Life Is Like A Box of Chocolates

Don't deny it, we've all given into our chocolate craving. Millions of pounds of chocolate are consumed each year throughout the world, but the tasty treat we know today didn't start out so sweet. In fact, chocolate is made using cacao, which was discovered 2,000 years ago in the rain forests of the Americas. The ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America used the cacao seed in many royal and religious events in which they combined the seeds with various seasonings to make a spicy, bitter drink.

• The cacao seeds come from a plant called Theobroma cacao, which translates to 'Food of the Gods'. 
• The word chocolate comes from the Aztec word 'Xoxolatl' meaning bitter water.
• The Aztecs used cacao seeds as a form of currency.

European Influence

Spanish conquistadors brought the seeds back to Spain and hid them away in Spanish monasteries where new drink recipes were created.

• The drink was quite fashionable throughout Spain among the nobility and wealthy, as they were the only ones who could afford it.
• It took nearly a century for the news of cacao and chocolate to spread across Europe. In 1606, it was discovered in Spain by an Italian traveler and then taken to other parts of Europe.
• Europeans added milk and sugar for sweetness, and drinking chocolate became a very popular pastime. By the 1700's, chocolate houses were as prominent as coffee houses in England.
• During the 19th century, Briton John Cadbury developed a process to make solid chocolate, creating the modern chocolate bar.
• Richard Cadbury came up with the idea for the first heart shaped box of chocolate in 1861. Seven years later, John Cadbury began mass producing them.

Health Benefits

Many studies have been conducted throughout the years to uncover the health benefits chocolate provides.

• Physician, Henry Stubbe (1632-1676) considered drinking chocolate once or twice a day a cure for fatigue caused by hard work. He also believed it had heart health benefits.
• Chocolate contains over 300 mineral properties that are beneficial to your health.
• If you are feeling anxious or stressed, eating dark chocolate can help by reducing stress hormone levels and the metabolic effects it has on the body. 
• Dark chocolate can assist in weight loss, as it lessens the craving for sweet, salty, and fatty foods.
• Chocolate contains a chemical known as Phenylethylamine which releases serotonin and endorphins, two known chemicals that make us happy. 

Next time you are in the mood for something sweet, grab a piece of chocolate! 

Pool Party Guide

So you're looking to throw a pool party, huh? Well luckily for you, the weather is warming up, and with spring break now behind us, summer is quickly approaching. Everyone's going to be hitting the pools, so why not just throw your own pool party? It's easier than you think, and with all the necessities, your party will for sure beat out all the others.

Pool Party Check List:

• Guests - Make sure to send out invites! You can't have a party without people. An easy way to do this is to make a Facebook event, so you can keep track of how many people are going.
• The little things - People always forget small items that are usually  crucial. Make sure you take a few minutes to double check your supplies.
• Entertainment - You don't have to reinvent the wheel here. Keep it simple with a few activities that are not too involved, like some of your tailgating games. 
• Music - Make a party playlist! Variety is key. Your guests are going to expect to hear some of the new hits, but mixing in some high school throwback songs is always a good idea.
• Food - Grilling is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to feed your guests. Snacks like chips and salsa, queso, or guac, pizza, or wings are also great to pick on during the day. 
• Drinks - Cold iced tea or lemonade really hit the spot on a hot day, or for the 21+ crowd, a blender an extension can be clutch for making your favorite frozen margarita or daiquiri!

Things You Always Forget:

• Towel
• Sunscreen
• Koozies
• Portable Speakers
• Ice for your cooler
• Coals, lighter fluid, and lighter (if grilling)
• A bottle opener

The Five Mother Sauces of Classical Cuisine

Most Italian chefs will tell you the sauce makes all the difference. But what they don't tell you is that to achieve the perfect texture and taste, it takes a lot of work. So, where do you start? In culinary school, they will teach you about the mother of sauces of classical cuisine. It starts with five basic sauces, which transform into various secondary sauces. They are called mother sauces because each one is the main component in a unique family of sauces.

Bechamel Sauce:
The French term, Bechamel, is your simple, classic white sauce. It's made with a roux of butter and flour cooked milk. Knowing how to make this simple sauce can be a big help in the kitchen. Once you know the basics, you will be able to make casseroles, souffles, and many other recipes. You can even turn it into a pasta sauce, with a little extra liquid and some herbs.



