The End of the Road in Ecuador

20 Monday May 2013

Tags

ayampe, cangrejo encocado, churches, coconut, crabs, crucita, ecuador, food, fried fish, montañita, quito, seafood, seafood soup, sightseeing, soups, travel

Well folks, this is it. The conclusion of our three-month journey in South America. But let’s not get all sentimental and corny, shall we? I’d rather drown my complicated emotions in food porn.

As Brendan was kind enough to detail for you, our arrival in Ecuador was full of red tape and long waits, but we were rewarded with empty beaches and endless seafood. For the foreign tourist, prices in Ecuador are worthy of a double-take, particularly outside of popular tourist destinations like Salinas and Montañita. With the plethora of cheap beachfront restaurants in Crucita, we couldn’t leave town without sampling the local fare.

Let’s start with the cangrejo encocado, a gorgeous array of crabs swimming in a coconut cream sauce. Encocado would literally translate to “coconutted” and if that was a word in English, it’d be an accurate description. In coastal Ecuador, you can get just about any type of seafood encocado, from fish to shrimp to lobster. These guys were delicious, and worth the elbow grease required to free their sweet meat from the shell.

Ahhh, the sopa de mariscos. I’ve sampled plenty of seafood soups in the past, and the savory pot of sea creatures served to us in Crucita put those scrawny soup bowls to shame. I’d be hard-pressed to name a type of seafood that did not make an appearance in this ocean of goodness.

And yes, of course, there was more fried fish. It was red snapper, I couldn’t help myself! And it was served with arroz de mariscos and patacones. I’m a woman who knows what she likes.

After dropping Brendan and Colleen off at the airport in Guayaquil so they could get back to the jobs and responsibilities they love so well (boooo!), we headed back to the coast and split a week between the craziness of Montañita and the tranquility of Ayampe a bit further north. Highlights included sunbathing next to cows on the beach, Gaspar giving a goat a pound, and catching the first few days of the International Surfing Association’s World Masters Championship.

Then it was off to Quito, where the proverbial mierda hit the fan as we attempted to make final preparations for our departure. I suspect the inefficiency, suddenly changing laws, and double-crossing were South America’s way of reminding us why we were heading back to the homeland in the first place. Like a shrewd mother, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed,” and my love is unconditional. At least we got in one good day’s worth of sightseeing! The churches in Quito are a sight to behold.

And so it ends. What a truly amazing and humbling experience. I’ve learned so much. I’ve changed so much. To steal the words of writer Mary Anne Radmacher, “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” And I’m ever so grateful. Now, the adventure continues in New York.

Chau, amor. Hasta pronto.

Guest Post: Brendan O’Brien’s Take on Ecuador & Epic Fish Tacos

06 Monday May 2013

Posted by Anonymous in ecuador, travel

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

beaches, coco helado, dorado, ecuador, fish, fish tacos, fishing village, food, fresh fish, guest post, mahi mahi, seafood, travel

Cross-continental moves deserve their own special place in hell. While I’m busy apartment hunting, job hunting, and generally tearing my hair out, Brendan O’Brien has stepped in to pick up the slack and regale you with tales of our adventures in Ecuador and the delicious fish tacos he and Colleen whipped up during a power outage. Skills. Thanks Obi!

You’re probably asking yourself, “Who’s this guy?” Don’t worry about it. My wife and I are the “couple of friends” Katrina and Gaspar were waiting for in Lima because they were too scared to sacrifice a guinea pig on their own. That little sucker had the most delicious skin.

After departing Los Órganos in Peru, we found ourselves stuck crossing the border into Ecuador for between 4 and 5 hours in sweltering heat. Upon being released to frolic in their country, we immediately purchased beer, deli meats, cheeses, bread and mustard and proceeded to have a picnic in the parking lot of a supermarket. Feeling ultra-classy and well fed, we continued northwest for another 10 hours until we landed in a town called Manta, at a hostel in the part of town where clean rooms are few and prostitutes are many.

Weary bones rested, the next morning we drove the few miles left to our next bungalow in Crucita, a small fishing village with gorgeous beaches, glassy waves and fish tacos.

