Day 10: South Africa

We travel to Africa today with Bobotie

The origins of Bobotie can be traced back to the eastern influence on South African culture. The Cape Malay society are famous for cooking this dish and it is usually served with yellow rice.

Bobotie

Ingredients

1 kg minced lamb
125ml milk
1 thick slice of white bread, crust removed and soaked in milk
2 roughly chopped onions butter
Salt
1 tablespoon of curry powder (mix the hot and the Cape Malay versions for a good flavour)
1 chili, finely chopped (optional and only if you like your food quite hot)
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of chutney
8 -10 crushed almonds (optional)
3 eggs
1 clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
6 bay leaves
1 orange, sliced in wheels
1 lemon, sliced in wheels
Oil for cooking

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Instructions

Heat the oil in frying pan and add the garlic, onion and curry power. Cook over medium heat for three minutes, then add the mince meat. Fry until the meat is almost done. 

Using your hands, squeeze the milk from the bread. Discard the milk and add the bread, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and chutney to the mince. Fry for a minute or so and then remove from heat.


Take a pie dish and place three bay leaves, two wheels of orange and two wheels of lemon at the bottom. Now scoop the mince mixture into the dish. Decorate the sides of the dish with the rest of the lemon and orange wheels, wedging them between the mince and the sides of the dish so that only a third protrudes. If you are using almonds, push them into the mince. 

Beat the eggs and 125ml milk, and pour over the meat. Put three bay leaves on top of dish. Place the dish uncovered in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 160 deg Celsius.

Serve with a plain green salad or chopped tomato and onion, sprinkled with a little vinegar. Make sure you have some chutney near at hand. Serve piping hot with the yellow rice.

Our Opinion: This is the first dish we simply could not eat. We're not sure if we made it wrong or it's just that bad. We found a different recipe on a different website that seems easier  to follow, so we are going to try that one in the future. But I would pass on this recipe.

Day 9: Germany

Guten Tag! Heute reisen wir zum Deutschland!

Ok, that's enough German :)

 Today's menu features Meatballs with Spätzle and Schwarzwald Kirsch Kuchen (Black Forest Cherry Cake).

Meatballs with Spaetzle

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• Dash pepper
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth, undiluted
• 1 (4 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 cup sour cream
• 
  
• HOMEMADE SPAETZLE:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 quarts water or beef broth

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Crumble beef over the mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. 
2. In a skillet, brown meatballs; drain. Add broth, mushrooms and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 
3. Combine the flour, caraway seeds and sour cream until smooth; stir into meatball mixture. Cook over low heat until heated through and thickened, about 10 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the flour, salt, eggs and milk. Let stand for 5 minutes. 
5. In a large saucepan, bring water or broth to a rapid boil. Place spaetzle batter in a colander or spaetzle press. Holding over the boiling liquid, press batter through holds of colander. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until tender; drain. 
6. Serve meatballs and sauce over spaetzle.

Black Forest Cherry Cake

Yummmm

Ingredients

• 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 (20 ounce) cans pitted sour cherries
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch, round, cake pans; cover bottoms with waxed paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 cups sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and 1 tablespoon vanilla; beat until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 35 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Loosen edges, and remove to racks to cool completely.
4. Drain cherries, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Combine reserved juice, cherries, 1 cup sugar and cornstarch in a 2 quart saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool before using.
5. Combine whipping cream and confectioner's sugar in a chilled medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
6. With long serrated knife, split each cake layer horizontally in half. Tear one split layer into crumbs; set aside. Reserve 1 1/2 cups Frosting for decorating cake; set aside. Gently brush loose crumbs off top and side of each cake layer with pasty brush or hands. To assemble, place one cake layer on cake plate. Spread with 1 cup frosting; top with 3/4 cup cherry topping. Top with second cake layer; repeat layers of frosting and cherry topping. Top with third cake layer. Frost side of cake. Pat reserved crumbs onto frosting on side of cake. Spoon reserved frosting into pastry bag fitted with star decorator tip. Pipe around top and bottom edges of cake. Spoon remaining cherry topping onto top of cake.

Our Opinion: The Meatballs with Spaetzle was thick and hearty as you would expect a German dish to be. It took a lot of dishes to make but we were constantly busy. It tasted good and is definitely worth a try. The Black Forest Cherry Cake was delicious! Absolutely delicious! (Make it!... right now!)

