QUICKSWOOD

30/30/30 Food Challenge - Day 4: GERMANY

    Surrounded as it is by Belgium, the Neatherlands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark, it is not surprising that one finds a tremendous variability in the cuisine from region to region.  Meat, most often pork, and potaoes form the basis for many classic German dishes.  The gastronome eating his way through Germany would make sure to sample Sauerbraten (beef roast braised in wine or vinegar), German rye bread, Hassenpfeffer (rabbit stew), Himmel und Erde (apples and potatoes), Beefsteak Tartar (tartar steak), Kasseler Rippenspeer (roasted smoked pork loin), wursts (sausages), sauerkraut, dumplings and Schwarzwalder (Black Forest cake).

    And lets not forget the beer; Germans love their beer.  In fact, Germans consume 8,787,000,000 L of beer per year!  That comes out to 107 L per capita per year.  Only the Czech Republic has a higher per capita consumption (132 L ).  Thirsty bunch, those Germans.

    Our German menu:

 

 

    Sauerkraut with Bratwursts and Smoked Pork Chops

Apple Strudel

 

 

    Making sauerkraut is a lengthy process.  For this reason, Josée used a store bought version - Hengstenberg Mildessa Mild German Sauerkraut.  This is your basic sauerkraut prepared with wine and salt only.  The Bratwursts were  pork, one with and the other without beer.  The pork chops were smoked.  Some guests had beer but Josée and I drank Clos des Capucins, Domaine Weinbach, Pinot Blanc, Alsace, 2009.

 

    Josée baked a fantastic Apfelstrudel (apple strudel) and served it with her home-made vanilla ice cream.  The wine for this course was a slightly maderized  Léon Beyer, Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive, Alsace, 1990.

 

    Four down, 26 to go.

 

Joseph Froncioni

 

30/30/30 Food Challenge - Day 3: IRELAND

    I can't help starting with a couple of Irish food jokes.

 

    Q: What does an Irishman get after eating Italian food?

    A: Gaelic breath.

 

    Q: What do you need to make an Irish 7 course meal?

    A: A 6 pack and a potato.

 

    When you talk about Irish food, it seems you just can't get away from potatoes.  Potatoes were first domesticated in South America between 8,000 and 5,000 years BCE.  They were brought to Europe by the Spanish and found their way to Ireland at the end of the 16th century.  Prior to the introduction of the potato, common folk survived on a diet of  milk, butter, cheese and offal, meat being reseved exclusively for the landed gentry and nobility.  This diet was often supplimented with oats and barley. The practice of bleeding cattle and mixing the blood with butter and milk led to the modern-day Irish breakfast favorite, black pudding (blood, grain and seasoning). Give me bamboo shoots under my fingernails anytime.

    Eventually, the potato became the main food source for the poor.  Unfortunately, overdependence on one crop can lead to disaster.  So it is that when a potato blight struck Ireland in the mid-19th century, the Great Irish Famine resulted in 1 million deaths by starvation and forced another million Irishmen to emigrate.

    And lets not forget Guinness.  I'm not a beer drinker but the Guinness I had in a pub in Dublin was outstanding.

    So, it's Irish night and here's what's on the menu:

 

Irish Stew

Irish Soda Bread (served with Kerrygold Irish Butter)

Kerrygold Aged Irish Cheddar

Irish Tea Cake 

 

    Here's what Oxford has to say about Irish Stew:

"Irish stew is a celebrated Irish dish, yet its composition is a matter of dispute. Purists maintain that the only acceptable and traditional ingredients are neck mutton chops or kid, potatoes, onions, and water. Others would add such items as carrots, turnips, and pearl barley; but the purists maintain that they spoil the true flavour of the dish. The ingredients are boiled and simmered slowly for up to two hours. Mutton was the dominant ingredient because the economic importance of sheep lay in their wool and milk produce and this ensured that only old or economically non-viable animals ended up in the cooking pot, where they needed hours of slow boiling. Irish stew is the product of a culinary tradition that relied almost exclusively on cooking over an open fire. It seems that Irish stew was recognized as early as about 1800..."

—Davidson, Alan. (2006). Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (p. 409).

    Josée's Irish Stew preparation:

    In a large frying pan, brown the lamb cubes, add potatoes, onion, leeks, carrots, cabbage leaves, salt and peper.  Simmer in beef stock  for 2 hours. Serve piping hot. Don't forget the Guiness.

    Irish soda bread: flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk and caraway seeds.  This bread is so named because of the use of baking soda as the leavening agent.  The use of buttermilk is essential as its acidity combined with the baking powder produces the bubbles that make the bread rise.   Perfect with the aged cheddar.

    The tea cake is a sweeter and denser version of the soda bread.  It includes more sugar, eggs and buttermilk and cream sheese is added to make the cake moist.

    Way too much for a week-night.  

 

Joseph Froncioni

 

30/30/30 Food Challenge - Day 2: DENMARK

    Explain to me how a country best known for pastries, open faced sandwiches and Carlsberg beer can have given us the best restaurant in the world? Well it has, and that restaurant is Noma in Copenhagen.  Noma first appeared on the gastronomic radar when it showed up in 33rd spot on the extremely well respected World's 50 Best Restaurants list, published by RESTAURANT magazine,  in 2006.  It then quickly climbed the chart first to 15th, then to 10th and then to 3rd place.  Finally, in 2010, it made to 1st place and remains there to this day.  The chefs at Noma offer a reinterpretation of traditional Danish cookery and adhere to the principles of wildculture.

