Small bites

American culinary history center opens

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A large and tasty slice of Americana has found a home in the Longone Center for American Culinary Research, at the University of Michigan's William Clements Library.

A donated collection of artifacts and literature on gastronomy forms the core of the center's holdings, telling the history of food in America before the mid-20th century. The collection includes more than 100 manuscript cookbooks dating from 1698, menus, diaries and advertisements, catalogs, magazines and graphics.

The donation of thousands of items relating to American culinary history comes from Daniel and Janice Longone of Ann Arbor, the result of their lifetime of collecting. The Longones' gifts complement the library's own holdings. The library points out this makes up a coherent collection available to scholars and others interested not only in culinary history, but in a variety of related topics.

Tapping into tapas, and other mini-meals

Mini-meals are fun whatever you call them - tapas, meze, hors d'oeuvres, dim sum - and they are adaptable to almost any meal scenario that busy lives and family activity may demand.

Tapas and hors d'oeuvres are established party food, ideal for entertaining. But small bites and downsized portions are also a good way to keep other mealtimes light and fun, and can have useful health benefits for weight-watchers.

Sharp knives and kitchen gadgets can help the cook turn out neatly trimmed, diminutive tapas and hors d'oeuvres. Some tips:

-Garlic press: Use it to mince whole garlic or even press black olives for a tasty tapenade. A good-quality press will allow you to mince more than one garlic clove at a time and include a built-in cleaner for easy cleanup.

-Pizza cutter: Cut pizza or even sandwiches into attractive, bite-sized portions. Be sure that your pizza cutter has a large, stainless-steel blade that removes for easy cleanup. A comfortable handle is also a plus.

-Cheese knife: This knife is suitable for cutting soft and hard cheeses without leaving cheese stuck to the blade. A perforated blade is helpful in this regard.

-Vegetable peeler: This standby is used to peel fruits and vegetables but can also be used for shaving chocolate for sweet treats. A comfortable handle is a must.

-Ice cream scoop: This scoops every last bite of ice cream from the container without bending. It's also great for scooping seeds from melons and controlling potato salad portions.

(Source: Cutco Cutlery)

How America eats

That's a huge question, but some pointers emerge in answers to a poll of readers of Bon Appetit, summarized in the magazine's March issue. The survey quizzed readers about their top food, travel and entertaining choices.

Among the food preferences, salsa is respondents' favorite condiment. Favorite vegetables are spinach, artichokes and broccoli - in that order. The least favorite vegetable, by the way, is cardoon (perhaps because this near-relative of the artichoke that looks rather like celery has more fans in Europe than in the United States).

Comfort food, artisanal foods, lots of small plates are "in" things; raw food and supersizing are not. As for desserts, if the choice is ice cream, or chocolate, or layer cake or cheesecake, the answer is: all the above.

Looking around the kitchen, the most-owned appliances are, first, the waffle iron, then the food mill.

And, generally, how does America cook? A majority declare their attitude is: I'll try anything once.

(Source Bon Appetit magazine, March issue)