TV Thanksgiving Dinner

TV2 sport held a contest for their NFL fans in November. The prize was an authentic American style thanksgiving dinner cooked in their home by me! It was broadcast live during the breaks and half time of the football games on November 27th.

Signe and I went out to Køge near København and set everything up. It was a lot of fun and the Danes enjoyed tasting authentic American cuisine.

Here's the menu we made for them:

• Mulled cider with rum
• Brined roast turkey
• Apple sage and bacon stuffing
• Maple roast baby carrots
• Succotash
• Baked sweet potatoes with marshmallows and pecans
• Cranberry sauce
• Mashed potatoes
• Pumpkin pie
• Apple cranberry crumble

Here's my recipe for cranberry sauce:

• 1 orange
• 200g sugar
• 50ml port
• 375g cranberries
• 1 apple, finely chopped
  

Method
1. Finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice. Dissolve the sugar in a medium pan with the port and the orange juice.

2. Stir in the cranberries, apple and orange rind. Cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes until the fruit is soft and the juices are slightly thickened.

Street Cuisine : The korvkiosk

Read about my korvkiosk adventure here:
street cuisine: Hotdog Post #1: The Swedish korvkiosk

Hotdog Photos By Mia Hargreave

Photo Blog: Palermo Market

see more palermo market scenes at AdventureFood Photo Blog

street cuisine: Arancini in Palermo

to street cuisine blog

Two Special Fish & Chip Places

Recently I came across 2 fish and chip places

First to Reykjavik, Iceland,

Icelandic Fish & Chips

I ate lunch at this place on a lay-over from Copenhagen. It's located down by the harbour and offers an interesting selection of fresh fish battered in a spelt and barley mixture. I ordered the monkfish cheeks, but it was unavailable, so i had blue lang instead. The fish was very fresh and the batter was crispy and tasted great. ( I need to try to recreate the spelt batter).

The fish is served with organic potato wedges and your choice of sauces such as coriander and lime, rosemary and green apple, or ginger and wasabi. I chose the orange and black pepper dip. All dips are made with skyr. An Icelandic cheese curd that is similar to Greek yoghurt. It was tasty and probably very healthy, but admittedly i missed the fatty goodness of mayo-based tartar. Skyr is also offered as a dessert here topped with wild blueberries. sounds great.

Icelandic fish & chips website

Now to Midland, Ontario:

Henry's South

My family took me to Henry's South in Midland on a day trip. Henry's South is located in a marina overlooking Georgian Bay. It is the second location of Henry's. The original being located on an island further north which is famously frequented by diners docking there seaplanes at it's own airport!

The menu is quite large and has typical family restaurant items, but we came for their specialty, battered pickerel and chips.

Pickerel is a local fresh water fish that is firm and sweet tasting. Heaping piles of crispy battered pickerel come "family-style" with chips, coleslaw, and baked beans. Everything tasted really good and the portions are huge. Henry's South is located at 3282 Ogdens Beach Rd in Midland, Ontario

This is my own recipe for tartar sauce:

Steve's Tartar Sauce

• 250ml mayonnaise
• 1 large polish style dill pickle diced
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp fresh tarragon
• 1 tsp fresh dill
• 4 shots Tabasco
• 4 shots Worcestershire
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

1. pulse all ingredients in a food processor, don't blend too smooth
2. depending on the sweetness of the mayo you use, add a touch of sugar

Roti-Mataba: Bangkok Breakfast

My favorite breakfast spot in Bangkok is Roti-Mataba in the Banglampu area. It's a small store selling Muslim dishes such as stuffed rotis called mataba

Matabas can be filled with egg, banana, fish, beef, or chicken and are served with a sweet chili vinegar dip and cucumber salad.



I always have lemon tea and 2 matabas filled with massaman curried chicken, and sit and watch the owners make the rotis on the flattop by the front door.



Mataba-Roti is located on the corner of Phra Athit and Phra Sumen across from the park by the Chao Phraya river.


The roti itself is a bit tricky to make but i found a pretty good recipe by Kasma Loha-unchit here Roti Recipe . Here is my recipe for massaman curry chicken to go with the roti, or jasmine rice if you prefer:

• 4 chicken legs in parts
• 250gr diced potato
• 100gr diced green beans
• 2 tbsp massaman curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 sliced shallots
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 2 tbsp palm sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cardamom seeds
• 1 tsp salt

lots of chopped cashews and green onions for garnish

1. place the can of coconut milk, curry paste, cinnamon and cardamom in a pot and simmer until the liquid evaporates and the spices fry in the coconut oil
2. add chicken, shallots and garlic into the pot and saute. add potatos and green beans
3. add fish sauce, tamarind, palm sugar, salt, and 250ml water and simmer about 30 min
4. add more water if getting too dry, but sauce should be thick and oily looking
5. add more sugar, salt and fish sauce to taste
6. sprinkle with cashews and chopped green onions and serve

A Glossary of Spanish Food Terms

Use this list to decipher tapas menus and explore!

