Kanafeh is an Arabic dessert most popular in the Middle East region . I was intrigued by this sweet because it reminded me of something I had that is very similar to it. Kanafeh is made out of shredded crispy phyllo dough filled with a sweet cream that has been drenched in rose water. This is a delicious treat but I can see why people may not like it. Rose water has a very distinct taste and can be a polarizing ingredient. However, I’ve had products with rose water before so I was familiar with it. The pastry had an excellent balance of texture between the crispy phyllo dough and the creamy filling. It was of course sweet but was mellow enough to continue enjoying it.

Here is a photo taken from Google.

I had the special privilege to make this dish along with a fellow classmate in my International Cuisine course instructed by Professor Stewart. It was a fairly easy recipe to follow with a few ingredients. I never had duck prepared like this so it was an exciting experience. For the recipe, we used duck legs since they are the juiciest and most tender which is also great for presentation. The legs had a nice sear but was not crispy since they were cooked in the sauce. As I took a bite of the leg, I was a bit disappointed because it did not have a strong taste. It was subtle with a hint of saltiness, sweetness and tartness. I much prefer the delicious lamb dish that was made that night. Also, I did not like how the pomegranate juice was used in the dish because I wanted a richer pomegranate taste and as the pomegranate cooked in the oven, it had created an inky ,dark grey color. However, the basmati rice did soak up the juices which enhanced the bland taste of the rice.The best part was that there were leftover pomegranate seeds to snack on.

Another food that I never tried is blood sausage. Blood sausage is popular in Asian countries and some parts of Europe. The one I specifically bought is inherited by Tibetan cuisine and it is called gyurma. Gyurma is made out of beef,spices onions and yak’s blood. It had a really dark almost jet black color to it. This color is made from the yak’s blood. Unfortunately, I found this to be appalling and a disappointment to my expectations. As I ran my fork through a piece, the filling crumbled apart. It had the consistency of dog food with the thick casing still intact. The taste was not terrible but it was not the best. I didn’t get any spices as I imagined. All I tasted was an oniony flavor from the scallions that were part of the filling.On the side, there was an orange sauce that tasted like watered down tomato sauce. Instead of making the sausage better, it possibly made it less appetizing. I could not get myself to eat it. The texture threw me off. Interesting but not for me!

I tried a cactus(nopal) taco and an adobado (marinated pulled pork) taco on corn tortillas from a place called Los Tacos located in the Chelsea market. I never had cactus before and I do not remember having adobado which is a Mexican-style marinade that is usually made out of red chile. I also helped myself to a couple of wedges of lime, pico de gallo and two hot sauces. One of the sauces were a little bitter spicy but the other one was sweet but also spicy. I am not sure what were in the salsas but the green one (sweeter one) reminded me of pepperoncini peppers. The pork taco was accompanied with strips of pineapple which helped cut through the greasiness of the taco. This taco was not new t me so there was no surprise.

I went to try cactus out of curiosity. I am not sure how to feel about the cactus taco nor do i know how to explain. However, it resembles aloe vera as well as okra. The appearance reminds me of aloe vera and the slimy texture reminded me of okra. The taste is bland and is barely noticeable due to the strong flavors of the guacamole and cilantro. As I bit into the cactus, it had a weird crunch to it. The crunch was sort of like biting onto an undercooked starch such as a potato or a carrot. A squeeze of lime on both tacos made all the difference in the world. I believe it is very necessary to add a generous amount of lime as it brings out the flavors of the ingredients and freshness.

The top part of the picture is the adobado taco and the bottom is the nopal taco topped with guacamole.

Last week, we finished our trip to Williamsburg in an icecream shop named Odd Fellows.  I sampled the toasted sesame nutella flavor and I like it so I bought a small cup. The texture was creamy and the ice cream was tasty. Personally, I believe the sesame was a bit overpowering and not enough nutella flavor. A little bit more nutella flavor and it would have been perfect. There was also hazelnuts which I also enjoy. The sesame and nuts gave a crunch to the ice cream I never had sesame in ice cream before but I thought it worked well. It reminded me of a sesame candy bar.