Reviews: Cooper's Restaurant (Grand Bahama)

We have some advice for you. When you're on vacation, especially if you go to a resort, with a beach, swimming pool, heaps of food and colorful drinks, make sure you don't forget where you are. Explore a bit.  Go for a walk, rent a car, talk to people who live there. And of course, try real, local food.

When we were on Grand Bahama in 2009, we stayed at just such a resort. But we spent a few days checking out the rest of the island. We found an amazing, deserted beach, miles of empty roads, endless acres of trees destroyed by hurricanes, and lots of wonderful people to talk to. In one bar, we even taught some people how to play rummy and played for a bit. It was great.

Our favorite place though, was Cooper's restaurant on the East End in McLeans Town. It was home-cooked, local Bahamian food, run by a married couple. They showed us something a little bit different. While the food was being prepared, they took us next door to their garden and showed us their wonderful crops, though it was very small, because of the damage after the hurricane.

We ordered fried conch and the fish-of-the-day. Both came with fries. We also shared a Goombay Punch, a popular soda in the Bahamas. If you're not sure what conch is, it's the snail-like animal that lives in the shell famously used to call meetings to order in Lord of the Flies. We talked with the owner about life in McLeans Town and hurricanes in the Bahamas. It was a wonderful experience. If you're even in the Bahamas, looking for authentic conch, you'll know where to go!

Our Recipes: Italian Sausage, Brazilian Salad, Black Bean Soup and Saffron Rice

 

John used to eat this meal often as a child. His mom came up with it and made it at home in Arizona. We made it together as a present for my family in Poland when he first came to meet them in 2008. We enjoyed it in the garden with iced tea. We include recipes for all but the sausage. For that, find a good spicy or sweet Italian sausage, whichever you prefer and cook it how you like. We grilled it on charcoal. When all is prepared, serve all together on a plate as in the picture on the right. It tastes great to mix the salad, rice and beans all together. Bom appetite! Buon appetito! ¡Buen provecho!

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

16 oz dried black beans

2 tbsp olive oil

8 garlic cloves chopped

1/4 cup chopped jalapeño w/ seeds

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

8 cups veggie broth

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1.5 cups onion

sour cream, optional when served

salt

pepper

Preparation:

Soak beans in water overnight. Rinse. Heat large pot w/ oil, onion, garlic & jalapeños. Sauté 5 minutes. Mix in beans & spices. Add 8 cups stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat & cover. Simmer beans until tender - about 2.5 to 3 hours. Taste - adjust spices. Cool. Either mash 2-3 cups or put into blender to puree or mash. Return to pot. Heat on very low, stir often. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings.

Brazilian Salad

Ingredients: 

2 large ripe tomatoes, diced

4 scallions chopped
1 large garlic clove, pressed or crushed
1 green pepper diced
1 small red or white onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup salad oil (olive oil also ok)
2 tsp. vinegar (wine vinegar also an option)

Preparation:
Mix all these together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let this sit for 30 minutes or so before serving.

Saffron Rice
For the saffron rice, buy a package of yellow rice and prepare as stated on the package.

Reviews: New Eritrea Restaurant and Bar (San Francisco)

the vegetarian combo, served with salad on traditional injera bread

If you've never had Ethiopian or Eritrean food, you're definitely missing out. There are many wonderful Ethiopian restaurants (we're going to admit right off that we don't know the distinctions between Eritrean and Ethiopian food) around and if you live in a major city, there's likely at least a few great restaurants. If you're in San Francisco, we can definitely recommend the New Eritrea Restaurant at Irving and 10th in the Inner Sunset. As is traditional, all the dishes are served on injera, a sour flatbread that looks like a cross between a tortilla and an ace bandage. You eat the food with your hands, tearing off bits of injera to pick up the food. No forks allowed:)

