Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is entitled The Maestro and The Great Pretender and is dedicated to two of music’s greatest contributors Freddie Mercury who’s birthday is remembered this week, and the sad passing of Luciano Pavarotti. The recipes this week are Pork Chop Schnitzel, Dr. Pepper Ribs and Matty’s Mighty Mousse. The spice of the week is Pomegranate Seeds.
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range. As a songwriter, Mercury composed many hits for Queen, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Killer Queen”, “Somebody to Love”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “We Are the Champions”. In addition to his work with Queen, he led a solo career, penning hits such as “Barcelona”, “I Was Born to Love You” and “Living on My Own”. Mercury also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. He died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease.
Mercury, who was a Parsi born in Zanzibar and grew up there and in India until his mid-teens, has been referred to as “Britain’s first Asian rock star”. In 2006, Time Asia named him as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years, and he continues to be voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music. In 2005, a poll organised by Blender and MTV2 saw Mercury voted the greatest male singer of all time. In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. In 2009, a Classic Rock poll saw him voted the greatest rock singer of all time. Allmusic has characterised Mercury as “one of rock’s greatest all-time entertainers”, who possessed “one of the greatest voices in all of music”.
Luciano Pavarotti (12 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor, who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, and established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century. He was one of “The Three Tenors” and became well known for his televised concerts and media appearances. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work on behalf of refugees and the Red Cross, amongst others.
Pavarotti began his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy. That same year, he made his first international appearance in La traviata in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He sang in opera houses in addition to Italy, in the Netherlands, Vienna, London, Ankara, Budapest and Barcelona. The young tenor earned valuable experience and recognition while touring Australia at the invitation of soprano Joan Sutherland in 1965. He made his United States debut in Miami soon afterwards, also on Sutherland’s recommendation. His position as a leading lyric tenor was consolidated in the years between 1966 and 1972, during which time he first appeared at Milan’s La Scala and other major European houses. In 1968, he debuted at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera as Rudolfo in Puccini’s La bohème. At the Met in 1972, in the role of Tonio in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment he earned the title “King of the high Cs” when he sang the aria “Ah mes amis … pour mon âme”. He gained worldwide fame for the brilliance and beauty of his tone, especially into the upper register. He was at his best in bel canto operas, pre-Aida Verdi roles and Puccini works such as La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. The late 1970s and 1980s saw Pavarotti continue to make significant appearances in the world’s foremost opera houses.
Celebrity beyond the world of opera came to Pavarotti at the 1990 World Cup in Italy with performances of Puccini’s “Nessun dorma”, from Turandot, and as one of “The Three Tenors” in their famed first concert held on the eve of the tournament’s final. He sang on that occasion with fellow star tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, bringing opera highlights to a wider audience. Appearances in advertisements and with pop icons in concerts furthered his international celebrity.
His final performance in an opera was at the Metropolitan Opera in March 2004. Later that year, the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) inducted him into its Italian American Hall of Fame in recognition of his lifetime of work. During a ceremony held at the Foundation’s Anniversary Gala just four days after his 69th birthday, singer Faith Hill presented Pavarotti with a birthday cake and sang “Happy Birthday” to the opera legend. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, saw Pavarotti on stage for the last time, where he performed “Nessun dorma”, with the crowd serving as the aria’s chorus, and he received a thunderous standing ovation. He died from pancreatic cancer on 6 September 2007.
The full version of this article can be found at www.chefgarfyinfo.blog.co.uk
My first recipe is Pork Chop Schnitzel recipe by Brian Turner, courtesy of Good Food Channel website.
Makes 4, takes 25mins to prepare, 40mins to cook.
4 X 225g Pork Chops, on the bone, rind removed
55g x Plain flour
2 x Eggs
175g x Fresh White Breadcrumbs
55g x Freshly Grated Parmesan
1tbsp x Chopped Fresh Parsley
4tbsp x Olive Oil
100g x Unsalted Butter
4 x Anchovy Fillets (from a tin), finely chopped
2tbsp x Capers
1 x Lemon, juice only
Trim and clean the bone of each chop to about 4cm using a strong knife. Put each chop between two sheets of clingfilm, and tap with a rolling pin until they’re half a centimetre thick, then trim any ragged edges from the escalope.
Season the flour with salt and pepper, and tip on to a tray. Beat the eggs in a wide shallow bowl. Mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley together and put on another tray or plate. Carefully coat a chop with flour, dusting off any excess, then dip it into the egg, again shaking off any excess, and then finally lay it in the breadcrumb mix to coat. Place the escalope on a board and press the coating with a palette knife or your hand to ensure it is well stuck on and repeat the process for each chop.
