Guest Post: Sam in Morocco

My sister's boyfriend, Sam Albetta, just spent the past six months in Morocco and Egypt.  While he was there, obviously, he enjoyed a totally different cuisine than anything he was used to eating here in the States. So, when I asked if he would be interested in posting about some of his food experiences, he kindly obliged. Thanks, Sam, and I hope you guys enjoy this post as much as I did!

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Hey everyone, I'm Sam.  

 

 My recent time in Morocco was quite a new culinary experience, not just because of the subtleties of Moroccan food, but also because it made me more aware of the intricacies of how food is obtained, prepared, and enjoyed in another part of the world.  There are a lot of things that just work differently in Fez, which is where I spent most of my time.  Hopefully I can convey some sense of that in this post.

                 

The first thing you should know about eating in Morocco is that it really helps to be adventurous.  In addition to there being some food items to which Westerners aren’t accustomed, there is also often no semblance of a health code.  You should use common sense, but if you are overly-cautious you probably won’t have as much fun. 

                 

There are many different types of restaurants found in the Medina (older part of the city.)  Some are larger, more tourist-oriented restaurants that are clustered around the main entrance.  These can often be best described as “rip offs.”  The food is comparatively expensive and often isn’t as good or authentic as what one can find a little further in to the city.  At some point, one needs to decide if they want to be served tourist-safe food by a guy wearing boisterously exaggerated garb in a prop-laden restaurant, or food that Moroccans actually eat, prepared by a guy in jeans standing behind a bloody meat counter with a flat-top.  If you think you might prefer the former, the rest of this post may not interest you.

                 

flat top at a meat counter

It was just this kind of meat counter restaurant that ended up being one of my favorites.  This type of operation is really more of a stall than a restaurant, but they do cook up some great food.  There are fresh whole animals being broken down, hung, sometimes ground, and displayed, often including cuts of chicken, beef, lamb, liver, pancreas, and other various offerings of offal.   

meat counter proteins

Walking up and choosing an ingredient is your first move.  My favorites ended up being chicken, liver, and a large, reddish piece of charcuterie the locals called “pasterma” (like I said, be adventurous.)  Your counter man will then take that item and throw it on the flat-top with some onions, chopped olives, seasoning (chili and turmeric plus some others) and lots of oil.  You can also get a fried egg thrown into the mix (highly recommended.)  It’s then served in a piece of bread that’s pretty similar to pita.  The result can be had for a mere 15 dirham (a little less than $2) and you won’t be hungry afterward.  

sandwich

 

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 Another type of restaurant in the Medina is the soup-kitchen type.  Here you’ll find huge boiling pots of either harira, or a white bean soup called “bisura” or “baysr.”  These are often accompanied by fried eggs, a salsa-like sauce, and these delicious little potato fritters that are constantly being fried.  The spread at one of these places will only cost around 10 dirham ($1.25.)  

 soup counter

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 While both of the types of restaurants mentioned above serve great food, it certainly isn’t the food for which Morocco is best known.  The tagine is undoubtedly the most recognizable dish from the Moroccan milieu, and while it tends to be a little more expensive than the aforementioned bargains, it is definitely something that travelers shouldn’t miss.  While acceptable tagines can be obtained in many restaurants, the best tagine is the one made at home, preferably the home of a Moroccan whom you have befriended.  

tagine

Tagine is actually the name of the vessel in which the meal is cooked; it is a heavy stoneware dish that has a flat bottom and a tall conical lid.  This heavy stone basin is usually brought to the table, ensuring that the communal serving stays hot throughout the meal.  A couple of times we were brought tagines that were still at an active boil even after they had been brought out because of how much heat the vessel retained.  Varieties of tagines might include any combination of potatoes, zucchini, onions, garlic, tomatoes, beef, chicken, lamb, liver, or eggs.  Ingredients are sautéed and then simmered together with a little broth or water while the heavy lid holds pressure inside.  The result is a rich and tender meal that will heat the diner well after the food is gone.  Forks are lunged across the table and rips of bread mop up steaming broth.  Alcohol is rare to come by in Morocco, so a meal like this will often be preceded by tea, or “shai,” which in Morocco is usually just mint leaves, boiling water, and a staggering amount of sugar.

