Fine restaurants know that exciting presentation of food is almost as important as the preparation of the dish. They don’t serve main courses with mounds of starch and vegetables circling the protein; they use potatoes, rice and veggies as the bed to hold the protein.

In its simplest form, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House in New York City shows how easy it is to put your protein atop a bed of grains. You can center the protein or place it off-center, as shown in the photo.

Whatever the bed comprises—see our list below—you can make it more visually arresting and flavorful with mix-ins. Here, Del Frisco adds diced vegetables to brown rice.

Use a spoon to drizzle the sauce; you can make an easy sauce by deglazing the pan.

Start with grilled, poached or sautéed meat, poultry or seafood (or tofu). For a bed, use:

 
*The asterisk indicates a whole grain.
 
MIX INS

A combination of ingredients is always more interesting than one alone. Would you rather have a bowl of lettuce, or a salad of lettuce plus three or four other vegetables?

Try to enhance any of your beds with at least one other ingredient; for example:

 
Happy bedding!

First of all: What’s a canapé (can-uh-PAY)?

It’s a type of hors d’oeuvre: a small, savory bite on a base of bread, toast or pastry. It is a finger food, eaten in one or two bites.

Canapés are often served at cocktail parties, and in the hands of a caterer or chef they can be beautifully decorated works of edible art. Canapé is the French word for sofa. The idea is that the toppings sit on a “sofa” of bread or pastry.

These Super Bowl snacks are much more down to earth, as befits the occasion. They’re guacamole canapés, a change of pace from the same old, same old guacamole and chips.

Since the tomatoes and onions are separate from the mashed avocado, this is effectively “deconstructed guacamole.”

The recipes below are courtesy Wholly Guacamole.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SLICE baguette into 1/2 inch slices and toast lightly. Spread approximately 2 tablespoon of guacamole on each slice.
2. TOSS diced tomatoes with onions an cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. DISTRIBUTE tomato/onion mix to canapés. Top with lime slices and serve on a platter.

Most people enjoy a classic wedge salad: iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing. Here, we turn it into finger food.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CUT lettuce into mini wedges, about 3 inches each. The objective is to pick them up by hand.

2. TOP with bacon and tomato slices.

3. DRIZZLE with blue cheese dressing and top with optional crumbled blue cheese. Serve on a platter.

Mini iceberg wedge salad, for when you just want a taste. Photo courtesy Wholly Guacamole.

Dana’s Bakery, a wonderfully creative maker of delicious macarons (a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week—here’s the review), has created two flavors for the occasion:

 
In vibrant team colors, each bite is a victory. Get yours at DanasBakery.com. The line is certified kosher.

Who needs chicken wings, guacamole and pizza? We’re set with our Super Bowl macarons. Game on!

VALENTINE MACARONS

For Valentine’s Day, Dana has transformed the classic Sweethearts candy, also called conversation hearts, into macarons.

Sweethearts are made by the New England Confectionery Company (NECCO), makers of Necco Wafers. Each hard heart-shaped candy is printed with a romantic message: “Be Mine,” “Kiss Me,” “Adore Me,” and “Crazy 4U” are some of the messages.

WHO INVENTED SWEETHEARTS CANDY?

Sweethearts date all the way back to 1866. In 1847, 26-year-old Boston pharmacist Oliver R. Chase invented a machine that cut lozenges from wafer candy—similar to Necco Wafers.

In 1866 Oliver’s brother, Daniel Chase, designed a machine that pressed designs onto the wafers, and began printing sayings on what had become “candy.”

Sweethearts were launched by NECCO in 1901. In 2010 the recipe was changed to allow for bright modern colors; contemporary sayings have been added, such as “Email me” (no doubt soon to be “Text Me”) and “LOL.” NECCO receives hundreds of suggestions a year on new sayings.

Sweetheart macarons are available from DanasBakery.com.
  

You can purchase the six-cup version at Macy’s for $14.99; it also is available in pumpkin orange and cobalt blue. A three-cup version is available at Kohl’s.

Bialetti, originators of the moka pot, make six-cup versions in solid red, orange, blue and violet.

