[spoiler alert] Here are the tidbits from the Hell’s Kitchen Season 3 finale. If you want to know who one, I’ve put it at the very end of this post so that I don’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the episode. Please feel free to say who you thought should have one and why. (The the snippets here are presented in bullet form for easy scanning.)

• Julia is on Bonnie’s team but says she’s rooting for Rock. She got a full scholarship paid personally by Chef Ramsay.

• The teams stayed male vs female this season, even in the finale. Fact is, the girl’s pretty much cleaned up this season, and this is why I’m thinking Chef Ramsay got rid of Jen and Julia and kept weak Bonnie. He probably wants Rock to win, too. But Rock has a couple of competitve guys who might screw him.
• This season, they only brought back 6 people that had left. If I’m not mistaken, last year, they brought back all 10 to participate in the finale.
• Julia is already giving Bonnie grief, and she’s not making any bones about how bitter she is. She’s a poor loser, but that’s to Rock’s advantage. Fact is, Jen is the most qualified of the women’s team.
• Josh is doubtful of his ability, but Rock really knows how to motivate people. That’s why he makes the best candidate for winner. He knows how to make people feel good, when it’s necessary.
• The finalists have to impress Chef Ramsay with their menu. They each have three entrees, three sides, three desserts. Apparently Melissa is botching the shrimps on Bonnie’s menu. Chef also doesn’t like Bonnie’s chocolate truffles dessert because it it’s too small.
• With Rock’s menu, Chef Ramsay once again displays his dislike of garlicy foods (he also dislikes spicy food, so he’ll never eat at my home - yeah, right, hah hah). But Rock feels Chef was very critical.
• Bonnie’s half of the restaurant is ready, but the worker’s are only just bringing in the booths for Rock’s side. Chef doesn’t like the lack of carpets on Bonnie’s side (sound not absorbed) but likes her simple, elegant place setting with white table cloths and red rose petals.
• Rock’s setting is simpler, without salt and pepper shakers. Chef did like it, and said it was elegant. It looked like orange marigolds.
• And the madness begins. Jean Phillipe is about to open Hell’s Kitchen to patrons.
• Bonnie keeps opening her mouth and proving how full of herself she is. It’s so disappointing because Jen is so much more talented and she was sent home early.
• Unfortunately for her, her team is neither listening to her nor responding to her. Bonnie just doesn’t know how to motivate.
• Rock on the other hand is having trouble with Josh, who can’t get his timing right. When Rock needs crab cakes in 30 seconds, Josh keeps saying, “one minute.”
• Julia is talking to Bonnie, who isn’t responding. Chef asks Bonnie how can things work the team isn’t talking to each other. But they’re getting appetizers out and Rock’s team is not.
• Unfortunately, Melissa didn’t warn Bonnie that her signature fettucine dish was running out. Now there’s only four left.
• Josh is still screwing up crab cakes. It’s amazing how many he’s messed up. Rock tries to prop him up, but can’t. Chef Ramsay tells him to make a decision because Josh is bringing his service down. Rock says on camera (seated interviews) that he’s ready to work every station himself if necessary, to win the contest.
• Rock finally switches Vinny and Josh, which makes Chef Ramsay happy. But Vinny isn’t able to handle the fish station, either. He admits not being ready.
• Once again, Melissa screws up and says there’s only order of prawns left - something she should have said much, much earlier. A complete nightmare for Bonnie. “Come you guys, talk to me,” says Bonnie, and Julia says, “… just be happy I’m giving you your food.” Yikes.
• Rock’s team is starting to catch up, but Josh is still struggling. And he thought he should have be one of the final two contestants.
• Julia is now being bitchy, refusing to do anything Bonnie asks, including wrapping goat cheese. Bonnie says to herself, Julia is so bitter. (On trailers, she apparently actually said it to Julia.)
• Rock says he thinks he may lose because of all of Josh’s screwups. Bonnie thanks her team and makes up with Julia.
• Rock says that if he could turn back time, he would have won the chef’s pick challenge and would have picked Jen first. I agree, but Bonnie picked her first. Jen really deserved to be in the finals against Rock. A shame.
• Watching this season once again showed how much personality conflicts can screw up a kitchen. It reminded me of the young bastard I worked for who was openly threatened by my age and number of years I’d been following cooking. He claimed openly that if he didn’t make at least one person feel bad each day, he wasn’t happy. Which is why I despise Chef Ramsay’s personality so much. Food tastes better when cooked with love and passion. Just watch the movie Like Water for Chocolate, or read Laura Esquival’s original novel. (Okay, the English translation of the novel, if you don’t read Spanish.)
• Now it’s time for Chef Ramsay for checking out the customer comment cards. They’ll help him decide. I’m very sure he’d never trust Bonnie to run any of his restaurants. She knows nothing about running a team. Rock has tons of experience. There’s honestly no competition, despite Bonnie’s self-delusion. But I really hope that when Rock wins, he hires Jen to work with him. She deserves it.
• Chef Ramsay compliments them both, but Bonnie’s compliment sounds weak. They’re opening their doors now. Who is it? Who gets the $250,000/year salary?
• Wow, I’m not competing and I’m nervous and gulping. And the winner is? [Stop reading if you don’t want to know.]
• Bonnie is grabbing her door handle, while Rock is barely touching his.
• The winner is… yahhhhh. It’s rock. Julia is tearing up, but whether because Rock won or because she’s still unhappy. Now Rock’s eyes are tearing. His team is hugging him.
• Chef Ramsay has very high praise for Rock, all of it deserved. Now he’s spraying Rock with a bottle of champagne for the final celebration. Rock hoists his suit-wearing young son and claims, “Season 12 winner right here!”

