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[lizthesnootyfoodie]

Side Dishes That Steal the Show

Most people agree with the idea that the main element of the meal should be the best part of the meal. The fried chicken should outshine the mashed potatoes and okra, or at least all components should be about the same level of quality. I personally disagree however that the side dish cannot and should not supersede the protein of a meal in terms of quality and taste. Protein does not have to mean the best thing on the plate. Sometimes a side dish can be the star of the show, so let’s go over some of the best sides out there.

One common side that can steal the show is mac and cheese. This pasta and cheese dish is simple, and rustic. When I think of mac and cheese, I cannot help but think of my home or the holidays, and this dish is a classic comfort food in the United States, Canada, and England. This dish can be superb with a high cheese to pasta ratio that gives the side an element of gooeyness. It can also be delicious with only a small amount of cheese that creates a sticky texture to the pasta which I thoroughly enjoy. 

The next side dish that is worthy of celebration is carrot puree. This dish may be a surprising choice to some as this dish is a common baby food. To me, the perfect carrot puree is smooth, and filling. I prefer this dish to mashed potatoes because it is a little bit healthier, and it does not have as much dairy, which I have a sensitivity to. The first time I had this side was with a halibut in France, and I have never forgotten the delicious taste. It is also worth noting that with the right cooking equipment, this dish is easy to cook.

Couscous is another side dish that I enjoy. This is a dish served throughout North Africa in the countries of Morocco, Alergia, Libya, and Tunisia. This side is starchy and quite filling, and it can be seasoned to fit a variety of different dishes. I personally however enjoy this dish when it’s plain and served with some butter and salt. This dish pairs well with seafood or chicken as a protein, but it can definitely be a tasty dish on its own as well as it’s definitely a lunch that I eat from time to time.

Zucchini is quite probably my favorite vegetable. While it is similar to cucumber, I have always found that cucumber seems to be colder or perhaps texturally odd in comparison to this vegetable. Zucchini is a vegetable that can work as a plethora of sides such as zucchini noodles, fried zucchini, or steamed zucchini. Zucchini is one of those greens that has a lot of water so I always feel quite refreshed after enjoying this healthier side. Zucchini is an ingredient and side dish that works well with Italian and French cuisines. I particularly enjoy zucchini noodles as a side to chicken parmigiana.

The final side dish that can steal the show is essentially exclusive to the holiday of Thanksgiving. I am talking about the classic holiday side dish of cranberry salad. This dish is quite flavorful, and I personally admire the variety in the textures of the dish. The nut or celery in the dish creates a crunchy texture while the actual cranberries are quite smooth. This side dish is often one of the only sweet elements of a Thanksgiving meal other than the actual dessert which sets it apart from the others. Personally, I would like to see this side dish included more often in other events.

[lizthesnootyfoodie]

Best Breakfasts Around The World

From the ages of 14 to 20 I would travel with my family pretty regularly, and we ended up visiting 26 countries across the globe, and we have been able to visit five different continents. In my experience with traveling, breakfast was always an important part of your day. I mean how could anyone expect someone to go on multiple trains, planes, hikes, bikes, cabs, car rides, and walks in one day from one destination to the next without a good meal in your belly to start the day? The best breakfasts were enough to keep you going on energy, and most were always unbelievably tasty as well. 

One of my favorite breakfasts was served on the rural coasts of Costa Rica. While there my family stayed in a resort, both the small town it was next to as well as the resort were quite rural but lovely. Every morning we awoke to a breakfast of eggs, fried bananas, rice and beans, avocado slices, cheese and tortilla. This breakfast was absolutely delicious, but it was also healthy and filling. One day my sister had waffles, and strawberries and powdered sugar which also looked quite tasty.  After starting your day with this delicious meal, the long car rides and the hikes did not seem so bad.

Another one of my favorite breakfasts from traveling is from Japan. This is a breakfast that parents bought from a nearby restaurant before my sister and I woke up to go back home, and this is something they would do from time to time when we were particularly busy. They brought back cheese and corn danish. While the combination of cheese and corn may seem odd to some people, it’s a quite popular combination in a multitude of countries. The danish was delicious and I’ll never forget the sweetest of the pastry combined with the more savory elements of cheese and corn. The contrast was quite enjoyable to my palate.

The next breakfast originates from New York City. All my life, I had heard people from New England rave about how delicious their breakfasts are. I wouldn’t find out what they were talking about until my first trip to New York City. Bagels from New York city seem crispier and fresher than most bagels I’ve had in the rest of the United States. While I found bagels at home needing a lot of toppings to negate the bland taste of the bagel, I found that New York City bagels were tasty with just a little bit of cream cheese.

In Barcelona, Spain, I would meet another healthy and filling breakfast which is the egg sandwich. While this dish is enjoyed all over the world, I particularly enjoy the European take on this breakfast classic. First, a thin omelet with nothing in it is for the egg portion of the dish, while a rich fluffy piece of Baguette or similar bread is used for the dish. In my opinion, this meal is filling, healthy, and perfect for a busy day of traveling.

The last breakfast I would talk about is from England, and this dish is the scone. This is a dish that isn’t always a breakfast and can sometimes just be a dessert or treat. I enjoy flavored scones which can come in flavors such as blueberry, apple, raisin, walnut, chocolate chip, and much more. In my eyes, this simple and filling dish can make a good breakfast. I also think that it goes well with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. Devonshire cream and lemon curd are two condiments that also pair well with this dish.

