Meatball Quest

So I'm just slightly obsessed with tasting different homemade meatballs. Be they in homes, be they in Italian restaurants or American restaurants or Middle Eastern restaurants or wherever, the obsession is in full force. I don't think I even realized how much I enjoyed trying these delicacies until I noticed how rare it can be to find an especially good one, and how much I love when that happens.

The meatball is a true rock star of Italian and other cuisines. Typically a combination of several high quality ground meats (beef, pork, lamb, veal, sausage itself are possibilities). They are bound together and prepared in mysterious and varying ways, such that no two meatball recipes ever yield the exact same meatball. A perfect meatball can be fluffy and savory, crispy and sweet or dense and spicy. Or you can jumble those adjectives up a different way and you'd be right. The perfection comes from that feeling deep down you get when the meatball has IT. Too dry, bad spice combo, too greasy or not held together well and the meatball can quite easily flop.

To taste a meatball I really don't need to bother with a whole plate of spaghetti with it. That is nice, but often I'd rather just try the meatball as a little appetizer or tasting or tapas. Maybe just one or two meatballs too, depending on the size. Of course a little sauce and maybe a little cheese is needed, depending on the cuisine. And I don't look for anything but that “ooh” and “aah” factor that the meat and the spices and the consistency and the heat and the warmth and the sauce and the oil and the texture and the love bestow upon my tongue. Nothing more. But that's asking a lot. They aren't always easy to find.

This weekend I was lucky though. At one of my favorite restaurants, Chef Geoff's Downtown in Washington DC, with Julia and my parents, not only did they have homemade meatballs, but they had a small taste portion (and rightly with sauce but not pasta). Of course I ordered this tasting and I was surprised to receive a little plate with as many as eight or ten little meatballs covered with a thin layer of tomato sauce and Grana Padano. I was certainly more suspicious than usual, as I was sharing the table with one of the great meatball makers, my very own Mom. She makes one of the lightest, fluffiest, most delicate, yet extremely tasty Italian meatballs that I've ever encountered. So that example tends to be my personal standard bearer. To their credit though, Chef Geoff's makes a mean meatball as well, though quite different. These meatballs are small and a little denser than most. But they were incredibly tender and moist still and brimming with flavor and a nice spicy kick. The sauce and cheese just added to the overwhelming savory gush that each bite entailed and I found my self savoring and gobbling simultaneously. These were quite worthy. And my Mom, after a couple enthusiastic tastes, agreed.

I'll continue to be on the lookout for awesome homemade meatballs and fill in from time to time on the most noteworthy and taste-worthy.

Village Gem

During our New York visit last weekend, I made it a point to go down to my old stomping grounds – Soho and the NYU/west village area – from when I spent a summer living in Manhattan. There are just so many tiny spots in these neighborhoods to eat and drink well in countless cultures and styles. Italian cuisine is foremost though; it's only 5 blocks from Little Italy. I love this part of New York! On MacDougal Street, between Bleecker and Houston, there's one of my favorite hidden gems: Focacceria. It's a tiny little place, split between perhaps 6 tables outside and 6 inside. The menu is simple: Italian classic entrees and fresh made pasta dishes along with an assortment of wonderful classic hot and cold Italian sandwich combinations on the gorgeous tomato or rosemary focaccia bread that is made fresh in the store each day. They'll give you some bread for the table no matter what. So even if you order primavera or melanzana or gamberi or vodka or 1 of their other 25 pasta sauces/dishes over 1 of their 8 pasta types – or get chicken or veal parmesan, picatta or marsala or ravioli, you'll still get to try the focaccia.