Wonderful. If you read this far, what do you think? Do you think Rock deserved this win? If not, why not? Who would you have chosen?

This is just a heads up that the Season 3 finale for Hell’s Kitchen is on tonight. The final contest is between Rock (executive chef) and Bonnie (nanny/ personal chef). It should be very interesting because of the team pairing. There’s at least one person on Rock’s team who could ruin him, even though he’s far more broadly talented than every other contestant.

My vote’s for Rock. What about you? I’ll blog about the finale later tonight, after the show.

Other cooking reality/contest shows to keep an eye on these days are Top Chef and The Next Food Network Star.

[Potential spoiler] If you’ve missed the last few episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, Season 3, you might not know that Bonnie the Nanny and Rock the executive chef are the final two contestants - which absolutely ridiculous and part of the reason why I skipped blogging about so many episodes this season.

For me, this season has been about stunts and grabbing ratings, but most of the contestants have been sub-standard. There were only three real contenders - Rock, Jen, Julia - and the two girls are gone, in the last two episodes.

Bonnie does not deserve to be where she is, and as far as I’m concerned, she’s this season’s foil. Melissa was the foil for a while, but whomever wrote the “script” this season decided to change things up.

What they also changed this season was the finale. In Season 2’s finale, they had a 2-hour episode. It’s possible that this changed because Aaron got sick and left in the second or third episode. Maybe, maybe not.

At any rate, given the finale teams, selected during the pre-finale episode shown this week, Bonnie doesn’t stand a chance. Also, given Rock’s skills, Bonnie doesn’t stand a chance. If she wins over Rock, it’s a grave injustice.

What do you think? The Hell’s Kitchen Season 3 finale will be shown next week. And, I believe Food Network/ Food TV in North America will rerun it in the Fall or next Spring.

For those of you that want to eat cheese but would like to stay vegetarian, paneer is a high-protein compressed cheese made in India and nearby countries that does not use Rennet, an animal by-product. It is thus suitable for the dietary requirements of millions of vegetarians (but obviously not vegans). It has a texture very similar to soft tofu but has more flavour. Like tofu, it also takes on the flavour of whatever you are cooking it in.

You can make a quick, nice curry out of paneer by cutting a block into small cubes and following a standard curry recipe. For example, build upon the Mushroom + Spinach Curry recipe. Add the paneer cubes after the sauce. You can add a bit more curry sauce and more water if you like. Let simmer an extra 2-3 minutes for the curry flavour to seep into the cheese.

