There isn't anything more simple, easy or delicious than a well made sandwich for a lunch or dinner. The options are endless: sweet, savory, hot, cold, crunchy, soft, cheesy, meaty, grilled, baked, I guess I could go on forever! But anyways, that's my point, I love how many different options there are on making a sandwich and how you can become quite creative. One of my favorites, that I'm eating a lot of now, are prosciutto salami, peppered goat's cheese, and tomato. That's it, delicious. All you need is your favorite bread and you're good to go! I am also a fan of tuna salad. It can be pretty yucky when put in the wrong hands, so, many people might not have fond memories of this! But I do! At my last job I worked with a wonderful young man from Korea named Joung-Rae Kim. He was an excellent cook, and I loved everything he made. We worked together in the garde manger section in the kitchen, and I always loved when we had to make tuna salad. Joung would make the best and he shared with me a little secret ingredient that would make my tuna salad taste better than any I've ever had before. This wonderful ingredient is called mirin. We always chowed down on this yummy salad after a busy rush of making canapes, open-faced sandwiches, and tons of salads! Joung would spread the tuna salad on croissants, a perfect match with the fresh tasting tuna.
Another favorite sandwich of mine is the heavenly reuben. Those of you not familiar with this sannie, are missing out!! A reuden sandwich consists of rye bread, hot corned beef, saurkraut, swiss cheese (preferrably gruyere because of its lovely melting qualities), and dijon mustard. Now this is the ultimate, and my favorite! Another great option is the grilled cheese. This is the best when you've got older bread, that needs a little enhancement. I like a mixture of cheddar cheese and garlic and herb boursin cheese. This may not be the healthiest, but when you've got a lovely bowl of homemade tomato soup, this is the best companion to pair it with!
So hopefully, the next time you're feeling hungry, and don't know what you're in the mood for, why not try out the the lovely, classic, and always reliable: sandwich! There are plenty of quality breads out there now to inspire you, or just surf the web for other ideas!
Joung-Rae's Tuna Salad:
1 can of tuna, packed in water, drained (squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can)
1/4 cup real mayonnaise
3 tbsp. mirin
1 celery stalk, small dice
1/4 red onion, small dice
1 large dill pickle, small dice
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients, and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve on croissant, pita bread, or crusty French bread. Add tomato and lettuce to your sannie if you like! Enjoy!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
My very first blog! Foie gras feast!
Hello world!! This is my very first blog. My blog is going to be about food, food and more food. I love food and I love to eat delicious and well made (Scrumptious) food! I will be writing about anything from meals that I've made for myself at home, food I make at work, recipes I love or a simple single ingredient that is in season. I love reading other people's food blogs and I want to start one myself! So this first blog will be about my trip to the Czech Republic. My parents emigrated to Canada from the former Czechoslovakia in the late 1970's; so that means that all of my family, except parents, live there. I usually take a trip there every year if I can.
My family lives in Brno, the second largest city, after Prague. It is less touristy and it gives you chance to see how the Czechs live in Moravia.
My first dinner with my family was at a restaurant that I have been to now twice, and is quite delicious, but I can't remember the name! My favorite dish is the goose liver (foie gras) with apples and walnuts, just delicious! I had already started eating before I took the picture, plus I was drinking wine...
This was an appetizer. For my main course I had fried trout coated with bread crumbs and almonds. This came with mashed potatoes, studded with caraway seeds, a favorite spice of Eastern Europe, and a mixture of vegetables. Let me tell you, it is very hard to choose what to eat at any Czech restaurant because the menus are usually huge! I wonder how the cooks do it? It also makes me question the freshness of ingredients! For a lot of our meals, we ended up eating in hospodas, which are pubs that serve traditional Czech cuisine. Popular items are roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, fried cheese served with tartar sauce, goulash, and svickova, a roast beef dish served with a beautiful roast root vegetable sauce, and dumplings. I don't usually drink beer at all, but this is the place I will drink and enjoy it! The Czechs have the best and cheapest beer in the world. Pilsner, Budweiser, all towns in the Czech Rep.! Beer costs cheaper in restaurants than pop, so why not buy it! There are also beautiful breads and pastries that I love so much! Their normal bread is made of rye flower and is usually full of caraway seeds. The pastries are usually full of nuts and/or marzipan. Yummy!
The only thing that bothers me is that the food, though delicious, can be quite heavy and is very rich. So if you are eating out a lot make sure you give your body a break and eat a salad once in a while, you're sure to find one in those huge menus! So if you get a chance to travel to Europe one day, make sure you make the Czech Republic, the heart of Europe, one of your stops. Dobrou chout'!
My family lives in Brno, the second largest city, after Prague. It is less touristy and it gives you chance to see how the Czechs live in Moravia.
My first dinner with my family was at a restaurant that I have been to now twice, and is quite delicious, but I can't remember the name! My favorite dish is the goose liver (foie gras) with apples and walnuts, just delicious! I had already started eating before I took the picture, plus I was drinking wine...
This was an appetizer. For my main course I had fried trout coated with bread crumbs and almonds. This came with mashed potatoes, studded with caraway seeds, a favorite spice of Eastern Europe, and a mixture of vegetables. Let me tell you, it is very hard to choose what to eat at any Czech restaurant because the menus are usually huge! I wonder how the cooks do it? It also makes me question the freshness of ingredients! For a lot of our meals, we ended up eating in hospodas, which are pubs that serve traditional Czech cuisine. Popular items are roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, fried cheese served with tartar sauce, goulash, and svickova, a roast beef dish served with a beautiful roast root vegetable sauce, and dumplings. I don't usually drink beer at all, but this is the place I will drink and enjoy it! The Czechs have the best and cheapest beer in the world. Pilsner, Budweiser, all towns in the Czech Rep.! Beer costs cheaper in restaurants than pop, so why not buy it! There are also beautiful breads and pastries that I love so much! Their normal bread is made of rye flower and is usually full of caraway seeds. The pastries are usually full of nuts and/or marzipan. Yummy!
The only thing that bothers me is that the food, though delicious, can be quite heavy and is very rich. So if you are eating out a lot make sure you give your body a break and eat a salad once in a while, you're sure to find one in those huge menus! So if you get a chance to travel to Europe one day, make sure you make the Czech Republic, the heart of Europe, one of your stops. Dobrou chout'!
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