[lizthesnootyfoodie]

Some of the Best Chocolate Based Desserts

The post for today will be about chocolate. Ever since I can remember, I have seriously loved chocolate. Even in 2002, at the age of 3, I enjoyed chocolate, so much so that I was guilty of stealing it from my sister's Christmas stockings. While I have finally been forgiven for this sin by my family, I’ll probably never get over the sin of being a chocoholic. In this blog post, I would like to go over the best chocolate based desserts in my opinion which should be taken with a grain of salt.

Speaking of my younger years, one of my first memories of chocolate desserts would be forever tied to my elementary music teacher. Every year, she would bake all of her music classes a cake, and more often than not, she would bake a chocolate coca-cola cake. While it may seem like a simple, and unnecessary change to the classic chocolate cake, the cola would bring a surprising amount of moistness and flavor to a traditional dessert. I haven’t forgotten this treat years later!

One of my favorite chocolate based desserts would have to be chocolate mousse. There are multiple variations of this dessert featuring white chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate. This dessert may also integrate fruity flavors such as orange, raspberry, strawberry, or more. I have also seen this dessert feature nuts or coffee beans. The best mousse in my opinion is airy and feels a little bit like eating a chocolate cloud. This dessert is also sometimes featured in a cake, which can be good, but it's imperative that the cake is airy as well or the dessert can come off as a somewhat odd mismatch.

The next chocolate based dessert I enjoy would be known as lava cake. I remember the first time I had this dish at a chain restaurant when I was a little girl at a chain restaurant. The surprise of warm chocolate batter was a welcomed one. I would later have this dish in 2013 at the age of 14, in a small diner in Paris. An elderly French couple asked us if we had ever had this dish in America which reminded me how similar cultures can be in sometimes surprising ways. Though it’s not surprising that she was unsure, as like the prior dish, this dessert is French in origin.

The next dish I originally had in Argentina in 2019. One restaurant had a chocolate flan served with dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is a big part of another Argentinian dessert I enjoy called Alfajores. The dish had a moist yet rich flavor to it, and the dulce de leche served with the dish really gave it an edge. The sweetness of the dish was quite pleasant, though perhaps not appreciated by people who dislike sweets like my mother. It was paired quite well with tea I drank it with. 

S’mores is a simple dessert that is associated with camping in the United States and Canada. As someone who hates the camping experience, I wouldn’t mind begrudgingly agreeing to my father’s camping trips if it meant that later on, we would get s’mores, something that excited my sister and I. I will say that S’mores made over an open fire are much better than microwave s’mores which can be a little disappointing. I personally think it has something to do with how the marshmallows react to a flame compared to a microwave. Instead of a glob of marshmallow paste, fire-roasted marshmallows are softened versions of themselves that compliment a dry graham cracker and melted chocolate quite well.

[lizthesnootyfoodie]

Cheese, please!

Hello my name is lizthesnootyfoodie, and the focus of my blog is food appreciation. Today I would like to talk about cheese. Despite being lactose intolerant, I have a huge appreciation for cheese. Cheese can vary greatly in quality, and pairings. I do recommend these cheeses to any cheese fan out there!

The first cheese I would like to talk about is muenster. This cheese originated in America, even though most people believe the cheese has German origins. When I was a little girl, they used to have this muenster that they would sell at BJ’s. It was honestly the best version of the cheese that I have ever had, and it makes me miss the days of 2007. The cheese tends to have small holes in it, though I have seen it without holes. I’m not sure why, but it just tastes better when it does tend to have holes.

The second cheese I would like to talk to you about is gouda. In late 2013, at the age of 14, my parents took me across Europe for the first time. On part of the trip we stayed in Amsterdam. The city is beautiful, and one lovely aspect of the city is the cheese. A little ways outside of Amsterdam, we saw a Dutch cheese factory, and we even saw a special storage room where they age cheese. This is where my next favorite cheese comes in. Reypenaer X.O. Reserve gouda is aged for up to 3 years. This cheese is a bit intense so picky eaters or first time eaters may not enjoy it. The first time I ate the cheese, the first bite was a lot, but it became my favorite cheese after a short while. The cheese almost had a flavor that was reminiscent of sweets, and it can be hard to not eat too much in one sitting.

Another cheese that I admire would be pepper jack. Every year on New Year’s Eve, my mom would put out a classic American cheese platter along with some other snacks. The platter had swiss, cheddar, colby jack, and finally pepper jack. I swear every year, the pepper jack was gone before you could say, “Happy New Years!” This cheese had a mix of pepper flakes in it, for a mildly spicy flavor. I love making nachos with this cheese or adding it to a sandwich when I want to add a little spice to the overall flavor.

Originating from Switzerland, this next cheese is one that is popular as an ingredient in dishes. I am talking about gruyere cheese. One of my earliest experiences with this cheese was when I had just had a mild surgery. I wasn’t allowed to eat for a day before the surgery, and afterwards my mom took me for a snack as I was starving. Gruyere was heavily featured in the egg bites that we got from the Starbucks from across the street, and I’ve never turned down gruyere in a dish so far. I love seeing all the creative ways modern chefs have integrated this cheese in their dishes.

I would like to end things with a classic Italian cheese. This is a cheese I have enjoyed in Italy as well as in America. My first introduction to this cheese would be mozzarella sticks, with and without deep fried breading. I’ve also had the traditional Italian mozzarella ball which is delicious. I won’t lie to you, whenever I felt like something plain in Italy I would order a margherita pizza which heavily features mozzarella balls, and I do crave this pizza every now and then. Mozzarella is a classic that can stand alone, or work as a flavorful ingredient which is something you cannot say about every cheese out there.