Croatia: Street Food Bite and Booze of the 2014 World Cup

Loosen your belts a notch or two because today we kick off our journey through the street foods and boozes of the FIFA World Cup 2014! Our first stop is Croatia with Burek and the Crocktail. The street food choices in Croatia may be slim, but they are made up of traditional foods to get people through their workday until they get home to watch the match.

Photo Credit: Chasing the Donkey

Burek is basically a hand held pie made of filo pastry dough (puff pastry without the puff) and filled with meat, cheese, and in some cases spinach, potatoes, or apple slices. Typically enjoyed for lunch, you can find this one-hand wonder just about anywhere and it will be filling enough to hold you over until your next bite. The other thing I love about Burek is that it's relatively easy to make (unless you're determined to make your own dough). If you want to make some to watch the game, there are tons of recipes online.

Photo Credit: festivalhraneivina.hr

The Crocktail is the country's first national cocktail! Most national cocktails are made with native liquors or feature a native fruit. The Crocktail includes a Marachino liqueur flavored with their local maraska cherries, sour cherry juice, candied orange flavors and lemon. A fruity libation to add to your drinking for the World Cup that's light and refreshingly sweet.

COOLinary New Orleans: Superior Seafood

Oysters Superior: Four Ways to Deliciousness

During the entire month of August the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered up with a multitude of local restaurants to offer a special COOLinary dining experience.  Locals and tourists alike were treated to special prefix menus at a small price tag of $20 for lunch and $35 for dinner.  With that kind of price tag at some of NOLA's newest as well as most legendary restaurants, there's no reason not to eat out!

The New Orleans CVB invited me to experience a few of the COOLinary meals for myself.  Since I was in town anyway for the Louisiana Cookin' Magazine Chefs to Watch dinner, I figured it couldn't hurt to grab a couple lunches as well.  My first stop brought me a newer restaurant on St. Charles Avenue called Superior Seafood.  The restaurant has the same ownership as Superior Grill in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and Superior Steak in Shreveport.  The latest concept, a truly supreme seafood restaurant and oyster bar, is captained in the kitchen by Chef Justin Ferguson.  Chef Ferguson is a graduate of the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge and has worked at several Red Stick restaurants.

Fried Green Tomato topped with Crab Meat and Hollandaise

Strawberry Basil Mojito

While I came to Superior Seafood to enjoy the three-course COOLinary menu, there were a couple dishes that Michele and I just couldn't pass up.  Since Superior Seafood also dubs themselves as an oyster bar, I couldn't resist the Oysters Superior which came with four preparations: Bienville, Rockefeller, Char-grilled, and Angels on Horseback.  The Bienville, which contains bacon and shrimp in a creamy stuffing, were my favorite. The Angels on Horseback also featured bacon, but it was wrapped around the oyster then battered and deep fried!  Another appetizer came out before our sensation salads.  The crispy fried green tomato beautifully topped with crab meat and hollandaise tasted every bit as appetizing as it looked.  I'm a fan of fried green tomatoes so I knew I'd like it, and this dish did not let me down one bit.  I also managed to add a strawberry basil mojito to my lunch.  With rum, fresh strawberries, fresh basil, and lemon juice, the fruity cocktail refused to be overly sweet so I rather enjoyed it.

Glazed Salmon Entree from the COOLinary Menu

Summer Upside Down Cake

While Michele went with the Shrimp Vieux Carre for her entree, I stuck to the prefix COOLinary menu and had the glazed salmon.  I'm typically not a fan of salmon any way other than raw, but Superior Seafood proved me wrong.  The pan seared salmon had a honey and balsamic glaze that freakin' rocked.  This dish easily wound up being my favorite salmon preparation of all time.  The grilled asparagus also impressed me.  It remained rigid while being tender enough to eat with a fork and it partnered wonderfully with the salt and balsamic drizzle.  I made a happy plate in no time, enjoyed another cocktail, and prepared for dessert.  The summer upside down cake capped off the delightful three course COOLinary meal.  The captivating cake came topped with cooked down cherries and dollop of cream.  The cake provided a lovely ending to a damn good lunch.  I'll definitely be down to go back to Superior Seafood again to check out more of their excellent menu!

Acadian Frame and Art for a Hannah Lane Paintings, Wine, and Dine

Here's my favorite thing about art shows: free wine and food!  A little while back I had the pleasure of attending a show featuring Hannah Lane's work.  Hannah is a great childhood friend and local Baton Rouge painter and illustrator who does amazing work on the canvas.  This past show took place at the Acadian Frame and Art in the Drusilla Shopping Center where the wine and food did not disappoint.

Jambalaya in Front, Fried Catfish Fingers to the Back

Free food is always a good method to draw a crowd and I was impressed with the spread at Acadian Art.  The jambalaya shown above was a classic chicken and sausage Cajun dish that hit the spot.  Equally tempting were the catfish fingers in the background.  These catfish fingers were fantastic, fresh, and crispy finger foods that dipped well into the accompanying tartar sauce.  But, the real reason I attended the show was to see Hannah and the art!

Hannah's Painting on the Wall of the Acadian Art Gallery

You can't see Hannah in this picture but she is back there showing off her paintings to some art show guests.  This wall featured a lot of her work including the crab, pelican, and pear paintings that you can see here.  It is always great to catch up with her and her family, of which saw Papa Robert and Mama Elaine as well as Chelsea at the show.  One member of the family that was not present was the younger Robert who happens to be in New Zealand right now.  You can read about all of his adventures here!

Blueberry and Cherry Cheesecakes

The cheesecakes for dessert were without a doubt the culinary highlight of this evening.  As good as the other foods and wines were, these homemade cheesecakes took home the prize.  The blueberry cheesecake tasted like a slice of heaven in my mouth and I knew from the first bite that I would need to blog about it.  Each additional bite reinforced how creamy and wonderful this treat can be.  I was impressed to say the least.  Thanks for the invite Hannah!