Restaurant Review Germany: Zur Dicken Emma

On my first night in Germany my half sister and her family took me to a German restaurant in Ramstein and I really enjoyed it.  It’s called The Big

1 liter of soda

Emma or Zur Dicken Emma. Ok, let me just say, portions in this restaurant are huge! Everyone always says that portion size in the USA is large but, this restaurant wins by far. I would love to go back to Germany and try some other German restaurants to see if this is true of all German restaurants.  The smallest portion is called a ¼ size which was 8.8 oz, the ½ size was 17 oz and the full size somehow even more ridiculously large at 35 oz. The sodas came in liter containers and the largest beer available was 3 liters! I wish I had gotten a picture of that glass! It was insane, I have no idea how the men ordering them were able to drink them. They looked heavy to say the least. They also have a food challenge in the restaurant. If you finish a full portion platter and 3 litres of beer you get a free meal.  I don’t think I could ever succeed. I would literally have to be starving to finish even half of their full size portion.

Jägerschnitzel

schnitzel with french fries

I wound up ordering a ½ size of Schnitzel (I was really hungry since I hadn’t eaten anything since 11 that morning). Schnitzel is fried, crispy pork. There was plain schnitzel and then 9 other kinds with different sauces so I ordered Jägerschnitzel which had a sauce made with jager, mushrooms and bacon. It was delicious! The outside was a bit crunchy, while the inside moist and juicy.  It was huge and I finished every bite. It took a while to finish but I didn’t get French fries or soda so that didn’t fill me up. I got a small side salad and some wine to drink which worked out really well.  My sister and her son

both got ¼ size portions of plain Schnitzle with French fries on the side.  It was served with lemon slices on top which really complimented the saltiness of the fried surface.  The portion was still really large but considerably smaller than the piece of meat I ordered.  It was also quite delicious but I’m glad I got mine with a sauce. I don’t think I could have eaten the pork all by itself without the creaminess of the sauce to help.

My sister's husband ordered a half portion burger and it was gigantic as well. 8.27 inches! Crazy. It looked good but impossible to finish. In fact he only ate half and took the rest home. 

the giant 1/2 sized portion

A lot of people were eating the largest portions and I was incredibly impressed that they were able to finish because I would have never been able to eat that much, even as hungry as I was. They were also drinking the largest beers I've ever seen in my life. 3 liters!! Giant, giant glasses that could probably be quite difficult to lift for some people. They even had a challenge: 1 kg of schnitzel, steak or burger and 3 liters of beer. If you can eat and drink all of that, you win a "Yes, I did it certificate" which I found utterly hilarious.

I liked the atmosphere as well and our waitress was really friendly and helpful even though I don't speak a lick of German. 

I really enjoyed the restaurant and would very much like to go back if I get back to Germany. It was really good food and I had a lot of fun with my family. 

Restaurant Review Ostia: Ristorante Cipriani

Last week we had our Christmas for lunch and it was fantastic. Even though the trains were striking, we made our way to Ostia Antica (which I need to absolutely explore more thoroughly). The restaurant, Ristorante Cipriani was about 5 to 10 minutes from the station. It's a hidden gem, recommended by one of the students at our school. It's near a castle and ancient ruins down a small, quaint alleyway that wouldn't normally get a second glance.
I really enjoyed it because it was reasonably priced and absolutely delicious. I couldn't believe it! There was a fixed menu including a pasta first, a meat second, water and coffee all for €10.

 It had limited options but everything we ordered was fantastic.
The first dish options were cavatelli con sugo di spuntature, pasta e lenticchie, e tonnarelli cozze e pachino.  Cavatelli is a type of pasta while sugo di spuntature is a tomato based sauce made with ribs. Paste e lenticchie is pasta with lentils and it is almost like a thicker soup. Tonnarelli is a traditional Roman noodle that is similar to spaghetti but

considerably thicker and it was served with muscles and small tomatoes.  I had the cavatelli and it was rich but not heavy. The sauce had a lot of flavor and it was just the right portion size so I was able to eat my next course. I did cover it in cheese, but that's really only because I love cheese. It's cold out right now, so I would love to have some more. Laure and Ashley ordered the Tonnarelli and they really enjoyed the seafood because it was super fresh and had a lot of flavor. I didn't try it because I don't always love seafood. Sian tried the pasta with lentils which had a nice wintery feel to it. It was quite warm outside but I think it would be the perfect cold weather meal.
A little after, our seconds arrived promptly. There were also three choices and we tried them all.  I tried the