Agnieszka and I ordered our food to share. Like in the picture above, the dishes are placed on injera with a salad in the middle. We ordered one meat dish and one vegetarian dish. The meat dish was alicha begee, or "mildly seasoned cubes of lamb mixed with potatoes, carrots, peppers, curry and Eritrean spices." It was spicy and wonderful. We couldn't decide on just one vegetable dish, so we took the vegetarian combo, made up of tumtumo, "lentil beans pureed and simmered with Eritrean spices, tomatoes, onion and herbs," hamli, "collard greens and spinach simmered in authentic Eritrean spices," vegetarian alicha, a "mildly seasoned mixture of potatoes, carrots, cabbage and garlic authentic Eritrean spices" and alicha-ater, "chickpeas pureed and simmered in onion, garlic and authentic Eritrean spices." We both had water on the side and I drank a Hakim stout, a dark beer from Ethiopia.

The flavoures were strong but well-balanced, there was enough spice for both of us, the injera was wonderful, the beer complemented the meal well, the staff was friendly, helpful and attentive and it was all reasonably priced. Whether you already love Ethiopian food or it's your first time, head out from Market St. on the N-Judah to the Inner Sunset and check out this wonderful, warm restaurant. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 

World Cuisines: Kokkinisto (Greece)

Ingredients:

700 grams of veal

2 small onions, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup of olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

3 - 4 allspice berries

10 black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

1 can (500 grams of peeled whole tomatoes with juice)

1/2 cup of red dry wine (optional)

water (or more if it boils off)

pasta (spaghetti or any you like)

Directions:

Wash meat and cut into 1 1/2 cm thick slices and pat dry. Heat olive oil in sauteing pan and saute meat on both sides. Add onions and garlic and saute, then add wine. Add all spices, salt, bay leaves and tomatoes, as well as 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the meat is soft and the sauce is reduced and thickened.
I also make kokkinisto in a slow cooker. I think it is an easier option for long cooking. I cook it on high for 5-6 hours. 

In a separate sauce pan heat water and add some salt and boil pasta according to package instructions. Drain water. Serve pasta with the sauce.

Makes 4 servings. 

Καλή όρεξη!

Our Recipes: Hungarian Tomatoes on a Bed of Chicken/Fish

The fish option is served here with the Sweet Beets and Greens Salad 

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, about 1/2 lb. each
or
2 fish filets, anything mild, we use tilapia
1 Hungarian wax pepper
1 medium tomato
1/2 medium white onion
vegetable oil
salt
pepper

Preparation:
1. Slice the pepper lengthwise and remove the seeds. Then slice it thinly but horizontally. Cut the onion in very thin slices as well. Line a small baking dish with aluminum foil. Using half of the sliced onion and pepper, arrange a layer of sliced pepper and onion large enough upon which to place the chicken/fish. Add a touch of vegetable oil, salt and pepper.
2. Take the chicken or fish and lightly brush it with vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Place it in the baking dish on top of the onion and pepper.
3. Place the remaining onion and pepper on top of the chicken or fish as if you are trying to bury it.
4. Cut the tomato into thin slices and use it cover the chicken or fish on all sides. Finish off with a touch of oil, salt and pepper.
5. Cover the baking dish in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
6. Remove it from the fridge, let warm a few minutes while preheating the oven to broil.
7. Bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the filets/breasts until the tomatoes are quite soft.
8. Serve on a plate and cover with any vegetables left on the bottom of the pan.

Makes 2-3 servings.

It goes very well with the Sweet Beets and Greens Salad.

Our Recipes: Sweet Beets and Greens Salad

Sweet Beets and Greens Salad served next to Hungarian Tomatoes on a Bed of Fish 

Ingredients:
4 oz. spinach
4 oz. arugula
1/3 can sliced beets
1/2 hungarian wax pepper
1/2 apple
1/5 medium onion
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt 
pepper

Preparation:
Chop the beets, the pepper, the apple and onion into small pieces (not quite diced). Add spinach and arugula. Gently toss with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 2 servings.

Serving suggestion: Hungarian Tomatoes on a Bed of Chicken (or Fish).