Crucita, unlike many of the other towns we visited, is not centered around a main plaza. No, no. This is a fishing village and the strand along the beach is the only place to be. As you head along the strand, one side of the road is occupied by restaurants with seafood so delicious it felt criminal to pay Ecuadorian prices, and on the other side is a straight 10 foot drop to the beach with neither guard rail nor inch to spare. All along that beach are wooden pavilions with thatch roofs, filled with long sturdy wooden tables (so sturdy that the tide actually comes up and washes over them every day, so at least I knew they were clean). As the boats are dragged up onto the beach, the day’s catch is unloaded directly into these pavilions where they are butchered, bagged and sold within minutes. This gringo decided that fish tacos were in order. Sadly they were sold out for the day and we were informed that 8am is the absolute latest you should arrive if you expect there to be any fish left.

The following morning, Gaspar and I rose early and arrived back at the fish market promptly at 8:15. Out of the dozens of tables where fish were to be butchered, there was only one left with any fish. A fellow was hacking heads and fins into pieces I assumed would be used for bait and to his left was a pile of filets stacked two feet high. It looked at first to be Red Snapper, a favorite of my wife’s, but when we asked what kind it was we were told “dorado,” a name we had never heard before. I expected more from my dark-skinned translator. For shame, Gaspar. We purchased four pounds of this fresh meat for a grand total of $15 and took a final glance at the heads to see if we could identify it later on Google. The Google machine quickly returned results of Mahi-Mahi. Bless you, Ecuador, bless you.

This is likely the part where I am supposed to go into details about ingredients and such, but I have never been a fan of cookbooks and measuring cups and have always preferred grabbing whatever is at arm’s-length and eyeballing a measurement. So let’s allow some pictures do their 1,000 words things.

The preparations. The beans bubbling away in the top right photo included chunks of fresh coconut – the very coconut whose cold agua is being enjoyed in a photo below. Waste not, want not.

Photo of the spread, taken in the pitch black bungalow during a power outage. You don’t need to see to eat.

The delicious final product.

Other highlights of Crucita included my first time drinking Coconut Water straight from the Coconut.

And this…

A Taste of the Tropics in Northern Perú

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Anonymous in los órganos, peru, travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

food, fresh fish, fried plantain, los órganos, máncora, peru, plantains, seafood, the beach, tortillas, travel, tropical food, yuca

Sunset in Chicama, home of the world’s longest left-breaking wave.

As we drove north from Lima, the dry desert roads gave way to lush palms and fields of banana trees, and a more relaxed vibe set in. After a brief stop in Chicama for the surfistas, we spent five days in Los Órganos, a small town just south of popular surf getaway Máncora. While Los Órganos hadn’t originally been the planned destination, like most of our last-minute changes it turned out to be an excellent decision. Together with our friends who had joined us in Lima, we were able to rent two bungalows with an amazing ocean view. And because it was the off-season, the area was quiet and peaceful and we truly had the beach to ourselves.

Like many towns in Perú, Los Órganos is organized around a main plaza where people congregate to socialize, shop, and eat. We visited the plaza daily, hitting the crowded market to find something to grill for dinner, or spending the afternoon at one of the many restaurants surrounding the square. The food options had changed along with the landscape, becoming decidedly more tropical. As I’ve previously noted, I’m bananas for plantains (you see what I did there?) and it wasn’t until northern Perú that they began to consistently turn up on our plates. Eating patacones for breakfast was a welcome indulgence. Patacones (also known as tostónes in some regions) are made from green plantains that are sliced, fried, pounded flat, fried again (!!!) until crisp and golden brown, and served with a healthy dose of salt.

And while we’d been happily scarfing down seafood since Chile, everything tastes better with fried yuca and sweet plantains on the side. In addition to the trusty standby of whole fried fish, we tried out a yummy tortilla de mariscos. For my fellow gringos who may be confused, we’re not talking about a tortilla wrap of the corn or flour variety. In much of Spain and South America, a tortilla is a thick, hearty omelette with potatoes and onions. And in this case, mussels, calamari and shrimp as well.

