Archive for March, 2010

This is a cheesecake that I have been making for over 20 years if you follow the recipe to the T you won’t have any problem, it is also colorful as well as the most wonderful piece of pastry that you ever put in your mouth.

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter or margarine melted
2 pounds cream cheese
1cup sugar
8 ounces sour cream
2 eggs
1cup flour
cup heavy whipping cream
2 cup in total chopped candied cherries red and green raisins, walnuts, candied pineapple
cup small chocolate chips

In a 5 quart mixing bowl place 2 pounds of cream cheese and 1 cup granulated sugar and mix on low speed until cream cheese is softened and smooth, place in bowl 8 ounces sour cream and continue mixing until well blended, at this time add 2 eggs, mix for 2 minutes then add 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, mix on second speed until your cheesecake batter is smooth and creamy. At this time your cheesecake mixture should be fluffy like ice cream as it comes out of the ice cream machine.
Add the candied fruit, raisins, walnuts, pine apple, chocolate chips, fold everything together.

Prepare your 10 inch x 2 inches spring form pan, in a large bowl place your graham cracker crumbs and 2 tablespoons sugar, and your melted butter or margarine, then with a wire whisk, whisk them together until well combined, brush onto the sides of your spring form pan a little softened butter so the crumbs have something to hold to, place the crumbs on the sides and bottom of the pan.
Now you add slowly to the pan your cheesecake mix as not to disturb the crumbs too much, now you should have a full pan.
The total weight of the cheesecake with the crumbs on the sides should be 5 to 5-1/4 pounds if you have some batter leftover just chill it, put some whip cream on it and enjoy.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees and not more, when your oven is hot place the cheesecake in it and bake for 55 minutes then shut off the oven and let it in there for 3 hours, at the end of this time you should have the most beautiful cheesecake you ever seen, let the cheesecake on the table for 1 1/2 hours then place it in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours. Now remove it from the pan and enjoy.
Before serving sprinkle some red and green edible glitter that you can purchase at any store that has decorating supplies.

La mayora de los jugadores casino siguen una cultura de las apuestas que es muy personal. Estas consisten en ciertas creencias, supersticiones, objetos, vestimentas y hbitos que deben o no deben hacer a la hora de jugar. Es importante tener un procedimiento en el casino para poder apostar con ms seguridad. Prximamente te presento una serie de hbitos y creencias respetadas por muchos jugadores profesionales. Son solo lo que algunos dicen que es cierto, no necesariamente lo son.

La primera es entrar y salir por la misma puerta del casino, lo cual es creble que traiga buena suerte. Sin embargo, algunos creen que trae mala suerte hacerlo.

Otra de las creencias es a la hora de jugar a los Dados, es importante soplarlos antes de tirarlos en la mesa del juego. Dicen que puede traer buenos resultados.
En el pquer, dicen que jugar una carta que se cay al piso durante el juego no es conveniente, y puede traer mala suerte. Usar vestimenta negra puede traer mala suerte en el casino.

Los objetos de la suerte tambin son parte de la cultura de los casinos. Estos sirven para acompaar a los jugadores en los juegos trayendo buena suerte. La pata de conejo, muecos de peluche, una foto de un familiar querido, una piedra, o trbol de cuatro hojas son algunos de los clsicos objetos de la suerte.

Las piedras de la suerte estn clasificadas por meses. La de Enero es Granate, Febrero Amatista, Marzo Aguamarina, Abril Diamantes, Mayo Esmeralda Junio Perla, Julio Rub, Agosto Olivino, Septiembre Zafiro, Octubre palo, Noviembre Topacio, y Diciembre Turquesa.

Jugar con dinero de otros jugadores dicen que trae buena suerte. Sin embargo, otros creen que apostar con su propio dinero es ms conveniente.

En el casino, las supersticiones de donde jugar, donde sentarse, son muy importantes. Por ejemplo, elegir la mesa en donde apostaras tu dinero generalmente es la misma. Los jugadores tienen su mesa habitual que les ha trado muy buena suerte en el pasado. El asiento tambin es de respectiva importancia. Sentarse cerca de alguien quien creas que te traer suerte es muy comn, tanto como sentarse cerca de alguien quien no confas no es recomendable.

La vestimenta es parte de las costumbres de los jugadores. En general dicen que vestir de negro no es conveniente, sin embargo la mayora de los jugadores lucen traje negro.