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Lastly, I’m including a recipe for a dish that I made for guests in my home while I was in Fez.  This dish was the result of my own interpretation of some of the Moroccan flavors and ingredients that I encountered while I was there.  If you can’t make it to Morocco anytime soon, maybe you can bring a little bit of Morocco to your own kitchen.  Have fun!   

                

Moroccan Braise

4-5 pound cut of beef

turmeric

cumin

fennel seed

cinnamon

salt

garlic cloves     

2 large fennel bulbs, quartered

2 onions, quartered  

5-6 sweet tangerines or other citrus, zest reserved

Thoroughly rub the beef with the spices.  Embed some cloves of garlic in the meat, cutting small slits if necessary.  If desired, let the beef sit with the rub overnight.

Brown the meat on all sides and transfer to a large lidded pot.  Add the onions and fennel bulb to the pot.  For the braising liquid, peel the tangerines and crush them in your hand over the pot.  Fit the lid on the pot and put it in the oven.  The temperature and timing of the braise can vary depending on the size and thickness of the meat.  For a larger, thicker piece, 3 - 4 hours at around 185 degrees should be about right.  For a thinner piece, 2 - 2.5 hours at around 200 should do it.  an expedited preparation of this dish can also be done in a pressure cooker in about half the time.  When using a pressure cooker, set the pot over a low to medium burner and maintain a low simmer.

 After cooking, plate the meat with the fennel and onions on a large platter and spoon some braising liquid over the top.  For a garnish, make a quick gremolata combining the saved tangerine zest, some chopped garlic, and parsley.  Sprinkle on top.

A Trip to Chapel Hill

Last week, I went on another fun trip to the triangle area.  The main reason for going to was to take the intro level sommelier exam in Raleigh through the Court of Master Sommeliers.  My friend, Morgan, who works at McCrady's, also took the test.  It involved a pretty intensive two-day seminar prior to the exam, and I was happy to have a friend there with me.  There was a lot of information to absorb, and I think I might have felt a bit more overwhelmed had I gone by myself.

Morgan and I just before taking the exam

I couldn't help but to be a little nervous about the exam, even though I was overall fairly confident about it. Much to our relief, however, we both passed!

So that was pretty exciting. I've been pretty stressed out about the whole thing, and I'm glad to have one less thing looming over my head right now.

~

The other purpose of the trip was to celebrate my birthday!  Tuesday was my actual birthday, but I didn't want to party too hard because the wine exam was the next day.  But, you better believe, on Wednesday after I found out I passed, it was on. 

We finally had dinner at Lantern, after having drinks there my last two visits.  My sister and I asked the bartender to just pick dinner for us because, truly, I would have been happy with any single item on the menu.  He happily obliged us, and I loved every bite.

To start, I got Chaat, which is kind of like a warm salad with roasted chickpeas and cauliflower, crispy potatoes, pickled red onion and a nice, refreshing herbed/minty chutney.  I absolutely adore both chickpeas and cauliflower, and I thought this dish was delicious and certainly unique, with lots of fun texture.

For dinner, I had the steamed wild striped bass, which was served with lots of herbs, crispy ginger, a fermented black bean-type broth, baby bok choy, and rice.  This was excellent as well, along with Margaret's lacquered pork tenderloin lettuce wraps, and Sam's crispy duck noodle soup.  Gotta say, though, I did enjoy mine the best.

The dessert was rave-worthy.  Roasted banana ice-cream with peanut brittle, caramel, and whipped cream. To.die.for.  And I'm really not even the kind of person who just raves over dessert.

Here's one of the sis and me at Lantern.  Sissy bought me the dress for my birthday :)

And one of the sis and her hunky boyfriend, Sam, whom I got to officially meet.

~

So that's about all I have to share with you, except for a couple gem photos from our hungover trip to the Maple View Dairy Ice Cream Store in Carrboro the next day.

*mmm...*

Don't be jealous of the fact that I ate really delicious ice cream two days in a row.

Guest Post: Margaret's Mexico Trip

For this post, I'm going to let my little sister, Margaret, take the reins.  She recently got back from a trip to Mexico, and I thought it'd be fun to give her a chance to share some photos with you guys.  So, without further ado, take it away Margs!

 ~

Hola amigos!  I'm Margaret, Dani's little sister.

You might remember me from the Margaret's 21st birthday trip post.  After sampling some delicious treats on my recent trip to la Ciudad de Mexico (the city of Mexico), Dani has kindly invited me to be her first guest blogger.  So here I am- how could I resist such an offer?

I went to Mexico City over my spring break with a class called "Mass Communication in Mexico" that I'm currently taking at UNC Chapel Hill.  Now, if you know anything about the Craig family, you know that we plan entire vacations around our eating schedules.  Naturally, my mouth started watering weeks before my journey.  Unfortunately, the nature of the trip didn't allow me to seek out all the fabulous eateries I'm sure exist in Mexico City, but I did make a simpler mission for myself: eat some dope street tacos, get a hot churro, and drink some good Mexican tequila.

On the first day of the trip, we ventured out to the Teotihuacan pyramids, which are some of the largest pyramids in the Americas.  This was probably my favorite day of the trip; the ruins were absolutely mind-blowing and there's not much better than exploring all day in the warm sun.

 This is the Sun Pyramid, the largest of the group.  The pyramids seemed to go on for miles!

After checking out the pyramids all day, the whole group (all 12 of us!) went to a traditional Mexican restaurant for lunch.  Thank goodness we had a few locals and a fluent girl (hey Marlene!) with us, because ordering was a chore!  We all started with tortilla soup, which is a tomato based soup topped with crumbled homemade tortilla chips, fresh avocado, queso fresco, and some sort of delicious cream sauce.  Even though it was a hot day, this soup was amazing!  We tried a few other tortilla soups later that week, but none beat this one.

tortilla soup

I also had some taquitos, which are rolled up corn tortillas filled with either cheese or some sort of meat and then fried.  These were yummy, but I really just wanted another bowl of that soup!

 Everything was served with the best avocados EVER.  We were, however, advised against eating fresh fruits and veggies that don't have a natural peel because they were washed in the water.  Thank GOD for avocados having peels!

Later that night, a few of us decided to get some dinner at a place called Samborn's.  I don't think there is an American equivalent to this place, but its kind of like a department store combined with a restaurant, a bakery, and a pharmacy.  Kind of like an upscale Wal-mart, but with no clothes.  Anyway, I had my first taste of tequila in the form of a margarita there - fab!

 That's Marlene's pina colada in the background, which she said was fabulous.

The second day we did a bunch of touring in the city, including Chapultepec Park which has Maximilien's castle and a TON of roadside tiendas (shops).  After seeing the castle, we were famished and decided to stop at a taqueria.  Hooray!

 Here is the sign for the taqueria we stopped at.  5 tacos for 15 pesos!

By the way, 13 pesos roughly equals 1 dollar.  CHEAP FOOD.  I ordered 5 tacos and told 'em to give me 5 different kinds of meat.

I was too hungry to figure out exactly what I was eating before I devoured every single one!

The sign has things like tripa (tripe), ojos (eyes), tacos de cabeza (tacos of the head), longaniza (sausage) and some others which don't have a clear translation, like campechano (hearty?) and birria (rubbish?).  I could have ended up with some interesting things, but it was all tasty.  Oh, AND mission one...complete!

That night, after getting back from touring all day, I couldn't resist stopping in at another taqueria because I was starving.  These weren't as cheap, but they came with a soda.

 All the sodas came in glass bottles and were much sweeter than the American stuff because they are made with real sugar.

These condiments were pretty typical of any eatery: salsa fresca, lime wedges, and 2 types of hot sauce.

And the tacos! I had chorizo and steak.  The chorizo was so good I ordered 2 more!

My buddy Brian and I searched fruitlessly for some churros.  Apparently, you have to specifically ask for the churro that you eat because, after asking about 50 different vendors and getting dirty looks from Mexicans all day, one guy was kind enough to let us know that churro is also slang for marijuana in Spanish.  No bueno.  Anyway, we finally found a place, and Marlene bought one for Brian and I.

