Week 2- Pittsburgh, PA

  This week we are off to Pittsburgh, PA a city that holds a different meaning for each of us and also an appropriate destination this week since the Steelers are in the SuperBowl on Sunday.  Dan attended Carnegie Mellon for his undergraduate/graduate degrees, so for him it is a city full of memories from those times.  I used to travel to Pittsburgh a lot to visit the various college campuses in the city when I worked for a non-profit in DC.  For Zachary it is the city where the Bad Penguins play (the Pittsburgh Penguins-NHL team).

  When I asked Dan what kinds of food came to mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, he gave me two answers:  Primanti Bros and pierogi.  Primanti Bros. is known for having huge sandwiches that they pile high with french fries and coleslaw.  Since we just had fries in our travel meal last week, I thought I would take on a bigger challenge....homemade pierogies!

  Yes that is right I am planning on making them from scratch.  Although this weekend in the Sunday paper there was a coupon for Mrs. T's pierogies, so I am hoping that is not of sign of how things will go.  So check back Friday morning to see the results!

Homemade Gyros

 I am so excited to report that my attempt at homemade Gyros was a success!  It is my hope/goal that with each meal I will make at least one of the components from scratch.  For this meal I made the pita bread, I will post the recipe below.  The taste was great and the texture better than store bought.

Pita Bread

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Directions:

Prep Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs

1.    Combine the yeast and sugar in a small bowl.

2.    Add 1/2 cup of the warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes to proof and ferment.

3.    Dissolve the salt in the remaining warm water.

4.    Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, making a well in the middle and put the dissolved yeast and salt water into it.

5.   With your hands, blend it into a dough. You may need a bit more or less water depending on your flour.

6.   Knead the dough in the bowl with your fists for 10-15 minutes or until smooth.

7.   Pour the oil over the dough and knead it again until the oil is absorbed.

8.   Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel and set in a draft free area to rise to double it's bulk (1-2 hours), then punch it down and knead it again for a few minutes.

9.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

10.  Cut pieces of dough, egg-size or larger, depending on the size of the pita desired.

11.  Shape them into balls with your hands and roll them out over a lightly floured board or pastry cloth to 1/4" thickness.

12.  Set 2 or 3 pitas on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake them on the lower rack 2-3 minutes each side.

13.  Bake longer for pita pockets.

We are going to start next week making Thursday night our travel meal dinner.  After each meal Zachary will pick our next desitination from the bucket. 

Next week we will be traveling to another city that serves french fries in their sandwiches....any guesses?

Destination will be revealed on Monday.

Week 1- Mykonos Greece

Dan and I traveled to Mykonos while on a Mediterranean cruise in 2005-we were celebrating our 1 yr anniversary.  Mykonos was a beautiful island that we explored via foot and four-wheeler.  As you can see by the picture we decided to try a Gyro, much to our surprise they put french fries in it.  Yummy!

So tomorrow I will be attempting to make homemade pita and have decided that since we aren't big lamb fans I will use steak for the meat.  And yes I will be putting french fries in them!

The Journey Begins

   I don't consider myself a great cook or a blogger, so this adventure may only last a week or turn into a new way of life. Figuring out what to prepare for dinner can be a tedious task and searching cookbooks for new recipes can be overwhelming.  So in an attempt to add some fun to the process, I came up with the idea of Tabletop Travels.
   Dan and I have traveled to many wonderful places, but now with two kids and a new house the travel budget has changed.  We may not be able to get back to some of the places we have been, but that doesn't mean we can't experience them again.  I made a list of all the cities, or in some cases simply the country, that we have visited during our time together.  The names have been placed in a bucket and each week we will draw a location.  I then have to prepare at least one meal that week that either reminds us of that location or that we ate while visiting.  I am hoping that the process will improve my cooking skills, bring back great memories, and help teach the kids about the world. 
    I hope to post some of the recipes I use, as well as pictures and memories from the original trips.  Feel free to come along for the journey.  I don't charge extra for baggage and each week will take you to a new place.