Foods of Europe

And we're done...

2005-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

I know I didn't get to all of the countries in Europe, and I hope that this blog has encouraged you to explore some foods from other countries not mentioned (Italy, Germany, Hungary, etc.) If you're esecially interested in Italy, check out this blog, Travels in Italy. Exploring the different foods has been both educational and interesting for me. I hope that you have found my entries entertaining and informative. So as I leave, I want to wish you all a safe and Happy New Year and lots of good eatin!

We're almost done...but first let's stop off in Spain

2005-12-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

Spain is a very fascinating country filled with a very rich culture and delicious food. Spain is the 3rd largest country in Europe and is physically borderded by Portugal and France. The capital of Spain is Madrid, which is also the most populated region in the country. Spains mainland has many plateus and mountain ranges. To learn more about Spain's geography, check out this Wikipedia article.

The eating lifestyle in Spain is very different from America. A typical dining pattern involves a light breakfast at 8 a.m.; a mid-morning breakfast at 11 a.m.; tapas at 1 p.m. with a three-course lunch following at 2 to 3 p.m.; a merienda for tea and pastries or a snack at 5 to 6 p.m.; evening tapas at 8 p.m. or later, and a three-course supper at 10 p.m.(Sally's Place) Their lunch and dinner have smaller portions because of their in-between-meal snacks. However, this does not mean that they reduce the flavor in each dish.

Like many countries in Europe, Spanish food is often prepared family style, in which a lot of food is made and it's all meant to be shared. Many meals include some meat, poultry or fish, but almost all contain either rice or beans (or both!) Spanish food has a little kick to it. Although not all of the food is spicy, a common ingredient is Cumin .

One traditional food associated with Spain is a Tapa. Tapas are found in practically every restaurant in Spain, even if it's a tiny one. Tapas are actually not one type of food...this is a word used to refer to snacks. They are usually included in the price of drinks and can range from finger foods, such as olives, to a more substantial "snack", like a stew. In a way, you could probably think of them as the Spanish Happy-Hour free appetizers. The only difference is these are served all day long, and there is much more selection. For example the number of tapa varieties in a small bar, or tasca as it is called in Spain, can range from 6-8; while the number in a large tasca can be close to 40! For more information about Spanish food and the Spanish culture, visit DonQuijote.

This is a test...

2005-12-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

My professor wants us to do a test for class, so I must add this as a post: nworbxela

Christmas in England

2005-11-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

With the holidays quickly approaching, many people in England will start making their famous dishes in preparation for Christmas. Most British citizens celebrate Christmas and they make certain foods for the hoiidays.
The traditional Christmas dinner is very similar to the American Thanksgiving becuase it has roast turkey and stuffing, roast potatoes and vegetables, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and gravy. The meal is followed by Christmas pudding.

English Christmas pudding was originally a poridge dish made of wheat or corn boiled up in milk. As time went on, it evolved into a plum pudding. Today, a Christmas pudding is a brown pudding with raisins, nuts and cherries. It is served with custard or brandy butter. According to Woodland's Junior School, the traditional time for making a Christmas pudding 'Stir Up Sunday ' at the beginning of advent. A proper Christmas pudding is always stirred from East to West in honour of the three Wise Men and traditionally made with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and His Disciples. Every member of the family must give the pudding a stir and make a secret wish.

Stopping by at the Big Ben

2005-11-24T00:39:00.000-08:00

England, a part of the United Kingdom, is an island off the west coast of the European mainland. According to Think Quest, England is made up of a highland region and a lowland region. The lowland region is where the majority of the population lives. England's largest city, London, is the capitol of the United Kingdom.
There are several who would say that British cuisine is quite bland, consisting of the so-called "meat and veggies" dish, but some of the traditional British food is quite interesting. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

The Sunday Roast
The best example of a traditional British dish, according to Wikipedia, is the Sunday Roast. It is referred to specifically as a "Sunday" roast because the dish is meant ot be left in the oven for hours while families go to church and then eaten as a lunch or early dinner. Traditional roasts are beef, pork, lamb or chicken, with certain accompanying sides (For a list of sides, visit wikipedia)).

Breakfast in Britain
To touch briefly on another British specialty, we'll have to visit Breakfast! This is because scones are such a popular breakfast dish in Britain. Scones look like an everyday biscuit in the US, but frequently contains raisins, currants or dates. Along with breakfast, this treat is also eaten at teatime.

The Food in Greece

2005-11-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

Greece is a peninsular country located in Eastern Europe between Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. One of the characteristics of the geography of Greece is the large amount of islands. There are more than 2000 greek islands scattered both in the Aegean and Ionian Seas. (To learn more about Greek geography, check out these sites: GreekA and Class Brain.

