Food in France

• Wine.
• Coffee.
  
• Bread.
  
• Pastries.
  
• Cheese.
  
• Nutella everything.
• Beer. (but only Belgian or German, because French beer is gross, even though we're so close to the border in Lorraine.)

Also, meat is really expensive here, so I pretty much just eat lentils all the time. THE FOOD OF THE GODS.
Since we're into posting recipes these days, here's my recipe for mujadara, my standard midweek meal. But I do something different every time I make it, so your mileage may vary (mine does).

Mujadara (Aromatic rice and lentil pilaf with caramelized onions)

Ingredients

2 + 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 onion, sliced
3 cups chicken stock or water
2 cups green lentils, rinsed
2 bay leaves
2 + 2 tsp cumin, divided
2 cups rice
1 bouillon cube (optional)
2 tsp five spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Directions

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a small frying pan. When the oil is hot, turn the burner down to medium / medium-low. Add the onions. After 5 minutes, add a little salt and sugar if you want. Caramelize the shit out of the onions. This should take about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, in big pot, bring the stock or water to a boil. Add the lentils, bay leaves, and 2 tsp of the cumin. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

If the onions aren't caramelized after 20 minutes, take the lentils off the burner and keep cooking the onions until they're done. Try not to eat them as they're cooking (I am bad at this part).

If you removed the lentils from the burner, put them back. Add the caramelized onions, the oil they were frying in, the rice, and (if you used water instead of stock) a boullion cube. Bring the mixture back up to a simmer, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, rinse out the pan you used to caramelize the onions. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of the oil on medium. When it's hot, add the remaining 2 tsp of cumin, five spice, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Cook the spices for a minute, then add the garlic and cook for another few minutes, until the garlic is golden. Add the cooked spices, oil, and garlic to the lentils, stirring well.

If the rice is not done or the liquid isn't mostly absorbed, cook longer. If the rice isn't done and the whole thing is starting to burn, add a half a cup of water and keep cooking.

When everything is cooked and no liquid remains, take a bite and salt / pepper to taste. Glop a bunch onto a plate (it ain't pretty) and eat all of it at once, you fatty. If it's gross, change something and do it again. I've seen recipes that call for adding caramelized onions or yogurt as a garnish. Get to it.

Two Things

The First:

Apparently it isn't your fault if you don't like cilantro. But I'll still be uncomfortable with the prospect of making soup for you if you don't.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html?ref=dining

The Second:

I made a chocolate, no-egg cake from scratch last night. It was delicious. And probably the best cake I've ever made. Recipe to come. Kari's baking this weekend so maybe we'll have a CAS double feature or something.

I am addicted to soup.

So, we all know I'm broke. Because I talk about it a lot. But I like to cook. And I like to eat. So I've discovered this wonderful New Idea.

It's called soup.

You take something tasty and you put it in water and you boil it forever and you end up with something delicious. Sometimes, you screw up and it's terrible and you cry but more about that later.

The point is, I like soup. I like Pho. I like chicken noodle soup. I like chowder. I like stew. When Jordan and Killpack Jr. and Kevin and I went to B'roo last summer, we inhaled a box of cuban black bean soup. Did I mention I really like pho? I even like crappy box ramen.

One day, when Kevin's mama was sick, we went and picked up some chicken soup from this Mexican place in Smyrna (Mexico Lindo). It was pretty clear broth and shredded chicken and it came with tomatoes and jalapenos and avocado to add when you ate it. It was pretty much the soup of the gods, y'all.

So, every time I've made chicken soup since then, I've been trying to imitate this soup.

And this is what I've got.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

canola oil

half a medium white onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 chicken breasts (with the bone, with the skin)

1 box of chicken stock (just use decent stock. Kroger's organic is surprisingly good)

2 cups of water

½ cup rice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

½ teaspoon of cumin (to taste)

¼ teaspoon chili powder (to taste)

some corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips

1 large-ish avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

1 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped

2 limes, cut in wedges

at least 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Skin the chicken. Place the breasts in a large stockpot and cover with the stock and two cups of water. Add half the cumin. Cover and bring to a boil. Skim the “muck” off the top. Boil for fifteen minutes, then reduce to a low boil (we're talking bubbles here, but you don't want to turn the chicken to leather) for a half hour or until the chicken is cooked through. Skim some more nasties off the top as you go. And then turn off the pot.

Once the water is cool enough for you to handle, remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Strain the broth and set it aside; there's going to be some nasty bits and it's better for all of us if you get rid of it. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones and shred it.

Now back to the stockpot. Turn your burner to medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until translucent (just don't caramelize them, guys). Add the stock, season with salt and pepper and cumin and chili powder. Add the juice from a quarter of one of those limes. Bring to a boil and then add your rice. Simmer for fifteen minutes or until the rice is almost cooked, and then add the chicken (something I just figured out) and let the rice finish up.

