Day Thirty One - USA/The Last Stop

Aloha/Hey/Hi/Hello/'Sup/Howdy! We have made it around the world and now we are back visiting the United States for the last tour stop of the Global Grub Month.  It has been a fantastic adventure, one that has brought Elizabeth and I (and family and friends) to exotic locales that we may never get the chance to visit on our own.  We've visited places with fantastic food, and others that we'll pack a lunch for if we ever go there.  It's been a lot of fun, and I thought that there was no better way to celebrate a culinary trek than to enjoy a meal inspired by the good ole U.S. of A.

Picking tonight's meal was difficult, because I could have gone a lot of different ways with it. Do I make Maryland -style crab cakes, or New England Clam Chowder? Do I make fried chicken and biscuits and gravy, or do go with pulled pork BBQ? I weighed all of my options, and ultimately went with something simple.

Over the course of this month, I've had ethnic food from all over the world. While this means I've sampled some amazing cuisine, it also means I skipped over meals I normally make or enjoy. So tonight, all I wanted was a cheeseburger...

Carolina Style Cheeseburger

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

4 slices cheddar cheese

1 can hot dog chili sauce

1 small container BBQ slaw

1 onion, diced
Yellow mustard

Hamburger buns

Jimmy Buffet might like his with lettuce and tomato, with Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes. However, I wanted to honor my new home state with a Carolina Style Cheeseburger.  Also known as "All the Way," you can find this at hamburger joints all across the state.

First, I made patties out of the ground beef and cooked them in a large skillet.

I topped each of the burgers with cheese a few minutes before I was ready to plate them.

Next, I heated up the hot dog chili sauce in a small sauce pan.  A note on this: I was very saddened to learn that Texas Pete, the Winston-Salem based company that makes one of my favorite hot sauces and who used to make one of my favorite hot dog sauces, is no longer in the chili business.  A crushing blow, I'm pretty sure that clerk at the grocery store caught me openly weeping when I discovered this news.  I had to go with the next best thing:

I went back and forth with what kind of slaw to use.  Usually, the Carolina style burger has slaw that is mayo based, not vinegar and tomato based like the various BBQ styles of the Carolinas ("Are you in favor of vinegar based, tomato based, or mustard based?" is a question down here on par with "Are you Democrat or Republican?" or "Did Han shoot first?").  Ultimately, I chose a BBQ slaw that you typical find at the restaurants down in Lexington, NC.

Each burger was topped with diced onions, some of the slaw, a small spoon of the chili sauce, and yellow mustard.

  

Potato Salad

6 potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into cubes
4 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (I used Duke's because that's what you do down here)
1 jar Mrs. Campbell's Hot Chow-Chow
Salt and pepper to taste

To start with this dish, I boiled both the potatoes and the eggs in separate pots. Once the potatoes were tender and the eggs were hard, I removed from heat and cooled them down with cold water.  I chopped the eggs and the potatoes and added them to a large bowl. I then chopped the onion and the celery and add them to the bowl as well.

I added the wet ingredients at this point, which included the mustard, mayo, vinegar, and Chow-Chow.  I mixed everything together well.

A note on the Chow-Chow:

For those that are uninformed (and I apologize if you are), Chow-Chow is a relish type condiment that blows your typical pickle relish out of the water.  Mrs. Campbell's has two varieties in most stores, the plain and the Hot.  I always go with the Hot, and I add it everything from tuna salad to meatloaf to just using it on sandwiches.  This was the first time that I had used it in a potato salad, though, so I was interested to see how it would turn out.

Apple Pie

3 gala apples, peeled and cored
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg, beaten
1 pie crust, thawed

This was a bit thrown together from several recipes that I found.  First, I peeled and cored the apples, then chopped them into cubes.

In a large bowl, I mixed the apples with the juice, apple sauce, nut meg, and cinnamon.  I added in the cornstarch and the beaten egg, and mixed again thoroughly.

I poured the mix into the pie crust and set it in the oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. At the 10 minute mark, I poured the brown sugar on top of the pie and let it cook for another 5 minutes.


The result...

...was the best way to come home.  The cheeseburger helped to solidify this style as my favorite way to enjoy a burger. The Chow-Chow added a great kick to the potato salad, and I'm going to have to add that as a must have for the next time I make potato salad.  The pie, despite being a bit of a hodgepodge, came out tasting great.