Greece is a country made up of a very diverse culture. Traditions, religion, music, language, and food are the major parts of Greek culture and constitute the base to know for those who wish to travel to Greece. (To find out more about Greek traditions, religion and music, click here).

What's interesting about the food of Greece is that although there are local dishes which are made differently depending on the area, there are also dishes that are prepared in the same way throughout the entire country. Another interesting fact is that all restaurants located in Greece are obligated by law to have a list of menu prices posted by the entrance-Talk about strict price transparency!

So here's a list of some interesting foods and what makes them unique to the Greek culture:

Greek Salad
It is recommended that you try this at everywhere you go in Greece before you eat each meal. This starter, although a staple at any Greek restaurant, can taste very different depending on how they mix the ingredients. Like a garden salad, this contains cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions; but only romaine lettuce is used and they also add olive oil, crumbled feta cheese, black olives, red wine vinegar (or sometimes lemon juice instead) and various spices.

Gyro/Souvlaki

A "traditional" Gyro (pronounced yhee-ro) is made up of a mixture of minced pork and lamb slowly roasted by turning around on a vertical spit. (Not surprisingly, the word gyros in Greek means "something that goes around"). Gyros tend to have this meat mixture, tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, and a great deal of spices, all in a pita. Souvlaki is prepared the same way as a gyro except the meat used is only pork. In Greece, although there are sit-down taverns that serve gyros, there is almost always a take-out counter. I guess you could say that buying a gyro in Greece is like getting 'Fast Food' in the US. (For more information about gyros, visit Greek Landscapes and Athens Guide.)

Mousaka is a dish consisting of layers of ground lamb or beef and sliced eggplant topped with a cheese sauce and baked. It's the Greek version of an Irish Shephard's Pie. Although at first glance, the dish seems simple to make, there is a lot of preparation and skill that is required to make this dish taste as delicious as possible. For one example of how to make Moussaka, check out this recipe. Also, make sure to check out wikipedia for some interesting information about moussaka and the many versions of this famous dish.

Quick stop in Poland

2005-11-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Poland's official name in Polish is Rzeczpospolita Polska. This Eastern European country is not only filled with a lot of interesting history, but is also home to very good food. Polish cuisine has elements taken from the cooking traditions of the many national groups that lived in the country side by side for centuries, notably the Jews, Ukrainians, Belarussians and Lithuanians. There are also some Russian, German, Czech and Austrian influences as well as dishes from more distant regions like Italy, France and the Middle East.

Throughout its history, Polish cuisine has gone through many changes. For example, during the Middle Ages, Polish food was very heavy and spicy. They used game and beef in many of their dishes and used spices, which they bought at cheap prices from the East, to add flavor to the imperfectly-preserved meat.

Nowadays, since the end of communism, traditional foods that have been used in Polish cooking include cucurbit, zucchini and all kinds of fish.

There are many traditional dishes that come from Poland that we eat in the States and probably are unaware of their Polish origin. For example, pierogis are a traditionally Polish food. Pierogis are square or crescent-shaped dumplings of unleavened (non-raised) dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage, onion, meat, or any combination thereof, or with a fruit filling. The word pirog (or its equivalent in the various Slavic languages) means "pie", which can take the form of a stuffed dumpling, pastry, or two-crusted pie. To learn more about Pierogis, check out Wikipedia and this interesting blog entry.

For those of you with a sweet tooth, who aren't looking to check out the fat content for your desserts, a traditional Polish dessert is a Sernik. A Sernik is a delicious fat cheese cake. For those of you who are not interested in something so heavy, try a Kompot. In Poland, this is a favorite stewed fruit drink that often takes the place of dessert after a heavy meal. It is simply fresh fruit briefly cooked in slightly sweetened water.

To learn more about what some Polish foods are, check out this crash course in Polish cookery

Swedish Meatballs

2005-11-07T07:04:00.000-08:00

Swedish meatballs are not only delicious, but they are, not surprising, one of the best-known Swedish cooking specialties. In fact, every Scandanavian cookbook has at least one recipe for this dish. The Swedish version is somewhat different from the Norwegian, Danish, and Finish versions. And of course, these meatballs are a staple of any Swedish smorgasborg. Swedish meatballs, smaller in size that those of Italy or Germany, are traditionally served with a cream gravy and lingonberry preserves. If you travel to Sweden, you will probably here people call them köttbullar (which means meatball). Like Corned Beef and Ireland, Swedish meatballs were originally found in wealthier homes. They were brought to the U.S. by Scandanavian immigrants and became popular here in the beginning of the 20th century.

