Whether you’re a lent observer, or simply want to eat more healthfully, here’s inspiration from GetFlavor.com, a magazine and website for professional chefs.

It couldn’t be easier: Pan-sautéed fish topped with a light salad. Photo courtesy Whole Foods Market.

BOILING, POACHING OR STEAMING: THE DIFFERENCE

These three related cooking techniques are both healthful and easy. Here are the nuances:

Poaching

Poaching is a gentle cooking method used to simmer foods in a hot, but not boiling, liquid. Water is often used as the poaching liquid but its flavor is often enhanced with broth or stock, juice, vinegar or wine.

Typically, vegetables (carrot, celery, onion), citrus (lemon, lime, orange), herbs and/or spices are added to the liquid for additional depth of flavor. Chicken breasts, eggs, fish/seafood and fruit are good candidates for poaching.
 
Boiling

Boiling is more intense than poaching. Foods are cooked in rapidly bubbling liquid, most often water. Poaching is best suited to foods such as starches and vegetables that can withstand the high heat and the agitation of rapidly moving water.

Beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower hearty greens (collards, kale, turnip greens), pasta, potatoes and rice are some of the most frequently-boiled foods.

With this technique, foods are cooked by steam generated from boiling liquid. Water is most often used because little to no flavor is transferred to the food from the steam. Since there’s no direct contact with water, steaming retains the shape, texture and bright color (e.g., of asparagus or other vegetables and fruits) without becoming water-logged or soggy.

Steaming also prevents vitamins and minerals from dissolving into the cooking liquid. Fruits, proteins, vegetables and even desserts—cakes, custards and puddings) can be steamed.

For instructions on each of these techniques, visit CampbellsKitchen.com.

January 22nd is National Blonde Brownie Day, and May 9th is National Butterscotch Brownie Day. Both are earlier names for a blondie. Some blondies have chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, toffee chips, or an assortment. Nuts are optional.

The blondie got its name because as a brownie recipe without the cocoa, it was pale. Over time, the name got shortened to blondie. Others called them butterscotch brownies because of the rich notes provided by the blend of brown sugar and butter. Some recipes added butterscotch chips instead of chocolate chips. Of course, you can use both.

We recently received a gift of maple syrup, and were checking out our list of ways to use maple syrup. We settled on this recipe we’ve been wanting to try, for Maple Syrup Blondies from Lauryn Cohen of BellaBaker.com.

We actually prefer blondies with chocolate chunks to brownies. Lauryn prefers toffee bits in her blondies.

In this recipe, she substituted maple syrup for the toffee. As she explains, it gives the same sweet, caramelized flavor throughout the whole base of the blondie, rather than just in little toffee pockets. She also added in some cinnamon, chocolate chips, and coconut.

The result, she says, “a golden, sweet, amazingly fantastic blondie.”

> The history of blondies is below.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The year’s 44 cookie holidays.

> The 10 different styles of cookies (blondies and brownies are bar cookies).

> The different types of cookies: a photo glossary.

> The history of brownies.

> The history of cookies.

> The different types of sugars and syrups: a photo glossary.
 
 
RECIPE: MAPLE SYRUP BLONDIES

Ingredients

[2] We like to add extra chocolate chips (photo © King Arthur Flour).

[3] Birthday blondies (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex baking pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. WHISK together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. CREAM the butter and both sugars together in a large bowl, using electric beaters on medium-high speed, until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the maple syrup and vanilla; then reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients.

4. SWITCH to a rubber spatula and add the chocolate, coconut, and walnuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and slightly separated from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

5. WAIT until the blondies are completely cool before cutting into squares.
 
 
BLONDIES HISTORY

Blondies may have preceded brownies—in recipe, if not in name.

The first bar recipes that became brownies with added chocolate were made with molasses, giving them a dark hue. In the 19th century, they were called molasses bars.

The name “brownie” came later, honoring the elfin characters created by Palmer Cox that were featured in popular books, stories, cartoons and verses of the time. The Eastman Kodak Brownie camera was also named after these elves.

The addition of chocolate was an early-20th-century innovation (here’s the history of brownies). Around mid-century, molasses brownies became known as blonde brownies, a name soon shortened to blondies.

Here’s a more comprehensive history of blondies.
 

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Grilled cheese sandwiches, one of America’s favorites, are pretty easy to make,. Yet they’re not problem free.

Sometimes, the cheese does not melt evenly or quickly. This is especially true when you hand-slice quality cheese from a block, as opposed to using thin, easy-melting plastic-wrapped singles.

So here’s an easy, fast and foolproof tip for grilled cheese success: Shred the cheese first. It takes only a minute, and cooks so much better.

The other key to grilled cheese success (as we define it) is superior cheese and bread. To many people, American cheese singles on white bread does the trick.

Here, that trick doesn’t even get cursory consideration! We demand great cheese and bread (personal preference: a rustic, chewy loaf).