salsiccia e fagioli which is sausage and beans. It was utterly delicious, the sausage was a flattened patty and full of a ton of flavor while the beans brought me back to childhood. Grams prepared them so similarly. I really enjoyed the dish. I even used bread to sop up the extra sauce. So much good flavor.  Tanya, Laure, Ashley and Sian all tried the filetto di Orata which is a fillet of sea bream. It was served with a mini salad that Ashley was thrilled to have (she had a long weekend sadly lacking in vegetables). I didn't try it (I wish I liked seafood more) but everyone had good things to say about
it.  The only complaint I heard was about the small bones, but I find that fairly typical of dishes in Italy.  Endira on the other hand tried the Spezzatino. We had been expected a sliced cut of meat but it turned out to be chunks of meat cooked in a stew. Lots of flavor and warmth. It was quite good even if not quite what expected.
I really had a good time at our Christmas list. Good food, good company and good service as well. It was really quite lovely.
And then we ran off to work (literally for me... gotta love those mad dash sprints)!

Christmas Dinner

So mom made us a wonderful Christmas dinner.  I'd like to say I really contributed, but honestly I was just too tired to be of much assistance.
It was dinner for 2 plus visitors.  Mom and I ate around 5 but then I had some friends come over a little later on and we fed them a little bit.
In any case, we had a wonderful dinner thanks to the Mamma Bear

The Menu:
Baked Ham with Apples
Green Bean Salad
Spinach and Zucchini Pie
Sweet Potatoes with Butter and Brown Sugar
Apple Berry Crumble

We kept it simple and healthy but delicious and I'm glad.
However, I will say that I kind of missed the havoc that is usually our house during the holidays. Normally my house is jam packed with friends who are family. We usually serve a feast that lasts for hours with hilarious comings and goings.
This year, Mom and I decided to just keep it quiet since I was only arriving a day before the holidays. It was odd just having a few of my friends drop by, instead of having a ton of people popping in and out.
But all in all it was a good day and we definitely had a merry Christmas!

Restaurant Review Rome: Ristorante Bar Del Fico

On Friday night, I got to try a vry tasty restaurant in Rome. It's very popular in historic center and is usually very crowded. In the first weeks I was in Rome a lot of people suggest I try Ristorante Bar del Fico which literally means the "Cool Bar Restaurant". I wonder who had the audacity to name it such, did they name it before it was cool, hoping that it would be? or did they name it after it became popular?
Either way, it has a great atmosphere with wonderful lighting. I really liked the overall vibe and thought that finally got seated we started talking to the guys sitting next to us and we wound up hanging out with them for a good portion of the evening.
the seating was great fun. Large tables are divided between multiple parties so you can converse with your group or make friends with those next to or across from you. In fact, when we
The food was also fabulous. I ordered the special ravioli dish, Ravioli al Pecorino di Fossa con salsa di pere. I almost went with something

traditionally Roman but decided that I wanted to try something more unique and it was utterly delicious. The ravioli itself was cooked perfectly. The cheese just salty enough complemented by the sweetness of fresh pear slices and the delicous pear sauce. It was also drizzled with a beautiful balsamic reduction which really went well with the combination of flavors. I really liked it even though it was a small portion (and slightly expensive at €14). My friends ordered some of the more traditional fare and I got to try a bite of each of their plates and it was quite delicious. Laure ordered the Cacio e Pepe in all its cheesy goodness while her roomie got La Matriciana which was absolutely amazing. The matriciana was amazing, probably my favorite that I've tried so far in Rome. Everything we ate was fresh and delicious and arrived pretty quickly.
We also ordered profitteroles for dessert and they were quite delicious, just the right portion to share

between the two of us sharing.  It was rich and creamy without being overbearing.
However, I do have one lament. The service Friday night was horrible. We waited for almost an hour, which by itself is not actually a problem. The actual problem was that the host told us that the wait would be about 20 minutes and then preceded to ignore us entirely, not giving us any updates whatsoever. It was okay for the most part because we got some drinks and chilled in the bar area but it was rather annoying because we had no idea what was going on.  Unfortunately, the bad service didn't end there. Once we ordered and our food arrived, our waitress disappeared entirely. So when we wanted our check, we couldn't get it. I asked the various members of the waitstaff 4 different times for the bill and still it did not come. After at least a half hour, we finallystood up and put on our jackets. We decided to go ask out front. Lo and behold, our waitress came running over. And finally, asked if we wanted our check. -.-
We were not pleased.
However, I am willing to try the restaurant again to see if the poor service was just a one time problem. The food was great and our company stellar so I'd like to try at least one more time before passing full judgement.

