Budapest, Hungary -- Day 1

The first night in town, we were pointed to St Jupat's for supper by the locals who run the inn we are staying at. Unfortunately, showing up at 8pm meant that we got turned away with what was, as it turned out, a standard catch-all phrase -- "We're full."

After feeling bummed out for the duration of the walk home, we decided to look up the all you can eat, all you can drink Mongolian BBQ that J had visited on a previous trip to Budapest. I had an OJ and J had a sangria, which in retrospect were not the best choices. The BBQ itself was pretty darned good, though the service was rather spotty. The wait staff may have been overwhelmed by the 2 large parties taking up a good 2/3 of the restaurant at the time, but there was no excuse for the grill guys.

I thought the marinated horse was actually the best meat there. It was tender and moist, without being mushy and gross. Some of the meats, most notably their chicken, was dry and stringy. Others were so soft that they had almost no texture whatsoever, dissolving into mushy goo in your mouth without even giving you the opportunity to chew.

The mixed vegetables were good, but a bit sparse. Compared to some 20-30 bins for variously prepared meats, the singular bin for vegetables left me feeling very sad. The squash was superb hot off the grill though -- toothsome, juicy, and deliciously squash-y -- and I decimated their supply in short order.

Overall, it was a fun place to visit, but it didn't quite leave me feeling like I'd want to come back for more. Oh -- the ostentations wank-fest about international politics being conducted at the table behind us by a bunch of kids who didn't seem to have any experience working for their own cash and paying their own taxes made the meal alternately more amusing and more irritating.

Hot Chocolate

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 125g 54% dark chocolate
• 450ml milk (whole)
• sugar
• vanilla extract
• whipped cream to taste
• (Optional) 2 1.5oz shots of brandy or other favored alcohol
  

Preparation (5 minutes):

1. Finely chop the chocolate into small slivers for easy melting.
   

Cooking (10 minutes):

1. Bring milk to a boil over low heat, stirring as necessary to prevent sticking.
   
2. Add chocolate slivers, stirring to keep mixture smooth.
   
3. When all the chocolate has been melted into the milk, heat to preferred drinking temperature.
4. Pour into two tall glasses or large mugs.
   
5. (Optional) Spike with brandy or other favored alcohol.
   
6. Top with whipped cream if desired. (To make the whipped cream, simply whisk the cream, and add sugar, vanilla extract, or other flavoring to taste.)

Hachi Ju Hachi

I had a hankering for sushi over the weekend, so we set out in search for some fine fish. What we found instead was a delicious traditional Japanese meal.

I was extremely amused to note that in the glass doorway of this restaurant, there was a hand-written sign to the effect of "This is not a sushi bar! I do not have sushi boats!" Despite my sushi craving, I was deeply intrigued. Could it be that this little restaurant actually served honest-to-god traditional Japanese food?

Yes, indeed!

When the waitress came by to inform us of the specials, she asked if she should proceed in English or Japanese. We chose Japanese with English descriptions, and she began.

"Shiokara," she told us. We jumped, startled and delighted. Another establishment that made this fine fishy food? Excellent, we must have some. Two types of roasted mackerel. A special sardine-seaweed dish, usually reserved for special occasions only, like New Years. These we ordered with gurgling bellies and watering mouths, accompanied by miso soup (of course) and a sake flight (which was fabulous).

The chef was extremely personable, chatting us up in between preparing box sushi and various tasty things for the other guests. When he saw that we had demolished our shiokara, he came and scooped out another spoonful for our continued enjoyment. He told us stories about the salt, the fish, the customers, and his outlook on food.

Overall, the food was quite good. The people were very friendly. The waitress did manage to forget our tea once, and our rice altogether, but she's very nice if you politely remind her about it.

Patio Garden Pasta

Last night was our first "harvest" from the patio garden. We thinned our radishes out, washed the plucked sprouts, and made a pasta salad.

Ingredients:

1. Penne, or small penne, or rotini, or whatever pasta pleases you
2. Dry Jack cheese, or whatever sharp cheese pleases you to have over pasta
3. Olive oil -- we used Tuscan-herb-infused olive oil
4. A bowl full of fresh radish sprouts
5. Sea salt to taste

Preparation (5 minutes):

1. Rinse the radish sprouts well to remove any clinging soil, bugs, etc.
2. Grate the cheese finely

Cooking (20 minutes):

1. Boil water.
2. Make pasta!
3. Rinse under cool water.
4. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and radish sprouts.

Proportions may vary, depending on where you get your sprouts, how much pasta you like to eat, etc. Play around and have fun. :)

Saucy Stir-fried Choy

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 4 baby choy hearts (bok choy, or your favorite choy)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• salt to taste
  
• a sprinkle of MSG (optional)

Preparation (5 minutes):

1. Rinse the choy, splitting the hearts into individual stems.
2. Chop coarsely. The pieces should be about 1/2 inch wide.
   


3. Mix the corn starch with the chicken stock, whisking to make sure it all dissolves.
4. (Optional) Sprinkle some MSG into the stock.
   

Cooking (5 minutes):

1. Pre-heat a wok with the vegetable oil.
2. Add chopped choy. Stir occasionally.
3. When the choy stems start to turn slightly translucent, add the chicken stock and corn starch mixture. Stir well.
   
4. Salt to taste.
5. Choy is ready when the leaves are wilted and the stems are mostly translucent.
   
   

Black & White Stir-Fry

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 4 fresh bamboo shoots
• 6 oz. fresh wood-ear
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
  

Preparation (30-45 minutes):

1. Rinse, peel, and trim the bamboo shoots until no more stiff brown layers are left.
   
   
2. Cut the bamboo in half length-wise, then chop into thin slices.
   


3. Wash the wood-ear well, since it tends to be gritty.
4. Crush the garlic.
   

Cooking (15 minutes):

1. Pre-heat a medium wok with the vegetable oil.
2. Throw in the bamboo shoots. Let them fry for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
3. Add the garlic and wood-ear. Mix well.
   
4. Fry for another 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
5. Drizzle the sesame oil and soy sauce over the veggies. Mix well, and let cook for another minute or so.
   
6. Enjoy!
   
   

Chili Liver

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1/2 lb fresh chicken livers
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp Guilin chili sauce
• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp black rice vinegar
• 4 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp ginger (grated)
  
• 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
  
• 2 scallions (spring or green onions) (finely diced)
  

Preparation (15 minutes):

1. Mix the sauce. Combine the chili sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine, salt, sugar, and stock.
2. Grate the ginger.
   
3. Crush the cloves of garlic.
4. Finely dice the scallions.
5. Rinse the livers under gently running water, taking care not to burst the membrane holding the livers together.
   
6. Trim off the excess fat. If desired, cut the livers into smaller pieces. This will make cooking them a little messier in the pot.
7. Pat the livers dry with a paper towel. The livers will be going into a pan of hot oil, and you don't want to get hurt.
   

Cooking (10 minutes):

1. Pre-heat a medium wok with the vegetable oil.
2. Fry the ginger, garlic, and scallions until fragrant.
3. Toss in the livers, stirring gently so as not to rupture the membranes.
4. Fry over medium heat until the livers are close to done. (Done is internal temperature around 160 F).
5. Add the sauce. Stir well to coat all the livers evenly.
6. When the livers are done (internal temperature around 160 F), serve and enjoy!