Mother Nature was trying her best to drown all of us in a monsoon-like downpour. She seemed determined to ruin our annual Chicken Night cookout. I was a member of our church’s Royal Ambassadors, a kind of boys’ club. Every year we had a cookout at the state park just outside of town.

Our outdoor cookout appeared to be doomed by the rain. We dashed inside to what could arguably be called a pavilion with a tin roof.  The rain on the metal top of the shelter was deafening.  It sounded like applause from 20,000 crazed Barry Manilow fans! No one could keep a fire going outside. We would have to adapt to the situation!

A giant stone fireplace commanded attention from one end of our pole barn shelter. Dry wood was stacked neatly to the side. There were no metal grates in the firebox on which to lay the chickens. The ones on the outdoor stone grills were encased in cement and couldn’t be moved.  Starting a fire in the rain was out of the question.

Our counselor, Mr. Smith had an idea. To us kids it seemed ridiculous but he seemed to know what he was doing. Instead of cutting up the chickens so we could cook them on the grill, he decided to leave them whole. He then ordered us to go out and find hickory leaves. He pointed out several of the large hardwood trees for those of us who didn’t know one tree from another.

While Mr. Smith and the other male counselor were starting a fire in the fireplace at the end of the shelter, we boys were scurrying through the rain trying to find hickory leaves. When each of us had both hands full we dashed back into the pavilion, soaking wet.

When the fire was roaring and we were drying off, Mr. Smith pulled out a small notebook that held his very own barbeque sauce recipe. Out of mayonnaise, catsup, mustard, salt and pepper, he was going to make the most wonderful tasting sauce I had ever put in my mouth.

This was before the grocery store shelves were filled with dozens of prepared sauces. Back then if you wanted something with which to baste the chicken, you had to make it yourself.

Next, he lathered up each of the six whole chickens with the mixture and wrapped them in the hickory leaves. But, the birds needed one additional condiment; mud. He grabbed the bucket that had housed our chickens and walked outside into the rain.

Scooping up mud from outside the pavilion, Mr. Smith filled the bucket and hurried back to the pole building. Now my part of the process was about to begin. After each of us registered our disgust at the mud, we got down to the business of applying it to each chicken.

Each of us boys had a hand in coating the leaf covered chickens in several layers of gooey, sticky black mud. Next, he scooped out hollows beneath the burning logs and carefully placed each bird in the fiery embers.

I don’t recall how long they stayed in the fire, but I do remember the aroma of baked chicken drifting on the clouds of wood smoke coming out of the chimney of the fireplace. It seemed like an eternity before Mr. Smith raked the six chickens out of the coals.

When he cracked open the hardened mud shell, steam erupted from between the hickory leaves and the bird just fell apart. Until this day, I have never eaten chicken any better than on that rainy night in North Alabama.

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But, if you’re not lucky enough to have a hand-me-down from Grandma, you may find yourself confused about how to become a cast iron chef. Have no fear – you can learn to season cast iron cookware with the pros and keep them in great shape for years to come.

Seasoning New Cast Iron Cookware

The process is actually quite simple. When done correctly, your pans will last a long time and may even become your own hand-me -downs in the future.

1. Heat your oven to 300 degrees.

2. Coat the pan with lard or grease. (Be sure that you do not use vegetable oil or commercial cooking sprays. While they may seem easier, they will not only cause your cookware to be seasoned incorrectly, but they will also leave a sticky film on the outside of the cookware that is impossible to remove.)

3. Place the pan in the oven on the middle rack and allow it to bake for 15 minutes.

4. Remove the pan and pour out any excess grease or lard.

5. Put the pan back into the oven and bake for another two hours.

6. Repeat as needed

Many cast iron enthusiasts will swear upon repeating the seasoning process several times before ever using the cookware the first time. Each time you season the cookware, the seasoning bond becomes stronger. Many people will recommend that the first few times the cookware is used it should be used to cook greasy foods (bacon, fatty meats, etc.) to again strengthen the seasoning bond.

Re-seasoning Cookware

If you find that you seasoned the pan improperly the first time, or if food starts to stick to the pan after a period of time in use, you may want to re-season the cookware.

1. Wash the cookware thoroughly with a steel wool pad (doing this while the pan is warm and still safe to touch is best).

2. Make sure the pan is fully dry (use a towel if needed).

3. Follow the seasoning steps above to re-season the pan.

Cleaning Your Cast Iron Cookware

To make your cookware last the test of time, be sure to take proper care of it. Remember the creed of every enthusiast of cast iron – no soap and no steel wool. Soap and steel wool will cause a breakdown in the seasoning bond and should not be used to clean your cookware on a regular basis. If you’re baffled at this moment, have no fear. Cleaning cast iron cookware is a breeze.