Up until few decades ago, before the introduction of electric-powered espresso machines for the home, people with money made espresso in a moka pot, a manual Italian espresso maker. People without money, space or a frequent need for an electric espresso machine still do.

WHAT’S A MOKA POT?

A moka pot is a stove top coffee pot that makes strong coffee. Instead of the more recent drip coffeemakers, where water drips down through ground coffee into a carafe below, the moka pot holds the water in its bottom half. When heated on the stove, the steam pushes boiling water up through the grounds into a top chamber, from which it is poured.

HISTORY OF THE MOKA POT

The aluminum Moka Express, with its octagonal body, was patented in 1933 by the Italian inventor Luigi De Ponti and acquired by Alfonso Bialetti. It enabled Bialetti, a metals engineer, to transform his company into a leading Italian coffee machine designer and manufacturer.

Before the moka pot, only people of means could brew café-quality coffee at home, using large and expensive commercial machines that required training. Most people drank their coffee at a café or coffee bar.

The creation of the small, efficient, user-friendly and affordable Moka Express allowed anyone to quickly brew at home the bold, robust-tasting coffee beloved by Italians. It replaced the more primitive coffee-makers developed in the late 19th century such as the Napoletana.

Although today there are electric moka pots, it the original survives in its original form—a feat for a kitchen appliance designed more than 80 years ago. The major change has been a move to stainless steel by some the versions, as well as novelty designs like the one above and Bialetti’s cappuccino moka pot with a fun cow-pattern enamel coating (there’s also a plain, elegant cappuccino pot).

WHY IS IT CALLED “MOKA?”

The Red Sea port city of Mocha in Yemen was the major marketplace for coffee—grown in Africa—from the 15th century through the 17th century. The principal port for Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a, it was later eclipsed by the ports of Aden and Hodeida.

Because the name is transliterated from Arabic letters, there are a variety of spellings: Mocha, Mocca, Moka, Mokha, etc.

Even after other sources of coffee were developed, Mocha beans (also called Sanani or Mocha Sanani beans, meaning “from Sana’a”) continued to be prized for their distinctive flavor—and remain so today.

HOW TO BUY A MOKA POT

Remember that a “four cup pot” means four wee espresso cups. If you like a double espresso—or a standard coffee cup full—buy the largest pot you can find—typically nine cups. Bialetti’s largest makes 12 cups.

If you have the option, stainless steel will look better over time than aluminum.

Typically, Italian roast coffee is used in a moka pot; but you can use whatever you have.

 
MAKE TEA IN A MOKA POT

What if you have two moka pots? Use one for tea. See our moka pot tip from ten days ago.

[2] Traditional Chinese egg rolls (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

The Chinese New Year begins on January 31st; the Super Bowl is February 2nd. Here’s a dish that combines both concepts: Buffalo Chicken Steamed Dumplings.

The recipe for this fusion food—Chinese steamed dumplings crossed with Buffalo chicken wings—was developed by IMUSA USA. The company manufacturers cookware for international cuisine, including the bamboo steaming basket in the photo.

> The history of Chicken & The History Of Buffalo Wings.

> The Top 10 Chinese dishes in the U.S.
 
 
RECIPE: BUFFALO CHICKEN STEAMED
DUMPLINGS

Ingredients

1. MIX first 9 ingredients (chicken through pepper) by hand in a medium bowl until evenly combined.

2. ASSEMBLE dumplings by placing dumpling wrapper on a flat surface. Roll a small ball of the chicken mixture between your hands, about a tablespoon, and place in the center of the wonton wrapper.

3. DIP a finger in a cup of water and run it around the edges of the wrapper. Pick up a wrapper and chicken ball with one hand (between your thumb and index finger) and begin pinching hard around the wrapper until it tightly wraps the chicken ball. Re-pinch if necessary.

4. SPRAY the steaming basket with non-stick spray and add the dumplings. Steam for 10 minutes until fully cooked.

5. MAKE the hot sauce by gently heating the hot sauce and the butter. Spoon some sauce on a plate and place dumplings on top. Garnish with more crumbled blue cheese, if desired.
 
 

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