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Distance Learning Plan

Culinary Arts Week 1

Family Heritage Cookbook - Culinary Arts Program Project

Created by Aleatra Dimitrijevski

Purpose: This lesson serves as compilation and application of basic culinary concepts to create a cultural recipe

book.

Introduction: Identifying and developing your niche in culinary arts almost always starts with a person’s own

cultural roots. This project will assist students in identifying what makes their cooking style and culinary

interest unique by investigating, analyzing and compiling data to complete an entry level cookbook.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will be able to investigate the history of their family by creating questions and executing an

interview script.

• Students will be able to organize recipe data information in chronological order. (Largest ingredient

quantity to the smallest)

• Students will convert a favorite family meal into individual recipes which can be compiled into a

cookbook. The meal must include a protein, starch, vegetable and a dessert component.

• Students will be able to convert each family recipe into specific amounts (Cups, pounds, ounces,

tablespoons, teaspoons, etc.)

How To Create Interview Questions Relating to Your Family’s Food Traditions

Watch the following videos: (or search why your Cultural food history is important) If you need further access,

the attached articles can also be used.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_44jTTbD8Yo

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H51jBkjGzk

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6l8jRF-eGA

The term “Heritage" is what we inherit from the past of our culture. It is the basis for the culture of today, and it

is also important to preserve it to keep our sense of identity. The term “Culture” is the behaviors and beliefs

which are characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. “Shared Behaviors” can include holidays;

social expectations; rules, and laws and play an important part in identifying our cultural heritage.

After watching the video answer the following questions: (on a separate sheet of paper or a Word/Google

document)

• What does Culture mean to you when you think about your family?

• Why is your family heritage important to you?

• When you think of your family’s culture, what foods come to mind?

Based on the questions you just answered, what questions would you ask your family members to get their input

on this topic and learn more about your family’s food history and heritage? You may begin by asking some of

the same questions you just answered. You must add 2 more questions to make a total of 5 interview questions.

Make sure you record or write down your family member’s responses.

Recipe Data Collection: Ask your family member the ingredients to your favorite family meal including

amounts. The meal must include Protein, starch, vegetable and a dessert.

Terms and Concepts to understand:

• Basic Food Measurements: Cups, ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons, pounds, etc.

• Concepts: Method of Preparation. Ability to type or write specific directions on how to prepare items

• Servings & Serving sizes

• Recipe formatting and organization (Title, Serving Size, Ingredients, Method Of Preparation)

Final Product – Your final product is a written or typed transcript of the interview and a minimum of 4 family

recipes.

Part I: Watch videos to understand the meaning of culture and heritage when it comes to food history. Create

Interview questions. Interview one or more family members and record/write responses for a minimum of 5

questions.

Part II: Inquire with a family member about a traditional cultural meal and the specific ingredients to make

each item.

Part III: Compile and analyze the Data and create a cookbook for the meal (Protein, starch, vegetable and

dessert) written or in a Word Document/Google Doc.

Cure a hangover with D.C.'s best greasy burgers Barflies, congressmen, locals, hungry tourists and disheveled night owls trying to cope from the sins of the day before are making a beeline for the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill as they’ve done since 1947. Many go for the cheap, strong drinks, early hours (they start serving beer at 10:00 a.m.), but most are really in search of this dive bar’s signature hangover cure: the shamelessly irresistible greasy burgers.

Cooked until crispy on the outside and made with 100% beef, this is as old school as it gets. The meaty taste of the burgers washed down with an ice-cold soda, or foamy glass of beer, is pure hedonism even if you do stare into the blank eyes of a large deer head mounted to the wall. Loyal customers overlook the dusty assortment of doodads, taxidermy, political memorabilia, and pop culture whatnots that cover every square inch of wall space; the burgers are just that good.

Tune Inn Capitol Hill | © Dave Newman / Flickr

Chesapeake blue crabs D.C.’s affection for Callinectes sapidus (which means “beautiful swimmer” in Latin), better known as the Chesapeake blue crab, is, of course, a Maryland specialty, but blue crab is a D.C. signature dish. For traditionalists, steamed crab coated in Old Bay Seasoning is the only way to go. They relish whacking away at the buggers with little wooden mallets to extract paltry sums of sweet, tender crab meat. June through September, traditionalists migrate to Captain White at the Maine Avenue waterfront in Southwest D.C. to buy crabs by the bushel.

However, if the “fun” of this messy ritual alludes you, consider soft shell crabs, a delicacy enjoyed from May to September, or Maryland crab cakes, which you can enjoy year-round. The former is usually in scarce supply, so order it when you see it on a menu, and crab cakes are easy to find on menus since picked, lump and bulk crab meat is readily available fresh, canned, or frozen. Look for crab cakes that don’t stray far from the traditional recipe made with large lump crab, a bit of onion, some crumbled saltines for a binder, and a touch of mayonnaise to keep the cake moist when it cooks, and naturally, a dash of Old Bay Seasoning.

