Serves 4 Do you need a good cry? Today is the day. Paris can handle your tears. Trust me, I know. All you have to do is make a pot of French Onion Soup. By the time you slurp your last sip, and crunch on the last of the cheesy crouton, you will be renewed. After my brother died everything hurt. The thing was, as bad as it felt, I didn’t really know how bad I was hurting. I tried to ignore it. To keep going. I didn’t want to look my grief in the face. It was an ugly, unwieldy monster. If I allowed myself feel the pain and actually let the tears out, I felt weak. On my brother’s birthday, the first one that came up after he died, I decided to wear all black. I was going to face the pain. I hadn’t even made it half way down the stairs when my foster mom called up to me. “Little girls don’t wear all black. Go change your clothes.” She had the thankless job …
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Makes about 3 loaves My toes curled when I took my first bite of French bread – a baguette, still warm from the oven. Even years later – hundreds of baguettes later – I could not understand how my French friend, Julie, was able to restrict herself to one slice with dinner. Her entire family was that way – they’d had good bread their entire lives. I was unable to be so moderate. Entire baguettes could disappear into my belly in an afternoon. I gained 15 pounds living in Paris, around the skinniest girls in the world. In college I wrote a hundred pages all about the history of artisan bread in France. I was obsessed. The good news is I learned how to make pretty awesome bread at home. It takes 3 days, but each step is easy. There are two things which make French bread so amazing. 1) Flavor: Mixing the yeast with a little flour and water ahead of time gives a big flavor boost. This is called a poolish or preferment. Slow and cool yeast …
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Serves 2-4 You could glaze a hub cap and I’d eat it. The key is to make the glazed item tantalizingly sweet – leave a little mystery. I’m not into savory foods swimming in syrup. This Finnish recipe shows lovely restraint, striking a delicate balance. In fact, shortly after I took my first bite I decided to make this recipe as often as possible for the rest of my life. Rutabagas come from around northern Central Europe. Maple syrup and butter give the root the most addictive flavor and it makes a great side dish for salmon or roast chicken. A total eye opener. The technique would be lovely with any carb – carrots, potatoes, butternut squash – or even a hearty blend of them all. Ingredients: 2 lbs rutabaga (about 3 average rutabagas), peeled and cubed 4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick) 1/8 cup maple syrup salt pepper Method: Dearest readers, meet the mighty rutabaga. Often passed up in the supermarket. Rarely grown at home. A gnarly thing of beauty. You’ll need to peel it and …
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Makes about 1 1/2 cups Mustard-lovers unite. This tangy, spicy Scandinavian recipe goes great with meaty salmon. Take the time to buy really excellent mustard – the spicier the better. If you have leftovers try spreading a little on a sandwich. That’s what I did! Ingredients: 3/4 cup (7 oz) spicy dijon mustard 1 1/2 ounces fresh dill, stems removed and chopped (about 1 cup) 1/8 cup vinegar 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp sugar 3/4 cup oil Method: First things first. Start a small herb garden and grow a mound of dill. You’ll be glad you did because this recipe calls for a lot. About 2 of those insanely expensive plastic containers the supermarkets carry. Once you have your dill, take the stems off. The chop it up nice and fine. Measure out the spiciest-mustard-you-can-find into a small bowl. I used a true Dijon, but take a gander in local specialty shops. I’m sure you’ll find something just as lovely. Add the vinegar. Mr Picky and I are so different. At this point he pinched …
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Makes 1 giant loaf (or as many smaller shapes as you’d like) Pulla is the ultimate Finnish bread dough. Feeling sad? Shape it into a teardrop. Feeling confused? Twist the heck out of it. Feeling like Pippi Longstocking? Braid it! Feeling creative? Shape it into men, women and children. Feeling pregnant? Just make little buns, baby! There’s also plenty of choice in regard to flavorings. Pulla always tastes of glorious cardamom. After that? You can leave it plain or fill it. Sweeten life up with a bit of brown sugar, butter, and spices (that’s what we opted for in this recipe), or get things movin’ with some prune filling. You can even fill it after baking with a bit of jam and whipped cream. Usually this is assembled “hamburger style” with a bun sliced in half and whipped cream gilding the outer edges of a jam-burger. What to expect: No matter how you handle it, pulla should not be anywhere as sweet as a cinnamon roll. The soft, rich dough is quite a bit more …
