Archive for October, 2009

 Perhaps YOUR doctor would not agree with everything listed but let’s keep an open mind shall we?

Are you a coffee lover?  Welcome!  I believe you will find the Double Eagle coffee is second to none in our area.  We have chosen the St Henri Blend of caffeinated coffee from Seattle’s Best, an offshoot of Starbucks.  We had a wonderful special blend through our previous supplier.  Made just for us and a real fool-proof standard procedure for brewing.  But, in the spring of 2006, mergers and acquisitions was an active beast roaming the business grounds hunting for  the weak and the easy and they found our supplier.  Easy coffee was over….or so we thought.

 We started spreading the word: Double Eagle is looking for a new coffee.  And salesmen started circling us, swooping lower and lower with each turn, if you get my drift.  Salesmen are so hard to deal with…because of the basic lie involved:  I am here to help you.   What they really are saying is:  I am here to help you but my only objective is to sell something to you.  Sorting through the BS is hard.

 Several coffee tasting’s later and a clear winner began to emerge.  The flavor profile of the Seattle’s Best coffee’s far exceeded the other competitors.  And, so far, we had not discussed price.  We talked service and flavor.  “If something breaks, how long before I get a serviceman to fix it?” is pretty darn important if your business does its best sales on days their business is closed. (Saturday and Sunday).

 Well, we finally got down to talking money.  And the Seattle’s Best was, of course, the most expensive and outside our budget guidelines.  Always.  You can just book it.  I never pick the cheap stuff….darn it!  Now, came the decision.   I had to raise prices on coffee or pick another brand.  I chose to raise prices and buy the good stuff.  You just don’t know the pressure to maintain prices.   People say they’d rather have a smaller portion than pay a higher price. Every price increase is almost always met with fewer customers.

 But, I thought I had some things going for me.  #1 When was the last time you walked into a restaurant and asked how much the coffee cost before you ordered coffee?  I can tell you – never.  You have never walked into a restaurant and asked the price of a cup of joe.  #2 The taste of the coffee was excellent.  When was the last time you were served something wonderful and complained about the price?  This time I say the answer is “Probably never” because a few names pop into mind who could, would and probably have….

 So, we committed to the new blend, got new brewing equipment and thermal carafes rather than hot pots and have been very pleased with the result. And, not one person said a word about the $ .20 price change.  We didn’t hide it but we didn’t broadcast it either.

We did get a number of comments – compliments – about the new coffee.  Many people noticed and were happy with the change.  And, we thought our ‘old’ coffee choice was good!!  

 Have a cup with dessert or perhaps a shot of B & B after dinner.  Believe me – it’s worth the extra $ .20!!

Mesilla, New Mexico – Chaucer Winery of Santa Cruz, California has added a Pomegranate Sangria recipe created at the Double Eagle Restaurant in historic Old Mesilla to its Drink Recipe Booklet.  The booklet is tagged onto every bottle of Pomegranate Wine they produce and is shipped nation-wide.  In the booklet, the Double Eagle is credited with the recipe.  Chaucer has never before accepted a recipe for publication said Regional Manager Jim Vaughn but they found this concoction “brilliantly fresh.”  Chaucer is recognized nationally as the premier producer of dessert wines, especially non-grape wines such as the Pomegranate.  The family has been in the wine business in California since 1933.

 Production of pomegranate wine was a hallmark of the Chaucer line even before the surge on interest in anything pomegranate due to the anti-oxidant properties.  While the anti-oxidant properties survive the fermentation process, it was the taste that first attracted Win Ritter, Beverage Manager at Double Eagle Restaurant. But, “Wine sales with dessert is a pretty small niche in Las Cruces so I looked for another way to market the wine.” said Ritter.  An obvious partner for a sweet wine was fruit and Ritter began experimenting.  Citrus proved to be the perfect ‘tart’ to pair with the ‘sweet’ of the pomegranate wine and the Pom Sangria was born. 

 The taste proved a winner with lunch, afternoon and dinner guests and Ritter ordered cases and then more cases of the wine.  Such a sudden spike in New Mexico sales drew the attention of Chaucer Production Manger Jim Vaughn who contacted his distributor to congratulate them on their sales efforts.  The distributor confessed that it was actually only one business ordering most of the wine – the Double Eagle.  Vaughn booked his flight to New Mexico that afternoon.