I haven't tried these yet, but here are some Swedish meatball recipes you can try:
(And don't forget, if you can't eat a certain type of meat, you can substitute another meat instead--that's the beauty of the Swedish meatball!)

Easy Swedish Meatball Recipe
Spiced Swedish Meatballs with Beef and Pork
Authentic Recipe with Veal and Pork
List of Swedish Meatballs Recipes from Cooks.com

On our way to Sweden

2005-10-31T06:28:00.000-08:00

So after visiting France and Ireland, it's time to move on to a country that's a little more north. Sweden borders the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak. It lies between Finland and Norway. (If you are interested in learning more about Sweden, click here.)

With regards to Swedish food, Husmanskost is the name of the most regular dishes. Swedish husmanskost, good old everyday food based on classic country cooking, has been influenced by foreign cuisine over the years.
As with many Irish dishes, Swedish food is usually simple but satisfying. A Swedish smorgasbord is used to describe a group of small dishes from which people can pick and choose what they like. (The word smörgås means something like "open sandwich", and bord is the Swedish word for "table", but still a smörgåsbord is not a table full of sandwiches.)
For more information about Swedish food, please check out these links:

Swedish Smorgasbord
Wikipedia-Swedish Cuisine
Swedish Food

Irish Drinking

2005-10-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

Darn These Flys!

An Englishman, a Scott, and a Irishman walked into a pub.
Each orderd a pint of beer. Then a fly landed in each one's beer.

The Englishman, turning slightly green, pushed his beer away and asked for another one.

The Scott took the fly out, shrugged, and drank his beer.

The Irisman pinched the fly between his fingers and yelled
"SPIT IT OUT!" "SPIT IT OUT!"
...For more Irish Drinking Jokes, click here

In all seriousness, the Irish have been best known for their whiskey and beer, but surprisingly, on average about 23% percent of the adult Irish population abstains from drinking. This is actually much higher than in other European countries. From one study that I looked over, it also showed that beer was the most popular type of drink, with spirits coming in at a far second. (To learn more, read The Irish Drinking Culture. )

Despite these facts, if you get the chance to visit Ireland, you should be sure to check out the local pubs. There are about 800 pubs listed on the Irish Abroad site, listed by town. From what I've read, Guinness is a big crowd pleaser along with Murphy's and Beamish & Crawford. Also, the Irish are famous for a particular type of beer: stout (To Learn about how stout beer is made, click here.)

You may also want to try some whiskey. Who knows-maybe it really does put hair on your chest. For those of you who don't know, whiskey is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, often including malt, which has then been aged in wooden barrels. There are several different kinds of Irish Whiskey , but all of them are made from a type of barley malt whiskey. In Ireland, the word whiskey comes from the Irish term "uisce beatha" which translates as "water of life".

So Drink up...but remember always do it responsibly!

St. Patrick's Day

2005-10-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

Who can talk about Ireland without mentioning something about St. Patrcick's Day.

Just a little bit of history...

Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland, which is most likely a metaphor for driving out paganism (pagans were often associated with snakes or serpent worship)

Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide. The holiday is taken very seriously in Ireland and in some cities in the United States with a large amount of Irish Americans. I am not really sure why it is celebrated on March 17, but there is a theory that it is the date of St. Patrick's death.

To learn more about this Irish holiday, visit the St. Patrick's Day Website .

So you might be wondering...What about the food?

One typical dish that you might find being served around St. Patrick's Day is Corned Beef and Cabbage. This Irish dish can be, and is often, served with potatoes. Originally "Corned Beef and Cabbage" was thought to be a dish served for Easter Sunday dinner in rural Ireland. The beef, because there was no refrigeration at that time was salted or brined during the winter to preserve it; it was then eaten after the long, meatless Lenten fast. Truthfully, in Ireland, it was actually not eaten very often because the meat that we associate with the the dish was much too expensive for farmers to afford. In America, we eat corned beef on St. Patrick's Day and consider it an example of a traditional Irish meal, but it really only started becoming associated with St. Patrick's Day at the turn of the 20th century. (Just for clarification-cabbage has always been a traditional Irish food).

Despite what some might say about the Irish authenticity of Corned Beef and Cabbage, no one can dispute the origins of Irish Soda Bread. This dessert is almost always served on St. Patrick's Day. According to Family Fun , one hundred fifty years ago it was common to make bread using baking soda rather than yeast in parts of rural Ireland. That's how Irish soda bread got its name. Additionally, sour milk was used in the making of soda bread in Ireland and in the 1930s it could be purchased "fresh" from the local creamery since fresh milk was usually consumed by the household before it could go sour. (Today buttermilk is used instead of sour milk since it is more easily found).

