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Day 58: Estonia

26 Dec

Stuffing is better with two

Epicurious Kids had  little trouble looking for an estonian recipe fit for the season. Traditional Estonian food has its roots firmly in the countryside, relying heavily on pork, potatoes and garden variety vegetables.

Scoring big

Chopping courage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main culinary influences were from Germans, who ruled over Estonia for so many centuries. So pork is a favourite protein. Inigo was pleased. Epicurious Kids chose Estonian Seapraad as their dish for this challenge.

Rosmary- makeshift xmas tree with a star and tomato?

Chopping frenzy for estonian pork

The eating habits of the Estonian population are significantly related to the season, which severely affect the availability of fresh food. So Epicurious Kids stayed true to the Estonian food tradition and paired the stuffed pork shoulder with a dish of simple potato and green beans.

 

After a little over an hour in the oven, Epicurious Kids pulled out a succulent Seapraad out of the oven. Savory stuffing laden over the juicy stuffed pork shoulder, the Estonian feast was about to begin. Yummy!

a sweet saute of apples and onions

Seapraad, Estonian Stuffed pork, delish!

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Day 57: Lithuania

21 Dec

Tristan finds the courage to face the dreaded ONION

Kuldunai are delicious Lithuanian meat dumplings kids are bound to love. Meat filled-dumplings boiled and served with brown sauce does not immediately scream gourmet. However, with a few deft moves in the kitchen, Epicurious Kids were able to convince any skeptic that this dish can be delish.

Sifting through life´s obstacles

Tristan braves the teary ONION

Inigo was thrilled at the prospect of dough making. “Mommy, I will be in-charge of he dough,” he declared.  “It´s my speciality.”  Tasks were quickly divided, with the dough making already squared away with Inigo busily prepping his station:  “I need my rolling pin, flour, eggs, water and SPACE.”

Tristan fighting off the tears...

I feel the need to knead some dough!

Pulling the pieces together

Sticky business...

Full-on dough management

Letting it all roll out...

To each his own serious tasks.

Tristan quickly took the ground meat and began seasoning it and mixing in some eggs. “There´s not a lot a ingredients to mix in here mom,” he observed, slightly disappointed. Epicurious Kids debated over staying true to the local recipe, or taking the culinary license and taking the liberty of adding a few choice additions to the dish.

Folding in some love...

Small fingers at work

Epicurious Kids were always one for improvisation and experiment.  After  all, they have picked some useful food tips throughout this foodie challenge and have put them to good use. Tristan added some chives to the meat mixture and Inigo garnished the dish with some snippets of chives. After tasting their creation, Epicurious Kids were already planning the next re-make of this Kul Lithuanian dish!

The Kulest Kuldunai ever! Yum!

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Day 56: Armenia

19 Dec

Thumbs up for yummy Sekhtorov hav

Sekhtorov hav couldn´t be more ideal for a midweek meal.  A tasty simple chicken casserole baked in the oven was perfect for Epicurious Kids´s busy schedule.  “We have to play catch-up Tristan!” declared Inigo. Epicurious Kids were feeling the slack of their culinary adventure, squeezed in between school, travels and their extra-curricluar activities of piano, football and swimming, they were missing the heat of the kitchen.

Row, row your garlic boats

Squeezing the juice out of this garlic...

The dish was pretty straighforward.  Marinating the chicken in the garlicky lemon mixture was key.  Epicurious Kids were slightly dismayed at the waiting time before popping their drumsticks in the oven.

Marrying the marinade two-gether

Inigo gets hands on

After the serious poultry massage, Inigo was ready to pop the lid on their marinated chicken legs.  A few hours later and 45 minutes in the oven, the Sekhtorov hav was ready to dish out. Garnished with a few greens, Epicurious Kids relished each lemony, garlicky bite. An empty dish must be proof of another successful kitchen adventure!

Sekhtorov hav so good for your health

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Day 54: Bosnia

28 Nov

Nothing scares us Epicurious Kids!

