Satin Angel Cocktail

Frangelico is an Italian sweetened, hazelnut-flavored liqueur, with 20% alcohol content. Use a 10 ounce old-fashioned glass (see photos, below).

Ingredients (per cocktail):

 

1 1/2 ounce Frangelico 

1 1/2 ounce Coca-Cola

2 1/2 ounces cream (or half and half)

ice

 

To a 10 ounce old fashioned glass, add the Frangelico, Coco-Cola and cream to the glass, stir and then add a couple of ice cubes, and stir briefly again. 

WORD HISTORY: 

Pillow-The ultimate origin of "pillow" is uncertain, although there is a rather "difficult" theory (I'm not totally sold on it, but it is the best we have) that "pillow" goes back to Indo European "pel," with the general meaning "dust," which was derived from the word's original meaning of "beat, hit," with the idea that grains were "beaten" to separate out the "chaff," with both "flour" (the end result of the entire process) and "chaff" then associated with "dust,"^ and chaff has long been used by some to fill pillows (understand, these were not necessarily the big fluffy pillows we often have today). Anyway, the theory is carried further with the Indo European form giving Latin the noun "purvis," meaning "dust," also "ashes," which then produced the noun "pulvinus," meaning "pillow, cushion." West Germanic borrowed the Latin form as "pulwi," and with the meaning of "pillow," and this gave Old English "pyle" (ending 'e' pronounced 'ah/eh'), which had a number of variants bridging Old English into Middle English, some of which were: "pylwe, pile, pylow, pilowe;" with "pillow" finally emerging as the winner; although it is often, but certainly not always, pronounced as "pillah." 

 

^ See "Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages" (Volume 7 of the Leiden Indo-European Etymological Series, by Michiel de Vaan, Brill (Publishing), Leiden (Netherlands), Boston (U.S.), 2008.   

Portuguese Rice Pudding: Arroz Doce

There are various recipes for rice pudding the world over, and this is one from Portugal. I checked several recipes for this Portuguese rice pudding, which is common for holidays and other special events in Portugal, and the Portuguese recipes can vary somewhat; for instance, a smaller number of recipes use orange peel and juice instead of lemon peel and juice, and an even smaller number of recipes use a few drops of vanilla, but from what I found, mainly the lemon peel (or orange peel) is left to flavor the rice on its own.

 

If you use non-salted butter, you can add a good pinch of salt to the milk while it's heating. This recipe cooks the rice more than partially, but finishes cooking the rice in the sweetened and lemon flavored milk.

 

Ingredients (6 to 8 servings):

 

1 cup arborio rice

1 1/2 cups water 

2 cups milk (I use 1 cup of canned evaporated milk, not condensed milk,  and 1 cup regular milk)  

3/4 to 1 cup sugar (to desired sweetness preference)

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons salted butter (divided use)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

zest of one lemon, grated or finely chopped

ground cinnamon for topping large serving bowl or for individual servings

 

To a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, add 1 1/2 cups of water plus 2 tablespoon (salted) butter. Stir and bring to a boil, then add the rice and turn the heat to very low and cover the pan; let cook for 15 minutes, by which time the rice should be almost done; sort of "al dente." If so, remove the rice from the heat. This step overlaps with the rice cooking; so, while the rice is cooking, in another somewhat larger heavy-bottomed pan, heat the milk over medium heat. After it is no longer cold, add the sugar and stir well to dissolve it. Let the milk come just to the point of simmering, and then add another tablespoon of butter and the lemon zest, stir well again. Turn the heat down to low or very low and add the rice to the milk mixture. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, then add some of the hot milk and cooked pudding and keep whisking to temper the eggs, then whisk it into the pudding, along with the lemon juice. Traditionally, the Portuguese use ground cinnamon to make a design on top of the pudding, with religious people often making a cross, but stencils are sometimes used for various designs. If you're like me, and you're not terribly artistic, you can just sprinkle a little ground cinnamon on top of the large dish used to serve the pudding, or onto the tops of individual servings (as in the photos, below). 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Vicinity-This word is related to the "-wick" and "-wich" of place names (such as in Warwick and Norwich), both "-wick" and "-wich" are from the Germanic roots of English, but Old Germanic had borrowed the source from Latin in ancient times, and "vicinity" is related to "villa," another Latin derived word, but borrowed by English from Italian, and to "village" and to "villain," both Latin-derived words, but borrowed by English from French. "Vicinity" goes back to Indo European "weik," which had the notion of "settlement, house, abode:" thus also, "villa, village." This gave Latin "vicus" meaning "series or collection of homes;" thus also, "a village." This then produced the Latin adjective "vicinus," which was used as a noun for "area in close proximity;" thus also, "a neighborhood;" thus also adjectivally, "neighboring," and this gave Latin the noun "vicinitas" (accusative: 'vicinitatem'), meaning "neighborhood, the area near to a given point;" thus, "nearness." Latin-based French took the word as "vicinité" and English borrowed the word in the mid 1500s, initially with the "nearness" meaning. The word is likely more of a borrowing from French, but with Latin influence, although it could be the other way around.  

