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When I was a kid Wimpy from the old Popeye cartoon show was one of my favorite characters because he expressed a deep love and obsession with hamburgers on a bun. Wimpy was always looking for hamburgers and wasn’t happy unless his plate was piled high with steaming hot hamburgers.
Even though I could only eat one, I easily related to Wimpy’s love of hamburgers, especially cheeseburgers. As I grew up I discovered how easy it was to make a meal out of cooking hamburgers and putting them on a hamburger bun. Add a little ketchup or hamburger sauce and you’ve got yourself a quick lunch or dinner.
While I’m not sure about the real history of the hamburger (a couple of towns claim to be the home of the original burger) I do know that they’re popularity spread quickly. Online you can find recipes for hamburger pattie or how to make foil hamburgers over fire. But some of the best hamburger recipes don’t even involve a bun.
Online you can find recipes for hamburger stew, hamburger goulash, hamburger casserole, hamburger jerky, hamburger chowder, hamburger gravy, hamburger steak, hamburger with stuffed green peppers, hamburger macaroni soup, hamburger stroganoff, hamburger pie, and other easy hamburger recipes with egg, bread crumbs and onion.
There’s even secret fast food hamburger recipes that expose how to make the popular McDonald’s hamburger, Wendy’s hamburger, and White Castle hamburgers. So, you don’t have to borrow money to buy hamburgers and promise to “pay you back on Tuesday” like Wimpy. You can just whip up one of your yummy recipes the next time you have a craving for the savory taste of hamburger.
About The Author
Copyright 2005
Donna Monday
Easy to make - fun to drink
http://www.1st-milkshake-n-smoothie-recipes.com/Hamburger_bestrecipes.html
A fortified wine from Andalusia produced only in and around the
town of Jerez in the Cadiz region. The Spanish producers have
since registered the Sherry / Jerez / Xeres name and will
prosecute anyone else in the world trying to use it. It is
thought that Jerez has exported wines since at least Roman
times. Today Sherry accounts for the largest portion of Spain’s
wine exports, reaching no less than fifty countries and making
superb profits for the winery owners. The wine attained “domain
d’origen” (DO) status in 1933.
The traditions of Jerez and wine go back over two thousand
years, thousands of amphora were shipped to Rome, and the high
alcohol content meant that the wine travelled well without
spoiling. From the 12th century wine from the region was
exported to England. England are long-time consumers of the
beverage and the name “sherry” comes from the Arab word for the
city of Jerez - “Seris” or “Sherish” evolved into the word we
know today.
Sherry’s popularity continued to bloom and by the 16th century
it was thought to be the finest of all wines. Sherry’s
popularity continued to grow and a boom in the 19th century
meant that producers could barely keep up with the demands of
northern Europe, particularly England and Holland, who remain
the two biggest consumers of the wine today. The output has
stabilised in recent times and the value of the wine has gone
up, increasing profitability for the Spanish producers.
The Sherry region is located in several towns around Jerez de la
Frontera in the Cadiz region of Andalusia; there is also a small
producing area in the neighbouring province of Seville. The area
is typified by rolling hills and limestone soil that has the
superb water retention necessary to see out the dry summer
months. The average temperature in the growing season in 17.5C
and moisture is carried to the vines by westerly winds coming in
from the sea. This softens the arid summer climate of the region
and also takes the sting out of the warm westerly winds. With
270 sunny days every year and no frosts or hail, conditions are
ideal for viticulture, aided by steady rainfall between the
moths of October and May.
There are three main grape varieties used to create Sherry -
Palamino Fino, Pedro Jimenez and Moscatel, the latter two being
mainly used in the production of sweet sherry. The real secret
of Sherry’s production lies in what is known as the “Crianza”
process. After the grapes are harvested and pressed they undergo
a first fermentation for ten days. After a few months the wine
is ready for classification. For this process, a taster is
needed and it is crucial that his/her sense of smell and taste
in highly developed and the taster must determine which type the
wines are going to be. This unique process allows the wine to
grow on its own and develop naturally into the most suitable
type of sherry. There are four main types that are produced:
Fino - a pale a delicate sherry, Amotillado which is an older,
richer version of the Fino variety, Oloroso is a rich, dark
mahogany coloured wine and the Cream sherry is a blend of
Oloroso and the Pedro Jimenez grape and has a sweet finish to
compliment its rich flavour.
