On May 17th, the Norwegian’s celebrate their independence from their neighbor Sweden. In Norway, this day is typically starts with a Champagne breakfast with close friends and family and continues with celebrations throughout the day. There are parades and social events throughout the day. Apparently, it is also a day where people eat a lot of sweets and junk food. Children are allowed to eat as much ice cream as they want!

This year, my friend Stig invited me to a traditional Champagne brunch to celebrate! Stig celebrates his birthday with his nation and definitely has the best birthday for a Norwegian! He invited his Norwegians friends and friends that wish they were Norwegian (that would be me!) to celebrate with food and Champagne. The first thing that I noticed was the fact that everyone dressed up for the occasion. Girls were in nice dresses and men wore blazers with ties or bow-ties. It’s a stark difference from the American 4th of July celebrations which are casual and typically include a picnic.

Everyone was in high spirits and very proud of the holiday and their heritage. They waved their flag around, wore Norwegian flag pins, and were singing Norwegian folk songs. Despite it being finals period, people made an effort to bring foods that they eat at home- salmon, dried meats, Norwegian bread, brown cheese, and strawberries. Somehow I ended up being in charge of making the homemade waffles! There was also no shortage of Champagne- I was disappointed to stop after two glasses since I had to leave early to continue writing my thesis.

Here are some pictures of the festivities.

I was lucky to find typical Norwegian bread at the Boulangerie that morning. The Norwegians were very happy with my find and asked for the address!

Haugpølse is a sausage from a well known brand, Gilde, and it consists of cured meat from cattle, horse and sheep.

The host, Stig, sweet talked me into making these during the middle of the party because he said that I was suuuuccchhhh a good cook. To be honest, I didn’t mind :).

My Norwegian friends from school. 

One of the simplest and most delicious Persian foods is called Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh (Barberry rice with Chicken). The hardest item to find for this recipe is the Zereshk (Barberries). Lucky for me, there is a very large population of Iranians in New York so hard-to-find ingredients are easy to find! I came back to Grenoble with a bag of Zereshk (Barberries) and a package of Saffron. I was well-equipped to make one of my favorite foods- Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh (Barberry Rice with Chicken)!

To give the chicken a nice color, I soaked Saffron threads in hot water for two hours and rubbed it all over the chicken.

I used the saffron to also season a portion of the rice, for decorative purposes, and added the saffron threads and water to the Zereshk (Barberries) when I was cooking them.

I spent some time with my Aunt Akram, in Sydney, and she taught me how to cook a delicious and moist chicken on the stove. It has always been a hit with my dinner guests. I pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a pot, layer the pot with sliced onions and tomatoes, add a few bay leaves, salt (pepper, if you like), two tablespoons of water, add the chicken and cover the pot. Keep it on a medium low flame to prevent the onions from burning. You can really cook it as long as you want. The longer you keep it on the stove, the easier the meat will fall off the bone. I have cooked whole chicken like this before and it comes out like a roasted chicken. Except you don’t end up with a nicely roasted layer of skin. You can also fill the sides of the pot with fingerling potatoes and carrots. Whatever you like.

I have always loved cooking Zereshk. Whenever my mother would cook this meal, I would volunteer to make this. You take a saucepan, put it on a low flame, add two teaspoons of butter and then add the washed Zereshk. When the little Zereshk berries start to puff, you need to add a little bit of hot water to it. Next, you add the saffron threads that have you soaking in water. Zereshk is very sour (and is high in vitamin C!) so you need to add a bit of sugar to counterbalance the acidity. You end up with a deliciously sweet and sour sauce that goes great with rice and chicken!

Lucky for me, Gerard is a great cook and is always very generous about sharing his experiments in the kitchen or food that his parents bring him from Spain. His Catalan cuisine is very heavy in vegetables and different types of cured meats. He especially likes to use a lot of garlic and that is probably one factor that makes his food very tasty!

A few weeks ago, we had some international friends over for a pot-luck meal and Gerard made a very typical appetizer called Pa amb tomàquet (Bread with tomato). It is a very simple recipe as it only calls for tomato, garlic, olive oil and bread but it is really flavorful and delicious. That is typically eaten with Jambon Serrano. Jambon Serrano is the Spanish version of Italian Procuitto.

This is a picture of Gerard on a snow shoeing expedition we went on in February. I will be sharing more about Gerard’s experiments in the kitchen!

I typically drizzle my asparagus with olive oil and sea salt and roast them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Many people add black pepper but I’m not a fan and never use it in my cooking. Last week I bought white asparagus for the first time and prepared it the same way I would prepare green asparagus. It was a huge fail! The outer skin was tough and inedible. The only way to salvage some of it was to eat it the same way you would eat lobster legs. If you have done it, you  know that it is a lot of effort to get out a bit of lobster meat and flavor. The same was true with the white asparagus.

I consulted a friend, and local chef, Steffan Edwards for advice on how to prepare them. White asparagus may look delicate but it is important to peel one or two layers of skin off with a vegetable peeler. Also, you must never roast white asparagus like you can the green variety. It should only be boiled for about 7 minutes. Freshness is also important. If you are lucky enough to buy it from a farmer’s market, you can assume that it is fresh but try not to keep it in the fridge for more than two days. If they have been purchased from a grocery store, it should be eaten on the same day.

Purple Asparagus seen in the farmer’s market.

Discounted Crooked White Asparagus.

Comté happens to be my favorite semi-hard French cheese. I discovered it at the market when I studied in France in 2002. For 8 years, it was my quest to find the same rich flavor and crunchy bits in the United States. I never succeeded and realized that the one in France is special primarily because it is unpasteurized and can be found in different aging categories. Generally Comté is aged between 12-24 months. However, my favorite is aged 36 months and that can be found at the best cheese shop in Grenoble- Les Alpages on Rue de Strasbourg.

Typically, Fondue is made with a blend of cheeses, wine and some seasonings. When I saw that we could get a Comté Fondue, I knew that I would have to throw my diet out the window and go for it! My friend and I decided to go with the caramelized onions and charcuterie sides. We were not disappointed.

As with any French meal, we went for half of a liter of house red wine (it’s always a safe bet while you are in France…and reasonably priced!).

If you find yourself in Grenoble and are looking for a typical mountain meal in a great neighborhood, I recommend this restaurant. They have great customer service and a charming environment. The restaurant is entirely family run by a friendly husband and wife and their two college aged children.

Easter weekend in Italy is a time when everyone returns to their parents home and reconnects with family, cousins, and childhood friends. The night before Easter, all the bars were hoping and people were catching up with friends they hadn’t seen in a while. It reminded me of Thanksgiving weekend in the US where everyone goes out on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to see friends from high school.

At noon on Easter Sunday, Rosalita’s house was filled with about 20 family members. I was warned not to spoil my appetite because there would be so much food and I’m glad I took the advice. There was an array of foods that filled the table and some that were being passed around for an aperitivo. Everything was delicious but I think that the most typically regional Easter food that was served was a tarte called Neapolitan Pastiera. It is a traditional Easter cake that comes from Naples. It is made from ricotta cheese and corn. It was very  delicious. Rosalita and her sister were in competition over who’s was best. I didn’t participate as I couldn’t bear to decide which was more delicious.

After two long days of cooking and baking, the chef, Rosalita finally sits down to eat her masterpiece. It was a wonderful experience to be with such nice people during a holiday that is so important to them!