Cookies!

Easter is quickly approaching and I can't help but reminisce about the cookies my grandmother always used to buy us. You know the ones... oversized, holiday-inspired shapes, cellophane wrapping that was near impossible to open gracefully, edible icing eyes*, and of course the rock-hard icing coating. Something like these:

The funny thing is I don't remember actually eating them. First of all, I was one to savor cool looking food or those things I wanted to savor later. (This generally ended up in a disappointing letdown as the hype was 10x greater than the taste.) Secondly, I'm pretty sure I must have broken a tooth or two on these Quikrete concoctions. Biting I to them was more work than it was worth. Finally, they couldn't have tasted that great if I don't even remember how they tasted.

Anyone else remember these? Did you actually enjoy eating them or just the idea of them?

*If you know these cookies, you know these eyes. And there was always that one wonky eye that didn't see quite straight, thus adding to its charm!

Belgium... a look back and forward

So we booked our flight to Belgium for this summer, which cannot come soon enough. Get us out of this never-ending winter. Even more important, get us back to our beloved land of all things that are tasty! Just over four months and counting...

In honor of our trip, we recently had a taste of Belgium dinner combining two of our favorites: carbonnade à la Flammande (belgian beer stew) and pommes frites (fries). OK, so we cheated a bit and bought frozen fries, but they were of the Yukon gold persuasion- the closest you can probably get stateside. Even if we made our own they just couldn't compare to those from our favorite friterie (which will be merely a block away from our friends' house!), Maison Antoine. We did splurge, though, for a bottle of Belgian style ale for the stew- worth it! 

I used this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/beef-carbonnade-with-vegetables-belgian-beef-stew-recipe.html (I did not add the potatoes as we served it over the fries.)

While it may not have been 100% authentic, it certainly brought back memories of our favorite little under appreciated European country. It got us thinking of of all the chocolate, waffles, waterzooi, vol au vent, and frites we've savored during our previous visits; it also gave us inspiration for July: chocolate crawl, Liège meatballs and stoemp (which have both somehow eluded us for three visits), seeking out the ultimate Liège waffle... oh, and about a dozen more sauces chez Antoine! Not to mention bringing a spare suitcase for all those jars and bottles of sauces we'll be bringing back!! (That's in addition to the spare suitcase for our chocolate haul, of course.)

À bientôt, chère Belgique!

Candy Corn- a love/hate relationship

Now that Halloween has come and gone, the candy still remains. Candy that was leftover from trick or treating and the other candy. You know, the stuff you buy on November 1 because it's 50-75% off. The stuff you normally don't buy and keep around the house. You know... Candy Corn!

I've always had a hot and cold relationship with the seriously sweet fake maize. Don, on the other hand, can't seem to get enough of it. I go through phases of loving it one year and despising it the next. The year I found out it was made with honey was the worst, resulting in a multi-year boycott. Honestly, these days I can take it or leave it. I had my obligatory 5 or 6 pieces this year to confirm whether or not I actually like candy corn. Meh... it was o.k. If it suddenly disappeared from the planet, I don't think I'd miss it. (Well, I would miss using it as fake teeth, but that's about all. I'll stick to my chocolate, thank you very much.)

Feel free to add your two cents with a comment!

Olympic hockey triggers foodographic memory

Hockey has always been a part of my life, almost as much as food has. So as I sit here on a snow day watching the US Men's team take on (aka rout 7-1) the Slovakian team, leave it to Doc to trigger a long-lost foodographic memory. Doc was commenting on Patrick Kane, a USA team member who grew up in Buffalo, and how he had a ritual when he attended Buffalo Sabres' games at the Aud (RIP). Apparently Kane used to get nachos during the first intermission and ice cream during the second. 

Well, who would have thought I'd share something in common with the Blackhawk other than my hometown. Seriously, when my dad and I would go to games- sitting in our beloved corner gold seats- we had the exact same ritual. Before the game, I had to go to the opposite end of the arena to watch the players come out of the locker rooms onto the ice for warm-up. I'd snap a lot of pictures and just watch in admiration, waiting for my favorites to emerge. First period was for settling in, getting into the groove of the game, and building up an appetite. Then during the first intermission we'd share an order of nachos, served with that oh-so-realistic, surprisingly spicy cheese sauce. Of course, we'd need dessert later, so to cool off the heat it was always a cone of soft serve during the second intermission. Win or lose, it was always a fun experience and I always looked forward to the next time.