At some point while your rice is getting happy with the broth, heat a few tablespoons of canola oil in a pan. When the oil is hot – think, about to start smoking – add the tortilla strips in batches. Fry until crispy, and then drop them on a plate covered with a paper towel. You'll probably have to add oil as you go.

When your rice is cooked, things get exciting. Ladle the soup into a bowl. And add jalapenos and tomatoes and avocados and those tortilla strips that gave you so much trouble. Add cilantro. Squeeze some lime juice in there. If you're me, add even more tomatoes. If you're my friend Nataya, add half a jalapeno and more chili powder.

And then, if you weren't aware what blog you were reading, you eat it.

The Real Chow Baby

Okay, so technically The Real Chow Baby doesn't fit our requirements for a Culinary Adventure Squad outing. One of us had been there before, and it's arguably a chain. However, there's only two locations, so I don't know that that's really a chain. Either way, Vidur and Hal and I went last night and nom'd.

Basically, the Real Chow Baby is a stir-fry place. You go through the line, pick out what type of noodles/rice you want, then add any vegetables or nuts or various other yummy things. Next, they've got a dozen or so sauces you put on. These all go in a big black bowl. You then pick up a smaller red bowl and put your protein in it: scallops, beef, chicken, pork, and a few more choices. Then you can add seasonings, hand them off to the staff with a tiny wooden paddle with your name and table number written on it, and sit back at your table.

Maybe 15 minutes later: voila! Stir-fry!

The website definitely explains the process better, as well as giving you a list of the different ingredients (though I did not ice there was some variation between what they had on the website and what they had on the line).

I had:

Lo mein noodles
Bamboo shoots, a ridiculous amount of bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots, and snow peas
Green onions and garlic
An egg
2 scoops or red thai curry and 1 scoop of coconut curry sauce
Beef with a ridiculous amount of garlic powder on it (there is no such thing as too much garlic)

It was great.

It wasn't ridiculously spicy, but it wasn't the sort of "I'm just saying that this is a spicy food so that I can sound hardcore but really it's not spicy at all" spicy either. It was make-you-mouth-and-tongue-tingle-pleasantly spicy. Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, I didn't grow up eating a lot of spicy food, so my definition of spicy isn't as high as some peoples.

The beef and noodles were both cooked well, I loved the sauces, and my vegetables were delicious. I only had two complaints. First, the egg was a bit undercooked for my tastes and was in very large pieces (I think only four before I cut it up). I would have preferred if it had been fried a bit longer and distributed more evenly throughout the stir-fry. Second, I ended up with bits of other people's stir-fry in mine: a piece of either chicken or pork, a jalapeno, and a mushroom. It wasn't the biggest deal in the world, but depending on your preferences, pickiness, and/or allergies, it could be a problem.

I'd definitely go back. It was a bit expensive for an everyday sort of meal for me (12.95$ with tax), but not so expensive that I can't ever afford it. Our waitress wasn't particularly helpful either, and asked if I actually needed change from my 20 (sorry, sweetheart, I'm not giving you a 7$ tip for a 13$ meal) as well as not bringing back my nickel in change (I would have left it for her anyways, but it's the principle of the thing). Those are really minor quibbles, though.

I'd recommend it for just about anyone, as, since you can make your own thing, you can eat whatever you want so everyone's happy. They've even got nifty suggestions and recipe cards (like one for what to put in your bowl for fried rice).

Oh, AND it's all-you-can-eat. And if you only go through the line once, you can take home any leftovers you have for free. Which I did, and just ate for dinner. Even microwaved, The Real Chow Baby stir-fry is still delicious.

Our On-Going Absence

Jordan has abandoned us, crossed the Atlantic and ended up in France for the semester. We know not when she will return nor what kind of food shenanigans she will have with out us, but God bless you, Jordache, oh fertile crescent.

I am broke. Not the cute kind of broke where you don't get to go out and eat as much as you like or the kind where maybe you don't go to the farmers market anymore. The kind where you're bank account is in single digits and the wait for your next pay check is terrifying. That kind.

And Vidur and Kari are off in the ether never to be seen or... okay, so I don't see Kari and Vidur as much as I like. Every so often Vidur and I send each other cruel or threatening or creepy text messages and then promise that food adventures will come if we'll only wait. Months ago I promised frozen yogurt -- not shitty fro-yo, mind, but the good kind. the kind that makes you go "oh, that's right. frozen yogurt is food" -- and we still haven't gone. Kari and I watched Dr. Who and made half-hearted schemes a while back.

We are at a terrifying place, friends.

