Cream Corn Soup

In the broadest sense of the word soup encompasses a very wide range of textures and thicknesses from consommé and miso to bisque and chowder. My personal soup spectrum is not broad. I have strict limitations as to what makes an edible soup, namely,

• clear broth without bits
• clear broth with tasty bits
• tomato soup without bits
• crumbled crackers are an acceptable addition to any soup.

I have shied away from thick soups as a rule. (Tomato soup overloaded with crackers is the only notable exception.) I'm afraid of the texture. Also, the thick soups that I've usually been exposed to are either mushroom or seafood based and those are at the top of my never-ever-never-never list.

Two weeks ago I had the chance to expand my soup experience. We visited friends for supper and had cream corn and home-made tomato soups. I am missing the gene that enables a person to say no to tomato soup. I had to pick it. The cream corn soup was thick and intimidating, but I made a point of trying it and not just sticking with what I know.

It was much more than I had been expecting. There was the corn, of course, which is always welcome, but there was also cheese and smoky ham! What could be better? I'm still not used to the thick soup texture. It kind of feels like it gets stuck in my mouth. That being said, having the co-mingled flavours of corn, cheese and ham in my mouth, for any length of time, is highly desirable.

It is soups like this that will put thick soups back on my menu.

VERDICT: Make

Flammeküche

Flammeküche (flam-KOOSH), also known as Flammkuchen (German) and Tarte flambée (French), is a traditional dish from Alsace, a region in north-eastern France along the border with Germany and Switzerland. It is comprised of dough topped with sour cream, onions and bacon, salt and peppered to taste. Although, the recipe varies regionally in France and worldwide.
This dish contains ingredients that I have varying reactions to individually. Dough and bacon are both awesome things, great things, wonderful things! I started out afraid of onions, but have come to appreciate them and, yes, even enjoy them in most circumstances. Raw being the main exception, but they were cooked so again no problem. The only remaining ingredient is sour creme. Generally, I'm terrified of sour cream. Sour cream dip: no thanks. Sour cream on a taco: definitely not. This made me apprehensive about trying flammeküche, especially since the dough is entirely coated in it. To try flammeküche there is no escaping sour cream. However, by not trying flammeküche I miss out on so much bacon.
Truthfully, it wasn't a very tough decision. There were two factors that made it a quick, easy choice. The first and less influential was that we were guests of the Bergers and I wanted to be polite. The second was bacon. Bacon  is very influential when it comes to food. It is just that good. I tried scallops because of bacon and that is saying a lot. It was definitely bacon that tipped the balance.
It was a good thing too. Flammeküche is awesome! The bacon is great and mixes very well with the onion. Surprisingly, for me anyway, it is the sour cream that makes the difference. It bakes into the dough, so isn't the  puffy, whipped stuff I find so nasty, and provides the perfect tang. An excellent combination.
Cornelia made a comment that if you're being polite you'll try one piece, if you like it you'll have two or more. I had more, much more. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over six. I was even "persuaded" to finish it off.
This has taught me that I like sour cream in cooking, but not alone as its gloopy white self. Interesting note to end: the direct translation of the original Alsatian flammeküche is "baked in the flames" since it was just laid over the coals when the oven was at maximum heat.
VERDICT: Make! I would love to make this in our very kitchen!

photo borrowed from http://ricettedifamiglia.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/flammekueche.jpg

For more information on Alsace click here and for Flammeküche here.

Mango Pineapple Curry

Last night we visited the Bergers for supper and a game of Clue en Français. A visit to the Berger house is most often a new food experience for me and last night was no different. Supper was Indian themed. We had samosas for entrés (which oddly enough is the French word for appetizer) and for the main course there was mango pineapple curry served over rice and roasted almonds. The curry had cubes of chicken, pineapple pieces and chunks of mango. The sauce was made from a mixture of pineapple juice, milk, cream and curry powder, with salt and pepper to taste. It was fantastic! The flavours mixed perfectly. There was a combination of excellent and different textures. I had eaten a late lunch and wasn't too hungry before we went over for supper, but I still had seconds. This just confirms how awesome Indian food is for me. YUM! I also have a reason to go to the grocery store and pick up a mango or two now.

VERDICT: Make as often as possible. The only reason it is not rated favourite is because I still like butter chicken just a little bit more.

photo borrowed from http://www.dinnercakes.com/2009/07/pineapple-mango-chicken-curry.html

Pomelo - Behind the Scenes

Last week we bought a pomelo and we tried it yesterday. Usually I just find a picture of something I've tried and attach it to a post, but today I want to create a more in depth look at the experience of trying a pomelo. I'm planning on making this a recurring feature as well.
I have been aware of pomelos for quite some time. Their scientific name is Citrus maxima, which is very befitting for the largest citrus fruit. When I think of what to compare it to size-wise the first thing that comes to mind is 5-pin bowling ball. I can definitely visualize a pomelo rolling down a lane and taking out pins. Pomelos are from South East Asia and, again, are just plain massive, weighing from 1-2kg.
Our pomelo's rind was yellowy-greenish. The inner part of the rind was not what I expected. I'm used to the whitish-yellow that accompanies most citrus fruits, but the pomelo's is whitish-pink. The rind is very thick. I would say at its thinnest it was 1cm and thickest 1.5cm. It was so thick that it wouldn't come off all at once. When you peel off all the skin, there is still a substantial part of the pinky-white rind interior to go before you get at the actual fruit sections. It looks a little funny at this point. There are bumps on the white stuff that make it look an awful lot like chicken skin.

