Hot Dogs by the Numbers: Fourth of July Traditions
From Nation, For Nation - Pulse of the Nation
The Appalachian Apple Hunter Who Saved 1,200 Lost Varieties
Did 300 Spartans Hold Off a Persian Army of Millions?
But did 300 Spartans really make a final stand against King Xerxes’s massive army of millions? Here’s what we now know about the Spartan and Greek sacrifice that occurred that day.
The Persian Invasion of Greece
In 480 B.C., King Xerxes I of Persia had an axe to grind with the Greek city-states. His father King Darius invaded what is modern-day Greece in 492 B.C. This invasion involved two campaigns, resulting in a decisive Athenian (Greek) victory during the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.
Darius had hoped to kill two birds with one stone during the invasion. First, he wished to punish the Greeks for their support of the cities of Ionia (in modern-day Turkey) during a revolt against Persian rule. Second, he saw an opportunity to expand his empire westward.
After the final defeat of the Persians at Marathon, however, Darius died before he could lay siege to the Greek Peloponnese and mainland again. After Xerxes succeeded him, the son took up his father’s grudge and was determined to conquer the Greeks once and for all.
The Greeks Unite
Although the residents of the various Greek city-states shared some basic cultural similarities, they also fought and vied for power amongst themselves. These differences led to competitions such as the Olympics as well as outright warfare. Among the most often contrasted city-states were those of Athens and Sparta. →
From Globe, For Globe - Pulse of the Planet
Lager-spiked beef chili, beer-broiled bratwursts, coq au vin, chicken marsala, pork brined in rum. Ah, nothing says delicious quite like alcohol-saturated dishes, especially when it comes to beer or wine-infused meat: tender, moist, and downright delectable.
Of course, if you’ve ever watched a chef on TV or cracked open a cookbook to make one of these recipes, you’ve probably come across advice like, “Let the dish simmer for a few minutes to cook out any remaining alcohol.”
This begs the question: does alcohol actually evaporate out of food when cooked? Yes and no. Read on for the skinny on cooking with booze.
Why You Might Get Burned by Your Next Flambé
In 1992, a team of researchers from the US Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Laboratory took part in an in-depth study exploring alcohol retention during food preparation. They started by examining perhaps the most iconic alcohol-based dish of them all, the flambé.
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