So, I'm going to try to start blogging again -- not that I was ever good about it, anyway, but still.

About cooking, because I'm actually cooking on a regular basis. And about Kevin's mom's cooking, because she's getting pretty damn adventurous for a lady who left cooking to Kevin's dad for so many years.

And probably about the food-crush I've got on my new house-mate's groceries. More about that later.

The point is.. We're working on it. See you soon

Aria Receipt

Hi, everyone! (Note to self: check traffic for blog, and see if anyone ACTUALLY reads it.)

I'm going to do a more lengthy post on our visit to Aria sometime in the future (right now I've term papers to work on), but for now I thought I'd just go ahead and post what we actually ate. Even better, I know everything is correct, as I had the forethought to save the receipt! Where possible, I went to their menu and made it as accurate as possible, but as the menu can differ from day to day, that's not always the case.

Starters: Prosciutto
Warm Lobster Cocktail
Tempura Crisped Jumbo Prawns
Ravioli (Shrimp? Mushroom?)

Entrées: Pan Seared George's Bank Jump Sea Scallops
Pan Roasted Breast of Duck
Roasted Rack and Crisped Shoulder of Lamb
Pan Roasted Swordfish Steak

Dessert: Warm Chocolate Cheesecake
Fresh Sorbets
Choc. Treat (I think it was an ice cream sundae-ish sort of thing).
Coffee

MASSIVELY AWESOME CULINARY SOLILOQUY

So... no one's posted anything since February. (I always have to pronounce it Feb-brew-air-ee in order to spell it correctly... because I'm odd like that.) And, for our thousands of readers, I realise that this has been horribly, devastatingly disappointing.

So, in an attempt to remedy that situation, I shall attempt a MASSIVELY AWESOME CULINARY SOLILOQUY (MACS^TM). Basically, I'm going to try and think about all the food I've eating in the past four months and pontificate accordingly.

During the first week or so of May, I went up to Detroit to visit family. While there, we went to Bistro 555 at Greektown Casino. While the service, provided by my wonderful aunt, was exceptional, the food was gross. Let's put it this way: the rolls were the high point. Although, they were some of the best rolls I've ever tasted. Absolutely delicious. There was also some sort of appetizer with... one of those weird fancy French cheeses that sounds disgusting, bread, and some kind of fruit (mangos? pears? something like that...) that was pretty good. The fish part of my fish and chips was decent. The problem with the other food was that it just wasn't worth what they were charging for it. A 10$ pizza looked and tasted like the 1$ frozen ones from Wal-Mart. A 20$ pasta dish seemed like they'd just opened up a can of Ragu on it. Honestly, it was pretty bad. However, my aunt works there, so if you're ever in Detroit, you should go anyway, and give her really, really big tips!

Also in Detroit is THE BEST PIZZA EVER. Buscemi's. http://www.originalbuscemis.com/

Part of the reason I love Buscemi's so much is the location. Most of them (at least all the ones I've been to) are in liquor stores. Y'know, so you can pick up your pizza and your beer at the same time. This is not only a genius marketing strategy, but quite fun to visit when you're underage and taking your 12 year-old cousin.

The pizza is cooked right in front of you, and it doesn't take long at all. It's hot, fresh, and oh-so-delicious. I don't know what they put in the crust, but I think there's some herbs or something. It's delectable. Honestly, it's worth going up to Michigan just to get this pizza.

It comes in squares, and you can buy individual squares wrapped in tinfoil, or entire pizzas. The prices are pretty reasonable, too. Less than 2$ a square if I remember correctly. They also have some cheesebread that is pretty good, and they sell some hot subs and stuff, but I've never had them. I'm too busy devouring the pizza. I may or may not have brought two slices back to Georgia with me. Maybe. And threatened to ritualistically slaughter any of my family members who ate them.

Oh, Buscemi's. I love you so. I cannot wait until we meet again. (I know I had said before that I should really stop talking to my food, especially things like hot dogs, but Buscemi's is worth looking like a pervert/idiot for.)

Anyway.... I also went to Red Robin when I was up there. These are a chain, admittedly, but it's hard to find them around us (the closest one is about 50 miles away from my house, last time I checked). Their fries are still delicious, and their burgers are still juicy and they have a lot of unique flavours, even if I normally go just for a plain cheeseburger.

On the 17th of May, my family and I ventured downtown on a cold and rainy day to the Norwegian Independence (Constitution) Day Festival hosted by the local Sons of Norway Lodge.
http://www.vennekretsen.com/Events/2009/17-May-NorwegianIndependenceDayParadeFestival.html

It was a lot of fun, even if my sister kept making comments about how I wasn't a true Norwegian because of my dark hair. There were some songs and a few booths set up, and a parade/mob of small blonde children marching down the street waving flags and shouting "Happy Constitution Day" in Norwegian.

