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dishBy JANET K. KEELER © St. Petersburg Times, deconstructingexplanations from the inside outrice cakes
Have you ever eaten a rice cake and not had someone ask you, "Doesn't that taste like cardboard?" Well, sometimes yes, it does. Especially those that haven't been flavored with caramel, peanut butter, banana nut or even chocolate. Rice cakes, inspired by the cakes that are part of many Asian cuisines, have come on strong in recent years as healthy noshes. The no-fat variety were especially popular at the height of the low-fat diet craze of the late '80s and early '90s. The bulk of the rice appeases appetites. The reason they can taste like cardboard is because there's not much to them. Mostly, they consist of whole-grain brown rice, flavorings and salt. They lack many of the preservatives found in other snack foods. The rice is puffed (think puffed rice cereal) and then mixed with flavorings, both sweet and savory, and sometimes coloring. The cakes are formed, dried and packaged. constant comment"The best wine is the oldest, the best water the newest." -- British poet William Blake (1757-1827) this web site cooks
Add a sophisticated side dish to your next grilled dinner. Cut a ripe avocado in half and remove the pit. Drizzle with fresh lime or lemon juice and brush lightly with olive oil. Gently place the cut side down over hot coals for two to three minutes. Season with salsa. Visit this site, sponsored by produce purveyor Los Angeles Foods, for more recipes and more information about avocados. cooking classTo prevent foods from sticking to the pan when sauteing or pan frying -- particularly meats, fish and potatoes -- always preheat the pan before adding the oil. Also resist the temptation to move the food about the skillet while it cooks. Letting foods cook undisturbed results in a nice, burnished crust that tends not to grip the surface. biscuits, simplyCan Pillsbury biscuits get any easier? Guess so. Now Pillsbury Homestyle Biscuits are available preshaped in the frozen food aisle and can go directly from freezer to oven. We tried them (with a bit of skepticism) and liked them just fine. They're big and flaky and, okay, a bit processed-tasting too. But for convenience, they're hard to beat. A resealable 25-ounce bag of 12 costs about $3 at supermarkets. best in beer
Domestic lagers: Stroh's, Michelob, Budweiser. Light beers: Michelob Light, Natural Light, Busch Light. Imported: Heineken Lager, Kirin Lager, Foster's Lager. Craft lagers: Samuel Adams Boston Lager, George Killian's Irish Red, Red Wolf. Ales: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Samuel Adams Boston Ale, Pete's Wicked Ale. golden celebrationThe Pillsbury Bake-Off celebrates its 50th anniversary with Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $25.95). From spicy meatball soup and hearty Mexican pizza to lemon nut rolls and tunnel of fudge cake, 350 recipes span the standard cookbook categories for prize-winning dishes (though baked goods do dominate). We also salute Pillsbury for keeping the self-promotion to a minimum: Though Bake-Off contestants must use its products, the cookbook recipes do not call for brand-name ingredients. bump and grindFor cooks who like their pepper and spices freshly ground but don't care to keep a lot of grinders around, William Bounds Ltd. is offering a multiuse mill. The Spice Essentials Mill can handle any dried spice or other mill-friendly ingredients up to the size of a coffee bean. Most spice mills are not this versatile. Available in black or white, the mill features a wide-mouthed screw-on cap for easy loading and quick disassembly for cleaning. It has a suggested retail price of $28. Visit www.wmboundsltd.com or call toll-free 1-800-473-0504 for a catalog or local retailers.
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
The August issue of Consumer Reports rates beers in several categories. Two unidentified "consultants" participated in the blind tastings by drinking several samples of each brew in random order. The first, second and third place winners are:
