PicSpam - Salami ... Hungarian and otherwise, and Challah Bread
Last weekend I went to the city market to pick up some deli meats for lunch. My usual butcher/deli place was closed for the week so I turned to the deli kiosk across from them for my purchases.
A relatively new (~5 yrs) vendor, the owners are Romanian (at least that's what they speak most often) and they have a lot of deli meats imported from middle and western Europe. I decided on salami, spicy and Hungarian, in that order. Then I thought I'd pick up a few other Hungarian salamis. Well, I went a little overboard, as usual. I also picked up a boule (oregano and garlic) from one of the bakery kiosks. And some feta. Total was about $15.
Salami - from left to right: 3 Hungarian salamis ('Hortobagy', 'Szegedy' and a locally produced Hungarian). Along the bottom is a Romanian 'Sibiu' salami. The names refer to the geographical areas where the salamis are produced.
The 'Hortobagy' ($8.50 a pound) was SPICY!! Even for me. You do NOT want to eat too much of this straight though with fruit (grapes, pears or apples), cheese and some crusty bread it's a lovely treat. Some nice beer to wash it down would also be appropriate.
The 'Szegedy' was the most expensive at about $16 a pound but not worth the extra cost flavour wise. It was good, but not THAT good.
If you just want a tasty salami to put into a sandwich with other deli meats, stick to the regular Hungarian salami at about $6 a pound. A good everyday salami.
I liked the 'Sibiu' salami the best when rated for the flavour and the price though and quite comparable to the 'Szegedy' but the cost was somewhere around that of the 'Hortobagy'.
I really enjoyed my salami sampling experiment. :) Maybe I'll try some Italian meats next.
Feta cheese is great but there are so many kinds ... sheep, goat and cow. And the different nationalities all claim their versions are better than anyone else's. I rarely make Greek salads which are what many people use straight feta cheese for other than in baking, but I do like to crumble some into my scrambled eggs. I thought I'd see which of the 2 kinds of milk sources I preferred.
On the bottom left, was the pricier (by $1 per pound) goat feta with the sheep feta on the far right. The goat feta was drier which made it more crumbly and sharper tasting (great for spinach and cheese pies) while the sheep feta was softer and creamier and really great to eat on its own or on a pizza. The price is comparable when you consider that the sheep cheese has a higher moisture content.
Salami Sandwich
Challah
I love challah bread and luckily there's a bakery nearby (<5 min drive) that makes it and is open 6 days a week. Every time I think I should bake some challah bread at home, I remember that I can just walk into the bakery and pick up one of these loaves. So I do. :)
Challah Bread - thick cut
Crumb (aka the inside) of the Challah bread - You see, you don't just get to look at the pretty pictures, you can also learn something about baking from this post. :)
Plain liverwurst sausage on challah bread, Rudi's keilbasa (a local specialty and very pricey) and a chunk of fresh ricotta cheese - another Saturday, post market lunch
Mititei, a Romanian delicacy, on Challah with a little imported French Dijon mustard
A relatively new (~5 yrs) vendor, the owners are Romanian (at least that's what they speak most often) and they have a lot of deli meats imported from middle and western Europe. I decided on salami, spicy and Hungarian, in that order. Then I thought I'd pick up a few other Hungarian salamis. Well, I went a little overboard, as usual. I also picked up a boule (oregano and garlic) from one of the bakery kiosks. And some feta. Total was about $15.
Salami - from left to right: 3 Hungarian salamis ('Hortobagy', 'Szegedy' and a locally produced Hungarian). Along the bottom is a Romanian 'Sibiu' salami. The names refer to the geographical areas where the salamis are produced.
The 'Hortobagy' ($8.50 a pound) was SPICY!! Even for me. You do NOT want to eat too much of this straight though with fruit (grapes, pears or apples), cheese and some crusty bread it's a lovely treat. Some nice beer to wash it down would also be appropriate.
The 'Szegedy' was the most expensive at about $16 a pound but not worth the extra cost flavour wise. It was good, but not THAT good.
If you just want a tasty salami to put into a sandwich with other deli meats, stick to the regular Hungarian salami at about $6 a pound. A good everyday salami.
I liked the 'Sibiu' salami the best when rated for the flavour and the price though and quite comparable to the 'Szegedy' but the cost was somewhere around that of the 'Hortobagy'.
I really enjoyed my salami sampling experiment. :) Maybe I'll try some Italian meats next.
Feta cheese is great but there are so many kinds ... sheep, goat and cow. And the different nationalities all claim their versions are better than anyone else's. I rarely make Greek salads which are what many people use straight feta cheese for other than in baking, but I do like to crumble some into my scrambled eggs. I thought I'd see which of the 2 kinds of milk sources I preferred.
On the bottom left, was the pricier (by $1 per pound) goat feta with the sheep feta on the far right. The goat feta was drier which made it more crumbly and sharper tasting (great for spinach and cheese pies) while the sheep feta was softer and creamier and really great to eat on its own or on a pizza. The price is comparable when you consider that the sheep cheese has a higher moisture content.
Salami Sandwich
Challah
I love challah bread and luckily there's a bakery nearby (<5 min drive) that makes it and is open 6 days a week. Every time I think I should bake some challah bread at home, I remember that I can just walk into the bakery and pick up one of these loaves. So I do. :)
Challah Bread - thick cut
Crumb (aka the inside) of the Challah bread - You see, you don't just get to look at the pretty pictures, you can also learn something about baking from this post. :)
Plain liverwurst sausage on challah bread, Rudi's keilbasa (a local specialty and very pricey) and a chunk of fresh ricotta cheese - another Saturday, post market lunch
Mititei, a Romanian delicacy, on Challah with a little imported French Dijon mustard