Overcoming homesickness

[Dave Hatfield]

As the holidays near many of us who live outside of our home country begin to have nostalgic feelings for dishes that are popular back home, but are difficult to find or cook where we now live.

As an example, I recently had cravings for cheesecake. Not a dish that's easy to find here in France. I decided to make one, but finding the ingredients was a bit of a challenge. I did succeed and it was worth all of the effort.

What dish do you crave? Can you find it? Or can you find the ingredients? (or acceptable substitutes?) Lets hear from you.

If you made your dish yourself the recipe complete with local sources of hard to find ingredients would help us all.

To start off, here's my cheesecake recipe:

Dave’s Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For the Crust

12 (180 ml) Tablespoons unsalted butter

12 (340g) ounces of cookie crumbs (see later)

6 (90ml) tablespoons caster sugar

For the Filling

4 eggs, separated

24 (680G)ounces of cream cheese (see later)

One lemon

For the topping

I used black berry puree, reduced with gelatin added, but you can use anything you like. The trick is to make sure it will set as a jelly once cold. Quince jelly is nice as is a lemon puree. Cherry is very traditional (both jam & halved cherries)

Equipment:

Mixing bowls & utensils

Approx 7 inch spring form cake tin

Parchment paper

A baking pan large enough to hold the cake tin comfortably. 2”+ deep

Method

- Line the bottom and the sides of the cake tin with the paper making sure that the paper around the side is at least 2 inches high. Use a bit of soft butter as ‘glue’ to hold the paper in place.

- Pre- heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust:

- melt the butter

- Break the cookies into fairly fine crumbs (I bash them in a plastic bag

with a rolling pin)

- Add the sugar to the cookie crumbs

- Pour the melted butter over the cookie- sugar mixture & mix well

- Press the mixture evenly over the lined cake tin, both bottom & sides

try to get the sides at least 1 inch high.

- Bake for roughly 10 minutes, remove from the oven & let cool.

For the cake mixture

- Separate the eggs into separate bowls

- Mix the egg yolks & the cream cheese together until smooth

- Add the juice & zest of the lemon to the mixture & mix in well

- Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks

- Gently fold & mix the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture

- Gently place the mixture into the cake tin with its crust, smoothing over the top & making sure any gaps are filled.

To Cook

- Place the cake tin into the baking pan

- Carefully fill the baking pan with hot water until the level is within 1” of the top of the cake tin.

- Very carefully place the baking tin in the middle of the pre-heated oven.

- Bake for about 1 hour or until the top just browns.

- Remove from oven & remove the cake tin from the water.

- Let cool then place in the fridge.

The topping

- As previously noted the topping needs to set into a jelly like consistency

- I normally use gelatin to achieve this

- As mentioned the topping can be anything you like.

- What is important is that the cake is fully cooled (at least a couple of hours in the fridge) before you put the topping on.

- So, prepare your topping and let it cool, but not set. Then pour it over the cake smoothing as you go. Place the cake back in the fridge (or even the freezer) until the topping has set.

- Now you can remove the cake from the spring for pan & carefully peel off the parchment paper. If you are brave you can lift the bottom of the cake and gently peel off one side then the other of the paper under the cake. If not just leave it and move the cake to a serving plate.

Notes:

- Type of cookies. In the USA Graham crackers are used. I’m told that English digestive biscuits work well. In France I just bought some cheap sugar cookies & they were Ok. Italian almond biscuits should be excellent.

- Cream Cheese. Philadelphia brand is the standard in the USA. I’m told you can find it here, but I haven’t so far. The only thing that works is KIRI. Its fine except for having to peel off the foil around all those little packets. 4 of the 160 gram packets are close to the 24 ounces called for.

[K8memphis]

I am in the USA so I have no dishes to miss necessarily but I am far away from the Chicago area. And I mean you just can't get good Polish sausage around here.

Like some from Misch's or Marusauk's. Oh geez just typing it makes my mouth water!

Whenever we would visit my family in Hammond IN or Calumet City IL area my father-in-law who lived here in TN would have us bring back some Polish sausage. The real stuff.

So I am very thankful to be here in the states--truly I lack for nothing--but I would so dig some sausage like crazy for Christmas. And some of Moms' freakin' pierogi's.

It's nostalgiac anyway even if I'm in country.

I miss the baked goods of the North too.

[piazzola]

Nowadays not much I miss but still few things I want to get hold of like hot fried soufllee potatoes, sweet buns (savoury type) .In the old days nearly everything I wanted to eat in or out was not available.

Like good raw salted cured hams, olive oil, dulce de leche, different fruit pastes, white cheese similar to brie, roquefort cheese, few good quality small goods Italian and Spanish South American style sausages fresh or dried, good assortment of olives especially stuffed ones. I/we managed to buy a pasta machine in the late seventies and still make some these days, boiled condesed milk tins to make dulce de leche, Made jams and sweet quince paste preserves. Learned how to make our own heavy and crusty breads.

These days everybody seem to want to eat what we always have eaten so things have become really expensive especially if labelled Italian or Mediterranean the items carry a premium price tag. So I use alternative cooking Eastern European and Turkish cooking is fine and cheaper than other more fancy ingredients yet delicious.

[Jamie Lee]

I haven't posted here in some time... personal trials - long story, and boring! - but this topic got my interest...

I was living in Germany for a while, and "back then" - circa 1984 - mexican food was non-existant. I could make pico de gallo, guacamole, beans, spanish rice, etc.with "local" ingredients, but was stymied by torillas. (I know better now, but this was pre-eGullet days!)

Twice while I was abroad, my mom sent me Fed-Ex packages of taco seasoning packages and flour tortillas - $3 of ingredients, $30 postage!

If I knew then what I know now... first of all, neither ingredients need be "overnighted"....

...one can make tortillas with a little effort, and

...taco seasoning is a poor substitute for "real spices"

At any rate, both times I had a Tostada Party to die for! I invited all American expats and our German and other nationality friends. Made my own refried beans, tostada meat, laid out fixin's, etc. and it was such a hit!

Now I miss the Greek food I used to get in Deutschland, and the incredible pizza!

Oh, and french food from France, english pub grub from England, italian food from the streets of Italy, danish wonders from Denmark, etc. etc. etc.!

Wouldn't it figure - I miss more now than then!