Turkish, Algerian, and Italian Fusion: An Italian Girl in Algiers

An opera may not sound "rip-roaringly" exciting for a Saturday night, but I had a great time seeing Rossini's "An Italian Girl in Algiers." It was terrifically funny, especially considering that it was first performed in 1813!

The premise is that the Turkish governor of Algiers gets tired of his wife and wants to send her off to Italy with one of his Italian slaves. He then wants to find a sexy Italian woman to take the place of his wife. The wife is heartbroken and the Italian slave already loves another woman from Italy. An Italian woman arrives in an "Amelia Earhart-esque" biplane and turns out to be the Italian slave's beloved. But the governor is compelled to make the Italian woman his new wife.

Many interesting situations ensue, as you can imagine! Many people think of opera as melodramatic and slow-moving...but Rossini's music was full of energy that filled me up with "positivity!" And the performers were amazing because while singing, they were basically comedians. It would be difficult to do only one of those activities at a time, but to do both well was truly incredible.

So how does this relate to food? The picture above shows a picture of Kisir from Dallas examiner.com. This Turkish couscous dish made with Bulgur wheat exemplifies the Turkish influence in Algeria. I have not had time to actually make this dish, but I intend to and let you know how it goes in a future post. I need to think about the Italian connection to this fusion meal. Stay tuned for more information about this interesting cuisine!

Crabs and Lobsters: Sweetness in a Shell!

As I write this, my belly is full of crustacean meat because we had King Crab for dinner. So I want to dedicate this post to some of my favorite delicacies, crabs and lobsters. 


The picture shows a Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus) that I saw in the Galapagos Islands. These pretty little crabs are not really used as human food because they are small, but they make good fishing bait. 


But this little beauty demonstrates some ideas that should be kept in mind when preparing crabs, lobsters, and other similar crustaceans for a meal.


1. These animals are usually sold live, frozen, or already cooked because once they die, their protein-breaking enzymes quickly break down their muscles, making them mushy. 


2. Since their muscles break down so quickly, crustaceans are best cooked quickly. That is why they are often dropped into boiling water while still alive. The meat heats quickly and the enzymes don't have enough time to make it mushy.


3. It has not been determined whether lobsters and crabs feel pain, however they do have a primitive nervous system. I always worry about this when I drop a live lobster into a pot of boiling water. So I was quite happy to discover that you can anesthetize these creatures by soaking them in iced salt water for thirty minutes prior to dropping them into the boiling water. I think it is a worthwhile precaution to take, just to make sure!


4. Lobsters and some other crustaceans turn red when boiled because the heat breaks down proteins surrounding carotenoid pigments. The carotenoid pigments provide red coloration, but they are masked when bound by the proteins, giving the organisms muted colors to blend with their surroundings. When the proteins are destroyed, the red coloration shows up. This helps us create some beautiful food presentations!


5. Since these creatures live in marine environments, they have amino acids in their cells to balance the salt water. Glycine is one that is common in crustacean cells and provides the sweetness in their meat that is so loved.


6.  Cooking the crustaceans in their shells helps keep flavor compounds in the meat. Also, the shell itself provides some protein, sugar, and pigment molecules to the meat which adds additional flavor.


Do you have any additional suggestions for working with crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters?  

Three Soft White Cheeses in Brine

I love Feta cheese crumbled over salad greens.  A large selection of Fetas and similar cheeses was in the refrigerated showcase when I recently visited a shop called "Phoenicia." My curiosity compelled me to check them out so I selected three to compare. I brought them home and did a taste test.

The picture shows the three cheeses I selected. The cheese in the blue dish was about $16 per pound and was called a "Goat Feta." It is the most pungent of the three. The middle cheese was called a "French Feta" and it had a slightly fruity, mild taste. The cheese in the last dish was called "Akawi" and was quite mild and reminiscent of cottage cheese.


The designation of the cheeses as Feta is a bit confusing. Some people only consider Feta to be Greek cheese made with sheep's milk or sheep and up to 30% goat's milk. Although the "French Feta" was made of sheep's milk, it was not Greek. After feuding over the Feta designation in 2005, the European Union designated Feta cheese as being made in Greece. There are many soft, white cheeses made in other countries that are reminiscent of Feta. For example Bulgaria has Sirene cheese and Turkey has Teleme cheese.


Some Fetas are creamy and others are brittle depending on the amount of goat's milk and the type of bacteria culture added. Curing methods can also create variation. Feta is never made from cows' milk.


Feta has been made by shepards and goat herders for thousands of years. The milk is pasteurized at about 71 degrees Celsius which is considered low-temperature pasteurization so that proteins are not denatured and lactose is left in tact. The milk is cooled to between 33 and 35 degrees Celsius and placed in vats so that the curd forms. The cheese maker's special bacterial culture blend is added and allowed to rest for about 30 minutes. The special blend gives each cheese maker's Feta a unique flavor. After the 30 minutes, animal rennet is added and the contents of the vat are stirred for about 5 minutes, then allowed to coagulate over about a 45 minute period. The judgement of the cheese maker determines the exact amount of time for coagulation. The curd is then cut into cubes of about 3-4 cm. and after resting for about 35-40 minutes it is transferred into large steel perforated molds. The molds are placed on draining tables where the whey drains away. Salt is put into a wooden barrel and the cheese is transferred to the barrel and allowed to age in brine between about four to twelve months. The longer the cheese is aged, the tangier the flavor becomes. More details can be found at Epikouria.