Click here to find some good recipes for your St. Patrick's Day fiest.

Irish Stew

2005-10-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

So what about meat and potatoes is so important to the Irish? What's great about a good traditional Irish dish is its simplicity. For the most part, there are only a few ingredients, a sparce use of spices (except salt and pepper), and the chance to walk away from the dish and come back to it hours later. Take Irish stew, for example. Irish stew was actually a peasant dish long ago-mainly because it consisted of mostly water, sheep, which farmers often raised, and potatoes, which they harvested. the Irish peasants often used sheep/mutton neckbones or shanks as the basis for the stock. (Mutton is a sheep that is over 2 years old and tends to be more tender) As is pointed out in this article on Traditional Irish Stew , these animal leftovers were not waste for the Irish farmers and herfders. Irish stews also saw the use of onions and parsley for additional flavoring. Peasants could let stew sit for hours to absord the flavor and in times of famine, they would have "leftovers" to hold them over.

Today there are many ways to prepare Irish stew. Some people enhance the flavor and fullness by adding vegetables such as celery or carrots and some may even add food options that are more hearty like dumplings (flour, water, butter and salt mixed together and placed on top of stew during last 30 minutes to soak up stew and simmer).

Regardless of the what you add, remember stew is meant to be simple and easy--but very, very tasty too! Enjoy.

Next stop-Ireland

2005-10-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

Land of the lucky!

Ireland is the third largest island in Europe and located to the west of England. To learn more about Ireland, visit Browse Ireland and check out all the neat information about the country.

So what about the food...

My grandma, who happens to be Irish, always used to tell me to make sure to eat my meat and potatoes. Ironically, those two food groups are the staple for an Irish diet. Irish food is based on simplicity and freshness. Don't get me wrong..there's still plenty of flavor--but the majority of the popular Irish dishes aren't complete without some combination of beef and starch. (Of course there are vegetables too in most cases.)

Along with exploring some of the great dishes that Ireland is famous for, while talking about Ireland's foods I'll also start discussing the spirits of Ireland. Anyone who knows an Irishman knows he can hold his liquor. So I'm going to uncover some of the drinks you might enjoy if you visit this country.

I know it's quite a jump from France to Ireland, in fact it's about a 500 mile jump, but you'll soon see that like France, each of the stops along this journey have a rich history, an authentic culture and lots of good eatin!

Some quick advice

2005-10-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

I could talk about France for a long time, but I must move on. As I leave France though, I will also give some parting words of wisdom.

1. Check out the wine in the Loire Valley; It's not that far from the city and the southern countryside is absolutely beautiful.

2. Stop and amire the ancient buildings and castles. They make a great tourist attraction, but they also show off a part of France's history that one can really appreciate. (Click Here to check out the great castles you can find in France)

3. Visit Versailles! It's absolutely beautiful and you will be amazed by its grandeur. I recommend paying for the guided tour and leaving time to visit the gardens.

4. Eat as many croissants as you can. Check out different bakeries, or patisseries as they are called, and explore foods that look good even if you don't know how to pronounce them.

5. Coffee in France is espresso. Make sure to ask for milk when you order. In France, if you say "Latte", it means steamed milk. (I'd brush up on your French coffee vocab prior to your trip if you plan on ordering).

6. At restaurants, waiters generally won't bring the check over until you tell them you are ready. They will literally let you sit there for hours...Unless they're closing (and then you'll have to leave).

7. You don't have to leave a huge tip for waiters like they expect you to in the States. For the most part, the usual tip is about 1 or 2 Euros. Sometimes it will be more if you are with a large group of people.

8. Finally, although not a tip for the trip over to France, here is a croissant recipe from McCall's Cooking School. I admit it's quite a process to make, but I've tried it and they come out very good. It might help you appreciate how much work the bakers go through to make one for you the next time you buy one.

