Benedict...Eggs Benedict!

Eggs Benedict is an American breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs, and Hollandaise sauce.

There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of Eggs Benedict, including: In an interview recorded in the "Talk of the Town" column of The New Yorker in 1942, the year before his death, Lemuel Benedict, a retired Wall Street stock broker, claimed that he had wandered into the Waldorf Hotel in 1894 and, hoping to find a cure for his morning hangover, ordered "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of Hollandaise." Oscar Tschirky, the famed maître d'hôtel, was so impressed with the dish that he put it on the breakfast and luncheon menus but substituted ham for the bacon and a toasted English muffin for the toast.

A third claim to the Eggs Benedict fame was circuitously made by Edward P. Montgomery on behalf of Commodore E.C. Benedict. In 1967 Montgomery wrote a letter to then NY Times columnist Craig Claiborne and included a recipe he claimed to have received through his Uncle, a friend of the Commodore. Commodore Benedict's recipe - by way of Montgomery - varies greatly from Chef Ranhofer's version, particularly in the hollandaise sauce preparation - calling for the addition of "hot, hard-cooked egg and ham mixture."

Red Tie Cafe launched their new menu in December 2013, and added their take on the Eggs Benedict, now called a Breakfast burger! Using the English muffin as you would a burger bun, it is filled with a poached eggs, grilled tomato, hollandaise sauce, beef patty and then your choice of either ham, savoury beef mince or creamed spinach...

http://redtiecateringjhb.wozaonline.co.za/Menu
http://www.zomato.com/johannesburg/red-tie-cafe-bryanston/info#tabtop

Need to up your dairy intake? ...Milkshake is the sweetest answer!

1880s–1930s

When the term "milkshake" was first used in print in 1885, milkshakes were an alcoholic whiskey drink that has been described as a "sturdy, healthful eggnog type of drink, with eggs, whiskey, etc., served as a tonic as well as a treat". However, by 1900, the term referred to "wholesome drinks made with chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla syrup." By the "early 1900s people were asking for the new treat, often with ice cream." By the 1930s, milkshakes were a popular drink at malt shop, which were the "typical soda fountain of the period... used by students as a meeting place or hangout."

1940s–1950s

Sharing a milkshake from the same glass 

By the 1950s, popular places to drink milkshakes were Woolworth's "5 & 10" lunch counters, diners, burger joints, and drugstore soda fountain. These establishments often prominently displayed a shining chrome or stainless steel milkshake mixing machine.

These establishments made milkshakes in Hamilton Beach or similar styles of drink mixers, which had spindles and agitators that folded air into the drinks for "smooth, fluffy results" and served them in 12½-ounce tall, "y"-shaped glasses.

2000s - present

This milkshake was made using liquid nitrogen. Vapor can still be seen drifting from the top.

In 2005, the traditional home of the milkshake, the family restaurants and 24-hour diner-style restaurants that were the "staples of 1950s and 60s America such as Denny's, Big Boy and the International House of Pancakes" were supplanted "...in terms of revenue for the first time since the U.S. census started measuring this in the 1970s. The shift means the burger, fries and milkshake ideal evoked by the sitcom Happy Days is losing its hold on the American appetite." Instead, U.S. consumers are going out to casual dining restaurants.

Part of the increase in milkshake sales reported in 2006 may be due to the increasing availability of innovative chef-designed milkshakes in high-end restaurants. In 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that chefs from "hipster hangouts and retro landmarks" are using "macerated farmers market strawberries, Valrhona chocolate and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla" to make new milkshake flavors.

Other novel ideas offered in LA-area restaurants include milkshakes made with toasted pecans, saffron-rose water or orange-blossom ice cream, taro root, vanilla beans steeped in rum, Valrhona chocolate and Grey Goose Vodka, and vanilla custard mixed with Russian Imperial stout.

Red Tie Cafe serves a variety of milkshakes...chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, banana, bubblegum, frullato, milo, cafe mocha, coffee, horlicks, mixed berry, lime, peach&mango, tropical and many more combinations...

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Cappuccino...

Cappuccino is a coffee drink topped with foamed milk. It is made in a steam-producing espresso machine. The espresso is poured into the bottom third of the cup, followed by a similar amount of hot milk. The top third of the drink consists of milk foam; this foam can be decorated with artistic drawings made with the same milk, called latte art. In a traditional cappuccino, as served in Europe and artisan coffee houses in the United States, the total of espresso and milk/foam make up between approximately 150–180 ml (5–6 imp fl oz; 5–6 US fl oz). 