1. You’ll need to rinse your cookware while it is still hot. If food is stuck to it, then scrape the pan or pot as needed.

That’s it! Remember not to store food in your cast iron cookware because it may attach a metallic flavor to the food. In addition, store your pans with the lids off to prevent moisture from accumulating and rusting from occurring.

Now that you know the ins and outs to cast iron cookware, you can start creating your own family heirloom – as well as some great food!

Just think about how much money you can save if you cook your own food and hold dinner parties at home instead of going to the restaurant during the holidays. No, you do not have to go to a culinary cuisine school to learn a few easy French cooking tricks. You can easily pick up a few easy French cooking lessons online. What is interesting about these easy French cooking lessons offered online is that you do not have to leave home just to attend classes.

Instead of taking your car from the garage and drive to school, you can just drag your laptop to the kitchen and learn some easy French cooking tricks right there in your own kitchen. Since you are working in the comforts of your home, you can wear anything you like and do whatever you want on the side while you are waiting for your food to cook.

Learning to Cook French Foods

Before you start working on some easy French cooking recipes, you need to buy some tools to work with. Although your existing kitchen tools and utensils are very useful, it is still better to get the appropriate French cooking tools if you want to cook some mouth watering French food. No, there is no need for you to invest in those expensive state of the art cooking tools.

There is no point of wasting so much money on those expensive tools when you can get some tools of almost the same quality for cheaper prices. Once you have the right cooking tools, you may not start with your easy French cooking lessons. To make things easier for you, you might want to start with making sauces.

Remember that the secret of great French cooking is in the sauce. Once you have mastered the art of making great French cause, you may now move on to more complicated food preparations. It will probably take more than one attempt on your part before you can get perfect French food but if you keep at it, you will eventually learn the art of French cooking.

The food wins first place in human life. After all the food is one of bases in a life of people as an energy source for organism ability to live. Before the use in food food products usually prepare. Practise and сыроедение, that is the use of food without any preliminary culinary processing.
The great Russian scientist And. P.Pavlov in the works specified that the human body to be in close interrelation with an environment, continuously influencing the central nervous system.
One of the major factors of an environment is the food which passes in the internal environment of an organism and participates in all vital processes. The food influences a condition of the central and peripheral nervous system, and through it and on all organism.
For correct catering services it is necessary to define value for the person of separate food substances and distinctly to imagine requirement for them. cooking lessons cooking lessons  
As it is known, fibers make a life basis as each live cage, each fabric of an organism consists mainly of fiber. Therefore continuous receipt of fiber is absolutely necessary for an organism. To the fibers possessing high food value, fibers of meat, fish, milk, eggs, and also fibers of some vegetables (a potato, cabbage) concern. On аминокислотному to structure to more valuable from groats it is necessary to carry fibers of oat groats, rice, buckwheat groats; millet, semolina, pearl barley the fibers, different smaller nutritiousness contain. So, food value of last groats can be increased at the expense of meat, milk, and also various vegetables.
Fats and carbohydrates are the main energy sources and define, basically, caloric content of food. Besides, carbohydrates and fats carry out protective functions concerning fiber as at their sufficient maintenance in an organism less squirrel collapses. In a human body fats can be postponed not only at their surplus in a food but also when the food includes superfluous quantity of carbohydrates.

Nancy Aiello Tours offers limitless opportunities to enjoy the life of real Florence and tour Tuscany like a local. Nancy Aiello’s guests will venture inside Florence as only locals know it, tour local food markets, cook in a private Florentine home, and enjoy Florence as the Florentine do.
Tuscany is rightly considered Italy’s premier food and wine region famous worldwide for its Chianti region and famed Chianti red wine. Tuscany boasts not only the most prestigious red wines, but is also home to the finest sweet wines and excellent dry white wines. The variety of wines produced in Tuscany is staggering and we have designed the most comprehensive and tasty Florence and Tuscany culinary tours to inspire the taste of our most demanding guests.

Since 1997 Nancy AielloTours advises independent travelers visiting Italy with the finest private tours of Florence and Tuscany combined with VIP Italy travel services and private transportation to experience and enjoy the made in Italy life and style.

Nancy Aiello Tours’ team of travel consultant and licensed Italy tour guides draw on extensive local knowledge to provide detailed & customized tours of Florence to enjoy Italy art galleries and Florence museums, Tuscan healthy home cooking lessons and well-being. These Italy VIP travel services include Florence airports and Livorno ports of call welcome, recommendation of Florence hotels and luxury accommodation in Tuscany, Florence private transfers and logistics arrangements, private Florence cooking lessons and Florence markets tours.

To learn more about Nancy Aiello’s Private guided tour of Florence or to plan a Tuscany holiday and memorable trip to Italy please contact info@nancyaiellotours.com

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