I think it’s safe to say that our month in Perú has been my favorite part of our journey. The country has so much to offer it’s hard to believe I once associated it with Machu Picchu and not much else…though I can’t complain if that’s where the tourists were flocking while I was strolling the empty beaches, thank you very much. Perú is packed full of mouth-watering flavors, eye-opening culture, and warm, friendly people. I can’t wait to come back. And next time, even if I flock to Machu Picchu with the rest of ’em, I’ll make time for plenty of additional stops.

My Lima Love Affair

18 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Anonymous in lima, peru, restaurants, travel

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

anticuchos, beef heart, food, lima, peru, peruvian food, restaurants, sandwiches, scallops, seafood, south america, travel

It’s official. I absolutely love Lima, Perú.

Views along the Malecón in Lima’s Miraflores neighborhood

I must admit that before arriving in Lima, I did not have high expectations. Because countries like Argentina, Chile and Uruguay enjoy a relatively lower poverty rate than their South American neighbors, I’d assumed that their major cities (Buenos Aires, Santiago, Montevideo) would be the most modern, well-maintained, and safest. Wrong. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and make a potentially controversial statement. And I say this with love and respect in my heart for my previous home, but…Lima blows Buenos Aires out of the water.

Lima’s Centro Histórico

I know, I know, every city has good and bad neighborhoods, and 10 days in Lima is not enough to make a proper assessment. Especially since most of our time was spent in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood and the Centro Histórico. But if I compare those neighborhoods with ritzy Recoleta and historic Congreso in Buenos Aires, for example, the contrast is stark. Strolling through Miraflores and El Centro, the streets are clean, buildings are well-maintained, there’s no graffiti in sight, bright green manicured parks are plentiful, the Malecón offers impressive sweeping ocean views, and perhaps most exciting, the sidewalks are not a danger zone full of broken tiles peppered with dog poop. Yes, in Lima, people actually pick up after their dogs! C’mon porteños, everybody’s doin’ it!

But the cuisine is where Lima really outshines its neighbors to the south. Options are seemingly endless and global, representing flavors from all over the world. Japanese, Chinese, Persian, Indian, Colombian, Mexican, and Peruvian restaurants bump up against each other throughout the city. It was delicious agony trying to decide where to eat. These are good problems to have.

Dinner at Edo Sushi Bar (Berlin 601) was so incredible I never paused to take a photo. But if you have the chance, order one of the paquetes and let the sushi chefs decide what to give you. Some of the best, most creative sushi I’ve ever tried.

La Lucha Sanguchería Criolla (multiple locations) does a bustling lunch and dinner business, and it’s worth fighting the crowds for a seat. Sandwiches are stacked with thick slices of mouthwatering wood-roasted pork, turkey, chicken, country ham, or asado de res and topped with options like avocado, hard-boiled eggs, pickled onions and pico de gallo. The fries are made from huayro potatoes, which are typically dry and very absorptive, and result in a thick, crispy and flavorful french fry. They also offer a variety of fresh, exotic juices and batidos like my personal favorite, the lúcuma milkshake.

Photo from La Lucha’s Facebook page.

Photo from La Lucha’s Facebook page.

Stop by Café Café (Mártir Olaya 250) for delicious 2 x 1 drinks like the maracuyá sour, a cocktail made from passionfruit juice and pisco. We couldn’t resist the conchitas a la parmesana, scallops in a half shell drenched in white wine and melted parmesan cheese.

And you can’t leave Lima without trying anticuchos, a popular street food consisting of chunks of beef heart marinated in garlic, cumin and pepper, skewered, and grilled over a hot fire. Let this serve as proof that it really was the face that turned me off with the guinea pig, mmkay? As you might imagine, anticuchos are super rich and flavorful, a little salty for my taste but still delicious.

A mixed grill of anticuchos, chorizo, and steak.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the great flavors and restaurants that Lima has to offer. (Check out my previous Lima post for some additional tips). Most regrettably, we lost track of time and flaked on making reservations for any of Gastón Acurio‘s world-renowned restaurants, which I’m pretty sure makes us foodie failures. Given the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants nature of this trip, I’ve forgotten the importance of planning ahead for a popular restaurant reservation. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Luckily, you don’t need to go to Lima to try some kick ass Peruvian cuisine, and I plan to check out Acurio’s famous cooking at La Mar Cebichería (locations in NYC and San Francisco). For my Chicago friends, keep an eye out for T’anta, set to open this summer.