This was a perfect way to end an adventure around the food world.  It's been a lot of fun figuring out what recipes to cook, what to shop for in order to make the most effective use of both ingredients and money, and timing it all out so I could have dinner ready at a reasonable hour each night.  But I'm glad that it's come to an end, and it gives me a chance to look back and reflect on this delicious adventure.


Savings

I went into this month worrying that I would end up spending a small fortune on ingredients. However, by the end of the month, I found that I ended up saving money.  I did this a couple of different ways.

First and foremost, planning out the entire month in advance meant that I knew what recipes called for certain items ahead of time.  I could buy in bulk for things, or get larger portions of meat at cheaper prices, because I knew that I would be using them later on.

Second, making a turkey at the start of the month and using the frozen turkey meat throughout the month was a great way to add a healthier, leaner substitute for certain meals. It also let me save money on the protein I used throughout the month.

Third, leftovers of the meals meant that I didn't have to spend as much on groceries for lunches. Elizabeth and I had a smorgasbord of options every day to choose from, elevating lunch from the sandwich or salad that we typically have each day.

I made recipes that made food for more than two people most of the time.  So in addition to using leftovers for lunch, I was also able to freeze most evening's left overs.  As of this writing, we have enough leftovers in our freezer to have something different for dinner each night well into the month of March.  That means on one month's grocery bill, I was able to get two month's worth of dinners, which is probably the biggest saving of all.


Highs and Lows

Elizabeth and I have been to many places over the last month, some wonderful, some forgettable. My top (and bottom) three countries we visited are:

Top Three
1) South Korea - The kimchi was fabulous and I've already started figuring out ways to punch it up, and the tak toritang was super flavorful.  All around, this was the best night of the month (it didn't hurt that we got to share it with friends!
2) Spain - Though it took all day to make, I was really pleased with how the paella turned out.
3) Italy - This tour stop introduced us to new Italian flavors, and I expect to be making tiella for years to come.

Bottom Three
29) Ireland - Though it was still edible, the fact that I botched the corned beef really brought this tour stop down to the bottom of the list.
30) Egypt - Elizabeth and I are still scratching our heads about this stop.  Pasta...rice...lentils...and that's supposed to be street food?  We'd love to visit Egypt, but it won't be for the food.
31) Botswana - Woof.  Boiled corn meal and bland, flattened meat.  We won't be heading to this country for food any time soon.


Conclusion

Visiting a country each day this month allowed Elizabeth and I a chance to go to countries that we had never been to and countries we can't wait to visit again.  It also got us out of our comfort zones, trying foods and recipes that we might not have tried otherwise.  We got to explore, which has always been at the heart of our relationship.  We don't like to get stuck in ruts, and we don't like to do the same thing over and over again.  We like spontaneity, we like variety, we like to take a risk now and again.  This project let us do all of those things, and it allowed us to eat a lot too.

Each of these monthly projects has been a lot of fun to do, but I think that this one by far has been my favorite.  I love to cook, and I am growing more and more confident in my abilities with each passing day.  This month allowed me to stretch a bit, to test myself and challenge the way that I do things.  It provided me with great alternatives to meals, and I am excited to come back to these throughout the year and to see if I can make them better.

I grew up in a home where dinner was eaten around the table every night.  The TV was turned off, and we talked about our days.  My brother and I told my parents what we had learned in school, and my mom and dad discussed everything from local gossip to how work was going to upcoming trips we were going to take to something funny we'd seen at the movies.

Nightly dinner grounded me. It provided me with a sense of place and a sense of home, and, most importantly, a sense of family.  I knew that at the end of each day, there'd be a hot, home cooked meal waiting for me.  More than that, however, I knew that at the end of each day, I'd have time with my family to discuss what was on my mind.  To recap my day, to process it, to ask questions about it, and ultimately, to learn from it.  My parents gave me and continue to give me many amazing gifts. Looking back, one of the best and most enriching was the time they spent with me around the dinner table.

Now that I'm a father and I am starting a family of my own, I want to give this same gift to my wife and my child(ren).  It's so easy to become lost in screens and in our daily struggles.  Dinner around the table lets us unplug from what's unimportant and plug in to the things that matter most: family, companionship, and love.