'Cappuccino' comes from the diminutive form of cappuccio in Italian, meaning 'hood' or something that covers the head, thus 'cappuccino' reads 'small capuchin'. The coffee beverage has its name not from the hood but from the colour of the hooded robes worn by monks and nuns of the capuchin order. This colour is quite distinctive and 'capuchin' was a common description of the colour of red-brown in 17th-century Europe. The capuchin monks chose the particular design of their orders' robes both in colour and shape of the hood back in the 16th century, inspired by Francis of Assisi's preserved 13th century vestments.

The consumption of coffee in Europe was initially based on the traditional Ottoman preparation of the drink, by bringing to boil the mixture of coffee and water together, sometimes by adding sugar. The British seem to have started filtering and steeping coffee already in the 2nd part of the 17th century and France and continental Europe followed suit. By the 19th century coffee was brewed in different devices designed for both home and public Cafés. Adding milk to coffee is mentioned by Europeans already in the 1600s, and sometimes advised. 

Cappuccino as we write it today is first mentioned in northern Italy in the 1930s, and photographs from that time show a 'viennese' —a coffee topped with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon or chocolate. The steamed milk atop is a later addition. Though coffee was brewed differently all over Europe after WW2, in Italy, the real espresso machines became widespread only during the 1950s, and 'cappuccino' was re-defined, now made from espresso and frothed milk (though far from the quality of steamed milk today). As the espresso machines improved, so did the dosing of coffee and the heating of the milk. Outside Italy, 'cappuccino' spread, but was generally made from dark coffee with whipped cream, as it still is in large parts of Europe. The 'Kapuziner' remained unchanged on the Austrian coffee menu, even in Trieste, which by 1920 belonged to Italy and in Budapest, Prague, Bratislava and other cities of the former Empire.

For Latte Art designs: http://www.latteart.org/photos-latte-art.html

The French Frie...or is it chips?

French fries (American |English) or chips, fries, finger chips, or French-fried potatoes are batons of deep fried potatoes. Americans and most Canadians refer to any elongated pieces of fried potatoes as fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of fried potatoes are sometimes called fries to distinguish them from the more thickly cut strips called chips.

French fries are served hot and generally eaten as an accompaniment with lunch or dinner, or eaten as a snack, and they are a common fixture of fast food. French fries are generally salted and, in their simplest and most common form, are served with ketchup; in many countries, though, they are topped instead with other condiments or toppings, including vinegar, mayonnaise, or other local specialities. Fries can also be topped more elaborately, as is the case with the dishes of poutine and chilli cheese fries. Sometimes, fries are made with sweet potatoes instead of potatoes, are baked instead of fried, or are cut into unusual shapes, as is the case with curly fries, wavy fries, or tornado fries.

Thomas Jefferson had "potatoes served in the French manner" at a White House dinner in 1802.

The expression "French Fried Potatoes" first occurs in print in English in the 1856 work Cookery for Maids of All Work by E Warren:

"French Fried Potatoes. – Cut new potatoes in thin slices, put them in boiling fat, and a little salt; fry both sides of a light golden brown colour; drain."

In the early 20th century, the term "French fried" was being used in the sense of "deep-fried", for other foods such as onion rings or chicken.

It is unlikely that "French fried" refers to frenching in the sense of julienning, which is not attested until after French fried potatoes. Previously, Frenching referred only to trimming meat off the shanks of chops.

Red Tie Cafe has recently added sweet potato as an option for fries...you can even mix potato and sweet potato fries! 

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Mac and Cheese

The history of Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese, also called "mac and cheese" in American English and Canadian English; "macaroni pie" in Caribbean English; and "macaroni cheese" in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand; is a dish consisting of cooked macaroni pasta and cheese, though it can also incorporate other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce and white sauce.

Traditional macaroni and cheese is a casserole baked in the oven; however, it may be prepared in a saucepan on the top of the stove from scratch or using a packaged mix.

Pasta and cheese casseroles have been recorded in cookbooks as early as the 14th century's Liber de Coquin, one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. It is a French dish of parmesan and pasta and was brought to England in the 14th century. A cheese and pasta casserole known asmakerouns was recorded in a the famous medieval French cookbook The Forme Cury, which was written in the 14th century. It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese. 

