Volume 12, Issue 057 - March 20, 2007

Good Day Chef,

History of Peanut Butter:

There are many claims about the origin of peanut butter. Africans ground peanuts into stews as early as the 15th century. The Chinese have crushed peanuts into creamy sauces for centuries. Civil War soldiers dined on 'peanut porridge.' These uses, however, bore little resemblance to peanut butter as it is known today.

In 1890, an unknown St. Louis physician supposedly encouraged the owner of a food products company, George A. Bayle Jr., to process and package ground peanut paste as a nutritious protein substitute for people with poor teeth who couldn't chew meat. The physician apparently had experimented by grinding peanuts in his hand-cranked meat grinder. Bayle mechanized the process and began selling peanut butter out of barrels for about 6˘ per pound.

Source: PeanutButterLovers.com

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Peanut Crusted Beef

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

4 pounds top loin beef, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 2 long pieces
1/2 cup dry mustard
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 cups chopped Spanish peanuts
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Sear beef on grill. Mix mustard, water and peanut butter; spread on all sides of beef. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, pressing nuts into surface of beef, if necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a roasting pan in a 450 degree F oven and roast until desired doneness is indicated on meat thermometer. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

Source: PeanutButterLovers.com

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How Peanut Butter is Made:

Nearly half of the US peanut crop was used to make peanut butter in 2001. Runner peanuts are preferred for peanut butter because they are very uniform in size, which is important to achieve evenly roasted peanuts for the best tasting peanut butter. Runner peanuts are grown primarily in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. These three states accounted for 60 percent of the U.S. crop in 2001.

Peanuts are planted after the last frost in April, when soil temperatures reach 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The shelled peanut itself also is the seed. Specially grown and treated peanut kernels from the previous year's crop are planted two inches deep, approximately one to two inches apart in rows.

Peanut seeds crack the soil about 10 days after planting and grow into a green oval-leafed plant about 18 inches tall. The peanut plant is unusual because it flowers above the ground, but fruits below the ground. Delicate yellow flowers form on the plant about 40 days after planting. The flowers pollinate themselves, then the petals fall off as the peanut ovary begins to form. This budding ovary, called a 'peg,' grows away from the plant on a vine and penetrates the soil. The peanuts mature below the ground.

Peanuts are harvested 120 to 160 days after planting, usually in September and October. Harvesting is a rapid process.

For the rest of the story...

Source: PeanutButterLovers.com

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Peanutty Chicken Piccata

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

6 ounces spinach, trimmed, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons chicken broth
2 4-ounce chicken breasts, boned
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 cup fat free egg substitute
2 teaspoons butter
4 tablespoons peanuts
4 tablespoons white wine
3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 baked potatoes

Preparation:

Mix chicken broth into hot spinach. Set aside.

Flatten chicken breasts, coat with flour; shake off excess. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Dip each chicken breast in egg substitute and sauté 2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Keep warm. Discard oil.

Melt butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add peanuts. Cook and stir until lightly browned. Add wine, cook 1 minute. Add chicken, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Arrange spinach on serving plate. Top with chicken breast and sauce. Serve with baked potato.

Source: PeanutButterLovers.com