Some things will never be the same. There will never be another place like the Aud and a line like the French Connection. Some things, however, will always remain like my undying, unexplainable devotion to the Sabres. And while the Sabres may not have always won (they still don't very often...), a lot of memories were made nonetheless.

Pop Tarts

Who would think dinner conversation would spark a memory about Pop Tarts? Honestly, I cannot tell you the last time I had one. However I can tell you the first time.

Pop Tarts were just one of those things I never had as a child. My parents never bought them for us and we never asked for them. I guess I turned out o.k. since I made it through my first 18 years of life before I ever set lips upon the Kellogg's boxed breakfast fare. Rewind to the first day of college classes... I can recall the class (Hotel Operations), the building (Cantwell Hall upstairs), the professor (Tim Sullivan), the time (8:00 a.m.), and the day (Tuesday). After a thoroughly entertaining class- seriously, it was- I realized I had some time before my next class and so did a classmate. Edie was kind enough to ask me to head back to her dorm room to hang out for a bit before our next class. Since breakfast was pretty early and it would be a while until lunch, she offered me a Pop Tart to tide me over. Well, I can't say it was a life altering moment in terms of something I could not live without, but I certainly ended up with a memory out of it nonetheless.

On the rare occasion I pass by Pop Tarts and their generic counterparts in the breakfast foods/cereal aisle and think, "You know, I could really go for one right about now." I've declined in the name of better nutritional choices, but maybe if I could just buy one individual Pop Tart once in a while... I did kind of favor the blueberry frosted ones. Maybe, though, they wouldn't taste as good as I remember. Perhaps I'll just keep thinking about them and leave things be.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite Pop Tart? Toasted or non-toasted? Frosted or not? Name brand or generic? Never had one? Can't live without them?

Germany for lunch

As we cooked and ate dinner tonight- schnitzel, spaetzle, and red cabbage- I couldn't help but think back to this past July when we were visiting Jeff and Melissa in Brussels for two weeks. There was a day hanging around for which we had no plan, so after some option weighing we decided to go to Germany for lunch. That's right, we drove to Germany basically to have lunch. Sure we walked around the cute little town of Monschau and bought the obligatory gummy bears, but it sounds so much cooler when you say you're driving to another country to eat. When in Germany... eat schnitzel! (And yeah, it was realllllly good!)

Prost!

Trader Joe's

Oh my... how have I just recently discovered this foodie heaven? (Well, actually, there isn't one within an hour of me, so that's probably the reason.) Anyway, I sought some advice on what are some "must buys" from TJ's and now I'm seriously addicted. Not having a cooler made it a bit difficult as I had to pass up many delicious looking refrigerated and frozen goodies, but I managed to find some new addictions: reduced-guilt guacamole, dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds, curry and masala simmer sauces, to name but a few.

What does this have to do with food memories? Here you go: I am now able to relive delicious memories of some of the places I've been by enjoying foods I can't normally find in a regular store.

• Cookie Butter: I got a "lead" on this product, so I just set out around the store looking for something I knew nothing about. I assumed it was some kind of special butter used to make cookies. Was I wrong! I bought the cookie/cocoa swirl version. Think Nutella (minus the hazelnut flavor) swirled with speculoos cookie flavored peanut butter (minus the peanut flavor). You have to try it to really understand it... it is divine. And I've only ever eaten it as a dip for pretzels (or my finger). Speculoos, I think, is the national cookie of Belgium. It's a spicy little biscuit that is basically in, on, or on top of almost anything there. You can't swing a waffle in Belgium without hitting something to do with speculoos. Now I need to go back to Brussels...

 

•  Fleur de Sel Caramels: Having just traveled briefly to Normandy, France this past summer, I was already seeking the deliciousness of the caramel lifestyle they live in Honfleur. (Think speculoos as above, but the caramel version.) Since Trader "Jacques" harvests their "Fleur de Sel" (flower of salt) from the French coast, I felt I had to give these caramels a try. While they are made with a few more ingredients (like corn syrup and coconut oil, for example) than their French cousins, they are a decent stand-in. Now I need to go back to Honfleur...

