Belgium, Steak Frites

Welcome to Belgium! Now this was a day I have been looking forward to for a while. Belgium will always hold a special place in my heart and is an important place for my food journey. When I was 16, my older sister Maura was studying abroad in Belgium. I was lucky enough that my dad thought it would be important for me to travel and see this place. So him, my brother Dylan and myself got on a plane to visit my sister. This was back in the day too, when I was still sort of a picky eater. I didn't like vegetables, was not a fan of fancy meat and despised anything spicy. However, I was adventurous and I was on an adventure. One night my dad took us to an amazing restaurant right in the center courtyard of Brussels. It was delicious and beautiful and so unique compared to anything I'd experienced in America. I loved it and convinced my family that we needed to order something on the menu that we'd never tried before. We each ordered something we would normally never order. There was frog, rabbit, horse, snails and mussels. That night I realized that I do actually enjoy foods that taste different. The idea of eating the same thing every night terrifies me to this day.

This brings us to, albeit ironically, Steak Frites and the wonderful country of Belgium!

At first I was thinking about making some Belgium waffles, which I actually have a very good recipe for. Then I thought I'd give frites a go since I am trying to improve on my frying technique. I used a recipe from Allrecipes https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/236509/flemish-frites-belgian-fries-with-andalouse-sauce/

Now, I know there is some debate on where fries originate from. Following along the lines that Americans do not know their geography, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that Belgium is indeed the birthplace of the fry. Scientists have found that people have been frying potatoes since the late 1600's in Belgium.

As I learn how to fry I continue to grow. I did almost burn the house down this time, but ended up just breaking the air conditioner instead... so all in all it was worth it. Just remember that oil can get hot, fast. Also interestingly enough the recipe called for olive oil. I thought the high smoke point would be a disaster. It wasn't so bad except for, you know, almost burning the house down.

For the steak, I just basted it with some rosemary and garlic. I paired the meal with some homemade sourdough, a small salad with pickled red onions and a Belgian ale. Obviously we had to have our fries with mayonnaise the true Belgium way (yuck) and some horseradish for our steaks.

Overall, I give this a 10 out of 10. Now I know you might say there is some favoritism involved with this rating. I will admit it had a small advantage over the other dishes. For instance I knew how to pronounce all the ingredients, I didn't really need a recipe and I didn't need to buy any special spice from some market. But boy, was it good. Also the fries came out perfect! Better than any fry at a fast-food joint, besides maybe Wendy's. They were crispy and oh so good. Check in next week for Belarus!

Current Rankings:

3rd Place - Bahrain's Machboos

2nd Place - Argentina's Asado

1st Place - Belgium, Steak Frites