Their entrees are fantastic and fresh, but for me I need more than just a little hunk of focaccia. I need the full Italian sandwich on focaccia and the light green mesclun green salad that accompanies it. From combinations like fresh mozzarella with tomatoes, roasted peppers and olive oil to prosciutto, sopresseta, fontina, tomato and greens to sandwich versions of eggplant or chicken parmesan, I cannot and never was able to resist getting ANYthing from Focacceria that was not squarely situated in between two pieces of that lovely focaccia. It's pillowy and warm, crusty on the outside with zings of flavor from top to bottom. Throw in my personal favorite salami, prosciutto, provolone, tomatoes and greens and I'm in heaven. Every bite has tang and salt, crunch and softness. Makes my mouth water just sitting here. If you've ever been in this neighborhood, you might have walked right by the tiny Focacceria. But if you have, you just walked by the delicious sparkle of this village gem – the unrivaled focaccia.

Housewarming Cooking: Italian Influence

My series on cooking for our housewarming party continues today with the contributions from Italian food. I'm nearing the end (and the pictures will come soon), but you can still read about the chicken tower, the BBQ pork, the pastry appetizers or the fried food to get the full experience of what we were eating a couple Fridays ago.

One of the Italian dishes I made was my famous panzanella, an Italian bread salad. I've recounted the recipe on here on several occasions (in several forms even) and I can't say I changed much for the paarty. I just amped up the proportions, so I could make a big enough bowl. The dressed mixed greens with diced Roma tomatoes and red onions made a perfect base for those crispy, chewy, salty grilled bread croutons, which make panzanella so delicious when interspersed throughout the rest of the salad and dressing. This salad always surprises people when they taste it because it looks so simple (and people usually miss the bread visually), but when they taste their first crouton, they are instantly hooked and can't stop raving. That's why I make it, serve it and love to eat it over and over and over again.

The second Italian-themed dish I created was an appetizer take on the classic baked ziti: baked ziti cups. That's right – individualized little baked zitis in their own foil muffin wrappers. It was a (clever) idea of mine that Julia doubted would work. Since they DID work and she lost the bet, I get to harass her publically about it. We kid.

The dish couldn't have been easier. I made two boxes of small ziti or penne tube pastas by boiling them in salted water until just al dente. In this case, I mean three quarters of the cooking time max, but I always sample a piece of pasta every two minutes or so. I didn't make my own marinara for the party but instead warmed a jar’s worth each of regular marinara and spicy marinara sauces. After draining the pasta, I returned it to the pot and tossed it well in the warmed marinara sauce combination. Then I mixed and melted in an entire bag of shredded mozzarella cheese to be the “glue” for the pasta so it would be delicious and stand up in those cups.

To finish up, I filled two muffin pans with the foil muffin liners and then filled each of those 24 cups with a scoop of ziti, as neatly as possible and just over the top of the cup. Then I used another bag of shredded cheese to top each cup with a large pinch to create a melty layer on top. I put them in the oven until the cheese was golden and bubbly – this also helped to lock in the moisture in the pasta. The cups came out looking and tasting great and they worked quite well in the small packages. People thought they were a lot of fun: they could literally peel off the wrapper and eat it, eat it with a fork right in the wrapper or eat it like a cupcake. They were quite popular, especially once people realized what the heck they were.

Italian dishes are always popular among a wide group of people – and easy to make vegetarian – so they make tremendous party dishes. I could probably do an entire spread of easy Italian favorites. Maybe soon?

You-Me Pizza

Finding a good pizza can be tricky. Sometimes it happens though when you least expect it. Like when you just stumble in starving. This is what happened late one evening with Luigi's on 19th near M, south of Dupont Circle in DC. Exiting Science Club bar next door, all we wanted was pizza and there it was, still open. Ah, reminded me of the college days (last year) when food and drink were always in easy proximity.

We got a nice little table and a friendly waiter, who quickly confirmed that pizza here was a good choice. No small, medium or large here – you just tell them how many you want to eat for. We said two, and lo and behold, we got the perfect amount of pizza in our pie – maybe halfway between a small and medium and quartered.

Of course toppings were of utmost importance and they have many. Most were fresh, Italian ingredients including many meats and cheeses. Going for a tasty vegetarian one, we asked for garlic, green olives and Mediterranean olives. Good choices for a you-me pizza.