Learning to Cook Andean Delicacies at Sky Kitchen

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by Anonymous in lima, peru, travel

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

alpaca, chupe, dessert, food, lúcuma, lima, mousse, ocopa, peru, peruvian food, potatoes, seafood, seco, soup

After falling in love with the flavors in Perú, I knew the only way my taste buds would forgive my return to the USA would be the promise home-cooked recreations. So I signed up for the Andean Delicacies cooking class at Sky Kitchen in Lima (and a gym membership to counteract my love of Peruvian food).

Sky Kitchen cooking classes are held in a modern penthouse space overlooking Lima’s gorgeous Miraflores neighborhood. They’re led by Peruvian native Chef Yurac, who began cooking at eight years old when his mother punished him for some form of misbehavior he claims not to remember by depriving him of the family meal she’d prepared. He decided he didn’t need her cooking anyhow, he could do better himself. This launched a lifelong passion which he now shares with visitors to Lima.

On the left is huacatay, a Peruvian black mint. On the right, ahí panca, a spicy Peruvian pepper.

Over the course of a leisurely afternoon, we learned about a variety of native Peruvian fruits, vegetables and grains, the history of many Peruvian dishes, and the techniques used in their preparation. We chopped, sliced, stirred and fried our way to an incredible meal.

The first course we prepared was ocopa, a native potato drenched in a sauce made from a fascinating mix of yellow pepper, cheese, onion, garlic, huacatay leaves (black mint), toasted peanuts and vanilla crackers. Yep, vanilla crackers. Who knew? I’d seen this served at restaurants and thought it didn’t look all that appealing, but I was surprised to find it was one of my favorite dishes.

Next up was the chupe, a savory soup featuring prawns and fried fish, along with corn, peas, carrots, pumpkin, more huacatay, and a healthy dose of cheese and rice.

The main course was seco de alpaca a la norteña, a mixture of cilantro, onions, garlic, ají panca (a spicy Peruvian pepper), white wine, and chicha do jora (Peruvian maize beer). The sauce and meat slowly simmer for hours resulting in a flavorful alpaca that’s so tender it falls apart. This was my first time trying alpaca, and I am a fan. It’s super lean, but tender and versatile. The dish was served with asparagus and a guiso de quinoa featuring my favorite grain doused in cheese, milk, garlic and yellow pepper. Quinoa’s only recently become popular in the USA, but it’s been a protein-rich staple in countries like Perú, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia for thousands of years.

Nice and lean cuts of alpaca.

And to top it all off, perhaps my favorite of the day, was a delicious mousse made with lúcuma fruit. Lúcuma looks something like an avocado when you cut into it, except bright yellow, with a slightly drier texture similar to that of a hard-boiled egg yolk. The flavor is impossible to describe, like nothing I’ve tasted before, but it’s addicting. Lucky for me it’s served throughout Perú in milkshakes and ice cream. (Yeah, that gym membership was a must). We topped the mousse with a maracuyá (passion fruit) reduction. I can’t wait to try my hand at making mousse back home!

Sky Kitchen offers classes Mondays through Saturdays for lunch or dinner, and classes are available in English, Spanish and German. Come hungry, because it’s a TON of food! For more information or to book a class, visit the Sky Kitchen website.

Filling Up on Seafood in Florianópolis, Brazil

01 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by Anonymous in brazil, travel

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

beaches, beans, Brazil, feijão, fish, Florianópolis, pirão, seafood, shrimp, traditional Brazilian food, travel

Last week, we arrived in Florianópolis — Floripa, as it’s referred to locally. Located in the state of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil, Floripa includes one main island with a group of smaller islands, a continental portion, and a whopping 42 beaches. Helloooo paradise.

