It’s broo-SKET-tuh, not broo-SHET-tuh. Photo
by Vitalina Rybakova | IST.

When we were young, there was a long-running ad for a self-improvement course that promised to make upwardly-aspirational Americans more cultured. One of the ads had this headline: “I’ll have a cup of expresso, please. And make it black.”

There is no “expresso,” of course; and it it always black. Take the course, and you’ll never be embarrassed by such errors.

While this ad began running in the early 20th century, the same mistakes are made today. Eat24.com, an online delivery and takeout service that delivers restaurant food in 950 cities nationwide, pulled together a list of most frequently mispronounced foods; and we’ve added a few.

Have fun with it, and feel free to submit your own list.

Beignet: Pronounced ben-YAY, the best of these French-style doughnuts we’ve ever had were at Café du Monde in New Orleans (worth a trip!). Here’s more information and a photo of beignets.

Chipotle: Pronounced chee-POHT-lay, these are dried, smoked jalapeño chiles. For some reason, it’s also misspelled by more than a few of the small producers who send us products. They insist on spelling it (and no doubt, pronouncing it) “chipolte.” These pineapple chipotle ice pops are truly delicious. More about chipotle.

Crudités: Pronounced croo-dee-TAY (or in English, croo-dee-TAYS—the French don’t pronounce the “s” on the end), this is the French term for raw vegetables served in bite-size pieces with a dip. It’s one of our favorite low-calorie party foods and snacks. Serve it with this tzatziki recipe, made with nonfat Greek yogurt.

Espresso: Pronounced: es-PRESS-oh. There is no “x.” See the different types of espresso drinks.

Gnocchi: Pronounced NYAWK-kee. The most famous potato pasta, these small dumplings can be served plain or flavored. Here are tips for making gnocchi, a gnocchi recipe and a sweet potato gnocchi recipe.

Gyro: Pronounced YEE-row or ZHEER-oh. If you must, say “hero,” but never JI-row or GY-row. Here’s how the hero sandwich got its name.

Habanero: In Spanish, the pronunciation is ah-va-NEH-ro, but Americans can say hah-bah-NEH-row. That’s an “n,” not an “ñ,” in the center of the word. Here’s more about habanero chiles, the hottest in Latin America.

Gnocchi, pronounced NYAW-kee. Photo by Neco Garnicia | SXC. .

Pho: Pronounced FUH. This complex and luscious Vietnamese soup deserves to be pronounced correctly. Here’s a pho recipe.

Quinoa: Pronounced KEEN-wah. One of the most nutritious foods on earth, “quinoa” means “mother grain” in the Inca language, Quechua. Serve it as a side instead of rice or potatoes, and try this quinoa tabouli recipe.

Sriracha: Pronounced shree-RAH-cha, lovers of hot sauce should pick up a bottle. Made from hot red chiles, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt, the sauce is named after the coastal city of Si Racha on the Sea of Thailand, where it was first produced and served at seafood restaurants. Try it in this Red Curry Shrimp recipe.

Quesadilla: Pronounced kay-suh-DEE-yuh. Originating in Mexicao, a quesadilla is a flour or corn tortilla filled with a savory mixture containing cheese (queso) and other ingredients, then folded in half to form a half-moon shape. Here’s a ribeye quesadilla recipe from Bobby Flay. Or, try this American fusion peanut butter snack quesadilla.

Worcestershire Sauce: Pronounce WUS-teh-SHEER. It is believed that a Captain Henry Lewis Edwardes (1788–1866) brought the recipe for the sauce home after travels in India. It is not known how the recipe got to Lea and Perrins, but John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, two dispensing chemists (pharmacists) in Worcester (pronounced WOO-ster), England, created a recipe that was first sold commercially in 1837. “The Original Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce” is now owned by H.J. Heinz Company.

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Make this delicious beef pot pie. Photo and
recipe courtesy BettyCrocker.com.

Remember your high school math: Pi (3.14159) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

Math geeks have declared 3.14 (March 14th) Pi Day. But we’re adopting it as “Pie Day”; and why not, since a pie is a circle, and you can use pi and the diameter of your pie plate to calculate the circumference. (Lame or a good excuse to bake a pie? You be the judge).

