cooking

For this Who Knew Wednesday, we celebrated BOTH National Burger Day and National Brisket Day! It’s a perfect time to fire up the grill, which is easily the best way to celebrate these May 28th Holidays! We also talked about the controversial origin of the hamburger, and whether Otto Krause or Louis Lassen were the first inventors of the beloved sandwich. Here are the two theories:

The first theory is that the name comes from Hamburg, Germany and is said to be named by Otto Krause in 1881. Supposedly, Otto was a cook who decided to fry Hamburg steak in butter, topped with an egg, and placed on a bun. The burger was then popularized in the United States after sailors brought over the idea, scrapping the egg. However, the most believed and widespread theory is that it was created by Louis Lassen, a Danish Immigrant to the United States back in 1900. One day while working at his restaurant, New Haven eatery, a businessman in a rush requested something that could be made fast, and eaten on the go. Louis then put some grilled ground steak between slices of toast, and thus the hamburger was created.

What do you think? Team Otto or Team Louis? Let us know!

National Brisket Day not only celebrates one cut of meat, but all of them! It’s all about getting creative as you cook them. The most popular recipe for brisket is Texas BBQ, but we encourage you to come up with your own unique recipe!

We also played “Who Am I?” Trivia! We gave five facts about a person born on this day in history. The facts included:
1. This person is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who is referred to as the “Empress of Soul”
2. This person gained fame as the lead vocalist of a soul and R&B group in the 1950s, which was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
3. This person starred in the sitcom Charlie & Co. in the mid-1980’s.
4. This person competed in the 14^th season of Dancing with the Stars at 68 years old, making it to the top eight.
5. Lastly, this person is behind “License to Kill”, the title theme song to the 1989 James Bond film of the same name.

The person we described is… Gladys Knight! Congratulations to Charla of Utica for guessing Gladys Knight and winning a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thanks so much for listening!
-Traven & Zoey

Today Todd and I revisited an old favorite topic – FOOD! Well, cooking, but the food is the best part of that anyways…

Here are todays facts:

Save on Heat: When meal planning, think about multiple dishes that you can cook simultaneously in the oven, such as a roast and a casserole. Better yet, turn a pot lid upside down while cooking, then place of veggies wrapped in foil on top. This will save time and money on your gas or electric bill!

Dental floss in your Kitchen: This is a must have for your kitchen toolkit is an unwaxed dental floss! Not only is it useful for trusting a turkey, but it’s also great for baking. Dental floss is perfect for cutting a cake without making too many crumbs, and if your freshly baked cookies are stuck to the baking tray, simply hold a length of dental floss taught and slip it underneath the cookie. It works better than a spatula!

Cuts Like a Knife: Say you finally saved up enough to buy a brand new knife set or better yet you’re compiling a gift registry. So which knifes should you get? The three basic knifes everyone should own are a chef’s knife, for chopping and slicing; a paring knife, for deseeding and other small jobs; a boning knife, for cutting meat and poultry. Additional Cutlery items you may want to have our a serrated knife for slicing bread, a fever, a fish filleting knife, and a pair of kitchen scissors!

Here are the pictures I promised:

Victorinox Fibrox 8 Inch Chef's Knife 40520, 47520 Kitchen ... — Chef’s knife

Chef Paring Knife,4 Inch Blade Spear Point Kitchen Tool ... — Paring knife

Victorinox Fibrox Flexible Straight Boning Knife, 6-inch ... — a boning knife

Deodorize the Disposal: A quick and easy way to deodorize your in sink garbage disposal is to grind an orange or lemon peel inside it every so often. It will get rid of the grease and germs and plus it smells wonderful.

Toothpaste Trick: You’ve been cooking with garlic, and now you can’t get that smell off of your hands! To get rid of this or any other kitchen odor, just rub some White toothpaste between your hands and wash off.

Remove Strong Food Smells from your Hands: by running them under cold running water while rubbing them with you must steel spoon. Rinse with soap and water.

Stop the Stink: Don’t throw away used coffee grounds – instead, keep them in a can near the sink. Rub a small amount over your hands after handling fish, or chopping garlic or onions to get rid of the odors on your hands.

Look for Lines: As you probably know, white streaks running through meet are fat. But even if your diet conscious, you should always choose well-marbled meat, which will be the most tender, since the animal didn’t exercise those muscles very much. That is a storage deposit for energy, and for me to be well-marbled, and the animal must be fed a diet high in Rich grains such as corn. The fat imparts flavor and provides moisture that helps tenderize the meat.

Green Ham and eggs: Have you ever purchased a ham that has a greenish, glistening Sheen? This effect occasionally occurs when he is sliced and the surface is exposed to the effects of oxidation. It isn’t a sign of spoilage but it is caused by the nitrate modification of the meats iron content, which tends to produce a biochemical change in the pigment.

Question of the Day!

Our book suggests keeping a Shaker filled with a ratio of 75% salt and 25% pepper next to your stove to make food preparation easy. But my question to you is would you add anything else into that Shaker? I would! What’s your go-to seasoning? Let us know below!

Want to go to WinterJam 2020? Click HERE to find out more!

Thanks for checking out our blog!

-Hannah and Todd

Driving Notes

The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

Tag

The Great Burger Controversy, Briskets & Who Am I Trivia

Who Knew Wednesday: Cooking Basics! Why would have have toothpaste and floss in my kitchen?

Cooking Day Mystery Monday!