The first modern recipe for the dish was included in cookery writer Elizabeth Raffald's 1769 book The Experienced French Housekeeper. Raffald's recipe is for a bechamel sauce with cheddar cheese, which is mixed with macaroni, sprinkled with parmesan and baked until bubbly and golden. The famous British Victorian cookbook Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management included two recipes for the dish. One recipe states that "The macaroni, (which should be "tender but perfectly firm, no part being allowed to melt, and the form entirely preserved" – lest one be tempted to cook it for so long it actually disintegrated) is then topped with more cheese, pepper and breadcrumbs, before receiving a final dose of melted butter for good measure and being placed before a "bright fire" to brown the crumbs, or grilled with a salamander." 

Red Tie Cafe serves a different twist to the Mac and Cheese, by incorporating grilled chicken and adding BBQ sauce to the cheese mixture...

http://redtiecateringjhb.wozaonline.co.za/Menu

Bonjour! Shall we start the day with a Croissant?

The origin of the croissant

A croissant (ⁱ/krəˈsɑːnt/ or /ˈkwʌsɒŋ/; French pronunciation: [kʁwa.sɑ̃] ( listen)) is a buttery flaky viennoiserie pastry named for its well known crescent shape. Croissants and other viennoiserie are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.

Crescent-shaped food breads have been made since the Middle Ages, and crescent-shaped cakes possibly since antiquity.

Croissants have long been a staple of French bakeries and pâtisseries. In the late 1970s, the development of factory-made, frozen, pre-formed but unbaked dough made them into a fast food which can be freshly baked by unskilled labor. The croissanterie was explicitly a French response to American-style fast food, and today 30–40% of the croissants sold in French bakeries and patisseries are frozen.

This innovation, along with the croissant's distinctive shape, has made it the most well known item of French food in much of the world. Today, the croissant remains popular in a continental breakfast.

The Kipferl, ancestor of the croissant, has been documented in Austria going back at least as far as the 13th century, in various shapes. The Kipferl can be made plain or with nut or other fillings (some consider the rugelach a form of Kipferl).

The "birth" of the croissant itself – that is, its adaptation from the plainer form of Kipferl, before the invention of Viennoiserie – can be dated with some precision to at latest 1839 (some say 1838), when an Austrian artillery officer, August Zang, founded a Viennese bakery ("Boulangerie Viennoise") at 92, rue de Richelieu in Paris. This bakery, which served Viennese specialities including the Kipferl and the Vienna loaf, quickly became popular and inspired French imitators (and the concept, if not the term, viennoiserie, a 20th-century term for supposedly Vienna-style pastries). The French version of the Kipferl was named for its crescent (croissant) shape and has become a identifiable shape across the world.

Red Tie Catering has interesting fillings for their croissants...keep a look out for more variations of fillings coming soon!

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Sandwiches...not just a lunch item anymore!

The history of the sandwich

A sandwich was originally a portable food item or finger food which began its popularity primarily in the Western World, but is now found in various versions in numerous countries worldwide. A sandwich commonly consists of two or more slices of bread, with one or more fillings between them. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work, school, or picnics to be eaten as part of a packed lunch. The bread can be used plain, or it can be coated with one or more condiments to enhance the flavours and texture. As well as being homemade, sandwiches are also widely sold in restaurants and cafes, and are sometimes served hot as well as cold.

The sandwich is considered to be the namesake of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, because of the claim that he was the eponymous inventor of this food combination.

Although the modern concept of a sandwich using slices of bread (as found within the Western World) can arguably be traced to 18th century Europe, the use of some kind of bread or bread-like substance to wrap, or lie under (or under and over) some other type of food, long predates this use, and has been found in numerous much older cultures worldwide.

Initially perceived as food that men shared while gaming and drinking at night, the sandwich slowly began appearing in polite society as a late-night meal among the aristocracy. The sandwich's popularity in Spain and England increased dramatically during the 19th century, when the rise of an industrial society and the working classes made fast, portable, and inexpensive meals essential.

It was at the same time that the sandwich finally began to appear outside of Europe. In the United States, the sandwich was first promoted as an elaborate meal at supper. By the early 20th century, as bread became a staple of the American diet, the sandwich became the same kind of popular, quick meal as was already widespread in the Mediterranean.

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