You can also make a paneer and potato (aloo) curry that’s very flavourful. If  you want to make a paneer curry with nothing else, start by sauteeing onions, and curry sauce and water, then add paneer cubes.

Paneer can be found in larger supermarkets and at East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and some South African groceries. Ask your merchant for a suggested use. Though keep in mind that there’s not enough flavour in paneer to eat plain. It has to be added to a sauce, which will permeate the cheese. It does not melt, but if it is of a softer texture, it may fall apart. Go for a firmer block so that your final dish does not end up “grainy” with small paneer bits.

This is a short post, primarily because Episode 2 of Season 3, Hell’s Kitchen was largely unwatchable. I watched it and taped simultaneously, with the plan to watching it again and reviewing it. Except that for the first time in three seasons, there was an episode not worth reviewing. Both teams and sucked and the backstabbing reached new levels.

The other thing that bothered me is that the trailers keep showing an ambulance, but they string you along. Which episode does the ambulance really show up in? What happened? The show has taken to using misleading trailers in the hopes of grabbing viewers. What’s more, either the average skill level of participants is much lower than ever, or the editing of footage makes it appear that way. If they former, then why would I watch? If the latter, then they’re being deceptive.

Personally, I find Top Chef far more interesting. Yes, thre’s tons of backstabbing going on, but not only do the participants seem more skilled, but there isn’t the constant venom and screaming of Chef Ramsay. His yelling and insults really grow tiresome after two seasons. I’m not relishing a third. Sure, it’s called Hell’s Kitchen, and sure I’ll probably watch the entire series to see which misfit will win, but I welcome more shows like Top Chef where there isn’t a screaming asswipe as the host.

Someone told me they had met Gordon Ramsay and that he was actually a nice guy. Fine, but he’s selectively nice to some and a rude bastard to others, hates spicy food and actually insults it as if it’s swill, and screams constantly to the point of being sickening. While I do not condone violence, one of these days, someone just might pop the guy, when he insults the wrong person.

To me, though, there’s nothing worse than a food snob. Okay, there is, but we’re talking about food. I love food from all cultures. I enjoy hearty diner food one day and expensive, top-notch restaurant foods and wines another day. But when someone tells the Curry Elvis that spicy food sucks, you’ve got my back up. It’s like telling me that entire cuisine of my culture/ background is wrong.

Anyway, if you want to catch Top Chef, check Bravo TV in North America. The final episode for this season is on this coming week. (Today’s Sunday.) Hell’s Kitchen Season 2, Episode 3 is also on in the next few days, and if I can bring myself to doing so, I’ll write a review of it.

Hoo boy. This crew of idiots is even worse than the last one. At least Heather stood out as a potential winner from the beginning. This season there’s an overweight 48 year old guy who wears a cowboy hat and bawls constantly. Dude, you’re 48. Get it f**kin’ together. You’re a wreck and you look an absolute fool.

Chef Ramsay has once again split teams into boys against girls, and the girls seem to have decided to leave Julia out of the loop. They won’t talk to her, won’t answer when she tries to communicate, then lie to Chef when he asks what’s going on. Watch to see how soon they’ll descend to cattiness with each other.

The guys aren’t much better, but there’s maybe two contenders there as well: Rock and at least one other guy.

This is the first season that I’m actually looking forward to Ramsay screaming his lungs out. Surprisingly, he picked the red team as the winner. They couldn’t even get apps out for over an hour.

But there’s maybe 2 women who have a slim chance: Melissa and Tiffany. Melissa is cool and finds out why the bitchy team is so down on Julia: Julia works in a waffle house. Except Ramsay told Melissa to pick out two team members to send home and she picked the two bitchy, catty women, Tiffay and Joanna. The latter two were exceptionally mean to Julia.

Bravo for you, Melissa. Neither are team players. Julia may work in a waffle house, but at least she’s a team player, and wants to honestly help - not be a backstabber to move ahead.

Unfortunately, Ramsay kept the flirt and told the other one to go home. They’re both catty, but he sent the wrong one home.

