Category Archives: International

Christmas Dinner Ideas

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It’s nearly December and very soon it will be Christmas!  If there is one thing I love about Christmas, apart from celebrating Christ’s birth, it’s my childhood stocking that withstood the test of time.  I still remember my surprise and delight when on Christmas morning I found Kisses and a 5-dollar bill in it.

However, my fondest memory of Christmas isn’t really the chocolates or dollar bills, instead it’s the sumptuous Christmas dinners my Mom painstakingly prepared for the whole family.

Mom always made sure that her Christmas dinner was the year’s crème de la crème.  As I watched her prepare the family’s Christmas dinners for over the past 24 years, before I moved out and started my own family, I realized that my Mom had no special recipe, but each Christmas dinner turned out special because she mixed her love into it.

My Mom’s Christmas Dinners:

Poultry.  There’s no cooking etiquette against serving Turkey twice in a year’s time, is there?  Thanksgiving turkey is different from a Christmas turkey, although they can taste the same.  Mom always insisted on a turkey because of the size of our family however, if your own family objects, chicken or duck can make a tasty substitute.  You can try some garlic hot sauce with it.

Quick Tip:  To cook meat faster, use meat tenderizing marinade.

Bread and Pastries.  Cookies, cakes, and all those yummy treats that children love were on Mom’s table and should be on your Christmas dinner table, too.

Ham.  Cooked or sweet ham is an ideal Christmas dinner treat; in fact, Christmas is never complete without it.

Fruit.  Mom is half-Asian, and as most Asians believe, fruit on the dinner table during Christmas, especially on New Year’s Eve, ushers in good luck.  We never challenged her beliefs because fruit and salads are perfect for any occasion anyway.

Christmas Dishes From Around the World

For countries celebrating Christmas, Christmas dinners are never complete without a dish or two of the following:

Australia = roast turkey, grilled chicken in barbeque salsa, ham; cake, pudding, gingerbread, salads

Canada = roast turkey, fruitcake, gingerbread, candy canes

Finland = ham, mustard, casserole (vegetables, liver)

France = smoked salmon, oysters, roasted chicken

Germany = potato salad, ham (smoked or corned), sausages, baked apples

Hungary = roast goose, roast duck or turkey, stuffed cabbage

Jamaica = ham, chicken, goat in curry sauce, fruit cake, rice, peas

Philippines = roasted pig or chicken, pasta, fruits, salads

UK = roasted turkey, potatoes, brussel sprouts, pudding pie.

Italy = preferably fish (Most Italians abstain from eating red meat on Christmas).

So what will be on your table this Christmas?  Regardless of the menu you’ll whip up, just make sure you have enough love and food to go around. Happy Holidays.

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Balsamic Vinegar: The Older the Better

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As a follow up from last weeks article on olive oil, it is only fitting to discuss vinegar.  Balsamic vinegar isn’t brand of ordinary vinegar you have in the kitchen. It is aged like wine; the longer the aging process gets, the more expensive a bottle is.  And just like the best wines in the world that have placed their country of origin on the map, the best balsamic vinegar has placed not just Modena, Italy on the map, but also thousands of bottles and jars of its enthralling taste on store shelves of finest restaurants, gourmets kitchens and groceries in the world.  People, who have tasted salads dressed in fine balsamic vinaigrette, swore they never regretted paying top dollars for a bottle of this vinegar.  It is truly an experience worth its price.

Try it at a Barbecue Get-together

A backyard barbecue party among close friends, family and neighbors is one opportunity you can showcase your talent in cooking with balsamic vinegar.  Hoist up a market umbrella over these picnic chairs and call some friends to come over.  For a bigger crowd, you should be ready with a canopy this big and few picnic tables with your favorite school logo.

However, not all bottles of balsamic vinegar that you will find on store shelves can give you the same effect on your food and on your palate.  Even the best wines of California differ in taste.

Here are three things you should look for in the best bottle of balsamic vinegar.