Onion Soup of Tuscany: Carabaccia alla Fiorentina

I've read that this was a favorite soup of Leonardo da Vinci, and that the soup was taken by Catherine de Medici's Florentine kitchen staff to France, where it was used as the basis for what is now the famous French Onion Soup. I'm not totally certain of this, but it "seems" the original Italian onion soup of Medici's cooks did not have bread in it, with this part of the recipe being added later, but whether this was due to French influence, I have no idea (although the Italians put the bread in the dish and THEN put the soup over it), and there are other Italian onion soup recipes with bread that are similar to "carabaccia," but not quite the same, but variations in recipes for just about any good basic food exist. Bread was added to soups as a good way to use up bread, as it had no preservatives, and especially in warm weather, it would go bad quickly. Further, the addition of bread made the soup more substantial; that is, it could help to fill one's belly. 

The soup has a slight tanginess, but it's still to the sweet side from the onions, carrots and honey (if you use it).

Ingredients (about 4 to 6 servings):

3 red onions (baseball + size), peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 cup peeled and thinly sliced carrot

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup ground almonds

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

(optional) up to 2 tablespoons honey

4 cups vegetable stock

1/4 to 1/3 freshly grated pecorino toscano cheese (Tuscan), or parmigiano reggiano*

4 to 6 half slices of toasted Italian bread or slices of baguette 

extra virgin olive oil for toasting the bread and for drizzling 

In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the sliced onions and salt and reduce the heat to low. The heap of onions will look a bit intimidating, but don't worry, they'll cook down, so don't shed any tears (get it? Onions ... tears? Damn... tough crowd!). As the onions cook down, keep giving them a stir to prevent any heavy browning or burning, as the object is to cook the onions until they are super soft and sweet, and this can take 30 to 45 minutes. When the onions are well softened, add the carrot, ground black pepper, ground cinnamon and ground almonds; stir to mix. Cook a further 3 or 4 minutes, still on low heat, then add the stock, vinegar and honey and stir well. You can turn the heat up to medium and let the soup cook for 25 to 30 minutes (make sure the carrots are tender), stirring occasionally. Some people keep this as a soup (in this case, put a lid onto the pot after you add the stock), with a fair amount of broth, but others cook it down to make it more of a stew (keep the lid off after adding the stock). Add a slice of toasted bread to each bowl, then add the onion soup over the toasted bread. Sprinkle a little grated Pecorino over each bowl, and add a teaspoon or two of Italian extra virgin olive oil.  

* There are various types of Pecorino cheese in Italy, which are made from sheep's milk (a 'pecora' is a sheep in Italian, with 'pecore' being the plural). The most famous Pecorino cheese, and a major favorite of mine, is Pecorino Romano. The Tuscany region has its own type (Pecorino toscano), which is less salty and with a milder flavor than the more famous Pecorino Romano. It is very similar to the famous Parmigiana Reggiano, which is, therefore, a good substitute in this recipe. 

 

I set the slice of bread on top for the first two photos, so that it would be easier to see, but I put the bread into the bowl first, then poured the soup over it in the last photo, which is the traditional way to serve this soup ...

