Rudolph, The Red-nosed Reindeer Made a Very Tasty Dish

After USS Cole successfully completed her participation in Exercise Joint Warrior 09-2, we headed east to make a couple port visits. These were regularly scheduled visits intended share goodwill with the Navy’s friends and allies.

Our first stop was in Helsinki, Finland. The first thing I asked was “What should I eat here?” The typical I response I got was to “Eat reindeer.” Reindeer? I didn’t even know that people ate reindeer. With the holiday season quickly approaching eating reindeer almost seemed appropriate. (because the holidays are eating at me… kidding!) So, where would I find this delicacy?

It turns out that most restaurants in Helsinki serve some version of reindeer. The traditional way to cook it is to sauté strips of reindeer, make a gravy from the fond, and serve it over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes with lingonberry compote/jam/sauce on the side. Lingonberries (AKA cowberries, lowbush cranberries, or mountain bilberries) are red, round, and extremely tart; they are more closely related to the blueberry than the cranberry. You can buy lingonberry jam at IKEA (by the bucket if you like).

My liberty group found reindeer at the tourist favorite, Zetor. Zetor is the Finnish hillbilly version of Friday’s, though it’s not a chain. It’s designed to look like a 1960’s era ski lodge and includes a tractor as part of the décor. The bathrooms are bedecked with pages from 1960’s era Finnish pinup magazines. Classy, I know. This wasn’t fine dining, but that wasn’t our goal. We wanted fun and memorable. That’s certainly what we got. Our server was friendly, prompt, and fluent in English. (Seems everybody in Finland is multilingual).

I ordered the sautéed reindeer, but swapped with a friend who didn’t like the potatoes that came with his roasted reindeer. He clearly made the better choice. The roasted reindeer was a fillet served over a bed of scalloped potatoes with the same lingonberry compote. It was a comforting dish that brought Thanksgiving to my mind, minus the turkey, of course. The reindeer was tender like a medium rare cooked fillet mignon, but obviously not as beefy; nor was it gamy. I think AB needs to do a Good Eats episode on reindeer and lingonberries. Dinner was pricey, but that had more to do with the value of the dollar than the price of reindeer.

Reindeer isn’t as exotic or even gamy as you might expect. I highly recommend eating reindeer if you get the opportunity; I’ll try cooking it if I get the chance. Maybe I should leave reindeer bait with the cookies I leave for Santa… Hmmm.

Happy Belated Birthday USN!

Dear United States Navy,

I know this is a little late, but I want you to know that I didn’t forget your 234^th birthday. (I know it’s October 13^th!) I hope you’ll accept these birthday wishes.

You have 329,390 active duty officers, Sailors and midshipmen; 10,556 of whom are serving as individual augmentees. 138 of your 285 active ships are underway and you just commissioned the USS Makin Island (LHD 8), the “Prius of Navy warships.”

It’s a cheesy slogan, but you really are “America’s Navy: A Global Force for Good.” You’re around the world, protecting the maritime environment with the understanding that the prevention of war is just as important as the conduct of war. To that end your Sailors serve around the globe, providing presence, combating piracy, providing humanitarian relief, and making friends with people and other navies. You are an important ally in the task to protect global security and prosperity.

You’ve been an important part of my life too. You helped me pay for my degree at Notre Dame. You’ve given me the chance to travel and expand my horizons. Most of the time, you keep me in shape. (haha, I’m kidding!) Best of all, you’ve given me a job; a job that I’m very proud to do.

I wish you many more years of Honor, Courage, and Commitment. I wish you many more generations of proud, American Sailors whose actions will continue your heritage and traditions.

I’ll have a slice (or two) of cake in your honor.

Happy 234^th Birthday!

Michael

Great Scot! Or that time I ate Haggis.

My name is Michael. I ate haggis.

I don’t remember the first time I heard about this offal dish (yes, I punned), but I’ve always been fascinated by the thought of eating this Scottish delight. I remember talking up my adventurous palate to my friends; haggis is one of the dishes that always came up (stir-fried insects, Rocky Mountain oysters, and Filipino Dinuguan besides). What could sound less appetizing: “sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.” Sure, I eat hotdogs. Who knows what parts of what animal they contain nowadays? But pluck and oatmeal boiled in a sheep’s stomach for hours? The British must have told the Scottish a joke that they mistook for a recipe. How could oatmeal, the reliable breakfast favorite, become savory pub fare? Alton Brown humorously demonstrated a recipe for haggis during his oatmeal episode of Good Eats complete with a kilt, a club, and a horrible Scottish accent. If AB approved, I knew I had to give this dish a shot.