Well, believe it or not, Hell’s Kitchen is back. Near the Toronto, Canada area, it’s on tonight (Mon Jun 4th/07) at 9 pm on City-TV. That is, in less than an hour.

The trailers for this season show Gordon Ramsay yelling at contestants while he says in a voiceover that he won’t be yelling this season. Then he admits, of course he will be. Will there as many doofuses this season as last time? Seems like it.

You can check out my writeup of the Hell’s Kitchen Season 2 finale while you’re waiting for tonight’s Season 3 premiere.

The following is a paid review:

Noni juice is a juice that is 100% organic it’s extracted from the fruit known as noni and Hawaiian. It is also known as the Indian mulberry or the great Morinda or in Tahiti it’s known as Nono.

The fruit has long been used for its health and healing powers. The plant itself has many uses depending on whether or not you use the leaves, the flowers, the fruit, the bark, or the roots. The fruit is often taken for asthma or lumbago or even dysentery. It also has many external uses. It can be applied to cuts or broken bones they can draw out pass from infections or boils, it can even treat menstrual cramps or urinary tract difficulties.

Now this fruit has been made available in bottled form in a juice called noni juice. The product is available from NoniNZ.com which also provides various forms of Noni and capsules and other forms. The recommended dosage of the Jews is more medicinal than it is something that you a drink as a sports drink. You start off by drinking a couple tablespoons a day for the first couple of days. As your body becomes accustomed to the Jews shall start skilled benefits.

The juice are probably the be viewed as a supplement more so than a sports drink. Noni has been used for several thousand years throughout the Pacific rim region. Similar to other herbs and fruits and berries, scientists are just now beginning to verify with Western medicine and research the benefits that the people of local regions of the Pacific Rim have known for many thousands of years.

Noni Juice reports to help enhance cellular health, reduce arthritis symptoms even lower blood pressure and many other aspects that can help you heal or improve your overall health. Anyone using Noni juice while taking other prescription drugs should consult their doctor first, just as you should consult your doctor before taking her changing any dietary supplements.

Disclosure: This is post is a paid review via ReviewMe. All care was taken to offer constructive criticism, but a postive angle is not a requirement of the review process.

Maintaining good health is becoming more of a focus for many people. No doubt we’ve heard medical experts telling us to take better care of ourselves - whether for a longer life or not. There’s all kinds of conflicting information about what’s good for us or not, but there does seem to be some consensus about the benefits of green tea. It’s a beverage that does a body good.

From its humble origins in Chinese and other Asian restaurants, it’s gained in popularity over the years - mainly because so many people want to try natural herbs and supplements to maintain good health. It’s even become a substitute for their morning cup of coffee. Arguably, the benefits of green tea far outweigh those of a cup of java.

Caffeine is found in coffee and also in this type of tea. Therefore it’s better to limit the number of cups you drink each day so it doesn’t make you feel nervous or jittery. Too much caffeine can also affect your sleep patterns so keeping your consumption of green tea limited to early in the day is a wise idea.

Given all the diet plans being advertised, losing weight is obviously something that many people are trying to do. One of the side benefits of green tea is in fact weight loss. Many people not only drink the tea either hot or cold but they also take it in the form of a pill. If you do go this route you need to be careful about how much you drink as you don’t want to overdo it.

Antioxidants are proven to help prevent against some forms of cancer. Increasing the amount of antioxidants in your diet may reduce your risk of breast, lung and other forms of cancer. This reason alone is one reason to consider a cup or two of green tea in your daily beverage menu.

As with many other types of herbal tea, it comes in different varieties. I’ve found that the ginseng and honey variety is refreshing along with the peppermint green tea. Knowing all the benefits of green tea it’s easy to see why it should consider replacing regular tea as a staple in your diet. If you are going to drink tea each day why not make it green tea? Anything you can do to improve your health is well worth doing, especially if it means drinking a nice warm cup of tasty green tea.

The festive season is around and I was searching the Internet for innovative garnishes that I could use for the dishes I would be making during this Christmas season. I came across innumerous garnishing ideas and I have made a note of a few, which I felt were really attractive.

