Category Archives: Food
Springtime Dinner
Miso Butter Salmon, over Fiddlehead Fern, Morel Mushroom, Miso Lemon Risotto
My Global Potato Challenge (extra)
Because I couldn’t very well just eat potatoes straight for a month, I did alot of extra cooking on the side.
Here are the extra dishes I did to go with my Global Potatoes
Colcannon – Ireland
I actually made the Colcannon for St. Patty’s Day. So OBVIOUSLY, it went with my Whiskey Glazed Corned Beef.
The next day, I finished the Colcannon off with a couple Beer Braised Bangers and some Stoneground Mustard.
Hasselback Potatoes – Sweden
I served the Hasselback Potato with a piece of Garlic Lemon Butter poached Salmon, over Roasted Asparagus.
Pierogies – Poland
After making all the Pierogies, I had alot of Cheesy Mashed Potato left. So I added some Flour and an Egg, and fried them up as Potato Pancakes.
Warm Potato Salad – Germany
To go with the salad I hammered out some Pork Cutlets, breaded, and fried them, to make Pork Schnitzel.
Potato Leek Gratin – France
I was very ambitious with this one. I served the Gratin with Roasted Pork Loin, over an Apple Cider Cream Sauce.
It was delicious, but I ended up accidentally burning my hand so bad that I could hardly even eat the meal…
I certainly love to cook. And admittedly, some of these recipes didn’t fully work out. But one thing is for sure: I am potatoed out!
My Global Potato Journey
So between my epic Culinary Tours, I like to try to do some more cost saving challenges. Last time I did a Rice and Beans challenge, attempting to see how diverse Rice and Bean dishes can get.
This time I got excited about seeing how the simple Potato is prepared across the world.
Colcannon – Ireland
Cabbage, Leeks, Mashed Potatoes and lots of Butter.
Hasselback Potatoes – Sweden
I’m not sure I did them correctly, as they really just ended up tasting like a simple baked potato.
Pierogies – Poland
Mashed Potato filled Dumplings that are boiled and fried.
Warm Potato Salad – Germany
Light and tangy from a vinegar sauce rather than mayo.
Potato Leek Gratin – France
So cheesy and delicious, but I did not soak my leeks long enough to really clean them. So some bites were a bit gritty..
Sweet Potato Pie – The South
I was afraid I had added too much sugar, (actually, I did…) but it turned out really well.
Beer Battered Halibut and Chips – England
Because my fryer was occupied, I tried to bake my chips. I seemed to fail that and my chips turned out floppy rather than crispy..
Gnocchi with White Beans and Sauteed Kale – Italy
Dum Aloo – India
Indian Potato Curry. So so so failed. I did not have a mortar and pestle, my “gravy” turned out extremely thick and gritty with herbs. Tastewise, Indian curries are so delicious.
Yellow Curry – Thailand
Olivier Salad – Russia
It takes so damned long to cube all your ingredients perfectly. Once you do it though, you are left with a lovely potato salad. It calls to let your pickles drain well so they don’t over power the salad. In lieu, I think I ended up needing a smidge more salt.
In the end, it was a pretty fun challenge. Admittedly, I learned one thing: I really suck at cooking Potatoes! Half of them were not cooked long enough, and the other half were over cooked!
I also found there were far too many ways to cook them all. After a month, I was tired of potatoes! So I called it quits. I still have my eye on some recipes though. I focused mostly on European style potatoes. I think next time, for round 2, there are alot of interesting looking Central and South American styles I’d love to try.
Though the variance in flavors and styles was vast, its amazing how all across the world we still love our potatoes equally.
Easter Cake
Carrot Cake with Crushed Pineapple, Toasted Coconut, and Walnuts, with a Rum Creamcheese Frosting
Mediterranean Culinary Tour
I began a Culinary Tour of the Mediterranean Sea. Many of the flavors I had already encountered during some of my other culinary challenges, but there were a few things I tried for the first time. Some, I found I liked.
Day 1 – Spain – Paella
Shrimp, Chicken, and Sausage. I used Shrimp bought off a troller that goes up to Alaska, Shrimp stock made by my brother, and Paella spice mix brought back from Barcelona. It wasn’t a proper Paella pan, and I think my fear of uneven cooking caused me to allow it to get sort of gloopy. But I was able to achieve the Socarrat, which is the delicious crispy bottom.
Day 1.5 – France – Lavender Honey Cheesecake
I admittedly paid a lot of money for Lavender Honey from France. And the kicker is, you couldn’t even taste it… I did rush my cheesecake though, which is why it has sunken in the middle. But, you can’t really go wrong with a cheesecake.
Day 2 – Southern Italy – Pasta alla Norma
Pasta with roasted Eggplant. I didn’t have alot of hope or expectation. But I loved this!
