Spain Meets Colorado – Steak with Spanish Dry-Rub

On March 9, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes13 Comments

When we travel, we try to taste as much of the local flavors as possible. Then, when we’re back at home, we try to replicate some of the things that we tried during our trips. We certainly aren’t culinary experts, but we are a couple that enjoys cooking and trying different foods. This particular dinner is obviously very easy, but if you’re a meat lover, it is extremely delicious. If you ever come to the western United States, to states like Colorado, Wyoming, or Montana, you’re going to find some great steaks. We have gotten used to the portions that restaurants serve, which is why we always split a meal when we go out and even then usually have food leftover to take home with us.

When we had first moved to Colorado, we took a trip the Alamosa, in the southwestern portion of the state, and had gone out to dinner and ordered a steaks. We’d each ordered our own meal, so when the server arrived with our food, we almost went into shock. A large plate was placed in front of each of us and on this plate was a huge steak. That was all that was on the plate because that was all that could fit on the plate. Then smaller plates with baked potatoes and vegetables were placed next our enormous steaks. Each steak could easily feed a family of four, but apparently steak portions tend to be fairly large in the western states.

So, we picked up a nice, thick rib-eye steak from our favorite butcher at the Cowboy Star restaurant where we can get our steaks cut to order. We marinated it with the Spanish dry-rub and grilled it to a nice medium rare. To complete the Spanish experience, we paired it with a Monastrell wine from the Taringa vineyard in Jumilla, Spain, which was bold and spicy enough to stand up to the flavor of the steak. We served with a side salad, just to try to pretend that we were being a little healthy.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp Spanish Paprika
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Dry Mustard
1 tsp Ground Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Boneless Rib-Eye Steaks (about 10 – 12 oz each)

Instructions

Mix the spices in a small bowl. Brush the steaks with the olive oil and then rub the spices all over the steak, making sure to coat both sides equally. Let the steaks stand at room temperature, coated with the spice rub, for about 20 minutes to let the aromatic spices penetrate. Cook the steaks on a grill, grill pan, or in a cast iron skillet until it reaches the desired temperature. Let the steaks rest, tented with aluminum foil, for at least 10 minutes. Cut the steak into strips or serve whole. Serves 2 to 4 people.

The Food of Iceland

On March 2, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes22 Comments

We actually ate more on this trip than we usually do. Perhaps it was because we love seafood or just because every day was a long day of exploring the beautiful landscapes. We definitely wanted to try authentic Icelandic fare, but there were also a few things that we knew that we wouldn’t eat. When reading about the food of Iceland before we travelled, there was quite a bit out there about the restaurants serving whale and puffin. We’d also heard about the fermented shark, which was featured on a couple of shows, including Bizarre Foods. We mostly ate in Reykjavik, but we did enjoy a couple of meals while we were travelling around the countryside.

Seafood and lamb were on every menu in one shape or form and the most traditional dishes seemed to be the soups, fish soup, meat soup, and lamb soup, of which we tried each. We had fish soup several times and each time the broth was a little different, but they were all delicious. Langoustine, which are small lobsters, were also very common on most menus. Some of the best that we had were actually at the restaurant at the Settlement Center in Borganese. They had a wonderful buffet, but we chose to order a la carte, having lamb and fish soup and then entrees. In addition to the langoustine on tagliatelle, we also had Ling, which is a white fish in the cod family, but it was lighter than traditional cod and very delicious.

When we went out to the Snæfellsnes peninsula, the Hotel Búðir was highly recommended to us as the place to stop for lunch and we weren’t disappointed. They are a wonderful hotel and would probably be a great place to stay and get out of Reykjavik, but we had to settle for just having lunch there. Again, we had fish soup as well as a lamb sandwich, with the meat being very mild in flavor.

On one of our nights out, we decided to do the chef’s menu at the Seafood Grill, something also offered at many restaurants, where you get several courses all chosen by the chef to represent the food of Iceland. We told them that we did not want puffin or whale, ordered a couple of glasses of wine, and then the food started coming, all nine courses. Unfortunately they still brought us puffin, but we asked them to replace it with a second order of goose, but otherwise every course, all meat except for dessert, were delicious. We had goose, grouper, salmon, lobster, ocean pearch, and lamb. It was way more food than we could eat, but each course was incredible.

Cured Goose and Puffin (before we returned it)

In addition to the food, Iceland is quite proud of its beer. The most common is Gull beer, which is brewed in Reykjavik and can be found just about everywhere. We tried Boli Premium that is a premium lager that is also brewed in Reykjavik. There is no wine produced in Iceland, for obvious reasons, but we did hear that they were going to attempt it in the near future. The other thing that they produce in Iceland is vodka as well as Brennivín, which is an unsweetened schnapps that is the most popular distilled alcohol in Iceland and is usually taken as a shot.

We chose not to eat any puffin or whale during our trip because of the environmental impact. From what we heard, the puffin population has decreased by 38% since it became a popular dish on the island and some whales are still on the endangered species list. We don’t judge anyone else who chooses to eat puffin or whale, it is just something that we didn’t want have while we were there. Fermented shark is a shark head that has been left out for a month to rot and is then served. We didn’t see that on any menu, but it just sounds disgusting, so we were glad not to see it. The one other thing that we saw on a menu, but didn’t try, was reindeer. We probably would have tried that had we had the chance, but the restaurant that served it was so busy that we ended up walking out without eating there.

Overall, the food that we had was terrific, especially the seafood. Because we wanted to try as many different things as possible, we ended up eating way more than we usually would. Normally we split a meal or just eat small bites, but on this trip we ordered appetizers and full meals for each of us so that we could share and order different things. Reykjavik definitely has a wonderful variety of restaurants to choose from, both Icelandic as well as traditional restaurants such as Italian, Thai, American, etc. The food was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

Seared Sea Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce

On February 17, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes19 Comments

We don’t have sea scallops very often as they are usually expensive to buy here in Colorado, but we decided to splurge and get some over the weekend. We wanted something lite and flavorful, so we did a lemon butter sauce with some garlic and capers. It made for a wonderful treat was satisfying, but wasn’t too heavy. We hope you’ll enjoy it as well.

Ingredients

12 – 16 Sea Scallops – about 1 lb
1/4 cup Flour
1 tsp Paprika
1 clove Fresh Garlic – minced
1 Lemon
1 pinch of Saffron
1 tbsp Capers
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 tbsp Butter
8 oz Pasta (Angel Hair, Spaghetti, or linguine)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Combine the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper on a plate or shallow bowl. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and the pasta, and cook according to the package directions. In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Dredge just the flat sides of the scallops in the flour and place them in the pan. The flour will help to thicken the sauce as well as help to sear the scallops. Cook the scallops, flipping half way through, until cooked through and golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water from the pasta, then drain the pasta and put the pasta into a bowl stirring in 2 tablespoons of butter. To make the sauce, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, the garlic, the zest of 1/4 of the lemon, the saffron, capers, and the juice of the lemon to the saucepan that the scallops were cooked in. Be sure to deglaze the pan drippings into the sauce and simmer on medium-high heat until the garlic and capers are soft, about 3 minutes. Put the scallops on the pasta and pour the sauce over the scallops. Serves 4.