Anything you are eying for your next culinary adventure ?

I bought a bunch of (frozen) banana leaves that I bought to do kalua pork. Done two of them, now I still have a bunch of leaves, so our next project is zongzi, which we’ve never made before. So stoked.

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I am attending an oyster shucking and tasting workshop saturday. I love oysters but know little about them and never shucked one myself should ne fun

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Well, we’re doing corned beef again this year which was last years culinary adventure. This year, sausage making again. I’ve had…disappointing results in the past.

That is so cool! Let us know which ones you tasted and your favs!

Shucking isnt too hard. Just remember to hold them firm on flat, find the opening at the back and twist dont stab. I am sure they will provide good gloves.

Also, keep in mind that some of them are almost impossible to shuck. That particular variety is called “they will open on the grill” . :wink:

Have Fun

That is indeed a fun quest, pt, I hope you have a blast. I would suggest, however, thinking about setting up your base camp in the Chapel Hill/Raleigh area. Charlotte is, both geographically and spiritually, pretty far removed from barbecue bliss.

On a related note, if you haven’t seen it, the following article will help gets the juices flowing and, perhaps, provide some direction - both practical and metaphorical. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/02/in-defense-of-the-true-cue

while this may well be true, the reason for Charlotte as a base is that it’s an airport hub where you can get cheap flights from Boston to. And it’s a close enough drive to places like Lexington, Greensboro and Chapel Hill to make it the best option to work out of for me, in theory.

Perfectly understandable. Just don’t waste too much stomach space there.

Wellfleet, Belon and Holy Grail were standouts. Much of the discussion reminded me of wine i realize how little I know. Definitely more fun than taking on shucking by myself with YouTube. Certain quintessential personality types prezent. Ovrerall i am satisfied. Learned some, ate some tasty oysters. OMG I love oysters this new knowledge could get expensive.


How is something that looks like that delicious?

“How is something that looks like that delicious?”

Heh…really. I will forever be grateful to that person, long ago, who took one for the team and tried the first oyster :smiley:

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Great! Yeah, it’s only getting more expensive as the species all have their own taste and price to match. It’s going to be a delicious new adventure!

The oyster section in French supermarkets the week leading to new year is very impressive.
I sometimes slip my oyster knife in a toilettry bag in checked in baggage!

We’re made arrangements to visit Spain twice next year. Both trips are to places we know well, so I wouldnt regard them as adventures. The first trip is unlikely to yield anything of foody interest but, a ever, will be a great three weeks. The second trip is to an area of decent restaurants and we’d always be looking forward to prawns from the bay of Soller, simply cooked on the plancha.

We toy with the idea of another American trip later in the year. If it comes off, it’ll be music based, rather than food - I see Nashville, Memphis, Tupelo, New Orleans and Lafayette on the itinerary. That should cover the styles that most interest us. But there’ll be good food along the way - I’ll need your help in due course.

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The seafood section at the Carrefour at Calais is impressive. No, I mean really impressive. Unfortunately, our trips usually mean we are going to be staying the night near Dover before driving north. I wouldnt like to risk unfridged seafood for what would be 24+ hours. We once brought back cheese that was not vac packed and, whilst it was fine to eat, the smell of it driving home was somewhat overpowering.

I have seen the seafood section in other big supermarkets in France (Carrefour included) and they are all impressive. Yes, some are really really impressive indeed. I almost weep when I see the many many oyster boxes stacked to the ceiling!

Fresh seafood is too risky to take home, even when you have a cool box. I prefer cheese and jarred foie gras.

To seal the cheese I buy a box of zip lock bags and use several for each cheese. Can still smell it faintly if I bring my nose close to my rucksack. They all survive the long train ride home across Germany.

Many French cheese and cured meat specialist shops can do sous-vide without addition cost, it’s especially for the travellers that needs to get on a plane.

I must remember that for future cheese shopping trips.

Yes, I do recall seeing a vacuum sealing machine in the shops. The simple cheese stalls most likely don’t have one. Some Jamón specialists in Spain also do that -with or without an additional cost, and some even have English signs on shop’s windows.

Photo from last christmas-new year taken in Breisach, Germany. I went to Colmar for the day to get some cheese and check out the pretty town which once was German Elsaß-Lothringen.

We spent a week plus in the Costa del Sol area probably ten years ago. It was damn difficult to find SPANISH food. It seemed all the visitors from other parts of Europe wanted to eat THEIR regional foods.

As everywhere, research is the key.

Towns like Estepona cater very much for the resident population (although it is a tourist resort). The village of Benahavis is a joy from the food point of view. And, even in the tourist resorts, like Fuengirola, it’s remarkably easy to find the Andalucian staple of simply fried fish - last time we were there, the chiringuitos along the beach were excellent for seafood. Although catering as much to the tourist as the resident, there’s a South American influence on meat cookery - I think representing strong ties between countries such as Argentina and the region.

Referring to catering to foreigners tastes, it’s worth noting that one local authority area has (or did have) a majority of residents were foreign - as you spotted, there are a lot of north European tourists visiting all parts of the Costa - many of us set up home there, particularly in retirement.