Do Fresh Foods Cause More Food Poisoning?

According to a new Harris poll of over 2,000 adults, four in ten (42%) people said they've become sick in the past two years from something they ate (or so they think). Of those folks, 69% believe they know what made them sick and many eliminate that food from their diet entirely. Moreover, another 15% indicate that they advised family, friends and colleagues not to eat that food item.

One of the most interesting results of this study is that people are most concerned with the safety of fresh foods (followed by canned foods, other packaged foods, and frozen foods). Those that were at least somewhat concerned that fresh foods are safe to eat are most concerned about fresh meats (31%), fresh poultry (23%), fresh fish (20%), vegetables (16%) and fruit (8%).

As Americans struggle to eat healthier, how do our food safety concerns about fresh food affect our efforts to eat healthier? Is it true, or just a perception, that consumers are most likely to get sick from fresh foods? Are consumers failing to prepare their fresh foods correctly? In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan encourages us to buy more from the outside edges of the supermarket where all the fresh products are, instead of the processed foods in the inner aisles. Do Americans need to be educated on how to prepare fresh foods correctly?

For Italians, Amaretti Cookies are like Chocolate Chip Cookies for Americans

Our recent post about amaretti cookies has drawn a lot of interest so I did more research on this delightful cookie with the help of chef Maria Teresa Capdevielle and gourmet Italian marketplace DITALIA is offering our readers a discount on their classic amaretti cookies, both crunchy and soft.

Professional pastry chef and author Maria Teresa Capdevielle shared her insights with us about this popular Italian cookie that is similar to an almond macaroon. "Amaretti cookies are a staple of the Italian pastry kitchen. We use them as an ingredient for many cakes and tarts. We also use them as an ice cream or zabaione topping." (Check out Maria's recipe for Zabaglione with Strawberries and Amaretti Crumbs.)

"Every town has its own amaretti recipe. In Abruzzo, the region I come from, amaretti are soft and sometimes filled with a fruit preserve. The most popular amaretti are from Saronno and they are crispy - great for dipping in coffee or sweet liquor." (Consider getting the soft amaretti cookies and spreading preserves/jam or nutella/ganache between them to make pretty cookie sandwiches. They'll look like über-trendy Ladurée boutique macaroons.)

I asked Maria if there was a certain time of year during which amaretti cookies are showcased in Italian culture, like pumpkin pie is for Thanksgiving in the US. Maria replied, "If I have to pick a celebration to eat amaretti, I think Christmas would be the one. But for Italians, amaretti are like chocolate chip coookies for Americans." (Consider serving amaretti cookies or making desserts with amaretti cookies for Easter or Passover. They're certified Kosher OU, without flour or milk, and I believe they're gluten free as well.)

In celebration of this versatile and delicious cookie, DITALIA is offering a generous discount of 20% off all the Amaretti cookies in their online marketplace for Italian gourmet food. Use code AMA20 until March 15, 2010. Thank you, DITALIA! Check out Amaretti Cookies from DITALIA.

You can sign up to receive additional exclusive offers and recipes from DITALIA and see why their fans love them on Facebook.

We'd love to hear from you about Amaretti cookies. Eat, drink, and be merry!

Amaretti Fail

Today, Food Maven Josh B. introduced me to Italian amaretti cookies, which we found at I Preferiti di Boriana (Boriana's favorites) at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. They are mini cookies with a mild taste of marzipan and they are available soft or crispy/crunchy. Josh was also kind enough to show me how to create a nice after-dinner flourish by lighting the wrapper on fire. When lit, the tissue wrapper should shoot up like a rocket, if you follow his instructions.

See how the tissue paper shoots up into the air when it behaves.

Valentine's Day Treats at San Francisco's Ferry Building

Heart Garlands at Miette

Heart Garlands at Miette

Excellent Chocolate Covered Cherry Chews by Frog Hollow
(their own Frog Hollow cherries, made with Recchiuti chocolate)

Recchiuti Valentine Confections 20% Off

Gianduja Hearts at Miette

Miette's Sweet Revolution Valentine Boxes
with Maple-Honey Caramels

Food from the Heart 2010: on 2/12/10, enjoy a candlelit ferry building
and listen to music, shop, dance, and taste chocolate, food, and wine

Acme Bread's Rosemary Focaccia Hearts

Scharffen Berger Chocolate

Superbowl Party Hors d'Oeuvres

I'm not sure whether it's even socially acceptable to use the phrase "hors d'oeuvres" when speaking of the holiday when "Americans eat more chips, popcorn, pretzels and snack nuts than on any other day  of the year," according to Penn State researchers in Encyclopedia of American Holidays and National Days.

I'm willing to bet that my Superbowl hors d'oeuvres are fancier than most football game spreads. One year, I toiled over the stove poaching quail eggs to top individual portions of Israeli shakshuka served in porcelain Chinese soup spoons. Never again.

I've also made angel hair pasta with mini meatballs, also individually portioned in those porcelain spoons, with parmesan crisp decorations from The French Laundry Cookbook. This one is easy for anyone to assemble and can be cooked in bulk unlike the poached quail eggs.

One of my favorite standbys has become the curried deviled egg. My sister shared this recipe with me after a successful party debut and I have found it to be successful as well. I follow the Epicurious recipe but I omit the olives, increase the curry, use green onions/chives, splash in some tabasco and mustard, and top it with a mango chutney from Sukhi's.

Last year, I was inspired by the "Hearts of Palm with Purée of Marrow Beans" recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook, which takes forever (3-4 hrs) to make for only a few people. I reconfigured the reccipe to take about an hour for 40 people. I created palm hearts filled and topped with a tuscan-herbed bean & cream cheese spread. These were a hit and I plan to make them again this year with mascarpone instead of vegan cream cheese and boost the flavors a bit (perhaps with some fried bacon). Here's how I made them last year: I took Trader Joe's tuscan white bean spread and mixed it with a vegan cream cheese to thicken it (just keep additing it until the mixture is thick enough to stand on its own like cake frosting). After adding herbs and spices to taste, including white pepper, I piped the filling into the center of the palm hearts as well as on top (just like cupcake frosting). I experimented by sprinkling the "frosting" with bits of crispy fried onion, which tasted fine but not special. I refrigerated them so that the filling remained thick and did not drip out.

This year, I'm planning to make very thin corn muffins (like thick blini) using Ridgecut Girstmills' stone ground cornbread mix (wonderful texture and sweet corn taste), topped with a bit of crème fraîche and salsa. I also hope to find a use for the amazing paneer that Cowgirls Creamery makes...any ideas?

We'll see what else I conjure up this year!