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Serves 6-8 I’ll be honest – I’ve spent the better part of my life avoiding corned beef. It seemed messy, unwieldy, and way too, well,… meaty. Global Table has a way of taking me out of my comfort zone, though. Turns out this one pot dish is super easy and wickedly tasty. Today we’re making a Fijian version. Their special twist is a hearty helping of curry powder. If you’d like to make it even more Fijian, try swapping the potatoes with taro root and/or chunks of yucca. Also, Fijians would typically make this dish with canned corned beef – but I wanted to go the extra mile for Saint Patrick’s Day! Thanks Fiji. Ingredients: 4 lb piece of corned beef 1-2 Tbsp Homemade Curry Powder water, to cover 2 onions, cut in large chunks 2 large carrots, cut into 1.5 inch pieces 6 medium potatoes (yukon gold), quartered Method: Get a pot large enough to hold your meat (and, eventually, all your veggies). If I had a big cast iron pot, that’s what I …
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Serves 2-4 I was a total lamb newb before starting Global Table Adventure – I simply had never cooked it. Sure, I grew up eating it with mint jelly (although the jelly always stayed on my plate, untouched), but the actual process of making a tasty meal out of lamb was a mystery to me. Thanks to our Adventure, it’s becoming rather second nature and this Ethiopian recipe might be my favorite lamb recipe thus far (barely edging out the Roast Lamb from Cyprus). Our recipe is adapted from Laura Kelley of Silk Road Gourmet, a most wonderful author and world traveler. Serve with Injera. Ingredients: 1/8 cup peanut oil 2 red onions, chopped 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 1 1/2 tsp) 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tsp berberé 1 cup beef stock 1.2 lbs cubed lamb yogurt, to taste Method: Chop the onions (you can do a large dice or strips) and cook them until golden (10-15 min) over medium high, or until you can no longer stand how good the …
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Coffee is said to have originated in Ethiopia. Today Ethiopian coffee ceremonies are common after large meals, even at restaurants. Women will roast beans in front of the guests. Then she’ll grind the beans, perfuming the room, and brew them in a clay coffee pot, or jebena. The coffee is served in small cups called si’ni. Diners have their choice of salt or sugar. Traditionally, every guest is offered 3 cupfuls- the same grounds being brewed each time, making each consecutive cup weaker. My Rendition At best, I was ill-prepared to perform an Ethiopian coffee ceremony. #1, I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. #2, I lack every single piece of traditional Ethiopian coffee-making equipment there could possibly be. In fact, the only proper element I have is a bag of green coffee beans. Tilda’s parents brought them all the way over from Ethiopia, known as the birthplace of coffee. At least the coffee was right. I got to work, putting my college nickname “MacGyver” to good use. What follows are the results of a free-spirited, improvisational coffee …
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Serves 8 Is it a tart? a cake? a cheese cake? All of the above? Whatever you call it, this gingerbread love-fest is the perfect combination for a winter dessert buffet. Special thanks to Nami Nami who’s ricotta cheesecake recipe inspired our version. Nami is an Estonian blogger with a great collection of recipes, both from her home country and beyond. Cheers! Ingredients: 15 oz container whole milk ricotta 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cardamom 3 large eggs 1/8 cup heavy cream 1/2 gingerbread dough (there will be scraps leftover to make decorative cookies to put on the top of the cake) Garnish: Lingonberry jam, to taste Method: Take a few minutes to build a snowman. If there are no snowmen to be made, sit outside and drink a cup of tea and think about building a snowman. Ok, now you’re ready to bake this Estonian treat. First, place a water bath in the oven (a large pan half full of hot water) and preheat it to 350F. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, …
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Want a bite of Estonian springtime? Go for rhubarb, the most beloved, cold-climate vegetable around. It looks like celery with lipstick, but tastes fruity and tart. Elizabeth Schneider explains the special place rhubarb has in countries like Estonia: Imagine that you’ve spent the winter eating fruits and vegetables rationed from a root cellar and canning jars. Now imagine the first rosy rhubarb of the year, welcome as new grass. Not so long ago, rhubarb held a special place in the culinary calendar as a unique fresh food, the earliest harbinger of spring. Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini 5 Fun facts about Rhubarb: Never eat the leaves, cooked or raw. They are toxic. Never cook rhubarb in aluminum – it will dull the fruit’s color. Look for flat, deep red stalks. They have the most flavor. Rhubarb can be mild or extremely tart. You may need to adjust your sweeteners accordingly. Rhubarb season begins in March, but hothouse rhubarbs are available as early as January. RECIPE Serves 8-10 A casual dusting of confectioner’s sugar gives this …
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