New Mexico Chile Peppers are grown, as the name would imply, in New Mexico, USA. They grow in fields irrigated by water diverted from the Rio Grande river. The plant grows 20 to 30 inches (50 to 75 cm) tall with leaves 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Each plant…
American Food
Nova Tangelos
Nova Tangelos are medium to large tangelos. The rind is thick and a bit tricky to peel, despite marketing claims of it having a “zipper skin.” The skin can be dark to reddish orange. Inside, the flesh is a dark orange, often with many seeds. The tree is thornless and cold hardy. The “judges” are…
Okra
Okra © Denzil Green Okra is a green vegetable. You eat the pods that the plant produces. The pods are ribbed and long, anywhere from 5 to 18 cm long (2 to 7 inches) with smooth, but fuzzy skin. Their flavour is somewhere between eggplant and either green beans or asparagus. When cooked, Okra turns…
Oreo Cookies
Oreo Cookies © Denzil Green Oreo Cookies are an American dessert made by the Nabisco Company, currently (2010) owned by Kraft. They consist of two chocolate wafers, with a vanilla filling inside. Over the years, several variations have been released. Traditionally, Nabisco’s promotion of the cookies has been to have them with a glass of…
Orlando Tangelos
Orlando Tangelos are a citrus fruit that is a hybrid between the Dancy Tangerine and the Duncan Grapefruit (as was the Minneola Tangelo.) The tree is very popular with producers, as it is very cold hardy. The leaves are dark green and cupped-shape. The tree cannot pollinate itself, it needs another citrus tree to act…
Oyster Crackers
Oyster Crackers are round, hard crackers meant to be added to bowls of soup at the table in which they soften. They are very small, generally just about ½ inch round (1 cm.) They are made from flour, water and just a touch of salt in the dough. No leavener is used. They taste like…
Pan Sausage
Seasoned sausagemeat that instead of being stuffed into a casing to make regular sausages with, has been formed into a roll. The sausagemeat is usually made of pork, but may be beef, lamb, turkey or chicken, or even venison. There are many different brands, offering many different flavours such as plain or sage. Some varieties,…
Parker House Rolls
Parker House Rolls are buttery, fluffy yeast rolls made with white wheat flour. They have a fold (or crease or indent) on the top in the centre for easy tearing — the crease also helps to increase the surface area that can be crusty. You make a Parker House Rolls from a small round of…
Pastrami
Pastrami is a deli cold-cut meat used for sandwiches. It is tender and spicy; some people find the taste very salty. It is made from beet: either beef brisket, beef plate or beef round. New York and Kosher styles are made from beef plate (between the Brisket at the front and the Flank at the…
Paul Blangé
Paul Blangé was Executive Chef at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, where his name became synonymous with good food and fine dining. He created Bananas Foster, Eggs Hussarde and Chicken Pontalba.
Pawpaw
This poor fruit has two common names, both of which are already taken, Pawpaw and Custard Apple: in the English speaking-world, outside of North America, a Pawpaw is a papaya fruit. In North America, a Custard Apple is another fruit entirely. Pawpaws are, though, in the same family as Custard Apples. Pawpaw, also spelt Papaw…
Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter © Denzil Green Peanut butter is a spread made from roasted, ground peanuts. Natural oils in the peanuts make the ground mixture a paste. Additional oil, salt, sugar, etc may be added to the mixture, depending on the brand being purchased. Peanut butter can be obtained in many forms. At health-food and bulk…
Peanut Oil
Peanut Oil made in the UK and in North America is quite refined, almost clear, with a mild flavour. It has a high smoke point (450 F / 232 C), so it can be used for any frying. In fact, it’s good as a deep-frying oil, because it is more resistant than most oils to…
Peanuts
Roasted Peanuts © Denzil Green As everyone knows, Peanuts are actually not nuts, they are legumes — more closely related to a tin of mooshy peas than they are to the almond paste on your Christmas cake. But they sure do look like nuts, and you use them like nuts, so nuts they are. Plus,…
Pecan Tassies
Pecan Tassies © Denzil Green A Pecan Tassie is a pecan tart. The filling is made the same as you would for pecan pie, from sugar, butter, eggs and a starch, but instead of being poured into one large pie shell, the filling is poured into individual tart shells, which are the “tassies.” The tarts…
PET No-Bake Festive Fruitcake
The PET Festive Fruitcake gained its place as a beloved, if quirky, part of the American Christmas cooking pantheon in the second half of the 1900s. The goal of the recipe was to promote the use of PET Evaporated Milk as an ingredient in holiday cooking.
Peychaud’s Bitters
Peychaud’s is a bright-red bitters sold in 5 oz (150 ml) bottles whose ingredients include gentian root. It is used as a flavouring in cocktails. It is sweeter than Angostura Bitters. It is made in Louisiana, USA and is very hard to find outside of the state. History Notes The Peychaud family were French from…
Philadelphia Cheese Steak
A Philadelphia Cheese Steak is a sandwich roll that has beef and cheese in it. The Olivieri family in Philadelphia claims to be the first to have made the sandwiches, in the 1930s. The family still owns and runs “Pat’s King of Steaks” in Philadelphia. Their sandwich store was shown in the movie “Rocky.” Many…
Phosphates
Phosphates are a carbonated beverage made to order for you. They used to be widespread before the advent of bottled carbonated soda pop, but now are mostly available in kosher restaurants as a dairy-free alternative to ice cream floats or sodas, particularly in Chicago, U.S. Phosphates are made from carbonated water (not soda water), phosphoric…
Piccalilli (American)
American Piccalilli is a relish based on green tomatoes. It is generally green in colour. Recipes vary wildly. Though a few recipes may include some prepared mustard or mustard powder, there is usually no mustard as in the original English or Dutch Piccalillis. Simple American Piccalilli recipes are often the same as what one would…
Pierre Blot: possibly America’s first celebrity chef
Pierre Blot, Handbook of Practical Cookery Life and Times For a brief period, Pierre Blot was perhaps America’s first celebrity chef. He styled himself “Professor of Gastronomy.” He wrote cookbooks and ran a cooking school. Ultimately, he may have made a basic marketing error, though, of trying to teach upper-class ladies about food preparation at…
Pies & Tarts
A pie — or a tart — is an item cooked with a crust. The crust may be on the bottom, or on the top, or both. Typically the crust is made from wheat flour.
Pismo Clams
Pismo Clams are rare Pacific clams. They can only legally be caught when they are over 4 ½ inches wide (11cm), which they reach when they are about 5 years old. They can grow up to 7 inches (18 cm.) They are tender and sweet and considered a delicacy, and priced accordingly. Cooking Tips Part…
Pittsburgh Rare
Pittsburgh rare is a term describing a degree of doneness for beef steaks. It is considered to be an internal temperature of 110 F (43 C.) The steak should be very charred on the outside, even having black bits on it, but very rare (as in blood red) and still quite cold on the inside….