=================================== Nabeel's Newsletter - January 2004 =================================== We're pleased to provide this monthly Newsletter so that so many of our valued customers can be informed of the latest trends and tastes of Mediterranean diet. Here you'll also find interesting facts about Greece, history, recipes, health issues, and learn more about the Mediterranean Diet, etc. We sincerely hope you enjoy it! If you have a suggestion, an idea or a request, you can ask me, John Krontiras, by simply clicking here. Periodically we will have a drawing from the email addresses in our system and we will offer various gifts, i.e. free dinner, items from Nabeel's® Market, and from our new Café Capri. ------------------------- Monthly Newsletter Winner ------------------------- The winner of the December 2003 drawing is Lperkins@brescoinc.com. The winner will receive a Nabeel's Gift Certificate. Congratulations to Lperkins@brescoinc.com! Note: In most cases we have not kept the actual name/address of an individual to mail the winning Gift Certificate and as a result we mail the winner, the Certificate to their e-mail address. When you receive the e-mail, it will have a subject: Nabeel's Gift Certificate You need to open the file and save it in Microsoft Word under "My Documents". Print the document, tear the Gift Certificate out, and bring to Nabeel's to redeem it. If you live outside of the Birmingham area, please forward this e-mail (gift certificate) to nabeels@nabeels.com and a gift will be mailed to you. ------------------------------------ Send us your comments or suggestions. ------------------------------------ Your comments or requests may be beneficial to other recipients, and we will selectively publish some of your requests, suggestions or comments with an answer. Your question can be about food, recipes, ingredients, Greece, etc. Email >> John@nabeels.com ---------------------- What Our Customers Say ---------------------- "…thank you so much for making Anna's shower so special. I have never been to that part of Nabeel's but you better believe I'll be back and I will certainly tell all of my friends about what a great place it is to have a party. The food and service was perfect. Maria was so professional. Thanks again. " Julie Tapscott "Thank you so much for the wonderful dinner! All of our guests had a fabulous time. The food was great! Thanks again." Vicki Valosik "The dinner was a truly memorable evening of dining and socializing. The food, service and efficiency were better than one would expect from even Birmingham's finest restaurants. Your staff treated everyone (49 of us in all) at the Wedding Rehearsal dinner like we were members of their family." Judy and Mike Phelan --------------- Important Facts --------------- Feta Cheese AS OF OCTOBER 14, 2002, FETA IS OFFICIALLY A GREEK-ONLY CHEESE! At Nabeel's Market we offer Greek Feta DODONIS… THE BEST FETA IN THE WORLD. Also, we have French Feta and Bulgarian Feta. French is softer and less salty. Bulgarian is similar but saltier than both the Greek and the French. In conclusion, after 2-3 years you will be not be able to buy cheese that is called Feta unless it is produced in Greece's specific geographical locations. So, the next time you shop for Feta ask for the Authentic Feta! Authentic means GREEK Feta produced in Greece! Just the word Feta does not guarantee that you are getting the real thing. ------------- Did You Know? ------------- Canned Tomatoes can be made better tasting by slicing them once or twice and soaking them overnight in orange juice Nutmeg nutmeg and mace come from the same tropical evergreen. The seed is known as nutmeg, while the bright red lace coating surrounding the seed is known as mace. Mace is more expensive than nutmeg and with a similar, but more refined taste. Mortadella the mild creamy sausage from Bologna, Italy, is what American bologna is patterned after. Mortadella may range in size from 1 lb to the 1989 Guinness Book of World Records champion of 2,864 lb and 19 feet long. Pesto When making pesto, leave out some of the olive oil. Then add the pesto to a little brown butter before tossing with the pasta. The brown butter adds a nutty taste to the sauce. Bananas To prevent sliced bananas from turning brown, dip them in a little white wine before arranging them on tarts or using them in fruit salad. The acid in the wine prevents the fruit from oxidizing, but does not affect the taste. Pizza Margheritta first created in 1889, was named for Queen Margheritta of Savoia, for whom the pizza was made. It is a thin crust pizza with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese. Pate The essential difference between a pate and a terrine is the crust. Buffalo Wings were created by Teresa Bellissimo of the Anchor bar in Buffalo, NY in 1964. Out of necessity, Teresa tossed chicken wings in butter and hot sauce, deep fried them and became widely popular. Alcohol is derived for the Arabic "al kohl", meaning "the essence" ------------- Food Thoughts ------------- YOU EAT IT, YES, BUT DO YOU KNOW FROM WHENCE PASTA CAME? Pasta goes as far back as the 4th century B.C., where an Etruscan tomb showed hieroglyphics of a group of natives making what appears to be pasta. The Chinese were making a noodle-like food as early as 3000 B.C. BUT WAIT! Greek mythology suggests that the Greek god Vulcan invented a device that made strings of dough (the first spaghetti). Those Greeks again!!! Is there something they didn't invent, or think of? Although there is much debate about the origin of pasta, one popular story has Marco Polo introducing the new noodle to Italy following his explorations of the Far East in the late 13th century. This story is entirely false, Pasta was being made by Greeks and Etruscans around 500BC. So important to the Italians that a museum has been dedicated entirely to pasta - the Museo Storico degli Spaghetti (Historical Spaghetti Museum). In early Naples, pasta was reserved for special occasions. It was prepared as a cake and dressed with honey and cinnamon. In 1546 things changed when the Neapolitan Corporation of Spaghetti Makers and the Neapolitan Corporation of the Macaroni showed up. Naples industrialized pasta making and soon