Cooking tips

Buy Local Food : Cultivate an awareness of how far your food travels. When Rich Pirog, Food Systems Program Leader for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, tracked the miles traveled for 16 types of produce, he found that locally sourced fruits and vegetables such as apples, lettuce and tomatoes traveled an average of 56 miles, compared to 1,494 miles — nearly 27 times farther — for the same fruits and vegetables delivered through conventional retail channels. Things get stickier with combination foods, strawberry yogurt for example. Pirog came up with 2,216 miles by adding up the distance traveled for the yogurt’s milk, sugar and strawberries. That figure could be slashed by 90 percent if you buy plain yogurt and stir in some locally grown honey and fruit.

Buy Local Food : See if you can find out where your food has gone before it gets to your plate. You may be suprised by the results. Often it will make financial sense for companies to transport food enourmous distances by planes, boats and lorries. This dosn't take the environmental cost into account (which of course is likely to lead to greatly increased economic costs in the long term).

Most food, from fruit to fish, has a season -a time when it is abundant and at its best. Knowledge about food's seasons was once essential to survival and became culturally ingrained over the centuries. Today, we have all but lost this accumulated wisdom. Does this matter, in an age where technology can bring us anything we want to eat, whenever we want it?

Buche De Marrons Au Chocolat Recipe

	Category	Chocolate Recipes
	Views	65
	Ratings	0

Ingredients And Procedures

4 lb Chestnuts OR

2 lb Chestnuts, canned, whole,

-- unsweetened, drained OR 4 c Chestnuts, pureed, canned,

-- unsweetened 1/4 c Sugar, superfine

1/2 c Butter, unsalted, melted

3 tb Calvados OR

3 tb Applejack OR

3 tb Cognac

1/2 ts Vanilla

8 oz Chocolate, semi-sweet,

-- melted, cooled, -- (preferably Maillard) ---------------------------------GARNISHES--------------------------------- 1 c Cream, whipping

1 ts Sugar

1/2 ts Vanilla

Candied violets 1 oz Chocolate, semi-sweet,

-- melted, cooled 1 tb Cocoa, unsweetened

If you are using fresh chestnuts, cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to boil. Cover and boil gently until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for 15 minutes. Shell the chestnuts, removing both the hard outer shell and the inner brown skin. If you're using canned chestnuts, simply drain. Reserve 3 whole chestnuts for garnish. Puree chestnuts in a processor until very smooth. Add 3/4 cup of very finely powdered sugar, butter, Calvados and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Puree again until very smooth and fluffy.

Add 8 ounces of melted chocolate and puree until very smooth. Line a 4 cup round log-shaped mold or loaf pan with plastic wrap, pressing it down until smooth. Pour in the chestnut-chocolate mixture and tamp the mold to eliminate any air bubbles. Smooth over the surface, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. To Garnish: =========== Unmold log on serving plate, and carefully remove the plastic wrap. Whip the cream with 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla until stiff. Spread the cream evenly over all sides of the log, forming a barklike ridge here and there with a spatula or decorating comb. Drizzle thin lines of chocolate down the length of the log, using a paper pastry cone or fork. Roll the 3 reserved chestnuts in cocoa and arrange on the log lengthwise. Garnish with candied violets and refrigerate until serving. This log may be refrigerated for up to one week. Source: New York's Master Chefs, Bon Appetit Magazine : Written by Richard Sax, Photographs by Nancy McFarland : The Knapp Press, Los Angeles, 1985 Chef: Andree Abramoff, Andree's Mediterranean Restaurant, New York

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<h1>Buche De Marrons Au Chocolat</h1>
    <b>Ingredients And Procedures</b><p>
        <TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=3 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><P>4 lb Chestnuts OR <P>2 lb Chestnuts, canned, whole, <P>-- unsweetened, drained OR 4 c Chestnuts, pureed, canned, <P>-- unsweetened 1/4 c Sugar, superfine <P>1/2 c Butter, unsalted, melted <P>3 tb Calvados OR <P>3 tb Applejack OR <P>3 tb Cognac <P>1/2 ts Vanilla <P>8 oz Chocolate, semi-sweet, <P>-- melted, cooled, -- (preferably Maillard) ---------------------------------GARNISHES--------------------------------- 1 c Cream, whipping <P>1 ts Sugar <P>1/2 ts Vanilla <P>Candied violets 1 oz Chocolate, semi-sweet, <P>-- melted, cooled 1 tb Cocoa, unsweetened <P>If you are using fresh chestnuts, cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to boil. Cover and boil gently until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for 15 minutes. Shell the chestnuts, removing both the hard outer shell and the inner brown skin. If you're using canned chestnuts, simply drain. Reserve 3 whole chestnuts for garnish. Puree chestnuts in a processor until very smooth. Add 3/4 cup of very finely powdered sugar, butter, Calvados and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Puree again until very smooth and fluffy. <P>Add 8 ounces of melted chocolate and puree until very smooth. Line a 4 cup round log-shaped mold or loaf pan with plastic wrap, pressing it down until smooth. Pour in the chestnut-chocolate mixture and tamp the mold to eliminate any air bubbles. Smooth over the surface, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. To Garnish: =========== Unmold log on serving plate, and carefully remove the plastic wrap. Whip the cream with 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla until stiff. Spread the cream evenly over all sides of the log, forming a barklike ridge here and there with a spatula or decorating comb. Drizzle thin lines of chocolate down the length of the log, using a paper pastry cone or fork. Roll the 3 reserved chestnuts in cocoa and arrange on the log lengthwise. Garnish with candied violets and refrigerate until serving. This log may be refrigerated for up to one week. Source: New York's Master Chefs, Bon Appetit Magazine : Written by Richard Sax, Photographs by Nancy McFarland : The Knapp Press, Los Angeles, 1985 Chef: Andree Abramoff, Andree's Mediterranean Restaurant, New York <BR><BR></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>     <p>
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