Day 3 – Greece – Moussaka
Layered Potato, Eggplant, Meat Sauce, and Bechamel Sauce, and baked. Another adventure into Eggplant. I also appreciated this. Although, I admit, with so many different elements, I really over cooked the potato and eggplant players. So they were mushy. But the flavor was really good.
Day 4 – Turkey – Lahmacun
Turkish Pizza. Though I saw recipes that claim you can just use store bought dough, most recipes claim you really want your dough to turn out more like flatbread. The reason being, after spreading the delicious lamb meatball esque topping (no sauce), and baking it, you then roll it up to eat it. Not slice it. The flavor turned out very similar to a gyro.
Day 5 – Egypt – Koshari
Lentils, Rice, Macaroni, slight vinegary spiced Tomato Sauce, topped with Fried Onions. I failed so hard at this. I have never cooked Lentils. I was afraid they would be more like dried beans. I over cooked them and the rice so hard. This was disgusting, and I apologize to Egypt for my epic fail… (The tomato sauce was really good though!)
Day 5.5 – Israel – Sufganiyot
Jelly Doughnut. Also kind of failed these… as I sort of discovered when I was making my Lahmacun dough, my yeast might be dead. Also, just a note: Make sure you aren’t using chunky jam to pipe into your doughnuts. By the end, I was so messy and frustrsted, I didnt even bother A: finishing even half the doughnuts, or B: powder sugaring them…
Day 6 – REDEMPTION – Koshari
I really felt so bad about doing Egypt so wrong. So I tried again. And I succeeded so hard! …ok, honestly, the lentils might have been just shy of underdone, but it was cool, they gave good texture. Once done well, this dish was so delicious!
Day 7 – Libya – Mubatan
Potato wedges, cut like taco shells, filles with yummy meat filling, dredged, and fried! How can you go wrong?! …well, I mean other than knowing when the A: meat was cooked thru, and B: the potatoes were soft… I had alot though, and eventually I got it figured out. So tasty, but not saveable. Eat now, don’t reheat..
Day 8 – Morocco – Djaj Mqualli
Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives. This was so delicious. Until! I accidentally added too much preserved lemon. Just for your information: Preserved Lemons are sooooooooooo salty! But I never saw a recipe that didn’t call for the lemons to be preserved. And I searched high and low for them. So I was going to use them damnit! They were a salt bomb to my dish. By chance I had some couscous I was able to serve it with. But next time, I might actually try just using fresh lemon…
Day 8.5 – Algeria – Bradj
Semolina cookies filled with spiced Date Paste. And then just quick fried on the stove. I actually really liked these. I would add more Date Paste next time, but they are not too sweet. Sweetened, actually, only with the Date Paste itself.
Day 9 – Lebanese Restaurant
This happened a little out of order, but after all my hard work, I decided to reward myself with a Lebanese meal cooked FOR me. It was delicious.
I am totally and advocate for cooking at home, but indeed, sometimes it is nice to have someone cook for you.
Overall it was certainly an adventure. Some ups and some downs. Not including the extra life stuff going on around me to add to the difficulties of cooking. But I still think this is a great way to explore the world, step out of your box, and try new things, all from the safety of your own home. And, like me, you might find out you like something you thought you wouldn’t.
Extra: I managed to really bruise my thumb meat at one point. Tenacity was my downfall. I was GOING to add those preserved lemons to my dish. The recipe called for them! So, despite pain and injury, I manhandled that damned jar open. For naught… I ruined my dish, and hurt me thumb… I’m not sure what the moral of the story is…
Rice and Beans Challenge
My last personal challenge was kind of expensive. So I thought I’d try to be thriftier by giving myself a Rice and Beans Challenge. Here’s what I came up with:
Day 1 – Gallo Pinto, Costa Rican Black Beans and Rice, with Soft Scrambled Eggs.
Day 2 – Louisiana Red Beans and Rice
Day 3 – Lebanese Beef Chili, with Lebanese Rice.
Day 4 – Rajma Masala, Indian Kidney Bean Curry.
Day 5 – Lubia Polo, Persian Green Beans and Rice.
Day 6 – Prik King, Thai Stir-Fried Green Beans, with Pork amd Kaffir Leaf.
Day 7 – Beef and Peppers in Black Bean Sauce, over Rice Noodles.
Day 7.5 – Siopao, Filipino Steamed Buns, made with Rice flour and filled wirh Sweet Red Bean Paste.
Things I learned: It’s okay to use canned beans sometimes. After work, starting a pot of beans from dry, I found myself eating dinner at 10 at night. Or worse, eating semi-uncooked beans, which apparently can cause food poisoning in some cases. (Did not happen to me, but my stomach was not tip-top after undercooked kidney beans.) When I finally made the choice to use canned, my world changed.
It was kind of fun to take the simple, money saving idea of Rice and Beans, and thinking about it in different ways. It doesn’t have to be boring. As you can see, you can go in alot of different directions.
