Last night I attended a cooking demo at Whole Foods with neighbor Carrie (let’s call her “Cul de Sac Carrie” for purposes of the blog). The theme was brunch and I have to say, pretty much everything coming out of the chef’s mouth was new information to me.
She would do that trick like teachers do where they make you fill in the blanks like this:
“If we want to slow the boil we want to add…”
And then she would have to finish it herself because nobody would know: “…salt.”
The whole thing was like that:
“Once we finish cooking the food we...anybody?...we eat it.”
“Potatoes come from the country of…” (Idaho is wrong. I tried.) “…Peru.”
And somehow from there she got into a history lesson. Apparently I didn’t pay attention in 6th grade when we covered the explorers. Nor have I been listening when Frank sings a song he learned the same year about them. (Frank, be sure to post the lyrics in the comments section.)
The chef said:
“When Christopher Columbus was setting sail on his journey King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella wanted him to bring back…what?...spices…they especially wanted him to bring back…what?...pepper…But when Christopher landed in…where?...the Caribbean…and he told them he wanted peppers…they didn’t…what?...have any…but they did have…they did have…anybody?...chilies.”
Here’s where it gets interesting: Chris snatched up the chilies and brought them back to Ferdie and Izzy and called them “chili peppers.” That way they gave him credit for sort of finding pepper. And then they could overlook that whole “landing in the wrong place” situation.
Now I have a new respect for Chris. Cul de Sac Carrie and I also have a new respect for brunch, which apparently can include salad, pizza, salmon, asparagus and banana pecan pancakes—none of which we will be able to make again. But we did consume it all last night. I’m not sure why but the chef says we owe it all to…who?...anybody?...Christopher Columbus.
7 comments:
"In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Depression, passed the... Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?... raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. "Voodoo" economics."-Ferris Bueller's Day Off
I can never watch that scene because of the drooler.
wait a sec.... salt is supposed to speed up your boil, not slow it down! now i'm thoroughly confused. :)
Liz: See? I don't pay attention in cooking class. You're right. Salt speeds it up.
Frank: Thanks for sharing the Ms. Kirby's song. Too bad we can't all hear you sing it.
Elsa, You did a good re-cap of the history lesson. I guess I got rid of the rolling pin when it is easier to buy the ready made pastry. I'm all about faster and easier in the kitchen. Our Granbury Girls brunch will be fun now that we have some recipes to try...thanks for going with me. Cul de sac Carrie Cain
I registered for a rolling pin because our friends Jane and Sebastien did and we copied their registry. Alas, no one thought I needed one. Thus I can't make the brunch pizza.
We made up a song about the explorers in junior high. I only remember the beginning:
Amerigo Vespucci, and Ponce de leon circled the earth....
I would flunk a cooking class!!
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