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dish: A weekly serving of food news and viewsBy JANET K. KEELER © St. Petersburg Times, deconstructingexplanations from the inside out ranch dressing
There are conflicting stories about the origin of ranch dressing, according to John Mariani in Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman, 1999, $29.95). The Todds Food Co. in Arizona says that one of its owners created the dressing in 1980 as a dipping sauce for fried zucchini. But the owners of the Hidden Valley Ranch brand say it was invented at a dude ranch of the same name near Santa Barbara, Calif., just after World War II. Here's a recipe from Joy of Cooking if you want to make your own: Ranch Dressing
Mash garlic and salt together to form paste. Remove to small bowl or jar with lid. Add remaining ingredients and whisk or shake until well-blended. To make a thicker dressing, stir in 1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise or sour cream. Makes 1 cup. constant comment"Bread is the warmest, kindest of words. Write it always with a capital letter, like your own name." -- Anonymous this web site cooks
Personalized labels from My Own Labels add a professional touch to the jars and bottles of your homemade creations. The first sheet of 8 to 24 labels costs $8; each additional duplicate sheet is $5. Look at them today and you'll be tempted to start making holiday gifts from your kitchen. They are that cool. cooking classWhen threading cubes of meat or vegetables onto skewers, leave a little space between each item to allow the heat to circulate evenly, preventing a raw spot where two pieces meet. It's easy being 'Greens'
dry sense of humor
Forget waving the vermouth over your glass for the perfect dry martini. Misto, the maker of spray oil containers, markets a refillable minisprayer for vermouth (or any other liquid). Give your drink one mist, or several, depending on your taste. According to the instructions, 6 sprays equal 1/8 of an ounce. This portable potable container is $15. Look for it at kitchen specialty shops such as Williams-Sonoma in Tampa and Beans About Cooking in Clearwater. two hot movie tamalesTo create the meals and food in the film Tortilla Soup and counsel the actors (including Hector Elizondo) on the art of cooking, the movie's producers turned to Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, restaurateurs who are known by many as the Too Hot Tamales from the Food Network. Tortilla Soup, a retelling of Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman set in a Mexican-American home and directed by Maria Ripoll, opened in limited markets Friday, although with no bay area screenings scheduled. "It was hard to keep the food looking gorgeous," Milliken said to the Los Angeles Daily News. "We learned some tricks over time. We used a ton of dry ice to keep things looking fresh, but it wasn't easy." candy your wayWe've all seen the colors of the Christmas and Easter M&M's, and now you can create your own color schemes. M&M's Colorworks are available by special order in 8-ounce and 5-pound bags in 21 colors, including black, silver, teal and purple. Planning a party for the Bucs home opener on Sept. 16? Get your M&M's in red and pewterlike silver. Go online at www.colorworks.com to see available colors, or phone toll-free 1-888-265-6788 to order. The 8-ounce bags are $3.99 each; 5-pound bags are $39.90. Shipping extra. - Compiled by Janet K. Keeler, from staff and wire reports
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
Don't tell the legions of kids who love dunking anything and everything into ranch dressing what the main ingredient is. It's not ranch dressing if it doesn't have buttermilk in it. Some of the other ingredients vary, but buttermilk is the common denominator.