Gold and Silver garnishes add a pint of gracefulness and color to the dish thus making the main dish yummy. I also got good tips on making easy garnishes that assist me in my daily servings by making the dishes more delicious for the kids at home.

You can also use melon like fruits and scoop them into tiny balls and drop it on the fruit based cocktail dishes that you make daily at home. You can also make use of fresh fruits and drop them into the drink that you prepare. You can skew the small vegetables, cherries or berries and place them on the glasses of martinis and that makes up the Jewel garnish. You can use the skin of fruits to make the Peel or Skin type of garnish. Just cut them into different shapes and place it on top of the dish you make. Wheel type of garnish can easily be made with the citrus fruits. Such innovative garnishes not only assist in dressing the dishes with color but also make the dish quite delicious.

I came across a few research analyses that articulated the importance of cranberries as a disease fighter in humans and here are the details.

1. cranberries are said to contain anti-oxidants that can fight the spread and growth of streptococcus Mutans, the bacteria that causes tooth decay.
2. Ingredients of the cranberry fruit juice restrict the infection caused by E-coli bacteria in humans by altering the bacterial shape from rods to spheres.
3. Cranberries help in combating Urinary Track Infection, kidney related hazards and gastroenteritis. Newstarget reports:
   

   Blueberries are perhaps the most powerful berries in terms of antioxidant content: they are high in flavonoids and are known to help protect against prostate cancer, urinary tract infections and cataracts. They are also known to protect against brain damage from strokes and heart disease.

4. As per the reports from traditional naturopath, You can also reduce bad cholesterol and increase the amount of HDL in the blood by having cranberries regularly.
5. Spread of cancerous cells can also be terminated with the regular intake of cranberries.

So, why wait? Start taking cranberries and remain healthy as long as you can!

Being a coffee lover and in spite of knowing the ill effects of caffeine, I decided to explore the Internet on the good and bad of my all-time favorite beverage, Coffee.

WebMD’s article on ‘Coffee-The New Health Food’ articulates that the regular coffee drinkers are less prone to diseases like Parkinson’s, colon cancer, gallstones and Cirrhosis risk in the liver. Amidst frequently reported ill effects like nervous problems and increasing heart beat rate in coffee addicts, this article reports that the drugs for Parkinson’s and Asthma contain caffeine, the major ingredient of Coffee.

Coffee is reported to contain quinine, a group of antioxidants, which increases insulin sensitivity in humans thereby proving that coffee drinkers are at a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. Coffee is also reported to reduce the depression in children and keep students awake during long hours of study.

Are you such a workaholic that you forget to take your breakfast? Are you stuck at work and tend to miss your lunch? Do you feel that your busy work schedule has deprived you of a healthy well-balanced diet? If that is so, here is a list of food items, which you can take with you on your next shopping trip. Take a handful of the mixture within limits at regular intervals of a hectic day at work. You are definitely going to feel enthusiastic and energetic in spite of the hectic work you are into!

The list you should have with you should comprise of:

• Least-treated whole grains, which serve as a source of proteins, minerals and fiber.
• Raw, uncooked, bright and colorful fresh vegetables that form a part of the gyro list serve as a source of antioxidants.
• Legumes such as beans and groundnuts provide the necessary proteins, potassium, and zinc, and assist in maintaining the hemoglobin content within the body.
• The proteins from milk and yogurt prove to be a part of nutritious meal.
• Citrus serve as a source of Vitamin C while berries assist in providing a well balanced diet.
• Nuts and seeds, though high in calorific value, definitely prove to be nutritious for a healthy diet if consumed in limited quantity.

Do have a look at 10 foods for better health items to make your daily food more nutritious and well balanced.

Editor’s note: As always, when it comes to health issues, please consult with your qualified health practitioner. The information on this site is only to raise awareness and should not be considered medical advice. You use the information here with that agreement and may not hold us responsible for any errors.

When I happened to browse through the ‘Health’ column of ‘The Hindu’, I was astonished to read about the importance of ‘gyro’, green - yellow - red -orange colored vegetables and fruits intake in our daily meals.

