Cooking European food in Egypt

Once in a while Courtney & I enjoy a day of fancy cooking. Since we spent the majority of our adult life in Belgium, our preferred food is European oriented, and we particularly enjoy the Italian and Flemish cuisines. Yesterday we had some friends over for a meal that took most of our day to prepare. A big part of the challenge here in Egypt is actually acquiring the ingredients. Some dishes will have to be dismissed immediately because we know there’s no way we can get what we need, and it would be impossible to substitute everything. Most dishes we figure we can make, but several ingredients will have to be replaced. By now we have a pretty good idea about where certain products can be found, and our safest bet for genuinely European foods is Carrefour. We’ve also learned what can go as what: mascarpone for example can be replaced with this strange “fresh cream” they sell in Saudi. After visiting at least two grocery stores we’ll usually have enough ingredients to start cooking.

Yesterday we served, for a starter, homemade chicken liver cognac pate with Swedish lingonberry sauce, homemade sweet onion relish on toasted baguette and a bed of fresh flat leafed parsley. After the starter we served a duo of homemade ravioli; sea bass ravioli with a tomato, garlic and seafood sauce, and ricotta and chestnut ravioli (the chestnut was replaced by a medley of other nuts and pretty much ended up tasting better than the original) with mascarpone and sage sauce. The entrée was Italian style stuffed duck with maple syrup- and pomegranate sauce and a hearty apple-, walnut and blue cheese salad, and for dessert we served a chocolate cake with Sabayon bourbon cream. After the dinner Courtney hosted a small bourbon tasting, which was very successful, and ended, as something like that is bound to end, in merry cheers.

The bourbon host ended up falling asleep with the boys after our guests had left, and I was left with the massive amount of dishes, which actually isn’t too bad when you have a dishwasher. I had enjoyed half a glass of red wine with my dinner, perhaps one sip of bourbon, and was feeling pretty good, even though I had been on my feet more than I ought to in a day. I have to say that it feels nice not to be able to drink too much, and my baby growing body was certainly making the most out of the luxurious food.