The coffee plant originates from the highland forests of
Ethiopia. It is believed that the first plants were found
growing wild in the region of Kaffa, where coffee derives its
name from. A popular legend tells of a goat herder named Kaldi.
One day he noticed his goats behaving in a strange manner. They
were full of energy, playfully chasing each other and bleating
loudly. He noticed they were eating red berries from the bushes
nearby. Feeling tired and slightly curious, Kaldi decided to try
some of the berries. To his delight his fatigue quickly faded
into a fresh burst of energy.
Kaldi was so impressed by the berries, that he filled his
pockets with them and ran home to show his wife. “They are
heaven-sent” she declared, “You must take them to the Monks in
the monastery”. At the monastery, Kaldi told the Abbot how these
berries had had a miraculous energising affect on himself and
his goats. The Abbot clearly displeased, hurled the berries into
the fire, proclaiming them as the “Devil’s work”.
Within minutes the berries started to smoke and the monastery
was filled with the heavenly aroma of roasting beans. The other
Monks quickly gathered to see what the commotion was. One Monk
swiftly raked the beans from the fire and extinguished the
embers by stamping on them. The rich smell of coffee obviously
agreed with the Abbot’s nose as he ordered the Monk to place the
now crushed beans into a jug and cover it with hot water to
preserve their divine goodness. He then took a sip from the jug
and sampled the rich and fragrant brew that is coffee. From that
day on the Monks vowed to drink coffee daily to keep them awake
during the long, nocturnal devotions.
No one is exactly sure when coffee was discovered. There is
evidence to suggest that coffee beans were used to make a
primitive ‘energy bar’ before they were actually brewed as a hot
drink. Sometime between 575-850AD, a nomadic mountain tribe
known as Galla, used to mix ground coffee with ghee. These bars
were consumed by the tribe’s warriors to heighten aggression and
increase their stamina during battle. To this day, these bars
are still eaten in Kaffa and Sidamo (Ethiopia).
Some authorities claim that coffee originated from the Arabian
Peninsula rather then Ethiopia, stating that coffee was
cultivated in Yemen from around 575AD. An Islamic legend tells
of how Sheikh Omar discovered coffee growing wild while living
as a recluse near the port of Mocha (Yemen). He is said to have
boiled some berries, and discovered the stimulating effect of
the infusion, which he administered to the locals who were
stricken with a mysterious illness and thus cured them. However
it is more likely that coffee spread to Yemen through Sudanese
slaves. These slaves are thought to have eaten coffee beans to
help them stay alive as they rowed ships across the Red Sea
between Africa and Arabian Peninsula.
Evidence suggests that coffee was probably not enjoyed as a
beverage until around the 10th Century. It is at this time that
the oldest known documents describing the beverage coffee were
written. Two Arabian philosophers: Rhazes (850-922AD), and
Avicenna of Bukham (980-1037AD); both refer to a drink called
‘bunchum’, which many believe is coffee.
As the Quran forbids Muslins from drinking alcohol, the
soothing, cheering and stimulating effects of coffee made it a
popular substitute in Islamic countries for wine. The first
coffeehouses are said to have been established in Mecca (Saudi
Arabia). Known as the Kaveh Kanes, they were public places where
Muslims could socialise and discuss religious matters.