Why bake a savory pie instead of a sweet one? The original pies were savory. Fruit pies and other sweet versions did not evolve until the 1300s and later.

There are plenty of delicious savory pies, from that American favorite, pot pie, to British steak and Stilton pie. To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, how about a beef and Guinness pie?

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PIE

The ancient Egyptians, who were great bread bakers, also worked out the details of early pastry. But don’t salivate at the thought of it: Until relatively recently, the pastry was tough, inedible and used as a cooking vessel. Pie was a savory dish scooped from the crust—more like a casserole.

In the millennia before baking pans were invented, a dough of flour and water paste was wrapped around meat or fish to soak up the juices as it cooked. Pastry as we now know it was developed in the Middle East (a baklava, made of phyllo dough layered with nuts and honey, was brought to Mediterranean Europe by the Muslims and Greek seamen around the 7th century.

What about those noted gourmands, the Romans? Greek and Roman pastry did not progress as far as it could have because both cultures used oil, not butter, which can’t create a stiff pastry. It wasn’t until much later, in medieval Northern Europe, that the traditional use of lard and butter instead of oil for cooking hastened the development of other pastry types.

The Renaissance saw a pie-baking boom in England, but still they were meat pies, including the legacies of shepherd’s pie (lamb and vegetables) and cottage pie (beef and vegetable). Both have a mashed potato top instead of top crust.

By the 17th century, flaky and puff pastries were in use, developed by French and Italian Renaissance chefs. Pastry began to become highly decorated, with pastry chefs working intricate patterns on the crusts.

PIE BAKING TIPS

 
CHECK OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PIES IN OUR PIE & PASTRY GLOSSARY.

Easy spinach and Parmesan pie. Photo and recipe courtesy BettyCrocker.com.

Homemade peanut brittle. Photo courtesy
LearnToCook.com.

You’ve never made peanut brittle before? It’s time: March is National Peanut Month.

We’re presenting a recipe from chef Mark Dowling of LearnToCook.com, a website dedicated to getting the whole family in the kitchen with easy video recipes showcasing the basics of cooking.

His easy recipe for peanut brittle is below. Chef Dowling was kind enough to take the time to create our special request: a variation for St. Patrick’s Day that adds a touch of Irish whiskey.

For other occasions, you can substitute the spirit of your choice; and use whatever nuts you like. (We love pistachio brittle.)

You can keep the recipe kid-friendly by enhancing it with seeds (flax, pepita/pumpkin and/or sesame seeds), mini chocolate chips, crumbled bacon or chile heat.

The recipe yields five pounds of brittle.

EASY PEANUT BRITTLE RECIPE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. COARSELY CHOP the nuts. Sift baking soda to eliminate any lumps.

2. BUTTER 2 cookies sheet trays/half sheet pans and set aside.

3. PLACE sugar, corn syrup, water OR optional whiskey and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring regularly to avoid scorching. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot.

4. REDUCE heat to medium and continue boiling at a moderate steady rate until mixture reaches 275°F. This might take about 35 minutes. Stir frequently. When you reach 275°F…

5. SIR in the nuts. Then continue to cook over low heat. Keep stirring regularly. At this stage, you want the mixture to reach 295°F, the “hard crack stage.”

Go ahead: Take a bite! Photo courtesy LearnToCook.com.

It might take another 15 minutes to get there, but keep a close eye on the thermometer so it doesn’t overcook!

6. REMOVE pan from the heat and remove the thermometer.

7. SPRINKLE in baking soda; stir thoroughly to combine. POUR immediately onto the buttered sheet pans. Use two forks to lift up and separate the mixture as it cools.

8. COOL thoroughly overnight. Then break up as desired and store in an airtight container.

Adults only: Sip some Irish whiskey as you enjoy your whiskey brittle.

Today is National Peanut Cluster Day.

There is no documentation on the first appearance of the peanut cluster, but we know a few things:

Easy homemade peanut clusters. Photo
courtesy TasteOfHome.com.

We chopped some caramels into our nut
clusters. Photo courtesy Hammonds
Candies.

