DID YOU KNOW….
Here are a few fun facts related to Thanksgiving and some of the main ingredients that may be on your table this year. If you have your own “fun facts” please add them in the comments section below. Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Facts:

• The original cornucopia was made from a curved goat’s horn
• Thanksgiving was not declared a National Holiday by Congress until 1941
• The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe Native Americans in 1621 and lasted for 3 days.
• At the original Thanksgiving, there was no milk, cheese, bread, butter, mashed potatoes, corn or pumpkin pie.
• President Thomas Jefferson did not like the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day.
• The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Plymouth, Massachusetts—where the Plymouth Pilgrims were building on the land.
• The famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in the 1920’s.
• The presenting of the live turkey to the President has been a tradition since 1947. The President then pardons the turkey, allowing it to live out its remaining years on a farm.
• Thanksgiving is also celebrated in Canada- on the second Monday in October.
• According to the American Automobile Association, 38 million Americans traveled an estimated 50 miles or more from home during Thanksgiving weekend 2009.

Turkey Facts:

• Scientists have found fossils suggesting that Turkeys roamed North America 10 million years ago
• When Columbus discovered North America, he thought the turkey was a type of peacock, which roam India.
• 90% of American homes eat Turkey on Thanksgiving
• 50% eat Turkey on Christmas
• Abraham Lincoln chose the last Thursday in November for Thanksgiving
• More than 45 million turkeys are eaten on thanksgiving, over 675 million pounds (according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• The average Thanksgiving dinner has 4,575 calories
• It is rumored that the outfit Big Bird wears on Sesame Street is made of turkey feathers
• Wild turkeys can run up to 20 mph and fly for short distances up to 55 mph
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, one of his biggest arguments being that it is native to America.

Potato Facts:

• An American will eat approximately 140 pounds of potatoes each year
• In 1995 the Space Shuttle “Columbia” took a potato plant into space, making it the first food to grow in space.
• A potato is 80% water
• Yams and Sweet Potatoes are NOT in the same family, they are in separate botanical families.
• Sweet potatoes have been around since prehistoric time
• The potato is the 4th most important crop in the world- after wheat, rice and corn.
• The potato produces more food per acre than any other crop.
• Potatoes are grown in every state in the United States.
• Royals used to wear potato blossoms on their clothing as a fashion statement
• Potatoes, contrary to popular belief, were not part of the original Thanksgiving. They had not been introduced to North America at that time.

Stuffing Facts:

• About 50% of Americans stuff their birds with stuffing (or “dressing”)
• There are regional differences with stuffing- in the South cornbread stuffing is popular, and white bread is common is most other parts of the country. Although, there are many variations to ingredients added with the bread.
• Stuffing dates back to the Roman Empire, where the ancient cookbook “Apicius de re Coquinaria” had recipes that called for stuffed chicken, rabbit, pork and more.
• The brand Stove Top introduced their famous boxed stuffing in 1972.
• Stove Top now sells around 60 million boxes of their stuffing around Thanksgiving.
• There is no evidence to support that stuffing was served at the first Thanksgiving.

Green Bean Facts:

• An estimated 40 million green bean casseroles are served on Thanksgiving
• Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole recipe (using their cream of mushroom soup) was developed in 1955.
• There is only around 40 calories in one cup of green beans.
• The first to put green beans on their menu were the French.
• China is the largest producer of fresh green beans.
• Green beans are also called snap beans because of the sound they make when being broken.Green beans are also called string beans because many varieties used to have a long string that ran along the seam of the bean.

Cranberry Facts:

• An estimated 20% of cranberries eaten in the year are eaten on Thanksgiving
• Native Americans not only ate cranberries, they also used them for their fabrics, pottery and medicinal purposes.
• There was approximately 709 million pounds of cranberry produced in the United States in 2009.
• The top cranberry growing states are Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.
• The Pilgrims named the fruit “craneberry” because their drooping heads in the spring reminded them of a crane.
• A cranberry is most ripe when it is able to bounce.
• The Cape Cod Cranberry Company produced the first canned Cranberry sauce in the early 1900s.
• Only 5% of cranberries grown are sold fresh, the remaining percent are sold as cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, etc.
• A cup of fresh cranberries is about 50 calories whereas a cup of cranberry sauce is around 400.

