In Bruges...and Beyond!

On our full day in Bruges, we had a lot we wanted to accomplish, but there's always time for meals on vacation so we wandered the town, looking for a place to eat breakfast. Breakfast isn't the same in Belgium as it is back home, so when we sat down at Miss Ellie's tea room, and ordered omelettes, they informed us that it was normally a lunchtime menu item. Well, we were both starved (after 13 hours of much-needed sleep), and they were willing to serve it to us anyway, so we went with it! This might have been the best omelette I've ever had! Fluffy, cheesy, and seasoned perfectly, this one totally hit the spot! Our coffees even came with little Belgian chocolates! This place is a winner!!

We then ventured to the bell tower in the center of Bruges for a mid-morning climb and a view of the whole city. After this excursion, as well as a few cathedrals, it was time for a late lunch. We approached one of the many bars with outdoor seating, since it was just lovely outside, and he informed us that they served three things: lasagna Bolgonese, spaghetti Bolognese, and ham and cheese. Well, okay, a spaghetti and a lasagna it is! Along with a beer, this meal hit the spot. I never order lasagna in restaurants but this one was just delicious!

We continued on, shopping and sight-seeing some more but then, I had an idea. The #2-rated restaurant in Bruges, according to TripAdvisor, is a wonderful little tearoom called Bittersweet, and I wanted to make a point of visiting it before we left. They make their hot chocolate in a very unique way, and it is just divine!! They brought us two cups of steamed milk, in Bodum thermal cups. Alongside the milk were two chocolate tulips, filled with thin pieces of more chocoloate. The woman explained what we must do: drop the tulip into the milk, and when it sinks all the way to the bottom, stir, stir, stir! I ordered dark chocolate, and my husband ordered milk chocolate, so our drinks tasted very different. The dark chocolate was richer, yet a bit less sweet with the purer of the chocolate grades. The were both, however, very rich and totally delicious! I don't think any other hot chocolate will ever compare!

My husband also ordered another waffle, with homemade chocolate sauce to pour on top! YUM!!!

A few hours later, we stumbled upon a gathering of bars that we hadn't seen before, and one of them boasted "Moules + Frites" for 10 euros (we couldn't leave Belgium without having mussels, we were told!!). Everywhere else seemed to be charging an arm and a leg for them so this seemed like a great deal! We sat ourselves, as seems to be the custom in Bruges, and ordered beers (of course) as well as two bowls of mussels, one with a garlic broth, and one with the house broth made of beer, and other seasonings. We also got some garlic bread for sopping up the broth. While the broth could have been seasoned a bit more heavily, the mussels were plumb and beautifully cooked! We got a huge bowl of them, along with a small plate of "frites." One more thing we can check off our list: "Moules + Frites."

We finished off our evening with a drink at one of the few bars we found to be "hoppin," full of young adults enjoying a few beers on a Friday night. They were playing good music, and it was fun to have found a local hang-out!

When we woke up in the morning, we headed directly to the train station with our luggage, so we could make the most of our day in Brussels, before catching our train to Cologne this evening. We stopped for coffee in the station, but waited until we arrived in Brussels to get a meal.

Once in Brussels, we were starving and made our way towards one of our destinations, the Mannequin Pis. This small statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain is really one of the must-sees of Brussels! On the way, we came across a lovely little cafe called Le Cercle de Voyageurs. I loved the creative menu, and the place looked interesting so we went in. There was an eclectic mix to choose from, with clever names for each dish as well. I opted for the salmon tartare, made with fresh ginger and green apples. It was served on three giant pieces of hearty wheat bread, and really satisfied my hunger. I found myself looking forward to each bite, especially the sweet crunch of apple which paired so nicely with the spicy ginger flavor, as well as the salmon. My husband had an Indian-inspired lamb dish that was also packed with flavor!

After some sight-seeing in Brussels for the day, it was time to hop on another train, this time heading into Germany! Our first stop in Germany is Cologne, but we'll only be there for a day, so I have a feeling it will be a busy one! We grabbed some sandwiches for the train ride with the hopes that we'd settle in to our hotel with time to get a late dinner once we arrived in Cologne.

We arrived at the hotel later than expected, and opted to stay in-house and eat dinner at the hotel restaurant. Our hotel seemed a little further out of the way than the one in Brugues, but Cologne is also a much larger city. I compare it to staying in Allston, and having to take the green line from the center of Boston to get there! I saw Spaetzle on the menu, and that's what I've been looking forward to! Spaetzle is a boiled dough, similar to pasta, but made by pressing the dough through a spaetzle-maker, or colander, to make droplets, that expand as they are boiled. It is a German delicacy, and this restaurant was no exception. They cooked their spaetzle in a cream sauce, and I chose to have it with veal, although it could have been served with fried champignons, or pork as well. The veal was cooked perfectly, and the spaetzle was delicious! I'm really looking forward to more German food!

Tomorrow, we will explore Cologne, and then hop on another train, heading to Stuttgart! The travels continue! Stay tuned for more European eats! I hope you are all enjoying the trip so far!

Travelling to Bruges

Well, here we are in Bruges! After a long trip involving planes, trains and automobiles, we've finally arrived in this beautiful city, full of canals and medieval architecture. It seems a lot more peaceful than the end of the movie I watched on the first leg of our journey, In Bruges! A violent, and strange, story, but the scenery in the film was beautiful... And rightly so, it's even prettier in real life!

Of course, traveling makes one hungry so we got to the airport in Boston with plenty of time for a decent meal! You can't expect to keep your energy up on airplane food! We found a cozy little place in Terminal B, called Bonfire, owned by celebrity-chef, Todd English. The menu items range wildly in price, but we both managed to find moderately priced choices so we asked for a table!

I always like to start a vacation off with a cocktail, and the Cable Car caught my eye! It seemed to represent the bartender's creative idea of a Side Car, one of my favorite drinks! Containing Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, fresh sour mix (always a plus!) and Triple Sec, this libation was served in a cinnamon-rimmed cocktail glass, with a slice of fresh orange. It did taste a bit like a Side Car, and was quite refreshing! Happy vacation to us!

We opted to share a salad before our main courses arrived, and the Bonfire Blue salad sounded pretty darn good. When the plate arrived, I was happy to see we had made a great choice for sharing. Two halves of a head of iceberg lettuce sat atop tomato slices and Spanish red onions. The lettuce was slathered with creamy dressing and large chunks of rich, blue cheese. We each dug into our wedge of lettuce and thoroughly enjoyed the start to our meal! Perfect for two!



As we finished our salad, the entrees arrived. While the menu boasted burgers, sandwiches, and even a filet mignon option, I was intrigued by another list of menu choices....the Bonfire Taqueria. There were a few different options to choose from, but I opted for the Baja Style Fish Tacos, made with fried Mahi Mahi, caper aioli, and topped with a radish and jalapeño slaw. I was pleasantly surprised when the dish came, because there was also a large dollop of guacamole! The tacos were flavorful and tasty, and the Mahi Mahi was fried nicely...not greasy or heavy, but light and fluffy, and delicious! Once we had enjoyed the heck out of our first vacation meal, we headed to our gate, eagerly awaiting our flight to London.

As predicted, the food on the plane was the opposite of appetizing, so it's a good thing we ate prior to boarding. However, by the time the first leg of our travels had come to a close, my tummy was rumbling! Once we cleared security at Heathrow, we were surprised to find that we had time for a quick "brekkie" at one of the terminal eateries, Giraffe! This place reminded me a bit of Disney World, for some reason, but they boasted smoothies and that sounded like it would hit the spot!

I am not a fan of banana, or anything banana-flavored, but every smoothie included the fruit so I was brave, and decided to order one anyway. The "Hippy Hippy Shake" was made with pineapple, passion fruit, mango, banana, passion fruit and pomegranate juice. While I could still taste the banana in the smoothie, it was a pretty tasty smoothie, and quite refreshing for a middle-of-the-night snack, if we're talking about the time zone I'm on right now!

For breakfast, I had Scrambled Eggs on Toasted Focaccia with roasted tomatoes! The focaccia was salty, with a lovely hint of rosemary in every bite. It was also toasted to perfection, and the scrambled eggs, while a tad overcooked, made the bread just soggy enough to make it worth eating with a fork, in a good way!

They gave us very quick and friendly service with a smile, and then we were off to the gate for our departing plane to Brussels. By the time we finally arrived in Brugges, I was ready for a shower so we headed to the hotel to wash up before heading out to explore.

We stopped in at a local "watering hole" called Cafe Craenenburg for a beer and a waffle...Belgian Waffle! The beer that my husband ordered for me was called Kriek and was brewed from dark cherries. It was delicious, and I'll be looking for it back in the States. Even a beer hater would love the flavors of this one!!!

As for the waffle, I ordered one with cherries on it, and boy, I sure am happy I did. They were fresh, pitted cherries, cooked down to have a soft, decadent consistency while still maintaining their original shape! They were warm and the juices seeped into the waffle, creating a natural syrup! My first real Belgian Waffle was a big hit!

After our snack, Matt wanted to visit the local brewery where they make the beer he had just enjoyed. We made the short trek, and opted to share a Quadruple Ale by Straffe Hendrik. It has a dry taste with spicy notes, but it is very, very strong! Good thing we shared one!! I do like the chocolate-y after taste I get from each sip of this one!

Now that we've successfully obtained a slight buzz for the strongest half a beer I've ever drank, it's off to find sustenance in the form of dinner!!! We wandered around the area where most of the restaurants are located, browsing menus and noticing how early we were to start looking for dinner. We were off in our times though, so we'll save local customs for tomorrow. We settled on a Flemish restaurant called 'T Huidevettershuis. We decided to both order from the three-course price fixe menu entitled Flemish Heritage.

I opted for a "bouillabaisse" as my starter, it was not what I traditionally associate with the term. Instead, I received a rather dark fish broth, with tiny shrimps, and a small fillet of fish, topped with some caviar. It was tasty, but by the time I had finished the bowl, I was getting a bit tired of the fishiness present in each bite.

For my entree, I opted for the Eel in Greenery, because the other option was venison, and I don't particularly like it. I was a bit skeptical about the dish I had ordered but it seemed to be a Flemish delicacy so I gave it a go! Oh my goodness, I am so glad I did!! The eel was buttery, flaky and full of flavor. It was so very different from the eel you find topping sushi rolls in the US! It didn't taste like chicken, like I normally compare it, at all! It was a beautifully cooked piece of seafood that just melted in my mouth!

For dessert, we had a sinful chocolate cake with a delicious scoop of ice cream. I couldn't place the flavor but it was so delicious and creamy...I will definitely be focusing on some more desserts tommorow!

That was our first day in Bruges, and at the end of it (by end, I mean 8pm) we were beat and went back to the hotel for some R & R. Tomorrow's a new day!!!

And we're off....



from Flickr - by bruxelles5

This evening, I fly across the Atlantic to London, where I will transfer planes and arrive in Brussels. We'll hop a train to Bruges, and before you know it, we'll be settling in to the beautiful city along the canals where we will spend the following two days! Once I finally obtain sustenance in this country, I will certainly write to you, my wonderful readers! Be on the lookout, and follow me as I make my way through Belgium, Germany, and the Czech Republic, enjoying all the fine delicacies these three cities have to offer! I can't wait!

Zombie Apocalypse: Success!

Greetings from the aftermath of the Zombie Apocalypse! It was a success! Everything went off without a hitch, and the ghoulish goodies that follow pleased even the pickiest of eaters! Now, I've already posted the menu, but it was a bit cryptic, to say the least, and now, it's time to put a name with a face, so to speak!

For starters, we had the Crypt Keeper, our signature drink of the evening. While I don't have a picture of this, I did serve it in a big cauldron! It consists of apple cider, whiskey, and ginger ale, and it was delicious! I googled drinks using apple cider since this is definitely the season for it, and there's just something about apple cider that brings me into fall. This recipe is definitely a keeper...a crypt keeper!!
Ha!

On to the savory dishes on the table at this apocalypse, shall we? I'll start with the Cured Epidermis. Sounds gross, right? Well, it's simply proscuitto slices, heated in the oven for about 10 minutes, until crispy and sizzling. I've linked the recipe here, but I would definitely keep an eye on this while it cooks, because I found the timing to be a bit off. Salty, crunchy and delicious...with an equally disturbing title!

On the same platter as the Cured Epidermis, I placed my Mummy's Bandages. This is simply a baked brie, that I made to look like a mummy. After wrapping the brie in a layer of rolled-out puff pastry, I cut the leftovers into strips and then wrapped it up. I used currents for the eyes, and this was probably my favorite item on the table. It just came out so great!!!

The Sinister Salsa is merely a guacamole, with the addition of some black beans, making it look mucky and swampy. It still looked appetizing, and tasted just as great, but there's something about black lumps in something brightly colored to make it look a bit on the eerie side!

The Bat Wings are, obviously, chicken wings, but I made three different kinds! The first kind had a soy sauce marinade, and the recipe called for black paste food coloring, which I couldn't find. As a result, the wings were brown, but not dark enough to really resemble bat wings, but still...I think my guests got the gist. The other two flavors came from the same recipe, that included a sauce for spicy wings, and a sauce for honey mustard wings. (for this second recipe, again, watch the timing...40 minutes is WAY too long to let wings cook under a broiler...I'd say they were ready in less than 15) I put them all in a bowl together, and I apologize for the quality of the photo...that one didn't work out so well!

Devils on Horseback, you say? What could those possibly be!? If you guessed, bacon-wrapped dates and prunes, you'd be correct! These took a bit of time to prep but I used the time that my oven was busy baking all sorts of desserts to prep the savory items for cooking, right before the party started. There are many different recipes out there for this savory appetizer. To stuff or not to stuff, seems to be the question, but I opted for just the dried fruit, and the bacon. Yum!

Now, we also have guest contributions to the table, and I took some pictures of my friend Sherlly's Eyeballs with Pasta. The "eyeballs" are made out of mozzarella balls, with olives! How creepy is that!?!?! My friend, Heidi, also brought some delicious calzones!

And now, for all you sweet teeth out there, we have plenty of desserts decorating our Halloween table! First and foremost, my favorite - Pumpkin Pasties. Pasties are a British delicacy, and can have savory or sweet fillings. For this particular pastie, it's pie dough, wrapped around a pumpkin filling, to make little pies. Pumpkin pasties are also served on the night that Harry Potter and all his friends arrived at Hogwarts to begin each school year!

Witches' Fingers are cookies, that I used a special pan to shape. You can use pretty much any cookie recipe, as long as you have the pan, and I tinted the dough with green food coloring before the mixing was completed. Once cooked, I used red gel icing to decorate the fingernail of each cookie, tying it all together. Before I put the icing on, they didn't look as much like fingers as they do in the final product!

The cupcakes I made, and coined poisoned, are obviously not poisoned, but they do tend to insinuate the macabre. I used a yellow cake recipe, and then swirled in some raspberry jam for a yummy base, and used a vanilla icing before adding the decorations. They speak for themselves! :)

As for the guest contributions in the dessert category, Heidi made this beautiful Spider Web Cake, with butter cream frosting and a raspberry layer within the cake! She also made some amazing zombie, haunted house and Dracula cookies that could rival any bakery! 

As you can see, I love throwing a good themed party! Use your creativity to make ties between your theme, and the names of your menu items! It's fun for you, and it's fun for the guests, and it definitely makes for a more creative evening. If you want to throw a creatively themed party of any kind, but need a little help getting started, I'd love to help! Shoot me an email, and we can come up with an arrangement for me to help you plan your next shindig! Menu planning, time management, and shopping list generation are only a few of the things that can make or break a good event, and I'd love to lend a hand!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

The Big Reveal

I'm elbow deep in fabric, needles and thread, making our costumes for Saturday night. My fridge is on the empty side as I try to make room for the Halloween party goodies, and also clear things out so we don't have food going bad while we're on vacation! I'm sitting in front of a fire in the living room, in my thermal pjs, as I write this post. Winter is definitely upon us!

Since I'm not really cooking dinner tonight (we ordered Thai food - yum!) and I'll start posting about all the Halloween goodies as I prepare them tomorrow evening, I thought I would reveal my menu for the party! While some of my readers are close friends that will be less then surprised when they get here if I do this, I wanted to share with all of my readers, and so...here it is. I will leave the descriptions of each item off, until I've prepared them, and can show pictures....that way, there's still a hint of surprise!

Mummy's Bandages

Cured Epidermis

Sinister Salsa

Bat Wings

Pumpkin Pasties

Devils on Horseback

Witches' Fingers

Poisoned Cupcakes

As for beverages, I'll be concocting something special in my cauldron - something called a Crypt Keeper!

I'll leave you all to your wicked imaginations, dreaming up what these menu items could possibly represent! Fun, isn't it? :)

Whipping Up Some Dinner

Well, the Halloween Party preparations are in full swing, and when I came home from work today, there were talking skeletons in my stairwell! My husband had already started decorating! It made me smile, and I'm starting to get very excited for Saturday night. I made some labels for my ghoulish dishes, that look like they are on aged parchment, and I think the menu is set. We went out to gather some materials for our costumes, but the shopping trip was sort of a bust. The pet store didn't have the costume I wanted for Oia in her size, and the art supply store didn't have the fabric I was looking for, so...I had to get creative with some felt. We'll see what happens!

When we got home, it was already 7pm, and we hadn't eaten so I looked in the fridge for something I could throw together rather quickly. I had some mussels in the fridge, some zucchini and summer squash, and in the pantry, I found a box of penne. I did a little googling and found this great recipe on the Food & Wine website for Pasta with Mussels. Well, that works, let's give it a go!

While I waited for my water to boil, I debearded the mussels and set some white wine and bay leaves to boil in a dutch oven. Once it came to a boil, I steamed the mussels, covered, for about 5 minutes and then drained the broth into a bowl. The mussels got pulled from their shells and placed in a melted butter bath, while I sprinkled some saffron into the mussel broth.

I had also put some thickly sliced zucchini and summer squash into a 350 degree oven, seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil and some dried thyme. I allowed that to just cook in there while I was doing everything else, since it's not dinner without a veggie side dish! Once the mussels were sitting in their bath of butter, I poured some olive oil into the pot and fried up some thinly sliced garlic cloves, until lightly browned, adding some red pepper flakes at the very end. At that point, the broth was added to the pot, along with some lemon juice, and I continued to reduce the concoction until the pasta was done. I drained the pasta, added it to the pot with the broth, and the butter and mussels, and tossed everything around until properly coated.

I served the dish alongside the roasted zucchini and summer squash, and voila, a meal in less than an hour! If you have ingredients, and you aren't in the mood to get creative, do some google-searching and I guarantee you'll find something you can throw together. If you always have some spices on hand, along with olive oil, garlic, onions, lemons and chicken broth, I find that it's pretty simple to find a recipe that can at the very least be improvised upon! There's even a little time to put my feet up and relax before bedtime! It was a very productive day!

Bluegrass and Brews

Today, I got in the car with my good friends, Kevin and Sherlly, and we headed out to Bolton, MA for Oktoberfest at the Nashoba Valley Winery. Aside from the locally brewed ales, there were delicious things to eat, winery tours and wine tastings, bluegrass music, and wonderful company! While chilly, we had a relatively good day, weather-wise, and we carved out our spot on the lawn, laying our blankets, opening our camp chairs, and of course, heading off to the beer line!

I opted for the Oaktoberfest brew. I was drawn to the description because it mentions vanilla as one of the undertones of flavor, and I found that intriguing.

I'm glad I went with the Oaktoberfest. I really enjoyed the taste and density. I don't know much about beer, but I'm trying to learn. I know I'll be learning quite a bit as we travel through Belgium and Germany, two weeks from now, and I promise to pass those tips and tricks on to all of you!

But now, we move on to the food! I followed my friend Kevin over to the "snack shack" first, where he purchased a caramel-coated, cider donut. This delicious, apple-y donut was drizzled with a thick, warm coating of gooey caramel. You had to eat it with a fork, and I got to have a bite! Because this winery makes most of their wines from apples, you will find that many of the items I speak of today include apple. At the "snack shack," I also picked up a caramel-coated apple, wrapped in tin foil, to bring home to my husband!

After our trip to the "snack shack," we settled into a very long line in the main food area, to await our turn to place an order. With burgers and hot dogs to choose from, the menu item that stood out to me was the Apple BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich...and it did NOT disappoint! There was a sweetness to the BBQ sauce that was just enough to give a richness to the tender pork, but yet, it was savory at the same time. I tend to lean towards pulled pork at events like this because it's less likely to be overcooked...and again, I scored there. The pork was delicious, tender and moist, and just oozing with the delicious sauce!

There was an offering of Macaroni and Cheese on the "Sides" menu, and I had to try it. I know I've told you all before, I have a weakness for Mac & Cheese, and this one was really good. The flavor that was noticable in this version was rosemary, I think. It might have been thyme, but I'm leaning towards rosemary, and I thought it added a really interesting twist to an otherwise generic dish for a BBQ. It was hot, gooey, and hit the spot on this chilly afternoon!

All in all, we had a really fun day at Nashoba Valley Winery. I bought myself a bottle of wine, enjoyed good eats, good drinks and wonderful company! This was certainly a weekend full of laughter and wonderful memories, and it was nice to sit back, and just relax.

Tomorrow, back to the grind, and getting ready for the Halloween party on Saturday evening. I think I have the menu in place, now I just have to start cooking...and put the finishing touches on our costumes!

P.S. Thanks to my friend, Drae, for the name of this post!