For those that try to recreate some of these recipes, be sure to let me know how they go.  For those that followed along with these adventures this month, thank you. And for Elizabeth, who has come to indulge these monthly projects with grace and helpfulness, I can't thank or love you enough.  I will take you back to some of these places one day, for real.

For now, the leftovers are in the freezer.

Day Thirty - Denmark

Hej! Welcome to the penultimate stop on this culinary trip around the world.  Tonight brings us to Denmark, which is fitting because it is the country that my parents have lived in for the last couple of years.  They live in Odense, the hometown of Hans Christian Andersen, which is also fitting, as he's where I get my middle name from (Mama Bear was walking through a book store, saw a children's book by Hans, and thought "Hans Christian Andersen...Lars Christian Farabee...yup, that works!").

The ideas for tonight's meal were offered by my dad, who sent me some great recipes to try that he and my mom have enjoyed during their time there.  I hope that I did them justice!


Aquavit

1 bottle of cheap vodka (I used Gibleys for $6.00)

Caraway seeds

Star anise seeds

Fennel seeds

Dill

Lemon zest

Sliced lemon

When my dad was gathering recipes for me for this tour stop, he said that I "had to have" an aperitif of Aquavit. It's a Scandinavian liquor, very potent (Dad said it was more like jet fuel over there than anything else). I tried to find some at the local liquor store, but was unable to (I also saw online that a bottle of it was a little out of my price range anyway).

I found a DIY recipe online, however, so I decided to try to make my own. First, I added the caraway seeds, fennel seeds, dill, and star anise to the bottle of vodka. I used a generous amount for each, about a tablespoon and a half or more. It depends on your flavor palette on how much to use, so this one could take some trial and error and guess work.

I did this on Monday, and let it set over night and all day Tuesday.  When we were ready to drink, I poured the bottle into a decanter with a coffee filter plugged in the top.

This was a little bit of a process, and cheesecloth would have helped to expedite it. However, the coffee filter worked just fine.

I zested a lemon, and put a bit of the zest into two rocks glasses. I squeezed a slice of lemon into each glass as well, and then poured the Aquavit.

Smoked salmon and crackers

1 package smoked salmon

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon dill

1/2 tomato, sliced

1 tablespoon capers

Crackers

This was a very easy appetizer to set up, and it got me thinking, why don't I do this more? When we go out to eat, more often than not Elizabeth and I will get an appetizer (this occurs less frequently now that there are three people living at the Farabee home). But at home, we rarely do that. I'm sure it's because we are on the clock with getting Elliot to bed, and pushing dinner back even further could throw that off.  However, because something like this was so easy, it might be worth doing again every once in awhile.

To start, I mixed the dill and the yogurt together in the yogurt container. I put a dollop of this mix on each cracker, then topped the yogurt with a slice of tomato. I then put a piece of the smoked salmon on top of the tomato. Finally, I topped all of this with capers.

Flæskeæggekage

8 eggs, beaten

8 tablespoons milk

1 zucchini, chopped

1/2 tomato, chopped

1 bunch leeks, chopped

6 strips bacon

This is a basic Danish egg pie (much more fun to call it "Flæskeæggekage"). To start, I fried the bacon in a large cast iron skillet.

Once the bacon had browned, I removed and set on a paper lined plate, leaving the bacon fat in the skillet.

Next, I beat the eggs and milk, and added the mix directly to the skillet. I added the chopped tomato, leeks, and zucchini to the eggs and stirred so it was even.

I put this in the oven at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Marinated cucumber salad

1 cucumber, sliced

Salt

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon peppercorns

I got this one from my dad's chef at work (yes, the company my dad is working for in Denmark has a chef that cooks lunch for them everyday). Jan first gave the instructions in Danish (one of the hardest languages to learn), so I was very thankful that he also sent over a translated version (thanks Jan!). For the curious, here's what it looked like in Danish:

agurksalat:

1 agurk

Groftsalt

2 dl eddike

1 dl sukker

0, 5 dl vand.

Peberkorn

Vask dine agurker.
Og skær dem i tynde skiver, drys med lidt salt og lad dem trække i 10 min.
I mellem tiden kan du rører sukker, vand, eddike og peberkorn sammen.
Når de har stået tager du og trykker dem i din hånd så du ikke har for meget væske i dem.
Kom dem i et glas og held din eddike blanding på, kom låget på og sæt dem på køl.

I actually started this side dish on Monday. First, I sliced the cucumber, and sprinkled it with salt and let rest for 10 minutes.