The "Feta" made of goat cheese was soaking in brine when sold. It was the smoothest of the three cheeses I bought and I loved the flavor. I have loved goat's cheese for a long time. When I was a teenager, I used to ask my mother to buy Gjetost, a caramel-colored Scandinavian goat's cheese. It had a similar "musky" taste. I would eat it with apple slices and I was in heaven! The taste of this cheese was reminiscent of Gejtost, but saltier and softer in texture. 

The sheep's milk cheese from France had the crumbliest, dryest texture. It was quite salty, and I guess according to the definition of Feta as being from Greece, it was not really Feta. The taste was much milder than that of the goat's cheese and could be overpowered in some recipes. However, it would be quite pleasant eaten as slices with some olive oil and maybe olives or fruit. There was actually a subtle fruity flavor to the cheese.

Akawi cheese is from the area around the city of Acre, Israel. The cheese originated with Palestinian Arabs and is made with cow's milk. It is quite smooth and creamy and has such a mild flavor that it could easily be overpowered by other ingredients. It makes a good companion to fruit such as apple slices. 
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Snap Kitchen: Mayan Beef Saves the Day

I was running late and had to leave the house without making a lunch. So there I was at lunchtime, hungry without a lunch! I had an errand to do during my lunch break and on the way back noticed a sign that said Snap Kitchen.


I noticed a parking spot right by the door and quickly pulled in. Refrigerated shelves were full of black plastic containers filled with food. I selected the Mayan Beef.


When I returned to my office, I couldn't wait to try my new discovery. All of Snap Kitchen's offerings are healthy and fresh. The small container held a slice of marinated beef, Kabocha squash puree, steamed green beans, pickled red onions, and Pibil Sauce. A Pibil Sauce recipe can be found on a blog called "That's My Home." Pibil Sauce brought the flavors of achiote, citrus, and vinegar to the wonderful meal.


So, because I was not prepared for lunch, I made a wonderful discovery. I ate the delicious food and was sustained for the rest of the day. 

Sauce d'Arachide: From West Africa to Austin

My Unitarian Church in Austin is promoting seasonal and local eating this year, so we had a wonderful meal last night! The dinner organizer, Jeanette, delighted us with root vegetables (appropriate for the January evening) and a wonderful peanut sauce called Sauce d'Arachide. The peanut sauce is a common dish in West Africa where Jeanette lived for several years.

The West Africans are masters of eating seasonally and locally! In Kankan, Upper Guinea, January is carrot and cabbage season. As that season winds down, green beans, lettuce and mangoes ripen for people to eat. Then comes manioc which is also known as cassava, tapioca, yuca, and mandioca. You can link to my posts about tapioca flour and cassava. Onions, eggplants, and garlic are generally available throughout the year.

Enterprising women in Guinea packaged and sold the ingredients for Sauce d'Arachide in small plastic bags. The bags contained a tablespoon of tomato paste and 250 grams of locally ground peanut butter. These ingredients could be mixed with onions, a meat stock cube, some ginger root, and some meat if it is available. These ingredients would be cooked, then served over rice to feed a family of about six people. Actually anyone who showed up would be served, and the custom is to never refuse to offer water and food to guests.

At the time, a family would buy a 50 kilo sack of rice to hopefully last an entire month. There are three basic sauces that are commonly served over the rice. A leaf sauce is sometimes made with dried potato leaves. A thin tomato sauce is sometimes served. And the third is the peanut sauce.Sometimes manioc is added to thicken the sauces.

More Chocolate Cravings

Chocolate, you are like a lover....sometimes titillating, sometimes soothing. You touch my tongue as a solid. My mouth's heat melts you into a thick liquid sliding over my tongue. You tease by activating taste receptors with opposing messages: sweet yet bitter, spicy yet calming, complex yet familiar. You fill my mouth with richness, then exit down my throat to satisfy my stomach's craving for fullness. And when you have left, your taste lingers to prolong my pleasure.

Chocolate, I like you best when your rich chocolate flavors are not masked by too much sugar.  Today, the large amount of sugar in commercial chocolate often keeps me from fully experiencing your complexities. 


I can't imagine what you were like as the admired drink of the the Aztec and Mayan people. They say that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella considered you "scummy" and bitter when Columbus introduced you to them. Your enormous potential was missed! 


It took Hernando Cortes to capture the European imagination by introducing you with your Aztec name, xocoatl. He mixed you with vanilla and sugar to make you more appealing and shared remarkable stories of Aztec rituals that made the most of your mystical qualities. You quickly became a valued medicinal drink to the upper class Spaniards.

Although you were introduced to the rest of Europe, you were mostly known to the upper classes until the Industrial Revolution. In 1847, Fry's in the United Kingdom began producing chocolate bars as they are known today. Mass production techniques made you more accessible to people of all classes. You became famous and popular. I will share more of your story in additional posts.

Crawfish Jambalaya Stuffed Chicken

During one of my grocery store adventures, I discovered chickens that are deboned, stuffed, and ready to stick in the oven for a quick, elegant meal. The chickens, marketed by La Boucherie, are stuffed with crawfish jambalaya...a culinary gift from Louisiana. 


The stuffing contains onions, celery, bell pepper, cajun seasonings and rice along with the crawfish. To make it easier to serve, we sliced the chicken before putting it on the table. You can see the stuffing mixed with the meat in the picture on the left. 

A picture of the chicken as it looked before cooking is on the right. You can order them at La Boucherie or find them in your local grocery store.