• Cheddar & Horseradish Potato Chips: If you've been following me, you know my obsessive addiction with odd potato chip flavors. Well, add this really spicy one to my list. I could just see this on the shelves at the Tesco in London or at the local pub. Add a nice pint and you've got yourself a cozy (or "cosy") evening, English-style. Now I need to go back to London...

As you can see, I'm obviously going to be busy traveling a lot in the near future! With so many places yet to visit and many delicious ones to revisit, choosing where to go will be extremely challenging. But it's a challenge I'm willing to taste, er, take!

Inspiration!

Here it is, in list form- inspiration for my quest for the ultimate crisp. Sadly I've only had #11. Pringles I've had, but not this flavor. Time to get cracking (or crunching)... Of course, this will entail some travel back across the pond. Oh well, what I must do in the name of research!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/the-definitive-ranking-of-crisps-from-worst-to-best

Frites!

Last night, Don and I were out for dinner and one appetizer on the menu caught our eyes- truffled Parmesan frites. How could we say no? They arrived in a little basket lined with paper and a cup of garlic aioli with a drizzle of balsamic. Tossed with herbs, salty Parmesan, and LOTS of garlic these were scrumptious. (By the way, no vampires last night so I guess they did their job.) 

My apologies for not posting a photo. By the time I thought of it, they almost 1/2 gone! A little depressing note was that we only had one order and one sauce... On our most recent trip to Brussels, we ordered at least 8 cones and about a dozen sauces. I don't think anything can top our frite-fest, but this NY version certainly tasted good as it brought back fond memories. Speaking of which, we need more pickel [sic] sauce!!!

My foodographic memory in action

Don went to the bakery grand opening on his birthday to get something for breakfast. Pain au chocolat (chocolate filled croissant) is always a good choice! As we were enjoying our warmed goodies, he recalled having them when we arrived at Heathrow airport in London two years ago. Enter my curse/blessing of a memory... I knew exactly what we had at Heathrow- baguettes with bacon- AND where we had the pain au chocolat that he recalled- at the train station in Brussels. Not bad, though... at least he remembered it had something to do with transportation!

Another trip back to Brussels...

... in my mind, anyway. Well, and stomach.

Go figure that even though I've been sick this whole week, my appetite never skipped a beat. I guess that's a good thing, right? I noticed a banana on the counter. It was one of those bananas on the verge of going beyond edible- more brown speckles than yellow. Probably better than scarfing down a pile of chips. Hmm... chips. There's a bag of chips... chocolate chips. Chocolate chips + banana = frozen chocolate covered banana! 

So I sliced that banana up and popped the slices in the freezer. I felt guilty about opening a new bag of chocolate chips just to melt enough to coat banana slices, but only for a mere second. I melted the chocolate, coated the banana slices and stuck them back in the freezer to set. Here's what I got:

Not the prettiest things, but really tasty!

Immediately I thought of being in Brussels this past Christmas. Jeff and Melissa have this pretty big refrigerator/freezer (by European standards) and, oddly enough, all that was in the freezer was a box of Oufti frozen banana slices. Though now that I think about it, knowing Melissa, it's really not that odd. One night we stayed in, watched movies and scarfed down Oufti bananas and strawberries for dessert. Not one complaint from any of us!

I had to post my inspiration for Melissa to see. This, in turn, inspired her breakfast of banana pancakes. (And a trip to the store for more Oufti!) 

The power of food...

Crisps... again

One would not think that a trip to Brussels and Amsterdam would yield a post about crisps (aka potato chips). Well, enter one funky concept hotel known as CitizenM. In the lobby is their "Canteen" where you can get snacks, drinks, lip balm and stuffed animals 24/7. Lo and behold, prominently featured were (among others) the following bags of salty snacks: 

OK, so the bag on the left isn't THAT weird, right? Seems kind of normal next to the other one, doesn't it?! Of those in our party, I was the only one yearning to delve into the wonderful world of roast ox crisps. I wasn't winning over many friends and I almost had to go it alone. After carefully checking the ingredients, I found that there is no ACTUAL ox in these crisps. Ox flavor, yes, but not real ox. (Ox flavor?) Anyway, I could resist no longer and had to have them. To appease everyone else, ham and English mustard was purchased, as well as sweet Thai chili. 