Bosanski Lonac was Tristan´s choice for this week´s kitchen adventure. The weather was getting colder and the days darker. Nothing beats a warming stew for hungry tummies!

A huge task of veggie cutting

Bravehearts in the chopping arena

The recipe was pretty long. An almost endless list of ingredients made Inigo wonder “do we have a big enough pot for this stew, mommy?” Tristan was confident that everything would melt together and make a wonderful dish.

Cracking the red pepper open to opportunities

Making a point

Each his own cutting board and knives made the work quicker. “Let´s do it!” declared Tristan. Inigo´s eyes bulged at the vegetable garden on their table. The next time Epicurious Kids were going to choose a recipe, they will make sure there isn´t too many ingredients.  It was a chopping, dicing frenzy!

Carrots get their marching orders

It starts with one small cut...

Cutting the beef was a piece of cake after all the dicing and slicing with the legumes.

Getting to the meat of the matter

Patience is a virtue

Producing fine produce!

The instructions were easy enough for the Epicurious Kids.  Their patience tested in the prep portion of this Bosnian cooking adventure, they were ready to heat up the kitchen!

Getting my head around this cabbage!

Not so lucky with leeks.

Getting to the root of the matter

Sizzle, sizzle...

Epicurious Kids were armed with a positive attitude and brotherhood in completing the final steps. This Bosnian stew was gonna be the best they have ever tasted!

All beefed up

Time to get ooking!

I love carrots!

This should make this stew POP with colours!

Nothing says lovin´than a warm and delicious Bosanski Lonac. Epicurious Kids were pleased with the fruits of their labour. “This makes for great leftovers!” Inigo smacked his lips approvingly.

Bosanski Lonac for hungry bellies!

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Day 53: Albania

9 Nov

Hats off to a little cooperation

Albanian cuisine was an easy choice.  Tave Košė topped the list of Albanian dishes. Lambed baked in yoghurt sauce sounded easy enough for a school night. Piano lessons and homework done, simple ingredients and a hefty oven time made this dish the perfect choice!

Let the fun begin!

All hands on deck

Carrots we swiftly peeled without incident on who gets to do what. Tristan was busy with the lamb, learning the art of fat trimming.  He was worried about the technique required, the knife had to be moved just so to cut the gristle without cutting off too much meat. “This is hard mom,” he sighed.

Worker bees

Cutting out the fat

EZ P-Z

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inigo was adept at the art of carrot peeling.  Quietly and surely, he speedily went about his task. Lamb quartered, carrots prepped, the pan was ready for some action.

Seasoning is key

After some expert seasoning, the lamb was ready for the fire.  Browned on all sides, they were baked in the oven for 30 minutes.  Then came the yoghurt sauce. The recipe called for a lot of butter.  Tristan wrinkled his nose and asked “is that good for you, can we use half?”  The Epicurious Kids used half the butter and began melting it for the roux.

Roux, roux, roux my boat...

Buttery roux

Once the roux was ready, Tristan cracked 5 eggs gently onto the yoghurt with Inigo looking on. After some flawless egg cracking, a proud Tristan urged Inigo to mix his Albanian concoction. “We need to wait for the lamb to brown and then add the sauce to the pan…” explained Tristan to Inigo.

You stir, I pour

The sauce mixed well, thickened, Inigo was eager to pour it in the lamb casserole.  After an hour in the oven, the dish came out a bit worn for wear.  The Epicurious Kids were not expecting odd pieces of lamb sticking out from their dish caked in a cooked yoghurt sauce. Concerned, Inigo asked “mommy, did we do something wrong?” This was the first time a dish turned out questionable for the Epicurious Kids.  Quickly, to allay their concerns, we googled a couple of foodie shots of this Albanian dish. Thankfully, their dish turned out to be exactly as the recipe dictated. Tristan quipped quickly, “Never judge a book by its cover, Inigo!”

Baked Albanian Tave Košė

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Day 52: Montenegro

19 Oct

Hugs and a warm dish is heartening!

Balšica tava was the dish of choice from Montenegro. Epicurious Kids were debating whether to go coastal or head to the mountains for this foodie challenge.  In the end, the cold weather made it a no brainer, veal in royal sauce it is!

Enjoying each slice!

Mastering the technique of dicing and slicing

Inigo read the ingredients out loud and commented, “this sounds like my one of favourite Belgian dishes, guys, Blanquette de Veau!”  Tristan agreed and said that surely, most dishes have some thing in common with another country´s dish.

Having fun in tandem!

Holy trinity

Tasks were quickly divided, onion peeling and dicing to Inigo (he doesn´t even cry now) and Tristan decided he would cut and prep the veal.  “I can´t believe I am the one crying while you are cutting the onions!” Tristan sniffed.  Inigo shrugged his expert shoulders and said, “it´s practice, Tristan, you can do it too.”

Slowly mixing in some love

Parsely anyone?

Once all the cutting, slicing and dicing was over, Tristan took the reigns and started sauteing the veal with the vegetables. The original recipe asked for a rich royal sauce consisting of butter, sour cream and whole milk.  We decided to go light and substituted half the sour cream for low fat yoghurt and the whole milk for skimmed.

Brotherly love is sharing...

I am sharp as a knife... at least working on it!

“My knife isn`t so sharp, mom!”  remarked Tristan.  A dull knife is a dangerous knife.  So we immediately went about sharpening his tool, Inigo quickly jumped in to get his own knife sharpened as well. After a few deft moves, knives sharpened, we were ready to serve the Balšica tava. Nothing beats a warm veal stew on a rainy fall day!

A quick meal done in perfect harmony!

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Day 49 & 50 Macedonia and Latvia

30 Sep

The recipe hunt proved to be challenging for the Epicurious Kids.  Some repetition of stuffed cabbage and goulash seemed to be a region favourite. Inigo took the dessert station and began measuring and mixing the ingredients.  Tristan on the other hand was focused on the dicing and slicing for his Macedonian meatballs Selsko Meso.

Eggcited to bake!

Veggie station

Latvian Honey Cake had to be prepped in advance due to the labour intensive recipe with 5 layers.

Lending a hand..

You mix, I measure...

The honey was poured in with some difficulty.  It was thick and gooey and Inigo´s sticky fingers kept getting in the way.  He is a honey monster, and it was a full time task to keep his paws away from the bowl!

Mixin´in a spoonful of love

Raw batter lip smacking good!

Tristan was busy with the meatball mixture and the vegetables whilst Inigo focused on cutting the shoulder of pork against the grain… “This keeps the meat tender as it cooks”, Inigo explains to his big brother.

concentration

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Creating some creamy goodness

Harmony prevailed in Kitchen Stadium with each brother focused on their task at hand. After some deft moves with the meatball mixture for the Selsko Meso, Epicurious Kids were frying mini Macedonian meatballs for the pork stew.

To each his own stations

The savoury smell wafted across the kitchen meeting the sweet smell of Latvian Honey Cake. The scrumptious meal was served and devoured in no time!

Delicious-ness

Selska Meso Yummm....

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Day 45, 46 & 47: Slovenia, Romania and Croatia

24 Feb

Sunday dinners are legendary.  This weekend, we were going to cover three countries in one go!  Epicurious Kids embraced this challenge and prepared the 3 course Eastern European menu of Slovenia, Romania and Croatia.

Focus is key

Ready to roll!

 

The choices were difficult with so many mouthwatering options.  Slovenia had an intriguing pasta dish called

Idrija Žlikrofi.  Inigo was intent on working with dough,  ”it´s been so long since I last made pasta!” he complained.  So Idrija Žlikrofi it is!  To go with this we decided on an interesting eggplant creation with ground meat from Romania called Musaca di Vinete

.

To each his own stations

 

 

For a sweet ending, Croatia was the country of choice.  After going through many Italian inspired recipes, we decided on

Fritele, a cross between the spanish Churros and French Beignets.



