Tag Archive for "Food"
I was reading an article about the French and stumbled across a description of a food called “andouillette” that somehow caught my attention. So I checked out the wikipedia entry, which begins by saying:
Traditional andouillette is made from the colon and the stomach of pig. In modern times, contents vary and normally contain intestines of pig, cow and/or calf. It is not to be confused with andouille sausage, which is much spicier, but more mild in animal-derived smells …
The phrase “animal-derived smells” is troubling, especially when it follows hard after a words such as “colon” and “stomach” … but if one is only uneasy at this point - prepare for horror. The description of this food goes straight downhill after that. In fact, it walks right off a cliff. We continue reading:
French andouillette … is an acquired taste and can be an interesting challenge even for adventurous eaters who don’t object to the taste or aroma of feces.
At the end of that sentence, in my mind, all the romance of France just died. RIP.
If you live in New York City and want fresh pasta, go to Raffetto’s at 144 West Houston Street. This is a store, not a restaurant - so you pick up what you want and then take it home to prepare it. When ordering you choose the pasta width you desire and watch them cut it. Since it is so fresh they suggest you prepare it in the next three days after purchase.
Last night for dinner we tried lobster ravioli with some sauces (tomato basil and alfredo) that we picked up at the same store. Yum!
Some very nice friends of ours invited us over for dinner on Sunday night. It was an unbelievably good meal. For dessert we each had a slice of one of the best pies I’ve ever tasted. They were kind enough to share the recipe with us. Here it is:
Lemon-Blueberry Cream Pie
Southern Living Cookbook: Our Reader’s Top Rated Recipes1 2/3 graham cracker crumbs
¼ granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup powdered sugar
3.4 oz lemon instant pudding mix
2 tsp. fresh lemon zest
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 pint fresh blueberries (and/or fresh raspberries)
2 TBSP blueberry preserves
1 Cup whipping cream
Lemon slices and extra blueberries for garnishStir together first three ingredients; press evenly in bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie plate.
Bake pie crust at 350 for 8-12 minutes. Cool completely.Beat cheese, milk, and powdered sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add pudding mix, zest, and juice. Beat until blended.
Spread half of lemon mixture evenly into prepared crust. Stir together blueberries and preserves. Spread evenly over lemon mixture. Spread remaining lemon mixture over blueberries. Cover and chill 2 hours or until set.
Decorate with whipped cream and garnishes. Refrigerate.
Recently I went out to dinner with some old friends and in the process was introduced to a dish I had never eaten before. It is a Spanish food called paella.
It’s a rice dish loaded with cooked clams, mussels (still in the shell), shrimp and scallops - then to top it off - half a lobster. It came to the table all in the same large bowl. We had three people and two orders of paella, which we shared between us.
Definitely one of the most delicious meals I ever have eaten.