Escudella

Today, on the Feast of St. Anthony, all of Andorra gathers together in various plazas throughout the country to celebrate what is called L'escudella. Escudella, itself, it the name given to a traditional Catalan stew full of delicious things like Catalan sausages, beans, and various vegetables. Apparently in the early 70s some friends in Andorra got together and prepared plates of escudella for their neighbors and the shopkeepers in the area. They were essentially reviving the centuries-old tradition of distributing food among the poorest in the parish on St. Anthony's day, January 17th. As you might have guessed, this became quite popular and now the entire country participates.

Lucky for us, in Andorra la Vella the festivities were taking place just a 5 minute walk from our apartment in the Plaça de Les Arcades. Basically the whole plaza was set up with the Escudellaires working massive vats of stew and then long rows of tables for people to eat at. The stew, as well as bread, dessert, and wine are all free - provided you bring a bowl. If you don't have a bowl they sell really nice commemorative painted bowls for 7€ with the year engraved on it, or even bowls from years past for a few Euros cheaper. The most popular thing to do, however, seemed to be to bring tupperware from home.

Once you show them you have a bowl, they give you a ticket and then you pass through to where you are served hunks of meat and sausage followed by several ladels-worth of stew. Finally there are nice hunks of bread for dipping. At the tables were also porrons, typical glass wine pitchers that one passes from person to person. As you tip the pitcher the wine comes spewing out in a narrow stream - quite daunting if you've never drank from one before. Once we'd finished our stew, which was of course delicious, particularly the nice fat sausage I had in mine, we got back in line for dessert - delicious hunks of tortell, o-shaped pastries filled with marzipan. It was a perfect (not to mention free!) meal for a chilly January afternoon. I certainly hope there are more delicious food festivals in the months to come!

Wild Fish - incredible sushi in the Chicago 'burbs

Every time I'm back home in the Chicago suburbs 'Wild Fish' is a must-go food destination. Luckily my entire family loves stuffing their faces with sushi just as much as I do, so finding someone to go with is never an issue. I've tried many a sushi place in both the city and suburbs and Wild Fish still remains my number one.


For appetizers we typically try to do something other than sushi, given that there is a plethora of it on the way, but sometimes we just can't say no to a new sushi or sashimi appetizer creation. Both the seaweed and normal japanese salads are excellent, and you really can't go wrong with an order of the tempura - vegetable, chicken, shrimp, or whatever combination you'd like. This past time we opted for the soft-shell crab appetizer, which was "lightly floured and fried soft-shell crab served with citrus-soy dipping sauce". It was a nice dish for sharing given the easy-to-pick-apart legs fried to perfection.

For our main dish we split three of the maki rolls. Perhaps the most interesting was the roll on special, the "santa baby roll". This consisted of mozzarella cheese and pico de gallo over spicy tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and shrimp tempura with an eel and wasabi mayo. Our second roll was the "ocean drive", fresh yellowtail, big-eye tuna, cilantro and green pepper wrapped in soybean paper and with a splash of chili oil and lime. Last but not least was the "original dragon" - eel over shrimp tempura with avocado as well.

Unagi, or freshwater eel, is hands down my favorite of any cooked sushi component and is always brushed with an incredible sweet sauce. We also shared a bowl of the chicken fried rice at my sister's request. Though not something I typically enjoy with sushi (rice overload) it did taste very fresh and didn't seem to be laden with half the chemicals and additives, not to mention gallon of grease, that you typically find with take-out fried rice.

Having been in Arlington Heights for a number of years now it seems that Wild Fish is here to stay. Thankfully I have somewhere back home for sushi that never disappoints, someplace I'd highly recommend for anyone who finds themselves in the Northwest Suburbs!

Ham Cocktail 'Biscuits'

Growing up, it seemed that every time my parents would have a party/gathering, we'd make these ham biscuits. They are not biscuits in the traditional Southern sense of the word, but they are surely delicious.

I made them for our New Year's Eve cocktail party, and they seemed to be a hit.

Ham Biscuits

1/4 lb. (100g) butter, softened

2 tsp. Dijon Mustard

2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 small onion, finely minced

1 package (20-24) party rolls (These are often called 'brown and serve.')
4-5 oz. sliced ham

1, 4-oz. package sliced Swiss cheese (Of course, one can use grated cheese.)

Mix together softened butter, mustard, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce,

and onion. Slice open the bread and spread mixture on both sides. Top half

with cheese and half with ham. Close rolls and bake at 350ºF until

cheese is melted. Cut into individual sandwiches and serve warm.

Minim's - Andorra La Vella, Andorra

Despite the food-centered nature of my roommates and I, we somehow hadn't really gone out for a proper Andorran meal in the several months we've been here. Alex's boyfriend's visit gave us the perfect excuse, and so we were off into the evening in search of someplace to dine. The Antic Carrer Major (Old Main Street) had couple of places that appealed to us, and so we settled upon "Minims" based on the reasonable prices and dish selection seen on the menu posted outside.
Walking into the restaurant between 8:30 and 9 we were unsurprisingly the first people there. It seems no matter when we go out to eat it just isn't late enough for us to not seem like foreigners. Though we didn't have a reservation (which we apparently needed?) they quickly seated us at a table in the back. The place itself had maybe a dozen tables and, though not overly decorated, was cute in a way.

We decided we'd each do a starter and an entrée (well, Alex had no entrée) and then split a bottle of wine - bé. Alex and Matt both ordered the "sopa de ceba gratinada" - onion soup, while I opted for the "coca". Coca is somewhat of an umbrella-term for a variety of breads, in this case a flatbread having anchovy, arugula, fig, and parmigiano reggiano. Before this arrived, however, we were brought a nice plate of little bread toasts with a creamy dollop of cheese covered with anchovy and what looked like pea tendrils or watercress. The creamy cheese had a nice light and airy texture and did a good job of balancing the saltiness of the anchovy.

Moving on, soon came the onion soups. While they looked quite akin to French onion soup they really were quite different . The onions were less caramelized but sweet and seemingly of the Spanish variety. The broth was less salty - Alex described it as almost a cross between egg-drop soup and french onion, minus the Asian herbs. The raw egg dropped into it certainly added to that description! My coca was delicious - the fig was incorporated as a deliciously sweet sauce drizzled over everything, and they certainly didn't skip on the nice anchovy filets draped over the flatbread. While the bits of parmesan were tasty enough, I could have done without it. Well, either that or more of it!

For my main dish I was feeling a bit adventurous and settled on the "peus de porc farcits amb bolets i salsifis" - stuffed pig's feet with mushrooms and salsify/oyster plant/goatsbeard (tragopogon porrifolius) The actual feet were used as casing, the stuffing being a blend of primarily pork and rice. The texture of the feet might turn some people off, but it is not unlike that of a slimier mushroom variety - certainly not unpleasant like fat can be at times. The sauce was on the salty side but very savory and rather like a nice thick beef stew. I could have used a few more mushrooms but the ones I had were quite nice. At the time I did not know what "salsifi" was, nor could I really figure out what it was on my plate admidst the stewy goodness, but I now know that it is a plant whose roots and leaves purportedly taste somewhat like oyster.

Matt's entrée was the "costelles de corder servides a la llosa" - lamb chops served on a "paving stone".
We couldn't for the life of us remember what "a la llosa" meant, but seeing as the chops came out sizzling on a stone slab it would seem that "paving stone" is the translation we were looking for, haha. The lamb chops were described as salty but very good. They were accompanied by roasted onions, peppers, what looked like fennel, and some lovely bits of grilled fat. Unfortunately I only had a bite of the grilled fat (shocking), but from what I gather it was a very satisfying dish.

We washed down our meal with a decent bottle of crianza, and by the time we were done there was no room for dessert. We waited the usual half-a-lifetime for the check, as we have done elsewhere in Western Europe, but we weren't in any particular rush. Naturally a bit after 10:30 when we left the place was hopping - when will we learn? Overall we were quite satisfied with our little dining excursion and would very much consider returning for some more reasonably-priced Andorran delights :-)

Potato Pierogi

Being half Polish and half Italian our Christmas Eve dinners were always an eclectic mix of cultures; fish for the Italian side and pierogi for the Polish side. My grandparents used to bring pierogi from my great aunt's church group in NJ ( all the old Polish women would make them in the basement and then sell them for 6 bucks a dozen). Now that my grandmother's older and can't make the trip, it's been a sadly missed part of our recent Christmas Eve dinners. However, our friend Jeffrey who comes from a Polish family has recently supplied us with his uncle's pierogi recipe and I must say, they taste just as delicious as the ones I remember.

While our technique is not quite perfected yet, our attempt was well-rewarded with delicious pierogi that we all devoured. Below is Jeff's family's recipe. Enjoy!


Zdzislaw's Pierogi Dough
(Makes about three dozen)

See notes below

4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 egg yolks
1 cup milk
3 tbls. sour cream
3 tbls. melted butter or margarine

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
Melt butter (or margarine). Set aside to cool.

Beat egg yolks, milk, and sour cream, add cooled melted butter, then the flour mixture, and mix thoroughly.

Roll dough fairly thin, cut in 4-5 inch circles, fill with approx. 1 tsp. filling, fold over and seal edges by pinching together with a fork.

Boil in salted water (using large pot) about 8 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and arrange on dishtowel to drain. When somewhat dry, place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper and place in freezer for approx. 20-30 minutes or until frozen. Dump into Zip Loc bags for freezer storage.

To serve, thaw and fry in melted butter until lightly browned. You can also add breadcrumbs or fried onions as a topping.

Note 1: Prepare fillings before preparing dough.

Note 2: Equipment: rolling pin, slotted spoon, 3-4" diameter biscuit cutter or drinking glass, large cutting board or marble slab, large stock pot for boiling pierogi, wax paper, a cookie sheet or other flat surface that is freezer safe, 2 or 3 clean dishtowels (flour sack cloths are particularly good but any cotton non-terry towel will work), freezer bags or containers. A heavy duty mixer like Kitchenaid is very helpful. A pasta machine is also helpful but not necessary.


PIEROGI FILLINGS

Filling - Potato w Cheese

2 large russet potatoes
1 medium yellow onion
3 tablespoons butter
2-3 stalks green onion
1/4 llb dry farmers cheese

Cut the potatoes into quarters and cook in cold water. While potatoes are cooking finely chop the yellow and green onions. Melt the butter and on very low heat sauté the onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and mash. Do not add milk or butter. When potatoes are mashed, add the onion mixture. Continue mashing until onions are integrated into the potatoes. Add the farmers cheese and continue mashing until cheese is incorporated into the potato and onion mixture. Cheese doesn't need to melt.

Montenegrin at Deta's Café, Chicago

Back in Illinois, my beloved land of Slavs, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try Deta's Cafe, a Montenegrin restaurant near my friends' place in Roger's Park. Montenegrin cuisine, like most Balkan cuisines, is a wonderful blend of all the influences that have passed through the region for centuries, from Ottoman to Italian to Hungarian. Located on the Adriatic Sea coast, there is also a wonderful Mediterranean influence that pervades the cooking.

Walking into the restaurant it felt like we were walking into someone's home. We were greeted by presumably Deta, a cute older Montenegrin woman who asked if we were hungry and led us to a table. What ensued was a conversation where she more or less told us what we were getting. That might sound ghetto, but what's fresh is fresh! She had a few salad options, 3 different bureks - spinach, sweet cheese, and meat - and then a gulaš. Ok!

We began with a nice simple salad of red pepper, tomatoes, onion, and feta with balsamic, plus some nice rye bread. It is incredible how delicious just a few fresh ingredients can be!


Next was the gulaš, originally a Hungarian dish but now a mainstay in many European cuisines. The beef was nice and tender - plenty for the three of us to split. It was served with pasta, common in the former Yugoslavia, which was fine, but nothing to write home about.


Last but not least came a massive plate of burek, both the cheese and meat varieties. Burek itself is a flaky, baked (or fried) phyllo pastry filled with a variety of delicious fillings. Brought by the Ottomans centuries ago, burek is now a hugely popular dish in the former Yugoslavia, with the rolled variety being the most prevalent. The flaky, buttery pastry with the savory fillings is a wonderful combination, and it's fun to eat it piece by piece as the roll begins to come apart. Both of ours were delicious, but the slightly salty and crumbly baked feta-like cheese one was my favorite.