WORD HISTORY:

Puncture-This word is related to quite a number of other words, including to: "punctual," "pungent" and "pugilist," Latin derived words borrowed by English from that language, and to "repugnant," another Latin-derived word, and borrowed from Latin-based French, but with Latin influence (or less likely, but possibly, the other way around). "Puncture" goes back to Indo European "pewg/pewk," which had the notion of "to hit an object," but which had the further meaning "to hit an object with the intent to pierce that object." This gave Latin the verb "pungere" meaning "to pierce, to prick," a participle form of which was "punctus,"^ which gave Latin the noun "punctura" meaning "a piercing, a pricking," and English borrowed this from Latin in the latter part of the 1300s. The verb form developed from the noun, but not until the second half of the 1600s, with the meaning "to pierce something with a pointed object," eventually adding on, "to deflate an object by piercing it."     

  

^ Some etymologists believe "punctus" also had the meaning of "pointed object," and that's certainly possible.

Indian Rice Pudding: Chawal Ki Kheer

Long grain rice, like basmati rice, is commonly used for this dessert dish. Unlike the rice pudding we generally make in the U.S., which is firmed up; that is, "set," the Indian-style is more fluid, but not totally so, and it is usually served while still warm. I checked probably about 25 recipes for this dessert, and all of them used almonds, while some also used pistachios or cashews, and a couple used both pistachios and cashews. I like raisins, and the Indian recipes all kind of skimp on raisins, in my opinion, so I add a little more to my own recipe, but you can always tailor things to your own taste. 

 

You can use store bought ground cardamom or grind you own cardamom (I use a mortar and pestle). 

Rosewater is available in supermarkets or spice shops. It isn't really expensive.

 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

 

1/2 cup basmati rice, rinsed, then soaked in water for 30 minutes

12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk; that is, 1 can (NOT sweetened condensed canned milk)

2 1/2 cups regular whole milk

5 tablespoons sugar

8 to 10 saffron threads

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

1 tablespoon chopped cashews

1 tablespoon chopped pistachio nuts

2 tablespoons golden raisins

(optional) 1 or 2 teaspoons rosewater

 

Soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes. Heat milk in a heavy bottom pan over low heat, stirring often, until the milk boils. In a small cup or dish, add 2 tablespoons hot milk and the saffron threads and set it aside to steep. Drain the rice and add the rice to the hot milk, stir well. Keep the heat low and let the rice cook. After 10 minutes, add the sugar and ground cardamom and stir well to mix; continue cooking, stirring occasionally. After another 4 to 5 minutes, add the chopped nuts and golden raisins, stir well again, then add the saffron/milk mixture and mix well again. Cook until the rice is very tender, by which time the dish should be fairly thick and creamy. Stir in the rosewater (if using) and remove from the heat. Let sit for a few minutes, stir and serve warm; refrigerate unused portion.  

 

 

  

WORD HISTORY:

Tally-This word, used as both a noun and as a verb, is related to "tailor," "detail," "retail" and "entail," all words of Latin-derivation and borrowed by English via French. "Tally" is of unknown origin, and its history is somewhat difficult, but Latin had the noun "talea," meaning "a narrow or slender piece of wood;" thus, "a stick, a twig, a rod," which passed to Latin-based Old French as "taille" meaning "a stick with marks cut into it to show an amount or amounts (usually for debts, including taxes;" thus, 'an account')." (Note: The idea of cutting marks into sticks, or even into bones, was long used by humans as a way of keeping accounts, until it eventually began to be replaced by written records.) Old French "taille" eventually was often, but not always, rendered as "tallie" in the French that had been carried to England by the Normans. English borrowed the word in the mid 1400s with the same meaning. Over time, other meanings were added like, "a recording of points/goals in sporting events" (mid 1800s), and also "a point or a goal in some competition." The verb also came about in the 1500s, "seemingly" from the Latin verb "talliare," one of the meanings of which was "to tax;" thus, initially the verb "tally" meant "to keep an accounting of taxes owed and paid," with the meaning then broadening beyond keeping tax records to simply keeping records. The verb followed the noun in the mid 1800s with the sports/competition usage "to record points/goals," and with the actual "to achieve a point or goal in a competition."     

Tuna Melt (Open Face)

Tuna melts are served warm, which distinguishes them from regular tuna sandwiches. 

