In anticipation of leaving town tomorrow, I proclaimed tonight’s dinner challenge to be: wh

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In anticipation of leaving town tomorrow, I proclaimed tonight’s dinner challenge to be: what can I make from the ingredients in my fridge that the kids are unlikely to eat? In my opinion, I hit it out of the park. In the fridge/pantry/freezer, there were some fresh English peas asking to be shelled and cooked, a pack of ‘exotic’ mushrooms, a shallot, some garlic, some goat cheese and some whole wheat rolls.

So, I minced the garlic (3 cloves) and shallot, cooked them down in a mixture of EVOO and butter (roughly 1 T of each), added the whole pack of mushrooms, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked until the mushrooms were getting brown. I then threw in the peas and covered the pan to steam them a bit. When things were getting dry, I threw in the rest of my white wine to deglaze and give a bit more moisture.

Meanwhile, I toasted the rolls, and split and smeared them with the goat cheese; once the mushrooms and peas were cooked I spread them on top and sprinkled some tarragon over everything.

Peeps, this was fantastic. To procrastinate from packing, I am now snuggling with Percy and singing along -loudly- to ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ with the cast of Glee. Lea Michele is annoying but she can really sing. You know you do this too!

Food traditions common even among cultures worlds and languages apart

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My foodie friend, Christine, just gave me her recent copy of Gastronomica, a hardcore food journal that contains an incredible variety and volume of essays and gastronome-related info. I’d not heard of it before but am happily ensconced in it now and will be happy to help her recycle them anytime.

Anyway, I’m reading a piece about food bloggers in Istanbul and was struck by a Turkish (the town of Mardin specifically) delicacy called dolma mumbar, an intestine stuffed with a blend of seasoned rice and meat. This is so similar to a south Louisiana dish I grew up eating called boudin which is a spicy meat and rice blend stuffed in a pig intestine and served warm. Being a relatively nerdy foodie, I always refused to touch the intestine with my mouth (most folks just suck the boudin right out of it) but rather mushed it out with a fork.

I think it’s really cool to find similar dishes in places that can seem so very different. Wonder what, if any, the culinary and historical connections are…