Enjoying Food During Our Travels

Eating local food when traveling is a wonderful way to experience the culture and try dishes that can’t be found where you live. We try to go to as many places and try as many different types of foods as we can during our trips, even if it means stopping at several locations over several hours. We have shared these experiences over the past few years and decided to take the time and review them once again. These are some of our favorite food locations that we’ve visited during our varied travels.

  1. The Food of Hanoi, Vietnam

    Phở
  2.  The Food of Cochabamba, Bolivia

    Pique Macho
  3.  The Food of Iceland

    Ling with White Wine Cream Sauce in Iceland
  4.  The Food of Prague, Chech Republic

    Deer with Bread Dumplings in Prague
  5.  The Food of Budapest, Hungary

    The Original Goulash Stew in Budapest
  6.  The Food of Tuscany, Italy

    Fresh Zucchini Ravioli in Italy
  7.  The Fusion Food of Lima, Peru

    Asian Soft Taco
  8.  The Food of Romania

    Stuffed Cabbage and Grape Leaves with Polenta in Romania
  9.  The Food of Scottsdale, Arizona

    Carnitas Burrito Served Enchilada Style
  10.  The Food of Strasbourg, France

    Hearty Dish
  11.  The Food of Ecuador

    Lamb with Rice and Potatoes
  12.  The Food of New Orleans

    Crawfish Etouffee
  13.  The Food of Panama

    Lobster Thermador
  14.  Eating in Egypt

    Mixed Grill
  15.  The Food of Amsterdam

    Clams and Linguini
  16.  The Food of Carlsbad, California

    Seafood Skewers – Incredibly Delicious
  17.  The Food of Heidelberg, Germany

    Pork Stomach in Germany

Sautéed Shrimp with a Pumpkin-Sage Butter

During the autumn season, we are always looking for creative ways to use seasonal products such as pumpkin. Mixing butter with pumpkin and sage is a savory way to give flavor to seafood, especially shrimp or scallops. We decided to sauté shrimp with the infused butter and it made for a delicious meal. Not only was it tasty, but it turned the shrimp a nice orange color was perfect for this time of year. The shrimp could be served over rice or even buttered pasta to make it a wonderful meal.

Pumpkin-Sage Shrimp

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs Raw Shrimp – medium size, peeled and de-veined
  • 1 stick (8 tbsp) Softened Unsalted Butter
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 1/4 cup Canned Pure Pumpkin
  • 1 tbsp Fresh Sage – chopped
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 Lemon – cut in half

Instructions

In a bowl or food processor, combine the softened butter, pumpkin, sage, and salt.  Whisk or pulse until smooth.  Add a 1/2 tablespoon of butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1/3 of the shrimp to the skillet, making sure that the shrimp aren’t crowded, and cook until pink, about 2 to 4 minutes.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of the pumpkin-sage butter and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Remove the shrimp from skillet and repeat the steps until all of the shrimp has been cooked.  Serve warm or at room temperature with picks.

Pumpkin-Sage Butter
Sauté Shrimp
Stir in Pumpkin-Sage Butter
Shrimp Sautéed in Pumpkin-Sage Butter
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The Food of Amsterdam

From the moment we arrived in Amsterdam during our trip there, it became obvious that we were going to be eating a lot of seafood. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand the reason for this, sitting on the coast with canals running throughout the city, Amsterdam is a seafood paradise, especially when it comes to shellfish. That doesn’t mean that seafood is the only thing that you can find, cheese is also very prominent and a source of pride for the country. Don’t worry, though, you can find plenty of beer and fried food as well.

Seafood Tower
Local Beer
Sushi Appetizer

One of the first things that we saw as we walked from our hotel into the heart of Amsterdam was a fish monger selling a wide variety of fresh fish. We love the idea of being able to walk to your local fish market and being able to purchase fish that was caught that morning and then serving it for dinner that evening. There were so many choices to choose from, including a national favorite, herrings. Unfortunately, since we didn’t have a kitchen, we weren’t able to buy any fish for ourselves, but that didn’t mean that we didn’t get our fill of fresh fish.

People Buying Fresh Fish
Decadent Desert
Utensils for Eating Seafood

We decided to go out for a nice dinner during our long weekend in Amsterdam and decided to get the “seafood tower”. It was a massive collection of a wide variety of shellfish including oysters, lobster, langoustines, crab, and other items that we’ve never seen before. The restaurant also featured a large, saltwater aquarium with a variety of colorful fish. Although the fish were beautiful, it did feel a little weird to eat a large meal of seafood while fish swam next to our table. On another day, we ate some clams and linguini in a white wine sauce that recently inspired us to create our own white wine sauce and fish dinner.

Part of the Seafood Tower
Oysters on the Half-Shell
Aquarium Fish

Another interesting meal that we had during our visit was a platter of meats, cheese, and fried croquets. Perhaps not the healthiest of choices, but it was tasty and very filling. The type of meal that sticks to your ribs. We also ate some sushi and a meal of lamb medallions with cheesy potatoes one evening as well as indulging in a rich desert. Of course we had some beer (bier) including Jopen, which is brewed in Haarlem, Netherlands. For an appetizer, we ate a crab dip that was flakey and delicious.

Meat, Cheese, and Fried Food
Another Local Beer
Clams and Linguini

We only had a few days in Amsterdam, but we really enjoyed the meals that we did have while we were there. Seafood, cheese, beer, fried foods, and meat, nothing to complain about there. Hopefully on our next trip to the Netherlands, we’ll have time to get out of the city and try some food in some of the smaller towns and villages.

We Wish We Could Have Bought Something
Medallions of Lamb with Cheesy Potatoes
Flakey Crab