Day 8: Chile

Today we traveled to South America to try some Chilean cuisine: Chilean Fish with Honey-Mango Sauce

Chilean Fish with Honey-Mango Sauce

Servings: 4-6
Ingredients: 
6 fish fillets (about 6 ounces each) 
3 tablespoons barbecue sauce (choose your own favorite) 
1 tablespoon oil (plus extra for frying) 


Mango sauce 
1 tablespoon oil 
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped 
1 cup mango, diced 
1 cup orange juice (fresh or pure) 
1 teaspoon hot pepper, chopped (in Chili they use scotch bonnet or habanero) 
2 -3 tablespoons honey (to taste) 
1/2 teaspoon salt 


Corn Relish 
1 cup corn kernel (canned) 
2 tablespoons cilantro (finely chopped) 
2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped 
3 tablespoons red bell pepper, finely chopped 
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or use cider vinegar) 
2 tablespoons oil (olive oil if you prefer) 
salt and pepper 


Directions: 
1. Combine the barbecue sauce with the tablespoon oil, rub lightly over the fish fillets, and leave in a non-reactive dish at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the dish. 


2. Mango sauce: Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, cover and cook 5 minutes, then add the mango, orange juice, hot pepper and honey, and stir well. Simmer, uncovered, for about 7 minutes. Puree the mixture in a blender, season with salt, put in a bowl, cover, and keep in a warm oven. 


3. Corn relish: Combine all the ingredients (corn kernels down to the oil). Season to taste. Put in a bowl, cover and put in warm oven with the mango sauce. 


4. Also put 4 - 6 plates in sam oven to warm up. 


5. In a pan (can use same one you used to make the mango sauce) heat some oil until hot. Fry the fish fillets for about 2 minutes per side, until JUST cooked through. 


6. To serve: Spoon some mango sauce in the centre of each plate. Set a fish fillet on top, and spoon some corn relish over the fillet. Serve immediately. 


7. Nice with simple boiled potatoes or baby potatoes, and a mixed green salad.


 Our Opinion: Each bite is very sweet with a spicy kick at the end (we used a habanero  pepper). The meal requires a lot of dishes for the prep work, but it was easy to put together. We felt it was one of the best fish dishes we had ever had and think if you don't like or want the fish, chicken could be easily substituted. Serve with dinner rolls.

Day 7: Greece

We honor the original creators of the Olympic games, Greece, with Gharithes Me Feta (Baked Shrimp with Feta Cheese)

Yummmm:

Baked Shrimp with Feta Cheese

Ingredients
2 medium, thinly sliced Onion
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 lbs., peeled and coarsely chopped Tomatoes
chopped Parsley
2 teaspoons Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
2 cloves Garlic
2 lbs. raw, shelled and de-veined Shrimp
1/2 lb. Feta Cheese
 Parsley

Preparation

In a frying pan saute onions in olive oil until tender. Add tomatoes, chopped parsley, salt pepper and garlic. Cover and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. Put sauce and shrimp in 6 scallop shells or individual fireproof dishes. Crumble feta cheese over shrimp and bake uncovered in a very hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked and cheese is melted. Garnish with parsley. Our Opinion: We didn't get scallop shells, so we just threw the shrimp (cooked) into the frying pan along with the cheese. The dish seemed like shrimp scampi with a different sauce. Overall, easy to make and really delicious. It also reheat pretty well. We suggest serving with some sort of cheese biscuit.

Day 6: China

We traveled back to the eastern part of the world tonight with Sweet and Sour Pork and white rice in honor of China.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon Kikkoman Soy Sauce
• 1 pound boneless pork, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chunked
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 cup Kikkoman Sweet & Sour Sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained

Directions

1. Blend cornstarch and soy sauce in small bowl; stir in pork until well coated.
2. Brown pork in hot oil in Dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in 1/4 cup water. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir carrots, onion, bell pepper and sweet & sour sauce into pork mixture. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes longer, stirring frequently.
4. Add pineapple chunks; cook and stir only until pineapple is heated through.

Our Opinion: Easy to make and tastes just as expected. Since we have both had sweet and sour [insert type of meat here], nothing about the dish was surprising. This particular recipe had the perfect mix of vegetables, fruit, and meat. We just made basic white rice for the side, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar :)

Day 5: Canada

Who says it's only Americans who eat fatty food, eh?


Canada apparently has this dish called Poutine which is made with French fries (hah!), gravy, and cheese. Here's what it looks like:

Poutine

Ingredients

• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
• 1 (10.25 ounce) can beef gravy
• 5 medium potatoes, cut into fries
• 2 cups cheese curds

Directions

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). While the oil is heating, you can begin to warm your gravy.
2. Place the fries into the hot oil, and cook until light brown, about 5 minutes. Make the fries in batches if necessary to allow them room to move a little in the oil. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
3. Place the fries on a serving platter, and sprinkle the cheese over them. Ladle gravy over the fries and cheese, and serve immediately.

There are also different versions, apparently. We stuck with the "classic."

• Add cut up cooked chicken or hamburger.
• Use shredded mozzarella cheese in place of cheese curds.
• Italian Poutine: Substitute marinara for gravy.
• BBQ Poutine: Substitute a light BBQ sauce for gravy.
  
  
  Our Opinion: We definitely don't recommend this dish for a meal. It suits better as a snack... or Fair food... or "I'm so drunk and I'm really hungry" food. On the plus side, it was the easiest meal to make so far, but sorry, Canada, it's not worthy of a medal.

Day 4: Saudi Arabia

Today was the first of our random countries. We  honor Saudi Arabia with Roasted Chicken Al-Kabsa.



Serves: 2
Yield: 4 pieces 


Ingredients:
1 whole baby chicken, cut into 4 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
1/8 teaspoon turmeric 
1/2 teaspoon baharat  
1/2 teaspoon kabsa spice mix 
salt 
3 cilantro, springs 


Directions: 
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2 De-skin the chicken. 
3 Season with spices and olive oil. 
4 Place in a roasting pan and into the oven for 40-50 minutes. 
5 Garnish with cilantro and serve 
6 Enjoy! 


Recipe Alterations: Yeah, we just used boneless chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken.


Our Opinion: We did put enough spices on for sure. There wasn't much taste, although the chicken itself was juicy and perfect. The pieces I did have with a lot of spice were interesting. The flavor almost comes through the smell of the spices rather than the taste of the spices... kind of like Jeni's Ice Cream in Columbus if you've been there. (If not, GO!) Aside from the dish, the spices were difficult to come by and were pretty pricey, so that's something to keep in mind when you're shopping. 

Day 3: Ireland

Today we celebrate Ireland with Pota Brata (Irish Flag Soup)

The dish gets its name because the ingredients are the colors of the flag of Ireland. It's very colorful :)

By Adam Fullenkamp

The blended soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 large white onions, diced
• 3 large carrots, diced
• 3 large stalks celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons dried sage
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the hot oil until the onions are translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Pour the vegetable stock into the pan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Season with the sage, salt, and black pepper. Reduce heat to low, place a cover on the pot, and cook until the flavors blend, about 1 hour.
3. Pour the soup into a blender pitcher to no more than half full. Hold the lid of the blender firmly in place. Carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into your serving vessel. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in the cooking pot.

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Our Opinion: The dish is very easy to prepare. With minimal ingredients, it is a snap to whip up. It would make an excellent mid-winter meal, but we don't think it's great for summer. The taste was a little bland, especially in comparison to the Thai dish from yesterday. It's also a strange thickness - not quite soup and not quite stew. Not our favorite but certainly worth a try.

Day 2: Thailand

Cooking a dish from Thailand really made us step out of our comfort zone. Take a look at the ingredients list for this Chicken Pad Thai and you'll understand why.