 “I was a little surprised to find the tiny town of Mesilla had a restaurant in a historic building filled with art, antiques and crystal with a nationally recognized wine list, award winning margaritas and its own beef ageing room.  Wow!” said Vaughn as he sat at the Imperial Bar with Ritter and sipped the Pom Sangria.  In early October, the winery sent out an initial production run of 24,000 bottles with the recipe booklet tagged around each neck.  The response to the Double Eagle recipe has been immediate and positive commented Vaughn.  “It’s very exciting to listen to customers across the country say the same thing about the drink: wonderful!”

If it’s fall, it’s Chichironnes 

Chichironnes are a by-product of the old farmer’s almanac in the Southwest and in many other parts of the United States.  How the earth moves in and out of it’s seasons and how nature gives and takes according to it’s own calendar.  Autumn, Fall is the time that piglets, born in the spring, can be separated from Mom and the piglets and/or Mom can be sold or slaughtered.  Yep, slaughtered. 

How removed from reality are we?  We see nice packages in the store and don’t have to think about how it got there.  I was raised in south Louisiana and I remember visiting my cotton farmer Grandfather in Arcadia, in north Louisiana (yep, the Bonnie and Clyde Arcadia, Louisiana) and his cows, chickens and pigs.  In the fall, two posts were driven into the ground and wire strung between them like a clothes line to dry clothes outside.  A line of firewood was laid on the ground following the wire from post to post.  The fire was lit and once the initial smoke had blazed away, these strange looking clothes hangers appeared and sat hanging from the wire, above the fire, slowing twisting from the heat and any breeze.  Attached to the hanger frame was a strange looking thing.  It looked like a large X had been laid out. 

Actually it as a piglet, just weened, which had been beheaded, split from neck to navel, gutted, one chop broke the ribs on one side of the back bone and one chop broke the hip bone allowing the body to be spread open, laid flat on the hanger frame appearing as a large X.  After a splash of water, the X was hung up and blood was drained for a time.  Then, the frame was hung on the wire over the fire where it self basted as the heat melted fat, seared flesh and crisped skin.  There were sometimes ten or twelve hangers and, sometimes, they built two fire lines and had twenty hangers twirling. 

Word had spread among the neighbors which farm was slaughtering on which day and neighbor menfolk had come early this morning to help.  The womenfolk appeared later with covered dishes of heavenly light biscuits, macaroni and cheese, carrots floating in butter, green beans with salt pork, sliced peaches in juice and bowls of freshly whipped cream from that morning’s milking.  In my family, you had a choice of sweet or unsweet tea.  We were thought very liberal… 

My Grandfather was strict Southern Baptist who rolled his own cigarettes, when provoked swore like a sailor and who turned a blind eye to the mason jar of clear liquid which sometimes moved mysteriously amoungst the menfolk.  Granddady knew the old saying that when you had a car full of Baptists, you had four on the floor and a fifth under the seat. 

For some reason, in north Louisiana, this event was called a pig fry (even though they were technically roasting the pigs…)  In south Louisiana, this was called a Couchon de Lait (technically, milk pig or suckling pig and again, they roasted them).   Now, when they slaughtered a big pig and salt cured the meat and hams and fried up the skin and fat into cracklins that was called a pig roast.  I don’t know why. 

So, cracklins or chichironnes, it means the air is turning cool and crisp, pumpkins are ripening for rolling, chunking and pies and winter is just around the corner.

Rebeccas Saucedo is our baker and sweet-maker. And, as Fall rolls in, she is turning her talents to tasty tempting treats made with pumpkin.

 For a salad for Mrs. Ritter’s birthday party, she stir-fried some pumpkin cubes till softened, added some salted chile powder and popped those puppies onto some peppercress greens with raisins and pine nuts with a basic vinaigrette.  For Sunday Champagne Brunch, last Sunday, she made a pumpkin cake roll filled with sweetened cream cheese.  Looked fantastic.  Tasted even better. 

 She says she has some great pumpkin recipes lined up for October so do drop in and ask what Rebecca has cooked up in the back.  Now, if you do that, be prepared.  The employee’s face will freeze with shock.  How do you know about Rebecca and what she’s got in back?  It’s like McDonald’s secret sauce….you should not know what it is.

 But, just ask and – who knows – maybe the cupboard is bare that day OR…..

you get to share a tasty culinary treat perfect for a cool evening in Mesilla.  Especially with our St. Henri’s Blend of Seattle’s Best Coffee.

A Ribeye is a Ribeye is a Ribeye or is it?

 Technology is amazing.  Today, we can almost literally follow beef from my storeroom to the delivery truck, to the warehouse to the packing house to the cattle lot to the feed lot to the calf stock pen to birth.  We can dictate the breed of cow we prefer, where the cow lives, how the cow is treated, what it is fed.