Espagnole Sauce:
This is your brown sauce. As a mother sauce, it serves as the starting point for many derivative sauces, including the traditional demi-glace. It is make from simmering a mirepoix of vegetables, tomato puree, herbs, and beef stock. When you first try this recipe, the taste might not come out as expected. You have to remember that this base sauce is better used as a gateway sauce. Once you find your favorite additions, the Espagnole sauce tastes great on different types of meat dishes.

Veloute Sauce:
Not to be confused with the classic white sauce, the Veloute is a stock-based white sauce. It can be made from chicken, veal, or fish stock. This is also another important skill to learn if you are a new cook. You can prepare other sauces just by adding a few simple ingredients. One delicious dish is actually soup, thickened with egg yolks, butter, and cream.


Hollandaise Sauce:
We see this sauce in a lot of our dishes, including my favorite, eggs benedict. It's a tangy, buttery sauce made by slowly whisking clarified butter into warm egg yolks. Unlike some of the mother sauces, the Hollandaise sauce is great on its own, but it's also the base sauce for many known secondary sauces, like Dijon and Bearnaise.

Tomato Sauce:
Finally a sauce we recognize! Although we can find tomato sauce pre-packaged at the grocery store, this base sauce is slightly different, even though it's mostly served over pizza or pasta. The key is fresh tomatoes. The ripe tomatoes will help thicken the sauce without the help of a roux.

Cooking Tips:

• Constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps. If you must leave the sauce. If you must leave the sauce for a few seconds, set the pan off the heat during that time.
• Don't add too much seasoning, especially salt, until the sauce is finished cooking.
• If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk.
• The key is slow cooking. Simmer the sauce and stir occasionally until ready.

Start your culinary adventure with these basic sauces and you will be creating amazing new dishes in no time!  Happy Cooking!

Layered Heirloom Tomatoes with Feta & Basil Oil

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 red heirloom tomatoes, each cut into 3 slices

3 yellow heirloom tomatoes, each cut into 3 slices

1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup diced red onion

Preparation:

Process olive oil and basil in blender or immersion blender until chives are pureed. Set aside.

Stir together shallots and next 3 ingredients. Pour over red and yellow tomato slices. Toss gently and set aside. Place feta cheese in a large bowl and mash with a fork. Stir in onion.

Place bottom slice of red or yellow tomato on a serving plate. Spread about 2 tablespoons of feta mixture over slice. Drizzle with about a teaspoon of basil oil. Repeat with middle slice of tomato, feta mixture, and basil oil. Top with stem end of tomato. Repeat with remaining tomatoes, feta mixture, and basil oil. Drizzle tomatoes with remaining shallot marinade and basil oil. 

(Source: The Daily Meal)

At Their Peak:

Guess what? Summertime is here and your garden is ready for action. Here are the fresh goodies that are coming into season.


Asparagus: This is a very low calorie vegetable, and a good source of antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin, corotenes, and crypto-xanthins.









Chayote Squash: Cholesterol free, low in calories, and a great source of Vitamin C. (Can be substituted for summer squash.)






Red Leaf Lettuce:  Low in sodium and an excellent source of Vitamins A and K.







Kill the Heat
Don't worry, these fruits are back too!

Honeydew: Pair salty prosciutto with sweet melon for a quick lunch salad. Protein packed freshness!

Strawberry: Freeze it into a Popsicle and they will last all season. Besides, it makes for a great afternoon snack at the office.

Mango: Chop it into fine pieces and make a delicious salsa. Add red pepper, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and lemon juice, and use a topping on your fish for dinner.

Pineapple: Grill your pineapple and create a sweet addition to your lunch or dinner plate. It complements any meat dish.

Science Says the fruits and veggies above have even more benefits besides their nutrients. A study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, shows that food packaging is the major source of exposure to hormone disruptors, BPA and DEHP, in children and adults. A fresh food diet reduces levels of these chemicals by half, after just three days.

Food and the Silver Screen

Have you ever wondered where some food trends started? Believe it or not, Hollywood has a lot to do with it. Movies and TV shows have influenced our dinner tables choices for many years. Some have even gives us new recipes to try at home. Here are a few different dishes that have stuck around since they hit the big screen.

Big Night (1996)
Movie Plot: A failing Italian restaurant, run by two brothers, gamble on one special night to try to save the business.