Chicken Pad Thai

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 (16 ounce) package pad Thai rice noodles
• 1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Season chicken with salt and black pepper; set aside.
3. Whisk sugar, cayenne pepper, white wine vinegar, fish sauce, and peanut butter together in a bowl.
4. Coat the inside of a large skillet or wok with olive oil and place over high heat.
5. Cook and stir chicken in the hot oil just until the meat is white outside but still pink inside, about 3 minutes.
6. Remove chicken and set aside in a bowl.
7. Lower the heat under the skillet to medium-low. Cook and stir garlic in the skillet until it becomes translucent, 1 to 2 minutes.
8. Cook and stir eggs into garlic until loosely cooked, 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Pour peanut sauce into the garlic and eggs, and stir to combine. Bring sauce to a simmer.
10. Stir rice noodles into the boiling water. Cook until noodles are still slightly tough, about 5 minutes.
11. Drain the noodles.
12. Return chicken to the skillet with eggs and sauce. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, stirring frequently, 5 to 8 more minutes.
13. Stir bean sprouts, rice noodles. and beef broth into the skillet. Bring to a simmer, and cook until noodles are tender and most of the broth has been absorbed, about 10 minutes.
14. Sprinkle with green onions to serve..

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Our Opinion: I was extremely skeptical about this dish. Eggs + Fish Sauce + Peanut Butter does not equal a very appeasing dish. However, it was delicious, and we would both definitely make it again. The meal was a perfect blend of sweet and spicy and almost like a complete three-course meal in one. If you can find all of the ingredients (check the international aisles!), I definitely recommend giving this a try.

Day 1: Great Britain!

Fireworks ignite over the Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

It's Friday, the first official day of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, and since London is the host city, we chose to explore the food of host country Great Britain first.

But before I get into the menu selections, I want to talk about grocery shopping. We plan our meals two weeks in advance, so when we really had to plan ahead when it came to these games. We actually managed to find everything we needed, however some of it came at a hefty price tag. I'll point those items out as we go.


So, we made a main dish and dessert for Great Britain. First up, the Shooter Sandwich.

Shooter Sandwich

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Prep Time: 25 Min.

Cook Time: 20 Min.

Total Time:  6 Hours, 45 Min.

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Ingredients

• color: #f3f3f3;">1 loaf hearty country bread, unsliced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 (3 pound) boneless beef round steak, 2 inches thick
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 clove garlic, minced, or to taste
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• garlic salt to taste

Directions

1. Cut a thick slice from the top of the loaf for a lid; use your fingers to pull the bread center out of the crust, leaving a thick shell. (Save the removed bread for another use.)
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat until the oil is slightly smoking; lay the beef round steak into the hot skillet, and cook until the outside of the meat is browned and crusty and the inside is your desired degree of doneness, 5 to 8 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove the steak, and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the skillet, and cook and stir the onion, mushrooms, and garlic until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms have given up their juice, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
4. Lay the cooked steak into the hollowed-out bread loaf, and pile the onions, mushrooms, and garlic over the steak. Replace the bread "lid," and wrap the whole loaf in aluminum foil. Place the loaf onto a baking sheet; place a heavy flat weight on top of the loaf, such as a board or a heavy skillet, and weight the top with several bricks or jars of water.
5. Place the loaf with its weights into the refrigerator, and chill and press the sandwich for at least 6 hours. To serve, bring to room temperature, and cut off slices of the loaf.

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Recipe alterations: We couldn't find country bread that wasn't sliced, so we chose an Italian bread that worked just as well. We did not use near the amount of steak that was called for which could have possibly been because of the more shallow Italian bread. The sandwich is hearty and will serve 4 - 6 adults.


Our opinion: It was easy to make, delicious, and filling. It would make a great lunch sandwich. However, we would prefer it hot. Definitely worth a try, though. 


We also made an English Trifle!

English Trifle

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Ingredients

• 2 (8 or 9 inch) white cake layers, baked and cooled
• 2 pints fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 2 bananas
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
• 12 maraschino cherries

Directions

1. Slice strawberries and sprinkle them with sugar. Cut the bananas into slices and toss with orange juice. Combine pudding mix with milk and mix until smooth. Cut the cake into 1 inch cubes.
2. Use half of the cake cubes to line the bottom of a large glass bowl. Layer half of the strawberries followed by half of the blueberries, and then half of the bananas. Spread half of the pudding over the fruit. Repeat layers in the same order.
3. In a medium bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks and spread over top of trifle. Garnish with maraschino cherries and slivered almonds.

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Recipe alterations: We cut all of the ingredients in half because I do not own a trifle dish. Instead, I put the trifle in individual serving glasses. We also omitted the almonds. I would say the full amount of ingredients would serve 14 people.


Our opinion: Simple to make, easy to put together. Fruit can get costly, though, so just be aware.