In between work calls and emails (a.k.a. reality) we spent seven glorious days exploring the picturesque coastline and sampling the local cuisine. Some of the beaches, like Lagoinha do Leste, are completely isolated and tucked away and suit our tastes perfectly. Others, particularly in the northern part of the island, are teeming with locals and tourists and plenty of eateries to ensure there’s no reason to leave the beach. We like that, too.

I was excited to finally try Brazilian feijão, a black bean stew and common side dish usually eaten over rice. It’s the basis of what many recognize as the country’s national dish, feijoada, which also includes salted pork and beef. And every meal (seriously….EVERY meal) was served with pirão, a traditional gruel made with fish stock and manioc flour. It was not a hit. The texture was odd for me, something like a congealed, tepid stew, and flavor-wise it was pretty bland. An acquired taste, perhaps?

Feijão (thumbs up!) and pirão (thumbs down)

feijão at the top (thumbs up) and pirão below (thumbs down)

But seafood is definitely the foodie focus in Floripa, with pages of every menu dedicated to various preparations of fish, oysters and shrimp. Lagoons all over the island are dotted with colorful fishing boats, and full of people tossing their fishing nets in the water.

Aside from a ton of fruit (side note: I swear the bananas are sweeter) we averaged a meal a day, which may not sound like much until you lay eyes on the meals. We tried a few different versions of almoço platters, which included fried fish, feijão, pirão, fries, and a “salad” that was always some combination of beets, carrots and tomatoes. I really liked the anchova grelhada version. I had feared it was going to be a bunch of tiny salty anchovies of the packed-in-oil variety, but it was actually a gigantic, mild white fillet.

By far our most ambitious meal was the sequência de camarão, or “sequence of shrimp”. The name strikes me as both accurate and misleading at the same time. It is, indeed, a sequence; every time we thought the final dish had arrived, another one showed up. But it’s so much more than shrimp. There was crab, calamari, buñuelos de algas (fried balls of seaweed), a ton of different fish preparations, and of course, more feijão, pirão, fries and salad. We were actually slightly horrified because it was so clearly more than two people could possible ingest, but we put a good hurtin’ on it. The highlight for me was the peixe mole: chunks of fried fish topped with tiny shrimp in a savory red mole sauce.

Thus far, our mission to detox from the Argentine diet of meat, empanadas and pizza has been a success! Albeit short-lived, as we’re crossing back into northern Argentina this week. It was fun while it lasted, Floripa.

Learning to Cook Seafood in Chile (aka, A Cry for Help)

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Anonymous in algarrobo, chile, tips & how to's, travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

algarrobo, barrio chino, chile, fish, food, grilling, grilling seafood, machas, pacific ocean, razor clams, santiago chile, seafood, shellfish, steaming seafood, the beach

Pulpo a la Plancha from Sur Patagónico in Santiago, Chile

I’ve often lamented the lack of delicious, fresh seafood in Buenos Aires. Despite the city’s location on the Atlantic coast, seafood’s not always a common sight on restaurant menus. Sure, there are some gems like Crizia where you can find oysters and fish beyond merluza, but they’re not the norm…and certainly not always budget-friendly. And buying seafood to make at home can also be a challenge. The fish markets in Barrio Chino are affordable, but quite the hike from San Telmo. El Delfín is a great pescadería within walking distance, but paying $100 pesos for two servings of salmon is a tad too rich for my blood.

That is why we were freaking out over all the frutas del mar during our recent roadtrip to the coast of Chile. We spent some time in the beach town Algarrobo, overdosing on seafood. I’m happy to report that every single restaurant we entered had a robust selection, and the pescaderías were plentiful and affordable.

Pelicans outside the pescadería in Algarrobo

When we’re on the road, we try to cook for ourselves as much as possible to keep things healthier and cost-effective. The thing is, cooking seafood is not my specialty. So these were experiments, which I’m happy to report turned out quite well.

We cooked our fish fillets on the grill, wrapped in foil with butter and plenty of lemon slices. They were super quick and easy, and crazy flavorful. Win!

