After the feast |
Street Restaurants in Malaysia |
Food stall tour in Malaysia |
Mozambique market |
Prawns! |
Buying spices in Vietnam |
Making curry in India |
On our last cruise we were able to take a cooking class taught by a wonderful chef in Mexico. Truthfully, I've never been a huge fan of Mexican food, but now that I've tasted the authentic flavors, I've been won over.
LESLIE: Ten years ago, Mr. Right and I spent a month in France. While we haven't been brave enough to try recreating the duck confit he loved so much, the Beouf Bourgignon and Chocolate Mousse we adored in Paris -- so much that we went back to each restaurant a second time -- have become regulars in our kitchen. Although I haven't shared either recipe here, the recipes for the mousse and my huckleberry version are in Death al Dente, my first Food Lovers' Village Mystery.
Recreating discoveries of travel is part of the joy, both of the trip and of home cooking. On a trip to the Malice Domestic Mystery Convention, a friend and I met at Teaism, a D.C. cafe. The Salty Oat Cookies were absolutely fabulous. Alas, while often asked, Teaism didn't share the recipe, but a Washington Post food reporter proved that the WaPo's tradition of investigative journalism is not limited to politics! I put my version in Guilty as Cinnamon, my 2d Spice Shop Mystery, and the fabulous Kim Davis of Cinnamon and Sugar and a Little Bit of Murder recreated them with a terrific photo recreation. And last winter, when I went to NYC for my first Mystery Writers of America board meeting, I discovered the very best Cold Sesame Noodles, and you guessed it, set about searching for the recipe, which -- finally! -- I shared here on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. I suspect they'll be part of the next Spice Shop mystery, currently spread out on my desk. It's just too much fun not to share!
KRISTA: Years ago, when visiting Hong Kong, I had a guidebook that revealed the location of a store with rock bottom prices on clothes with Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstorm labels. You bet I was going there! We found the store and it was every bit as wonderful as the book said. However, it was way off the beaten path where tourists usually go. After shopping, my mom wanted lunch. Right then! So we wandered the streets looking for a restaurant. We found one on the second floor of a building. It was huge. Every few minutes someone would say something over a loudspeaker, which I assumed meant something like "order for table 20 is ready." None of the staff spoke English. We ordered by pointing at what other people were eating. (How impolite is that?) They stationed a waitress at our table, which made us feel very guilty because the place was packed. They brought food, and more food, and yet more food. Certainly enough to feed four people. It was delicious. Absolutely the best! I am ashamed to say that my mom and I ate every last bite. We stopped short of licking the dishes, though. And after all that, those wonderful people refused to accept a tip. But they gave us a lovely memory that neither one of us will ever forget.
LUCY BURDETTE: We've been lucky enough to do quite a bit of traveling lately, and the food is one of the best parts! Right now I'm deep into a run of scones, borrowed from the Scottish trip we took earlier in the summer.
You'll see some of those recipes in the next few months.
Meanwhile, here were posts on sushi in Japan and fish in France!
SHEILA: I am seriously addicted to farmers' markets anywhere. I've already shared the Skibereen market weekly market with you, and no doubt you'll see it again, but the one that sticks in my memory was in Merida, in the Yucatan, on my first and only trip to Mexico. It was a covered market with a wonderful variety of unfamiliar items, including clusters of octopus hanging from the beams, and tables with piles of brightly colored spices (the piles were at least two feet high!). Wish I could share pictures, but this was so long ago that I was still using film (for slides because they were cheaper than prints). Most of the food I ate in that part of Mexico was wonderful, although I drew the line at eating turtle because I'd had pet turtles as a child.
PEG: I had satay for the first time in Kuantan, Malaysia and loved it so much that I ordered it for the next four days of our stay there! I frequently make it at home. On our trip to the Far East I sampled mangosteens and durian (which you aren't allowed to bring back to your hotel because the exterior of the fruit smells so bad.) And while I've seen durian in our local Asian market, I haven't been tempted to buy it. I also ate jelawat--a type of fish--that I'm certainly not going to find at our local supermarket, which doesn't go much beyond salmon, catfish and tilapia. I loved the Portuguese soup caldo verde when we were in Lisbon and have made that at home as well. Thanks to Julia Child, I've made numerous French dishes at home and also sampled them when in Paris. On my bucket list is to take a cooking class in a foreign country--Italy perhaps?