The pizza was sort of that perfect thin but not too thin, with a little chewiness that I love. The sauce and cheese had great taste, so I could tell they were of good quality. And genius! The garlic we ordered was diced tiny and actually incorporated into the cheese, so that beautiful flavor ran throughout, rather than forcing us to eat chunks of garlic or being too garish of a flavor in any one place. We both thought that was a delicious and clever aspect that really made the pizza divine. Of course the olives were great too – not too many, but just enough for that texture and tang that I absolutely need in a pizza. I love mushrooms and love onions, but never order them for me on a pizza without any additional tang or it will be the blandest pizza ever.

Well this pizza was not cursed by blandness. All aspects were well made, good quality, and that is enough to make a great pizza for me. We don't even eat too much pizza because it can be so hard to find one that's worth the, well, you know, kilocals. But when we do, we are very happy campers. You-me love our yummy.

Italian, Piano & Love

For our anniversary last weekend, Julia and I decided to have a simple, romantic, Italian dinner in DC. Julia chose Tuscana West, near 13th and I Streets NW (across from Franklin Square). It was a rather unassuming place, but inside was very elegant and romantic, so we got comfy very quickly, even after long work days both. The atmosphere was quiet enough for conversation, but still pleasant and bustling enough that we didn't feel isolated in our cozy booth.

We had a fruity and drinkable Sangiovese blend bottle of wine to start, selected from an extensive book of intimidatingly expensive wines. There were some more reasonable bottles worked in, so it was all right. Speaking of menus, we actually chose to discard the Restaurant Week menu, as the offerings seemed a little lamer than the menu itself. Good for them though, I attribute that more to the quality of the regular menu than the complete lack thereof in the RW menu.

Julia started with a very interesting salad, which I neglected to even try because I was quite wrapped up in my own salad: a filet mignon Carpaccio salad with arugula, capers, lemon juice and olive oil. The acidity of the accoutrements paired quite well with the generous array of silky, tender, uber-thin slices of filet. I found it to be delicate and the flavors really popped. It was so light and went down so smooth that I had to slow down to savor each morsel.

For our main entrees, we both ordered selections from their fresh made pasta offerings: Julia, a papparadelle with wild mushrooms, and I, a lobster ravioli with a lobster bisque sauce and chunks of lobster. Julia's was very tasty and she enjoyed it immensely. I thought the dish had a nice simple confidence, which can often make a dish even better than trying to be too complicated. Their fresh pasta was awesome, perfectly al dente and quite thick. For my raviolis, the lobster stuffing was very plentiful but not overly flavorful, so the flavor and texture of the pasta helped them out. Of course, so did the sauce. The bisque was incredibly flavorful, and I could have eaten a bowl of it. Any other sauce, and this would have been a pretty mediocre dish, but the three layers of lobster worked together to make an very layered and bold dish. No part of it was over the top, and at five raviolis, wasn't a ton of it, but I can't help but say I really liked what I ate. If this had cost me ten more dollars, then I would have been a little disappointed that there were no enormous hunks of lobster, but for an under-$20 entrée it was pretty classy.

We were quite satisfied with our first two courses, but none were large enough that we wanted to skip dessert, which for an Italian place is a little rare. It was actually nice to feel satisfied but not stuffed, even after finishing our plates. I ordered the profiteroles for dessert, which were actually some of the best profiteroles I have ever had. I don't quite know why I ordered them, since I usually find them dry and flavorless, but these were crispy and the crème was cool, rich and dense. I was served six or seven of them, and they were heavenly.

My favorite part of the night was the company, but together, we especially enjoyed the pianist (Lenny Seidel we later learned), who was playing a luxe grand piano throughout the evening. He was very passionate and highly skilled – you could tell he was enjoying playing and had been doing so for a long time. The music was gentle but recognizable and really added to the cozy atmosphere that we really cherished. He played songs ranging from the Godfather to Messun Dorma to Edelweiss to Take Five by Dave Brubeck. It added to the fun of our evening, and we would definitely go back for another meal for the food but also for the atmosphere that Mr. Seidel helped create.

