Men’s Interests

from the NY Times, New York Bans Most Trans Fats in Restaurants

The New York City Board of Health voted yesterday to adopt the nation’s first major municipal ban on the use of all but tiny amounts of artificial trans fats in restaurant cooking, a move that would radically transform the way food is prepared in thousands of restaurants, from McDonald’s to fashionable bistros to Chinese take-outs.

Trans fats are the chemically modified food ingredients that raise levels of a particularly unhealthy form of cholesterol and have been squarely linked to heart disease. Long used as a substitute for saturated fats in baked goods, fried foods, salad dressings, margarine and other foods, trans fats also have a longer shelf life than other alternatives.

Restaurants will still have until next July 1 to eliminate oils, margarines and shortening from recipes that contain more than a half-gram of trans fat per serving. By July 1, 2008, they would have to remove all menu items that exceed the new limit, including bread, cakes, chips and salad dressings.

But under terms adopted yesterday, some foods will fall under the later deadline, including doughnuts, fritters, biscuits and deep fried items that the board said were particularly hard to prepare with a trans fat substitute.

Chicago is considering a similar prohibition that would affect restaurants with more than $20 million in annual sales.

from U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

Scientific evidence shows that consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, and dietary cholesterol raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, levels, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, more than 12.5 million Americans have CHD, and more than 500,000 die each year. That makes CHD one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, cored, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 pounds winter squash, such as West Indian pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 cups stock or water
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup grated Manchego cheese

Melt the butter in a large stockpot over moderate heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato, garlic, jalapeno and salt and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add the squash and stock and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the squash is falling apart and soup is thickened slightly. Puree soup with an immersion blender, or use a blender and return soup to a clean pan. Add the milk and heat gently. Stir in the cheese and adjust the seasonings.

MANCHEGO CHEESE

Manchego is the best known and most widely available Spanish cheese. It comes from La Mancha, the land of Don Quixote, and was originally made only from the milk of Manchego sheep. Manchego is aged for 3 months or longer, and is a semi-firm cheese with a rich golden color. It comes in a 10 inch diameter wheel, 5 inches thick with a herringbone design on the rind. It ranges from mild to sharp, depending on how long it is aged.

When I make this I’ll leave out the jalapeno chiles, and I’ll use cheddar cheese. Oh, and coarse salt? No…I’ll use table salt.

1 1/2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup tomato paste
Sugar to taste, if needed
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Halve tomatoes lengthwise and lay them cut sides down in a jelly-roll pan. Brush generously with 3 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with garlic, oregano, basil, and pepper. Roast tomatoes until their edges are charred, about 15 to 20. Scrape tomatoes, oil, and herbs from pan into food processor. Process until not quite smooth (leaving small chunks and charred black specks).

In a saucepan cook onion in remaining 2 tablespoons oil until translucent. Whisk in roasted tomato puree, broth, and wine. Then whisk tomato paste. Heat the cream and whisk in to the tomato mixture. Taste and add sugar if necessary. Stir in optional Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste and bring soup to a simmer.

Don’t have a food processor? Try a blender.

Recipes from the Food Network

cooking soup recipes dating

from ivillage.com:

Sample questions-

1. Leftovers can be kept at room temperature for up to:
* 2 hours
* 30 minutes
* 4 hours

2. The “danger zone” for bacteria growth is:
* Between 30� and 160�
* Between 40� and 140�
* Between 50� and 100�

I really wanted to do a post about Penn and Teller’s Bleeding Heart. I found an easy recipe here, along with others like Freaky Witches’ Fingers and Brittle Meringue Bones. But in doing research for the Bleeding Heart recipe I couldn’t find a single local store that sold human heart jello molds, and there isn’t time to order one online. Some of the online stores were even sold out.

But I just can’t let this holiday pass us by without at least showing you the video and offering you the recipe. Maybe you’re creative enough to come up with your own mold. This will take some time to pull off, but it’s sure to get a rise out of your kids.