Chesapeake blue crab | © bigbirdz / Flickr

Mumbo sauce Mention chicken wings and mumbo sauce (also spelled mambo and mombo) to most Washingtonians and they have no idea what you are talking about unless they grew up in one of the historically African-American areas of the city. Chicken and mumbo sauce are typically sold by tiny questionable-looking carry-out Chinese-American shops that sell everything from beef with broccoli to chicken wings, fried chicken, French fries, fried fish, and pizza.

Some people may call it barbecue sauce, but mumbo sauce is a thin almost neon bright reddish orange, sometimes reddish brown, sauce that’s most likely a hybrid made by combining ketchup with a dash of barbecue sauce and some sweet-and-sour sauce. It’s usually tangy and sweet but can also have some heat from added chili spice, and Washingtonians proudly proclaim it a hometown specialty.

Except that it’s not. It’s originally from Chicago where it was created on the South Side in the 1950s. There have been strong campaigns to prove the sauce is from Washington and legal battles over the use of the name, but in 2013, a trademark court’s decision finally resolved the conflict. The court ruled against the D.C. plaintiff, Arsha Jones, the owner of Capital City Mumbo Sauce who initially brought the suit. As Lehia Franklin Acox, a spokeswoman for Select Brands, which owns the Chicago-based sauce company said at the time, “D.C. has fiercely claimed mumbo sauce as cultural property, but it actually has a clear history and basis and origin in Chicago.” Yikes!

So what do you do if you want to order the stuff now? You head to Yum’s, place your order for wings or fried chicken, and order the mumbo sauce. It’s still part of the local culture no matter who owns the name.

BBQ chicken wings with mumbo sauce | © Alpha / Flickr

D.C.'s iconic half-smoke It doesn’t take much to start a debate in Washington – just bring up politics or ask who makes the best half-smoke or try to determine the origins of this D.C. archetype. In a city famous for copycat food, this is one signature dish that’s a D.C. original. Granted, it’s a fusion of sausage styles from more than one cuisine, and many of the versions sold here come from two producers in Baltimore (Briggs and Mangers), but boy, is it terrific when you get the right one.

Made with a combination of coarsely ground pork and beef with a touch of hot pepper, the secret to the half-smoke lies in the hog casings, which give the sausage a sharp snap when you bite into it, and the seasonings, which are, of course, secret. Sometimes smoked and sometimes not, some people eat their half-smoke grilled with just spicy mustard on a bun with onions, while others smother theirs in chili with cheese and yellow mustard, like the ones at DCity Smokehouse. If you want to cook the sausages at home, buy them at a great old butcher, Harvey’s at Union Market, or leave the cooking to the pros at Weenie Beenie take-out grill, probably the first guys to sell half-smokes in the area (they sold them starting in 1954), or DCity Smokehouse. Fans of the “Q” know they can trust these guys to handle their smoked meat whether it’s pulled pork or a half-smoke, and they never disappoint.

Half-smokes on the griddle | © T.Tseng / Flickr

Peruvian polla a la brasa We should thank Peru for their remarkable culinary contributions every day. If not for Peru, we would not have the potato and the mouthwatering pollo a la brasa, or rotisserie chicken that is one of the best meals you will find in D.C. It tastes like a million bucks and is just a few dollars more than the depressing chicken sold at fast-food joints.

This style of chicken got its start in Lima, Peru in the 1950s, and its full name is pollo a la brasa al carbon, an important distinction because al carbon means cooked over coal and fire. This method gives the chicken dark, rich, smoky flavors that can only come from the secret spice blend that’s rubbed over the whole bird before it slowly cooks in a coal and fire rotisserie oven.

No one will divulge what spices they use, but an educated guess is that cumin, garlic, and Spanish paprika are on the list, and the elusive and unidentifiable flavor that makes this chicken so hard to resist most likely comes from a paste made with huacatay, also called Peruvian black mint. This herb is a staple in Andean and Peruvian cooking, and it grows throughout the Andes Mountains region in South America. So where do you go to get this delicious, moist bird? There are a few places that do a good job, but one of the oldest (they opened in 1989) and best locations in the DMV is Crisp & Juicy.

It’s hard to go anyplace else once you taste their flavorful, juicy chicken with the crispy skin and the unique pink hot sauce that’s like crack for foodies. Since it opened, the food quality has never wavered; they do only a few things but do them well, consistently. Just be sure to buy lots of hot sauce and mix it in with the black beans and rice and dip the yucca in it.

Crisp and juicy Peruvian chicken | © Kevin Tao / Flickr

Chesapeake oysters Other than the Maryland blue crab, no other native food defines the Chesapeake region like Crassostrea virginica, the native eastern oyster found in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the country. When the first Europeans arrived in the 1600s, the bay supported billions of oysters, and the oyster reefs were so plentiful that they broke the surface of the water and defined tributary river channels for the Choptank, James, and other rivers in Maryland and Virginia.

For centuries, the oysters were large, plump, sweet, and a vital source of protein and commerce. Unfortunately, over-harvesting, pollution, and other threats have destroyed the once pristine natural reefs and killed the oysters. Now there are essentially no wild oysters left to harvest, and the best Chesapeake oysters come from aquaculture operations in Virginia, with Maryland coming in a distant second place regarding production.