Good pic.  Mission 2: completed

The only thing left: tequila!  I know, I know, I already had a margarita, but that hardly counts.  So, Brian, Zakiya, and I went out drinking one night.

 The bar special read something like taza por 84 pesos. We thought taza meant "pitcher"... turns out, it just meant GIANT mug of beer.

The beer was called El Sol.  It came light and dark, and I became pretty partial to both kinds in just one week.

 El Sol claro (on a different night)

To celebrate finishing the huge beer, we had tequila shots!

The tequila was strong, but I'm not really used to drinking it. They chase tequila with clamato juice, which I was skeptical about, but it was actually pretty successful.  Mission 3: success!

I ate a lot of great food.  I wish I would have taken more foodie pictures including the amazing gelato Brian and I got one night (I had cookies and cream and coconut, he had queso and chocolate) after we had tacos at another taqueria.  I had tacos de lengua (tongue!).  So weird seeing a huge tongue being sliced in front of you, knowing you're about to eat it, but it was actually really delicious.

So, thanks for letting me borrow Dani Dishes for a little while!  Hope you enjoyed my post.  Eat well, friends!  Viva la Mexico!

-Margaret

My First Thanksgiving!

The spread

I really, really wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. I kind of toyed with the idea last Thanksgiving, but I had to work and there just wasn't time. This year I planned ahead and asked off several days, and Mom agreed to let me cook *and plan* everything.  Actually, she was pretty happy about not having to be the Thanksgiving cook for the first time in 20-ish+ years.  Of course, she was happy to help.
 

I've been looking forward to it for weeks.  I kept the menu simple, because it was just the immediate family, and well, obviously I'd never tackled Thanksgiving dinner before.  Here's the menu I ended up going with:

Sage Butter-Roasted Turkey with Cider Gravy 

Rustic Bread Stuffing with Red Mustard Greens, Currants, and Pine Nuts
Glazed Carrots with Molasses and Marjoram
Bacon and Thyme Sauteed Brussels Sprouts- didn't use a recipe here
Dinner Rolls (Um, not homemade- I'm not that ambitious) (this year)
 

*and*

Cranberry-Apple Crumble Pie

I'm not going to post every recipe because I think that would feel monotonous. Instead, I'm going to walk you through my cooking and planning process.

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The day before Thanksgiving, I made the pie. 

Fall flavors

I've never really been partial to cranberry sauce, and neither has the rest of my family.  I think my mom has always felt kind of obligated to make it because it's "traditional".  I decided to get rid of it.  This recipe appealed to me because I was still able to work cranberries into the menu.  The tartness of the cranberries worked really well with the softly-sweet Gala apples.

Going into the oven

For some reason, I've messed up a few pie crusts lately, so I was a little nervous about this one.  I used lard for the first time as a substitute for shortening.  I ended up scrapping the first one I made because I thought it came together a little too quickly. The second crust acted much better though, so I went with it.  The crumble topping didn't go on until halfway through the baking process.

Coming out of the oven

The recipe was actually pretty simple, so I kept my fingers crossed that it was a keeper. I'll come back to the pie.   

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I also got a little prep work done the day before the big dinner.  I bought the Brussels sprouts on the stalk because they were soo much prettier than the pre-bagged ones.  

Just found out recently that Brussels sprouts were members of the cabbage family.

Don't know why that surprised me.

So, I cut all the Brussels sprouts off the stalk, trimmed them, and blanched them. This way, I figured, all I would have to do for dinner would be to slice them and toss them in a saute pan with some bacon, garlic, and thyme (my favorite way of cooking them).

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Thanksgiving day, I woke up excited and ready to cook. I started, of course, by getting the turkey ready to go into the oven.  I love sage, and apple cider makes me think of fall, so this recipe seemed perfect to me.

Sage

Mom and I thought it was strange that the recipe didn't call for anything to go into the cavity of the bird.  So, we decided to stuff it with some onion, lemon, and more sage.

My dad made the comment that there is nothing pretty about a raw turkey.

So, in the turkey went.  While it roasted, we prepped the stuffing.  It could be made a couple hours ahead of time, which was great so it could be in the pan and ready to go when the turkey came out.