Famous Food: Timballo
Referred to as 'Timpano' in this film, this Italian dish became famous after the move hit the screen in 1996. It can be translated to pie or savory cake. Timballo is an Italian dish made out of pasta or rice, bound with eggs or cheese, and baked into a mold with savory ingredients including pheasant, pumpkin, giblets, meatballs, mushrooms and/or truffles. In the United States, many Italian restaurants have created different variations of the traditional dish to appease the American palate.

Sex and the City (1998-2004)
Plot: Four friends share their stories on relationships, friendships, and life changes, while living in one of the most exciting cities in America.

Famous Food: It was actually a drink - Cosmopolitan
While the girls from Sex and the City sipped their Cosmopolitans on TV, more and more local restaurants saw their sales of the delicious cocktail skyrocket.

The Godfather (1972)
Plot: It focuses on the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone. When Don's youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), reluctantly joins the Mafia, he becomes involved in the inevitable cycle of violence and betrayal.

Famous Food: Peter Clemeza's Red Sauce
The recipe came from Francis Ford Coppola, who directed the film. Many households swear by the recipe that includes sausages, meatballs, and red wine. Coppola decided to include the recipe in the actual script, just in case the movie failed so the people would at least know the proper recipe for the traditional Italian spaghetti sauce. You can see the full recipe online!

Downtown Orlando

Most would consider Downtown Orlando a small town. But, when you look at the facts, we are growing more and more each day. Downtown has more than 340 retailers, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs, and even Florida's largest public library. Not to mention a sports arena (Amway Cetner) and a concert hall, and a performing arts theater (Bob Carr). So why leave town when you have all you need to spend a great weekend getting to know your own city?

Downtown By Day

Lake Eola: Lake Eola Park is a popular destination in the Downtown area. With the beautiful weather, families, athletes, and visitors flock to the beautiful location, which is one of the many Orlando landmarks. You can rent swan-shaped paddle boats or electric gondola boats for $15 for half an hour. If you decide to stay on dry land, you can feed the swans, play in the Walt Disney Ampitheater, or relax at the bank among the beautiful scenery and the Orlando skyline. On Sundays, Lake Eola is home to the downtown Orlando farmer's market from 10am to 4pm. It was established in 1987, and they have a brand new wine and beer garden, live entertainment, an outdoor dining area, and even arts in the parks programs.

Thornton Park/Eola Heights District: Just a short distance away, you can find the brick-lined streets of Thornton Park. Lined with beautiful colonial homes, shopping, and gourmet restaurants. It's a place to eat,meet, and have fun! Offering outside seating, Anthony's Pizza and Italian Restaurant serves delicious authentic Italian cooking, and its location close to Lake Eola makes it a perfect stop in between shopping. Fora  lively atmosphere, down the street is Graffiti Junktion. Enjoy the colorful graffiti art on the walls and tables, as well as the original works of art for sale by local artists. You can bite into their true American burger, and sip on an ice-cold beer. If you start early, you might as well stay late! Graffiti by night is whole new experience.

Downtown By Night

For Foodies: After a day of activities, you are in the right place for dinnertime. The downtown restaurant scene is as vibrant as its nightlife. Shari Sushi and Lounge offers style and great Japanese cooking. Their extensive sushi list will leave even the most avid diner pleasantly surprised, and their happy hour specials are unbeatable. In the same spot for 10 years, it has only gotten better. The Rusty Spoon offers American favorites in a rich and comfortable atmosphere. The ever-changing menu focuses heavily on Southern Comfort with a farm to fresh table approach. The Fifth on Orange Avenue is a class above the rest. They offer a relaxed menu among an ultra-trendy environment. You can eat, drink, and dance, all in one spot. What more do you need? Bento Cafe across the street is also in the middle of the action and has something for every taste. They have over 25 available options on their kitchen menu, on top of sushi specialties and drink specials.

Central Business District: One thing you will never have to worry about in Downtown Orlando is lack of entertainment. The business core of the city might be home to suits and ties during the day, but it comes to life at night every day of the week. If you want to dance the night way, two locations on historical Church street will get you swaying until the morning. Native Social Bar tells the story of Orlando to its residents. The bar is divided into different sections so you can find the best spot that suits you. Drink specials, bottle service, and local DJ's all make up the fun you will have here. Loft 55 is just down the street and offers incredible views of the skyline of Orlando. The open doors, two main bars, and talented DJ's create the same upbeat atmosphere of most upscale bars found in New York City. Just walking distance from the arena, why not stop by for a drink...or two?