And then we got ambitious. We picked up some machas (razor clams), which we’d been spying everywhere and which made our little cabaña smell absolutely heinous for the rest of our stay. And of course, once we had them in our possession, we realized we had zero clue what to do with them. After searching the internet using the painfully slow and completely unreliable WiFi connection, there were conflicting reports. Some sites advised hours worth of scrubbing, rinsing, soaking and repeating. Some advised soaking in salted water, or water with cornmeal to draw out the sand. Still others advised that if shells were open, we should knock on them and if they don’t close, they’re bad. This was all way more labor and stress than I’d had planned for my vacation, thank you very much.

I ended up scrubbing them and soaking them for an hour or so in salt water before deciding to just crack them open and rinse them out by hand, dammit. I’m sure this is some sort of seafood cooking no-no, but I’m really glad I did it. The sand was completely embedded throughout those bad boys, and we would have been crunching our way through dinner. After a good rinse, I put the clams on their half shells in foil, with crushed garlic, chopped onion, some butter, and beer. We wrapped them up so there was space for steam, but made sure they were shut tight, and cooked them over the grill for about 5 – 10 minutes. The one thing I was sure of was that overcooking these suckers would have resulted in a rubbery chewy mess that would make me regret the hours spent on preparation. Luckily, the timing was perfect, and the machas were a success.

My ultimate takeaway is, razor clams are a bit more labor intensive than they may be worth. They were good, but the sauce really made the difference. The clams themselves, for all their stinking when raw, didn’t have a very powerful flavor. And all that preparation works up an appetite that won’t be satiated by those tiny pieces of clam-flesh. Still, it was worth the effort for the experience. The moral of the story is this: I need your tips, suggestions and recipes for cooking seafood on the grill or open flames if we’re going to survive three months on the road.

The Strip District in Pittsburgh, PA

12 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by Anonymous in pittsburgh

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

ethnic foods, fish, meat, pennsylvania, pittsburgh, popcorn, produce, seafood, seasonings, spices, strip district, wholey's

During my whirlwind four-state trip to the USA, I spent some time at the old homestead outside of Pittsburgh in western PA. I always look forward to good eats when I come home. Both of my parents know their way around the kitchen and there are a lot of local specialties. While the fam likes to tease me about getting all fancy in my cooking ways, fans of Tully Chicken all over the world can attest that I still embrace the country cooking, I’ve just expanded my repertoire. Still, it’s true that some of the ingredients in recipes I’ve posted aren’t necessarily available at your local supermarket. So I’ve heard from friends and family back home that they go to The Strip to find them. Which made me realize, it’s been WAY too long since I’ve been to The Strip. So long, in fact, that I didn’t remember it, although my mother assures me I’ve been there. So I had to make some new memories.

The fam (minus one) on Smallman Street in the Strip District

The Strip District – or The Strip, as it’s commonly known – is not, as my husband assumed, an area full of gentlemen’s clubs. Sheesh. It’s a half square mile strip bordering the Allegheny River full of restaurants, bars, antiques shops, craft stores, old factories and warehouses converted to lofts, and my focus for the day: fresh produce, meat, fish, baked goods and ethnic food markets.

Reyna Foods, a Mexican grocery store, was the first stop. Visitors to Buenos Aires from the USA often remark at the lack of what we state-side think of as typical Latin food: all the spicy flavorful tacos, burritos, rice & beans and the like we’ve become hooked on with the influence of our neighbors south of the border. So coming from a land where spotting a can of refried beans can be a treat, I was happy to find fresh tortillas being made, baskets full of chilis, and an entire aisle dedicated to hot sauces.

Photo Credit: Casey Brown via In the Strip

Packaging freshly made flour tortillas. Photo Credit: Steve Mellon via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Speaking of the lack of spice in Bs As, imagine my delight at finding Penzey’s Spices, a whole store dedicated to seasonings, spices and all things flavorful, with an entire section just for chili! They had everything imaginable, along with plenty of spices I’ve never even heard of.

Another highlight was Wholey’s Fish Market, which is a kind of misleading name considering the extent of meats, produce and other options they had available beyond fish. But they did indeed have a Barrio Chino-level selection of seafood with a more moderate stink factor and more impressive prices. The freshness cannot be questioned, as many of these guys from lobsters to striped bass were still swimming around in pool-sized tanks.