Ingredients

I was excited about this recipe because I love pine nuts, and I didn't want a meaty stuffing because of the bacon in the Brussels sprouts.  I thought the greens would be a nice touch.  Alas, Mother couldn't find red mustard greens at her little Morganton grocery stores, and I went to three places here in Charleston and couldn't find them either.  What really upset me the most is that I know they had them at the farmer's market, but I couldn't get off work last Saturday morning to get them.  So, we substituted kale for the greens, and it worked out fine.  We also substituted orange zest for lemon zest because I thought it might be a nicer flavor with the currants.  I added some extra chicken stock, because it seemed a little dry and I wanted to make sure it bound together properly. 

*Meanwhile*

Basting the bird

Also, Margaret brought some nice cheese and wine from A Southern Season, where she works in Chapel Hill. God, I love that place.  We enjoyed some bubbles and cheese while we were waiting for dinner. 

 Triple cream, Gruyere, and a local goat cheese from Chapel Hill

Dad and Margaret looking skeptical

Mom and I taking a break

When it came time to take the turkey out of the oven, it got slightly hairy.  The stuffing and rolls went in, and I started sauteing the Brussels sprouts and carrots. After those were just finished, I started the gravy.  No, I don't have any pictures of the carrots.  Not sure why except that I just got a *little* busy.  So, here's a turkey picture:

Gobble gobble

 

A good one of Dad carving the turkey

Finally, we sat down and enjoyed our meal. Margaret brought several bottles of red, including a Valpollicella Ripassato, a Rioja, and a Tempranillo from Argentina. We drank them in that order, and they were all delicous.

 Oh yeah

The food turned out really well! I loved the flavor of the gravy.  The stuffing was a hit, although we all agreed I could have doubled the kale and added a bit more stock as a binder.  The flavors were right on though, I just love greens and could have had more.  The carrots were a little sweet, even though I cut back on molasses and added apple cider vinegar. I didn't really mind the sweetness, because they were kind of like a substitute for a tradidional sweet potato or yam dish (another Thanksgiving tradition no one in my family is particularly fond of).

Didn't think I would forget, did you?

I absolutely loved the pie.  Considering how easy it was, it really turned out well.  The lard made the crust nice and flaky, and the overall flavor was nicely refreshing, not cloyingly sweet like some holiday desserts. I would totally make this again.

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So, I think that pretty much covers it! I really enjoyed myself, and of course, spending time with the family was the best part by far.   

 

Chapel Hill

So, this week, I returned to Chapel Hill to go see The XX with my friend Cindy. It was the first time I have been to the Local 506, and I thought it was a pretty cool little venue.  We had a great time at the show, and of course, ate some good food while we were in town.

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We ended up pretty hungover the day after the concert, so Cindy and I went to Franklin Street in search of some good bar food.  We ended up at Spanky's, where we enjoyed a couple of Bloody Marys. I devoured a club sandwich with ham, turkey, bacon, and Russian dressing.

hangover cure at Spanky's

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For dinner, the three of us were all strangely craving some good sushi. So, we went to Margaret's favorite spot in Chapel Hill, Akai Hana.  We sat at the sushi bar, and the chefs gave us each a little bowl of cucumber, crab, and sesame salad to start with.  It was a really nice little palate cleanser.

 
Cucumber salad at Akai Hana

We ordered some edamame and several rolls to share.  Along with some beers and hot sake, it was a fun, enjoyable dinner.

Pretty little sushi platter at Akai Hana

 

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To keep up with tradition, Cindy, Margaret, and I ended up at Lantern for cocktails.  Still haven't eaten there, which is kind of a bummer, but we loved our drinks. This time, Cindy ordered the Strange Acquaintance, which sounds kind of strange but tasted pretty good. It had whiskey, ruby port, Blenheim spicy ginger ale, and egg whites. I got the Cunning Kimono, which was house infused jasmine flower vodka, honey, and a lemon twist.  Margaret had the Junebug, which was my favorite of the three. It was made with Pimm's liquor, fresh ginger, lemon soda, and a cucumber.

 
 

Strange Acquaintance, Cunning Kimono, and Junebug cocktails at Lantern  

I love the little darkly-lit bar.  Maybe someday I'll actually eat there.