I love all food, so choosing would prove quite difficult.
I’m American, so let’s start with American food. I searched on the internet for American food, because, truly, I’m not sure what American food is. My search led me to a lot of photographs of hot dogs and hamburgers, fried chicken, ribs and chili. Really? Is that the best we can do? I can’t imagine never eating a grass fed filet mignon, wrapped in bacon and rosemary and grilled on the barbeque again. Especially if it is served with a baked potato melting with butter, sour cream, chives and pepper, and of course, some green beans, eaten with my fingers. But wait, I prefer Haricot Verts, which are French, so does that mean I’m stuck with a wedge salad as my vegetable? Perfect steak aside, the rest of “American” food doesn’t really sound that great when you are talking about eternity, ‘til death do you part. And, frankfurters come from Frankfurt, Germany, so how did it get it’s all American status? I eat my two hot dogs a year with ketchup and relish, so I can claim that my version IS American. My first hot dog of the year is usually eaten at a baseball game, so that makes it even more American. The second hot dog of the year is eaten at Costco, another American institution. I think I’m safe counting the hot dog as American, but still, I don’t see myself eating hot dogs every day for the rest of my life.
I love Mexican food: grilled fish tacos, chili verde, carnitas, cocido de reyes, tamales, home made corn tortillas and fresh salsas, just to name a few. I have even perfected a low fat, slow cooker version of carnitas that passes muster with my boys. I make what I refer to as “white chick” posole that even people who claim to not like posole tell me is good. I am not in love with hominy’s texture, so I substitute fire roasted corn in my version, hence the “white chick” label. I’m even known for attempting to poison my father on his birthday with my shrimp cocktail of rock shrimp, avocado and fire roasted salsa. (Dad’s allergic to shell fish.) I think I could eat Mexican food once a day, easy, but every day for three meals? I’m not too sure. And, yes, this means saying adios to tequila and margaritas. Wow, this is harder than I imagined.
Then there is Indian food. I love the curries. Chicken tikka masala and butter chicken are my favorites. Seekh kabobs are delicious as are samosas, biriyani, tandoori chicken and saag paneer. Oh, and don’t forget the naan. Warm, homemade garlic naan, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, cannot be beat. Yum! I love Indian food, but I have to be in the mood for Indian food.
Speaking of curries, my favorite is gaeng kiew waan (green curry). I make mine hot enough to make you cry. If my nose is not running and my eyes are not tearing, then I don’t think it’s a green curry worth its fish sauce. The Thai restaurant near my house has four levels of heat: mild, medium, hot and Thai hot. Due to a miscommunication, I ended up with Thai hot once. It brought me to my knees, but it was also the best I have ever had. Then there are angel wings (stuffed boneless chicken wings), tom kha gai soup, kao pad sapparod (pineapple fried rice), pad Thai, and don’t forget dessert: sweet sticky rice with mango. Could I commit to this cuisine for the rest of my life? Honestly, no.
How about Vietnamese? I love pho (vegetarian with extra tofu is my favorite). If I don’t have it once a week, I feel neglected. It’s my cure all. Pho, a nice bowl of matzo ball soup or jook (chicken and rice porridge) can cure almost anything. They are truly Vietnamese, Jewish or Filipino penicillin. Any of them work, I swear, but I could not give up everything else for Vietnamese or Jewish or Filipino cuisine, even if that means a few more colds a year.
Japanese would get me farther: green tea, gyoza, edamame, agedashi, katsu, tempura, albacore tataki, sukiyaki, miso, soba noodles, sushi, nigiri, sashimi and teriyaki. I love it all, but still not enough to give up everything else.
What could possibly sustain me forever, until I die?
Then it hit me. Italian! We are not talking American Italian food here: spaghetti and meatballs, pizza and lasagna. I’m talking about real Italian food in all its diversity. Platters of thinly shaved prosciutto de parma, mozzarella di bufala, fresh basil and tomatoes. You could start in Calabria (the tip of the boot) and eat seafood until you could eat no more and then work all the way up to Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia for some risotto and polenta. Each region along the way would offer you there own unique style of food, all celebrating their locally grown and raised foods. Oh, don’t forget Sardinia and Sicily too. How could you ever be bored? And remember, all of Italy loves cheese, wine and espresso. One final word: gelato. Yes, make mine Italian
Gamberi
16 large shrimp, cleaned with tails on
4 garlic glove thinly sliced (I use a special mandolin made for shaving garlic)
Fresh marjoram, chopped (one or two sprigs)
2 Tablespoons extra Virgin olive oil
1 pound Roma tomatoes peeled, seeded and diced
Salt and Pepper
Optional: crushed red pepper to taste
In a nonstick pan, heat extra virgin olive oil and stir in the shrimp and garlic. Sauté until the shrimp are opaque. Add the marjoram, tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for just a few minutes until heated through. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with bread to soak up sauce.
Minestrone Soup
1 pound spicy Italian sausage (remove casing)
1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Maui, diced
3-6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 stalks celery, including leaves, sliced
1 cup baby carrots, sliced
1 parsnip, diced
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
4 cups beef broth
1 pound Roma tomatoes, charred on grill, cored and diced
1 15 oz can kidney beans with liquid
1 ½ cups green cabbage, shredded
1 Tablespoon flat leaf parsley, removed from stems
Black pepper, ground, to taste
Brown sausage; drain fat. Add onion and garlic, sautéing until tender. Add celery, carrots, parsnip, cauliflower and broth. Bring to a simmer. Add tomatoes, beans with liquid and cabbage. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add parsley and pepper to taste.
Serve with crusty bread.
Steamed Artichokes
4 artichokes, trimmed, each the size of a fist
1 lemon cut in half
½ teaspoon dehydrated roasted garlic
¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
½ cup water
Press artichokes upside down to open leaves. Rub all cut areas with the lemon. Place artichokes in a medium pressure cooker, on trivet. Add water. Squeeze remaining juice from lemon into pan. Sprinkle artichokes with garlic, pepper and salt. Cover pressure cooker; bring to full pressure. Cook 12 minutes, maintaining pressure. Release pressure. Remove artichokes and serve with garlic aioli, clarified butter or mayonnaise.
No comments:
Post a Comment