Try it...you'll like it...

Café du Monde

Over the years that I have enjoyed traveling...and they are many, I have always been open to trying something new in the places I have travelled.  You only have to try it...you don't have to embrace it as a new lifestyle change. Since the food a people eats tells you a lot about how they live their lives, just do it.  Here are some of my favorites over the years:




1. Beignets at the Café du Monde in New Orleans. Every culture has its own reciepe for fried dough..donuts, but the French have one of the best.  Flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and salt combine into a concoction like no other!  Sprinkled with powered sugar and served with chicory coffee...heaven on earth!  If you are in New Orleans and do not go for some beignets...shame on you!






Hot dog stand in Rejufvik

2. Lamb hot dogs "mit ollu" (with "the works") in Rejikvik, Iceland.  Go to the stand called "Bæjarins beztu pylsur" translated as "Bajarins best hot dog" near the harbor.  If you order one with "the works" it will include ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remoulade sauce.  Best dog I ever had! But be aware! The server has little tolerance for tourists.  The Locals, however, are willing to assist.  On the way home at the airport you can purchase some lamb hot dogs to bring home...just be sure to get the national certification so you can bring them back to the USA.

3. Scones, clotted cream and jam in England or Ireland.  The clotted cream is like superfine whipped butter.  My friend Angie, an American ex-pat, commented that I was surely an American as I neatly spread the clotted cream on my scone and geometrically spread the jam on top.  It seems the British are relentless in slathering on the butter, and the Irish like to load on the jam.  I soon learned to do both.  These butter and jammed up scones go very well with hot black tea.  That is how I eat them here at home.


Scones, clotted cream and jam

4. Alaskan smoked salmon: On my very first ocean cruise, I discovered the joys of Alaskan smoked salmon...fulsome, salty, rich and flavorful...who could resist?  Not me! My late husband noted that on our Alaskan cruise I ate at least two servings of salmon each day...yep, I did.  I still love smoked and cured salmon and have had it in Alaska, Sweden, Amsterdam, New York and Southampton.  It just tastes good.




5. Roasted Goose: traditional German Christmas dish. On my recent trip sailing down the Rhine River through the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland, we were treated to a plethora of traditional European holiday dishes: capon, roast pork, duck, veal schnitzels...all wonderful.  But  THE best was the roast goose I had at a local restaurant  in Solln, a section of Munich.  It was served with a crispy skin and sides of wonderfully braised red cabbage and roasted potatoes.  I normally do not like cabbage, but this was exceptionally cooked with onions, apples and cider.




Roast Goose and Red Cabbage

So my recommendation to you all is...try new stuff...you might really like it!