Tuesday, April 8, 2014

April Foodie Holidays: Week 2

April 8 - Empanada Day
April 9 - Chinese Almond Cookie Day
April 10 - Cinnamon Crescent Day
April 11 - Cheese Fondue Day
April 12 - Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
April 13 - Peach Cobbler Day
April 14 - Pecan Day

Celebrate your Spanish and Portuguese heritage with empanadas! These are similar to Cornish pasties, and may trace their long food history all the way to Indian samosas. There are so many national variants of this portable food!

Or maybe you come from a Swiss background -- fondue originates from Switzerland.

For a slightly less messy way to enjoy melted cheese, there's grilled cheese sandwiches. Even though this seems to be a ubiquitous kid's meal, there are plenty of ways to enjoy grilled cheese that are not so simple. Add different cheeses, add meat, add herbs and spices, add a slice of tomato -- it doesn't have to be American cheese on white bread! My favorite is Colby cheese and bacon bits.

Cobblers seem to have originated in the British American colonies, and were made with biscuit dough or dumplings cooked on top of a hot filling. (Crisps and crumbles differ from cobblers by the oats used in the crust.) There are many regional variations and names for this dessert. Which does your family use?

Pecans are native to the North America. My dad's mother's recipe for pecan pie calls for "butter the size of a walnut." If you have recipes like that, measure that "walnut-sized" lump and include the measurement in your cookbook, along with the original instructions. While "2 Tbsp butter" may be easier or more accurate, "butter the size of a walnut" is more charming, don't you think?




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