A
Aceite: oil
Aceituna: olive
Acelgas: swiss chard
Adobo: marinated
Afoga el pitu: a type of cheese
Agua: water
Aguacate: avocado
Aguardiente: distilled liquor
Ahumado: smoked
Ajo: garlic
Albóndiga: meatball
Almejas: clams
Almendra: almond
Anchoa: anchovy
Anguila: eel
Ancas de rana: frog's legs
Arroz: rice
Asado: roast
Atún: tuna
B

Banderilla: an appetizer on a skewer
Berenjena: aubergine
Bocadillo: a sandwich
Bogavante: lobster
Bollo: bread roll
Bacalao: cod
Bota: leather wine bottle
Buñuelo: fritter
Burgos: soft ewes' milk cheese
C

Caballa: mackerel
Cabrito: kid goat
Cafe americano: espresso, but with much more water
Cafe con leche: coffee with milk, hot or cold
Cafe con hielo: Coffee with ice

Cafe cortado: espresso with a dash of milk
Cafe solo: Black espresso
Calabacín: courgette
Calabaza: pumpkin
Calamar: squid
Callos: tripe

Camarón: prawn
Canalones: canneloni pasta
Cangrejo: crab
Caracol: snail
Cardo: wild mushrooms
Carne: meat
Carne de Vaca: beef
Carne de Ternera: veal
Centolla: spider crab
Ciruela: plum
Cebolla: onion
Cena: dinner
Cerdo: pork
Cerveza: beer
Champiñones: mushrooms

Chorizo: spicy spanish pork sausage

Churros: dough deep fried and coated in sugar. eaten for breakfast, with hot chocolate
Cigala: crayfish
Cochinillo: suckling pig
Col: cabbage
Coliflor: cauliflower
Concha: clam
Conejo: rabbit
Cordero: lamb
Criadillas: testicles of beef or lamb,
Croqueta: A deep fried ball stuffed with various fillings

D

Desayuno: breakfast
Dátil: date
Despojos: offal, variety meats
Dulce de membrillo: quince jelly
Dorada: type of fish good for grilling

E
Embutido: sausage
Empanada: savory pastry often filled with tuna
Empanadilla: small pie
Emperador: swordfish
Entremeses: starters
Escabeche: marinaded, pickled
Ensalada: salad
Espárragos: asparagus
Especias: spices
Estofado: stew
Espinacas: spinach
FFabes: dried butter beans
Fiambre: cold cuts, sliced meats
Fideo: vermicelli
Flamear: to flambé

Fino: dry sherry
Flan: baked pudding similar to a caramel custard
Foie-gras: goose liver

G
Gambas: shrimp, prawns
Garbanzo: chick peas
Gazpacho: cold pepper and tomato soup from Andalusia
Guisantes: peas
Gallina: hen
Girasol: sunflowers
Grelos: turnip greens
Guarnición: garnish
Guindillas: chili pepper

H

Habas: broadbeans
Helado: ice cream
Higado: liver
Horno: oven
Huevo: egg
Harina: flour
Hierbabuena: mint

JJamón Ibérico: blackhoof cured ham

Jamón Serrano: cured ham

Jérez: sherry
Judías: beans

L

Langosta: rock lobster
Leche: milk
Lechuga: lettuce
Lengua: tongue
Lomo: loin of pork
Laurel: bay leaf
Lenguado: sole
Lenteja: lentil
Liebre: hare
Lombrada: red cabbage
Lubina: seabass
Limón: lemon

M
Manteca: lard
Mantequilla: butter
Manzanas: apples
Manzanilla: sherry
Mariscos: shellfish
Mayonesa: Mayonnaise
Mazapán: marzipan
Melocotón: peach
Melón: melon
Membrillo: quince
Menú del día: menu of the day
Mercado: market
Merienda: late afternoon snack
Merluza: hake
Mero: grouper (fish)
Mejillón: mussel
Mollejas: sweetbreads
Miel: honey
Morcilla: bloodsausage

N

Nabos: turnips
Naranja: orange
Nata: cream
Nuez (Nueces): nut (nuts)
Nuez moscada: nutmeg
Navaja: razor clam
Nécora: small boxlike crab
Nyora: sweet dried pepper

O
Oca: goose
Ostra: oyster

P

Paella: Valencian rice dish cooked in a broad flat pan, the paelleraPaloma: pigeon or dove
Palometa: pompano (fish)
Pan: bread

Panadería: bakery
Panceta: fatty bacon
Patata: potato
Pato: duck
Pavo: turkey
Parrila: grill
Pascua: Easter
Pastel: pie or pastry
Pepino: cucumber
Perejil: parsley
Perdiz: partridge
Pescado: fish
Pimienta: pepper (as in peppercorns)
Pimiento: sweet bell pepper
Pisto: sweet pepper and aubergine stew

Pollo: chicken
Puerros: leeks
Pulpo: octopus
Piña: Pineapple
Pinchos - pintxos: small snacks served as tapa.
Pincho moruno: small kebab
Plátano: banana
Puchero: boiled dinner
Puerros: leeks

