Chris Steffens’ Post

  Today is National Pizza 🍕 Day (US) People have been eating pizza, in one form or another, for centuries. As far back as antiquity, pieces of flatbread, topped with savouries, served as a simple and tasty meal for those who could not afford plates, But it was in late 18th-century Naples that the pizza as we now know it came into being. Under the Bourbon kings, Naples had become one of the largest cities in Europe As the urban economy struggled to keep pace, an ever greater number of the city’s inhabitants fell into poverty. The most abject of these were known as lazzaroni, because their ragged appearance resembled that of Lazarus. Pizzas met food this needs of these people. Sold not in shops, but by street vendors carrying huge boxes under their arms, they would be cut to meet the customer’s budget or appetite. When the first cookbooks appeared in the late 19th century, they pointedly ignored pizza. While on a visit to Naples in 1889, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita grew tired of the complicated French dishes Pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito developed the classic pizza margherita in her honour. Saint Anthony the Abbot is the patrion saint of 'pizzaioli' pizza makers #food #economy #europe #pizza #pizzeria #foodscience #italianfood #italiancuisine #science #infographic #europe #foodscienceandtechnology #pizzatime #foodchemistry #chemistry #nationalday #pizzas #pizzalove #italy

Today is World Pizza 🍕 Day People have been eating pizza, in one form or another, for centuries. As far back as antiquity, pieces of flatbread, topped with savouries, served as a simple and tasty meal for those who could not afford plates, But it was in late 18th-century Naples that the pizza as we now know it came into being. Under the Bourbon kings, Naples had become one of the largest cities in Europe As the urban economy struggled to keep pace, an ever greater number of the city’s inhabitants fell into poverty. The most abject of these were known as lazzaroni, because their ragged appearance resembled that of Lazarus. Pizzas met food this needs of these peope. Sold not in shops, but by street vendors carrying huge boxes under their arms, they would be cut to meet the customer’s budget or appetite. When the first cookbooks appeared in the late 19th century, they pointedly ignored pizza. While on a visit to Naples in 1889, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita grew tired of the complicated French dishes Pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito developed the classic pizza margherita in her honour. #food #economy #europe #pizza #pizzeria #foodscience #italianfood #italiancuisine #science #infographic #europe #foodscienceandtechnology #pizzatime #foodchemistry #chemistry #nationalday #pizzas #pizzalove #italy

CUISINE : Spanish COURSE SEVEN : First main course ALTERNATIVE Names : Tortilla de patatas , Tortilla de papas , Tortilla española , Spanish tortilla . INFO : Spanish omelette or Spanish tortilla is a traditional dish from Spain. It is celebrated as one of the most popular dishes of the Spanish cuisine. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, usually including onion. It is often served at room temperature as a tapa. HISTORY : The first reference to the tortilla in Spanish is found in a Navarrese document, as an anonymous "mousehole memorial" addressed to the court of Navarre in 1817. It explains the sparse conditions of Navarre's farmers in contrast with those in Pamplona (the capital) and la Ribera (in southern Navarre). After listing the sparse food eaten by highlanders, the next quote follows: "…two to three eggs in tortilla for 5 or 6 [people] as our women know how to make it big and thick with fewer eggs, mixing potatoes, breadcrumbs or whatever." According to legend, during the siege of Bilbao, Carlist general Tomás de Zumalacárregui invented the "tortilla de patatas" as an easy, fast and nutritious dish to satisfy the scarcities of the Carlist army. Although it remains unknown whether this is true, it appears the tortilla started to spread during the early Carlist Wars.

Check out my blog post in which we enjoy the excellent food of the Original Cocina Azul, meet our friends Michael and John, and consider the honey-rich wonder of Sopaipillas. https://wix.to/RRiVd5c #newblogpost

If you're considering starting a restaurant, here are four rules to get you started.

