Showing posts with label Figures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Figures. Show all posts

Thursday, December 9, 2010

How to Make the Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits

As a small child, I can remember sitting at the kitchen table and watching my grandmother make homemade buttermilk biscuits every Sunday morning. I loved to sit there and listen to her sing, as she would lovingly roll out her dough.

I could hardly wait until I was old enough to help her and that day finally came when I was about 7 years old. Finally, I could get in on the baking action. Over the years, I learned to make the perfect buttermilk biscuits which to this day, brings back wonderful memories of my now deceased grandmother.

Here are some important tips that I learnt along the way.

Biscuits will be crisp on the outside and flaky in the center if you roll the dough thin and fold it over once before cutting them out. They'll also split open easily when you're ready to butter them. I think they taste best with pure butter and not margarine on them.

To reheat biscuits, put them in a well-dampened paper bag, twist it closed and put in a 300º oven for several minutes or until warm.

When it comes to baking, if you bake them in a pan with sides and put them close together, you will get soft-sided biscuits. If you bake them on a flat cookie sheet and space them apart, you will get crustier biscuits.

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup solid shortening
1 envelope dry yeast
1/4 cup warm tap water
1 cup buttermilk

In a glass measuring cup, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and then cut-in the shortening. Stir in the buttermilk and yeast/water mixture. Refrigerate dough for 10-15 minutes. Roll dough out on a floured cloth or dough board and cut with a round biscuit cutter. Place dough on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the tops.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Make Restaurant Recipes at Home

If you are like me you love going out to eat. I can think of 50 restaurants of the top of my head, which I love. And better yet, as soon as I am there, I know exactly what I am going to order, and my mouth waters just thinking of how good it is going to taste. Of course these are my luxuries on the rare occasions my husband and I can find a babysitter and get out of the house.

See there are a few problems when it comes to eating out.
1) Waiting for a table,
2) The price and
3) Trying to keep my kids entertained while we wait for our food so that I can actually enjoy it when it comes.

None of the above is an easy task.

So what is a person to do, when you love the food but don't have the means to go out and get it? I love "Olive Gardens" Fettuccine Alfredo; I have tried hundreds of recipes and never found one that even came close. "Red Lobster", of course the seafood is good, but what about those cheddar biscuits they serve with every meal, have you ever tasted a better biscuit? I know I haven't. My husband is a huge fan of "Hooters" wings, but the one's you buy in the freezer department just don't compare. Have you been to "Starbucks" lately, great coffee, huge prices! I could go on and on about the top restaurant chains and how great their food is, but then, we go right back to my top three issues, time, money and kids, and I am right back where I started from.

So I started doing some research on restaurant dishes and recipes on how to make them, people have ton's of opinion but I couldn't find any that compare, but then I found "Copy Cat" recipe book and "Official Secret Recipes" what a god sent, I enjoy my favorite food now for the fraction of the cost and in the relaxed atmosphere of my own dining room table. Here is a sample from Copy Cat Cook book on "Red Lobster" Cheddar Bay Biscuits enjoy:

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2 C. Bisquick

1/2 C. cold water

3/4 C. grated, sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 C. butter

1 tsp. parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together baking mix, cold water, and grated cheese. Roll out biscuits in a floured surface. Biscuits should be approximately one inch thick. Cut biscuits with a cutter, and place onto an un-greased baking dish. Melt butter and seasonings together. Brush with the butter and spices and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Calories in restaurant foods are higher than expected

The Americans get a third of daily calories, and spend half their food dollars to food, which can be a problem if one considers that the calories in restaurant food is often higher than expected. To search for and seek customers in continuation of this behavior, given the difficult economic situation, seem to offer more and more restaurants are loaded with portions of saturated fat, calories and salt food.

In fact, the typical restaurant appetizer, meal and desert about 1,000 calorieseach. More than you think, does not it?

And since it is almost unheard of for a restaurant nutrition information to distribute the order to get most of us more salt, fat and calories than we did, that to think about dinner.

To inform the guests, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has to come up with a list of the worst restaurant meals in the form of calories, fat and salt.

The group ESSEN 2009 Xtreme dishes that appear in the June issue of NutritionAction Health Letter include:

- Applebee's Quesadilla Burger and fries, bacon cheeseburger wrapped in a quesadilla that packs 1,820 calories, 46 grams of saturated fat and 4410 milligrams of sodium. You can add these sums by topping up your fries with chili and cheese anymore.

- Chili's Big Mouth Bites serves four mini (not all very small) over bacon cheeseburger, fries and onion strings with jalapeno ranch dip to 2350 calories, 38 grams saturatedFat, 3940 milligrams sodium.