Pumpkin Facts:

• The top pumpkin growing states are Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and New York.
• Those states together produced around 1 billion pounds of pumpkin in 2008.
• According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the largest Pumpkin Pie ever baked weighed in at over 2,000 pounds and measured over 12 feet long. The pie was baked in October 2005 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers from Ohio.
• Pumpkins are 90% water.
• Approximately 90% of the pumpkins processed in the United States in a year are grown in Illinois.
• Early colonial settlers used pumpkin for the crust of pies rather than the filling.
• Pumpkin is a fruit.
• Pumpkins grow on 6 of the 7 continents.
• The world’s fastest pumpkin carver is Steve Clarke of Havertown, Pennsylvania. In 2000 he carved a 27-pound pumpkin in 1 minute 14 seconds, beating the old record by 19 seconds.
• Pumpkins come in a variety of colors including: green, red, yellow, white, blue, tan and of course orange.

Culinary Schools in Arizona

Besides offering cooking techniques and recipes for home cooks on The Reluctant Gourmet, the site is also a resource for anyone thinking of starting a career in the restaurant industry, either in the front of the house in restaurant management or as a professional cook in the back of the house. One of my most popular blog posts with amazing comments is Too Old For Culinary School?

Spotlight on Arizona Culinary Schools

I thought it would be fun to every once-in-a-while look at the various culinary programs of a particular state and see what’s available as far as culinary schools and hospitality management programs. Today, I want to focus on Arizona.

You may be currently living in Arizona, plan to move there soon or just think it would be a great place to live and go to culinary school. You may also want to know what’s available for you in Arizona. I’m hoping this post will give you a little more insight about the state and show you what’s available.

Why You Might Want to go to School in Arizona

This beautiful and arid state located in the Southwestern United States is one of the four corner states: sharing borders with Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Mexico and touches Colorado. In addition to its famous deserts, extremely warm summers and mild winters, Arizona is also home to the Colorado Plateau, a region in the northern part of the state that boasts many lush forests.

The Colorado Plateau, located on the four corners (Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico) contains the most national parks in one area. One of the most famous, and one that calls Arizona home, is the Grand Canyon.

The largest city in Arizona, Phoenix, is also the capitol, and the most populous state capitol in the United States. The Phoenix metropolitan area is also home to the country’s largest public university - Arizona State University as well as the fast-growing University of Phoenix.  Phoenix is followed by Tucson in population size and is home to the University of Arizona and many other educational institutions.

The mean annual salary for all occupations in the state of Arizona is $40,910, with the mean annual salary for food preparation and serving occupations being $21,230, above the national average.*

Restaurant Industry in Arizona

As of 2008, there were approximately 8,917 eating and drinking places, employing 256,200 people in Arizona. Restaurant and foodservice jobs represent 11 percent of the state’s employment. The largest areas of employment in this field are located in the Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale areas. There is a projected 14.4% job growth expected by 2020 for the restaurant and foodservice industry.**

Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management Schools in Arizona

The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Phoenix & The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Tucson

-    This well known culinary school offers both Associate and Bachelor degrees in Culinary Arts as well as an Associate degree in Baking & Pastry with campuses in Phoenix or Tucson.

Scottsdale Culinary Institute- Le Cordon Bleu Program

-    This prestigious culinary school in sunny Scottsdale offers half a dozen programs in the culinary arts and hospitality management. These options include: Bachelor Degree in Culinary Management, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management, Associate Degree in Culinary Arts, Associate Degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management, Associate Degree in Patisserie & Baking or a Certificate in Patisserie & Baking.