I must admit, the roast ox crisps were my favorite! They tasted akin to very salty roast beef (but way more crunchy). The ham and mustard crisps were interesting, too. A slap in the face of wicked salty baked ham, then a lingering taste of zesty mustard. As for sweet Thai chili, I've had that flavor before and while they were tasty, they didn't blow me away.

So, keep your eyes open during your travels. You never know where you'll find some interesting crisps in unusual flavors!

Waffles, Part Deux

Back to Brussels for Christmas this year. Man, I love this place! First of all, we had amazing hosts and a gorgeous place to stay. Aside from that, Belgium may be a small country, but they're huge on tasty things. 

We arrived on Christmas Day and in an effort to keep jet lag from getting the best of us, we headed out in Brussels in search of the perfect Christmas waffle. (That should be a tradition, no?) Well, we ended up at the same stand we encountered six years ago. Though they had a little different set-up, the waffles were still lovely works of culinary art and tasted absolutely scrumptious. 

Choices, choices!

What have we learned since our last encounter with these delicacies?

1. Stay away from powdered sugar! Upon first bite, your tendency is to be so excited that you inhale in anticipation, thus resulting in a coughing fit during which you end up blowing powdered sugar all over yourself and your companion(s).
2. Avoid going for "the works." There's only so much space on a waffle. Sure, who doesn't love bananas AND strawberries AND chocolate AND whipped cream? There is physically no way to get that all in your mouth at one time. Order a couple different waffles and share.
3. Waffles are best enjoyed in close proximity to Manneken Pis. (Yes, the peeing boy statue.) Who knows why the combination works, but it seems to be the thing to do. When in Rome, er, Brussels!

Live and learn. Then eat more waffles!

Vintage Cookbooks

We spent the morning searching through yard sales, tag sales and a used book shop. Of course, we had to do lunch- fish 'n chips at the Merrie Olde Crafte Faire & British Festival. Awesome food aside, we came upon some vintage cookbooks that, if for no other purpose, shall provide some entertaining reading.

For a whopping $1 (US), we scarfed up 6 from the 1960s Better Homes and Gardens collection:

• So-Good Meals "100 tasty ways to please your family! How to eat at home and like it!" (!)
• Snacks and Refreshments "100 superb snacks- dips, nibbles, sandwiches, desserts, teatime tidbits"
• Meals with a Foreign Flair "100 recipes from 18 countries! Main dishes, desserts, breads, salads- prize souvenirs from around the world!"
• Meals in Minutes "Shortcut cooking, 180 recipes that BEAT THE CLOCK! Mealtime, on time, will be no problem!"
• Cooking with CHEESE
• And the piece de resistance... Jiffy Cooking!

 Once we were home, I realized there was a cookbook Don has had since before I even met him. The elusive Cookies and Candies:

We can't wait to see what memories will come back to us and possibly new food memories that await! I'll keep you posted...

Crazy Train, Italian style!

Wood-fired pizza at Cosimo's the other night inspired another memorable pizza moment... the Crazy Train in Italy.

While staying at our truly awesome villa outside of Florence, we'd have to pass through the little town of Compiobbi everyday. Along the way was a little dive called the Crazy Train pizzeria right next to the train tracks. We'd all joke about how we HAD to eat there, though one of us was not keen on the idea. "We didn't travel all this way to eat at some dive pizzeria." Remember those fateful words...

Finally, majority ruled and we descended upon the Crazy Train. Individual pizzas abounded and we each ordered our own. Wanting to try different things, we all swapped slices and enjoyed a piece of everyone else's pie. Fantastic! Every bite of every pizza was amazing. Even better was the fact that 7 of us each ordered a pizza, drinks and several of us ordered desserts and the bill came to well under $100!!

Later that week, seeking inspiration for our last dinner together, someone had the idea to get food to bring back to the villa rather than shopping and cooking. Why not revisit the Crazy Train? That we did. And no, we did not travel all that way to eat at some dive pizzeria. We traveled all that way to eat there twice! :)

Not the Crazy Train, but the view from our villa fabuloso!

Forgive my hiatus!

Sorry for the lapse in posting. With school starting a few weeks ago, things have been a little busy and my 28 students kind of took precedence temporarily.

I still have many memories to share, so it won't be long until posts come more regularly!