But, most importantly, there was lefse.

Lefse is god's gift to the Vikings. It's there reward for eating lutefisk.

Aside on lutefisk. Lutefisk is fish, normally cod, that is prepared with lie. It has the consistency of jelly, and smells like... like... well, let's just put it this way... it smells. It's really more popular among Norwegian Americans nowadays then it is among Norwegians, because it was only ever a dish eaten by the poor, but the fact is that it's an enduring part of Norwegian American culture. Only the rank smell of the lutefisk will stay longer.

To give you some idea of what lutefisk is like, here's a few tidbits from the Wikipedia article on it: "Lutefisk is not food, it is a weapon of mass destruction. It is currently the only exception for the man who ate everything. Otherwise, I am fairly liberal, I gladly eat worms and insects, but I draw the line on lutefisk... Lutefisk is the Norwegians' attempt at conquering the world. When they discovered that Viking raids didn't give world supremacy, they invented a meal so terrifying, so cruel, that they could scare people to become one's subordinates. And if I'm not terribly wrong, you will be able to do it as well." This is a quote from Jerry Steingarten who wrote the book "The Man Who Ate Everything." While I would argue the ponit that Viking raids didn't give us world supremacy (Statue of Liberty? Norwegian copper. English? Grammatical and lexical influence from Old Norse. The Midwest? That's us too. Discovery of America by Europeans? Woo, go Vikings! Russians? Lots of them are descended from Vikings. They were literally everywhere. Europe, Africa, Asia, Americas... okay, maybe not Australia. But, honestly, no one cares about Australia? Our quest for world supremacy just isn't obvious enough for you to have noticed that we actually have control over all of you. Er... anyway...) The Wisconsin Employee's Right to Know Statue 101.58 Subsection 2. specifically excludes it from a list of toxic substances. It's that bad. It corrodes silverware, pots and pans, stomachs, and babies.

And that's why we get lefse. Lefse is a potato flatbread pancake thing. You make it on a griddle/grill out of mostly flour, potatos, and water, and it is delicious. You can use it as you would a tortilla, pita or hot dog bun (pølselømpe are hot dogs with lefse in Norwegian, which we had at the Festival with spicy mustard and ketchup and something that I think was dried onions). While that was delicious, that's not where lefse shines.

YOU TAKE LEFSE AND YOU PUT BUTTER ON IT AND THEN YOU SPRINKLE ON CINAMMON AND SUGAR AND THEN YOU ROLL IT UP AND EATS IT ALL UP AND IT IS NOM NOM NOMS ALL THE WAY HOME. UFFDA!

I had three. I hadn't had any in a couple years, because our rolling pin (you need a special one) is buried somewhere and we don't really have a lefse grill. It was so good. I want more.

In less awesome Cultural CAS news, we had our first CAS@home a long, long time ago at Kevin's. We made lots of tasty, tasty food. There was ox tail, and rice, and yucca, and tortillas, and cheese, and beans, and pork rinds, and chicharrones, and pupusas. Pupusas are awesome. They're like quesadillas only corn-based and all closed up and stuffed with yummier things.

However, they still have nothing on lefse.

And now for some Fast CAS news! I know that this really shouldn't count, as these are all chains, and therefore break the rules... but we're all broke, and eno one else is posting anything anyway. (I had to put the e in front of o to make it a palindromemordnilap. Sorry.)

QuikTrip (henceforth referred to as QT) is the best gas station ever, simply because they sell Caffeine-Free Diet Coke from a fountain. They also have good hot dogs, blueberry muffins, club sandwiches, and brownie bars.

Steak 'n Shake has those 4 for 4$ deals going on right now, but they actually have more than 4 meals at that price. Considering it's summer, which means staying up late and being hungry, and they're one of the few places besides Waffle House open 24 hours a day, this is a good thing. Also, they have Caffeine-Free Diet Coke.

In fact, let me post a list of places that have/may have Caffeine-Free Diet Coke. It's pretty hard to find, but when you can't have caffeine and drink diet sodas, you don't have a lot of options, so you get to know which restaurants have what.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Steak 'n Shake
Chik-Fil-A (some)
QT

Sadly, that's all I can think of. Clearly, we need to petition more restaurants to start selling it.

A bunch of other people went to Six Feet Under (I think?) downtown a month or so ago, but I didn't because I don't actually like any of them, so I can't give my opinion. I think they said the scallops or clam poboys or something were really good.

When will our next CAS be? Where will it be? Will we ever actually update the blog on a regular basis? Will anyone ever READ it?

Eventually. Eh... somewhere. No. No.

Until the next sporadic update,

Kari