The article on ‘A colourful plate’ unambiguously substantiates the importance and source of green, blue- purple, red- purple, orange- yellow and yellow color charts, which are mandatory for a well- balanced low-calorie diet.

One another column on Healthy colours in your food articulates the importance of bright colored fruits/ vegetables in our daily diet. It also enlists a mixture of bright colored fruits and vegetables that are mandatory for a nutritious diet.

Consider the importance of colored vegetables/ fruits intake and start filling out your plate with these to increase the antioxidant content in your body, which in turn will assist in building a lengthy and disease-free living.

Editor’s note: As always, when it comes to health issues, please consult with your qualified health practitioner. The information on this site is only to raise awareness and should not be considered medical advice. You use the information here with that agreement and may not hold us responsible for any errors.

Are you in the habit of taking a low calorie diet? Are you diet conscious and prevent yourself from taking the nutty crunch ice cream during your visit to Baskin Robbins?

If you are one among the lot who use the fat and calorie calculator for every meal that you take, beware of the pros and cons of the low calorie diet.

Understand that the number of calories in your daily meal is not the only constraint for a healthy, well-balanced nutritious meal! A low calorie diet may not be rich in nutrients. Lemon soda may have very low calorific value when compared to a cup of grape juice, but the latter is more nutritious than the former food item.

So, before you regularize your low-calorie diet, ensure that you fill the diet with the most nutritious variety of berries, citrus, whole grains, salmon, legumes, nuts, proteins, olive oil and the best brands of tea - some of which are high in anti-oxidants.

Editor’s note: As always, when it comes to health issues, please consult with your qualified health practitioner. The information on this site is only to raise awareness and should not be considered medical advice. You use the information here with that agreement and may not hold us responsible for any errors.

Have you heard about the negative effects of trans fat (trans fatty acid) in our daily food? Do you know where does this trans fat comes into our food? Have you considered the safe level of trans fat that you can consume?

What is it?
Trans fatty acid is produced during the process of hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids. The process of addition of hydrogen to the unsaturated fatty acids is carried out mainly to increase the life of the food, which contains this fatty acid, and to make the food item taste better.

The likely dangers of trans fat

• Trans fat present in the food items we consume is said to increase the LDL (Low-density lipoprotein) in the human body. LDL carries fat to arteries and hence the raise in LDL (bad cholesterol) is dangerous to the human body.
• In addition to the above, the trans fat also lowers the HDL (High-density lipoprotein) in the human body. HDL carries excess fat from arteries back to the liver and hence the reduction of HDL (good cholesterol) is said to be dangerous.

Did you know?

• You might be surprised to know that trans fat is essentially present in most baked and processed food items, commercially baked food, puddings, doughnut, margarine and also in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. In other words, it’s very common.
• You might be even more surprised to know that the reports from FDA reveal that the average consumption of trans fat by an American daily is around 2.6% of calories of their daily diet.
• As an initiative to create more awareness about the presence of trans fat in food items, FDA has made the display of the trans fat content contained in packaged food mandatory as of Jan 01, 2006.
• You should also be aware that there is no minimum amount of trans fat that can be safely consumed by a man/woman. Even the slightest bit of trans fat entering into the human body is highly dangerous and increases the risk of coronary heart diseases (CHD) within humans as it accumulates.

What should you do?

• Have a look at the ingredients contained in the food item that you eat. Beware of “partially hydrogenated”, “trans-fat” and “saturated fat” present in packed food items.
• If you happen to eat at a restaurant, try to make sure that the food that you eat is free from trans fat.
• Understand the fact that Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated fat intake at moderate levels does not harm the human body. They do not take part in the reduction of HDL unlike trans fat. So consider these for fat intake instead of the saturated and trans fat, which make you prone to CHD.
• Non-vegetarian food like fish and lean meat have the lowest saturated fat contained in them
• Make sure you consume food with minimum saturated fat and food free from trans fat and to decrease risk of CHD!

Editor’s note: As always, when it comes to health issues, please consult with your qualified health practitioner. The information on this site is only to raise awareness and should not be considered medical advice. You use the information here with that agreement and may not hold us responsible for any errors.

