Gadget: Omelet Maker

Other dishes made with the Omelet Maker

Pan-fried Pork with Typical Wine, Cream and Mustard Sauce from Burgundy

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil 1112 tablespoons butter
2 boneless pork loin chops, about 10 oz. in total
4 oz. cremini mushrooms, rinsed and thickly sliced
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 cup white Burgundy or other dry white wine
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche
2 rounded teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard or other whole-grain mustard
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives and boiled new potatoes and salad greens to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a medium skillet. Add the pork chops and brown them for about 3 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until cooked. Remove the pork chops from the pan, set aside, and keep them warm.
2. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, add to the pork, and keep warm.
4. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the juices in the pan. Stir in the wine and thyme leaves and let bubble up until reduced by about two-thirds. Reduce the heat to very low, then stir in the sour cream or creme fraiche and mustard. Heat very gently, taking care not to let the sauce boil or the mustard will taste bitter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Return the pork, mushrooms, and any juices to the pan and heat through very gently.
6. To serve, put the pork steaks on 2 warm plates, spoon the sauce over the top, sprinkle with a few snipped chives, and accompany with new potatoes and a salad greens.

Makes 2 servings.

Source: Cooking with Wine

Pastries of Third Culture Bakery in California

U.S. FDA Warns of Dangers of Liquid Nitrogen in Food, Drinks

You risk serious injury if you consume or handle food and drink products where liquid nitrogen is added just before consumption, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.

These products — which have names such as “Dragon’s Breath,” “Heaven’s Breath” and “nitro puff” — are available in food courts, kiosks, state or local fairs, and other places where food and drinks are sold.

Examples of such products include liquid nitrogen-infused colorful cereal or cheese puffs that emit a misty or smoke-like vapor, and alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks prepared with liquid nitrogen that emit a fog.

Liquid nitrogen isn’t toxic, but its extremely low temperature can cause severe damage to skin and internal organs if mishandled or consumed, the FDA said in a news release. Inhaling the vapor released by liquid nitrogen in food or drinks can also cause breathing problems, especially among people with asthma, according to the agency.

“The main issue is that liquid nitrogen must be fully evaporated from food or beverage before it is served,” explained Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency room physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

“In liquid form, it can cause burns to the mouth, esophagus and upper airway, leading to perforation or rupture of the organs — which could be deadly,” Glatter said. “It may also cause burns of the fingers or hands when it is handled in the liquid state.”

And people with asthma or lung disease who inhale the vapors might experience constriction of their airways, triggering an asthma attack or worsening of their lung disease, he added.

“Beyond this, it may also lead to inflammation in the lungs and aspiration, which can reduce the ability to breathe, as well as trigger infections such as pneumonia,” Glatter said.

In fact, the FDA said it has received reports of severe and life-threatening injuries caused by liquid nitrogen in food and drinks, and also reports of breathing problems.

“With state fairs upon us, parents and teens need to understand the potential risks of foods such as nitro popcorn and nitrogen-infused cereals, which promise excitement and thrill but may end with a trip to the emergency department,” Glatter noted.

People who’ve suffered an injury after handling or consuming food or drinks prepared with liquid nitrogen should consult a health care provider, and also consider reporting their injury to MedWatch, the FDA’s safety reporting program, the agency said.

Source: HealthDay

Anxiety, Depression, other Mental Distress May Increase Heart Attack, Stroke Risk

Adults ages 45 or older who experience psychological distress such as depression and anxiety may have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

In a study of 221,677 participants from Australia, researchers found that:

• among women, high/very high psychological distress was associated with a 44 percent increased risk of stroke; and
• in men ages 45 to 79, high/very high versus low psychological distress was associated with a 30 percent increased risk of heart attack, with weaker estimates in those 80 years old or older.

The association between psychological distress and increased cardiovascular disease risk was present even after accounting for lifestyle behaviors (smoking, alcohol intake, dietary habits, etc.) and disease history.

“While these factors might explain some of the observed increased risk, they do not appear to account for all of it, indicating that other mechanisms are likely to be important,” said Caroline Jackson, Ph.D., the study’s senior author and a Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The research involved participants who had not experienced a heart attack or stroke at the start of the study and who were part of the New South Wales 45 and Up Study that recruited adults ages 45 or older between 2006 and 2009.

Researchers categorized psychological distress as low, medium and high/very high using a standard psychological distress scale which asks people to self-assess the level.

The 10-question survey asks questions such as: “How often do you feel tired out for no good reason?” How often do you feel so sad that nothing could cheer you up?” How often do you feel restless or fidgety?”

Of the participants – 102,039 men (average age 62) and 119,638 women (average age 60) – 16.2 percent reported having moderate psychological distress and 7.3 percent had high/very high psychological distress.

During follow-up of more than four years, 4,573 heart attacks and 2,421 strokes occurred. The absolute risk – overall risk of developing a disease in a certain time period – of heart attack and stroke rose with each level of psychological distress.

The findings add to the existing evidence that there may be an association between psychological distress and increased risk of heart attack and stroke, she said. But they also support the need for future studies focused on the underlying mechanisms connecting psychological distress and cardiovascular disease and stroke risk and look to replicate the differences between men and women.

Mental disorders and their symptoms are thought to be associated with increased risk of heart disease and stroke, but previous studies have produced inconsistent findings and the interplay between mental and physical health is poorly understood.

People with symptoms of psychological distress should be encouraged to seek medical help because, aside from the impact on their mental health, symptoms of psychological distress appear to also impact physical health, Jackson said. “We encourage more proactive screening for symptoms of psychological distress. Clinicians should actively screen for cardiovascular risk factors in people with these mental health symptoms.”

All factors analyzed in this research, apart from the outcomes of heart attack and stroke, were identified at the same point in time, which made it difficult for researchers to understand the relationship between psychological distress and variables such as unhealthy behaviors like smoking and poor diet. With that analysis approach, they may have underestimated the effect psychological distress has on the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Source: American Heart Association

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