Preheat the oven to 120C/gas ½. Heat a tablespoon of the oil and 15g of butter together in a medium frying pan and fry a schnitzel for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Slide onto a baking tray and keep warm in the oven whilst you continue to fry each chop, cleaning the frying pan each time before cooking the next one. When all the schnitzels have been fried, heat the remaining butter in the cleaned frying pan until it begins to brown, then add the anchovies, capers and lemon juice and pour over the pork.
My next recipe is Dr. Pepper Ribs, Courtesy of Olive Magazine September 2011.
Serves 4, ready in 2.1/2hrs
3 x Small Racks of Pork Ribs, approx 500g each
1½Ltr x Dr Pepper
2 x Star Anise
8 x Whole Allspice Berries
GLAZE
200ml x Dr Pepper
6tbsp x Soft Brown Sugar
6tbsp x Tomato Ketchup
1½tbsp x Dijon Mustard
2tbsp x Worcestershire Sauce
3tbsp x Soy Sauce
1tsp x Ground Allspice
Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Put the ribs, fleshy side down, in a single layer in a large roasting tin. Pour over the Dr Pepper and add the spices. Tightly cover with foil and cook for 2 hours. Put all the glaze ingredients in a pan and simmer until thick and syrupy.
After the initial cooking take the ribs from the oven and turn it up to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6, or light your barbecue. Drain all the liquid from the tin. Turn the ribs flesh side up and baste with the glaze. Roast for 30 minutes or barbecue, adding more glaze halfway through until sticky and shiny. Cut into sections to serve.
Spice of the week – Pomegranate Seeds
The pomegranate fruit is obtained from a small, deciduous shrub called pomegranate, that is originally native to the Southwest Asia and is cultivated since centuries together. Pomegranate is widely cultivated throughout the Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, East Indies, Malaysia, tropical Africa and southeast Asia. Later on, it was also introduced to the US and Latin America. The fruit typically seasons from September to February (in the northern hemisphere), while in southern hemisphere, it seasons from March to May. There are more than 750 species that are observed and cultivated all over the world for various purposes from eating to forming pomegranate juice. Pomegranate tree can live up to many years, which is an advantage for the pomegranate growers. This way, it enhances the outdoor decoration of the house with additional fruits provided. The fruit of pomegranate is ruby coloured with thousands of seeds that are very juicy and citrus in flavour. Pomegranate seeds nutrition facts are just numerous and therefore pomegranate seeds are used for many purposes from ancient times.
Health benefits of pomegranate seeds are very invaluable. Often called as super fruit, pomegranate seeds are loaded with numerous antioxidant properties that are supposedly three times higher than the green tea. As we know, antioxidants are very important to control the free radicals in the body that can cause problems, they also maintain and repair the damaged body cells. Pomegranate seeds are high in vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin E and have a lot of fibres along with potassium, iron and calcium. Due to all these pomegranate seeds nutrition content, this ‘magic fruit’ is a bliss for the heart health, as regular intake of pomegranate seeds or pomegranate juice can evade heart diseases and reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Pomegranate seeds help in thinning the blood, reduce blood pressure levels, increase blood flow towards heart, maintain good cholesterol levels and reduce arterial plaques. Apart from these many benefits for heart, pomegranate seeds are also a blessing for cure of arthritis, osteoporosis, skin allergies, skin disorders, urinary tract infections, sore throats, tapeworms, digestive disorders, blood impurities, osteoarthritis and diabetes.
Modern scientists also suggest that the pomegranate seeds can be very helpful to cure prostate cancer and skin cancer. It is also proved helpful to get rid of body and digestive system fats. There are numerous products that are used by the pomegranate seeds and pomegranate seed oil is one of them. Several other pomegranate seed products include pomegranate dietary supplements, pomegranate extracts and pomegranate concentrated juice. All these are, of course, loaded with pomegranate seeds nutrition and health benefits.
My final recipe is Matty’s Mighty Mousse , courtesy of Nigella Express.
Serves approx. 4-6 takes 20mins to make.
150g x Mini Marshmallows
50g x Soft Butter
250g x Good Dark Chocolate Drops (or Chocolate Nibs (70% cocoa solids))
60ml x Hot water from a recently boiled kettle
284ml Double Cream
1 tsp x Vanilla Extract
Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan. Put the saucepan on the hob, over heat, though keep it fairly gentle, to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat once melted. Meanwhile whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick, and then fold in the cream a third at a time into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, consistent mixture. Pour or scrape into 4 glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or 6 smaller (125ml) ones, and chill until you want to eat.
If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Hope you enjoy!!….. ChefGarfy =D
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