Q: How many dishes can you serve with a whole salmon?
One day, my friend surprised me with a whole ~1.5 kg wild salmon. If only a camera had captured my expression. One part of me was in complete awe at the possibility of seeing such a large whole fish in England. Another part of me was swooning and caressing the beautiful silvery skin and pink flesh. Then came: what should we do with it?
Sashimi came to mind immediately, but as we didn't know how it was prepared after its capture, raw consumption was too risky. Instead, we made the following dishes:
Needless to say, we wasted nothing. We probably could have eaten the bones, had we fried them.
In any case, we were salmon happy for several days. The only shame is the lack of photos. I guess we were too hungry and excited to bother!
Thursday, March 27. 2008
Salmon Escapade
Friday, March 7. 2008
Macaroons
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My first encounter with these was at a local dessert shop back home in Columbus, Ohio, called Pistachia Vera (formerly ''Pistachio''). The batter is left to air-dry for a day before baking to create a thin crunchy exterior followed by a moist bread/cake-like interior. Sandwiched between two pieces is a creamed filling. Priced at 1 USD for the size of a medallion, it's definitely an indulgence; but once you've tried one, you can't help falling in love with the mixture of texture and flavour.
Recently, I encountered them at two other shops. One was French Tart in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the macaroons were shipped daily from France. Slightly smaller and more expensive, I wanted to know why someone would go to such an extent. The second was Laduree, a famous French patisserie with a branch in London, UK, next to Harrods; this store was well-reputed for their macaroons, and at 1.20 GBP each, it was not cheap. Amazingly, neither tasted as good as the one from ''Pistachia Vera''! The one in Pittsburgh was no where as flavourful while the one in London did not have the unique texture (dare I say, bordering over-moist).
Who would have thought: a local store could produce something that surpasses internationally-reputed standards!
Monday, March 3. 2008
Viennese Food
Esterhazyschnitte
Amidst my craziness, I headed to Vienna, Austria, for the weekend. Unfortunately, we were hit with very bad weather; but from a positive perspective, it meant more time in cafes and restaurants relaxing and chatting.
Germknödel
Of course, I visited the major coffeehouses--Cafe Demel, Cafe Central, and Cafe Sperl--while walking by Cafe Sacher and Cafe Landtmann. But, I did not have the Sachertorte, the quintessential symbol of Viennese dessert. Why? Well, a friend advised that it's way over-hyped and there are so many other cakes that are just as good, if not better, to try. Plus, I have had it before; so, I took the chance to try something different. Sadly, I only managed one--the Esterhazyschnitte--a hazelnut cream layer cake with a melange, similar to a cafe latte.
The remaining food adventures came under the guidance of my local friend. The first was Germknödel with Powidl, a yeast-based bun filled with concentrated plum jam (similar to the Chinese sweet-filled buns) surrounded with vanilla sauce and topped with poppyseeds. The second was an egg/flour/milk pancake-like mix chopped up and accompanied with plum sauce. Both resembled other familiar foods but with their unique differences.
Eiernockerl
The last dish (for dinner) was Eiernockerl, a Viennese-type noodle scrambled with egg and leek, accompanied with a salad and pumpkinseed oil. The most intriguing was the pumpkinseed oil, an Austrian specialty, embodying the characteristic pumpkinseed smell with a very light flavour.
Two days were no where enough for a worthy Viennese food adventure, but I managed to cover the spectrum of fancy cakes to homestyled specialties. I definitely hope to return and try some more cakes. =) And, get a hold of a bottle of pumpkinseed oil!
