Seafood Chowder

Ingredients
1 cup of prawns, peeled, de-veined and roughly chopped
1 cup of scallops, roughly chopped
1 cup of mussel meat, chopped
500 gram snapper or cod fillet, cubed
1 onion, diced
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 carrot, finely sliced
1 cup creamed corn or tinned corn
1 litre fish stock or water
1 litre milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon flour, dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons olive oil
200 ml cream
Parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Combine the fish stock and milk in a large pot and bring to a light simmer.
2. Add onion, potatoes, celery, carrot, creamed corn, and garlic and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add the fish and shellfish and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream, then slowly stir in the flour mixture and stir until thickened.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
   
5. Serve piping hot with parsley sprinkled on top.
   

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History - The Hamburger

The origins and history of the hamburger is ambiguous to say the least. In the USA there are three claimants to the hamburger throne: Louis Lassen in 1900, "Hamburger Charlie" Nagreen in 1885, and the Menches Brothers - also in 1885.

However, there is one rather unusual claim that the Mongols, under the rule of Kublai Khan, would place meat in between themselves and the saddles of the horses they rode to tenderise it to the point where it could be eaten raw. The Mongols bought this idea with them to Russia and it later evolved into Steak Tartare.

Later, as a result of global trade, ships would dock into the port city of Hamburg, Germany and the Deutschvolk would mould and shape the meat into a steak shape and cook it and this became known as "Hamburg Steak".

However, back to the American claims. The burger chain "Louis' Lunch", which is based in New Haven, Connecticut claims the invention saying: "One day in the year 1900 a man dashed into a small New Haven luncheonette and asked for a quick meal that he could eat on the run. Louis Lassen, the establishment's owner, hurriedly sandwiched a broiled beef patty between two slices of bread and sen the customer on his way, so the story goes, with America's first hamburger."

The next claimant has a worryingly similar story. In 1885, "Hamburger Charlie" Nagreen apparently started selling meatballs at a summer fair and had a epiphany by inserting them in between pieces of bread, thus making it much more transportable. He, in fact, was the first to refer to it as the "hamburger", so this is possibly technically the correct "inventor".

In Ohio there is a chain of hamburger bars called Menches Bros. This family business is operated by the great grandchildren of Charles and Frank Menches, who claim invented the hamburger in 1885 at a fair in Hamburg, New York. One of the descendants, John Menches said in an interview, "Faced with nothing to sell at all, they fried [the ground beef] up, but it was too bland. My grandfather decided to put coffee, brown sugar, and some other household ingredients in it and cooked up the sandwich. My great-uncle Frank served the first sandwich, a gentleman tasted it and said, 'What do you call it?' Uncle Frank didn't really know what to call it, so he looked up and saw the banner for the Hamburg fair and said, 'This is the hamburger.' "

Gourmet Kiwi Burger

For those of you who have not yet tried pickled beetroot in a burger, you don't know what you are missing. This is what makes the quintessential kiwi burger "kiwi", so it is highly recommended. It's our replacement for gherkin - although we also use them! We don't just to a bun with bit of pre-frozen burger meat and throw a bit of lettuce and hope for the best. These are a work of art! Eating it can be a bit of a challenge, so break out the knife and fork...

(For one burger....change quantities to suit the amount you wish to make)

Ingredients

1 large soft burger bun
1 dessertspoon mayonnaise
1 dessertspoon tomato ketchup
3 large slices pickled beetroot
1 slice pineapple ring
125 grams of mince
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 small onion, diced very finely
1 tablespoon oil
3 slices of streaky bacon
1 slice of your favourite cheese (I use Camembert)
1 egg
Extra oil for frying egg
Torn lettuce of your choice
1 large slice of tomato

Method

1. Firstly, make the burgers. Mix mince with the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and onion.
2. With clean hands, mould into a small ball and squeeze out excess moisture. Flatten with the palm of your hand and shape into burger rounds.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan or griddle and cook burgers for about 4 minutes on each side. Drain on kitchen paper, place onto a large plate and then put at the very bottom of a pre-heated 100 degree Celsius oven.
4. Fry bacon until cooked to your liking, drain keep warm in the oven.
5. Fry pineapple rings until cooked to your liking, drain and keep warm in the oven.
   
6. In a clean pan, heat two more tablespoons of oil and gently fry the egg by breaking the yolk with the back of a spatula. Remove when cooked to your liking, drain keep warm in the oven.
   
7. Cut buns in half and toast under a grill till golden brown.
8. Place the bottom half of bun on a warmed plate and spread with the tomato ketchup.
9. Assemble starting with beetroot, then pineapple, burger, bacon, cheese, egg, lettuce and tomato.
10. Spread the mayonnaise over the base of the top bun and place on top of burger. Secure with a satay stick and serve immediately.
    

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History -The Origins of French Cuisine

The history of French cuisine has had an extensive evolution over the centuries. As early as the Middle Ages, creativity and foreign influence empowered the national cuisine and it took on twists and turns from various royal, social, political, and guild movements.

At around 1400 AD, the first French cookbooks imitated Moorish cuisine. Sugar, which was still a luxury, made food sweet. Saffron gilded it, rose water perfumed it, and milk of almonds made it rich. Today's taste for tagine's and couscous is an echo of the middle ages.

In 1533, Catherine De Medicis, (who was a Florentine Princess) married Henry duc d'Orleans (who later became King Henry II of France). She bought from Italy with her an entourage of Italian chefs, who in turn introduced an extensive variety of dishes, food preparation and dining etiquette. Although Italian and French cuisine have obvious differences, the contribution toward the current food culture of France can be attributed to Catherine's arrival.

In 1652, the first French cookbook appeared, entitled "Le Cuisine François". Written by a famous French chef, La Varenne, Le Cuisine Fransçois showed how French cuisine had become a vital part of cooking and dining in Europe. The book provided many preparation methods, including making a roux (a mix of flour and butter used for thickening soups and sauces). Before roux, the French, and others, had simply put bread in the soup to thicken it. Changes like these would make French cooking the most important type of cooking in Europe.

Restaurants have their origins in the French culture. Prior to the 18th century, people could "dine out" at their local guild member's kitchen, who would prepare a meal for them. This however, was often very restricted as their guild registry often controlled what the chefs were able to produce. The meal would be offered d'hote, which is where a meal is offered at a set price with very little or sometimes no choice at all. A tavern owner named Boulanger served soups, challenging the guilds in court, and won. Boulanger called these soups "restaurants", also known as "restoratives", and will be forever credited with the term we all use today.