Good Things I've Eaten: Before I Forget

Things can get crazy over here, but always in a good way. I've left Bra after what has been a mild, crisp, and invigorating winter in Piemonte. Now I am in Campania, stationed just outside Naples in the epicenter of mind blowing food. It is going to be really hard to keep up with these Good Things I've Eaten entries. Before it's too late: here's a look back at some of the highlights of the last month or so.

1. Luca's Mom's "Poire Belle Helene"

After a casual weekend lunch, when we were trying to run our food inventory down before leaving, Luca and I looked at each other and kind of new that neither one of us was quite satisfied by the hodge-podge salad, leftover pasta, and nuggets of cured meat and cheese we had eaten. Then Luca goes to the cupboard and pulls out a miracle save on what could have been the only unsatisfactory meal we have eaten in our apartment all year.

He pulls out this stuff:

As the label says, it's called "Poire Belle Helene", and it's a French recipe for a gooey, spreadable jar of goodness made from chocolate and pears. This stuff is seriously good. The chocolate flavor is strong and well balanced by the slightly acidic pears. It has the texture of chocolate heated just enough to melt and pour elegantly out of its vessel. The chunks of pear add a nice crunch, and the stuff isn't too sweet. You can eat it straight out of the jar, with a spoon, which we did. We also spread in on biscotti, bread crusts, and sliced fruit. Then we washed it down with nips of Sicilian passito. Unsatisfying lunch avoided. Thanks Marcella.

2. Churros and Chocolate: Caceres, Spain

I wanted my first experience of Churros and Chocolate to be organic. I didn't want to get duped by a snack-shack with a paper sign taped to its window that slings a low quality, watered-down product to tourists. I wanted the real thing, and I found it when I was least expecting, but when I needed it the most.

After staying out past six in the morning and thereby breaking my late-night, European dance party record, my classmate and I desperately needed something to eat. Thankfully, we passed up a crappy, fast-food sandwich shop, hoping for something better but not sure if we could find it. After some dejected walking and basically giving up, we came upon a greasy, poorly lit shop. The sign said "Churreria". My spirits immediately lifted.

Behind the counter, a woman worked a coffee machine and a man tended to two different sizes of curled, sizzling tubes of dough floating in a cauldron of hot oil. We ordered hot chocolate from the woman and four of each type of churro from the man.

The bigger churros were fluffy, slightly chewy, and had a hint of saltiness. The smaller churros were crunchy on the outside and light and airy on the inside. Both doughs had the same sweetness level of good Brioche, nothing like the sugar-crusted, previously frozen stuff one finds at carnivals and sporting events. These churros had the substance of a real breakfast food and served as a perfect vehicle for soaking up the bitter, dense hot chocolate.

I ate my pile in a blissed-out daze. I had found exactly what I wanted. This was a meal worth staying up for.

3. Breaded and Fried Risotto Ball, Stuffed with a Breaded and Deep Fried Lamb's Testicle*, Beer Battered and Deep Fried

That's right. At our end of the year deep fry party, I took a deep fried testicle, smooshed it inside a deep fried risotto ball, then beer-battered the whole thing and refried it while all the components were still hot. And actually, it came out delicious. Good enough to make again and actually serve to people on purpose, not just the next time I happen to have a deep fried testicle, a deep fried risotto ball, and beer batter sitting on my kitchen table. Some spicy tomato sauce really helped to cut through the richness.

*We're not quite sure if we had purchased lamb's testicles or veal testicles. Either way, breaded and deep fried, they were a hit.

Honorable Mention: Farinheira

On our trip to Portugal, Farinheira, a smoked sausage made of pork fat, wheat flour, and lots of paprika stood out as one of the most unique and delicious ingredients: full of good smoky, porky flavor, balanced by the sweet spiciness of the paprika. The flour gives the sausage a strange but pleasant dryness in the mouth, which makes the product truly unique.

I have to downgrade to honorable mention status, though, because after a morning of serious cured-meat tasting, including lots of Farinheira, I got really sick and was nauseous and crampy the whole next day, which leads me to believe that Portuguese cured meats are a little too rough around the edges and gnarly to truly be considered a "Good Thing I've Eaten".