 So I am experimenting with the ribeyes.  I have switched from a grain fed cow who is allowed to graze on grass to a totally grain fed cow – no grass at all.  The price has certainly spiked.  I was paying $$ for a ribeye section and now I am paying $$$$.

 But, I am not certain I can tell the difference in taste.

 So, if you have had a ribeye in the past month or so, come in and try the NEW ribeye and let me or the Manager on Duty (MOD) know what you think. 

 There is a definite change in appearance.  Much more fat in the eye and on the flank.  I hate to pay $$$$ for more fat but if the taste is distinctly different, maybe it’s worth it.

 Please let me know what you think.  We are constantly looking at options to improve our quality, both products and service.  It is easy to spend more money but hard to decide if the product you get has improved over what I thought was already a great product.  Since the day we started serving Ribeye steaks, it has become the #1 or #2  best seller for the day, the week and the month.  Southwestern boys and girls loves them some Ribeye steaks, for sure.

 Come on in and try the NEW RIBEYE and let me have your comments

This information appears on eatingwell.com

Every year 76 million Americans get sick from food, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nothing you can do will ever guarantee 100 percent protection against food-borne illness, but there are some simple precautions that help to reduce your risk. Below are eatingwell.com’s  ”10 Commandments of Food Safety”—basically the advice that we keep hearing again and again from food-safety experts. How many do you follow?
1. Use a “refrigerator thermometer” to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit).
Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a “refrigerator/freezer thermometer” at appliance stories, home centers (e.g., Home Depot) and kitchen stores—including online ones, such as cooking.com. Place the thermometer in the middle of the middle shelf.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave or in cold water, never on the counter.
Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave—or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half hour (so it stays cold) and use the thawed food immediately.
3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and produce/cooked foods.
Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw beef and pork meat-red/poultry-yellow/fish-blue and produce/cooked foods-green.  Don’t forget to wash your hands after handling raw food, including produce.
4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.
One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows: beef, veal and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish, 145 degrees Fahrenheit; pork and ground beef, 160 degrees Fahrenheit; poultry, 165 degrees Fahrenheit. In the EatingWell Test Kitchen we often recommend cooking meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. However, we recommend that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness—pregnant women and their unborn babies and newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses—follow the USDA guidelines.  Once cooked, remember the below 40 or above 140 holding temperatures.
5. Avoid unpasteurized (“raw”) milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.
Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria—which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria—can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Raw-milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are OK, since the salt and acidity of the cheesemaking process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.
6. Never eat “runny” eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.
Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (use an instant-read food thermometer to check). In the EatingWell Test Kitchen, we don’t always recommend cooking eggs fully. However, we recommend that those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness—pregnant women and their unborn babies and newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses—follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs—or sampling cookie batter—use packaged, pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in the cooler in large supermarkets.  You may have to ask the location but once found!
7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry or eggs.
You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry and fish or eggs, as bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly—for at least 20 seconds. At Double Eagle, we sing Row, Row, Row your boat to make sure we have 20 seconds on the clock.
8. Always re-heat leftover foods to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees Fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.
9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours (one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit).
If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.  I know this totally ruins the picnic concept but there are ways to work with the time limit.  Transfer large dishes or bowls to the refrigerator or freezer but leave out a small serving for snackies and munchies.  At the time limit, throw the ‘expired’ small portion away and replace it with a small serving of something different.  Continue through the afternoon or evening with small portions of this and that so there are treats available but you are no throwing away large quantities of food.
10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.
You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60 percent of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination.  Just because there is a recall on fresh spinach doesn’t mean ALL fresh spinach is recalled.  Listen closely or check the www.recalls.gov website to make sure you are disposing of the right thing.   For more information on food recalls, visit www.recalls.gov.

