Best Kitchen Appliances

By Allie Moxley Alaska king crab is one of the most popular dishes at seafood restaurants and buffets around the world. These magnificent creatures yield large chunks, of tender, snowy white meat, outlined by flecks of brilliant, bright red. It's delicate, soft flavor and melt in your mouth texture have made king crab prized by legions of refined palates. Fresh from the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska, nothing beats this delicious treat. This article discusses how to cook king crab legs, including grilling, boiling, steaming and baking. Harvested in the Bering Sea and beyond, these crustaceans are known for their copious amounts of rich, succulent meat.  They have a tender, delicate flavor and are an excellent source of protein. They are extremely low and fat and incredibly easy to prepare.  When first learning how to cook king crab legs, keep in mind that you really can't make mistakes. It's really simple; you'll be cooking like a pro in no time. ...

Empanadas are stuffed pastries and the name literally means, "wrapped in bread." An empanada is usually made by folding a round dough patty in half over the stuffing, making them semicircular. These tasty little snacks are incredibly popular and they make suitable fare for any meal or occasion. A Look at Empanadas from Galicia to Latin America The type of empanadas you might find as part of a Mexican typical meal are thought to come from Galicia in Spain. These snacks arrived in Latin America with the Galician colonists. An authentic Galician empanada is a large round or square pie, cut into slices. This makes it a hearty, filling and portable lunch for workers. Portable food variations include Cornish pasties, Indian samosas, Italian calzone, and turnovers of different types. A lot of cultures have their own version of "pocket" dishes or meat pies because they are both hearty and portable. Chicken, cod or pork loin are popular fillings for Galician em...

By David Urmann For the Japanese, sushi implies vinegared rice typically topped with meats, fish and vegetables. Outside Japan, sushi is more often mistaken as "raw fish" or "raw seafood." In Japan, they call sliced raw fish, sashimi. It is different from sushi because sashimi implies purely on the raw fish part. In Archaic grammar, "sushi" literally means "it's sour." There are several types of sushi. The Nigirizushi sushi consists of toppings laid with "hand-formed" rice clumps. Aside from topping it with vinegared rice, it is also dabbed with wasabi and a bite-size, thin slice of fish, egg or various other seafoods. Although the egg is cooked, the seafood and fish can be served raw. The types of fish you can use are salmon, tuna, mackerel and eel. When eating Nigirizushi, make sure that the rice side is not dipped into the soy sauce. The fish side should be the one dipped or it will fall apart. You can do this alt...

By Allie Moxley You've probably read dozens of articles boasting the amazing health benefits of eating the pink fleshed fish. You most likely order a nice cut of rich, succulent salmon in a simple lemon sauce at your favorite seafood restaurant. But when it comes to picking out salmon at your local market, you're clueless. No worries, though, with this salmon buyer's guide you'll soon be a pro at shopping for the fish. Although frozen salmon is available all year long, nothing beats fresh salmon. First of all, whether you are buying steaks or fillets, there are a few things you should keep an eye out for. When buying salmon you want to look for a nice, bright pink color. The flesh should be firm to the touch; if you press your finger into it, the flesh should bounce back. The smell should be fresh, slightly reminiscent of the sea and ozone; it shouldn't have a fishy smell to it. The fish shouldn't be at all sticky or tacky. If you're buying a ...

By Tracy Falbe Cooking food on the grill is the most ancient way to prepare dinner, and the barbeque enjoys a special relationship with pork. All meats turn out great on the grill, but pork develops an especially wonderful flavor after spending some time with the fire. This pork recipe combines the gifts of the grill with the next best thing to happen to pork: sweetness. Honey and apricot preserves glaze the pork while it grills, and you prepare whole fresh apricots on the grill as well to provide a nutritious accompaniment for the meat. Recipe ingredients: 2 whole boneless pork tenderloins (about 1-1/2 pounds) Salt and pepper to taste 6 firm ripe apricots 1/3 cup apricot preserves 1/2 cup honey 2 Tablespoons dry sherry 1 Tablespoon maple syrup 1/3 cup Dijon mustard 6 sprigs fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon salt Black pepper   Start by making the apricot mustard glaze. Blend the apricot preserves, honey, sherry, maple syrup, mustard, parsley, and salt until smooth. Then...