Muchos, tienen sus nmeros de la suerte escogidos. El 7 es considerado uno de los ms comunes, mientras que el 13 no trae buena suerte. Tampoco se acostumbra dejar dinero arriba de la mesa de juego, porque quiere decir que el jugador gano demasiado y suficiente.

Sin duda, todas estas costumbres son muy subjetivas y depende en lo que uno cree o no cree. Pero si lo crees, es mejor que lo hagas!

Are you wondering how to choose the best beef for your cooking needs? However you choose to cook the beef you select, the same criteria apply to choosing beef. Select meat that is bright red with veins of fat, or marbling, through it. The red color indicates that the beef is freshly cut. The fat running through the meat provides juiciness and flavor. As the beef cooks the fat will run off the meat, separating itself so you are not eating large amounts of fat which is not healthy for you. Fat around the edges of the beef should be white to ivory and firm to the touch. Before cooking your steaks, check for large pieces of fat and trim it away. The fat adds flavor and protects the meat from becoming dry during cooking too much fat remaining in a pan after cooking can affect the sauce or gravy. A good rule of thumb is to trim the fat to about 1/8 inch thick.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grades beef for meat packers. Marbling is the chief criteria for how beef is graded and priced in U. S. The more marbling throughout beef, the more tender, flavorful, and costly the beef will be. The highest quality, prime beef is rarely found in grocery stores. Most of the prime cuts go to the high classed restaurants. Choice meat which is well marbled and tender can be found at the quality markets and butchers.

Select meat, with contains little or no marbling, is the most commonly stocked grade of beef. For the best taste and tenderness, buy USDA choice beef over select meat. Officially graded beef will carry the USDA designation; otherwise the grade has been determined by the grocery store you are purchasing the meat from.

Grass fed beef is becoming more desirable and available in some markets. As the public becomes more informed about the additives being fed to the beef they are purchasing, the more popular grass fed beef is becoming. Grass fed beef is a bit lower in marbling and fat then corn fed beef. However, grass fed steaks can be quite tender and have a wonderful beef flavor.

For more info on beef and a large selection of beef and steak recipes visit www.steak-n-beef.com.

You invest a lot of time and money into the steaks for a special occasion and when dinner time comes, they are tough. What happened? How can you cook steaks as tender as your favorite restaurant?

The first step to cooking a good steak is to choose the right grade of steak. The top quality beef is graded USDA Prime and commands top prices. USDA Prime grade meats are sold to the restaurant industry and specialty markets and are not as likely to be found at your local grocery chain. The next grade of beef is USDA Choice. USDA Choice is tender, flavorful and only slightly lower in quality than USDA Prime. The meat is well marbled with fat and will be tender and juicy when properly prepared. USDA Choice makes up about 70% of all graded beef and is readily available in your supermarket. USDA Good graded beef is an acceptable grade of beef that has only minimal marbling of fat. It is leaner, but may not be as tender as USDA Prime or Choice.

Next, look at the color and texture of the meat. A good steak should be firm to the touch, moist, and bright in color. It should be well marbled with thin streaks of white fat throughout and a thin crust of steak on the outside. In our fat conscious society, we tend to look for lean cuts of meat, but the thin streaks of white fat marbled throughout the meat are the key to a tender juicy steak.

The most tender and juicy steaks come from the sirloin, the short loin, and the rib. These steaks include the sirloin steaks, porterhouse steaks, t-bone steaks, rib steaks, delmonico steaks, and the filet mignons. Steaks containing bone will weigh more than those without, but the bone adds flavor to the steak.

Aging is a desirable process that intensifies the flavors and makes the meat more tender. Aged steaks are more expensive and usually only found in high end supermarkets and specialty markets. An aged steak is recognizable by its darker color.

Once you have purchased your steak, you can further increase the tenderness and juiciness by marinating it. Try a marinade made of cup each good wine and olive oil mixed 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice or herb vinegar. Add any seasonings that you like such as garlic, freshly ground pepper, onion, or herbs. Place the steak in a ziplock bag, pour in enough marinade to just cover it, and refrigerate overnight. Marinating a steak like this will add flavor and tenderness. If you routinely store steak in the freezer before cooking, try pouring the marinade over the steak before freezing. The steak will marinate when thawing and be ready to cook.