1. A product of Modena, Italy. If it came from Modena, it must be good! Modena in Italy has rich soils very conducive for growing the Trebbiano and Lambrusco variety of grapes that produce the sultry taste in balsamic vinegar. This could be the reason too, why apart from its great history, Modena is known among its neighboring regions, as well as overseas as a land where great cooking is an everyday experience.

2. Age. The very best balsamic vinegar has been aged more than 18 years; obviously, it is the most expensive, too. This is not a secret among the locals, as they have long considered balsamic vinegar as “Modena’s wine”, not just its popular vinegar. It is common knowledge that wine tastes better, the longer it stays in its cellars.

Bottles of balsamic vinegar comes in different “ages”, such as 12, 18, 25 or shorter durations of 7 or 10. Naturally, the strength of balsamic vinegar varies according to its age.

3. Price. One distinguishing mark of the real thing is its price – in both luxury bags and balsamic vinegar. You would not get an Evelyne bag by Hermes for less than $2,000, would you? Any cheaper, then it could be a knock off! It is the same with Balsamic vinegar. Once a bottle’s price is “too good to be true,” more likely it is.

Before you heat up your charcoal barbecue grill, and before your first guests have arrived, you should have prepared your meat.

Use balsamic vinegar as a marinade on your meat or whip up balsamic vinegar dressing on salads, and for sure you will keep your guests wondering if you enrolled in a culinary course.  Thanks to Rachel Ray and YouTube, and of course your bottle of quality balsamic vinegar, you certainly can improve your culinary expertise, from just boiling an egg to learning some gourmet cooking.

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How To Prepare A Japanese Spider Crab

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When one thinks of crab, one often thinks of Alaskan King Crab legs, Dungeness or Snow crab. However, one type of crab which is often overlooked is that of the Japanese Spider Crab. A crab which is larger than most with long spindly legs and a bright orange coloring with white spots. In addition, the thorny eyes often throw people off course when considering such crab as a gourmet delicacy.

However, while in some areas, the Japanese Spider Crab is often revered, it is a gourmet cuisine in others. As such, it has been considered a delicacy for many years. However, when preparing crabs for cooking, if one is not going to cook such crabs live, then one needs to placed the crabs on ice before a process known as hibernation begins. After which, the best way to cook such crab is often by steaming in brine for 15 to 20 minutes depending upon the size.

However, if one is going to Cooking Crab Legs at home, there are a few things one may want to know. For example, while many cafes, diners and restaurants cook such crabs live, one can also preserve such crabs on ice for short periods of time. As such, if one is uncomfortable with cooking such creatures live, one can often have a local market put the crab on ice so that one can later cook the frozen crab at home.

Of course, like all crabs, the Japanese Spider Crab has a tough skin. However, unlike other crabs, this crab often has hairy skin up until adulthood. As such, one can tell how young or old such a crab is by the appearance of its outer skin. For, if the skin is hairy, it is often a younger crab. Whereas, when such skin is smooth, the crab is most likely an adult.

As to the habitat in which such crabs are found. Most often, this rare species is found off the coast of Japan, around the Japanese archipelago. However, it had originally been believed that such crabs covered a much larger area of the continent but had been eliminated due to over harvesting. Although, it appears the species is back to normal levels even with such ongoing harvest for culinary purposes.

In addition, to their size and overwhelming appearance, in earlier times it had also been believed that such crabs were some form of sea monster. As such, many may have been destroyed out of fear and understanding as have been destroyed for food. Regardless, such crabs have now become known as a delicacy among crabs and have now become known more for their flavor than their size.

To this end, while fear to some and food to others, it is believed that the Japanese Spider Crab is a crab among crabs. As such, many individuals believe there is no comparison between the taste of traditional crab such as Alaskan, Dungeness or Snow crab and that of this species. However, as one may often have to travel to locate this rare species of crab, many individuals never have the opportunity to try what has become known, at least in Japan, as a culinary delight unless one has an opportunity to visit such regions of the World.

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