DIFFERENT FOODS

[Templar]

  WHILE EVERYONE WISHES EACH OTHER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY......USUALLY IT GETS AROUND TO A FAVORITE FOOD........DUE TO THE DIVERSITY OF OUR MEMBERSHIP I AM ALWAYS INTRIGUED BY THE DIFFERENT ITEMS.........I WAS WWONDERING IF SOME OF YOU WOULD SHARE SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOODS AND HOW THEY ARE COOKED OR TASTE AS I USUALLY TRY ANYTHING ONCE.......FYI ALWAYS MENTIONS EELS......SINCE I LIVE IN THE MIDWEST I DON'T GET THEM........WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?.....THER IS AN OLD BEGIUM RESTAURANT ...THAT WE HAVE GONE TO ALOT.....WE GO TO FEATHER BOWL AND EAT THEIR MUSSELS WHICH COME IN A BIG BOWL......GREAT WITH A FEW ROOT BEERS AND WE LOOK AT THE PICTURES OF ALL THE FAMOUS BIKE RIDERS ON THE WALL.......I HAVE EATEN MUSCRAT(DARK MEAT--VERY GOOD)..POLISH DUCK BLOOD SOUP(DIFFERENT) BEAR, DEER,  RABBIT, MOOSE, PHEASANT, HORSE,,SPIT ROASTED PIG, RATTLESNAKE,SNAILS LOTS OF FISH AND SHELL FISH...I WOULD JUST LOVE TO HEAR FROM ALL THE EPICURIANS IN THE CASTLE......IT IS TOUGH WRITING THIS JUST BEFORE LUNCH WHICH LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE A BALOGNA SANDWICH......OH WELL

YOUR FRIEND AND SERVANT.........THE TEMPLAR

[Paint Your Wagon]

Eel in green sauce
My grandmother always made it without white wine and certainly without fish broth
French fries are a necessity to me
Restaurants will make it in white wine which really alters the taste of the sauce
Anyway I like a lot of sauce with my eel .

The recipee ( this is the only one that uses fish broth)

http://www.beka-cookware.com/recipes/recipe/546/eel-in-green-sauce

What it looks like in a refined restaurant


These pieces are too thin and too long but the sauce looks alright

[scottishmoney]

We eat frequently the shashlik, varaniki, grechka etc.  I like a lot of Russian food, and drink too.  All my family except my wife likes kvass, which is fermented drink with very low alcohol, called "kid beer" in Russia.

[Paint Your Wagon]

Oh I forgot
It is also delicious cold with lemon squeezed over it .
and some french bread .
That is the way the leftovers are eaten ( if there are any  

[Paint Your Wagon]

We eat frequently the shashlik, varaniki, grechka etc.  I like a lot of Russian food, and drink too.  All my family except my wife likes kvass, which is fermented drink with very low alcohol, called "kid beer" in Russia.

We have shaslik dispensor shops
I thought it was turkish ? since they also have shiskebab and donnerkebab

[Pocketcoins]

We eat pretty plane around here most of the time. If you were coming to my house the wife would probably fix something like slow fried pork chops, fried potatoes (always fried in cast iron skillet) soup beans (pintos) corn bread (also backed in cast iron skillet) and cooked then fried mustard greens. If you happen to come this time of year she would fix some leaf lettuce and green onions with hot pork grease over it.   

[ElleKitty]

One of my favourites has to be fried alligator tail with cream gravy for dipping.  Yum!

Pocketcoins, you have got to live in the deep South!  All of that sounds mouthwatering except for the mustard greens.  Never have liked those- too bitter tasting for me.

[NoHope587]

Being from MS my wife makes a really nice fried squirrel.
Did not know what it was the first time I had it, but its on my favorite list now.. Along with collard greens and Jalapeno corn bread.

[TwoShadows]

Nohope have your wife, or should I say ask her, to crockpot a squirrel in a bottle of barbecue sauce. After trying it one time I no longer fry the bushytail. It is hard to describe the difference so you will just have to try it!

[OldDan]

Out here in the sticks, we get our tin cup and tin plate and help ourselves to the following:
Sliced Buffalo Roast or Chicken Breast (simmered in BBQ sauce)
- Foil-Wrapped Idaho Russet Potatos
- Cowboy Beans
- Cow Slaw (that's cole slaw with a little barnyard humor)
- Homemade Biscuits with Butter and Honey
- Chunky Applesauce
- Spice Cake w/ whipped topping
- Lemonade, Iced Tea or Coffee

[Templar]

MAN OH MAN THE FOODS ALL SEEMED GREAT........I WAS RAISED ON SOUTHERN COOKING SO I REALLY STARTED DROOLING AS I READ POCKETS MENU...BUT THE OTHERS I WOULD BE WILLING TO TRY....PUT CIDAR OR MALT VINEGAR ON THE GREENS AND USE YOUNG GREENS.....SCOTTISHMONEY PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT SOME OF THOSE DISHES WERE...JUST A NAME DOESN'T HELP........THANKS FOR THE REPLIES..IF YOU THINK OF MORE ADD THEM PLEASE...MAYBE WE WILL DEVELOPE A CASTLE COOK BOOK

 YOUR SALIVATING SERVANT---------THE TEMPLAR

[Nighthawk]

We eat pretty plane around here most of the time. If you were coming to my house the wife would probably fix something like slow fried pork chops, fried potatoes (always fried in cast iron skillet) soup beans (pintos) corn bread (also backed in cast iron skillet) and cooked then fried mustard greens. If you happen to come this time of year she would fix some leaf lettuce and green onions with hot pork grease over it.   

I'll be right over!   

[Humpybong]

Nah.......ya all need a good ausssie dish......

PIE   FLOATER


A great aussie meat pie in a dish of squishy peas

[Snooba]

Eel in green sauce
My grandmother always made it without white wine and certainly without fish broth
French fries are a necessity to me
Restaurants will make it in white wine which really alters the taste of the sauce
Anyway I like a lot of sauce with my eel .

The one time I had eel, I found it a little "muddy" tasting.  I'm assuming that I had poor quality eel, and that it is usually much nicer than the way I tasted it.  Too many people tell me how lovely it is, so I should probably gather my courage and try again!

[Snooba]

You can't go past some Moreton Bay bugs surrounded by oysters!  Mmmmm!
Or lamb pasanda with some garlic naan and jasmine rice.  Yummy.
Or pan-fried barramundi on a bed of vegetables with a tasty mango sauce!
My mother's glazed ham with pineapple and crispy roast pork are also fabulous.

Oh dear!  I've just started drooling all over my keyboard! 

[Yass]

I'm sorry, but it must be the aussie in me. I'll keep mine plain and simple

One of my favourite (notice the 'ou') dishes is a nice big medium rare eye fillet steak with a very spicey peppercorn sauce, and like PYW, I want chippies (french fries) with that.  Washed down with an 2 or 3 ice cold beers!

I'm also with Snooba re the Moreton Bay Bugs. Lobster (Crayfish), Prawns fresh or barbequed (or both with just about any sauce except tomato), Oysters Kilpatrick, Garlic Prawns, Barramundi are also suitable alternatives.  Consider them either a main meal or as an entree if steak on on the menu.

Dessert is cheese cake, apple pie (or just about anything else). Ice cream is a must. 

When I'm finished with the beer. I'll start on my wife's red wine (cabernet, merlot or sauvignon).  It the night drags on then definitely time for the Ouzo. 

Apart from the dessert, which my wife is hopeless at, all of the above are often on the home menu when I get home from work on a Saturday or Sunday.

[Triggersmob]

I'm a very fussy eater, so my menu is very limited.

One menu I would like to share with you, is my favourite sweet dish.

English Bread Pudding.

Cut up or break up the equivalent to about a loaf of bread (traditionally stale bread was used as this was a great way to avoid waste, not green though).
Add about 150 grams of butter or margarine (good thing about this recipe it doesn't need to be exact)
Pour over about a litre of boiling water (I use just enough to melt the butter and wet all the bread, don't use too much)
Add about a cup of suger and one or two eggs.
Mix well
Add a good dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spices. Don't over do it.
Mix well
Add about 250 - 300 grams of sultanas or mixed dried fruit.
Mix well.
Place into a well greased and floured tin ( I usually make it about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inched deep).
Bake until cooked (this will vary depending on how much water you used, generally about 1/2 hour to 3/4 hour at 180c)
Once I have smoothed the top, I usually pour about 1/2 glass of water on top, this stops it from burning on top while cooking.

You can serve hot with custard or ice cream, but I prefer it cold.

This is my own adaptation of the recipe. I hope you like it.

Give it a go and let me know.
  


 

[Paint Your Wagon]

Our Bakeries have breadpudding
I think any country that was in the 1940 war on the receiving end knows breadpudding

[Paint Your Wagon]

Escargot de Bourgogne

French garden snails
They put them 14 days on letuce leafs to detoxify them
In Belgium only available in tin cans and the shells serve over again like
with Coquille St Jacques

You normally have a kind of nutcracker device especially made to take the shell with the
left hand and a mini two pronged fork to extract the snail with the right hand with a twisting gesture

The recipee

http://www.justfrance.org/france/recipes/escargots-bourgogne.asp

The picture when ready to put in the oven or microwave



The picture when "cooked" without shells which we never do
The dish is a starter and the "sauce" has to be mopped up with french bread
and is tastier then the escargots
This entree is available in lots of belgian restaurants

[Templar]

ESCARGO COOKED ON TOP OF LARGE MUSHROOMS WITH PLENTY OF GARLIC BUTTER AND SOME BREAD CRUMBS ON THE TOP...MOPPED UP WITH SOME GOOD FRENCH BREAD......A LOT OF PLACES SERVE THEM AS APPITIZERS........
EXCELLENT WITH GUINESSS...

[Paint Your Wagon]

ESCARGO COOKED ON TOP OF LARGE MUSHROOMS WITH PLENTY OF GARLIC BUTTER AND SOME BREAD CRUMBS ON THE TOP...MOPPED UP WITH SOME GOOD FRENCH BREAD......A LOT OF PLACES SERVE THEM AS APPITIZERS........
EXCELLENT WITH GUINESSS...

Since they allways serve them in their shells in special plates with holes to receive the shells
in Belgium and France
I can see that the mushroom eliminates the cost of the special plates and the gripper and two pronged fork costs
And anyways it is the garlic butter sauce that is 90% of the pleasure eating them
but lots and lost of parsley to make the sauce green and tasty

[Paint Your Wagon]

Eel in green sauce
My grandmother always made it without white wine and certainly without fish broth
French fries are a necessity to me
Restaurants will make it in white wine which really alters the taste of the sauce
Anyway I like a lot of sauce with my eel .

The one time I had eel, I found it a little "muddy" tasting.  I'm assuming that I had poor quality eel, and that it is usually much nicer than the way I tasted it.  Too many people tell me how lovely it is, so I should probably gather my courage and try again!

I am not sure there was anything wrong with the eel since it is the sauce with if you want lemons squeezed over it that makes the taste.
To make the sauce you need half a dozen aromatic herbs and letting it sit overnight in the fridge and reheat the second day does wonders of taste too (like a stew)

Eel is somewhat like river scampis that taste of nothing and the sauce makes it a perfect entree or main course ( any sauce )
When I am lazy I use sweet and sour chinese veggies from a glass jar with Thai jasmin rice

[scottishmoney]

Today, Latin American fare, tamales maiz, taquitos, frijoles con queso por la comida alanochecer.

Growing up on the left coast of the USA and being exposed to so much Mexican, Asian and Italian food - I like lots of variety.  Living in E. Europe brings new delicacies into the pantry.  Grechka is like buckwheat, it is boiled in milk for a very long time until all milk is absorbed.  We like it.  Shashlik is like PYW described, meal on stick usually we use chicken or beef, potatoes, mushrooms, onions etc.  Varaniki are little dumplings with wrapped potato, onion, or my favourite is with cheese as ingredient.  We have to buy this stuff for our Russian meals and drink from about 200km from where we live because there are not stores closer that have this ingredients.

Because we have a large family, usually to make these meals is a group effort, involving all if not most of the kids.   

I am sorry, eel, fish etc. not on the palate.  Only crab is sea meal for me, steamed long time.

[scottishmoney]

If I come to Belgium again, eel not on my plate, only will I eat pommes de terre with mayo, and chocolat of course!  And good Belgian biere to wash it all the down.

[scottishmoney]

Oh and white asparagus with hollandaise sauce - the bomb

[Paint Your Wagon]

Oh and white asparagus with hollandaise sauce - the bomb

It is smack in the middle of the white asparagus season
till St Jut (to lazy to search but it is mid june that saint)

I make the sauce with whole milk and bind with potatomeal and lots of snippered parsley in it and the yolk of one egg
My wife is going crazy since I made it allready 6 times
To give her relieve I made it the last time à l'ancienne which is with hardboiled eggs
ground down and put over the asparagus and then good butter melted and poured over the eggs

[scottishmoney]

While on the subject of fine Belgian delicacies, I remember when I travelled in Europe the first time when I was younger, the absolutely most stunningly gorgeous young lady I think I have ever seen was waiting on a train platform there in Brussels.  Surely I hadn't until then believed such a lovely manifestation of the feminine persuasion ever existed.  She had honey coloured hair, and stunning blue eyes and was like some illusion to a fantasy.  And then my stupid train car lurched, on the way to Paris and all the "smelly" French girls and Ms Belgium became but a memory.

[Paint Your Wagon]

While on the subject of fine Belgian delicacies, I remember when I travelled in Europe the first time when I was younger, the absolutely most stunningly gorgeous young lady I think I have ever seen was waiting on a train platform there in Brussels.  Surely I hadn't until then believed such a lovely manifestation of the feminine persuasion ever existed.  She had honey coloured hair, and stunning blue eyes and was like some illusion to a fantasy.  And then my stupid train car lurched, on the way to Paris and all the "smelly" French girls and Ms Belgium became but a memory.

Memories are treacherous
We all remember a gorgeous lady which if we saw her today even at age 18 would not be so gorgeous anymore .

[Templar]

MY WIFE BUYS THE SNAILS IN A LARGE CAN......BOILS THEM FOR A SHORT TIME IN WINE------TAKES MUFFIN PANS .......MAKES A NEST OF FILO DOUGH IN EACH MUFFIN SPACE....PLACES A FEW SNAILS IN EACH NEST.....ADS HER BUTTER/GARLIC/ONION MIX TO EACH NEST......COVERS THEM WITH LITTLE PIECES OF ITALIAN BREAD CRUMBS.....RUNS THEM IN TO THE OVEN UNTIL THE BUTTER MELTS.........THEN WE DIE......BUT WHAT A WAY TO GO

            THE DAY GOT AWAY FROM US SO WE ARE EATING CARRY OUT CHINESE INSTEAD OF MANY OF THE GREAT DISHES WE DICUSSED......AIN'T LIFE GRAND!

  YOUR SERVANT AND FRIEND..........THE TEMPLAR GOURMET

[AdamL]

I love Thai and Indian food, though I rarely get to eat it. I also like seafood including oysters and calamari. The basics though, like steak, barbeque and all that good fried food are great as well. Love German and Italian food as well.

[Pocketcoins]

Crispy fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, backed beans, corn on the cob and don't forget the big golden backed biscuit.  Maybe some apple spice cake for afterwards.   

[Templar]

KEEP TALKING POCKETS.............I'M CHEWING ON THE COMPUTER MOUSE AS I READ YOUR FAVORITES.........THE BETTER IT TASTES THE WORST IT IS FOR YOU.....OH DON'T FORGET THE ICE CREAM ON THE CAKE......

[Muckeye]

Full marks for the PIE FLOATER.
A tasting that has to be experienced
to be believed.
Add 'tomato sauce'.

regards muckeye and gizmo....

[Triggersmob]

Us Aussies are easily pleased, give us a pie and sauce and that's all we need.
Oh! a beer would go nicely too.

[Templar]

YOU HAD ME WORRIED THERE UNTIL YOU MENTIONED THE BEER...