shain

Nice Makes quite a bit of sense too. Wikipedia suggests that the common term in Italian for the specific type of cookie is "cantuccini", "biscotti di Prato".

Noodles with oyster sauce ,caramelized soy sauce and brown sugar, garlic, ginger, cabbage, seitan, scallions, crisp fried onion flakes.

A stop mid way for coffee and leg-stretching at the small town of Skala. The dying sunlight, the quiet, and the somewhat rundown nature of the place gave it a beautifully melancholic vibe. And while it was already quite chill, a cold coffee felt suiting. This was the happened to be the best frappe I had (and non we'll have later would have surpassed it). We continued to arrive at our hotel in Portaria by night, and fall fast asleep.

Biscotti just means cookies, so in Italy most biscotti are baked once But the English usage usually indeed mean the twice baked kind. Like mandelbrot.

Many of those flavors will work with chocolate, but I'd be worried about the quality of said flavors.

Exactly, especially since this rendition was mild in falvor, quite rich and somewhat smooth. We later had a much more interesting and tasty version where the roe flavor was dominant, the texture less smooth and also less rich with oil.

I actually have no idea how they made the spread, but that's what it tasted like, it seemed too smooth to have bread in it. Might have had olive oil, but I couldn't tell. Some garlic, some fish flavor. It was, all things said, light fluffy and quite tasty. Regarding being vegetarian, I just stopped eating meat while being a kid and never started again. I don't have an ideology, and I'm too cynical to think that it has any meaning, with animals in the wild eating each other en masse. It ends up just being a que of what I feel good eating, and what makes me uncomfortable. I think that you can compare to how many avoid specific animals such as rabbits and dogs.

I know only a few basic phrases. Though I can mostly read the Greek alphabet (thanks math classes...). The Greek seems to have very good English skills, those that come to contact with tourists (servers, vendors, hotel stuff, etc.) in particular, as well as the younger generation, but most others as well.

That would be the taramasalata (fish roe salad with mayo). We got it complementary, and while I don't usually eat fish, I tasted it, and found it tasting mostly of mayo with hints of fish (we'll have a better rendition later on).

More french toast, same batch but different flavor. Cardamom, garam masala honey, rose water, cinnamon. Yogurt, nuts and raisins.

As for entering Greece, there were a few forms to fill, no tests are needed for those vaccinated. The airport and flight went smoothly. No meal is served, only water, not that I care, it's just a 1:45 hours long flight to Athens. Landing at the afternoon at Athens, I was randomly chosen to be tested (because of course I do...). It was very quick and left me sneezing for a couple of minutes, but we got to bypass the passport check line We got our rental car and started a ~4 hours long drive to Pelion. First stop was for food, obviously. At a quite neighborhood at the outskirt of Athens, chosen as to minimize the detour time as well as for great reviews. A nice yard, with more people than you'd expect given the location and time of day. During our trip, it was easy to see that restaurants and cafes are integral to the Greek culture. At all times of day, you can find locals sitting at restaurants with friends or families, having a coffee (a cold one), a snack with drinks or a meal. Many restaurants are family owned and the older generation will often sit there while the younger one cooks / serves, or sometimes do the cooking or part of it. Covid ruled require restaurants to only sit guests outside, but that's not an issue with the current weather. They are also required to close at midnight, which might seem late for some, but it seems most locals have their dinner at around 10PM, with most restaurants normally open up to 1AM or even 2, pubs and cafes often later. Bottles of sanitizer are placed on every table, or at least in the entrance. The lack of tourists is also notable, while most restaurants opened up, they are often quite sparse (other than the very popular ones) with dinners mostly being locals or Greek tourists. They might to be compensating for the recent closure period, but as I said, I think restaurant culture is very ingrained. Much like in Italy, bread is served with any meal, and is often a sort of cover charge (though quite a fair one). However, unlike Italy, the bread served feels less like an after thought (in Italy, I was often served stale or tasteless bread). Bread served in Greek restaurants is often wholemeal/rustic, sometimes toasted or grilled, if it's plain than it will usually at least be fresh. We were served taramasalata "on the house", a dish I don't usually eat (my line of vegetarianism passes between seafood and fish - i.e. I don't eat fish, but I eat most seafood other than octopuses). I sampled some, and it tasted mostly like mayo with a hint of fish. The bread was nice. Then we received the main dishes: Grilled clams with garlic sauce, a bit too chewy and the mustard was quite dominant, but still tasty enough. Razor clams with lots of garlic and oregano - much better, though still a bit too aggressive with the spice. Lemon shrimp saganaki - shrimps in creamy lemon sauce, with some garlic, peppers and a cheese I cannot recall the name of but tasted a bit brainy and a bit funky-hay like, with a softer texture than feta. That was a very fine dish, unlike with clams, I don;t mind shrimp flavor being overtaken by other ingredients. BTW, "saganaki" refers to a serving vessel with two handles, in which food is cooked directly and often served in. So there are many saganki dishes, the most common being shrimps, eggplant (cooked in sauce with cheese) and also feta and other cheeses, which is simply fried cheese (not usually served in a saganaki). Two cups of good espresso to keep us going. You may notice with later posts that seafood is quite prominent on our plates. This is because A) unlike meat it's something both me and my father enjoy, B) fresh seafood (other than fish) is not usually available in Israel Parámalo, Kifisia, Greece. A decent meal, but I can't recommend it over other restaurants in Athens.

