Food Travel


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How to Cook Poutine, Quebec’s Famous Dish

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An emblematic French Canadian meal, poutine was invented in the mid 1950s in rural Quebec–and no one agrees on who, exactly, came up with it first. But  one thing’s for sure: poutine is delicious. Here are tips on how to properly cook it at home.

First things first: What is poutine?

Poutine got more popular in the last few years, thanks to chefs such as Brian Henry and Martin Picard, who started treating it like the delicacy it truly is and brought it to a broader audience.  Poutine is quite simple and humble, and is just the assemblage of three ingredients: French fries and fresh cheese curds, topped with a thick, hot, tasty brown sauce. Voilà.

Cooking Poutine: The Fries

Ideally, you would pick Idaho or Russet potatoes: their taste and texture suits the poutine best. Cut them according to your preferences: I, for one, prefer small, crispy julienne fries, so I cut my potatoes in little sticks no larger than ¼ of an inch. But larger fries are good too. Fry your potato sticks in peanut oil until done.

The Cheese

Now this is a tricky one, for good cheese is key to great poutine. And cheese curds, for some reason, are not easy to find, depending on where you live. Here, in Quebec, you find them in almost every corner store, wrapped in little plastic bags. But elsewhere in Canada, it is not necessarily the case, and it is even worse in the States. Ask at your local cheese factory for information on where to get a hand on fresh cheese curds. Or, if you are up for it, you can even make your own.

In order to have the best poutine possible, the cheese online casino curds have to be extra fresh. How can you tell a fresh curds from a not-so-fresh one? A fresh one is looks kind of oily and squeaks notably when you chew it.

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in Cheese / Food Travel 3 comments
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The Endless Road Trip: Copenhagen, the Prettiest Food in the World

So, I could tell you guys all about my recent trip to Denmark, and all of the ways that Copenhagen totally deserves its status as the darling of the local-foraged-organic food movement. But really, there’s no need to say anything about the food here, because all you have to do is look at it. Seriously—how the hell do they get all of their food to look so goddamn beautiful???

sandwiches

As previously mentioned on ES, these people know how to make a freaking sandwich for serious. These avant garde smørrebrød (how cool are øs?) are from Aamans sandwich shop, which actually just opened a branch in NYC. Left: smoked salmon with flower-pickled carrots(!),smoked cream cheese, shallots and watercress. Right: New potatoes with tarragon emulsion, chives, radish, and crisp potato chip strands.

more sandwiches

They taste even better in the park! Venison pate with juniper and schnapps, plus apple/celery salad and “bacon-nut crunch.” Sirloin with horseradish, remoulade and crispy onions.

hot dog sign

If you thought Danish people aare all fancy foodies, you may be surprised to know they loooooove hot dogs. Artisan, gourmet hot dogs, obviously, with helpful signs that graphically explain that they come served in standard buns, weird fransk buns that have the ketchup or mayo stuffed inside, or on a plate.

hot dog

We went plate. Can’t resist more crispy onions.

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in Bacon / Cheese / Featured / Food Travel / Photos / Red Meat / Restaurants / Sandwich 1 comments
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Top 10 Weird Foods From Around the World

ES guest writer Mireille tackles one of our favorite subjects….

Needless to say: one person’s delight is another one’s disgust. From an exterior and, let’s say it, North American point of view, some exotic dishes may appear weird, if not utterly disgusting. Here’s my top 10 weird foods from around the world. And be warned: The content of this post can be shocking for some.

1. Deep Fried Tarantula (Cambodia)

When you think of a big, hairy, venomous tarantula, chances are, the last thing on your mind is to eat it. Well, in Cambodia, fried spiders are a common and much appreciated delicacy. The spiders–“a-ping” or “Thai zebra” tarantula, a species that is about the size of a human hand, are tossed in garlic and salt before being deep fried until crisp. Most people only eat the legs and the upper body’s flesh–but the bravest also eat the abdomen, which contains a brown, runny paste and sometimes even eggs.