In all, Tuscana West, despite being perhaps a little overlooked on the DC culinary stage, was quite impressive and worthy of such an occasion.

Polenta Feastette

What could be more Christmas appropriate than polenta? Lots of things, you say? I decided that an Italian feastestte (my Mom’s famous phrase) of polenta with tons of toppings would be a perfect Christmas dinner for Julia's Mom and our siblings (except for Jacob to whom we all wished a Happy Birthday). I served the polenta buffet-style with opening bites of Caprese salad skewers and pizza bombs. The skewers were just four mini mozzarella balls, four grape tomatoes and 3 basil leaves with salt and pepper. Simple, classic and always tasty. The pizza bombs came from a recipe – a bad recipe – and though they tasted good were a pain/mess to make and did not come out right. I'll spare you the details since I wouldn't recommend them.

The real winner was the polenta itself. Instead of the painstaking traditional way to make polenta, I used a far easier no-stir, no-stick way – in my slow cooker. I got up around 9:30 in the morning and added 3 cups of medium ground cornmeal into my slow cooker and then added more than ten cups of cold water. I probably would have put eleven or twelve cups but I reached my cooker's capacity and needed room to stir and add a couple more ingredients like three teaspoons of salt and three tablespoons of canola oil. I stirred this whole mixture with a whisk until everything was well incorporated, put on the lid and turned the cooker on low. I was estimating it would be done within six hours but was going to eyeball it. I wanted soft yet thick polenta. From there I gave it a stir with the whisk every hour or so to keep everything incorporated and checking on the consistency. It thickened beautifully and with about an hour left added a few tablespoons of Smart Balance (or butter) and a little more salt since I tasted it and it needed a little more. It seemed just about done around five and a half hours and I switched the cooker to warm to keep it warm yet firm it ever so slightly.

When all my toppings, which I had been whipping together in the final hour or so, were ready, we poured the whole vat of polenta onto our huge platter and garnished with some grilled store-bought hard polenta slices (for fun mostly) and served it buffet-style.

Oh and what were these elusive polenta toppings?

Cold: Cherry tomatoes halves, Roma tomato slices, Radish slices, Kalamata olives without pits, Roasted red pepper slices, Sundried tomatoes, Medium Salsa, Fontina cheese, Reggiano Parmesano cheese, Ricotta cheese, Chives

Warm: Marinara sauce, Red pepper alfredo sauce, Red onion sautéed slices, Grilled Haloumi cheese, Grilled baby zucchini, Grilled patty-pan squashes, Sautéed baby Portobello mushrooms, Crispy diced bacon, Grilled asparagus tips, Seared chicken thighs, Olive oil roasted garlic

Everyone came up for firsts, seconds and as much as they wanted – it made a lot of polenta, and the toppings were aplenty. Everyone got to customize their meal to their tastes, habits and hankerings. It was awesome and I loved it almost as much as our guests loved it.

Don’t let this meal sound elusive to you – with a little coordination it was actually one of the easier party meals I’ve ever pulled off.

Ziti Fake

After several days of patient cravings to go out for some baked ziti, Julia's sister Erica finally got her wish. Sort of. I offered to make her some homemade baked ziti for dinner. And with that, whether she knew it or not, came the possibility of all sorts of healthy twists that could have or could have not ruined the impetus for her hankering. Fortunately for her, there were only a few healthy tweaks, and from the ensuing hearty portions that were eaten by the whole family that night when it and arugula salad were served, I could hardly say it disappointed.

Naturally the first place to start with baked ziti is well, ziti. Round tubular pasta. Of course I wanted fiber-rich, whole grain pasta so my choices were limited, and I grabbed penne, which is similar enough to ziti. I wanted Ronzoni pasta but my stupid grocery store was out of it, so I settled for the whole wheat pasta that actually looks like it is whole wheat. I knew this would be a strike against me with Erica, but I continued the mission.

After boiling the pasta until finished al dente with a little kosher salt, I drained the pasta except for a tiny bit of pasta water and put the pasta back in the pot. I then added marinara sauce and nonfat Greek yogurt. I replaced the typical ricotta cheese with Greek yogurt and then lightened it further by using the nonfat variety. Also, by using a basic marinara/tomato sauce with no oil, it was a fat free combination for the penne's sauce. For reference, I used two bags of penne with one jar of marinara and about three quarters of a tub of Greek yogurt. The sauce came out pink and creamy and coated the pasta well.

While the pasta had been cooking I had shaved one large ball of fresh mozzarella in my spiffy new electric food slicer from Julia. It was awesome since I was able to make nearly paper thin slices even with such a soft cheese as fresh mozzarella.

I put a little less than half the pasta mixture into a nonfat sprayed glass baking dish and then a layer of fresh mozzarella slices. I added the rest of the pasta and sauce on top, just filling the dish, and then added a more generous layer of the shaved mozzarella slices on top. I sprinkled a little orange cheddar I had left over on top, for some color, and sprinkled a little salt and pepper to finish. I stuck the whole kit and caboodle in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes at which point it was done perfect – crispy and golden on top, moist and gooey and flavorful beneath.

So with the fresh mozzarella having less fat than many other cheeses, the pasta sauce being creamy despite having no fat, and the whole thing being made with whole wheat pasta, I can't say I did too poorly on the health aspect considering what baked ziti usually contains. I call it ziti light, with all the same baked ziti goodness. And who could complain about that? No one – and that was the point.

Vegetarian Scampi

This is one of my classic invented dishes. I haven't made it in quite a while, but probably made it for the first time at least 4 years ago. I always make it slightly differently, which is why it seems weird to try to document it. Bottom line is it's an awesome dish, one of my awesomest. So it's worth your while that I try.

Most people have had classic shrimp scampi, not more than butter, shrimp, garlic, salt, pepper and pasta. Well, I drop the shrimp and add tomatoes and I get a fabulously flavorful vegetarian scampi. Same great scampi flavor, but meat free.

When I made it this weekend, I got a big pan and heated a large glug of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon or two of Smart Balance (to replace the butter) over medium heat on the stove top. In the meantime, I smashed and diced 5 or 6 cloves of garlic. When the SB was melted I added the garlic and a little salt. I let the garlic cook for about a minute, not wanting to burn it. At that point, I added to the pan 2 pints of grape tomatoes. You could use anywhere from 1 to 2 pints at your discretion based on how tomatoey you want your final product to be. I have run the spectrum and they all turn out good but slightly different, so the tomato decision is big. Also, they have to have to have to be grape tomatoes and they cannot cannot cannot be chopped or halved ahead of time. They must be the whole grape tomatoes.

Once I had my tomatoes in the pan, I made sure there were just enough so that they were in a single layer. I tossed the tomatoes around in the garlic and oil to get a nice coating and added a little more salt and now a little pepper. I then let them cook for a couple minutes while I got my pasta cooking.

After about 3-4 minutes, I got a spatula and pushed the back of it against one of the tomatoes. It popped, releasing its juices. If it didn't pop, I would have left the tomatoes on for another minute and tried again. Once one popped, then I popped all the rest with the spatula. I made sure to get them all. Once they were all popped, I used the spatula again to continue pushing on the layer of tomato shells to push out all the juices. I then turned the heat up to high and started stirring the mixture well fairly consistently. I didn't want any to stick to the pan as the liquid burned off.

I kept stirring until the sauce had reduced in volume by about half and had thickened up. This meant the water from the tomatoes had mostly cooked out. I then added a half a cup of red wine to the pan to deglaze it. I scraped the bottom, so that all the bits got worked back into the sauce. After mixing, I let the sauce cook down again. The original tomato and scampi flavors were concentrated the first time the sauce reduced, and the flavor of the wine with the tomato concentrated during the second reduction. It made for a bold, powerful and complex flavor for the sauce that started as untouched tomatoes.

At this point I wanted my pasta to be about two thirds cooked. I drained the pasta, turned down the pan heat to medium and put all the pasta immediately in the pan with the sauce to start gently incorporating the sauce into the pasta. Then I put about a quarter cup of shaved fresh mozzarella into the pasta and mixed it in vigorously so that it would melt into the sauce and pasta, almost unnoticeably.

I plated the pasta and then put a few more little hunks of the fresh mozzarella along the side of the pasta to add a little more coolness and creaminess to balance out the strength of the sauce. It is such a delight to eat this scampi dish. Julia absolutely loved it and was amazed by the complexity of its simplicity. I think for me I love it more for the simplicity of its complexity. But either way, it is an exquisite dish to make, and I know that it will be one of my classics for quite a while.

Naan Discoveries

Some of you who know me, know that I love Indian food and naan bread. Many of you who don't know me, just read my reaction to Naan & Beyond sandwiches and THEN you'll know that I love naan bread. So how do you think I reacted when I saw beautiful, puffy, whole wheat naan in a package in my grocery store? Yes, jumping up and down (at least in my head). Plus, these Fabulous Flats Whole Wheat Naan were mostly healthy and definitely had no trans fat (hey, you always have to check. Just last week I glanced at "fat free" Pringles to see what was in them, and lo and behold, there were partially hydrogenated fats in the ingredients despite all zeroes in the total fat, saturated fat and trans fat sections of the nutrition facts.)

Anyway, so with my 2 Fabulous Flats naans setting me back $2.50, I pondered what I could make that would be absolutely delicious. What I thought of was not Indian cuisine in the least, but it was still mouth-wateringly delicious. I grabbed a bunch of wild mushrooms including baby portabellas, shiitakes and oysters along with some mascarpone cheese before I left the store.

When I got home, I chopped the mushrooms into slightly smaller pieces and then sautéed them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper until they were golden and tender. I had preheated the oven to 350 degrees for something else, so I just left it there. I spread a thin layer of creamy, luxurious mascarpone on my naan bread on some tin foil. Then I put a very large amount of the sautéed mushrooms on top and placed the whole "pizza" on the foil into the oven. I cooked it for about 10 minutes, took it out and cut it into 4 pieces. Enough for a delicious little appetizer for a few people.

The mushrooms were so tasty and salty on the little layer of mascarpone and the moist, fluffy, super-tasty naan. It was an unbelievably satisfying dish as well as use of this new naan discovery. I will be making this again and likely buying the fabulous Fabulous Flats naan again even sooner.

Top 10 (12) Olympic Cuisines

You have diligently read about my physical (and mental) travels in the world of food all week. I'll try to reward you with a fun, Friday post.

TOP TEN FOODS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO EAT IN HONOR OF THE OLYMPICS (regardless of calories). Okay, it will be a Top Twelve in fact, so I can be a little more inclusive. It’s hard to exclude people(s).

12. Italian – Insalata caprese and ciabatta

I had Italian last night, so it’s not throwing my senses into haywire this morning like the other ones, but nothing beats an Italian restaurant and the myriad classic dishes that never fail to disappoint. I choose this appetizer because it’s fresh and has basil, tomato, cheese and bread – the four base ingredients of much of Italian cuisine – at their simplest and most elegant.

11. Mexican – Carnitas with fresh tortillas, salsa, guacamole and lime wedges

We all have a place in our hearts for some variation of Mexican food – a very Americanized version for many, but one nevertheless. I happen to love the tang of pork in my tacos or burritos when I can afford the slight indulgence. This classic way with big flavors and without the burden of lots of cheese, beans, rice and sour cream make this taco-esque dish refined and well, to-die-for.

10. Greek – Pistachio baklava

I am a big fan of Mediterranean food, and Greek cuisine is at the center of this pantheon. I could go on about many of the dishes that Greeks get to enjoy all the time, but I go for the ultimate dessert right now. The filo, the nuts, the honey, the spices. I would love the universe where it was okay for me to finish every meal with this dessert fit for Zeus.