I’m currently aboard USS Cole (DDG 67), augmenting the Destroyer Squadron 24 staff with two Mass Communication Sailors as the public affairs officer. We just completed Exercise Joint Warrior, a UK-led, multinational, multi-warfare designed to improve interoperability among the participating navies. The exercise kicked off in Faslane, Scotland, a 2-hour westward train-ride to Edinburgh. I had one full day of liberty and did my best to take advantage of it. One of my goals was to eat haggis.

My liberty buddies and I left Faslane and made it to the Edinburgh Waverly train station by noon. We stepped into the city (to the sounds of bag pipes) and made our way to High Street via the North Bridge. High Street is also known as the “Royal Mile,” a gradual incline of tourist shops, cashmere/tweed stores, scotch whiskey retailers, and other such distractions leading to Edinburgh Castle at the top. The plan was to start at the Castle, then grab lunch and make our way down the Royal Mile.

After building up a big appetite surveying the impressive Edinburgh Castle, we went searching for food, preferably traditional and reasonably priced. We meandered down the “mile” and stumbled upon a little pub, Ensign Eward. (I was hanging out with junior officers; how could we resist)?

Dimly lit and bedecked with Scotch Whisky (that’s how they spell it) and Guinness (what?!) posters, Ensign Eward’s seemed a little touristy to me. The menu was even less impressive: a single-page menu populated with typical pub grub. The first item, though, caught my eye. “Haggis, Neeps & Tatties…..£7.50.” It was fate. The bar mistress recommended a light lager, so I ordered both. (It turns out that it is more traditional to drink whiskey with haggis).

A few minutes later, lunch was brought to our table. The steaming

plate of haggis and I eyed each other (not that it has eyes) and I gave it a minute to cool by snapping a couple photos with my trusty ELPH. To call it unappetizing to the eye would be a gross understatement. It looks like a cross between a brown corned beef and moist mulch. It smelled of meat, but was mostly nondescript; no posh spices here. I scooped a forkful and took a bite. Meaty and mushy; not bad. Neeps turned out to be mashed swede (rutabaga) and tatties were mashed potatoes. There were peas and carrots for color. This is Scottish comfort food. Homey and simple; this would fit right into a retirement home menu. Lots of protein, fiber, and it’s easily chewed and digested. It may have been the spice of hunger, but I finished it all. (Though I think the years of dinner with my dad have programmed me to clear my plate).

My parents instilled in me a passion for food and zeal to eat new things; I think that comes naturally as a Filipino. (Well, Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods is also an inspiration). I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t try to travel and eat adventurously. So, I ate haggis. Did I enjoy it? I guess so. Will I ever try to make it myself? Not likely. My personal ethics would not allow me to cross Scotland off my “places visited list” if I didn’t eat haggis at least once. I also ate fish and chips; and sampled a wide variety of Scotch. (I’m taking home a half-dozen bottles)! So, check in the box, mission accomplished.

Though I only spent a short while in Scotland, I have fallen in love. It’s a beautiful country with a storied history. I hope I come back someday. I still have to see the Highlands and search for Nessie.

(oh. I feel bad about stealing the first food and travel post from Beth; I’ll make it up to her. I’ll make sure to introduce myself in a future post too). Props to wikipedia for the basic haggis recipe.

Home for Fall, my favorite season of all

Deployment 1: COMPLETE

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower left for a five-month deployment in February and I was on it. The ship and her crew returned in late July and, thankfully, I was still on it. So why, in October, am I starting a blog about my travels?

1. Fall is my favorite season. Fall brings a long list of my favorite things, many of which start with "F": fuzzy sweaters, football, festivals, lit fireplaces, family time, and FOOD. And as my favorite season rolled into Virginia a couple weeks ago, I walked outside and was thrilled that I was home to enjoy it.

2. People still ask me about my deployment. When I tell stories about the foreign port calls, my adventures rarely went in-depth on historical monuments or guided tours. My adventures with friends were centered around good food, a cold beer or glass of wine, and conversation. When given the opportunity in port, we escaped our duties and the daily grind by finding a great restaurant or bar and making ourselves comfortable.

3. I like to cook and I love to eat. In the world of blogging, that makes me a subject matter expert, right?

So somewhere between the temperature change and a pumpkin ale, a pot-luck lunch at the office and sharing stories about being overseas, and trying to become more Internet and social media savvy...

A blog about my adventures and travels in the Navy, and the food I eat along the way.