Food Dictionary

Dan and I hosted a small Super Bowl Party, and of course I cooked. I made a very American meal, much to my chagrin. And boy was it a difficult task as the UK doesn't have very many American things readily available at Tesco. It was three weeks of research, frustration, and cursing trying to figure out what was what and what were suitable alternatives that would not deter from the original recipe.

To start, I made a spinach and artichoke dip. The main meal was hamburgers, chili, and hot dogs (all from scratch), and the vegetarian option was a portabello burger. The side item was french fries I made into chili cheese fries or cheese fries. Everything was from scratch, except for the hot dogs of course. I didn't make a dessert cause baking is really a science, and I think I'm not ready to fully tackle baking with the metric system (all my baking recipes are, of course, American).

Firstly, thank goodness for the internet. If it weren't for Google being able to convert things for me (e.g., oven temperature), it would not have been a success.

Secondly, double cream here is really heavy cream. Thankfully I made a correct guess at the grocery store. Yes, I assumed they would just have heavy cream there, but I was wrong. So if you go to the dairy aisle, there's cream and double cream and strangeness.

Thirdly and sadly, there was no suitable substitute for Velveeta. I know Europeans are very into their cheeses, and Americans can be too and usually scoff at the idea of Velveeta in their diet. But when you want to make chili cheese fries and similar items, making melty cheese from anything else but Velveeta isn't the same. I found a recipe from someone online--anyone with a user name utilizing Philly cream cheese has the right street cred. Though I was successful in making a liquidy cheese (which I was extremely nervous about), it still didn't taste nor look the same. I felt deeply sadden and disappointed at my effort.

Lastly, the British do not have any Mexican/Tex-Mex ingredients! Powders and such from a box do not count as passable Tex-Mex. My chili reqiures chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, which you can easily find in any grocery store back home. The closest thing I could find was a small jar of chipotle paste from a very up-scale grocery store. It did the job, but it's not as good as having real chilis in chili and I don't think it was nearly as spicy as I have made it in the past. And why can't I find non-Dorito tortilla chips???

Overall, the food didn't turn out terrible. Everyone ate everything, which is good. Cooking here makes me feel very naked because I don't have the right tools to put out a proper meal. I miss my Kitchen Aid the most I think, followed closely by my cast iron grill. :(