Pralines

my-pralines

Praline’s also known as the “pecan candy” was originated in the seventeenth-century in France by chef of César, duc de Choiseul, Comte du Plessis-Praslin when he coated almonds with sugar. French settlers brought the tradition of praline’s along with them to Louisiana. When African-Americans began working in French migrants’ kitchens, they replaced the almonds to pecans and added milk. Throughout the 1800s, African-American women began selling praline’s in New Orleans, and those women became the most popular street vendors. During the 1900s, the tourism industry grew and French Quarters started opening up praline stores with life size “praline mammies” in front of the store.

As a child my grandmother on my father’s side used to always give them to me. I used to get them at parties or sometimes after dinner. My mother’s father used to take me to his favorite restaurant called, Margarita’s Mexican Café, on Crenshaw Boulevard and 50th Street. Growing up I thought of these as cookies, I just learned that it is a candy. Usually I would just eat one or two because they were so sweet. I’ve never seen praline’s been made before but it seemed pretty easy. As I was trying to follow certain instructions on how they are made, I quickly saw that the first batch wasn’t going to turn out to well. I sat and thought to myself, oh no, I’m the mom from the book by Ruth Reichl, I have completely destroyed these poor cookies. Feeling defeated but willing to try again, I did it. I learned that whatever you do, don’t stop stirring the mix. All I remember about my grandmother is that she was always in the kitchen, weather she was cooking, drinking coffee or watching mass, she was in the kitchen. Most, if not all of our talks were in the kitchen; she would have pralines set out on the table all the time and I would sit and break apart the “cookie” half way listening to mass and half listening to her. my mother’s father and my father’s mother were my two favorite grandparents and I no longer have either of them here with me. But this assignment has made me see that they are here with me all the time.

I decided to do my nutritional analysis on pecans since that was one of the ingredients that changed when it was brought into Louisiana due to the extensive amount of pecan trees. Pecans are a species of hickory that have a native to Mexico in the late 1600s and early 1700s. the first planting of a pecan tree was in Long Island, New York. The tree grows from 66-131 feet high, spreads 39-75 feet, with a 6.6-foot trunk. Since the pecan is considered a fruit, the seed part is edible and has a buttery flavor. The pecan seed is also used in wood making and flavoring of food. According to Shape, the National Pecan Shellers Association states that pecans are a healthy unsaturated fat and can help lower bad cholesterol. They contain over 19 vitamins and minerals and rich in age defying antioxidants.

In addition, today there are many forms and ways to make pralines. Many cover them in chocolate, pour it on top of brownies, add coconut, and even add ice cream.

Traditional Praline Instructions

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter

½ cup of light brown sugar

1 ½ cup of white sugar

1 ½ cup of pecans

½ cup of evaporated milk

A teaspoon of exact (vanilla or cameral)

 

Tools:

Wooden spoon

Nice size pot

Wax paper

 

Directions:

Before you start, make sure you have all your ingredients already measured out and have the space to set the candy down ready.

Put the wax paper on top of newspaper so you don’t mess up your counter top.

Put the pot on high heat and add all ingredients in the pot (excluding pecans and exact).

Always stir.

Allow the ingredients to come to a boil.

There are two boils that happen. First a rapid boil and then a medium volcano boil. You want the one the slow volcano boil.

Once you reach that, put the fire on low and let it stand for three minutes only.

Once that is done, take it off the fire, add in the pecans, and stir for about one minute.

Never stop stirring.

Add the exact and keep stirring until it comes to a creamy texture.

Put the candy onto the wax paper and let cool.

 

References

 

Borsari, K. “Pop a Pecan, Not a Pill,” Shape. Retrieved November 7, 2016 from, http://www.shape.com/blogs/fit-foodies/pop-pecan-not-pill

n.d. “The History of Pralines,” Southern Candymakers. Retrieved November 7, 2016 from, https://www.southerncandymakers.com/history-of-pralines

Nunez, M. C. “Praline or “Pecan Candy” Vendors,” New Orleans Historical. Retrieved November 7, 2016 from, http://www.neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/259

Pecans. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 8, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecan

m&m donut

donut

Hi ,my name is lorenzo caldwell. i am from harbor city california, and i am currently attending california state university dominguez hill studying a major in IDS, with a concentration in american studies. i am a transfer student who has been out of college for quite some time and now i am returning to finish up my last year.

generally i am not big on sweets or candy in particular, “but when i do” i always love to get pastries like cupcakes, donuts, and cake! my food self for today is a donut that i sometimes get from california donuts which is pretty bomb i might say myself. usually i’m pretty conscious  about whats going in my body, but i do set and love those cheat days for myself. donuts simply put, are my cure for good and bad times.

Food Presentation

quiche-2 quiche-3Quiche

Symbolic Analysis

I chose a Quiche as my food presentation. This French dish reminds me of my mother, she is from Shreveport, Louisiana. I asked my mother who taught her this dish and she said one of her cousins. Quiche is a snack that we would eat around the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Quiche is the perfect light dish to eat while we were cooking that big holiday dinner. We would get up early in the morning, heat up some quiche and hot coffee, began to cook dinner while we laugh and talk. This pie is fluffy, tasty, cheesy and savory with a crispy crust on the edges. My mom did not cook traditional soul food dishes, all her dishes were influenced by her creole culture. She would cook chicken etouffee instead of fried chicken and shrimp creole instead of fried shrimp. My mom has passed down many creole recipes to me and I love sharing them with my children.

History

Quiche is known as a classic French cuisine, it is originated in Germany, in a medieval kingdom named Lothringen. The German name for quiche is Kuchen, which mean cake. Under the French rule, they changed the kingdom’s name from Lothringen to Lorraine. The first quiche is called the Lorraine, this an open faced baked pie that contains an egg custard with smoked bacon. The crust was originally made from bread dough like brioche pastry. The crust is now made with short crust or puff pastry. The hardest techniques to master is preventing the custard from overflowing out of the pastry. The quiche became popular in England, then in the United States during the 1950s. In the 1900s, the dish was considered unmanly because of the small amount of meat in the quiche. Henry IV was served this dish at his coronation in 1399, his quiche had honey and saffron in it. A quiche contain many cheeses, eggs, cream, meat or seafood and a variety of vegetables. A quiche can be served for any meal breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or snack. It can be served cold, warm and hot. It can be cooked for parties, special occasions and holidays.

Nutritional Analysis

One of the main ingredient in a quiche is the eggs. Quiches contain vitamins, minerals, calcium, protein, riboflavin and selenium due to the milk and eggs. One egg contains 6.5 protein and vitamin b-12, which is good for your nervous system. The egg yolk alone contains calcium, iron and zinc. Eggs have been linked to type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, when you eat too much. One whole egg can contain 47 percent and a large egg could have 62 percent of cholesterol in them. Eggs have a large source of phosphahdylcholine (lecithin) which is converted to a compound linked to heart disease. The white flour, the crust contains unhealthy saturated fats that can clogged up your arteries over time. The cheese ingredient can be substituted with low fat cheese to cut down the fat intake.

Eggs have been one of our everyday foods, in many parts of the world. Since the eggs is in high demand, the chickens have been known to live in unhealthy conditions. These dirty conditions have contributed to the exposure of fecal matter on the shells. The pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella effects the outside and inside of a normal egg, resulting in making people sick. Eggs is also one of the most common food allergy in infants.

Hello I’m Rocio

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My name is Rocio. This is my second year at CSUDH. I grew up in Compton and in Compton there was always someone selling food or something else on the street. As a kid I could always count on the raspado man. The raspado man would carry every flavor of raspado you can think of. There was bubblegum, lemon,cherry,vanilla etc. My favorite was vanilla with lechera. But if I wasn’t in the mood for a raspado he would also have chicharones with lemon and chile or elotes(corn on the cob) covered with mayo, butter, cotija cheese and chile. It may sound gross but its actually quite good! Instead of chasing the Ice cream truck as a kid, I chased the raspado man.
I moved out from Compton a few years ago and I would be lying if I didn’t say I miss the raspado man. Now I have to go to a nearby shop that sells these treats. I can still buy my vanilla raspado, and chicharones however, now I have to settle for my corn in a cup instead of on the stick.

img_2403

Intro-Shrimp, Shrimp, & more Shrimp

Po'Boy

Hi Everyone,

My name is Marissa but I usually go by ‘Thursday’ 🙂 I am currently finishing the last year of my BA in IDS/ Comparative Culture. I have changed my major approximately 4 times and finally made a decision to follow through. I am 1/4 Japanese, 1/4 Filipino, 1/4 Mexican, and 1/4 French Canadian so I have been exposed to a variety of different food through my life. I am always up to try something new however seafood is my favorite.I grew up in a ‘healthy’ house with no sugar, light seasoning, and no red meat. As I got older, I found food gold… aka SALT & SUGAR! I soon began picking my own groceries and cooking my own meals just the way I like it.

I decided to post this Shrimp Po’Boy from my recent trip to New Orleans, as it was one of my favorite meals there. My love for not only Seafood, but Spicy food was the perfect feast in every restaurant in the city. Everything was so incredibly flavorful  that it left a taste in my mouth for hours. Almost everything i ate incorporated Shrimp in some way! Luckily, my mom loves shrimp as much as me so we love finding new restaurants that have it prepared differently.

Aguirre, Jennifer (Introduction)

Asparagus Stuffed Chicken & Mushroom Risotto

Hi all!  Sorry for the late reply… I need to start checking my planner more diligently!  My name is Jennifer, but I will answer to almost any variation of the name.  Just don’t whistle at me!  I am in my final semester here at CSUDH and have found that the dreaded “senioritis” is starting to set in.  As much as I enjoy learning and listening to the conversations that arise in class, it’s getting harder and harder to bring myself into a focused state.  I just keep reminding myself that we have less than a month before we finish and I am out of here!  (In the most positive and respectful way)  As fond as I have grown of my surroundings and the familiar faces of my IDS classmates, it’s time to move on and up!

Instead of a favorite food, I chose to share a picture of a dish that I was very proud of.  I am not the best cook and I don’t always derive pleasure from creating in the kitchen, however when I finished this I felt AMAZING.  I slaved over a hot stove one afternoon making mushroom risotto and asparagus and cheese stuffed chicken breasts.  It was something far outside of my comfort zone but I thought that I would make the effort anyway.  I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  The cheesy saltiness of the risotto was cut by the addition of rich Portabella mushrooms while the chicken, which had been sprinkled with Parmesan and different seasonings, was cooked to near perfection.  It was juicy and flavorful, a well-paired complement to the crunch of the grilled asparagus.  Add in some wine and votive candles and you have a bona fide romantic dinner.

Graciela Introduction

 

img_0481 Hello my class mates, my name is Graciela.  I was born in Aguascalientes and immigrated to the United States in the summer of 1987. I came right after I graduated from the sixth grade.  My mom and my two older sisters came to the states three month before my younger sister and I.  My very first meal in the states was a hamburger with French fries, I loved it.  I spent the whole summer getting up at 5:00am in the morning to go to work with my dad; by 6:00am we were at Teds’ Burger ordering the hamburger special. To this day I still eat my hamburger special from Teds’ Burgers. It has nothing to do with how great their burgers are, it is the memory of our first meal in the States. For a brief period, my family was separated, when we reunited sharing a meal together was just incredible.  I take my nieces and nephews to this small restaurant and tell them the story of how their mothers, grandparents and I came to the United States.  For the most a hamburger might seem unhealthy, cheap, and lazy people food, but for me it is my very first American meal.

Intro I love Chocolate!!!!

Hello Class,

My name is Cindy Perez (Funes). I have been at Dominguez Hills since the Fall of 2015. I love this school! It has taken me over 10 years to be able to finally see the finish line of obtaining a Bachelor degree.  I did not start out in the IDS program. My initial major was Public Relations/Marketing, however due to my overwhelming personal obligations I decided to change my major. I am enjoying the IDS program. The photo I will be sharing with the class is of a chocolate cake from the Cheesecake Factory. I love chocolate anything!!!!!! Growing up I did not like candy, but I loved Chocolate. I cannot think of any food as a child that I was in love with. But, one thing that I do remember is chocolate.

            I can remember as a child getting excited for Christmas. My father had a friend who would bring my grandmother every year a box of wrapped See’s candies. As soon as I would see the box my eyes would light up, with glee. I would beg my grandmother to let me have the box for myself. She could not eat nuts and so she allowed me to eat some. However, I would sneak in the box when she was not looking and eat all the ones with nuts and more only leaving about one or two. I loved Chocolate. Now, as an adult I still love See’s. Anything chocolate is good to me. I love chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, my favorite drink from Starbucks is chocolate based.  I would say that chocolate is my favorite food (I know it is a candy, but it is still edible making it a food)!

choco

Food Presentation 11/9/2016

Arroz Congri or Congri

My presentation is going to be on Arroz Congri. Arroz Congri is the pairing of black beans and white rice. This can be eaten with any typical Cuban plate. However, I associate this with our annual Lechon dinner which we had ever Christmas. This dinner is something that my mother has passed down to me. Her father taught her how to make this dish. He learned how to make it in Cuba, where he once was a cook. My memory of eating this dish goes as far back as to when I was a toddler. The day before Christmas my mom would go out and buy all the stuff for the Lechon dinner. As a kid, I was not feeling this tradition my mother had unspoken bestowed upon the family. Her shopping would lead her to bring back a meaty, super-red pork shoulder. The dinner had to be accompanied with black beans, white rice, mojo, sofrito, garlic, red or green bell peppers, platanos maduros (ripe plantains), orange, lime, and lemon juices, onion of any color would suffice, bay leaf, cumin, salt, pepper, yucca, and olive oil. These ingredients were needed to make the traditional Cuban dinner, that my mother had eaten with her parents.

But, for my presentation I will focus on the Arroz Congri. I will come back to the full recipe for my final. Let’s begin with the making of the black beans. The black beans would eventually be married with the rice. I soaked them overnight in cold water to let all the gases escape. The beans must scream Cuban style and how to do this one may ask? Well, they must first be infused with some intense flavors. Those flavors are as follows one onion which must be chopped, one red/green bell peppers, ¾ of the garlic clove, one bay leaf, a sofrito pack which can be in the Latin section, and as much salt as needed, cumin (optional), and black pepper. The softrito is part of the Goya product line which is essential for cooking traditional Caribbean Latin food. If pork is not the main dish, then you can add a pork shank or bacon to the beans to add flavor. These ingredients would be mixed in with the beans and would be cooking for half of the day. If my mother did not want to mix the rice and beans they were called Morros y Cristianos. It means the Christians and the colored (which is in reference, to the Spanish conquest of the island). Each item could be eaten separately but complimenting each other’s flavors. The beans could be layered on top of the rice. If they were to be mixed in it is called Arroz Congri, the meaning is Spanish for “rice with” or (rice with grease). Rice mixed with different beans is common in Latin America but are called different names. 

Black beans and rice, are a staple in Cuban cuisine. Rice was first cultivated in Asia. It was then brought to the America’s by the colonization of the Spanish Empire. It feeds up to 20 % of the world’s population. In the United States, it is recommended not to rinse the rice before cooking as it will lose its nutritional value. Rice is grown on every content in the world except Antarctica (Rost, 1997). It is the seed of the grass root oryza  (London, 2016). The origin of the name is Greek. It is the first grain to be cultivated and it can sustain a whole civilization. Once it was produced in Asia, it made its way down to India. From India to the Middle East, Africa, the societies of the Greeks, and Romans embraced it.  Other European countries began to cultivate it and eat it. Colonization of the America’s by the Spanish and Portuguese Empires introduced rice. This became a prevalent side dish in most of Latin America  (Attribution, 2016). Rice can be categorized as long, wild, small, or medium.

Just as there are many types of rice, so are there beans. However, in Cuba black beans are the preferred. Beans were not a staple in Spanish cuisine. Beans were introduced by the Natives to the Spaniards. (Fernandez, 1989-2016). Black beans can be called turtle beans  (Filippone, 2015).  Black beans are very healthy for a person. They carry phytonutrients. Beans can be eaten fresh or dried. Before they were cultivated in the America’s they were first eaten in the Middle Eastern countries. They need to be grown in very warm climates. Beans can be eaten dry or wet. Beans are eaten all over the world just in different variations. Apparently, black beans are great for the colon.black-beans-and-rice

Asma: A Nation of My Own

20161108_191711salad

Hi,

My Name is Asma. I’m a transfer student from L.A. Harbor college and this is my first semester at CSUDH. I’m a mother of six. I have two sets of twins and my life is like a roller coaster. I work as an Instructional aide,part time, for two different school, and is a full time student at CSUDH. I Am the first  in my family to graduate from college and on my way to earn my B.A. Family is everything to me! I come from a big and multicultural family. If we did not live in this beautiful country, the interracial marriages would’ve been almost impossible.

My mouth has a taste for all sorts of food. Although, most of the food I cook is of Middle Eastern recipes, but my specialties are of other cultures. One of my favorite dish is my Japanese sister-in law’s Chinese Chicken salad. She had made it a tradition during Thanksgiving dinner to serve the Chinese Chicken salad along with the turkey. This salad consists of Lots of romaine lettuce, thinly sliced cucumbers, pitted raw sunflower seeds,sliced almonds(optional), and shredded cooked boneless skinless chicken. The dressing is made with little mayo, cooking oil, sesame seed oil,vinegar,garlic,sugar,black pepper,and salt.

As food brings us together during special occasions and holidays, it is also the healthy minds which brings us to offer beautiful dishes to please one another, and continue to pass on the good tastes to those who are willing to try out something different. Different is sometimes good!