredients and helps to educate
dining consumers.
The next time you go out
for a fine meal, realize that
the wonderful flavor combination or the artful presentation may have been first
tested on a master chef.
Brian Floyd is the executive director of the Pierpont Culinary Academy and dean for the School of
Human Services at Pierpont
Community & Technical College.
Chicken with a kick
Editor’s Note: Readers who would like to
submit recipes and the stories behind
them should email them to [email protected] or call (304) 6261448.
by Neelam Worth
LEWIS COUNTY
This dish is so popular in North
India that many households
(including ours) cook it on weekends for the family. It’s a little
spicy for an American, but my husband, who’s American, can’t get
enough of it. He loves it, and I am
sure you will, too!
If you are fond of spicy food, then
try this dish cooked with an abundance of tomatoes. Serve with Basmati rice, flat Indian bread and
yogurt sauce called Raita (recipe
follows).
Home-style North Indian
Chicken (curry)
2-3 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut to
bite-size pieces
3-4 tablespoons of canola oil (can add more if needed)
1 1/2-pound ripe tomatoes, chopped fine
1 1/2 cup or one big onion, chopped fine
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon chili (red) powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 to 3 hot fresh green chilies
Grind to make powder of the following (called “garam
masala,” meaning hot spices): 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon,
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 2-3 cloves, 1/4 teaspoon
cumin (seeds or powder form).
Heat oil in a large cooking saucepan.
Add chopped garlic and chopped ginger until light brown, then add chopped onion, sauté until golden brown, then
add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.
Sauté this mixture for 5 to 7 minutes until it’s thick and brown. Now add the chicken pieces to this, along with
the turmeric powder and child powder. Keep sautéing until chicken is tender and golden brown. You will notice
that nothing sticks to the pan and the oils come out. This is a sign to taste the chicken, making sure it is fully
cooked. Add salt to taste.
Now, add 1 1/2 cups of water. Let it come to a boil and thicken a little (this is called chicken curry, or sauce).
Add finely cut up hot, fresh green chilies.
Finally, add the garam masala (which was powdered earlier with dry spices) and stir for 1 to 2 minutes.
Chicken curry should now be tender and ready to eat.
Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
Raita
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
or cilantro for garnish
2 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 small cucumber, peeled and
seeded
1 small onion, minced or chopped
fine
Salt and cumin powder to taste
Slice the cumber into 1/2 inch lengths.
Place in bowl with onion and yogurt. Stir
to mix until creamy. Add salt and cumin
powder.