Inigo focused on the dough after the stuffing of mashed potatoes, herbs, onions and pancetta were mixed together. He carefully rolled out the dough and began measuring the strips for the mixture to be folded into.  Again, his perseverance paid off.  After 30 tiny Idrija Žlikrofi prepped for boiling, he began working on the meat mixture for the Romanian

 

Musaca de Vinete.

Roll with it!

A slice of life

 

Teamwork!

 

Fit to be Square!

Tristan was working the vegetable station preparing the aubergines for individual frying, a tedious task in his view.

After assembling the layers of  fried aubergine and the meat mixture, it went into the oven for 30 minutes.

One layer at a time..

Musaca de Vinete

 

Fritele

 

 

 

 

Idrija Žlikrofi

The Fritele was an easy, quick dessert.  The flour, egg and milk mixture was dropped into the hot oil until it was golden brown.  After a couple of gold nuggets were ready in a bowl, it was sprinkled with confectioners sugar for the final touch.  Heavenly, melt-in-y0ur mouth morsels from  Croatia.

With all the hard work behind them Epicurious Kids feasted on Excellent eastern European dishes, the unexpected Musaca de Vinete from Romania together with the delicious Idrija Žlikrofi from Slovenia… and their sweet ending?  Delicious Fritele from Croatia!

Now they are ready for another new week of culinary adventure!

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Day 44: Ukraine

20 Feb

Chicken Kiev is a popular dish everybody has heard of… ironically enough, we have never tasted it.  The challenge for this country was decided.  Chicken Kyiv it is!  Tristan had an unfortunate accident and hit his knee while running down the stairs right before kitchens stadium opened for business this evening.  So Inigo was left to prep the meal on this own.

Buttering me up

Chicken pockets, gold nuggets

The difficult and messy part was breading the chicken, three steps… wait a minute, Inigo just reminded me how complicated making the butter mixture and stuffing it into the breast.  Tiny fingers were deftly dipping the stuffed chicken breasts into the egg mixture, then the flour and finally into the breadcrumbs.

Pinning this bird down!

Dippin´and trippin´

After patiently dusting some flour on the chicken, dipping it in egg and rolling it in panko, Inigo was ready to throw it in the fridge for a cold blast.

Cubism is back

Melt in your mouth Chicken Kyiv

After popping the breaded breast into the fridge for the butter to settle and get cold enough so it doesn`t melt when fried, Inigo tapped his fingers and sighed out loud.  “Will this take long, I am hungry.”

 

An hour later, the filets were ready to go into the hot oil.  This was the tricky part and after balancing heat and total oil immersion, we scooped on the chicken breasts to prevent the butter from oozing out.

Excellent morsels of succulent buttery chicken was just what the doctor ordered for Tristan.

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Day 43: Slovakia

6 Feb

Goulash seems to have many variations in Eastern Europe.  Slovakian goulash was our choice.  The recipe sounded delicious and rather simple to make.  On a busy weekday, after school and homework, the Epicurious Kids wanted something easy. So Gulasova polieva was the perfect choice.

Dicin´and slicin´

At the cutting edge

Potatoes were peeled and diced.  Inigo was careful not to cut his finger again after last time.  Undaunted by a slight flesh wound, he soldiered on carefully cutting his potatoes.

Cabbage patch

Paprika cutting

After the Serbian dinner of Golabki, Tristan was well adept at the art of savoy cabbage de-veining.  “This is easy!” he boasted.  This was not the case the first time he tried it then.  I reminded him that practice makes perfect to which he nodded his head dismissively.

Georgeous Goulash

Spice of life

After all the ingredients were thrown into the pot, Inigo finished his homework while Tristan practiced piano.  In 30 minutes the lovely smell of the Goulash filled the kitchen.  It was ready, and so were the Epicurious Kids. The final dish was rich and filling and we couldn´t wait for seconds.

Goulasova polieva

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