Posted in Castilla y Léon, Castillano, castille, Chorizo, Fall, Madrid, Meat, morcilla, octopus, offal, pigs, pork, pulpo, racione, Restaurant Review, Segovia, Spain, Spanish, suckling pig, tourism, tradition, travel on Jan 4th, 2016
Five years in the making, and after at least six months’ meticulous planning, this was not an auspicious start. Within twenty minutes of claiming our luggage off the futuristically-plastic baggage carousel at Madrid-Barajas, and after spending the few coins we brought with us on a pair of sorely-needed cortados, we stood, incredulous and cash-less, in […]
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Posted in America, animals, Autumn, butter, Canada, Christmas, duck, Fall, foie gras, French, French-ness, game, holidays, kidneys, liver, pomegranate, sour cream, tourism, travel, unhealthy, winter on Dec 9th, 2014
Since we defected to the suburbs, started going to bed at 9.30 and became generally boring and matronly, one aspect of the luxury of space afforded by our new location that we have enjoyed particularly is having two fridge-freezers. The second appliance has not only allowed us to give free-reign to our kleptomaniacal tendencies — […]
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Posted in America, Argentina, Autumn, baking, barbecue, bread, Buenos Aires, cheap meal, chick peas, chickpeas, culture, Fall, Genoa, Genovese, Italian, Italian-American, Italy, Liguria, New York City, Pizza, Provencal, Provence, rosemary, sage, South America, tradition, travel, Uruguay on Sep 17th, 2014
“There are more pizzerias in Buenos Aires than in Naples and Rome combined.” – Ernesto Sabato, Heroés y Tumbas In his book “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” travel-writer Bill Bryson, in an attempt to defeat insomnia, describes making a lonely evening among the anodyne IKEA fittings of a Stockholm hotel even more excruciating by tallying […]
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Posted in basil, cauliflower, crispy, culture, Fall, fish, Iceland, language, lemon, nuts, salmon, shark, travel on Oct 12th, 2012
My guidebook assured me that 3 out of 5 Icelanders believe that faeries, mischievous sprites and trolls are real. Many, it continues, actively take precautions against them, refusing to set foot in the spots they are thought to inhabit. My first introduction to the country, the drive from the airport into Reykjavik, past a giant […]
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Posted in brown sugar, chile, chipotle, Chorizo, cilantro, easy, Fall, France, Halloween, Mexican, pimenton, pumpkin on Nov 25th, 2010
It’s one of the ironies of being a new parent that even though we are spending more time than at any other point in our adult lives at home, we are finding it virtually impossible to do any cooking. Even when we do steal a few moments of quiet to get behind the burners, by […]
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Posted in alcohol, appetizer, Autumn, baking, duck, Fall, France, French, game, gherkins, ground meat, liver, madeira, Meat, mustard, pastry, pork, rabbit, tradition, travel on Oct 26th, 2010
Every now and then I’ll sit through one of those “secrets of the ancient world” shows on the History Channel. You know, the ones in which they have modern experts try to “decode” how the pyramids or the hanging gardens of Babylon were constructed using graphics that make you feel like you’re watching B-roll from […]
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Posted in blogging, butter, Fall, game, Garlic, Jim Harrison, Meat, mushrooms, poultry, truffles, walnuts on Sep 8th, 2010
“Once, at the Denver Airport, a bald girl in an orange dress told me I could be what I wanted.” – Jim Harrison, The Raw & The Cooked There’s an awful conceit abroad the interwebs these days that seems to be encouraging more people than it should to title themselves “freelance food writers”. Perhaps you’ve […]
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Posted in appetizer, bread, Fall, flour, France, French, Garlic, parsley, Recipe, soup, wine on Nov 2nd, 2009
Turning rustic country fare into a slick restaurant best-seller has become so hackneyed these days that finding a post-modern reconstructed pot-au-feu for $45 in a hot new city dining spot can’t be far away. However, (and while we may be wrong) it might be a while before this garlic and wine soup hits high-end eateries […]
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Posted in anchovies, appetizer, butter, condiments, easy, Fall, fondue, Garlic, grilled, Italian, Italy, Liguria, Olive Oil, Piemonte, Potato, Recipe, tradition, travel, vegetables, winter on Nov 29th, 2008
And, while you’re at it, good fellow, I’ll have a warm bath with virtually anything you’ve got on the menu: pasta, potatoes, fish, chicken, soup, bread… Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… A man goes to the doctor complaining of neck ache. The doctor gives him some painkillers telling him to take two […]
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Posted in breadcrumbs, butter, easy, egg, Fall, flour, Garlic, herbs, lemon, liver, lunch, mushrooms, Olive Oil, Recipe, thyme, veal, weather on Nov 19th, 2008
A month or so ago we bought a package of veal liver at our local grocery store telling ourselves that we going to cook them, but not really having any idea how. We’ve made veal kidneys before without relying on a recipe so we were convinced we could do the same with the beast’s liver, […]
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As we mentioned in an earlier post, it’s still fig season for another few weeks. This is a delicious way to eat up those unused figs or to try making this with some dried ones if you have had […]
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On a cold, wintery day, there is nothing better than the warmth of a hearty bowl of Hungarian goulash. After much research, I adapted a recipe by Wolfgang Puck. I’m glad I trusted my instinct that his would taste pretty authentic considering he is from Austria. According to my research, traditional goulash should NEVER contain […]
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Posted in Autumn, beets, cheap meal, easy, Fall, gravy, parsley, polenta, quick meal, Recipe, Recipes, sausage, veal on Nov 20th, 2007
Can’t figure out what to make tonight? Well, we couldn’t either. So we found some misfit stuff and threw it together and, you know what… it was pretty good. The roasted beets gave this otherwise ‘soft’ meal some necessary crunch, as well as color. The sausages we had were some delicious veal links with sage. […]
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Posted in Autumn, Fall, lunch, sandwiches, subs, travel on Oct 25th, 2007
Regular readers will remember the vigorous back-tracking done in the recent post In Defence of Sandwiches when excuses had to be made for having seemed to have been demeaning towards the humble sandwich. Well, friends, here’s some more hand-held, lunchable flip-flopping for you, I’m writing today about an excellent sandwich I made for lunch and […]
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