shakshouka and pita!

a recent trip to israel means many yummy food posts to come. a good place to start is the celebratory meal i cooked when i got back: shashouka and pita bread! i wanted to use the spices i brought back with me, paprika and za'atar right away.

so the deal is that there are a lot of ways to make shakshouka. i'm sure everyone has their preferred method. i went for something quite simple to keep things easy but also to let my newly acquired paprika shine. i looked up a bunch of different articles online and just used them as a guide to go at it myself. this is one of those dishes that is quite hard to mess up. really, no matter what you do, it's going to taste good.

the pita bread was surprisingly easy to make. especially considering i was making it while doing loads of laundry...i'm sure i messed up somewhere along the way. and yet, delish.

shakshouka

• 1 28-oz can tomatoes
  
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 large red pepper, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon paprika
  
• salt
• pepper
• parsley, chopped
• feta cheese
• 6 eggs
• olive oil

• add a couple of tablespoons to a large pan
• add garlic, onion, red pepper and cook until softened
• add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, paprika
• cook until sauce slightly thickens, about 15 minutes
• make 6 indents in the sauce and crack eggs onto top of sauce
• cover and cook until the whites set, about 5 minutes
• top with parsley and crumbled feta
  

pita bread
adapted from mark bittman's how to cook everything and the mollie katzen's new moosewood cookbook

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 3 cups flour (i used spelt)

• mix yeast into warm water and let sit for a few minutes. it should foam.
• mix oil, salt, sugar, honey into water
• add flour and mix, 1 cup at a time. by the end, you'll probably need to use your hands.
  
• knead a bit and form dough into a ball. cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1-2 hours (or less, if you're rushed).
• punch down dough. cut into 6 pieces and cover. allow to rest for 15 minutes. apparently this helps them puff...
  
• flatten and roll each ball so that they're about 1/4-1/8" thin and somewhat circular. cover. allow to rest 15 minutes.
• bake on a baking sheet 5-10 minutes, flipping once, until lightly browned on both sides.
• good warm. or cold.
  

ile flottante

ile flottante at flo nice

i have to admit that i've maintained somewhat of a vendetta against french food most of my life. many of you will be happy to hear that this opinion was shattered during a trip to nice a couple of years ago...yes, a couple of years ago. i have been waiting that long to write this particular entry. i discovered something there so special, unique and fun that i felt i had to find a version of this dish stateside before i could write and share it. because what fun would it be if you had to travel to france to experience it for yourself? okay, maybe i'll take that one back...

imagine this: you walk into a large restaurant to the sight of an army of waiters, half of them with one arm lifted high above their head with a white bowl perched on top. in each bowl is a giant white glowing orb. i might as well have yelped like a small child and asked the first person i could find what THAT was. then i not-so-patiently sat through an entire (glorious) meal, waiting until the moment i could experience the magic orb in all its glory.

ILE FLOTTANTE! essentially, this dessert is a meringue ball/cube/other shape floating in a bowl of creme anglaise. yum. but as you can see, the presentation is quite remarkable. especially when you have a giant ball of meringue in front of you that is practically as large as your face. if you're headed across the atlantic, i'd recommend the version at flo brasserie. but as for the rest of us, a similar version (although not quite as grand in appearance--i promise it makes up for it in taste), can be found at bouchon.

ile flottante at bouchon in las vegas

for all practical purposes, let's discuss the actual flavor makeup of our good ol' u.s. of a location. bouchon's version was a little different because the meringue had a bit of a denser consistency which made the taste a little richer. the winner here was the salty carmel sauce drizzled on top. good thing they provide you with an entire dish of it (and not just what's drizzled on top). momma zo and i practically drank the rest of it. seriously dangerous. in the best way possible of course...

go go zo's best of chicago

my first time in chicago means a hit list is in order. so without further adieu, a list of my favorite dishes at a number of chicago restaurants. all were in the north river area and were absolutely fabulous.