Thanks all, I appreciate your support and spirit.

It's been more than a year in which international travel was challenging to impossible, but gladly this is changing, as more countries are able to vaccinate their population. Greece had managed to return to a state of near normality, and opted to allow vaccinated individuals to enter. And so I decided to go on a slightly spontaneous vacation (only slightly, we still had almost a month for planning). To the trip I was joined by my father, to whom I owed some good one-on-one time and was able to travel on a short-ish notice. Many people are yet unable to travel, and many countries are suffering quite badly from the virus, and therefore I considered if I should wait some time with this post. However, I hope that it will instead be seen with an optimistic view, showing that back-to-normal is growing ever closer. We returned just a few days ago, and it will take me some time to organize my photos, so this is a teaser until then.

Thanks! If you are not a french toast lover, it will also work well on pancakes. I need no excuse to want to eat french toast - custards are among my favorite desserts and french toast being one of my favorites. And while I enjoy variations, like this one, my favorite will always be the classic with vanilla, maple and a hint of cinnamon.

French toast with vanilla, cinnamon, a bit of anise, some rum, brown sugar. Dulce de leche with a bit of salt, toasted coconut flakes, rum soaked raisins.

I think the searzall is more useful for steaks, where you are actually trying to evenly cook the surface without charring it in spots.

More from the backlog. Pan fried egg pasta (home made, leftover) with brie, mushrooms, thyme, eggs. A salad of lettuce, eggs and a sweet-spicy mustard dressing with lots of pepper and some honey. (worry not, it was mixed for serving) Wine.

Thanks! Is there any other difference other than the flame width? Thanks! I see that this torch has a narrow flame like the ts, do you find it too narrow?

Wok hei is not my main goal for the torch. And I agree that wok hei is not needed in most dishes, as well as that the flavor a torch will bring is not exactly wok hei. I do hope that it will give some grilled flavor, which I think complements many dishes (even if it's not necessary). For example, a few things I might use it on: - Vegetables for salsa, or other salads/sauces where charred flavor is wanted. - Neapolitan pizza, when I feel like having the more traditional texture-flavor. I imagine that I can shorten the baking time to just until the dough is cooked through, then proceed to torch it so that it can some charred crisp spots without drying or over-cooking the cheese. - Browning/melting things that don't fit a pan without turning on the broiler (casseroles, things topped with cheeses etc). - And also charring ingredients in order to add flavor to dishes where it works well - fried rice, some noodles dishes and also non-Asian dishes like (vegetarian) burgers and grilled corn - Any other ideas?

I'm considering purchasing a bernzomatic ts8000 torch. I often char stuff over the direct flame of a gas range, and never noticed off flavor. I don't know if I'm less sensitive or if it's indeed a matter of having a clean burn. Anyone familiar with this torch (or can recommend others)?

Fried rice. Cabbage, scallions, eggs, chopped shrimps. Chili, garlic, ginger. Caramelized soy sauce and sugar, Thai yellow soy beans sauce, MSG.

I used to mix them with some melted butter, and add to the dish before baking. But being a crunch-addict I ended up just putting them on before serving (because the section of flakes that contacts the pasta softens as it bakes). When added post baking, butter is mostly for flavor and I feel it's a bit of gilding the lily. Also, I only use Kelogs for this (some brands have vanilla, too much sugar or lack the toasty taste).

One more from the backlog. 3 cheesed mac and cheese, with 1/3 of it being smoked Gouda. Topped with cornflakes. I love this dish

Japanese curry with vegetables and tofu-katsu.

It is. We give them to family and friends, neighboring kids, eat quiet a lot, and still end up with freezer full of them. They make very good smoothies and quite decent crumbles.