Like wine, the flavor of each oyster reflects its terroir and tastes different from one appellation or location to the next. These appellations include Bogues Bay, James River, Chincoteague, Olde Salt, Paramour, Rappahannock River, York River, and Stingray, and the best raw bars to find them are Rappahannock Oyster Bar, Eat the Rich, and Pearl Dive Oyster Palace.

Korean fried chicken Unlike Kansas City, Nashville, or Memphis, Washington doesn’t have a history with fried chicken, but they know a good thing when they taste it, and the city has enthusiastically embraced K.F.C. (Korean fried chicken).

Unlike Southern fried chicken, K.F.C.’s batter is lighter and has a finely textured, crunchy, paper-thin crust that explodes with chicken essence from the first bite. Bul Korean restaurant in Adams Morgan is unequivocally the apex of Korean food in D.C. When you go, go with friends and share the K.F.C. three ways: plain so that you can taste K.F.C. in its purest form, in tangy, spicy hot chili sauce, and in the soy, garlic, and ginger sauce – it’s umami at critical mass.

Salvadoran Pupusas If the James Beard Foundation gave an award for best pupusas – and Salvadoran food – La Casita Pupuseria & Market would win. Not just because the food is flavorful butbecause it’s always delicious and prepared by people who are passionate about givingdiners a window into Salvadoran cuisine and culture. The chefs and owners have raisedthe bar on pupusas in the DMV.

For those unfamiliar with Salvadoran food, pupusas are tortilla-like pancakes, usually about 1/4-inch thick, made with masa harina, or corn flour, and filled with a variety of fillings, most often Salvadoran quesillo cheese, chicharron, crispy pork skin rinds or cracklings, and refried beans. They are traditionally served with a side of curtido cabbage slaw made with grated carrots, onions, a bit of hot pepper sauce, Mexican oregano, and apple cider vinegar. It’s the perfect acidic yin to pupusa’s creamy, slightly sweet yang.

When the pupusa is made correctly, it is a smooth, lump-free, corn-imbued pancake that almost melts in your mouth. Not too thin or too thick, it should never be heavy, and the filling should be evenly distributed so that the pancake-to-filling ratio is balanced. Once shaped into a disk, the pupusa goes on a griddle, and if there’s a quesillo filling, the cheese should melt evenly and ooze out just enough to tattoo the slightly crisp surface with tasty bits of browned cheese.

Las Casita makes 10 different kinds of pupusas, and every one is handmade and cooked to order. For your first foray, start with classics like revueltas made with ground pork chicharron and cheese, the vegetarian frijol y queso with refried beans and cheese, or loroco con queso, prepared using ground loroco flower buds and cheese. And tell them Culture Trip sent you.

Salvadoran pupusas | © René Mayorga / Flickr

The "G-Man" subs at Mangialardo's New York, Boston, Philly, and Chicago all have or had ethnic neighborhoods, and they all have a long tradition of Italian mom-and-pop places selling fantastic, inexpensive Italian-American favorites in pared-down no-frills eateries and carry-out shops; D.C., not so much. There are a few quasi-ethnic enclaves in the District, but no significant Italian neighborhoods ever existed, and the few old-school mom-and-pop pizza and sub shops that did are virtually all gone, except for Mangialardo’s on Capitol Hill.

This tiny sub shop is take-out only, is only open from 8AM–3PM, always has long lines, and serves one thing: subs, your choice of hot or cold. For 60 years, Mangialardo’s has been selling subs to D.C.’s nearby workers, working class and blue collar crowds, and the people in the Hill East neighborhood. The menu hasn’t changed since it started and third-generation owner Tony Mangialardo says, “We don’t change anything, you know. I make the subs the same way my dad started doing it. … I take care of the customers.”

The menu and ordering process is simple. First, you get a number, order a sub on either a hard or soft roll, choose from the 16 hot or cold subs on the menu, select toppings like oil and vinegar, hot or sweet peppers, lettuce, etc., pay, and then wait for your sandwich. While the menu includes classics like meatball, Italian, and pastrami subs, go for the D.C. signature classic called the “G-Man.” It’s made with ham, salami, mortadella, pepperoni, fontina cheese, provolone cheese, and oregano and sells for $8.50, which in D.C., is a steal.

U.S. Senate Bean Soup Is it rude to say that maybe all that hot air coming out of the U.S. Senate is due to loquacious politicians’ intake of the famous Senate Bean Soup? Served in the Senate dining room every day since around 1903, this ubiquitous dish, like other iconic foods, has an origin myth that’s indisputable. According to the myths, two senators, Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho and Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, are credited with either requesting the soup or providing the recipe, but their recipes differ slightly. The base recipe includes navy beans, water, smoked ham hocks, and onions, but Dubois’s version includes mashed potatoes. While this is a satisfying, hearty soup, the only thing that makes it remarkable is that people are still talking about it.