Thanks for hanging in there.

Belgian Waffles

Every time we go shopping, we are reminded of these delectable treats. The following picture adorns one of our credit cards*: 

How many different ways can you top your waffle?

What's not to love? And to make things even tastier, there are two types of Belgian waffles ("gaufres" in French): the Brussels waffle and the Liege waffle. The Brussels waffle is typically a lighter textured waffles with deep pockets to fill with various toppings, whereas the Liege waffle tends to be on the richer, denser and sweeter side. It's almost as if it has a subtle caramelized sugar coating. There are many other nuances to Belgian waffles, but those are the very basic distinguishing characteristics. I'll take either one right now. While we do have quite an awesome waffle maker, it's not quite the same. Only a true Belgian waffle is enjoyed on the streets of Brussels while jockeying for the best shot of the wee little Manneken Pis statue (pun intended), shopping for chocolate and Smurfs, and seeking out where you'll stop for a fine Belgian brew. Enjoy a gaufre while strolling through a Bruges flea market where you'll find a 5-Euro souvenir toaster. It could happen...

A few words of warning: While it is tempting to pile the toppings on your waffle, use caution and a little bit of common sense. Powdered sugar is very tempting, but as soon as something catches your eye you'll want to take a breath as you try to exclaim to your companions, thus bringing on a major coughing fit. Chocolate will also lure you in, but beware! It just might be molten chocolate lava that makes eating your waffle with any kind of tact seemingly impossible. Strawberries are good, but they're too darn healthy. If you must have them, slather them with a heaping pile of whipped cream!

*Yes, this is our photo, taken when we went to Belgium in 2005. Thanks to Capital One, we were able to customize our card! (What's in YOUR wallet?)

Summer fruit!

Take a moment to vote for your favorite summer fruit in the poll to the right =====>

(You can vote for more than one!)

Please leave a comment about which one(s) bring back fond summer memories for you!

Raspberries remind me of growing up. We had bushes in our backyard, both red and black. I was more partial to the black caps. Nothing was better than walking outside every morning, picking a handful and enjoying them instantly on my cereal! I still take great pleasure in finding ripe berries and eating them right then and there.

Deep-fried pickles!

I know what you're thinking... heart attack on a plate with a side of ranch dressing. Absolutely! We first encountered these a couple of years ago when we went out to dinner with our friends who were visiting us in Bar Harbor. Looking for someplace with decent food at reasonable prices, we stumbled upon the Thirsty Whale. Not much to look at, but we took a table and perused the menu. Deep-fried pickles? Hmmm... intriguing. According to Rich, you should find the one thing on the menu that scares you the most and try it. Done. 

How can you not love 'em?

These were no measly little slices either, they were whole spears that were battered (with something decidedly spicy in there), deep-fried until golden and served up with some cooling ranch in which to dip these evil spears of death. Well, there's something to be said about taking a chance. These were goooooooood!

So good, in fact, we returned to the Thirsty Whale the other day just to relive their glory. Sure enough, just as good. Though we could have just gotten away with just those for dinner since the rest of the meal was so big. But I digress...

The moral of the story: Find the one thing on the menu that scares you the most and try it! You just might be pleasantly surprised.

Limonata

What's another name for a can of quenching, lemony goodness? Limonata. Lemon soda. Made by the San Pellegrino company (of bottled water fame), we first discovered this tasty drink while on vacation in Italy.

One day we took a ferry boat from Varenna and upon setting foot on land in Bellagio, Don decided he needed something cold and refreshing to drink. As luck would have it there was a drink cart stationed right off the dock. Wanting to go for something a little more exotic than a Coke, he opted for a Limonata. From that moment we've been hooked. Not long after that we hiked up to Castello di Vezio, a centuries-old castle perched high on a hill overlooking beautiful Lake Como. What did we find at the top at the entrance to the castle grounds? A bar! Seriously, these Italians know what it's all about. Well, it was a bit early for the heavy stuff so we decided on a cold can of our new favorite soft drink.

After returning home, we longed for the bubbly, citrusy drink we had in Italy. Lo and behold it existed here in the States! We also discovered Limonata's sister: Aranciata (orange flavored) It's not cheap ($4-5 per 6-pack), but every once in a while we indulge and take ourselves back to Lake Como even if for a brief moment.