crispy rice with spicy tuna and jalapenos at sunda. perfect texture combination: the crispy rice with the soft and smooth spicy tuna. also a great spicy and sweet combo: there was a sweet glaze on the rice that went well with the heat of the tuna and jalapeno.

french fries with white truffle oil and asiago cheese at primehouse. please, just let your imagination run wild, there's really not much i need to say. except perhaps that these fries were perfectly crispy, not too thin or thick and absolutely some of the best fries i've ever had. the truffle oil didn't make the fries greasy at all, just added that amazing truffle essence, and the cheese added an additional layer of flavor without making them at all cheese-fry like. we ordered a second helping. and ate them all.

you probably can't see this but it's the only photographic evidence i have of lobster deviled eggs at eve. genius! especially with giant chunks of lobster meat and caviar.

why france kicks our ass: one reason

i am going to attempt to keep this brief. i've written about the difficulties of food allergy travel before. throw in charles de gaulle airport and you've got one hell of a mess. even if you don't have food allergies, that airport will find some way to pick you up, twist you up, and spit you out.

so as you're racing through the airport, wondering why the hell it takes 20 minutes to get from terminal 2D to 2E and where that freaking tram everyone talks about actually boards, take faith in knowing that as soon as you get somewhere near the gate, there will be viable, edible, decently enjoyable food options waiting for you.

i'm not even talking about those giant snak club vat sized bags of trail mix. we've all been there. you've got a 5 hour travel day ahead of you and your lack of time/preparation/whatever has put you in a less than desirable food situation. yeah, that's right, they don't serve food on airplanes anymore. and even if they did, would you really want to eat it? so you indluge in the trail mix that surely has enough servings to feed a small family and costs $7. and you eat it all by yourself. in one sitting. not feeling so great, are you?

back to the armpit of all airports. the last time i was there, a quinoa and shrimp salad over greens with a red curry sauce surprised me before my flight. delightful. this time, more quinoa but this time with hazelnuts. yeah that's right, i said hazelnuts. beat that. 2 for 2? both involving quinoa? score.

macarons in geneva

i'm not sure why but i had never had a macaron before. i think it must have been a wheat phobia and although i had read about them, was never in a situation where i could get a straight ingredients answer. after further research, i deemed them edible but wasn't lusting to get my hands on any. big mistake. if only i knew. so, on the most recent work voyage, when i found myself in geneva once again, on an expense account, i picked up a couple for dessert. let me just say this, had i not been with a work colleague, i would have launched into a full out food-o-face. who am i kidding? i'm pretty sure it was apparent. i had one vanilla and one pistachio. vanilla won. the macarons were light, sweet and crisp and contrasted perfectly with the smooth frostingly center. forget your standard sandwich cookies, america, the rest of the world has got you BEAT! seriously, go forth and conquer, which is exactly what i plan to do. and please, report back.

my perfect swiss meal

i was eager to fall into the eating trends of switzerland but alas, as one who does not eat red meat, wheat and limits their dairy intake, this was rather difficult. it wasn't until my last day in geneva that i experienced a true swiss meal that i could eat and enjoy (with the aid of lactaid, of course)! where did this magic happen, you ask? at the restaurant les armures, at les armures hotel in old town. it's the oldest restaurant and hotel in geneva and is the perfect place to go for swiss specialties.

we ate a deliciously fresh green salad and small portions of raclette. raclette is a white cow's milk cheese that is melted and served with small potatoes. it's portioned in small amounts so that you can get just a taste of it or eat a large amount, for those more dairy inclined. the cheese is melted so that there's almost a thin crust formed and tastes delicious with a good amount of fresh ground pepper. raclette is eaten with white wine--no water because it can form cheese balls in your tummy! there's some information about making raclette at home here. if you're looking to go out and try this dish in new york, the best option (based on internet research alone) seems to be swizz, where you can choose to order an appetizer or full size portion. according to their online menu, you can also get raclette at the bourgeois pig, which is a small fun restaurant to go to with two downtown locations.

to finish off the meal, i had pear sorbet with williamine, a pear liqueur. the sorbet was quite fresh and had chunks of pear. as i am somewhat of a lightweight, it tasted best when it was all mashed together. i picked up a bottle of williamine to bring back home. i plan to either drink it neat, serve it over sorbet or try it on top of vanilla ice cream.


and a closing note about chocolate: because what would switzerland be without it? besides gorgeous...although most supermarket brands are supposed to be good (coop and migros) you can also find more gourmet brands in all of the train stations. the best kind i found was laderach, which can be purchased by weight from giant sheets of all different kinds of chocolate. according to their website, laderach chocolate can be found at the trump palace food emporium at 3rd and 68th street but this is yet to be confirmed. the other brand of chocolate that was recommended to me is villars. it comes in many different flavors and fillings, including liquors of the area: kirsch and williamine.

road trip! red arrow diner (new hampshire)

i am hopelessly addicted to the food network. there is nothing i rather hear in the background while puttering around at home. a person cannot watch a lot of food network without catching diners, drive-ins and dives every once in a while. now i realize it is pretty disgusting to watch guy fieri stuff his over-tanning-booth-tanned face HOWEVER, this guy (haha) has come up with some deeeliiccious looking places. that being said, it is hard for me to get in a car and go somewhere without checking if one of these spots is on the way.

enter red arrow diner in manchester, new hampshire. thanks to the food network, i now visit this diner when i am visiting family and consume massive amounts of (tasty) grease.

apparently, guy deemed american chop suey the house specialty. however, as far as i'm concerned, this is the red arrow star- "special" hash browns. i get mine veggies and cheese style. it has lots of veggies: mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and crispy hash browns, all topped with that delicious slightly artificial white american cheese that gets all gooey and melty...on this particular trip, i also got 2 eggs along with it AND ATE THE WHOLE THING. ignore that toast trying to creep into the corner of my picture (i didn't eat it).


ok, this was just overkill but you cannot leave this place without ordering a slice of pie. they are so beautifu and beckon to you from the fridge. chocolate cream pie seemed like the obvious choice here. this one was the kind where the cream has more than it's fair share of shortening in it. i was only slightly disappointed at how much it dominated the chocolate portion of the pie. needless to say, i left quite full and happy.

jamaica me awesome!

i could have done another buffet post about the lackluster options at the all-inclusive resort i stayed at for a librarian's conference in jamaica. yes, conference, no, not jamaica, queens. you can be jealous of my non-existent tan i acquired from being inside of a conference hall.

however, these "lackluster" choices i speak of were so depressing that i rather never think of them again. except for the soft serve machine. that was awesome (the one day it was operational). in any case, at first glance, jamaica isn't exactly an on-the-go, wheat-free person's best place to eat because of the abundance of patties and fried chicken.


i was determined to have one good, jamaican meal. because what fun is traveling if you can't experience some local cuisine? i finally got some awesome jerk chicken at pelican grill in montego bay. i don't have a whole lot of jerk chicken experience and thus my basis for comparison is next to nothing however, this was delicious.


my last day in jamaica was even better. further adventures into jamaican cuisine began with a colleague bringing me some jamaican apples to try (otaheite apples). these apples are bright red and conically shaped. the texture is almost identical to a pear but the taste is not. they're sweet but slightly tart, very fresh tasting, rather than soft and sweet.

we ate dinner in kingston, at prendy's on the beach (beware, there is no beach). the restaurant is very casual with picnic style tables and no physical menu (fish, shrimp, or lobster). i had fish soup (yummy and delicate in a thin broth) and coconut curry shrimp. the curry was fantastic! it was sweet and spicy but not too hot. there were onions and potatoes in it along with the shrimp. after dinner, we went to devon house to get ice cream to satisfy my sweet tooth.

i chose rum and raisin--when in rome...the ice cream was sweet, creamy and almost sticky as if there was some sweetened condensed milk in it.

so fear not all-inclusive resort goers! leave your gated compounds behind and venture into the world of real food, with real live ingredients!