9. Ethiopian – Injera and vegetarian wat stew selection, with salad

Perhaps not as mainstream as some of the others, this cuisine is a winner. Go find your local Ethiopian restaurant if you have not already and make time soon for an experience. They’ll bring you a table-sized piece of flat bread, put a big salad in the middle and then speckle the sides with little piles of different and extremely flavorful stews. The vegetarian ones, full of onions, collard greens and lentils are very rich and smooth, but the meat versions are also quite popular.

8. Spanish – Manchego cheese, crusty bread and mixed olives

Spanish tapas make me happy with their depth and creativity. Perhaps the simplest and most classic one is the best though. To really kick off your meal in style, enjoy some assorted olives and bread with a salty, nutty cheese and an opening glass of red wine.

7. Israeli – Labneh with zatar and fresh, hot pitas

Israeli food is another chapter in the Mediterranean realm that I love. I picked this popular hummus-replacement dish from Israel that I was introduced to recently by a friend because it, well, rocks! It is a thick, smooth cheese-like yogurt. It has the tang of yogurt and the richness of cheese. Served with an awesome Israeli spice, zatar, this is the ultimate opener to a nice Med meal.

6. Chinese - Dim Sum

An experience like none other. That is how I have and will continue to describe my experience with Chinese brunch fare. An assortment of different dumplings, soups and meats very different from standard Chinese food is not one I could handle every day, but every four years or so, I give this the ultimate gold medal.

5. French – Crepe with brie, tomato and some type of meat

French food is so expansive and complex, I can’t always decide what I like and what I don’t like about it. Some of its simple classics like the omelet and the crepe are very easy to decide upon. A light crepe can be a nice elegant brunch, or a loaded one can be the ultimate drunk food. Believe it or not, I prefer the loaded ones.

4. Brazilian - Gaucho style barbecue

If you eat meat and have not tried Brazilian barbecue, go and reserve your next paycheck to visit a churrascaria. Okay, well it’s not THAT expensive, but the high-end version in the United States is pretty much the only version I’ve seen. Typically, after going through an endless pre-dinner buffet of salads, sushi, fruits, cheeses and Brazilian side dishes, you return to your table for an all-you-can-eat meat onslaught. The waiters travel from table to table, each with their own beautiful cut of a different barbecued meat. Beef, chicken, duck, lamb, pork. Indulgent. Endless. Perfect -- every four years or so. (During the Winter Olympics though, to space out the dim sum.)

3. Japanese – Tuna, salmon, whitefish, shrimp and yellowtail nigiri

If I had to eat the same meal every day of my life, it would be sad and even depressing. But after making the easy choice of sushi, the brilliance of this simple meal would certainly cheer me up each day. I haven’t mentioned sushi much yet, but it will be a regular contributor to my food thoughts. I love a really tasty, creative roll of sushi with three kinds of fish, tempura flakes, avocado, fish eggs and two crazy sauces as much as any sushi lover. But it’s the classic nigiri listed above that are truly impeccable.

2. Indian – Tandoori chicken tikka with naan and rice

Like any warm-blooded American male, I love barbecued meat. Too bad Brazilian (see above) and Indian are my favorite preparations. The Tandoori clay oven method gives chicken or fish an incredible charred taste. The marinade of yogurt and spices give off an aroma and character unlike anything I get in from cuisine. With 1 medal per Summer Games since 1956, I don’t know how many Olympic medals my brainy Indian brethren will be winning this year, but in the culinary games, they are on my podium.

1. American – Buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing

Okay, so who ever said patriotism was dead? American food, like its athletes, is really good in a few areas and really mediocre in many others. But we still TRY in ALL the areas, whereas most others stay to their niches. THAT is what makes us the best. Forget unexciting, unperfected hot dogs, hamburgers and corn on the cob. If you want THE all-American food, look no further than the holy chicken wing from Buffalo. Now how do you say “gold” in Chinese?