Monday, December 14, 2009
For our final meeting...
Sec. 62:
Tu 12.15
7:30-9:30 AM
Sec. 64:
Th 12.17
9:40-11:40 AM
As for the food...
Sec. 62
I have received money from the following people:
Jeremy
Celso
Mike
Melody
Elise
Greg
Arjun
Giang
We still need $6 per person from:
Claudio
Andrew
Nicole
Gabriela
Krista
Eric
Tyler
Jessica
Heriberto
Please bring money on Tuesday as the food has already been paid for.
Note: Brian and Matt missed classed on Thursday? Are you interested in joining the class in pizza?
Sec. 64
I have received money from the following people:
Vihn
Quoc
Juan
Wen
Rebecca
We still need $10 per person from:
Thy
Christina
Jessica
Alex
Brandon
Ron (paid $5)
Nicole
Austin
Elizabeth
Desiree
Natally (paid $5)
Stephanie
David
Isaiah
Please bring money on Tuesday as the food has already been paid for.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Week 16 Agenda
Pan bagnat from Julia Child and Jacques Pepin's Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home (PBS, USA)
Tu 12.15 (Sec. 62)
Note: We meet from 7:30-9:30 AM
In-class: End of class surveys, Course review
Due: Research paper (emailed to me by 9:45 AM on Thursday the 17th)
Catering: Group 6—Dessert course
Th 12.17 (Sec. 64)
Note: We meet from 9:40-11:40 AM
In-class: End of class surveys, Course review
Due: Research paper
Catering: Group 6—Dessert course
Saturday, December 12, 2009
'Sun-Maid Girl' Makeover Sparks Controversy
By Brett Michael Dykes, Yahoo! Finance
Friday, December 4, 2009
In the annals of advertising imagery, few brand symbols are more iconic and recognizable than the Sun-Maid raisin girl.
Nevertheless, Sun-Maid recently decided to join Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth's in giving the female face of their product a substantial makeover from a young, early 20th-century girl into a buxom, modern young woman, leading some to say that the newly made-over raisin girl looks like a Barbie Doll in Amish attire
Since 1915, the face of Sun-Maid has been Lorraine Collett Petersen, who, according to the company's website , "was discovered drying her black hair curls in the sunny backyard of her parents' home in Fresno, California." Petersen was then asked to pose for a watercolor painting holding a basket of grapes while wearing a sunbonnet. In the years since, the company has tweaked its trademark design occasionally to keep up with the times, but every variation has always been based on the original pose by Petersen. The new computer-animated version of the Sun-Maid girl currently featured in television advertisements is a departure from the classic design that harkened back to a time when "life was much simpler, more rural, a lot less hectic."
Naturally, the revamped look hasn't gone unnoticed, rankling both ends of the political spectrum. The blog for conservative magazine The Weekly Standard noted that the new Sun-Maid girl looks "as if Julia Roberts decided to don a red bonnet and start picking grapes," while the feminist website Jezebel.com remarked that it looks as if she's had “some implants.”
Though the new look for the raisin girl has been garnering attention of late, the changes to the 90-year-old icon were actually introduced three years ago. At the time, Sun-Maid president Barry Kriebel said that the decision to make changes was inspired by the desire to educate consumers about healthy living choices.
"This is as good a time as any to get on the wave of health and nutrition,'' he said. Kriebel also noted that he felt the new look was a reasonable modernization, saying "You're not going to see her dancing or kicking up her heels out in the vineyard, but have her do what is appropriate for her to do, based on her history but also being a contemporary person living in the 21st century.''
Additionally, there's been talk that the new Sun-Maid girl might be given a name and featured in future advertisements doing some of the things modern women typically do, like going to the gym, shopping at the market, and speaking multiple languages, particularly languages native to countries where Sun-Maid, the world's largest producer and processor of raisins and other dried fruits, sells raisins. However, the image on all Sun-Maid product packaging will remain the same, as the new version will only be featured in product advertisements.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Week 15 Agenda
Stuffing the Christmas Goose from Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson' s Two Fat Ladies (BBC Two, UK)
Tu 12.8
In-Class: TBA
Th 12.10
In-Class: Writer’s workshop
Due: First draft of your completed research paper (bring three copies)
Catering: Group 5—Cheese course
Note: We meet from 7:30-9:30 AM
In-class: End of class surveys, Course review
Due: Research paper
Catering: Group 6—Dessert course
Due: Research paper (emailed to me by 9:45 AM on Thursday the 17th)
Th 12.17 (Sec. 64)
Note: We meet from 9:40-11:40 AM
In-class: End of class surveys, Course review
Due: Research paper
Catering: Group 6—Dessert course
Due: Research paper (hard copy)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Extra Credit Assignment: Bonus Journal
You have two options for up to 15 points of extra credit; choose one:
A) This journal is about foods we know we don't like. For it, you must retry a food you have previously decided you did not like. This may be either an individual food (e.g. pickles, mushrooms) or a prepared dish (e.g. liver and onions, sushi). Using “A Conversation with Dad” from Food on the Food (eR) as a basis, think about the experience of eating this food once again. Does eating it again confirm your earlier opinion? Is it better now than before? Why or why not?