I saw the purchase invoice for a wheel of Stilton as I checked food invoices. Chef Campos decides what to buy and from whom to buy it but I review all the invoices. I do that to stay familiar with current food prices so I can give customers price estimates quickly for anything not on the menu. And people ask for all sorts of things not on the menu or ask for things we don’t make often…so I need to make sure costs have jumped up or down. (HA! Did ya get that? Costs going down!!! As if!!) Anyway….every so often I see items on invoices which don’t fit the menu or fit banquet events coming up soon and I ask Chef, “what’s the deal on XYZ?”
Now, Stilton cheese can be traced back to the early 18th century and, although it is clear that the recipe used has changed quite dramatically over the years, it remains one of the world’s best known, much loved and very expensive cheeses. Quintessentially English, Stilton has its own Certification Trade Mark and is an EU Protected Food Name.
This means that:
- it can only be produced in the three Counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire in Merry Old England
- it must be made from locally produced cow milk that has been pasteurised before use
- it can only be made in a cylindrical shape
- it must be allowed to form its own coat or crust
- it must never be pressed and
- it must have the magical blue veins radiating from the centre of the cheese
Stilton’s unique ‘flavour’ makes it suitable not only for those special occasions when only the best will do , but also but for perking up everyday recipes and snacks. With its slightly open texture and creamy background, it melts and crumbles easily and is one of the few cheeses that freezes well.
In my family, a small wedge of Stilton appeared near Christmas and Dad (a Southern Baptist Deacon) would park a block away and then check the streets both ways before sneaking into our town’s one liquor store to buy a small bottle of Port wine. The cheese was marinated in some of the port for several days and then we children of the house were allowed to taste a tiny portion of the cheese on a piece of Nabisco’s saltine cracker. It was a special treat. Treated as a special occasion by our parents. But, as children will, we thought it was vile, horrible, disgusting, scrape the tongue bad so only the younger kids who didn’t remember last year got suckered into tasting the stuff. We watched in childish disdain as our parents sipped the port wine from incredibly small glasses we only saw at this time of year. They certainly were not on the regular cupboard shelves.
My parents kept an eye on the door as they indulged since my Mother’s Mother lived 5 houses away and dropped in frequently, my Mother’s sister lived 5 houses the other way and dropped in frequently, my Father’s brother lived…well you get the idea. We were sworn to secrecy since we went to church frequently and could spill the beans…or the port…easily. But, we never did. It was ‘family business’ and we kept our mouths shut – not easy for 6 kids.
So, I saw the Stilton on the invoice, made a mental note to ask Chef Campos why he bought it and promptly buried that mental note among many other mental notes, paper notes, etc. And, then I saw the wheel itself sitting out on the Cheese Table for Sunday Champagne Brunch, cut open and looking beautiful, creamy with those bright veins of mold shooting out from the center, I had two reactions:
#1 My mouth started watering
#2 My mind freaked out at putting out this expensive cheese along with all the other expensive items we already include in Sunday Champagne Brunch. We are gonna lose out shirt!!!
I immediately went to Chef and said,”Are you nuts?” Chef was his usual calm, unflappable self. He peaked over his glasses and asked me what was wrong. I went into a speech about how expensive Stilton Cheese was and how everyone was going to take some and it would be gone and how could we afford this and on and on. Chef waited patiently for me to wind down and said,”Come with me.”
We walked into the Isabella Room and Chef said, ”Just watch.” And I did. People swirled and swooped toward the food displays, taking a spoonful here and a fork of this or that. And, everyone looked at the large wheel of Stilton and turned up their nose and moved on. Only a few faces brightened as they saw the cheese, inhaled deeply of the distinctive Stilton aroma, smiled broadly and took just a small piece and a cracker or two and moved on.
Chef finally said,”Yes, it’s an expensive cheese. People who don’t know what
Stilton is can see the sign, see it’s imported, be impressed that it’s available but won’t take any because it’s got that smell. People who do know what Stilton is will be surprised and pleased, know this is special but not over indulge or stuff themselves or waste it. The cost is immaterial. It’s the effect it has on customer satisfaction. We can offset the direct cost with a cheaper salad or dessert selection. It’s good to have the good stuff.” It was a lesson learned.

An amazing website with all sorts of fun answer. I am probably breaking copyright laws but I wanted to give you a sample of what they say at the website.

www.stilltasty.com

Can You Freeze Raw Eggs?
Question: I purchased more eggs than I’ll likely be able to use over the next few weeks. Is it okay to freeze them?

Answer: Yes, you can successfully freeze raw eggs for later use. As the American Egg Board notes, fresh eggs will generally freeze well for up to a year.

For best results, you’ll need to do a little prep work before freezing whole eggs. First, always remove them from their shells — when a raw egg freezes, its contents could expand and cause the shell to break.

Once you’ve cracked open the eggs, pierce the yolks, mix them to blend with the whites, and then add in either of the following: (1) one-half teaspoon of salt for every cup of raw eggs, if you’re planning to use the eggs for savory or main dishes; or (2) one tablespoon of sugar for each cup of eggs, if you’ll be using them for baking or desserts. The salt and sugar both work to prevent the eggs’ yolks from becoming too gelatinous once frozen.

Place the egg mixture in covered airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags and they’ll be ready for your freezer.
Have a question? Click here

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