Posted in Argentina, Asturias, chocolate, chops, empanadas, Garlic, lentils, Portuguese, side dish, South America, Spain, travel, Uruguay on Dec 21st, 2010
Those of you who raised your eyebrows at the very idea of lentils mixed with chocolate might be forgiven for thinking that we have lost our tiny minds, that too long around infant children, cooing and a-goo-goo-gooing, has softened our already mushy brains beyond repair. Indeed, had we not gone out on a limb ourselves [...]
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Posted in appetizer, Barcelona, fried, Garlic, ham, history, Madrid, pimenton, pinchos, pintxos, Potato, prosciutto, racione, side dish, Spain, spicy, tapas, tourism, tradition, travel on Nov 17th, 2010
Towards the end of what is, in my opinion, his finest work, Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell tells of the bitter street fighting he witnessed in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War when the delicate alliance between communist, socialist, and anarchist factions of the Republican army finally collapsed. While certainly not the bloodiest scene in [...]
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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 chicken, Coco Lezzone, egg, Florence, Genoa, ham, herbs, holiday, Italian, Italy, Liguria, Meat, Olive Oil, pancetta, prosciutto, rabbit, travel, Tuscan, tuscany on Oct 3rd, 2010
In the very infancy of this blog, back when we had no appreciation for plating, lighting or anything else remotely aesthetic, my wife wrote about the first course of a truly memorable dinner we shared in the famous Florentine trattoria, Coco Lezzone. What she didn’t mention was that even though we were getting towards the end [...]
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Posted in African, Cuba, culture, Garlic, history, Olive Oil, plantains, pork, Puerto Rican, sauce, seafood, shrimp, Spain, tostones, tradition, travel on Jul 30th, 2010
He’s certainly not the first to make such a remark, but when in a recent episode of his PBS show Mexico: One Plate at a Time, chef Rick Bayless commented that Mexican food may be the first “fusion cuisine” in the Americas, the concept resonated with me. The collision of cultures and culinary traditions that [...]
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Posted in agriculture, America, baking, bread, Fast Food, filthy chain stores, Food Commentary, France, French, tradition, travel on Jun 8th, 2010
The destiny of nations depends upon the manner in which they are fed.” – Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin The basic premise of William Alexander’s recent book, 52 Loaves, like his first title The $64 Tomato, is that the author becomes so obsessed with a particular project, in this case creating (and growing wheat for) the perfect loaf [...]
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Posted in Argentina, baking, Buenos Aires, duck, Galician, Gallego, Genoa, history, Italian, South America, Spain, travel, Uruguay on May 12th, 2010
Being the innate pessimist that I am, watching a small boat being knocked around like a dodgem car on the rollicking, blue-grey seas at the normally placid Jersey Shore this past weekend put me in mind of the Costa de Muerte, the coast of death, on Spain’s north-west coast, where Galician fisherman have taken their [...]
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A lot has been made of the glory and diversity of America’s road-foods by such hit US TV shows as Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which, if you haven’t seen it, features a bleach-blond moron traveling the highways and byways of this great nation gorging himself on deep-fried hamburgers, the world’s spiciest chicken wings, and platters of [...]
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Posted in chicken, France, French, fried, Garlic, herbs, Meat, offal, poultry, shallots, thyme, tradition, travel on Feb 20th, 2010
Do you ever wish you had a secret power? I don’t mean like some stupid superhero who can fly, make it rain, or look great in a unitard. I mean like a gerbil’s ability to store tasty bits in its cheeks for later, or a tiger’s ability to eat 30lbs of wild boar at a [...]
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Posted in Clams, culture, fish, Gallego, Garlic, healthy, history, Jose Andres, Olive Oil, parsley, Paul Bocuse, Recipe, sauce, seafood, Spain, sustainable, tapas, tradition, travel, white fish on Feb 3rd, 2010
It is no coincidence that, in the 30 years since Franco’s death, Spanish creativity in the arts, architecture, business, and gastronomy has blossomed. It is also no coincidence that it has been, predominantly, though not exclusively, Spain’s sub-national and regional groups — who were repressed most viciously by the Fascist dictator — that have led [...]
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Posted in Arezzo, bolognese, carrots, celery, chicken stock, duck, Florence, flour, game, Garlic, guanciale, hearty, herbs, indulgent meal, Italian, Italy, Meat, Montalcino, Montepulciano, mushroom, mushrooms, noodles, Olive Oil, Pasta, philosophy, porcini, Recipes, sauce, tomato, tradition, travel, Tuscan, tuscany, wine on Jan 23rd, 2010
It might be generational, or, perhaps, philosophical, but there are, on the one hand, those who enjoy and appreciate handmade things, and the art and craft they require to make, and, on the other, those who prefer their things machine-made, reliable, and standard. The ‘things’ here could be quite literally anything. My father, who, to [...]
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Posted in Argentina, bacon, beef, cheese, goat, ham, jamon, Meat, olives, pepper, Potato, Recipe, Steak, tomato, tourism, travel, unhealthy, Uruguay on Jan 7th, 2010
Made during the horrid, self-reflective, and, frequently, gassy hours aboard a trans-Atlantic flight this past weekend, our New Year’s resolutions swore us to no less than three weeks of Spartan, monkish grazing on whole grains, green vegetables and lean protein in order to trim ourselves of burgeoning, lumpy mid-sections brought on by the combined Holiday [...]
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