When in Rome, do as Romans do. I assume the same applies to Romanians too. So when I visited a Romanian restaurant in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, I ordered a white wine spritzer with my ciorba soup and kebab. For generations, Israelis with Romanian roots always drank Carmel Hock with soda water. This was a semi dry white, which in the 1960s was our largest selling wine. It was not great quality, but is part of our history. It was produced by Carmel Mizrahi, the historic winery of Israel, which then was virtually a monopoly. Well after sales fell away, Carmel continued to produce it until comparatively recently, simply because the old timers demanded it. My spritzer could have been spruced up. Maybe served with a slice of lemon, or in a wine glass. But this was a restaurant that prides itself on offering the exactly same as fifty years ago, and that is what you get. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. (Though the Perrier is a nod to modernity. They would have used a primitive soda siphon when Carmel Hock was de rigeur.) Btw, I don't look down on the idea of a white wine spritzer at all. It is a refreshing drink for our hot, humid climate. Firstly, you can use an inexpensive wine and the quality does not have to be tip-top, but also with young revelers watching their pennies, a bottle of wine will go a long way if they add soda. It seems what goes around, comes around.

According to my daughter, summertime was made for bruschetta! It’s hard to disagree with her… But bruschetta, as we know it, is novel and unique from the rest of the world. In Italy, bruschetta refers specifically to toasted bread that may be served as a vehicle for other optional accoutrements. The name is derived from the Romanesco “bruscare” meaning “to roast over coals”. This simple bruschetta originated in Ancient Rome as a way to make staling bread palatable and useful. In America, however, we refer to the bread simply as a crostini; it doesn’t become bruschetta until it is adorned with the melange of tomatoes, basil, and garlic and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Olive oil and garlic were likely familiar additions to bruschetta even at the time of its origination. Garlic and basil had already been brought from Southeast Asia to the Mediterranean before the rise of Rome. Tomatoes, however, originated in South and Central America and didn’t arrive in Italy until the mid-1500s AD after the discovery of the New World. Though tomatoes were regularly consumed immediately upon their introduction into Spain, Italians distrusted the plant, recognizing it as a member of the nightshade family, and cultivated it exclusively as an ornamental until the late 17th century when it was finally adopted into the local cuisine. Thus, although it is now regarded as an iconic Italian dish, bruschetta as we know it is really quite novel for Italy. Regardless, it remains a staple of our American summer. #foodhistory #bruschetta #tomato PS. Yes, that is a toy shark on the dinner table.

Hawaiian pizza, despite its name, didn’t originate in Hawaii. Instead, it was created in Canada by Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born immigrant. In 1962, at his restaurant in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Panopoulos experimented with various pizza toppings. Drawing inspiration from Chinese cuisine, which often combines sweet and savory flavors, he decided to add canned pineapple and ham to a traditional pizza. This unique combination became the first Hawaiian pizza, and Panopoulos named it after the brand of canned pineapple he used. Hawaiian pizza gained popularity both locally and globally. Despite its divisive reputation, with some loving the sweet and salty combination and others vehemently disliking it, it became a staple offering in pizzerias worldwide. Interestingly, the name “Hawaiian” has no direct connection to the U.S. state of Hawaii; it simply refers to the brand of pineapple used in its creation. Even today, opinions on Hawaiian pizza remain polarized, sparking lively debates among pizza enthusiasts.

Lee Kum Sheung, a twenty-six-year-old chef at a small restaurant serving cooked oysters in Guangdong, did not intend to vary the preparation that fateful day in 1888. Lee mistakenly left a pot of oysters to simmer too long, only to come back to a sticky brown mess. Tasting the result, he discovered that it was delicious! It did not take him long to decide to make his “oyster sauce” on purpose, selling it in jars under the (now very successful) Lee Kum Kee brand. The lesson here is not that basic failures should go unchecked—we should always try to reduce them where possible. The lesson is that when a basic #failure occurs, because no amount of failure-proofing can eliminate all of them, keep an open mind in case your failures are opportunities in disguise. Have you had a failure turn into a new opportunity? Quote and excerpt from pg122 in my book #RightKindofWrong 📕 Pick up a copy here: https://bit.ly/RKWBook Or, check out the brand new paperback edition! Order here: https://amzn.to/3V5narm

Opa! Check out my latest review of Zorba's Tavern, located on 2230 Fairmount Ave. If you have a hankering for Authentic Greek food, check this place out! Eric Morales