appetizers – Real Foodies

FANCY AN ALMOND?

Remember the days when the only almonds that lived in your pantry, came in a blue can and usually had a smokey taste? Those were some yummy little treats, and I still partake here and there, but we have come a long way in the almond world. I noshed on my first Marcona almond while living in Madrid about 12 years ago. Little naked almonds sauteed in olive oil and drizzled with sea salt. What's not to like? Peeled Spaniards and Unpeeled Gringo I brought Marcona's back with me in my suitcase and sighed when I got down [...]

WHAT IS TINY, SPECKLED AND OH SO TASTY?

(if you just want recipes, scroll down, cus I’m in the mood to write) Quail eggs are not the new pork belly, but they are popping up on pizzas, bursting out of ravioli and resting atop risottos in fine restaurants nationwide. Sun roof. These little spotted lovelies are nothing new if you like Japanese food, namely sushi, where it is common to spot a raw quail egg atop Tobiko (flying fish roe), coddling in your sukiyaki or floating in “shooters” for the wild and crazy at heart. I LOVE EGGS, simple as that, but little quail eggs offer [...]