Next, I put the cucumbers in a mason jar. I mixed the sugar, vinegar, water, and peppercorns in a small mixing bowl, then poured the mixture over the cucumbers.

I sealed the jar and let it set in the refrigerator until I was ready to serve.

The result of all this...

...was simple and great. The Aquavit at the beginning of the meal was the biggest surprise.  Both Elizabeth and I clinked our glasses, made a grimace, and reluctantly took a sip.  At the same time, we then both took larger sips, finding that the infusing of the various seeds and spices and lemon made a cheap bottle of rotgut vodka taste wonderfully herbal.  Elizabeth thought it would be great to use in cocktails, and I would have to agree with her there.  This is something I'm going to have to try again soon.

The appetizer was also nice and light, and a great way to start the meal.  As I said previously, having an appetizer for more of our dinners as home will be easy if I can keep finding recipes like this to try.

The Flæskeæggekage was fluffy and not too heavy at all (I thought that cooking it in the bacon grease would make it oily, but I was wrong here).  The crispy bacon and crunchy sunflower bread I served with dinner was a good counterpoint to the softer eggs.

I'm going to have to do more of these semi-pickled cucumbers.  They were a great addition to the meal, and Dad said that he has them many times throughout the week.  They're an easy side dish that can be prepared ahead of time, so I see myself preparing these ahead of time quite often in the future.

Dad said that much of what they eat in Denmark is simple food like this (he called it "farmer's food). Not too many ingredients, all fresh and local.  I can get behind this way of cooking.  It was nothing fancy, but it tasted wonderful and was very easy to prepare.  This was a nice way to round out our trip around the world.

Join us tomorrow night as we make our way back home for our final tour stop of the Global Grub Month!

Day Twenty Nine - Luxembourg

Welkomm! Tonight we visit a country that has fascinated me since I did a report on it in Mrs. McCallister's third grade class.  Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in the Europe, and far down on the size list for the entire world.  It's capital is Luxembourg City.  It has a Grand Duke (I could go on and on and on...)

Landlocked between Belgium, Germany, and France, this tiny nation is often thought of as a "go-between" state.  Much of it's cultural identity comes from it's neighbors.  I had picked this country simply because of that report I had written when I was a kid (read "written" as "drew in crayon"). However, I was very excited to discover that Luxembourg had some distinct national dishes. I decided to go away from it's variant of blood sausage...because I didn't want Elizabeth to leave me with only a couple more stops to go.  Instead, I went with what is widely considered to be the national dish of the Luxembourg people.


Judd mat gaardebounen

2 center cut pork chops, bone-in
Liberal dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup dry lima beans (I should have used fava beans, but was unable to locate said beans and this was an acceptable substitute)
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 bunch leeks, chopped
4 green onions, diced
3 cups white wine (I used pinot grigio)
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon savory
1 tablespoon parsley
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cornstarch

First off, this was a dish that I took several liberties with regarding the recipe.  Some of this was due to the time I had available, and some of it was due to a lack of ingredients when I went to the local grocery store.  In any case, I did the best with what I had.

To start, I splashed the pork chops with the Worcestershire sauce and let them sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Next, I soaked the lima beans and then brought them to a boil for about 20 minutes as well.

I then chopped the celery, carrots, leeks,and green onions.  I heated a skillet and added the butter and the savory and parsley.  I cooked for a couple of minutes, and then added the chopped vegetable, stirring well.

I let the juices from the vegetables come out a bit, and then added the wine and the beef stock slowly. I continued to stir, and then added the corn starch to make a roux (lucky for me I had a roux spoon given to me by a friend in New Orleans, thanks Ashton!)

As the vegetables and liquids were cooking, making a sauce, I cooked the pork chops in a small pan. I added splashes of the wine to give it some flavor, and then poured off the juices into the skillet with the vegetable mixture.

Once the pork chops were browned, I added the boiled lima beans to the sauce pan and mixed thoroughly.

With the aforementioned roux spoon

The result...

...tastes surprisingly great!  Neither Elizabeth nor I knew if tonight would turn out (honestly, I'm not sure if many people even know Luxembourg exists).  But we were both very pleased with it.  The sauce had a wonderful flavor to it, sweet and tangy.  The pork chop was cooked perfectly, and Elizabeth's search for a perfect bite yielded wonderful results with tonight's dish.  The lima beans could have been cooked for a little bit longer, but otherwise, this one turned out great, and it's definitely going on the list of recipes that I will try again in the future.

