The Food Almanac: May 30, 2011
In The Food Almanac, Tom Fitzmorris of the online newsletter, The New Orleans Menu notes food facts and sayings.
Observances
Today is Memorial Day, which began originally to honor soldiers who died on the Union side during the Civil War. For a long time, there was a separate Confederate Memorial Day. Although not a lot of fuss was made about that date in recent decades, its mere presence — and the origins of the holiday — made Memorial Day less of a holiday here in the South for a long time.
That has changed, however, and every year more Southerners take the day off. In the North, it has always been a holiday. Most governmental offices are closed, as are the Postal Service, banks, and the stock market. This is also the traditional date for beginning of summer vacation from school. Even if you're not in school, the lingering reflexes there make one want to start easing off a bit.
I estimate that about two-thirds of the restaurants usually open on Monday will be open today. I'd give you the list if I had the 30 or so hours necessary to check it out (it's different every year). Most of the French Quarter restaurants will be open, as will anything near a shopping area. Call before you go.
Otherwise, relax, grill, and enjoy the day!
Drinking Calendar
It is National Mint Julep Day! Mint juleps are nowhere near as popular as they deserve to be, because few bartenders want to go to the trouble of making them, and even fewer have fresh mint to work with. So you have to learn to make them yourself. You bruise the mint leaves in a shaker with what bartenders call a "muddler." (I use a honey server, which works fine and gives me another use for that rarely-used item.) Then you add simple syrup, Bourbon, a splash of club soda, crushed ice and shake. Pack glasses (silver cups are classic, but who has them?) with crushed ice and serve. Garnish with a sprig of mint to tickle the drinker's nose and release more aroma.
The word "julep" comes through French from Arabic. In that language it's a reference to rosewater. So we have been drinking juleps for a long time, and come a long way since its origins.
Gourmet Gazetteer
Mint, Tenn., is on the northwest edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. It's where Indian Warpath Road meets Bluebird Lane to form Mint Road. The area is being developed with largish country homes, spilling over from the burgeoning Knoxville, 28 miles north. The nearest place to eat is about two miles away in Maryville: Ridge Valley Farm Café.
The Old Kitchen Sage Sez
Mint in the garden is like talent. You either have it or you don't.
Food and Sports
In the aftermath of a collision he and another player had in the outfield, Detroit Tigers slugger Al Kaline was knocked cold and swallowed his tongue. That is potentially a life-threatening situation, but they fixed him up, and he was able to get full flavor from food again. "Remember kids," the Hall of Famer said, "Never swallow your tongue, no matter how much you hate tilapia!" (Or did I just imagine that?)
Food in Jewelry
Peter Carl Faberge, who created the famous jewel-encrusted gold eggs for the Russian nobility, was born today in 1846. His famous works in gold and precious stones much outshone the Fabergé Omelettes, made with wax, chicken fat, and ambergris.
The Saints
This is the feast day of St. Joan of Arc, commemorating her being burned at the stake on this day in 1431, after leading a rebellion against the Burgundian rulers of her hometown, Orleans. She was only nineteen at the time. She is the patron saint of both Orleans and New Orleans. Her statue in the latter city depicts her in full medieval armor. The statue was a gift from the French people, who venerate her as a national hero. That's logical enough. What I have never understood is why Joan of Arc is a brand of canned vegetables.
Edible Dictionary
mirepoix, n., French — A mixture of finely diced onions, carrots, and celery, added to stocks and roasting meat juices in the making of certain sauces, especially brown sauces for meats. After cooking with the other ingredients for awhile, the vegetables almost melt into the liquid part of the sauce ingredients, and as they do they lend flavor and (from the carrots) color. In meat sauces, sometimes cured ham or bacon are added.
Food Inventions
Today in 1848, one William Young patented a more effective design for an ice cream freezer. It was more or less like the ones we use today, with a jacket of ice and salt around the exterior, and a mechanism for keeping the cream moving so its water content doesn't crystallize. But this allowed the inner container to move, therefore giving much better heat transfer to the ice.
Food Namesakes
Je'Rod Cherry, former safety for the New Orleans Saints, was born today in 1973. Another football pro, Anthony Cook, came to the gridiron of life today in 1972. Marathon runner Allison Roe made a run for the world today in 1957. Candy Lightner, the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was born today in 1946. Today in 2000, driver Buddy Rice won a shortened (because of rain) Indianapolis 500. Guadalupe "Pita" Amor, a Mexican poet, was born today in 1918. George Cook patented an automatic fishing gizmo today in 1899.
Words to Eat By
"It is the destiny of mint to be crushed." — Waverley Root, American food writer.