EASY PEANUT CLUSTERS RECIPE

This recipe was adapted from one submitted to Taste Of Home by Joy Dulaney of Highland Village, Texas. The total prep time is less than 30 minutes.

The original recipe called for milk chocolate confectionary coating.* You’ll get much better flavor from using a quality chocolate couverture (we used Guittard). You can also use real chocolate chips.

You can use dark, milk or white chocolate, or split the recipe in half or thirds and make some of each.

The recipe also uses toffee bits, an easier recipe than making caramel peanut clusters. However, if you have caramels on hand, you can chop up an equivalent amount to substitute for the toffee bits. We took that route, and preferred the chewiness of the caramel.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MELT chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave-safe dish. Stir until smooth.

2. STIR in peanuts and toffee bits. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Let stand until set.

3. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 5 dozen clusters.
 
Variations

You can substitute the toffee/caramel bits for more nutritious inclusions, or divide the eight ounces into equal portions of toffee/caramel and the following::

FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE CANDIES & CANDY RECIPES.

*Confectionary coating, also called compound coating and decorator’s chocolate, is a chocolate-type product that substitutes vegetable oil for all or part of the cocoa butter. Along with sugar and cocoa powder, traditional chocolate production techniques are used to create a less expensive coating that does not require tempering, melts easily and hardens quickly. In milk chocolate-flavored coatings, whey powders, whey derivatives and dairy blends can be used instead of powdered milk. Products made with confectionary coating must be designated “chocolate-flavored,” to indicate that they are not “real” chocolate.

How well do you know your coffee?

Counter Culture Coffee wants you to get to know it better. You’re invited to take part in The Counter Culture Coffee Cup Tasters Challenge 2013, held on March 15 in:

 
Events in all regions start at 7 p.m. E.T., 6 p.m. C.T. in Chicago.

Taste the coffee black to discover the differences. Photo courtesy Derby Pie.

Known in the industry as “coffee cupping,” this is the process professionals use to assess different coffees—for example, to decide if and how to improve the roast or blend, or which beans should be served/sold by the establishment.

The Counter Culture event, though, is a consumer contest for a regional title win. The overall winner gets a chance to go to the Specialty Coffee Association of America conference in Boston this April, to compete in the U.S. Cup Tasters Championship.

For a $5.00 entry fee, participants get to taste delicious coffees: multiple sets (flights) of three cups each. To win, you’ve got to correctly identify which cup is different from the other two in each set.

Ready to put your palate to the test? Registration information is at CounterCultureCoffee.com.

March 5th is National Absinthe Day, celebrating a spirit that for almost a century was banned in the U.S. Here’s the history of absinthe.

A green-colored spirit made from the flowers and leaves of the wormwood herb (Artemisia absinthium), absinthe was a favorite of Parisian writers and artists of the 19th century, who called it the “green fairy” and credited it with powers of creativity.

However, consumption of absinthe was accused of leading to hallucinations and madness. The troublemaker was believed to be a chemical component of wormwood, thujone. Today, we know that while thujone can be dangerous in large quantities, there is far too little of it in absinthe to have any negative effect. There is no modern proof that absinthe is any more dangerous than any other spirit.

General alcoholism, possibly in combination with other medical maladies, were the most likely causes of the hallucinations and madness of absinthe drinkers. In 2008, it became legal to import absinthe into the U.S., and domestic distillation began as well.

Pernod Absinthe, the original absinthe brand, has whipped up some cocktails to get everyone in the “green fairy” mood.

Serve a Green Beast for National Absinthe Day or St. Pat’s. Photo courtesy Pernod.

ABSINTHE COCKTAIL RECIPE: GREEN BEAST

Ingredients Per Drink

El hada verde—the green fairy with tequila.
Photo courtesy Pernod.

Preparation

1. MUDDLE 2 slices of cucumber in a cocktail shaker.

El hada verde is Spanish for la fée verte, or green fairy. The green fairy becomes el hada verde when tequila is mixed with absinthe.