I am so happy that the little country that I've always had a soft spot for was able to produce such a great meal. We came within 2 hours of it when we were on our European adventure, and I'm kicking myself that we didn't make the detour.  Based on tonight's success, if we ever do make it back Europe, we'll have to make a stop to Luxembourg a reality.

Day Twenty Eight - Australia

G'day mates! This morning, we took a trip to the Land Down Under to enjoy a traditional Australian Brekkie.  This was the first time this month that I've cooked breakfast for a tour stop, and I was excited to once again get to share it with Aunt Chris and Uncle Bill.  However, they did leave right afterwards...I'm hoping that it wasn't because of today's meal!


Traditional Australian Brekkie

8 slices of bacon
6 eggs, beaten and mixed with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cans vegetarian baked beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 12 ounce package sliced white mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 loaf sourdough bread
1 loaf sunflower honey bread
Assorted jams and jellies (we had fig butter, raspberry, and orange marmalade)
Vegemite
Strong coffee
Orange juice

The Australian Brekkie shares many similarities with an Irish or English breakfast (another testament to how colonialism can shape the food culture of a region).  I didn't so much cook this one, as assemble it, and it was all about timing.  First, I cooked the bacon in a large skillet.

While this was going on, I heated the oil in another skillet and sauteed the sliced mushrooms until they were brown and had released most of their juices.

In the meantime, in a small pot I added the can of stewed tomatoes and cooked on low heat until they were steaming.

Once the bacon was all cooked, I set it on a plate and covered it with a paper towel.  I then added another pot and heated the baked beans until they were bubbling.

In a large pan, I also added the eggs and cheese and scrambled the eggs. Finally, just as the eggs were finishing cooking, I toasted the breads.

And here was the final result...

It was a great way to start a day.  Elizabeth and I occasionally have this kind of breakfast on the weekends, with a few variations (most of the time I will substitute greens for the mushrooms, or sausage for the bacon).  One doesn't usually think of beans for breakfast, but they add a sweetness to everything without being too sugary, and the tomatoes and mushrooms go well with the eggs.  It's a big, hearty breakfast, and it's great for Saturdays and Sundays when we have a lot going on and we need a large meal to kick things off.

A note on the one thing that really set this apart from an English or Irish breakfast.  That would be this...

It's called Vegemite, although the only "vegetable" that we could find listed in the ingredients was celery, and that was way down the list among the added "flavours" and "colours" (the added "u" makes those words sound fancier).  It's a yeast extract spread that is featured in both the Men at Work song and in Australian cuisine.  You can normally find it in the international aisle near the English food.

It was a black, oily looking paste that tasted a lot like sardines, but also was it's own unique flavour (hey, I could get used to spelling it that way).  And in this case, unique is not necessarily a good thing.  It was incredibly salty, with a lingering after-taste.  I put some on my finger and successfully managed to get Elliot to cringe, Elizabeth, Aunt Chris, and Uncle Bill only managed a little bit of the stuff on a bite of the sourdough.  I soldiered on and had a full piece of toast with it, but it was a bit of a struggle.

The bigger struggle now is what to do with the rest of the jar, as we really only scratched the surface of it.  There has to be a blog or a Reddit thread about what to do after you foolishly buy a whole jar of Vegemite, try it, find it wanting, but you don't want to throw away the rest of it.  Or, if there isn't, maybe a should start one. Hmm...January 2017...The Vegemite Month...

Day Twenty Seven - China

Nin hao! Tonight's tour stop on our global culinary adventure takes us to China, As with Italy, I'm willing to bet that this is a cuisine that most people in the US have some familiarity with, albeit an extremely Americanized version of it.  There's a great documentary on Netflix now called The Search for General Tso that traces how such regionally diverse food in China came to this country and was quickly changed to suit the tastes of Americans.  Check it out, it's really good stuff!

 I toed the line here tonight with my choice of recipe.  While it's a dish that originates in China, I'm sure that some of the process was lost in translation.  Still, I didn't want to heat up frozen egg rolls and call it good.  I wanted to try something a little more challenging, with a little more kick.