For those not familiar with the term "open-faced sandwich," it is a sandwich where the toppings are put onto ONE slice of bread, rather than the far more commonly used two slices of bread for a true sandwich.* Sandwich with one slice is actually something of a misnomer, as the word sandwich came to mean "some type of filling to go between two slices of bread;" that is, "a filling sandwiched between two slices of bread."

You want to use tuna packed in olive oil that totals to like 24 to 25 ounces. Tuna comes in various size cans, so you'll likely need at least two cans, or 3 to 5 smaller size cans. I use niçoise olives, which are small dark olives from the Provence region of southeastern France and one of its main cities, Nice, but you can use whatever olives you have or like. You can chop the capers or you can leave them whole, which is what I usually do. "Traditionally" served with potato chips (I don't know who makes up these rules).

Ingredients (4 open-faced sandwiches):

24 to 25 ounces canned tuna packed in olive oil

1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions), including much of the green

1/4 cup pitted niçoise olives, sliced or chopped (or other olives, dark or green, use what you have)

1 heaping tablespoon capers, whole or chopped

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon sambal oelek**

1 cup mayonnaise

1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 

1teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt 

sweet paprika to top each sandwich

sharp cheddar or sharp American cheese (white or yellow, sliced or shredded)

sliced bread (thickly or thinly sliced)

garlic for seasoning the toast

In a bowl, add the tuna, along with the olive oil from the cans; break up and mash the pieces of tuna. Add the chopped green onions (scallions), olives, capers, sambal oelek, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, ground black pepper and salt; mix together well, then set it aside briefly. Toast the bread slices, then use a clove of garlic to rub onto each slice of bread (the side you will use for the tuna). Put the slices of toasted bread onto a foil lined baking sheet. Add tuna to each slice of toast, and then add a slice or two of cheese, and a sprinkling of paprika to each sandwich. Place the open face sandwiches so that they are about 10 to 12 inches from the broiler. Broil until the cheese is melted (you can let the cheese brown a little or a lot, if you like it that way).         

* "Sandwich" seemingly dates back to the 1700s. The common story is that the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, loved gambling so much, that he put pieces of meat between bread slices so that he could remain at the gambling table and not move off to a table to sit down for a meal. "Sandwich," the name, was taken from the English town of that name in Kent. In Old English it was "Sandwicæ," meaning "sandy settlement or port."  

 

** Sambal oelek is a paste/relish/sauce of hot chopped chili peppers that originated in Indonesia, but with versions produced outside of Indonesia, including in the U.S. It is easily found in supermarkets or Asian stores in the U.S., and likely, in some other countries too, although finding the Indonesian version may be difficult, but it is available online. I've found the "Kokita" brand of Indonesian sambal oelek to be totally amazing, but if you don't like much "heat," it's not for you.

 

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Laugh-"Laugh" goes back to Indo European "klegh," which meant "to laugh, to chuckle," seemingly in imitation of a laugh. This gave Old Germanic "hlakhjan(an)," meaning "to laugh," and this gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hliehhan/hlæhan" (dialectal forms), meaning "to laugh, to laugh at (with scorn or derision)." The form later became "laghen," then "laughen," before the modern version, but while the spelling became "laugh," the 'gh' came to be pronounced as "f," as the guttural 'gh' sound died out in English, and the spelling has remained right up until today, although I'll watch the 11 o'clock news to see if anything has changed. haha In the past, the 'gh' spellings were pronounced much in the same way as cousin German 'ch' is pronounced; that is, from the back of the throat. "Laughter'' is from the same Indo European source, which gave Old Germanic "hlahtraz," which meant "the action or process of laughing, the sound of laughing, the collective sound of people laughing." This gave Old English "hleahtor," with the same meaning, and it then became "laghter," then "laughter." The 1500s saw the development of the word "laugh" as a noun, which is interesting, considering that it came well after the noun ''laughter.'' The other Germanic languages have: German has the verb and the noun "lachen" (noun=Lachen, as all German nouns are capitalized), and the noun "Gelächter" (laughter), Low German has the verb "lachen," West Frisian has the verb "laitsje" and the noun "laits," and "gelaak/gelaits" (laughter), Dutch has the verb "lachen" and the noun "lach," as well as "gelach" (laughter), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish have the heavily contracted "le" (to laugh) and Danish and Norwegian have "latter" (laughter), Icelandic has "hlæja" (to laugh).