To Poland, Mexico, & Austria ... in Just Two Days: Getting International at the Summer Fancy Foods Show

Meat!!!

As soon as you're granted press credentials for the Fancy Food Show, the offers start rolling in: Come visit booth X! Please make sure to sample [insert cracker company here] when you are at the show! Whatever you do, don't miss the [newest, hottest, trendiest] chocolate innovation! And then there are the invitations to the after show events: dinners, cocktail parties, tastings. It's a bit overwhelming.

I am not complaining, mind you, but there is a strategy to the whole thing. You don't want to say "yes" too soon, because what if something better comes along and you're already committed to something else? I know - such problems to have. Fortunately, my decision this year was pretty easy: I was invited to events pertinent to three countries I have recently visited, and loved: Poland, Mexico, and Austria. Done, done, and done.

Stary Kleparz Market: A Total Polish Shopping Experience in Krakow's Old Town for Wordless Wednesday

That's a pretty long title for Wordless Wednesday, isn't it? Perhaps I should have called it "Mostly Wordless Wednesday." Or "Fewer Words Wednesday." Oh well, I have been called many things, but silent isn't usually one of them.

Let me just say I wouldn't want to offend the fabulous Trevor's discriminating sensibilities and call the Stary Kleparz Market in Krakow the best market ever, or claim that there's nothing like it in the States.  (Actually, Trevor,  I think Vienna's Naschmarkt is the best market ever, anywhere, hands down. And there really isn't one like it in the States! But I digress.)  I will say, however,  that Stary Kleparz is pretty awesome (as well as fun to say) and if you think the only produce you can get in Poland is cabbage, well,  your eyes will certainly be opened.

Oh, and there's meat. Lots and lots of meat. And people watching. And other things too!

Drat, I am going to be quiet now. ... though I can't promise you there won't be any captions. Shhhhh ... it's Wordless Wednesday.

Zapiekanka: A Polish Street Food Goes Gourmet, with Swiss Chard Pesto, Sauteed Crimini Mushrooms, Oven Roasted Corn, and Garlic Aioli on a Fresh Homemade Baguette for the 5 Star Pizza Makeover

Imagine my surprise when the theme for this month's 5 Star Makeover - hosted as always by the prolific Natasha of 5 Star Foodie and Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks! - was announced. Pizza. But wait a minute. I just made a pizza for last month's 5 Star farmers market challenge: the glorious Tycoon, a manly pie dripping with steak and blue cheese and potatoes and quail eggs.

No matter - if there's one thing I love it's stuff on bread, and the possibilities are endless. And it seems I tend to get inspired by the various permutations of pizza  I encounter on my travels.  Last year I recreated (and created) a few versions of langos, Hungarian deep fried pizza, after visiting Budapest. So it seemed only fitting that for this pizza challenge I would create a gourmet version of zapiekanka, a  pizza-esqe Polish street food I enjoyed in Krakow. Remember?

Borscht, Beast, & Booze: The Many Culinary Faces of Krakow, Poland (And the Wine Giveaway Winner)

A piping hot bowl of borscht from a bar mlezny (milk bar)

Wild boar tenderloins in forest sauce from Pod Baranem

Miodowka honey vodka at Wódka Cafe Bar

When it comes to food, most people tend to associate Poland with two main things: kielbasa and pierogies. There's a lot more to Polish cuisine, as I learned firsthand on my trip, but these two items are undoubtedly ubiquitous staples.  I've already talked about the many excellent sausages to be had in Krakow, and Poppa Trix and I feasted on (more than) our fair share of pierogies on our trip. My favorites came from a cute place called Pierożki u Vincenta. This bright spot had a Vincent Van Gogh theme:

The Street Meats of Krakow & Prague: A Tale of Many Sausages, Things on Buns, Polish Pizza, and the Mysterious Kielbasa Man

A Wenceslas Square wiener

Zapiekanka at Plac Nowy in Krakow

Prague sausage!

If you've been following my posts chronicling my recent trip to Eastern and Central Europe, you'll have figured out by now that Poppa Trix and I can eat like nobody's business. From huge bowls of pho to piles of raw meat to kilos of ham to multi-course chef's menus, we are no wilting flowers when it comes to tasting new things and experiencing other cultures through food.

Polish Prażonka: A Bon Voyage Post

It's that time of year again - Poppa Trix and I are about to embark on an adventure! Last year, you may recall, we ate our way through Vienna, with a brief detour in Budapest. This year we'll be traveling to  Prague and Krakow, with a short stop in Vienna to see Mother-in-Law-Trix (and to satisfy our craving for heuriger food  and tiny sandwiches ).

For my bon voyage post, I've made a version of a traditional Polish dish, prażonka, which I read about in the course of my trip research, in Old Polish Traditions in the Kitchen and at the Table. In many instances, the book doesn't really give amounts, but rather gives a bit of the dish's history and general guidance as far as ingredients and methodology.