ABSINTHE COCKTAIL RECIPE: HADA VERDE

Ingredients Per Drink

Preparation

1. MUDDLE a rosemary sprig in a mixing glass. ADD tequila, absinthe, lime juice and simple syrup and shake with ice.

2. RIM a rocks glass with salt, if desired.

3. STRAIN cocktail into a glass. Garnish and serve.

Bean chili with cubes of tofu. Photo
courtesy House Foods America.

Today is National Chili Day. Chili has long been the subject of passionate debate:

Texas-style or Mexican? Beef only, meat and beans or beans-only-vegetarian? With tomatoes or without? Spiced with cumin? With a dash of chocolate or coffee? Served plain or over rice? Et cetera, et cetera and so forth.

Whatever your preferences, today is the day to enjoy a steaming bowl of chili. Make it with beans: Americans eat too few bean dishes, and beans are such an important, inexpensive and nutritious source of protein.

For even more protein and texture, add tofu. You’ll have a delicious dish that’s high in protein and low in fat.

We adapted this recipe from House Foods America, America’s leading purveyor of tofu, which is non-GMO verified and made from certified organic soybeans.

TOFU BEAN CHILI RECIPE

We like the medey of three different types of beans, but if you only have one or two on hand, that’s O.K., too.

Ingredients

 
*We like to save the drained liquid and use it instead of water in other recipes. It adds more flavor, but you may need to add less salt to the recipe because of the salt already in the canned vegetable liquid.

Preparation

1. HEAT olive oil in a large pot. Add onion and garlic and bell pepper and sauté until tender.

2. ADD remaining ingredients except tomatoes and tofu, stirring to combine.

3. ADD tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. ADD tofu and cook an additional minute or two until heated. Serve plain or with rice or other grain.

VARIATION: For a more soup-like dish, add a cup or two of tomato juice or broth.
 
QUICK RECIPE WITH CANNED CHILI

If you don’t have a lot of time, start with canned chili.

Ingredients

Enjoy chili plain or with a garnish of sour cream and chives or grated Cheddar. Photo courtesy McCormick.com.

Preparation

1. COMBINE ingredients in a pot and heat.

2. GARNISH and serve.

Something different: a Pineapple Cilantro
Margarita. Photo and recipe courtesy Sauza
Tequila.

Today is George Washington’s birthday. It’s also National Margarita Day.

Washington (1732-1799) never had a Margarita: The cocktail wasn’t invented until 1948, as the prevailing story goes (history of the Margarita).

But that doesn’t mean you can’t toast to both Washington and National Margarita Day, with two specialty Margarita recipes from Sauza Tequila: Pineapple Cilantro Margarita and Banana Margarita. Yum!

PINEAPPLE LIME CILANTRO MARGARITA

Ingredients For 6 Cocktails

1. RIM glasses with salt: Rub the rims with a lime wedge, then dip into a plate of salt.

2. COMBINE in a shaker the pineapple juice, cilantro, lime juice, orange juice, Tequila, orange liqueur and ice. Shake until cold. Serve up or on the rocks. Salud!

BANANA MARGARITA

Ingredients For 9 Cocktails

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE optional banana garnish: Roll banana in brown sugar, slice and broil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until sugar caramelizes.

And now for something completely different: a banana Margarita with beer. Photo and recipe courtesy Sauza Tequila.

3. RIM glasses, if desired. Serve with or without ice.
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S FAVORITE FOODS

A wealthy gentleman farmer, George Washington “kept a bountiful table,” as the saying went. And he kept it daily: According to TheFeastingQuest.com, he and Martha entertained constantly during his presidency; and during the 20 years after Washington left office, George and Martha only dined alone twice!
 
Washington was extremely fond of fish, eating it almost daily, served in many different ways. At breakfast he favored hoe cakes, cornmeal pancakes served with melted butter and honey (the name references the original way of cooking them, on a hoe that had been heated in a fire). Also appearing regularly on the Mount Vernon table:

Mmm, gumdrops. Photo courtesy Farley’s &
Sathers.

It’s National Gumdrop Day.

Gumdrops are a chewy, brightly-colored, fruit-flavored confection, shaped like a truncated cone and coated in granulated sugar. When they are flavored with spices (allspice, cinnamon, clove, licorice, peppermint and wintergreen, for example) they’re called spice drops.