Decently-full we still managed to find room for a small portion of homemade apple cake, which she brought out in three petite-sized tooth-picked slices. The cake was super-moist and the layer of apple was outstanding - just the right amount of sweetness.

I'd love to come back here again and have a look at the real menu, just to see what else Deta has to offer! Anyone who's a fan of Greek, Turkish, or other Southeastern European cuisine, as well as anyone up for something new and fun should definitely give Deta's a try!

Cookie Swap!

Recently, we went to our first cookie swap. It was fantastic, and I hope it becomes a holiday ritual.

Unfortunately, I don't have all of the recipes to share, but I do have a photo of some of the goodies we got to bring home. We took P's now-famous biscotti (12 o'clock on the photo below), and we were glad to know that recipe #5 is a keeper.

Below, you can see what came home with (starting at 1 o'clock and going clockwise) "comic fortune" cookies, chocolate "crackles," chocolate-covered mint cookies, macarons, peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies, fig pinwheels, and orange/ginger slice-'n'-bake cookies (unfortunately, you're not able to see the latter). The event was a great success, and I think the bar has already been set very high, so we'll have to start getting ready for next year now. ;-)

I am going to try my hardest to get the recipes for the macarons and the fig pinwheels so they can become part of my own cookie repertoire! ;-)

The Mayor's Christmas Deals

The 6th-annual Mayor's Holiday Deals have been posted online. There are some fun dining deals as well as other specials. Check it out at http://www.bostix.org/mhs/dine.html

Here's what Mayor Menino has to say:

Boston:
Your home for the holidays! 
MayorsHolidaySpecial.com is your ticket to a festive day, a sparkling getaway, and memories you’ll cherish.

Wishing you good cheer.
{signed}

The NY Times today has an article about the possibility of a NY burger stand filling the vacant old public restroom building on the commons:

New York Burger Stand on Boston’s Seafood Turf?

Portland's Perfect Pastries

On a recent trip to Portland, Maine, we were taking an evening stroll after having gorged ourselves for dinner at a chowder house and happened upon a little bakery. It was nighttime, and they were closed; but, we could see that the bakers in the back were busy at work. It smelled amazing, and we promised ourselves we'd come back the next morning for breakfast.

Well, lucky for us we did. I'm going to go ahead and say that it was the best almond croissant I'd ever had—even in France!! The buttery deliciousness was crispy and full of delicious almond paste. It was heaven in a paper bag.

We also got some breads to take with us, and they turned out to be delicious as well: one pain de mie and a boule au levain.* Now, I only wish I knew where to get these things in Boston!

*

A Taste of Nice!

Over the past full week I had the opportunity to travel along the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur region of Southern France, spending the largest chunk of time in the gorgeous city of Nice. That being said I was able to indulge in some delicious Provençal cooking, some of it particular to Nice itself. Ironically, however, the one thing I did not consume was the infamous Salade Niçoise. Le sigh...life must go on.

Lou Pilha Leva
One restaurant which we had read about in our handy guidebook, Lou Pilha Leva, presented us with the opportunity to try several of the city's specialties while in the old town. The first of said dishes were farcis, small roasted vegetables stuffed with a simple pork, egg, oil, herb and breadcrumb mixture but whose taste is anything but simple! In our case the vegetables (or fruits, in the case of the tomatoes!) were tomatoes and courgettes. I'm sure every Niçoise grandmother has her own recipe, and I look forward to perfecting my own at some point.

Our next dish was the Socca, more or less a crêpe made from chickpeas, flour, and oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. To be perfectly honest the socca didn't do much for me - I found them a bit bland - but with some anchovies and olives I'm sure they would be just delicious.

Next on the list was pissaladière, a delicious flatbread/pizza made with sauteed onions, garlic, and olives and topped with bits of anchovie. The crust is a bit thicker than that of what I could consider standard pizza, but its just perfect with all the oil and juices from the toppings soaked into it. Last but not least was a hearty serving of Moules Frites - delicious mussels in a mustardy broth served with French fries. Of the three times I had mussels in the city, these were definitely my favorite - not at all overcooked and very plump and flavorful.