 
RECIPE: FOOLPROOF GRILLED CHEESE

Ingredients Per Sandwich

Preparation

1. BRING the butter to room temperature. If you’re making more than one sandwich, preheat the oven to 350°F so you can keep the first sandwich(es) warm.

2. SHRED the cheese roughly, like pizza cheese. We used a vegetable peeler.

3. PREHEAT a heavy skillet over medium heat. Slice the bread.

4. SPREAD one side of both slices of bread with the softened butter. Be sure the butter is spread generously and evenly over the surface.

5. PLACE one piece of bread, butter-side down, into the hot pan. The butter will sizzle when it hits the heat. Top the bread with the shredded cheese. Add any other ingredients. Top with the second piece of bread, butter side up. Lightly press with a spatula.

6. CHECK the bottom slice after a minute. If the underside is golden brown, flip the sandwich and cook until the second slice is equally golden.

7. STASH in the oven to keep the sandwich warm while you’re making the next sandwich. If the cheese is not completely melted before, it will finish melting in the oven.

Making grilled cheese sandwiches in a nonstick Calpahlon grill pan. Photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma.

TRADER JOE’S TRUFFLED CHEDDAR CHEESE

We picked up Trader Joe’s Farmhouse English Cheddar Cheese with Italian Truffles yesterday. At $9.99 a pound, it’s twice the price of the Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar Cheese we also purchased. But it’s an affordable luxury, and has good truffle flavor.

Paired with some sliced rustic sourdough bread from Le Pain Quotidien, it made a most satisfying grilled cheese sandwich. The truffle flavor is a big flavor boost; but for our second sandwich we added some caramelized onions that we had in the fridge. Equally good!

The folks at Sam Adams recently sent us some Rebel IPA, an India Pale Ale made in the West Coast style. It was a perfect complement to our grilled cheese sandwiches.

What’s a West Coast IPA?

East Coast IPAs have a stronger malt presence to balance the intensity of the hops. West Coast IPAs showcase the hops more.

According to Wikipedia, East Coast breweries rely more on spicier European hops and specialty malts than West Coast. According to us: Both are delicious.
  

[2] While most people make a meatball hero or sub with round meatballs, using slices of a meatloaf makes the sandwich easier to bite (photo © Urban Accents).

[]

Here’s a suggestion from From Eat Wisconsin Cheese.com: Switch the popular meatball submarine sandwich for a meatball hero, sub, or hero whatever you call it in your neck of the woods (see the note below).

It’s an easy way to feed a crowd during events like the Academy Awards. If you serve half a hero to everyone, along with other nibbles, this recipe feeds 12.

> August is National Sandwich Month.

> October 9th is Submarine Hoagie Hero Grinder Day.

> October 18th is Meatloaf Appreciation Day.

> November 3 is National Sandwich Day.

> The history of the hoagie/hero/submarine sandwich.

> The history of the sandwich.

> The different types of sandwiches: a glossary.
 
 
RECIPE: MEATLOAF HERO SANDWICH

Ingredients For 6 Sandwiches

 
Plus

1. MAKE the meatloaf; Preheat oven to 375°F (conventional; if using a convection oven, preheat to 325°F).

2. COMBINE the meats, Asiago, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, Dijon mustard, pepper, and salt in a bowl. Mix well and pack into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake the loaf until cooked through and browned, 55 to 60 minutes.

3. REMOVE the meatloaf from the oven and drain the fat. Cool completely before slicing into 12 slices.

4. BLEND the mayonnaise and mustard. Split the rolls and top each bottom bun with 1 tablespoon of the spread plus lettuce, 2 tomato slices, 2 meatloaf slices, and 2 provolone slices. Top with the roll tops, and serve the sandwiches with potato salad or French fries.
 
 
ONE SANDWICH, SO MANY NAMES

Hero is the New York term for the sandwich also called the grinder, hoagie, po’ boy, torpedo, submarine, zeppelin, and other names, depending on region.

The term “hero” originated in the late 19th century when the sandwich was created to serve Italian laborers, who wanted the convenient lunch they had enjoyed in Italy. The name is credited to New York Herald Tribune food writer Clementine Paddleford, who wrote that “you needed to be a hero to finish the gigantic Italian sandwich.”

The original hero sandwich, on an oblong roll, piled on Italian cold cuts, cheese, seasonings, oil, and vinegar. Varieties evolved to include the meatball hero, eggplant parmigiana, and chicken parmigiana heroes.

These days, basically, anything served on a large, oblong roll is a hero.

The other sandwiches—grinders, hoagies, etc.—developed with regional ingredients and preferences but also evolved to include anything served on a large, oblong roll.

FOOD TRIVIA: The sandwich is the #1 homemade dish.
 
 

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If your Oscar party will include sushi, how about a platter that looks like a director’s slate?

This fun idea comes from SushiShop, which isn’t selling the “director’s slate” platters but developed this as part of an advertising campaign.

You can make it yourself with:

 
Your local sushi restaurant can create this for you, or work with you to create a different design with different sushi varieties (check them out in our beautiful Sushi Glossary).

Check out the different types of caviar.