became the world's pasta leader. It was Thomas Jefferson who is credited with bringing the first "macaroni" machine to America in 1789 when he returned home after serving as ambassador to France. The first industrial pasta factory in the United States was built in Brooklyn in 1848 by a Frenchmen who dried his spaghetti in strands on the roof. What does pasta means? The term pasta means paste. The making of noodles is not too difficult a task even for primitive people, since they discovered the method of preserving their cereal grains. Because pasta noodles are essentially neutral in taste, they are perfect conduits for carrying a myriad of flavors to one's mouth. The important thing to remember is that pasta is an excellent food source. It does not initiate a glycemic response in diabetics because it is digested so slowly. It is a nearly perfect source of carbohydrates. ITALIAN CUISINE - how did it get evolved? Italian cuisine is not difficult to master. It has remained basically homecooking, la cucina casalinga. But, its diversity is inexhaustible! Italians prepare foods they way they practice living, with great zest and enjoyment. Good food means good times. The excellence of Italian dishes depends on the excellence of the things that go into them. The old saying that good cooking begins in the market is truer in Italy and Greece than in France. Italian sauces are used to enhance the taste of individual ingredients - not to camouflage them. In spite of the 1870 unification of the country, an intensive local patriotism is part of the Italian character. Traditionally, Italy has been divided into the affluent North and the historically poor South. Each region has its own specialties. Wave after wave of invading peoples over a period of three thousand years has had a profound influence on Italy's culinary history. In particular, the Etruscans, the Greeks and the Saracens each left behind a trademark. The Etruscans left a mush known today as polenta. The Greek trademark was fish chowder, which they also bequeathed to Marseilles where it is called bouillabaisse. The Saracens left their mark in their fine flaky pastry as sfogliatelle and rice. Italian cuisine was the first developed cuisine in Europe, but it traces its ancestry back to the gourmets of ancient Greece. Most experts agree that Italian cooking became the mother cuisine of other countries in 1533 when Catherine de'Medici went to France to marry King Henri II. She brought teams of expert cooks to France who delivered France the secrets of the most sophisticated cuisine yet developed at that time. There are thought to be at least 200 different shapes of pasta with over 600 different names. The following is some of the most frequently used types of unfilled pasta: Anelli, Anellini, Anelleti small rings used for soup Brichetti "small bricks" Bucatini long, medium-thick tubes Cavatappi short, thick corkscrew shapes Ditali, Ditalini "little thimbles" Linguine long, flat ribbons Gramigna "grass" looks like sprouting seeds Cornetti ridged shells Orzi, tiny, rice-like grains Pearline tiny discs Rigatoni thick, ridged tubes Semini seed shapes Strozzapreti "priest strangler" Vermicelli slender strands usually twisted Cravatte, Cravattini bows Dischi Volante "flying saucers" Farfalle bows Fettuccine narrow ribbon pasta Fusilli spindles or short spirals Gemelli "twins" two pieces wrapped together Corallini small rings Orecchiette ear shaped Pappardelle widest ribbons Penne thick tubes with diagonally cut ends Rotelle wheels Spirale two rods twisted into spirals Tagliatelle broad, flat ribbons Ziti Tagliati short, thick tubes ------------------- Recipe of the Month! ------------------- Sea Bass Ingredients: 3 lb sea bass gutted 6 sprigs fresh rosemary 1 lemon thinly sliced 5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil garlic sauce: 2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt 6 tbsp of capers* 2 tbsp Greek oregano* 6 garlic cloves crashed 3 fresh bay leaves 6 tbsp lemon juice 5 tbsp water 4 tbsp *TSITALIA® extra virgin olive oil Pepper to taste [ * these items are available at Nabeel's® International Market ] Over 1,500 Ethnic and gourmet items from the far corners of the world are available at Nabeel's Market, enabling you to make the most tantalizing recipes. So, visit Nabeel's Cafe & Market for a tour of the world! Soon selected items will be available on our web site for ordering! Preparation Using a sharp knife, cut 4-5 diagonal slashes on each side of the fish. Place a sprig or two of rosemary in the cavity of each fish and half the lemon slices. Place fish in a foil-lined dish brushed with oil and brush the fish with the rest of the oil. Cook in a preheated oven at 375ºF 35-40 minutes until the thickest part of the fish is opaque. For the sauce, crush the salt and capers with the garlic in a mortar with a pestle and then gradually work in the water. If the mortar and pestle is not available put ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Bruise the bay leaves and remaining sprigs of rosemary and put in a bowl. Add the garlic mixture, lemon juice and oil and pound together; season to taste with pepper Transfer the fish to a warm serving dish, and (if preferred) remove the skin. Spoon the remaining sauce over fish and serve. Serves 4 ----------------- Coming Next Month ----------------- Don't miss next month's issue where we will cover: 1.CHEESES; Italy's Most Glorious and Luscious Cheeses 2. HOW to make a Basic Pasta Dough 3. Making Pasta Dough in a food processor 4. COLORING Basic Pasta Dough 5. A tantalizing Italian recipe. 6. Italian antipasti (appetizers) ... and more! ----------------- Gifts & Prizes ----------------- Congratulations! As a subscriber to the Nabeel's Newsletter, you're eligible for prizes and gifts. Each month we'll draw for one free dinner ($15 value) at our award winning Nabeel's Market & Café in Homewood, Alabama. Not located near enough to visit in person? No problem ... we'll send a surprise gift anyway! Invite your family and friends to visit us on the web today and sign up for their chance at monthly prizes too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No warranty is expressed or implied about the beneficial qualities of a Mediterranean diet.