There are meat tenderizers available to sprinkle onto your steak, and they certainly do tenderize the meat; however, meat tenderizers can sometimes over tenderize the meat, changing the texture of the meat into mush. If you should choose to go this route, do it carefully.

When ready to cook, slash through the outside fat layer on the steak in a few places to prevent curling, but do not cut into the meat. The more tender steak cuts can be broiled, grilled, or pan fried. Less tender cuts should be pan fried or slow braised. Steak should never be cooked in liquid. When pan broiling, use a very heavy skillet such as an iron skillet or griddle and heat the pan before adding the meat. The heavy metal will hold the heat for proper heat distribution and not cool down when the steak is added. A hot pan will quickly sear the outside, trapping the moisture inside.

When cooking, try to turn the steak only once. Cook the meat until browned on one side and half done, then turn and finish the other side. Turning too often will stew the meat rather than searing it and produce a less juicy steak. When the steak is done, remove from the pan and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

While the meat rests you can make a sauce with the pan drippings if desired. Use your favorite sauce, or fry mushrooms and onions in the pan. When nearly done, add a tablespoon each of butter and flour and cook until lightly browned. Add a splash of wine and loosen any bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Allow to cook until thick, taste and adjust seasonings, and serve over the steak. Enjoy!

Desde la poca de oro del Oeste, jugar al Pquer ha siempre sido un juego popular en Hollywood. A pesar de que muchas de las pelculas de Hollywood que se localizan en pquer no son muy buenas, y a veces presentan al juego de una manera ridcula, mirar el juego desde la gran pantalla es muy divertido, especialmente si eres un jugador de Pquer.

Ac te presentamos las mejores pelculas que fueron producidas en Hollywood. Algunas son excelentes aparte de ser sobre el pquer, mientras que otras el juego es el tema principal de atraccin. De todas maneras, si eres fantico del pquer, disfrutaras mucho de mirarlas!

1) The Sting, dirigido por George Roy Hill, 1973:
Esta pelcula es menos a cerca del pquer y ms a cerca el arte de manejar las car6tas pero te proveer dos horas de diversin sofisticada. El ganador de los Premios Academia de 1973, presenta al joven Paul Newman como el mejor artista de todos quien conduce a Robert Redford al arte de los trucos de carta. El trabajo de David S. Warn es basado en historias de juegos reales.

2) The Cincinnati Kid, dirigida por Norman Jewison en 1965:
Este clsico es conocido por su estremecedor mano final y la inolvidable frase: “Llega a lo que se trata, no? Hacer la movida equivocada en el lugar preciso.” The Cincinnati Kid es a cerca de la batalla entre Steve Macqueen que es un joven jugador de pquer conocido por “The Kid”, y el veterano apostador de pquer conocido por “The Man” actuado por Edward G. Robinson, durante la gran depresin en New Orleans.

Es una de las mejore pelculas de pquer que he visto en la gran pantalla.

1) California Split dirigida por Robert Altman en 1974:
Puede que esta no sea una de las mejores pelculas de Altmans, pero es una de las mejores representaciones de la vida de dos apostadores profesionales actuada por George Segal y Elliott Gould. La narrativa no es particularmente directa y el final no es exactamente feliz, pero si logra describir una experiencia autentica. Tambin, los fanticos de pquer trivial disfrutaran de aprender que el legendario jugador de Pquer Amarillo Slim acta un papel pequeo.

2) Rounders dirigida by John Dahl en 1998:
No es claro si el xito de la pelcula empujo al boom del Pquer en el siglo 21 o la popularidad del pquer hizo Rounders un xito total. De una manera u otra, Rounders es una de las mejores pelculas de pquer que ha habido en la pantalla. El tema de la pelcula se basa en una maratn en la que Mat Damon y Edward Norton tratan de ganar dinero para pagar deudas de apuestas. EL campen mundial de Pquer Johnny Chan tambin aparece en escena.

3) Maverick dirigida por Richard Donner en 1994:
A pesar de que Maverick no es una pelcula brillante en el mbito del pquer, es una divertida y entretenida pelcula par mirar. Te puede dar una idea bsica de lo que era ser un jugador de pquer en el lejano oeste, con Mel Gibson como un maverick que trata de ganar suficiente dinero para el torneo del gran torneo final.