Le Resto
The best restaurant we went to in Nice was tucked away in the Old Town and called simply 'Le Resto'. I couldn't resist doing the menu, given that for around 20€ I'd get 3 courses, so I started out with some nice crisp bread with an anchovy pate and an olive tapenade for spreading. Both were excellent. For my main dish I opted for the Ravioli Niçoise, choosing to lean a little toward Italy and check out some of Nice's pasta offerings. This dish was incredible - the little pouches of dough almost melted in your mouth and were doused in delicious oil and herbs, primarily fresh parsley. Inside was beef and who knows what else, but whatever it was was divine. Alex chose a dish of fresh scallops baked into a small casserole and smothered in buttery breadcrumbs, zucchini, and just overall deliciousness. On the side came a mound of rice with a nice sweet taste that complemented the casserole nicely. Kelsey went with the gnocchi smothered in a gorgonzola cream sauce - how bad can that be?! As to be expected the gnocchi were wonderfully cooked and the sauce left you wanting to lick the plate. My dessert, a tiramisu-esque concoction, was quite tasty but not overly emblematic of the region
and hence not worth writing home about.

One last treat we couldn't help but indulge in in Nice was lavender ice cream! Provence is hands down the place for lavender, so why not make an ice cream with it? This was a winning combo for anyone who likes that strong floral flavor and just the right amount of sweetness.

Oh Nice, I'll miss you!

Notes - Le Resto is located at 2, Rue Rossetti, 06300 Nice and Lou Pilha Leva at 10 rue du Collet - Vieux Nice

Pumpkin Ale

What is your favorite pumpkin ale?

On a recent autumnal trip around New England, we sampled a few pumpkin ales.

Smuttynose was closed, so we headed into downtown Portsmouth, NH. There, at Portsmouth Brewery, we got a nice sampling of 10 different beers, and their pumpkin ale was included. It was very spicy and did not taste particularly of pumpkin. All I could taste was cinnamon. Sure, it was seasonal, but I expected more pumpkin flavor.

Our favorite of the weekend was Shipyard's Pumpkin ale, which was both pumpkin-y and warmly spicy. (Shipyard brewery is in Portland, ME.) P also quite likes the label on the Shipyard Pumpkin Ale bottle. ;-)

Let us know what your favorite pumpkin ale is so we can give it a try!

Farm stand to use closed tire shop

I think this is a much needed addition to the neighborhood!

Farm stand to use closed tire shop

More Cheesy Vermont

Recently, we were lucky enough to visit some points of cheese interest in Vermont.

Taylor Farm, right outside of Londonderry is a small farm of 50 dairy cows that produces some EXCELLENT local Gouda-style cheeses. They are open to the public, and while you are at the farm, you are free to take a walk around the grounds and meet the chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, goats, and cows!! When we drove in around 4:00pm, the cows were literally coming home; it was milking time!

We walked in the shop/welcome center and sampled some of the cheeses. Again, Taylor Farm makes Gouda-style cheeses—Vermont's only! In addition to original, they also have maple smoked, Chipotle, Garlic, and Nettle. My personal two favorites were/are the Nettle and Maple Smoked versions.

After tasting some cheese and talking to the fun fowl, we went to visit the ladies in the barn.

We were able to see the milking process—and even taste some of the fresh milk. I'd never tasted better milk. It kept saying it tastes like the field—in a good way. I wish we were able to buy more raw milk products in the US.

Before leaving, we went back into the shop and began asking some questions. Before we knew it, we were shown the cheese-making room! They'd just made cheese that morning, so we missed seeing the cheesemakers in action, but it was still very interesting.

After the curds are separated out from the whey, they are cut, cooked, salted, pressed and formed, and then placed into a brine/whey mixture.

After brining, the cheese is set to dry and cure in a refrigerated room. In the photo above, you can see the difference in the batches made, I believe, a week apart.

Cheese coated in wax and set to age.

I definitely recommend stopping by Taylor Farm if you are ever in the area of Londonderry, VT. Our next plan is to do an entire Cheese Tour of Vermont. I'm excited for that. I would love to visit some of the farms making the cheeses we sampled last year in Vermont as well as the many others the state has to offer. If anyone knows of a particularly good local dairy farm or cheese maker we should include on our tour, please let us know!