    Obviously, Danish cuisine has evolved tremendously now that products from far and wide are easily available. However, traditional foods still play a major role in Danish daily fare.  While potatoes, fish and meat are the most popular, a Dane will never pass up  smørrbrød, literally "buttered bread".  This open faced sandwich usually starts with buttered rye bread that is topped with a variety of goodies that might include fish, cheese, meat and pickles.  

    And let's not forget aquavit....or rather, let's.  I was once invited to a Nordic meal where the only beverage served was chilled aquavit.  Needless to say, I can't remember anything about the evening.

    Here is Josée's Danish offering:

Cucumber Salad

Poached Fish with Mustard Sauce

Caramelized Carrots and Potatoes

 

    The cucumber salad is a traditional sweet and sour salad dish from Denmark but there are versions in each of the Scandinavian countries. The cucumbers are thinly sliced, sprinkled with salt and then marinated in a mixture of wine vinegar, water, sugar and pepper for 3 - 6 hours. Before serving, the salad is drained and sprinkled with dill or chives.  The result is suprisingly delicious and tangy. Although from a Nordic country, this salad deserves to be included in our summer repertoire.

 

    The fish is usually cod but Josée used fresh hogfish. The fish is poached in butter, onions, cream, salt pepper and nutmeg for 10 - 15 minutes. The sauce combines vinegar, mustard, cardamon, salt and pepper and is thickenned by whisking in oil. Finally, the pre-boiled potatoes and carrots are caremelized in sugar and butter.

    I have to say the whole thing was outstanding.  The fish was flaky and livened up by the sauce.  The veggies melted in the mouth.

    As I was on call, this delightful meal was washed down with chilled sparkling water.

 

Joseph Froncioni

        

    

30/30/30 Food Challenge - Day 1: FRANCE

    

    The French take their food very seriously and although Italy is the undisputed mother of cuisine, it is the French who must be given the credit for having elevated it to "haute cuisine". Indeed, one suspects that when Catherine de Medici first introduced the fork to the French Court in the 16th century, she had not an inkling of the unbridled passion the Gauls would pour into what would become their national treasure.

    While the first French cookbook (1651) is attributed to La Varenne, it is Carême who, in the late 17th century,  first introduce the refinements that so define French haute cuisine.  There later followed a series of chefs whose contributions to the French culinary heritage elevated them to national heroes. Escoffier, Bocuse, Troisgros, Vergé and many others became household names in France.

    Josée, however, decided to choose dishes that are decidedly from the French provincial repertoire rather than the haute.  These timeless classics are part of the very bedrock of French cuisine and the skills and techniques needed to prepare them have become second nature to every French chef.

    Menu

Soufflé au Fromage 

Boeuf Bourguignon 

 Pommes de Terre Dauphinoises 

Haricots Verts au Naturel 

Crêpes Suzette et crème Glacée à la Vanille

    

        It is Escoffier who once said: "Kings wait for soufflés; soufflés do not wait for kings."  The soufflé is the quintessential example of food chemistry meeting food artistry. A well made soufflé is a delight for both the eye and the palate. 
Rising majestically above the mold like a golden crown, crispy on the outside and creamy in the center, Josée produced six of these little delights to perfection.

    Next, Boeuf Bourguignon, the king of beef stews.  This is a dish that comes from a region of France where most of the wine is red and the cattle Charolais.  

Combined, these two products of the land are turned into one of the hardiest dishes I know. Some of the ingredients that go into this dish: onions, mushrooms, butter, salt, parsley, pepper, garlic, flour, beef stock, tomato paste, carrots, a bouquet garni and of course beef and red wine. Served with pommes de terre Dauphinoises and haricots verts au naturel, this was an absolute delight.

    The cheese course, a must for our French menu, included a Fourme d'Ambert and a Délice de Bourgogne.

    Still room for a little dessert?  Josée put together Crêpes Suzette flamed at the table and served with freshly made crème Glacée à la Vanille. 

    The wines:

Champagne Veuve Cliquot Brut NV

Poully-Vinzelles En Paradis 2010 Louis Latour

Château Prieuré Lichine Margaux 2006

    Six conteted and jolly diners pushed back from the table just before the clock struck 12. Day 1 completed, 29 to go.

Joseph Froncioni

30/30/30 Food Challenge

   

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."  Luciano Pavarotti.

 

    Cook a meal from a different country every day for 30 consecutive days!  That's the challenge my wife, Josée, has lined up for herself.  I'm sure you'll agree with me that by any measure, this represents a pretty daunting task.  Just consider the difficulty she will have finding unusual ingredients here in Bermuda.  

    Starting today, Saturday, October 27, she will prepare a meal from one of the following countries on each of the next 30 consecutive days: France, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, South Africa, Venezuela, Belgium, Thaïland, Italy, Poland, Austria, Lebanon, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, Norway, Egypt, Argentina, Korea & Vietnam, Portugal, Greece & Turkey, India, Ethiopia, Sweden, Hungary, USA, China, Moroco & Tunisia, Spain.

    Although Josée gets to do the lion's share of the work, she has been kind enough to involve me as well lest I feel left out. I will be in charge of puting together an appropriate playlist  for each country, selecting the wines for each course, photographing the plates  and writing an article for this blog every day.  Hey, wait a minute!!@? That sounds like an awful lot of work!  Oh well, I guess that's what you get for marrying an epicurean.

    The daily posts can be found below.

 

Cheers,

 

Joseph Froncioni