Kung Pao Chicken with rice

6 chicken thighs, chopped into medium sized chunks

2 tablespoons white wine

2 tablespoons lite soy sauce

2 tablespoons spicy sesame oil

2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved into 2 table spoons of water

1 ounce red curry paste

1 ounce chili garlic paste (by the same folks that make the "Rooster Sauce")

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons brown sugar

4 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 10 ounce can of water chestnuts, drained

1/2 cup crushed peanuts

Ok, I'm going to be up front here.  The recipe list above was only a framework.  I went really wide with this one, adding more chili paste than called for, more wine than necessary...basically, more everything.  I kept adding a dash here and a pinch here until it got to the taste that I liked.  I suggest that you follow these amounts first, and then go from there.

First, I made a marinade from one tablespoon of wine, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch mixture.  I combined this all together in a large bowl, stirred, well, and then added the chicken to it.  I tossed the chicken so it was coated evenly, and then set it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

After that time, I cooked the chicken in a skillet until the juices ran clear, about 8 minutes.

While this was going on, I used the remaining wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch mixture, and combined it with all of the remaining ingredients (from red curry paste to the bottom of the list above).  I mixed this well in a bowl, and here's where I added my dashes and splashes here and there. I like spicy food, so I went more in that direction, but I'm sure that you could pull back on the heat and add more of something else to get the flavor you prefer.

I heated the sauce, and once it was aromatic, I added the chicken to it.  I cooked the chicken in the sauce until it thickened, about 10 minutes.  I lowered the heat and continued to stir.

Sauteed Bok Choy and Cabbage

1/2 head green cabbage

1 bunch bok choy

1/2 onion, diced

1 medium shallot, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon parsley

I first chopped the stalks off of the bok choy and then diced them into smaller pieces. I added these pieces to the onion and shallot.  In a skillet, I heated the oil and then added the diced veggies to the mix.  I cooked on medium for about 5 minutes.

I then added handfuls of the cabbage/bok choy greens to the skillet, stirring constantly to coat everything and to make sure everything cooked down well. I did this for about 10 minutes.

I served the chicken over some wild rice that I had boiled.  The result...

...turned out really well!  While not as spicy as the Kung Pao that caused George Costanza to sweat profusely, it was still hot enough to have some umph.  To me, it had the perfect amount of spice, enough to know it was there but not enough where you spent the whole time gagging or gulping down water. The greens were flavorful as well, and they paired really well with the spicier dish.

The best thing about tonight was that we got to share dinner with Elizabeth's Uncle Bill and Aunt Chris. They're from just outside of Philadelphia, and were on their way to visit friends and family in Asheville, NC and in Florida.  We don't get to see them too often, so it was a great way to spend an evening and we are very happy they made the stop to see us and to meet Elliot.

While it's been great to share these meals with Elizabeth, it's been great to also get the chance to cook for others and have them join in on our trip around the world. As I've said in other posts, food has a powerful way of bringing us together, and I feel a great sense of fulfillment being able to cook for others and have them actually be able to enjoy it, let alone eat it.  I've come a long way in this regard...

While I don't think I'll ever be able to replace our favorite Chinese spot here in Greensboro (that would China's Best on Lawndale...fantastic), it's good to know that I can come up with something right here at home that at least in the same ballpark.  And, just like China's Best, or any great Chinese restaurant, the wonderful thing about last night is that there are plenty of left overs to dig in to tomorrow.

Day Twenty Six - Germany

Guten tag! Welcome to Germany, land of Oktoberfest. The recipes tonight were inspired by that yearly celebration, one that my buddy Rex attends every year. I hope to one day join him (maybe as an "Elliot leaves for college" present to myself...)

There were many different ways to go with the food for tonight, but I tried to keep it simple (some of the best tour stops this month have involved me doing that). So grab your boot of beer and strap in for a trip to Deutschland!

Bratwurst

5 links bratwurst (I used the local store brand)

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cups beef broth

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

To start, I heated the oil in a skillet and cooked the onions down on medium heat.

Next, I added the bratwursts and cooked until they were browned on either side, about 5 minutes total.

When I saw that the onions and brats were burning or getting too hot, I added a splash of the beef stock. I continued to do this for another 15 minutes.

Potatoes and onions

2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped finely

1/2 onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

This was my attempt at a hot German potato salad. First I heated the oil and then cooked the onions for a couple of minutes.

Next, I added the potatoes and cooked on medium high heat for about 15 minutes, stirring so they would brown but not burn.