It’s easy to get gluten-free food now!

I happen to surf the net for details on Celiac disease and coincidentally came across this site that gave me the details of gluten-free vendors. With the belief that those of you who are searching for restaurants offering gluten-free food might find this list useful, I thought of sharing this with you all.

The Gluten-Free Restaurants site currently provides a list of restaurants in New York, Rhode Island and Florida participating in this innovative program of offering gluten free food items at their restaurant.

As per the reports from Gluten-Free Restaurants, restaurants wanting to offer gluten-free food items are educated on the preparation of such dishes, and info for finding gluten-free food sources. More restaurants are expected to be added to this list as and when they register for this Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP), which is managed by the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) of North America.

People suffering from celiac disease (CD), dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), and other gluten-related illnesses can use this website to find restaurants offering gluten-free meals.

Editor’s note: As always, when it comes to health issues, please consult with your qualified health practitioner. The information on this site is only to raise awareness and should not be considered medical advice. You use the information here with that agreement and may not hold us responsible for any errors.

I just finished watching a show on Food TV called “Building A Better Burger,” a competition in the US. Some very interesting entries were shown. As a conossieur of homemade burgers myself, I was pleasantly surprised at some of the innovations, including using artichokes on one and pineapple slices on another.

Two prizes were handed out: $10,000 and $50,000. The winner of the first had a pork loin burger reminscent of Vietnamese sandwiches. She’d previously won a million dollar prize in the past for her burgers. The $50,000 prize winner had something called The Red Fez burger, which included hand-brushed buns with red food dye, dates, and other fairly sweet ingredients with a Moroccan theme.

Personally, I like simplicity in my homemade burgers. I change up the ingredients each time, but my general recipe consists of some combination of the following:

• ground beef
• ground chicken or turkey
• ground pork (rarely)
• soya sauce or worcestershire sauce
• sesame oil
• onions - spanish, white or green
• mustard
• breadcrumbs
• egg
• crushed red pepper flake or paprika or sriracha Oriental hot sauce (with or without chili seeds)
• dried basil
• cheddar cheese

That’s just for the burger mix. I rarely add salt and pepper, because with the above ingredients, it’s rarely needed. I’ve made round, square, oblong, and cylindrical (kebab) burgers. For the buns, I’ve used:

• hot dog buns
• hamburg buns
• italian rolls
• ciabatta buns
• focaccia
• submarine buns
• onion buns
• french loaf
• other choices I can’t remember

For the condiments and toppings, some combination of the following:

• sriracha or sriracha mayo
• red pepper mayo
• ketchup (almost never)
• relish
• mustard
• sliced onions (almost always)
• grilled/ sauteed onions, bell peppers, and/or mushrooms
• pickle and/ or cucumber slices
• tomatoes
• pepperoncini (1, 2, 3)
• red bell peppers

Extras: Gravy to dip into. Never tried it? If you like gravy, you’ve got to try this. Screw etiquette. Alternately, if you live in Canada and eat at Swiss Chalet, save some of the dipping sauce.

Things to try soon: pineapples, pickled artichokes, avocado.

That’s it. Not too complicated, and yet enough options to produce many combinations of flavours. My burgers are never the same because I never measure the ingredients. It’s a homestyle technique that even some restaurants adopt.

Thai cuisine is one of those unsual ones that exhibits elements of both Oriental and East Indian cooking, but still distinctly it’s own. I’ve been to many a Thai restaurant in bigger cities such as Atlanta and Toronto. You can also often find Thai cuisine on the menus in Vietnamese restaurants.

I have successfully learned to cook near-authentic Chinese dishes, some Vietnamese dishes - especially the wonderful pho (noodle) soups - and a few Japanese snacks. However, Korean and Thai dishes have escaped me entirely. If you’re in the same boat but want to learn, you might consider an actual cooking tour in Thailand. Tell Tale Travel is offering a two-week private cooking adventure called The Lemon Grass Route, which includes time at the Blue Elephant professional cookery school in Bangkok. The tour costs from £1,330 per person based on shared accomodations, and starts in the new year.

[source: Response Source]