Q

Queso: cheese
Quisquillas: small shrimps

R
Raciones: large version of a tapa, served in bars
Roscos: doughnut cakes or buns
Rebozado: batter-dipped and fried
Rabo: tail (meat cut)
Rodaballo: Turbot
Riñones: kidneys
Rape: monkfish
Rebozado: batter-dipped and fried
Remolacha: beet
Repollo: cabbage
Revueltos: (scrambled egg)

S

Sal: salt
Salsa: sauce
Salchicha: sausage
Salchichón: cured pork sausage
Salmorejo: a thicker type of gazpacho.
Sesos: brains
Sopa: soup
Sidra: Apple cider

Sangría: wine punch
Sepia: cuttlefish
Seta: wild mushrooms
Solomillo: tenderloin of meat
Sopa: soup
Suizos: sweet bread

T
Taberna: tavern
Tarta: cake
Tascas: tabernas that serve drinks and tapas
Tetilla: type of cheese
Tocino: fresh pork fat
Ternera: veal
Tortilla Española: Spanish fried potato omelette
Tostado: toasted
Trucha: trout
Trufas: truffles
U

Uvas: grapes
Ulloa: cheese from Galicia
VVenado: venison
Verduras: green vegetables
Vieiras: scallops
Vino: wine
Z
Zanahorias: carrots
Zarzuela: seafood stew

Weekend in Sevilla

A getaway weekend to me isn´t about museums and churches. It’s about exploring the flavour of the place. A taste of what life is like for the locals. Exploring Seville is flavour and taste, and it starts with a tapeando and ends with “la marcha".

After checking into a hostal or pension, get a map and find your bearings. Maybe have a coffee and pastry at one of the bars in “Plaza Alfalfa”or the more touristy but nice “Santa Cruz area. Find the bar E. Morales in “El Arenal” and enjoy a couple of glasses of home bottled manzanilla surrounded by large and dusty clay wine jars. The seafood tapas are especially good and the atmosphere is friendly and authentic.

Around the corner from E. Morales is Bodega Diaz Salazar where you can sample several local Sherries with tapas standing at the bar. It’s worth ordering a ½ racion cumin scented lamb skewers here.

Wind your way through the streets to “Plaza Salvador”and grab some beers with the students and street musicans. Chips and peanuts suit the early evening crowd here. By this time you will probably need a seat so head to nearby “Plaza Alfalfa” and hang out on the terrace of one of the many bars. Montaditos, little sandwiches or croquttas with different fillings help soak up the

beer and fino.

The sounds of guitar and the smell of weed will lead you down a little alley to El Churinguito. bottled Cruzcampo is your only option so sit on a stoop outside and sing along with the artifice until late.

Tapas Tips

• almejas, boquerones or other marinated seafood goes well with mananilla
• a media racion is a larger portion of tapas. A racion is larger still.
• croquettas are deep-fried potato balls with various fillings and sauces
• montaditos can have almost any selection of meats or cheeses inside

more photos of sevilla

Where to stay:

Hostal lis I

I definitely recommend Hostal Lis I near the Plaza Alfalfa area, cheap and atmospheric. We had a great stay there. www.sevilla5.com/hotels/seville-hostels.html has a good selection of cheap options also.
Hostal Lis Site

Where to eat:

Duque's outside eating counter

www.exploreseville.com/tapas-bars.htm has a great page on tapas listed by area. I recommend:

• El Patio de San Eloy c/ San Eloy 9, for montaditos
• Bar E. Morales c/ Garcia de Vinuesa, for manzanilla and seafood tapas
• Coloniales c/ Plaza Cristo de Burgos, 19 (near Hostal Lis) for an early dinner
• Bar Duque c/Plaza Duque , for chocolate y churros in the morning.

Where to drink:
Triana nightlife

• El Rincóncillo c/ Gerona / Plaza de los Terceros , bar dating from 1670
• Several other good spots on Plaza de los Terceros for beer outside
• Cabo Loco Bar c/Pérez Galdós , for Tinto de Verano
• The boardwalk in Triana on weekends for beer by the river

What to drink:

• Manzanilla is my favorite, but you should try Fino or Oloroso also. For information and history on Sherry visit www.costadelaluz.biz/sherry.html
• Cruzcampo on tap or in bottles with olives or potato chips on Plaza Salvador always tastes great
• Tinto De Verano (red wine and a Sprite type mix) means "red wine of summer" it tastes great, but watch out the next day

What to see:

Sevilla market

• The mercado behind Plaza de la Encarnación is not as grand as the ones in Valencia or Barcelona, but a cool place to walk around if you love food.
• Cathedral Giralda looks great and the Reales Alcazares is a must even if your not into tourist sites. the gardens are a great place to relax
• Plaza de España is a strangly grandiose place to walk around. No wonder they used it for a scene in one of the "Star Wars" movies
• Real Fabrica de Tabacos is a fantasic building, the second largest in spain. Bizet based his 1875 opera "Carmen " on the women who made cigars here.

Other Stuff: