Peter’s Blog

MSG, the secret behind the savor - International Herald Tribune

Turns out all those scares about it being dangerous are just that, scares. So eat up!

“Can you recommend something?”
“No.”

It’s the weirdest thing, but each time when Ville has asked for a recommendation, the server refused. The first time the worker at the La Place cafeteria at the new library refused to recommend something, saying he couldn’t because he worked there. Forgive me for being slow, but isn’t that normally the reason why someone would ask your opinion? However, he is not alone, as our waitress at Brasserie Harkema also refused to give an opinion. Now, it’s one thing to say, “No, I can’t recommend anything, it’s all good,” she didn’t even offer that cop-out. Then again, another worker at the restaurant recommended the venison and, despite it being the most expensive meat dish on the menu, it was a disappointment.

So, now you know, don’t bother asking for recommendations at Amsterdam restaurants.

The other day I walked down to the Reykjavik habor, where I found a small fish store/restaurant called Sægreifinn (the Sea Baron). Inside they had a few benches and a case full of fish skewers. Along with the usual choices (salmon, haddock, etc) that you could chose and give to the women to cook, they also had Minke whale. While I’m all for trying new meats (for instance, I had raw horse sashimi in Japan), I decided I didn’t want to encourage Iceland’s increased whaling. In the end I went to Hamborgarabúllan right near by, where I had a wonderful burger and enjoyed Johnny Cash on the stereo while sitting in the corner next to a Johnny Cash poster.

Icelanders love their hot dogs and it’s the most common form of fast food. Svavar and I just made some tonight. Ingredients include SS mustard (it’s not Nazi, it’s a local brand), remoulade sauce, fresh onion, fried onion pieces, and ketchup. Because I had never had it this way, we also wrapped the hot dogs in bacon first. I probably gained 10 pounds tonight. But soooo good.

If you want to learn more, the Reykjavik Grapevine has a good guide to everything hot dogs and you can even order the necessary ingredients from a Nordic web store.

First, a note on why I’ll be posting some recipes. As my friends know (and they’re probably the only ones reading this blog), I love food. Also, I try to cook almost all my meals, which means that when I’m not lazy I try to make something interesting. Because I’m lazy, things tend to be quick or require little intervention. Of course, this is why I think French Cooking in Ten Minutes is fantastic. It’s one of the few books recognizing that many people need to cook for themselves, and so just want something for one or two people that can be made quickly, not a feast for a family of 4 or 5. And de Pomiane, the author, is a wonderful writer with a nice sense of humor.

Anyway, enough with that. This morning I made French Toast for the first time and had great results (I didn’t use de Pomiane’s recipe, though it’s quite similar). Obviously not the healthiest dish, but oh so delicious. The following should serve one or two people, depending on how hungry people are. I’ve listed everything, to the point of absurdity, since as a student with limited supplies I’m often frustrated to read recipes only to find they require things I don’t have (like a baking pan).

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup (ie 8 oz) of milk (I used semi skimmed)
3 or 4 slices of stale bread (you want it to be stale so that it can soak up a lot of liquid without disintegrating)
butter
salt

Tools
a bowl or pyrex pan or what have you (I used a tuperware box, since I wanted the bread to be able to lie down flat)
a fork
a frying pan
a measuring cup
a bread knife

I just poured my cup of milk into the tuperware box and then cracked the eggs into it and added a little salt. I whipped the mixture until it seemed as well mixed at one could hope. I think cut my stale loaf into thick slices (say 1 cm thick) and placed one slice in the mixture. Once one side seemed saturated I flipped it over and waited for that side to soak up the liquid. In the meantime I placed a generous hunk of butter in the pan and let it melt. I got the best results on my second slice, when the pan was fully heated to the medium heat I wanted and the butter melted right away and began to bubble. I then put the slice right in the middle of the pan and let it cook until the bottom side was golden brown and firm and then flipped it. Be careful that you don’t ripe the saturdated bread while putting it in the pan or flipping it!

Anyway, that’s all there is to it. Many variations exist, with some people mixing nutmeg or cinnamon or brown sugar or maple syrup into the liquid. A little dash of nutmeg and cinnamon sounds good to me! If you’re my friend Tommy you’d probably deep fry the bread instead of pan frying, but I wouldn’t recommend that.