Arizona Culinary Institute - Scottsdale -  A leader of culinary education since 2001, Arizona Culinary Institute offers a Diploma in Culinary Arts, Baking and Restaurant Management as well as operating a student-run restaurant named du Jour.

Central Arizona College-  This Coolidge institution offers programs in culinary arts, hotel & restaurant management and hospitality services management.

Northern Arizona University -  Located in Flagstaff, this University offers programs in Customer Services Management and Foods & Nutrition Studies.

Coconino County Community College -  This college located in Flagstaff offers a Hospitality Services Management program.

School of Hotel & Restaurant Management (part of Northern Arizona University) -  Located near the large forests of Flagstaff, this school offers a Hotel & Restaurant Management program as well as an International Hospitality Management program.

Phoenix College -  Located in the city it is named after, this college offers a Hospitality & Recreation Marketing program.

Maricopa Skill Center - Sunny Phoenix is home to the Maricopa Skill Center, which offers a Meatcutter program.

Scottsdale Community College - Scottsdale residents can attend their local community college and enroll themselves in this Culinary Arts Degrees program.

Pima College Center for Training and Development - This Tucson based institution offers a variety of programs including: Food and Beverage/Restaurant Management, Kitchen Personnel/Cook Training, Culinary Arts & Related Services and Culinary Arts/Chef Training.

Arizona Western College - This college, located near the California-Arizona border, offers programs in Hospitality Services Management and Food & Nutrition Studies.

*According to the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) May 2009
** According to the National Restaurant Association

Photo Credit : The Scandinavian Cookbook

You might remember a few weeks ago I interviewed famous Danish chef, Trina Hahnemann, covering her new cookbook “The Scandinavian Cookbook.” If you have a knack for wonderfully delicious Danish food, like myself, and are living in the New York City area then you are in luck.

The Consulate General of Denmark invites you to sample famous Danish rye bread, or Rugbrød, at the New Amsterdam Market in New York City on Sunday, November 14 from 11am to 4pm. As a part of The Rye Bread Project, this event, titled Smørrebrød Table 2010, kicks off Grains Week 2010, a week of programs by Greenmarket and New Amsterdam Market to educate people about eating local grains and promote healthy eating.

Don’t know what Smørrebrød (pronounced smoe-bruth) is? It is the Danish open-faced sandwich that Danes and other Scandinavians have been dining on for centuries. These sandwiches are made with rugbrod (pronounced rue-bruth), which is a healthy alternative to white or even wheat bread.

Known for its dietary fiber content, it is also low in sugar and fat. Oprah famously talked about rugbrod during one of her segments last year after a visit to Copenhagen saying, “I so love it. I have a slice every morning … it’s like eating earth.”

Proceeds from Smørrebrød Table 2010 go to New Amsterdam Market and The Rye Bread Project, formed by Trina Hahnemann and researcher Claire Hartten. The project is meant to look at Nordic food traditions in terms of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, promoting the growth of children and helping to fight increasing levels of obesity and diabetes.

Smørrebrød Table 2010 will have lots of fun events for people to take part in, including: a home bakers meet-up (bakers will bring a loaf of their home baked bread), a panel discussion of regional grains, cooking demonstrations at the Union Square Greenmarket and a bread baking class at The Brooklyn Kitchen. Most importantly, Trina Hahnemann will prepare Danish smørrebrød at the event while five local chefs will compete to prepare the best traditional open-faced sandwich.

All sandwiches at the event will be made with Danish Rye bread baked by Nordic Breads, which is available for purchase every week at New Amsterdam Market. Danish and regional beers will be poured by Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy’s No. 43. Grains Week 2010 will culminate with a community pancake breakfast at New Amsterdam Market on Sunday, November 21.

New Amsterdam Market is located in Lower Manhattan on South Street & Peck Slip. Tickets are $20, which includes three different sandwiches. To learn more about Smørrebrød Table 2010 or any of the Grains Week 2010 events, visit www.newamsterdammarket.com/events.html