By J. A. Lloyd This world famous Valencian dish is served in almost every Spanish restaurant on the Costa Blanca. Originally a poor mans meal it was made with rabbit and/or local seafood. Rice is the basis of this aromatic dish as the communidad of Valencia has been the rice growing centre of Spain for centuries. Commonly, but mistakenly, known as Paella, which means a type of cooking pan, it is the established favourite Sunday meal amongst Valencians. Both foreign tourist and local residents enjoy the paella served up by their local eatery. It seems that each restaurant produces their own particular recipe to appeal to their regulars The dish is cooked in a paella, which is a large round flat pan similar to a frying pan but with two handles. Hence the mistaken name of the dish. The pan is placed on a paellero which is normally a barbeque or a gas ring, although traditionally it is cooked on an open wood burning fire. The typical pan for cooking paella is very shallow, ...

By Allie Moxley There is nothing like a delicious salmon fillet, whether grilled, fried, baked, or even eaten raw! Salmon just has that incomparable flavor and texture that everybody craves, and when it's ocean caught salmon from Alaska that you're talking about, there is just no beating it. Alaskan waters are famed the world over for their abundance in seafood, and in particular for the outstanding salmon species harvested in the wild. There are many advantages to wild salmon, and not all of them have to do with the flavor and the texture-though those are very important factors that a lot of consumers discriminate by. In addition to these more superficial concerns, there is the issue of the actual nutritional value of ocean caught salmon versus farm raised salmon. After exhaustive study on the topic, it is abundantly clear that wild salmon is much better for our health, and that farmed salmon can include chemicals in the flesh that present significant health ris...

By Allie Moxley When thinking about your next seafood recipe, the following canned item may not come to mind, but it should: Wild caught salmon. Though Tuna has a lockdown on the canned fish department, today might be the day to ditch the mercury laden Tuna and try a new taste of the sea. But you may be thinking, "What to do with canned salmon? And why even bother?" The answer is that there are so many ways to use it and so many healthy reasons to do so! High in omega-3's (up to 4 times the amount of chunk light tuna, according to some online resources), wild caught canned salmon is a clean, safe, sustainable seafood options for you and your family. However, it is important to emphasize the wild here, because that alternative is farm-raised salmon (also known as Atlantic Salmon), which contains high levels of PCBs, dioxins and pesticides, and is not nearly as environmentally friendly. Now that the word is out that there's an alternative canned fish wait...

We are just back from Rome and where we have essentially ate our way across the city, so going to an Italian restaurant in New York is definitely taking our chances. BTW, there is no bad pasta in Rome, but there is terrible Pizza. Lupa, the she wolf, symbol of Rome, is a wonderful bistro, on Thompson Street, NYC, that gets it right. The waiters are extremely knowledgeable, (do you know the difference between Borsci and Lucano, digestifs) and are actually helpful, rare in New York. Appetizers are served in soup bowls and are tasty and distinctive. I liked the Winter Squash alla Romana. Pastas are bountiful and have interesting twists; the Bavette Cacio has a bread crumb topping. The major compliant is that the selection is small. The main courses fish or meat are seasoned just so. Sorry, Vegans need not apply. While the wine list is not cheap the variety is amazing and half carafes are available. Desserts are definitely Italian style and even the Tartufo, an ice cream bom...

By John C. Banks Prawns and shrimp are among the most popular types of seafood. The meat has a sweet, delicate flavor and is considered to be a healthy diet choice . They are a rich source of calcium, protein and antioxidants like selenium. Prawns belong to the crustacean family, macrobrachium genus and suborder dendrobrachiata. The genus Macrobrachium consists of about 200 species. They resemble shrimp as well as lobster, with narrow body and long legs. Prawns are salt water creatures but they migrate to fresh water to spawn. There is confusion with regards to terminology, as shrimps are also referred to prawns; but the term prawns should be reserved to the fresh water palaemonids. In United Kingdom and other European countries the term "prawns" is commonly used whereas term "shrimp" is used in North America. Several different types of prawns are found in both seawater and fresh water and they are also widely farmed in various countries. Freshwater p...

By Allie Moxley The fresh icy waters of Alaska are home to a motley crew of sea creatures that are the perfect compliment to some melted butter and lemon juice. Fresh Alaska crab is a great selection to be featured in any meal. While king crab is the meatiest of the group, Alaska also boasts Dungeness and snow crab, also known as Opilio crab. Whatever your taste is Alaska has the crab for you and a recipe to help you achieve your culinary goals. Whatever crab you choose you should entertain the idea of cooking up a hearty crab Cioppino. This recipe allows you bring all of your favorite seafood into one delicious dish, with fresh Alaska crab as the star ingredient. You will need four minced garlic cloves, one bay leaf, a quarter cup of olive oil, one chopped green bell pepper, one medium onion finely chopped, one tablespoon of red wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, one tablespoon dried oregano, a 28 to 32 ounce can of coarsely puréed whole tomatoes with...

By Linda Carol Wilson It really isn't hard to get a quick and healthy meal on the table in a matter of minutes. You can feed your family an inexpensive, nutritious meal in about a half hour. Here are a couple of chicken entrees to get you started. Try the Quick and Easy Chicken Parmesan that is table ready in a matter of minutes. If you prefer mushrooms, try the Sauteed Chicken with Mushrooms. Both of these recipes are also perfect for diabetics. QUICK FIX CHICKEN PARMESAN 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 2 cans (14.5 oz ea) Italian-style stewed tomatoes 2 tbsps cornstarch 1/2 tsp basil 1/4 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce, optional 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in an oblong baking dish. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes at 425 degrees; drain. In a 2-qt saucepan, combine the tomatoes, cornstarch, basil, oregano and the pepper sauce, if using. Cook the tomato mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour the...

By Allie Moxley Alaskan pollock, one of the most delicate and finely textured members of the cod family is ideal for  a wide variety of cooking techniques.  In fact, Alaskan pollock may be just the fish you´ve been looking for as the center-piece to your some of your favorite recipes.  This exquisitely delicate, flaky white fish is extremely versatile; ideal for pan-frying, deep-frying, baking, poaching or even for using in soups and stews.  Pollock recipes can be as exotic as Chili and Lime Couscous-Coated Wild Alaska Pollock Goujons , as fun as Mexican-Style Pollock Quesadillas, or as simple and comforting as your mom´s favorite recipe for fried fish fillets --- to be served along with chips, of course!  But there is an added benefit to using wild Alaskan pollock in your pollock recipes and for substituting it in recipes calling for various other fish: you will be serving a fish which was raised in the purest most natural habitat possible....

By A.l. Castle The hand crank popcorn popper or stove top popper, as it is also known, is one of the best tools for making your favorite snack. You can make better and tastier popcorn then they make at the movie theaters. The difference is, making popcorn homemade is cheaper and allows you to choose from many different types and flavors of the gourmet treat. By utilizing the Internet and various cook books you can find a gourmet flavor to suite any palette. Many websites allow you to download gourmet recipe's. Some sites offer over 100 different types. You can make the same flavors offered in the large on line stores. This allows you to produce the freshest snack possible in many different variations of the gourmet flavors. With a little experimenting, you can make your own favorite flavor. The Stove top popper works in a very simple manner. It is a large pan with a handle protruding out from it . On the end of this handle is a crank that allows you to keep mixing a...

Vau restaurant scores well from the moment you walk in. Very modern and sleek in appearance it is very comfortable and undeniably up market! Superb evocative artwork by the multi-prize winning Cologne artist Oliver Jordan adorn the walls. A nice touch were the glossy catalogues of his work which we all enjoyed looking through. The architecture is exciting and thought provoking and over all it has a lovely atmosphere. We were there for lunch with no time pressures and were very relaxed. A very good Saar riesling priced at 30 euros got the ball rolling. Not over alcoholic it was dry but with lovely pristine fruit, very easy drinking and would never give you heartburn and we stayed on it through out the meal. After considerable debate we all chose different things off the menu to get a good idea of what was on offer. I had a homemade tagliatelle with venison ragout followed by roast halibut with cabbage and caraway. The venison ragout was the highlight for me but everyone...

With all the talk in health circles about turmeric, I though you might be interested in my answer to the question 'What is turmeric powder?' On one hand, what is turmeric powder is easy to answer. It is a plant, native to India from the family that gives us ginger. It thrives where the days are hot, say, around 25 degrees, and the rainfall heavy. Part of the plant is taken and boiled for half a day then dried in ovens. The brittle remains are then ground into the orange powder we are talking about. But there is more to the question what is turmeric powder, because after all this work Indians traditionally have done two things -- used it in cooking to spice delicious curries and in dyeing, and used in medicine. Let's look at the medicinal use of this remarkable plant. Ancient Indian medical books recommend turmeric powder as an antiseptic for cuts and burns, as a source of fluoride to strengthen teeth, as an antibacterial agent, and to aid indigestion and a ran...

By L. Ingram The word is out that the acai berry is one of the most wonderful fruits found in the rain forests in Amazon, Brazil. One of the big questions is "what does the acai berry taste like"? Since this fruit dwells in the amazon rain forest we can be sure that it is pure and clean. And since it is extremely perishable we are not going to be having the actual berries as toppings on ice cream or cereal. The acai berry is very popular today in many forms. There are drinks, smoothies, powders and even capsules. It contains many vitamins and nutrients. It is well known for its high antioxidant content. It is also said to give one a lot of energy. It is a healthy solution to perking one up for the day as comparison with all the synthetic energy boosters on the market today. Generally, the acai berry has been described as tasting like a fine mixture of berries and chocolate. For most people, that is a good combination and something they are willing to try. The...