B) This journal is about your expectations of service in a restaurant. What level of service do you expect when dining out? Are your needs of a server fairly basic? Or do you want service that goes a step further? What kind of tipper are you? Likewise, is good service a two-way street? Are there things you should (or shouldn't do) to ensure better service? Using "Thirteen Things Your Waiter Won't Tell You" (eR) as a basis, write about your expectations of service in a restaurant.
Note: This is your only opportunity for extra-credit this semester. To receive full credit (15 points), your journal must be at least two FULL pages.
Due: By midnight on Tuesday, Dec. 8th. Submit by email only.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Two-Thirds of Chicken Tested Harbor Dangerous Bacteria
Naomi Starkman, The Huffington Post
November 30, 2009 07:05 AM
Consumer Reports' latest test of fresh, whole broilers bought in 22 states reveals that two-thirds of birds tested harbored salmonella and/or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of food-borne disease. The report reveals that organic "air-chilled" broilers were among the cleanest and that Perdue was found to be the cleanest of the brand-name chicken. Tyson and Foster Farms chickens were found to be the most contaminated. The report is available, free online (note, you have to click through the side bars to the left of the story) and in the January 2010 issue of the magazine.
Consumer Reports has been measuring contamination in store-bought chickens since 1998. The recent test shows a modest improvement since January 2007, when the magazine found these pathogens in 8 of 10 broilers, but the numbers are still far too high. The findings suggest that most companies' safeguards are inadequate. The tests also found that most disease-causing bacteria sampled from the contaminated chicken were resistant to at least one antibiotic, potentially making any resulting illness more difficult to treat.
Each year, salmonella and campylobacter from chicken and other food sources infect at least 3.4 million Americans, send 25,500 to hospitals, and kill about 500, according to estimates by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While both salmonella and campylobacter are known to cause intestinal distress, campylobacter can lead to meningitis, arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a severe neurological condition.
"Our tests show that campylobacter is widespread in chicken, even in brands that control for salmonella," said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Technical Policy at Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. "While one name brand, Perdue, and most air-chilled chickens were less contaminated than others, this is still a very dirty industry that needs better practices and tighter government oversight."
For its latest analysis, Consumer Reports had an outside lab test 382 chickens bought last spring from more than 100 supermarkets, gourmet- and natural-food stores, and mass merchandisers in 22 states. Among the findings:
• Campylobacter was in 62 percent of the chickens, salmonella was in 14 percent, and both bacteria were in 9 percent. Only 34 percent of the birds were clear of both pathogens. That's double the percentage of clean birds Consumer Reports found in its 2007 report but far less than the 51 percent in the 2003 report.
• Among the cleanest overall were organic "air-chilled" broilers (a process in which carcasses are refrigerated and may be misted, rather than dunked in cold chlorinated water). About 60 percent were free of the two pathogens.
• Perdue was found to be the cleanest of the brand-name chicken: 56 percent were free of both pathogens. This is the first time since Consumer Reports began testing chicken that one major brand has fared significantly better than others across the board.
• Tyson and Foster Farms chickens were found to be the most contaminated; less than 20 percent were free of either pathogens.
• Store-brand organic chickens had no salmonella at all, but only 43 percent of those birds were also free of campylobacter.
• Among all brands and types of broilers tested, 68 percent of the salmonella and 60 percent of the campylobacter organisms analyzed showed resistance to one or more antibiotics. All of the antibiotics were effective against 32 percent of salmonella samples and 40 percent of the campylobacter samples, as compared to just 16 and 33 percent in 2007.
USDA recently released a survey testing these same pathogens in chicken, and reported finding much lower numbers. The method CR used for campylobacter presence is one of two methods cited in the USDA study and the method used for salmonella presence in the USDA study is the same used by CR. The difference is that CR obtained its samples at retail stores while the USDA samples were obtained at two points in the processing plant.
According to CR, there is more likelihood that chicken can be further contaminated once it leaves the processing plant and travels to the store. Testing chicken bought from a retailer is in all likelihood a better indicator of what consumers will be exposed to and more reflective of what the consumer will encounter with these pathogens.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) a consumer's primary protection against chicken contamination. HACCP requires companies to identify potential points of contamination and take measures to eliminate them. The USDA has a standard that requires chicken producers to test for salmonella but it has yet to set a standard for campylobacter.
The USDA has said that a risk assessment for campylobacter and draft performance standards would be ready by the year's end. It could take months to a year or more, however, for a proposed standard to become a final regulation and take effect.
"USDA has been pondering new standards to cut the prevalence of bacteria in chicken for more than five years but has yet to act," said Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union. "Consumers shouldn't have to play roulette with poultry; the USDA must make chicken less risky to eat."
