The World Adventure Begins

It's been a while since I've posted here, but that is all changing in the coming year. I've put together a challenge for myself that will last through 2013.  Twice a month (assuming life doesn't get in the way) I'll be tackling 3-5 recipes (along with a drink or two) from regions around the world.  This could be by continent, country or state.

The goal is by the end of the year to have made 100 dishes that I've never made before.  Most of the recipes used will be found via the internet, so I will of course provide links as well as any changes I make, my thoughts on the food and any changes I may make for the future.

I encourage you to sign up as a follower so you can tag along as Shannon and I head down this road.  We plan on making enough food for 8 people, so if you are interested in attending one of the dinners please let me know.

The first dinner is taking place January 19th and is already booked. We'll be headed to Morocco, as I love the spices used in their cuisine and have never attempted a dish from there (or anywhere in Africa for that matter).

In the coming weeks/months I'll be attempting to make food from the following places:

Asia: Vietnam - Thailand - China - Cambodia (maybe)

African: Morocco (of course) - Ethiopia

Middle East: Afghanistan - Israel

Europe: Germany - France (yikes) - Spain - Greece

South America: Peru - Brazil

Caribbean: Jamaica

North America: Canada - The South (broad, I know)

Finally, and I kind of hesitate to do this (but oh well, I'll be setting up an Amazon wish list of culinary supplies... so if you enjoy the blog and/or the food and want to get me something - go for it! No pressure...

The (Delicioius) Bastardization of Banh Mi

So we had some ground turkey and some Brioche buns and were trying to figure out what to do... We decided to take a trip to Vietnam and make our version of the Banh Mi, the delicious sandwich typically featuring pork meatballs. Here is what we did to the turkey:

• 1 1/2 lbs turkey or pork or beef
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch or cornmeal

Combine everything together in a bowl and set back in the fridge for an hour. We heated up a pan with some olive oil, formed patties out the meat mixture and set them in the hot pan. I think we gave them about 10 minutes, making sure they got some good char on each side.

While these were on the stove, I sliced up some carrot, radishes, cucumber, and jalepeno using a mandolin. I added these to the Brioche buns, along with some mayo, Sriracha, cilantro salad dressing and mint leaves. And once the patties were done, they topped it off.

They were delicious, though the heaviness of the brioche muted some of the Asian flavors that make this meal so amazing. In the future I recommend going to your local Philly Cheesesteak shop and buy a package of their rolls (yes, they will sell them to you).

New Year's Eve Drinks

So on Saturday night the wifey and I hosted a New Year's Eve party for about 20 people. We did a 1920's themed party, with everyone coming in costume, so I wanted to be sure that we had plenty of cocktails from the period. In addition to the cocktails, we had sparkling wine, some Speakeasy Brewing beers, and a variety of whiskeys.

The Old Fashioned

1 sugar cube

1 slice of orange
2-3 dashes of Old Fashioned bitters
1 Maraschino cherry (try to avoid the bright red ones)
Bourbon

In a rocks glass, add the sugar cube, orange slice, cherry and bitters. Muddle thoroughly. Fill glass with ice and ad 2 or 3 ounces of Bourbon. Give it a stir and enjoy. Oh yeah, you can garnish with a twist of orange peel and another cherry, but in my opinion it just gets in the way.

The Manhattan



My buddy Keith decided to make these during the party, and they definitely are good...

3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 1/2 oz bourbon or rye whiskey
1-2 dashes of bitters
1 Maraschino (again stay away from the bright red ones)

Combine the vermouth, whiskey, and bitters with 2 - 3 ice cubes in a mixing glass and give it a stir (or you can just use a shaker). Put the cherry in a cocktail glass (or martini glass as they are more commonly known) and strain the whiskey mixture over the cherry. IF you are feeling really saucy, rub the cut edge of an orange peel over the rim of the glass and twist it over the drink to release the oils but don't drop it in.

Champagne Cocktail

Being that it was New Year's Eve we had to do a sparking wine drink - and this is one of my favorites and its super easy to make...

1 sugar cube
2-3 dashes bitters
Sparking wine
1 oz brandy or coganc

Drop the sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute use the bitters to coat the sugar cube. Add the brandy then top off with your favorite sparking wine. Again you can garnish with a twist of orange peel and another cherry to make it a little more fancy.

Give the recipes a try and let me know what you think!

Poker Night

So on Saturday night I had a few friends over to play poker as well as eat, drink and smoke... We made bratwurst for dinner and I made some guacamole to go along with it. Here's how I made it.

5 avocados
1 white onion
2 medium tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
4 cloves of garlic
1 lime
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp ground Cayenne pepper

Cut the onion in half. Dice one half and throw in a pan with hot olive oil and saute for 10 minutes or so, until it starts to carmelize. Dice the other half and put in a bowl. Dice the tomatoes and add to the bowl. Cut the jalepenos in half and take out the seeds and membrane and dice - add to the bowl. Smash the hell out of the garlic and add it to the bowl. Finally add the sauteed onions to the bowl, with the oil in the pan, and stir it all up.

Halve the avocados and scoop out in to a bowl. Squeeze the lime over the avocados and toss. Add the salt, cumin and cayenne. Take a fork and mash the avocados up but leave slightly chunky. Add the bowl of veggies and fold in to the avocados. Cover with plastic wrap (right on top of the guac) and sit in the fridge for at least a half hour for the flavors to combine.

It was great with chips(of course) but also smeared on the bun with the bratwurst.

As for the drinking, we started out with a few Miller High Lifes (plug) - then moved on to the whiskey. Had a few Maker's & ginger ale - when the Maker's was gone we switched to Jim Beam Rye & ginger ale.

Then we broke out the good stuff - Old Rip Van Winkle 23yr... while drinking this - it gave me an idea - I had a bottle of Goose Island Rare Bourbon County Stout, which was aged in Pappy Van Winkle 23yr barrels - so we opened a regular BCS and tasted that then poured the the Rare BCS and compared. I was actually a fan of the regular - the Rare was a bit more tangy/sour.

We then hit the backyard and had cigars. I had a Cohiba paired with a Tawny Port from Mitchell Katz Winery. Both were fantastic.

Oh... and I won $110 - not a bad night at all!