Home For Christmas

I'm home for Christmas!!
I've only been gone for a couple of months but it's nice to be back home for Christmas. It's so nice to see my mom's face and all of my friends faces too.
It is a weird Christmas for me because my brain is still half in Italy. I'm tired, a bit jetlagged and accclimating to changes. So is Mom and I think I'm happier for it.  We exchanged a gift each this morning and now we're just hanging around the house cooking and talking.
Over the last few years Christmas has become a very commercialized holiday. It's about presents and spending and beautiful things piled up under the tree, pretty packages and bows. Expensive gifts, because over the last few years people have been spending on presents like wii and playstations.
Because of this Christmas is not one of my favorite holidays and it hasn't been for a while. I like the idea of exchanging gifts as a mutual sign of affection but recently it's become excessive and we've lost the meaning. We exchange gifts because we have to, because it's an expected practice. We buy things that don't mean anything.
For Christmas this year, I am happy to spend quiet time with my mom and whatever friends pass by. I am happy that we had a simple exchange and that we'll spend the day cooking Christmas dinner and dessert together. We're not going crazy. We're just making ham, sweet potatoes and green beans and then in a bit I'll probably make some kind of delicious dessert.
The whole while I will be thinking of all the good experiences I've had this year. I've met some amazing people and had some wonderful times. I got to meet my half siblings and their families. I've moved abroad again. I'm a teacher. I have the most amazing mother in the world. I have an adventurous baby brother who is living out his dreams and for Christmas I'm home in Jersey with my loved ones and it's fantastic.

I hope everyone else is having an equally splendid Christmas. Enjoy your families and friends. Remember the good in life today and eat some wonderful food!

Recipe: Pomegranate Blueberry Sauce

I love cranberry sauce. Last year, I bought an absurd amount of cranberry sauce for thanksgiving so this year when faced with the impossibility of having any I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. Generally speaking, that's exactly when I become my most creative.
I was in a vegetable market looking around when I suddenly spotted pomegranates. I thought that they would add a nice sweetness but still have enough tang to not be cloyingly sweet.
My main concern was figuring out how to get the liquid out of the pomegranate. There are wayyyy too many seeds so I wasn't sure where to start. Luckily for me, google exists and eventually after a lot of trial and error I found a Rachel Ray recipe that explained how to get the juice out of a pomegranate without going completely mad. Then from there, the rest of the recipe was easy and fun to concoct.
So here it is (complete with how to free the juice from your pomegranate... be warned it was a little messy).

Ingredients:
2 medium pomegranates
500 grams of blueberries (about 2 small containers)
4 tbs sugar
Fruit juice (I found a berry juice at the Italian supermarket that worked perfectly but you could also use a blueberry pomegranite juice from v8 or pom)

Roll your pomegranates on a hard surface. Apply a little pressure but not enough to crack them open.  I rolled my large pomegranate for about 5 minutes and I only cracked the seeds closest to the surface. Keep rolling even longer than you think necessary!  Then over a bowl or a dish, cut into your pomegranate carefull but BE CAREFUL! The juice squirts out and can make a mess (yes, I made a mess). Cut a couple of holes into the pomegranate to make sure you get as much juice out. Then cut into your pomegranate and wonder at how much you missed. :D I wanted to utilize every last drop of pomegranate, so I scraped the seeds into my trusty new blender and blended for a couple of pulses. I then strained the mixture to remove the seeds.
It's a lot of work but definitely worth the effort.
Stir in about a tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. Start cooking down.  As the juice starts to boil add in red pepper flakes and one container of blueberries washed and whole. Add in about a cup of juice.  Bring back to a boil. Stir periodically and taste as the mixture starts to thicken. Add in another tablespoon of sugar and a little more salt. When the blueberries have broken down almost entirely, add a little more juice and salt to the mixture. Bring back to a low boil and add in the other blueberries.
Let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes stirring periodically.  Keep a close eye on the sauce so it doesn't burn or reduce down to much. At this point you should taste and add more pepper flakes and salt to balance out the sweetness.  Cook down to desired consistency.
It shouldn't be too thick, otherwise when it cools it will form a kind of caramel.  But it should easily coat the back of your spoon.

This sauce is utterly delcious with a hint of spice and a nice rich tanginess that complements turkey, chicken or pork (and probably lots of other things as well).

Welcome December!!

Oh my goodness, I am ridiculously full right now!! I just ate a very large plate of Thanksgiving leftovers and it was delicious!  Except I'm superbly full and dying just a little bit of fullness.
We had an amazing and successful Thanksgiving dinner last night. Although we had a Saturday Thanksgiving, it was a lot of fun filled with food and friends.
My menu changed a little with availability of food items and also for sheer timing issues (I was running around like a chicken without a head).
Here's what we actually served (I made everything with Endira's help unless otherwise noted):
Spicy Pumpkin and Carrot soup
Stuffed Mushrooms
Grandma's Stuffed Artichokes
Mashed Potatoes (By Laure and Sian)
Mashed Potatoes (By Ashley)
Stuffing (By Ashley)
Stuffing
Gravy
Pomegranite Blueberry sauce
Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables
Roasted Turkey
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Crumble
Italian Pastries (provided by the Italians)

We were supposed to have string beans as well but we never got around to making them. Seriously, it was that hectic. I'm going to have to post recipes because everything was so delicious.
I was so glad to be surrounded by so many friends. I think everyone had a great time and enjoyed the food. It was such a pleasure to cook for so many people and so much fun seeing the reactions of the Brits and Italians as dish after dish came out.

A lot of pounds of turkey

The eyes seriously widened at the site of our 15 lb turkey (sans wings and legs because I had to cut them off
to fit in the oven lol).  It was bit on the ridiculous side since I was at a work conference on teaching all Saturday, except I came home for a hour in the middle of the day to throw the turkey in the oven. So in total I walked about 2 hours back and forth, I subwayed for an hour. I listened to about 5 hours of lectures and cooked for the rest of the day. All this after about 4 hours of sleep since I had stayed up till around 4am cooking and prepping, stuffed mushrooms, and the pies. But somehow I made a beautiful turkey that everyone loved. And with the drippings, apple and onion I made a great gravy, thick and creamy after reducing on the heat.
It went really well with the mashed potatoes and stuffing that Laure, Sian and Ashley brought with them. So many levels of delicious. So much stuffing and so much mashed potatoes. Ashley's mashed potatoes were amazingly creamy and delicious while Laure and Sian's reminded me of the mashed potatoes from back home, rich and a little thicker.

The Spicy Pumpkin and Carrot soup was utterly delicious but maybe a tad too spicy. Everyone seemed to like it anyway so I'm content. Then we had Grandma's artichokes. Artichokes are very popular in Rome but I decided to make them the way my grandmother always made them stuffed with

Grandma's Artichokes

parsley and garlic and then steamed. They were pretty popular with the Americans and Brits who typically eat the leaves the same way. The Romans I think were a little confused because the way they are prepared in Rome, you can eat the entire artichoke and not just the leaves. I also decided to make my mom's stuffed mushrooms. Since my family couldn't be in Rome with me, I decided to bring them to Rome in the dishes I cooked.  In fact, I made the turkey the same way mom always makes turkey, with an apple and an onion inside and roasted with carrots, onion and celery.

Stuffed Mushrooms: Mamma Bear Style

My whole plate filled with an incredible quantity of food

They major difference to our Thanksgiving was that I forgot the string beans and that I had no way to get a hold of cranberry sauce.  Cranberries don't really exist in Italy unless you go to specialty stores and I just didn't have time so I decided to improvise. I saw pomegranites at the fruit store and thought that they might over the same kind of sweet yet slightly acidic kick offered by cranberry sauce.  I looked up some recipes, unsure of how exactly to "juice" a pomegranite thanks to all the little seeds and found a recipe involving some spice and blueberries as well and I decided to adapt the recipe accordingly. I pomegranite, fresh blueberries, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt to make the perfect complementary sauce for our turkey mean.  It wound up being utterly delicious.  I was surprised at how big a success my substitution was. The pomegranite blueberry sauce was a big hit with just the right combination of sweet and sour, with a hint of heat from the red pepper flakes.  I was very flattered because Endira's Italian lady asked me how I had made it! When an Italian woman asks you for a recipe, the dish must be good. So I was very happy and will definitely be making it again.

My Pumpkin Pie looked pretty good

Then came the desserts. Everything look and tasted delightful but I have to say that I forgot the eggs in my pumpkin pie. I worked from memory and I really should have doublechecked my recipe. As it is, it tasted delicious... It just didn't set correctly.  It's so silly because I even took the time to make letters with the dough and I somehow forgot the eggs like a big dummy. My apple crumble on the other hand was perfect both in appearance and in taste. It was a bit hit, and there was no alcohol in it this time. Normally, I bake with a bit of rum or brandy but this year no time for a liquor store run so I just made everything traditionally.  It came out really well and got devoured.  No more Apple Crumble left.  We have a couple of pastries left but those were utterly delicious as well and I need to find out who brought them from where because I'd like to get more pastries from there!

Delicious Italian Pastries

Everyone really enjoyed the food and company and the wine so I'm very happy that we decided to throw our Thanksgiving feast. It was absolutely worth the effort and cooking time. And we have so many leftovers! We're going to be eating turkey and stuffing for at least a week. I can't wait!