Cabbage with apples and bacon

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

Two gala apples, peeled and cored then chopped

3 slices of bacon

First, I cooked the bacon in a large skillet until browned but not over done.

I removed the bacon from the skillet but left the bacon grease. Next, I added the apple pieces and cooked for a couple of minutes.

I then added the chopped cabbage and stirred constantly, making sure it all cooked evenly, for about 5 minutes. I crumbles the bacon and added it back to the mix and cooked for another couple of minutes.

The result...

...brought us to Munich. Served with a German beer, tonight's meal was very flavorful and not as heavy as I was expecting. The potatoes and onions were  not too oily, and the onion and beef broth added a great taste to the bratwursts.

The cabbage side dish was interesting. A mix of the sweet from the apples and the salty bacon, with the cabbage right in the middle to hold it all together. While not the healthiest way to cook, how can you go wrong with using bacon grease to cook vegetables? (Ok I am sure there are libraries of clinical research showing just how wrong you go with this plan, but for the sake of tonight, we will call it a good idea).

We are rounding out this journey around the world rather well, and it's making me antsy to plan out our next trip that will actually involve a plane, train, or automobile. I'm going to lobby hard for Germany. Brats and beers...my kind of people.

Day Twenty Five - Thailand

Swasdi! Welcome to Thailand, and welcome to the home stretch of the Global Grub month.  Only a week left until this culinary tour around the world comes to an end. I'm hoping that from here on out it's only good stops and good food.

Elizabeth and I love Thai food.  One of the restaurants at the resort we stayed at for our honeymoon in Jamaica was a Thai place, and it was fantastic.  While we were there, I got to try things that I normally don't get at other Thai places (where I rarely branch out from the "Pad Thai" side of the menu).  Things like tom yang goong soup and spicy curry dishes.  So when planning out this tour stop, I wanted to do something in that vein.  Instead of the typical noodle dishes that I am most familiar with in Thai cuisine, I decided to go in another direction.

Thai Curry Pumpkin Soup

2 cans pumpkin

1 can coconut milk

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 large red chili, seeded and sliced

1 tablespoon cilantro

This was a very easy soup to make, and it smelled great while it was cooking.  First, I heated the red curry paste in a pot until it became very fragrant, about 2 minutes.

I added the pumpkin...

...and then the chicken broth.  I mixed well, and let that simmer for about 5 minutes.

Once it started bubbling, I added most of the can of coconut milk, reserving about a tablespoon in the can.  I mixed well and let it all simmer again for about 5 minutes.

To serve, I ladled the soup into a bowl and topped it with a drizzle of the remaining coconut milk, some of the red chili slices, and a pinch of the cilantro.

Chopped Thai Kale Salad with Garlic Ginger Dressing

4 cups kale, chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1 orange bell pepper, sliced

1 tablespoon cilantro

2 green onions

1 cup cashews, crushed

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup blended oil

1 tablespoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons low sodium teryaki sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 inch fresh ginger, peels and sliced

Squeeze of lime juice

For the salad, I added all of the ingredients together and then let it set in the fridge while the soup cooked.

Similarly for the dressing, I added the ingredients together and mixed well. This was the first thing that I made tonight, and I let it set for the longest to the let the flavors mix.

The result...

...was fan-Thai-stic! Elizabeth elected to skip the peppers on her soup because of my reaction to them (they were hot!) but I actually think they brought some great tastes out in the soup.  It was not overly pumpkiny, but I expect that the flavors will come out even more after a few days.  

The salad (and specifically the dressing), however, was the real star.  Elizabeth was quick to point out that "This tastes like something we would get at a Thai place."  Lots of different flavors going on with each bite, and it provided a good counterpoint to the milder taste of the soup.

This was a quick and easy night, which I think is okay actually. It showed me that you can still go to another country through cooking or spice up a dinner without having to get so involved.  Some of the recipes this month have taken a lot of time and a lot of love.  Those have been great, but they also have been a production and basically take up all of the time I have with Elliot and Elizabeth when I get home.

It's nice to have a balance.  It's nice to have some recipes that you can make after a long day of work when you don't have a lot of time but you still want to do something out of the norm. These one pot/quick recipes don't have to be bland rehashes of things you already make.  Instead, they can transport you to Thailand, or anywhere else around the world you might want to go.