Despite the appeal of all the seafood, in my mission to cook up faves that aren’t easy to whip together in Buenos Aires I decided to introduce the fam to the wonder of Chipotle Pork Cheeseburgers. We stopped at Mancini’s Bakery on Penn Avenue to pick up rolls. Mancini’s is pretty legendary, to the point that local diners offer you the option of white, wheat or Mancini’s bread for your sandwiches and toast. And though it took superhuman willpower to resist the urge to buy a few loaves of Pepperoni Bread, I cannot urge you strongly enough to stuff one of these in your face if you have the opportunity.

Mancini’s Pepperoni Roll, photo courtesy of Mancini’s Bakery’s website

Part of the reason I was able to pass up the pepperoni roll was the other treats we had lined up to indulge in. The peanut butter and chocolate kettle corn from The Pittsburgh Popcorn Company on 21st Street is pretty much heaven in a brown paper bag.

Okay, so technically this is the Chocolate Caramel popcorn, but….close enough. Photo courtesy of The Pittsburgh Popcorn Company website.

Though we didn’t stop in, a few other places caught my eye for next time. Strip District Meats had signs promising exotic meats like alligator sirloin, ostrich steaks, and wild boar loin chops that I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at preparing. And the smell pouring out of Peace Love & Little Donuts on Smallman Street was absolutely sinful, though the donuts did not necessarily appear to be so little.

If you live in the Pittsburgh area and have hunted for a hard-to-find ingredient or just love excellent fresh food, I’m probably already preaching to the choir. But for those who may visit the area, I highly recommend setting aside an afternoon to walk The Strip.

THE STRIP DISTRICT – main produce section on Penn Ave. between 16th and 22nd Streets in Pittsburgh, PA

Crab Dip or Bust

08 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Anonymous in north carolina, restaurants, travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bloody caesar, crab dip, north carolina, oyster bar, restaurants, riverside dining, seafood, sisters, wilmington

One of my absolute favorite restaurants in Wilmington is Elijah’s. I don’t recall when my sister first introduced me to the place, but it quickly became a must-do during every visit. As I browsed the menu during this latest trip I realized I’ve sampled quite a large portion of it over the years. This time I was mostly focused on the (previously unappreciated) prospect of an abundance of fresh seafood at my fingertips. For a coastal city, Buenos Aires is alarmingly lacking in that department. So I intended to make the most of it in NC.

The restaurant is in a quaint section of Wilmington, right on the Cape Fear River with gorgeous sunset views. A great setting for basking in beautiful weather and enjoying some cocktails. I highly recommend the Bloody Caesar. The French Martini? Ehhh, not so much.

The main reason I always insist on Elijah’s is the crab dip. We simply must get it, every time. In fact, I wouldn’t mind getting one (or two?) just for myself, and certain people have been known to order it as their meal. It’s creamy and crabby and cheesy, with the perfect kick of horseradish. And it’s the thick, buttery, lightly toasted garlic bread that really takes it to the next level. Me muero.

Being an oyster bar, Elijah’s offers a variety of oyster preparations, and we went simple: a dozen, steamed. My sister introduced me to oysters on crackers with hot sauce, a pretty delicious combination that for me, still doesn’t beat dousing the suckers in melted butter. Soy una gorda.

After enjoying a few of those absolutely delicious Bloody Caesars, it was time for more seafood. I ordered the crab cakes, one pan-fried with corn bread crumbs and “low country seasonings” (whatever THAT means…southern-speak for delicious?), and one deep-fried with Old Bay. I preferred the pan-fried version, disproving my theory that deep-frying makes everything more delicious. The sides were pretty bland, but at least they made me feel better about my rabid indulgence in all things fried.

Sissie got the special, mahi-mahi in a super rich lobster cream sauce over angel hair pasta with shaved parmesan. Oh man, was it goooooood! Too bad she never did learn how to share.

In addition to full bellies, we also left with a ton of leftovers to indulge in later.