MAYA: When my daughter spent a semester abroad in Valencia, Spain, the place where paella originated, we visited her and ate different varieties of this rice dish every day. The classic paella valenciana combines rice with meat (chicken, rabbit, and sometimes snails) and vegetables (butterbeans, flat green beans, and artichokes when in season). Paella de mariscos combines different shellfish and sometimes other fish and usually omits the vegetables. A mixed paella includes meat from land animals, seafood, and vegetables. Saffron, an ingredient in most paellas, turns the rice a lovely yellow color and adds a unique flavor. The rice simmers in a broth with the other ingredients, which might include garlic, onions, paprika, and tomatoes. In Valencia paella is cooked in a huge pan, several feet in diameter, over an open fire. I start mine on top of the stove and finish it in the oven. Paella makes a beautiful dish, with a variety of colors and textures, and it feeds a lot of people. My family’s cleaner-upper likes it because there’s only one pan to scrub, though it’s a big one.
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Cleo's Queso Fundido Click for the recipe. |
GIVEAWAY
What favourite foods do you remember from your travels and do you ever try to recreate them at home?
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I haven't done much traveling outside the U.S., but my favorite culinary place I've visited is Louisiana! I've made a few dishes at home: jambalaya, gumbo, and dirty rice. Two of my other favorites (beignets and boudin balls), I'll leave to the professionals.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to New Orleans, but I'd love to go some day, not least for the food!
DeleteOh, gosh, yes! When Bouchercon, the international mystery convention, was held in NOLA in 2016, I made it a mission to eat local: ate a muffaletta, drank a Sazerac, adored afe au lait and fresh beignets, and so much seafood. Loved it!
DeleteWe don't really travel, but we enjoy a variety of cuusines, Indian and Mediterranean in particular. We have tried making some of the dishes, but most of them are better in the restaurants.
ReplyDeletebrowninggloria(at)hotmail(dot)com
I love cruising and my favorite food on cruises is the desserts! No way can I recreate them! Lindaherold999@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe diverse foods of New Orleans! I could never duplicate it!
ReplyDeleteThe Artist Colony restaurant in Nashville, Indiana has a sauce that comes with their Sunfries (sweet potato fries) that tastes like a brown sugar sauce that is so good. I tried to duplicate it several times but have been unsuccessful. We get the fries every time we visit because we live that sauce so much.
ReplyDeleteBleakney750@yahoo.com
Karen - I'm also a fan of sweet potato fries. The Artist Colony sounds like a wonderful place to visit. ~ Cleo
DeleteI used to travel more than a I do now. I had jagerschnitzel on a trip to Germany that was so delicious! I have not tried to recreate it. I am a semi-adventurous eater but not an adventurous cook. cking78503(at)aol(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like me. I rarely try to recreate anything I've eaten at a restaurant.
DeleteThe cuisine in Jamaica was unique & delicious. Don't think I could do it as well.
ReplyDeletepositive.ideas.4you@gmail.com, in case you need it. Thanks!
DeleteWe haven't traveled outside the country but we had a delicious salmon dip, when we cruised to Alaska. I did try to make it at home but it didn't turn out very well. Also tasted some delicious foods on our cruise. dbahn(at)iw(dot)net
ReplyDeleteDianne - That salmon dip sounds amazing. My sister served as community health director in Bethel, Alaska. (She worked as an MD for the IHS.) When I visited her, I ate the very best salmon I'd ever encountered in my life. Never forgot it and never had it as good again! I would very much enjoy returning to AK someday (for many reasons, but certainly for the salmon). ~ Cleo
DeleteWe love all the fresh seafood when my Sister, my Mom and myself goes to Orange Beach, AL! Sadly we can't get fresh seafood in North Central Arkansas.
ReplyDeleteOOps! Forgot my email! almaj80(at)suddenlink(dot)
DeleteSince our wedding in February 1966 we've lived in several different states & we've travelled quite a lot mostly to satisfy an insatiable curiosity about other areas of our country (the U.S.) & other countries (so far only Canada, Mexico, Korea & Japan). Learning about the area's cuisine is always my priority with the area's history next in line. I have wonderful memories of the restaurants & the specialties of each place we've lived & visited. I'm a huge fan of Mexican food & have recreated at home several of the dishes we've had in restaurants in Washington state & Mexico although being born & raised in Texas, Mexican food & Tex-Mex have always been part of our normal eating routine.
ReplyDelete