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup unsifted all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup very warm water (105-115F)
2 pkg. active dry yeast
3 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp milk

With spoon, beat butter and 1/4 cup flour until smooth. Spread on waxed paper in a rectangle 12x6 inches. Refrigerate. Heat milk; stir in sugar, salt to dissolve. Cool to lukewarm. With thermometer, check temperature of water. Sprinkle with yeast; stir to dissolve. With spoon, beat in milk mixture and 3 cups flour until smooth. Turn on lightly floured pastry cloth; knead until smooth. Let rise, covered in warm place, 85F, free from draft until double-1 hour. Refrigerate 1/2 hour.
On lightly floured pastry cloth, with stockinette- covered rolling pin ( I think you could use cooking spray in place of the stockinette), roll into
14x14 inch rectangle. Place butter mixture on half of dough; remove paper. Fold other half over butter; pinch edges to seal. With fold at right, roll
from center to 20 x 8 inches. From short side, fold dough in thirds, making three layers; seal edges;
chill one hour wrapped in foil. With fold at left, roll to 20x8 inches; fold; chill 1/2 hour. Repeat. Chill overnight. Next day, roll; fold twice; chill 1/2 hour between. Then chill one hour longer.

To shape: Cut dough into 4 parts. On lightly floured pastry cloth, roll each into a 12 inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Roll up beginning at wide end. Form into crescent. Place point side down, 2 inches apart on brown paper on cookie sheet.
Cover; let rise in warm place, 85F, free from draft until double- one hour. Heat oven to 425F. Brush with yolk beaten with milk. Bake 5 minutes; reduce
oven to 375F; bake 10 minutes, until croissants are puffed and brown. Cool on rack 10 minutes. Makes 24.

Bon Apetite!

French Chefs

2005-09-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Another great way to explore French food is to learn about the people who know how to make it best. In other words--Learn about French Chefs. If you don't live in France, you might not be aware of the "best of the best" (le meilleur du le meilleur). Here is a pretty good link that will give you some insight into some famous French chefs.
Another way you can see a great French chef in action is to turn on the Iron Chef on the Food Network (One of my favorite stations of course). The show airs at 11:00 pm (EST) on Thursday nights, and although the Iron Chef-France, Hiroyuki Sakai, is not always challenged, it is interesting to see the techniques that he uses when a challenger wants to battle him.

That's all for now-Until next time, enjoy exploring the flavors and delights that France has to offer!

Paris

2005-09-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Bonjour les amants de nourriture! This week we visit France. And although the country is sometimes known for the famous city of lights, France has a plethora of culture and mystery that can be found in many other areas as well.

For those of you who've never traveled to France, the country is located in Western Europe and extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea, and from the Rhine River to the Atlantic Ocean. (Click to learn more information about France's geography)

So back to the food...

French cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity. French cuisine is considered to be one of the world's most refined and elegant styles of cooking, and is renowned for both its classical ("haute cuisine") and provincial style...

We'll be visiting Paris since I visited the beautiful city. There are so many places in Paris to eat. Whether it's a small side street shop or a fancy, high-class, by invitation only restaurant, you can find something that you will like.

Now Paris is broken into 20 districts. Each district is very unique. When I visited Paris I stayed in the 5th district. The picture of the pastries was from a small shop on La Rue St. Jacques right across from the Paris-American Academy. If you get the chance, I definitely recommend going.

There will be more details about France and Paris to come, but for now I'll let your mouth water over these tasty treats.

A Useful Link

2005-09-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a link on Wikipedia that might spark your interest if you love to explore food as much as I do. Enjoy!

Introduction

2005-09-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

So anyone who has ever visited Europe has probably expected to find exotic foods, authentic restaurants, and confusing menus. When I traveled to France a little over a year ago, I was strangely surprised to find that many restaurants had similar foods that are served in America. (There was a McDonald's for goodness sake!) Despite my disappointment at first, I soon found that finding authentic restaurants was not as hard as I thought, and the best part was that many of them were not that expensive.

I'm traveling back to Europe this winter, and I know that when I go I don't want to make the same mistake of ordering a hamburger in Belgium or margarita pizza in Paris. (If you think it sounds ridiculous that I would do something like that, you've never had a pizza in Paris). The point is, if you're planning to go to Europe, whether you're someone who likes to try new things or you like to stick to your usual meals, you can find something you'll like no matter where you are.

And if you're not planning to visit Europe anytime soon, there are a lot of interesting recipes and facts about European food that you might just want to stick around to learn about. Just because you can't be there to eat in a small restaurant on a tiny side street in Venice, that doesn't mean you can't make the types of foods they serve. And I promise you won't be disappointed with the results! Even if you don't like a particular dish, you'll have a better understanding of someone else's culture, which can never be a bad thing.

It's been said that "Knowledge is Power"...to that I add, "When it's knowledge of food, it's also yummy!" So join me on my "journey" through Europe as I explore the foods that define the continent.

**Since I've only visited Spain and France, I can only speak of a few specific places that I know for sure you will want to visit if you get the chance, but feel free to add your insights and suggestions as I get to each country!! **

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