Once you peel off the tricky, multi-layered rind you get to the good stuff. The skin on each individual piece of pomelo is quite thick. I just peeled it off as well and just ate the little, juice pouches. So, after nearly 10 minutes we get to the point where we can actually try the thing. A pomelo tastes like a mild grapefruit. Imagine a grapefruit without all the bitterness and that's nearly a what a pomelo tastes like. It has a slight aftertaste that can only be described as Chinese, but that's understandable from a fruit from South East Asia. I enjoy the taste very much.
The pomelo we had had very small seeds. I don't think any were bigger than the head of a pin, but I think that it was just a very good time in its development to eat it. I imagine when fully developed the seeds would be just plain massive, like the fruit itself.

One note of caution when peeling and eating a pomelo. It is a citrus fruit, so be wary of squirting. Be wary of squirting on a scale you've never experienced before. A pomelo is at least three times bigger than an orange, but its squirting capability is probably 3 squared. I consider myself lucky, since my glasses shielded my eyes from any stray liquid jetting across the kitchen. An orange will make your fingertips messy, while a pomelo will have your hands messy and sticky down to the wrists.
A pomelo is like a big, mild, difficult grapefruit and definitely makes you work hard for the pleasure of eating it. To get the most of the experience I would say you should definitely give your self a solid 20 minutes. Also, do it with someone. It makes the peeling easier if you do it in shifts and a pomelo is a lot of fruit for the eating (even with its massive rind).

VERDICT: Make, the entire production involved prevents it from being a favourite, but the great taste can't be ignored.

White Grapefruit

We went shopping today and picked up a variety of citrus fruits I had yet to try. One of them was a white grapefruit. Until today I had no idea that a white grapefruit existed. I guess if the term pink grapefruit exists it should hint at another variety, but I just didn't clue in.
Trying one wasn't much of a challenge. I have grown up eating grapefruits, of the pink variety, and really like them. Using the tiny spoon is very enjoyable. So, since I already know what it tasted like (great) I figure I should have at least something to report on the experience. I know why a lot of people just cut their grapefruit in half and scoop out the tasty bits. Grapefruits are very hard to peel. I was glad I started with a nice serrated knife or it would have taken me over five minutes to peel the thing.
For future reference, if you don't want to just slice the thing in half, bring the right tools to peel your grapefruit.
VERDICT: Make, since it isn't quite a favourite but I do like it.

Spinach

Spinach is not something I have tried recently, but for a good chunk of my life I steared clear of it. I can't remember exactly when I first tried it either, but I do remember when it made the switch from "well-I-guess-IF-it's-in-there-already" to "Hey-where's-my-spinach?!". It was shortly after I met Kristin, thus it being the first entry on the KB List. She put it in everything and it was strange at first, but you don't really notice it chopped in a tomato sauce and it has health benefits (superstrength being the most attractive one...). So, we'd put it in lasagnas, spaghetti, eggs, and salads even. I've come to really appreciate it, most recently on pizza. I don't know if I can ever make another pizza without a healthy layer of baby spinach. That was what really solidified its status for me. When you try something on pizza and never want another pizza without it you know it's good. Also, when I run to the store on my way home from work, say to pick up milk or chicken wings, I find I'm buying spinach of my own volition too. Since I use it mainly as an ingredient in something else I can't quite justify making it a favourite, but I definitely love to make things with it.
A quick word about forms of spinach. I enjoy baby spinach most. It's good as is, but is also easy to cut, especially since we got a slap chop. Frozen (mushed) spinach is not something I'd dive into with a spoon, but is easy to mix into sauces, fritatas, and the like. I still haven't found the type that bestows superstrength, but the search isn't over.
VERDICT: Make, KB List

Photo borrowed from http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/season/guide/spinach.html

Pasta Carbonara

11/15/09 - I know it is only pasta, white sauce, pepper and bacon, but I still had never had it before and I figure I should have a post about something I like by now, so it looks like I'm making some progress. Anything with bacon is good (even scallops) so this was an easy food to try, especially when the bacon is real, thick, and in plenty. Oh, there was also freshly grated real parmesan to top it with, so I had no hesitation to try this.

As much as I enjoyed the bacon, I also enjoyed the white sauce. The creamy, garlickiness was a delight. I have gone from fear, to trying it and finding it not bad, to be able to now say definitively, "White sauce: I like it!" Pasta Carbonara is good to eat!

Not only have I learned of another food I like, but, when it was served,  I also heard a story about how it got its name. The pasta part is pretty obvious, but why carbonara? Pasta carbonara is topped with freshly ground pepper, but in Italy, where it originates, it isn't just topped with pepper, but literally covered in pepper. So much so that it looks black, like charcoal, or carbon. I don't know how well I'd do with that much pepper, but I definitely like the North American version.

VERDICT: Make

photo borrowed from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1052/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara