Oktoberfest is in full force for the 179th year in a row, and while it may not be feasible to fly to Munich right now, you can still bring a bit of Germany to your dinner plate. As I discovered on my recent trip to Deutschland with the German Wine Institute, the country is full of rich culinary traditions, many of which have made their way to the rest of the world. Take a look at some of Germany's most iconic food and drink specialties.
Germany has a serious reputation for its beer and sausages, but it's also one of the world's largest wine producers, with a storied viticultural history that dates back to ancient Roman times. So when the German Wine Institute invited me on a country tour of food and wine, how could I say nein?
My first trip to Deutschland proved to be a mix of fun and educational: there was as much to learn about the German people (kind, and ridiculously punctual) as there was to glean about the food (a blend of old and new) and the wine industry (rapidly evolving). From Frankfurt to Munich to the Pfalz and Baden wine regions in between, take a look at some of the highlights.
For Jewish people all over the world, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a special time of new beginnings and rebirth. Other than attending synagogue for the High Holidays, there's one major tradition that Jews all over the globe share: the Rosh Hashanah dinner. Family and friends gather for a delicious feast to celebrate and pray for a sweet New Year. Whether you're a seasoned diner at these events or you're going to your very first Rosh Hashanah meal, here are some great recipes to help get the New Year kicked off right!
Despite my love of Jewish food, I must confess I've never held a deep understanding of gefilte fish. Growing up, I'd stare at jars of those cloudy, floating Manischewitz members with a mixture of intrigue and disgust. What, exactly, was gefilte fish? I wondered. Did people actually eat that?
Now that I have the palate of an adult, I'm no longer disgusted, but as someone who's never tried gefilte fish, I remain intrigued. Gefilte is actually Yiddish for "stuffed," and this dish is really just white fish that's been chopped, seasoned with carrots, onions, and eggs, stuffed back into the skin of a fish, poached, then served chilled. Find out the story behind its creation when you read more.
We're daydreaming of a trip to the land of pasta and prosciutto, but we don't yet have a trip to the continent on the books. Until then, we'll play virtual tourist. So follow along, but fair warning: this roundup of quintessential Italian treats is sure to cause tortuous hunger pangs.
This week, I've passed most of my time watching athletes compete from every country around the world. Between that and the frenzy that is Summer travel, there's little I can do to curb the intense cravings I have for all sorts of global fare, be it Japanese tonkotsu ramen or Greek souvlaki.
If there's one cuisine I crave the most, though, then it's Eritrean. As with Ethiopian cuisine, Eritrean cuisine's mainstay is the fermented, spongy, sour flatbread known as injera, which gets topped with vegetables, meat, and seafood, then eaten out of hand. Unlike Ethiopian food, Eritrean cooking incorporates a number of seafood items and warmer-weather vegetables, like tomatoes and eggplant. In my house, misir wat, a berbere-spiced lentil stew, is the most frequently requested ethnic dish of all. I order it from my favorite restaurant at least once a week, and it's not unheard of for me to eat it for dinner three nights in a row.
Tell me: what cuisine is your Eritrean equivalent? Spill the beans on your favorite ethnic dish below.
Never experimented with fleur de sel, herbes de Provence, or even French lentils? That's OK, because we're going to share our favorite products to bring that much-needed je nais se quoi to your table. For those not too familiar with French cuisine, it relies heavily on ingredients like butter, fresh fines herbes (translation: fine herbs), and citrus like lemon, but despite the use of predominantly perishable items, there are a number pantry staples each Francophile should keep in the kitchen. Store the best of France in your cupboard with these 10 essentials.
While we're not planning a trip to the land of stinky cheese and pastry anytime soon (le sigh), a girl can dream, so we've created a bucket list of sorts for what we'd eat if the travel gods blessed us with a plane ticket. Follow along for Bastille Day (or any day), and share your favorite French eats in the comments.
Source: Thinkstock
I recently embarked on a search for Germany's so-called "king of cakes," or baumkuchen, a hollow, concentric cake that's made by applying layer after layer of batter on a rotating spit. I discovered the hard-to-find pastry at Lutz Bakery and Pastry Shop, an old-school Central European bakery in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood.
In the baumkuchen research that followed, I learned that the cake is not just a delicacy in its home country; it's also been one of the most popular pastries in Japan since it was first brought over to the country after World War I. Thanks to its ring shape, baumkuchen is also a popular Japanese wedding staple.
Keep reading for more on Japanese-style baumkuchen.
Wishing you could travel the world this Summer? Expand your culinary horizons and take a tasty trip around the world, while sitting at your dinner table. We've selected five fast and easy meal ideas that will have you traveling from Ireland to the Philippines and back again. But why stop at just food? Make this a fun and exciting week by listening to music from the country of the day while you chow down.