Until chicken becomes cleaner, the magazine offers tips for consumers to protect themselves, including thawing frozen chicken in a refrigerator; cooking chicken to at least 165° F; and refrigerating or freezing leftovers within two hours of cooking.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Week 14 Agenda
Week 14
In-Class: Comparative analysis essay
Th 12.3
In-Class: Writer’s workshop
Due: First 4-5 pages of your research paper (bring three copies)
Catering: Group 4—Main course
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
PETA's Thanksgiving Turkey Ad NBC Won't Air
The Huffington Post
11-24-09 08:44 AM
The animals rights group PETA is known for its shock tactics and pushing the envelope with its ads. Past ads that networks refused to air include the "veggie sex" ad slated to run during the Superbowl, and Pamela Anderson's stripping airport cop video. This ad, however, doesn't use sex or naked people to make people squirm.
According to PETA's blog:
When we first submitted our newest commercial to NBC in the hopes of running it during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the station asked us to give more information about the cruelty behind turkey slaughter to back up the statements made in the ad. But even after we sent the network this New York Times article chronicling the grisly facts about turkey factory farming, it nixed the ad, claiming that "this commercial does not meet NBC Universal standards."
Monday, November 23, 2009
Have Americans Supersized Thanksgiving, too?
By Michael Hill, The Associated Press
11/23/2009 08:50:43 AM PST
What happens when you combine Thanksgiving — a holiday dedicated to overindulging — with America's love of all things Supersized? Not as much as you'd think.
While Americans are notorious for cranking up the calories and portions compared to a generation or so ago, small changes in the nation's diet seem to have buffered Thanksgiving dinner from some — but not all — of our bigger-better mentality.
To find out just what has changed about America's official gut-busting dinner, The Associated Press asked Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab to analyze recipes from the 1950s and compare them to contemporary versions.
Previous studies of non-Thanksgiving recipes by lab director Brian Wansink had found that calorie counts for many classic cookbook recipes have ballooned by nearly 40 percent during the past 70 years.
But Thanksgiving staples didn't follow that trend.
Calorie counts for five of the eight recipes tested actually dropped by almost a third when comparing 1956 Better Homes and Gardens recipes to the 2006 edition of the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook," changes Wansink attributed partly to the use of lower-calorie ingredients, such as low-fat milk instead of cream. Surprisingly, some serving sizes went down over the decades too.
Per-serving calorie counts dropped an average of 102 calories for green beans with almonds, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. They went up 26 calories for rolls and were essentially unchanged for corn and candied carrots.
That puts the total calorie count for a contemporary Thanksgiving dinner of those eight fixings, plus a turkey drumstick, at 2,057 calories. The tally for 1956 was 2,539, according to Cornell researcher Laura Smith.
But those numbers are accurate only if you eat proper serving sizes. And when was the last time you carefully measured out 6 ounces of candied sweet potatoes or called it a day after just one roll? Especially on Thanksgiving.
Wansink's research repeatedly has shown that controlling portions is not something Americans today are skilled at.
"There might be a little less butter put in the dressing or there might be fewer marshmallows on the sweet potatoes," he says. "But where you end up messing with them, you end up serving up a lot more than your grandfather served himself."
Meals served at home have followed the same trend as restaurant and packaged food portions — more, more, more.
Even the plates on which Thanksgiving is served have grown since a generation ago (by more than a third according to Wansink's studies). By today's sensibilities, older china sets seem more fitting for tapas than Turkey Day.
And Wansink's research has shown a link between larger plates and larger portions. Put simply, a little lump of mashed potatoes can look awfully lonely on a foot-wide plate. The same dynamic works with wine consumption. Today's bigger glasses get bigger pours.
Wansink added that even in cases where recipes are about the same size, today's families are smaller. That means more per person.
Even the turkeys are bigger. Today's big-breasted birds on average are 10 pounds heavier at slaughter compared to 1950, according to federal data. Recipes from the '50s actually included roasting instructions for 5-pound birds. Good luck finding one that small today.
Joan Salge Blake, a nutrition professor at Boston University and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, thinks the tradition-bound nature of the Thanksgiving meal probably played a role in keeping the recipe calorie counts down.
"These are Grandma's recipes," which are less likely to change over generations, she says.
Nancy Hopkins, deputy editor of food and entertaining for Better Homes and Gardens, isn't surprised by Wansink's findings. She says her company has responded to consumers who increasingly ask for healthier options, including for Thanksgiving.
To see a real calorie spike, all you have to do is compare Thanksgiving today to 1621, the year of the feast that inspired the holiday.
The menu enjoyed by the settlers and their Wampanoag guests — commonly knows now as the Pilgrims and Indians — is lost to history. But the limited clues available point to tables loaded with venison and wildfowl, according to Kathleen Wall, colonial foodways culinarian at Plimoth Plantation at Plymouth, Mass. Other dishes may have included lobster, mussels, boiled greens and pumpkins.
But forget the fancy sides.
The Pilgrims probably had no potatoes in 1621, and if they had butter and sugar, it came over on the Mayflower the year before. There was no dough, so no pies. They may have eaten cranberries, but not as a sweetened sauce. The birds probably were stuffed with little more than quartered onions and parsley, Wall said.
The likely calorie count? A settler who gave thanks with a turkey drumstick, some lobster, boiled spinach and stewed pumpkin washed down by water — sorry, no beer or wine yet — probably only ingested about 550 calories.
No fancy, fatty stuff for the settlers who came over on the Mayflower. Salge jokes "they would have sunk the ship."