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Brown Stock Primer #2

Why are veal bones the desired bones to use to prepare stock?  BECAUSE....drum roll please.... the bones of younger animals contain more cartilage and collagen, which makes a much richer, more velvety mouthfeel when the stock is finished.  This stock also makes a foolproof "aspic", once clarified,  though most people don't even know what that is anymore...   If you missed "Brown Stock Primer #1, it's on file right here at 'the blog"...  Now, wish me luck as I go feed 800 at the Franklin Convention Center - the Kentucky Legislature is in for a treat of Smoked Kentucky Trout Mousse on Cucumber Cups, and Sweet Potato Bourbon Soup with 5-Spice!!

For more Fun Facts subscribe to http://blog.lulasforlunch.com or visit http://www.lulasforlunch.com !

Brown Stock Primer #1

FINALLY I'm getting around to answering a question posed to me a few months ago (cooking keeps me busy you know!) ... What is the difference between Stock and Broth, or are they the same thing?  NO...they are not.  Though in modern cuisine the words are used interchangeably, classical cooking method teaches us that stock is prepared from bones (along with each chef's mysterious secret ingredients), and broth is prepared from meat and veggies, and anything else you want to throw in.

Intrigued?  Subscribe to http://blog.lulasforlunch.com or visit http://www.luasforlunch.com

Citrus Juice

If you follow these two steps, you will almost double the volume of juice you get out of  lemons, limes, oranges, grapepfruit and the like.  First, pop them in the microwave.  One fruit for 15 seconds.  Each add'l fruit gets 5 more seconds.   Then, place them on the counter or cutting board and putting the force of your "elbow grease" behind them, roll them around a bit.  You'll be amazed at the amount of juice you'll get!  Lula uses citrus in a myriad of recipes...Pork Loin with Peach Mango Salsa,  and Salmon Piccata are two.  Go to www.lulasforlunch.com  and guess which menu items contain citrus...there are 6 on our Breakfasty/Brunchy menu alone!!! - Lula

Holiday Leftovers

The "season" is over...if you're like me, ample leftover food is in the fridge. I served Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Creamed Parsnip Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus for dinner (along with the requisite Homemade Rustic Fennel Bread and Winter Greens Salad, several appetizers and of course, Gordon's Famous Pecan Pie)! The tenderloin is no mystery - slap it on the rustic bread with a little butter or mayonnaise and horseradish, topped with the salad and/or asparagus, and have lunch! The leftover potatoes become potato pancakes for breakfast with soul satisfying scrambled sausage eggs. But for the rest of you, what's left over? What are you doing with it? Have you frozen something to become "mystery dinner" sometime in the near future? Are you (Oh, NOOOoooooooo!!!!!!!) throwing things out? DON'T!!! Submit your questions/conundrums to ME...I'll help you "waste not, want not"!

Lori Pierce (Lula)
Lula'sfor Lunch...and More!
859-360-0251 (p,f)
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Buying Citrus

Citrus fruits have what looks like "pores" - just like our skin.  The larger the pores, the thicker the skin, the less the juice.  How easy is that!?!?  - Lula

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Thawing Turkey

It's crunch time!  Have a frozen turkey and not enough time?  Any bulk protein (turkey, whole chicken, roasts etc) is thawed more quickly and efficiently in water.  Sink not big enough?  Use the bathtub!  It takes a few hours, but that's a whole lot quicker than 3 days in the refrigerator!  Don't care about the science?  Stop here and just do what I say.  Want to know why?  Read on...

Thawing on the counter is dangerous because of the temperature "danger zone" from the outside in as the turkey begins to thaw.  Thawing on a low oven or in the microwave causes the meat to cook unevenly.  Thawing on un-coated aluminum is great (the best!)  for flat stuff like frozen steaks or boneless chicken breasts because of how heat transfers to cold stuff on flat surfaces.

Everything is made up of molecules &/or electrons, and they ARE heat.  Heat is NOT temperature.   Temperature is just our definition in numbers of how fast the molecules within a substance are moving.  Heat is simply the energy of moving molecules.  The more movement of the molecules, and the more closely the molecules are structured within a substance, the more heat. WATER has a much more dense molecular structure than air,  and is able to transfer heat to the frozen mass more quickly than air. 

I am thankful for my readers!  Happy Turkey Day! - Lula

Vanilla

There's lots to know about Vanilla.  I'll concentrate on a fact or two, and save the rest for another time.  Vanilla pods (bean is a misnomer) come from a specific Orchid.  Vanilla is technically a fruit!  If you enjoyed this fun fact, subscribe to where it came from:  http://blog.lulasforlunch.com  !!  You'll get stuff like this about once a week.  - Lula

Lula's Thanksgiving Menu - let US do the work!

Thanksgiving Menu for delivery 11/23

$14.00 pp/min 8


Homemade Rustic Bread

Winter Greens Salad w/Roasted Pecans & Figs


Choose one of Each:


Cajun Turkey Breast w/Oyster Stuffing & Gravy

Turkey Breast w/Mushroom & Cranberry Gravy


Creamed Yukon Gold Herbed Gravy Potatoes

Grand Marnier Sweet PotatoesRoasted & Whipped


Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Maple Glazed Peas & Carrots


Cranberry/Apple Crisp

Pumpkin Spice Cake


PO Box 15604 Taylor Mill KY  41015

p/f 859-360-0251

Meatballs!

I love that I'm always learning something new...I just had the best meatball I've ever had, and I'd like to share!  I've always made my meatballs with beef, pork and veal when so inclined to pursue this labor of love...but I just had a meatball with only pork and veal and I must say the texture and flavor were beyond compare!  The centuries old Stone House Inn in Farmington, PA  www.stonehouseinn.com has Italian roots and obviously they've kept the recipe the same.  The dish has inspired me to invent an Italian Meatloaf Sandwich and entree.  Be on the lookout!! - Till my next tasty traveling bite, - Lula

Butternut Squash

Did you know that smaller squashes are sweeter, and you should always pick butternut squashes that are longer than they are round at the bottom - you get more actual edible flesh that way since the seed pocket in the "fat bottom" isn't useable. - Lula
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