I’m sure there are a ton of places in Wilmington that have excellent seafood, but there is something about Elijah’s that’s just…special. Maybe it’s the chill riverside location, or the artifacts on display from the building’s days as a maritime museum, or the memories I’ve made there with some of my faves. Regardless, two slightly greasy thumbs up.

ELIJAH’S – 2 Ann Street in Wilmington, North Carolina

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

Recipe: Paella Mixta

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by Anonymous in entrees, recipes

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

chicken, chorizo, Madrid, paella, seafood, Spanish food, tapas, Valencia

For the longest time, to me, Spanish food meant tapas and tapas only. Baked goat cheese in tomato sauce, calamari a la plancha, sautéed mushrooms, pinxtos…what’s not to love? I’d always been so firmly focused on the small plates, I never bothered exploring the array of more filling options. And after staring down the beady-eyed shrimp topping my first paella during a trip to Madrid, I wasn’t quite sure that I was up for the challenge.

But once I got past my fear of picking apart the little creatures, I was on a mission to learn to make paella at home. It just seemed a little overwhelming, what with hunting down the special pan, special rice, special who the hell knew what else. So being the thoughtful man he is, upon our return to Chicago Gaspar made us reservations at Café Ba-Ba-Reeba’s paella cooking demo. Of course, I suspect he was thinking about how he could benefit from me learning to make paella, as much as he was thinking about making me a happy lady. For anyone living in the area, I wholeheartedly recommend signing up for the class. It’s reasonably priced, includes lunch and vino, and they sell super convenient paella kits. For the rest of you, check out La Tienda for kits or individual ingredients.

Once you gather the key items, you will get plenty of use out of them. Trust me. The first must is a paella pan. The pans are shallow and have sloping sides, which helps the rice cook evenly and develop a more intense flavor. In addition to the proper pan, it’s important to use high-quality paella rice. Calasparra or Bomba rice is the best. These are classic short grain varieties grown in Spain that are super absorbent, expand in width when cooked, and maintain their separate shape without becoming creamy or sticky. Then there’s the saffron, which gives the paella its rich yellow color and an additional depth of flavor. I also consider the sweet smoky Spanish paprika a must.

Beyond these key ingredients, I tend to mix it up, and you should too. Chicken, monkfish, rabbit, chorizo, shrimp, mussels, peas, red peppers…whatever strikes your fancy.

Real, Valencian paella is almost always cooked over an open fire, which helps it develop the delicious socarrat, a caramelized crust of rice. I’m not really in the proper situation to be cooking over open flames, so my methods are modified accordingly and sadly, that means no socarrat. But if you have the time, patience and equipment for it, you can cook the paella either over an open flame or completely on the stovetop, rotating it often. Whichever way you choose, tranqui, it’ll still be delicious.

This version is adapted from the recipe for Arroz el Principe in Paella Cookbook from Café Ba-Ba-Reeba.

PAELLA MIXTA

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound (approx. 1/4 kilo) dark meat chicken, diced

Seafood of choice (I recommend 15 raw shrimp or 1/2 pound shelled mussels)

1/4 pound hard Spanish-style chorizo sausage, diced

2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. sweet pimentón (paprika)

3 ounces tomato puree

1 can peas

1 1/4 cup Calasparra or Bomba rice

3 threads saffron

4 cups chicken stock

salt, to taste

Before you start, I recommend prepping all the ingredients. The cooking process goes pretty quickly, so it’s best to have everything on hand.

Heat the olive oil in your paella pan over medium heat, and sauté the chicken until golden brown. Add the garlic, sweet pimentón, tomato puree, peas and chorizo. Then add the rice, stirring so that the grains are thoroughly coated with the oil mixture. Finally, add the saffron and chicken stock. Turn heat to low. Continue to cook until 1/4 of the liquid is reduced. Add the seafood, without stirring the rice (I just sort of tuck/dunk the seafood into the mixture, so as not to disturb the rice too much). Season with salt and bring to a boil. Place in the oven at 350° Fahrenheit for 15 – 20 minutes. Before serving, let it rest for a few minutes, covered with brown paper or foil, so that the rice absorbs the liquid completely and the outside edges crisp.

One Day Café

~ good eats from a small kitchen

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Recipe: Paella Mixta