- Chili's Original Baby Back Ribs half rack adds 490 calories, 12 grams of saturated fat and 2,050 milligrams of sodium non starter. Consider how the addition of a Quarter Pounder with cheese in your meal.

- Olive Garden Tour of Italy brings home the lasagna, chicken parmigiana and creamy fettuccine Alfredo lightly floured to create a trifecta of a meal with 1450 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat and 3,830 milligrams of sodium.

- Gambero Rosso Fondue Ultimate includes shrimp and crab in a lobster covered with cheese sauce in a warm, crunchy sourdough bread bowl to give you 1,490 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat, sodium, 3580 milligrams.

- The Cheesecake Factory Fried macaroni and cheese supplies four balls of fried cheese and marinara creamy white flour and supplies 1,570 calories, 69 grams of saturated fat (3 ½ days value) and AS1, 860 milligrams sodium.

- The Cheesecake Factory and chicken> Cookies is far from comfort food, even though the centers around a potentially healthy chicken breast. The problem comes from the mashed potatoes, shortbread biscuits, mushrooms, peas and carrots covered with rich gravy that carry a cumbersome 2,500 calories.

- The Cheesecake Factory Philly Style Flat Iron steak with french fries add cheese to a large extent, grilled red meat and fries for 2320 includes calories, 47 grams of saturated fat (2 ½ daysvalue) and 5,340 milligrams of sodium (3 days worth).

- Uno Chicago Grill mega-sized Deep Dish Sundae dessert that starts with a monster chocolate chip cookies, add ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce topped with a sweet with 2,800 calories and 72 grams of saturated fat to create.

Menu Education and Marking (Food) Act, a measure of menu labeling, only to Congress in May 2009 was introduced, has the strong support of the Center for Science in the public interest andChance, adopted in the near future.

The measure requires fast-food chains and restaurants (some with over 20 seats) for information on the nutrient-screen menu, and tags, which should include the number of calories show values of more trans fat saturated fat, carbohydrates and sodium.

The National Restaurant Association points that there are healthier options on menus than ever before. They also argue that the size of portions, rather than increases to be smaller,As a measure of economic slowdown.

While not opposed to the idea of nutritional information is facing, the organization of supporting a measure in calories, salt and fat in other places, such as a brochure or a poster would show.

help If you want to eat even better when consumed by a dinner, you can:

1. Check the nutrition information of menu items on-line before arriving at the restaurant.

2. Ask for healthy cookingAlternatives such as baked or broiled or, failing that, a vegetarian for a side dish, or choose one of the many decorations unhealthy Instead of all of them.

3. Cut the portion size in half by ordering a lunch-size or half-pint, reducing the impact of the calories in restaurant food, or take half of your meal from the pot before you start eating, and put it in a box "to go to store and play back later.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Diversity of Bakery Products - Something For Everyone

Bakery products are integral part of meals in our daily life. We use different types of food or foodstuffs prepared in bakeries in or around our neighborhood. Some common and most popular bakery products are cakes, cookies, biscuits, and breads. People from all ages love group love these products and use them in their daily meals.

However, there are a few specific products for people with some special taste of attributes. Even the same product can have different flavors or taste based on their ingredients. The choices of these products are always different for different set of people. It is not necessary that all members of a family love the same product.

Evergreen Products by expert Bakers

An expert baker knows the taste of people and then prepares the products based on their individual choices. The most important thing required in all bakery products is the hygiene, quality and durability. To fulfill the demand for different taste and flavors, bakers produces same product with different flavors and ingredients.

Some all time favorite products with different variations in their flavors, ingredients and taste are as following:

Cakes - The best example of this variation is our most loving bakery product, Cake. There are numerous flavors of cake available in market. Some people love chocolate cake, some love vanilla cake, some love pineapple cake. These cakes have different flavors. Similarly, a few people avoid having cakes that contain egg. To cater the tasting need of such customers, expert bakeries always produces eggless cakes.

Cookies - Cookies are a favorite bakery product of kids as well as elders. Everyone loves to have them after their dinner or all other time during the day if possible. Some people are crazy for cookies. They keep cookies with them always. Again, you can find variation in types of cookies. You can find chocolate cookies and other sweet cookies with different fruit flavors.

Biscuits - You cannot imagine your morning tea and evening tea without a few biscuits to nibble. Here again people have different types of taste for biscuits. To fulfill their demands bakers produce different types of biscuits including cream biscuits, sweet and salty biscuits with cashew nuts, and almonds as their secondary ingredient.