The relationship between Islam and coffee has not always run
smoothly though. Some Muslims believed coffee was an intoxicant
and therefore is banned by Islamic law. In 1511, the governor of
Mecca, Khair Beg, saw some worshippers drinking coffee in a
mosque as they prepared for a night-long prayer vigil. Angered,
he drove them from the mosque and ordered all coffeehouses in
Mecca to be closed. This incited the pro-coffee Muslims and a
heated debate soon ensued. In this dispute, two unscrupulous
Persian doctors, the Hakimani brothers, who were infamous for
testifying on the side of the highest bidder, condemned coffee
as an unhealthy brew. The doctors had good reason for wanted it
banned, for it was popular cure among the depressed patients who
would otherwise have paid the doctors to cure them. The matter
was only resolved when the Sultan of Cairo, Khair Beg’s
superior, intervened, demanding that a drink that was widely
enjoyed in Cairo should not have been banned without his
permission. Khair Beg soon paid for his insolence, as when in
1512 he was accused of embezzlement; the Sultan sentenced him to
death.
By the late 16th Century, the use of coffee was widespread
throughout the Arabia, North Africa and Turkey. The nutritional
benefits of coffee were thought to be so great that coffee was
considered as important as bread and water. So much so that a
law was passed in Turkey making it grounds for divorce if a
husband refused his wife coffee.
Wherever Islam went, coffee was sure to follow. With the
expansion of the Ottoman Empire, coffee quickly spread to the
Eastern Mediterranean. However, it is believed that no coffee
seed sprouted outside Africa or Arabia until 17th Century, as
coffee beans exported from the Arabian ports of Mocha and Jidda,
were rendered infertile by parching or boiling. Legend has it
that this changed when a pilgrim named Baba Budan, smuggled
fertile coffee beans out of Mecca, strapped to his stomach.
Returning to his native India he successfully cultivated the
beans in Mysore.
Sea air, crisp apples, the brisk, spice of fallen leaves - there
are few things that say autumn in New England like the scents
that seem to buffet the senses from everywhere. Among those
marvelous treats for the senses are popular dishes from
appetizer to dessert that you just won’t find - or at least
won’t find quite the same way - anywhere else in the country. If
you doubt it, there’s always an ad that was popular this past
autumn - after the Red Sox won the World Series. In it, a man
was explaining, “Son, when you live in New England there are
three basic truths… clam chowder is white…”
And the other two truths don’t matter. We New Englanders take
our clam chowder seriously. Up and down the New England coast
throughout the autumn, nearly every town and township has its
Chowder Festival. Throughout the six states, restaurants cook up
pots of chowder from their best recipes and compete to be named
Best Clam Chowder. The granddaddy of all New England Chowder
Festivals is held in Newport, Rhode Island, where dozens of area
restaurants compete for the title of ‘America’s Best Clam
Chowder’.
It’s a simple enough dish, but like chili in Texas and crab
cakes in Maryland, every cook has their own special twist on the
recipe. There are the basics: clams, potatoes and milk. From
there, it’s every chef for himself. Some swear that clam chowder
without salt pork is just potage. Others insist that clam
chowder can’t be made without onion. Chefs nearly come to blows
over whether heavy cream should ever be used and why a butter
and flour roux is a better base than clam liquor. Secret recipes
abound - and everyone has their favorites.
My own personal favorite is the thick, creamy,
eat-it-with-a-fork variety of clam chowder served at Legal
Seafood and Au Bon Pain in Boston. Rich and laden with chunks of
potato, meaty bits of clam, onions, garlic and salt pork, it’s a
meal rather than an opener for one. Served with a slab of
homemade bread slathered with butter, it’s guaranteed to raise
your cholesterol level and please your taste buds for hours.
While many chefs cry sacrilege, others believe that fresh corn
adds the perfect touch of crisp sweetness to the rich broth and
pungent bits of clam meat. Corn isn’t the only bone of
contention when it comes to this regional specialty. Purists
insist that the only real ingredients in clam chowder are clams,
water, milk, onions, potatoes and butter. They argue whether
chowder should be made with mussels or littlenecks (if you’re in
Maine, it’s littlenecks - in Connecticut, mussels. Anywhere else
- it varies), whether to add the clam bellies or just the necks,
even whether clams should be steamed ‘virgin’ or with garlic,
wine or beer.
Whether you like your chowder thick or thin, with or without
corn, flavored with salt pork or bacon or something else
entirely, there is one thing on which all New Englanders agree -
clam chowder is white. We’re not sure what it is that they serve
in Manhattan - but it’s not clam chowder.