2. Century Eggs (China)

century egg

Century eggs—or millennium eggs, thousand-year-old eggs or pidan, whatever you call them—are quail, duck or chicken eggs preserved in a mixture of ashes, clay and salt for several months. In the process, the egg’s white turns to a jelly-like brown mixture, while the yolk turns into a green-ish or gray-ish cream. Century eggs emit a powerful smell of sulfur and ammonia, and their taste is strong and complex. (Photo: Wurzel)

3. Balut (Philippines)

Animal lovers, beware: You may be shocked by this one. Balut are fertilized duck eggs…Yes, this does mean that they contain a duck embryo. Balut are boiled and served with their shell: You pierce a little hole on top of the egg and sip the liquid contained inside. Once you have drank it all, you break the shell and treat yourself with an unborn baby duck. Balut are most often eaten when they are 17 days old: the chick is boneless and not yet really formed. But some prefer to eat it when it is as old as 21 days and has a beak, feathers and bones.

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in Food Travel / Lists / Top 10 Lists 7 comments
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Non-Crappy Museum Food: It Exists!

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This pretty much sums up the way I feel about Ceviche:

– Knock Knock

– “Who’s there?”

– “Ceviche”

– “WHY are you still wearing pants?!”

I did a lot of ES reading before I gathered up the courage to confess my love to it, and my mild obsession lead me to learn that a couple of ES peeps reside in DC and I’m guessing a good amount of readers too. It just so happens that in an attempt to find employment as a recent graduate, I went to DC a few weeks back in a quest for a job. However, what I found was even better; one hell of a ceviche.

A friend encouraged me to go to the National Museum of the American Indian, both for the rad exhibits and the food and OH LORD am I glad I went! The collections were impressive but I’m not going to lie—I spent the majority of the time drooling over the food at the cafeteria (does that make me a terrible person?)

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in Fish / Food Travel / Rants & Raves 1 comments
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The Endless Road Trip: Colombia–It’s More Than Just Coffee!!

Editor’s Note: Colombian-born, Oklahoma-educated, lover of avocados…sounds like an ES-er! Please welcome our newest contributor, Cyborg.

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking: “There’s more to Colombia than coffee (and drugs and violence)—say whaaa?” to which I say “Damn the media AHH!!” but there is. From a Colombian foodie to you, let me open your mind to a new world of opportunities and deep-fried dreams.

First of all, let me get this off my chest and I’m sorry for what I’m about to do but the world needs to know: America has robbed its people of avocado greatness. Last time I was in Colombia I decided to take photographic proof of what the real deal is so voilà. Buenos dias, avocado the size of my face!

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OK, now that I’ve set the record straight, let’s get serious. Here are four can’t-miss Colombia foods.

1. Arepa Rellena

AREPA

Where do I even start?  Imagine a corn patty that you stuff with eggs, cheese, shredded beef, and/or chicken and pretty much anything your heart desires; and then you deep fry it in heavenly oil. The result? Oh Em Gee you wanna call this place your new home. Not convinced? Spread some suero costeno on that puppy and it’s a first class ticket to foodtopia. Suero costeno is the Colombian version of sour cream but it tastes more like cream cheese, which gives it that perfect amount of slight acidity that makes you go NOM!

2. Plantain Platters

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Now, on to some serious food for thought. What in the world is better than fried chorizo, spicy guac, thick bacon and meaty chicharrones??? ALL of the above served on a dish made of deep fried plantain is the correct answer!! Yes, this happens and it’s glorious!!!!!

Also, note the bean dip and hot sauce dip on the side cause–duh, who doesn’t wanna dip all of this stuff in hot sauce and beans? Man, if this doesn’t make you wanna book a ticket right meow, I know what will, and the answer is: Ajiaco.

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in Bacon / Cheese / Food Travel / Fowl / Lists / Red Meat 1 comments
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