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.