Gumdrops are believed to be an American invention, but the date and the inventor are lost to history (along with the origin of the phrase, “goody goody gumdrops.” The earliest known printed reference is advertisement from The Illinois State Chronicle in 1859, offering “Fresh GumDrops, assorted flavor wholesale or retail.” Invention can predate reference by decades (or much longer—the earlier in history and the less surviving the printed material, it can be hundreds of years earlier).

Gumdrops are progenitors of the pectin- or gelatin-based group of candies that includes Dots, jelly beans, Jujubes and gummy candies. Although gumdrops and their siblings, spearmint leaves and orange slices, have fallen out of fashion in favor of of gummy candies, they are still popular with bakers (for garnishing cakes and cupcakes) and crafters. Where would gingerbread houses be without that gumdrop decor?

We think it’s time to get gummy with it, gumdrop-style. So track down some gumdrops and celebrate National Gumdrop Day. You may just find yourself asking, “Why don’t I enjoy these more often?”

If you’re ambitious, use them to make flower cupcakes.

 
*Outside the U.S., according to Wikipedia, the candy is known as American hard gums.

Tillamook, one of the country’s greatest producers of Cheddar cheese, has declared today “Squeaky Cheese Day.” For those who haven’t had the pleasure, squeaky cheese refers to cheese curds, small Cheddar nuggets so fresh that they squeak when you eat them.

Because of the short shelf life of cheese curds, they are normally sold only at the cheese factory. But in honor of Tillamook’s 104th birthday, you can buy their Squeaky Cheese Curds online today only, with some of the proceeds going to the Oregon Food Bank to support hunger relief. Two bags are $15.00, plus shipping.

Cheese curds are one of our favorite fun foods. In Wisconsin, where the many cheese factories produce a steady supply of cheese curds, they’re the bar food of choice and on the menu of almost every eatery, plain or flavored. The reason is: They only squeak when they’re fresh.

Some producers vacuum-pack them for wider distribution, so check at your cheese store or consider ordering them online from Tillamook, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese or other online source.

A perfect snack: cheese curds beer. Photo courtesy Rogue Creamery.

WHAT ARE CHEESE CURDS

Cheese curds are the fresh curds created in the production of Cheddar cheese. As milk is converted to cheese, it produces the solid curds and and the liquid whey.

To make Cheddar, the whey is drained off and the curds are pressed together in molds to form the cheese. But if you remove the curds and sell them, you provide a special treat.

Typically, you need to go to a Cheddar cheese factory to get curds, since they should be enjoyed the day they are made. But we’ve ordered them online and found them to be just as yummy a few days later. As the curds age they loose their squeak, but not their deliciousness.

Cheese curds form in random shapes: large nuggets the size of unshelled peanuts, with a texture something like mozzarella.

The flavor is mild, like mozzarella, but saltier; and while the majority of curds are sold plain, the flavored varieties are delicious. We’ve tasted everything from dill to jalapeño, and you can mix in your favorite flavor.

Cheese curds in dill and jalapeño flavors.
Photo courtesy Rogue Creamery.

WHAT MAKES CHEESE CURDS SQUEAK

The squeak you hear when you munch on cheese curds comes from the protein composition of fresh curds.

When the protein in the cheese rubs against the enamel of one’s teeth, it makes a squeaky sound.

As the curds age, moisture evaporates and the protein in the cheese consolidates. That’s why regular Cheddar cheese, and curds older than a few days, don’t squeak.

HOW FRESH TO THEY HAVE TO BE?

curds are ideally eaten the day they are made. After 24 hours they lose their squeak. And that’s why curds are not well known outside of areas where cheese is made. (The vacuum packaging, in which we received our mail-order curds, preserved them just fine.)

HOW TO ENJOY CHEESE CURDS

You can flavor plain cheese curds as you like. Pesto is an easy and delicious flavor agent.

 
In Quebec, perhaps the other North American cheese curd capital, the curds mixed with French fries and gravy to create the beloved French-Canadian snack, poutine. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.