Happy New Year!
I’m back from Istanbul, and unfortunately during my trip my 50mm 1.4 had an unfortunate accident, so most of my pics are from my stepchild lens. Forgive me. And if you’re coming to Milan from the US soon and want to courier a lens to me, let me know (and I’ll reward you handsomely).
Istanbul was amazing!!
Of course, during the winter you will have a completely different experience than during the summer, and we can’t wait to go back and experience an entirely different Istanbul. It rained all day every day while we were there, but the treasures of the city were still bright and exciting.
Of course the rain in Istanbul seems like a dream compared to the 30cm of snow here in Milan we arrived to – our return flight was one of the last that landed before the airport shut down, and we got the last shuttle after 2 hours (leaving at 2:15am) and almost had to forage for a taxi at the train station at 3:30 in the morning. Things are closer to normal today after the city was in chaos yesterday.
So we already miss you, Istanbul. And this morning, I definitely miss Turkish Breakfast.
I mentioned that eating Sicilian granita and a brioche for breakfast was my favorite breakfast and now I’ll have to amend that to say it’s my favorite way of eating breakfast in the summer.
What has quickly overtaken the granita is a Turkish breakfast. I found it a great compromise from the savoury and rich American breakfast I grew up with and the always-sweet Italian breakfast.
I loved the spicy biber (pepper) sprinkled over the feta-like cheese with tomatoes and cucumbers. Sometimes I would add some olives, but most likely I would return for some cheese pieces with lots of spices sprinkled on them.
But the star of the breakfast was the Turkish bread rolls, which I’m desperately looking for a name for. It was a little buttery, a little crusty, with a soft center perfect for spreading jam or Chococream onto. UPDATE: Thanks to Hande, she informed me that this bread is called poğaça
I’ll appeal to Cenk at CafeFernando but at 7am he’s not (yet) on my speed-dial for food blogging triage. Do you recognize them?
And Turkish Coffee.
If you’ll remember, I only started drinking (Italian!) coffee daily two years ago, starting with my beloved Marocchino. But I definitely enjoyed the Turkish coffee I had with breakfast every morning, even paying the extra charge to avoid brewed (American) coffee at our hotel. I didn’t find it to be that strong, since I’m used to espresso every day.
Of course, the big secret is to make sure you let Turkish Coffee sit for 5-10 minutes, which is why when it’s brought to you it’s boiling: they don’t expect you to drink it right away!
Why should you wait? As you can see here in the photo, all of the coffee dregs need time to settle at the bottom of the cup so you’re not drinking grounds and picking them out of your teeth for hours afterward.
Several years ago I had the opportunity to drink Turkish / Lebanese coffee and often after you’ve drank it, they overturn the cup onto the saucer, let the grounds sink down the sides of the cup, and then they read your fortune. I definitely had an interesting reading that year.
Of course, the view at breakfast didn’t influence my opinion of Turkish breakfast at all. That’s the Blue Mosque there in the background and foreground.
Other food bloggers talk about Turkish Breakfast:
- Turkish Breakfasts from Zen in the Kitchen
- The anatomy of Turkish Coffee from Yogurt Land
- Turkish Breakfast from Hande at Food Vagabond
- How to Make Turkish Coffee from Abstract Gourmet
Oh, why didn’t you tell! Or did you, and I just missed it???? You were in my hometown! ohhhhhh…. That sweetish breadroll is called “pogaca”, but the g has an accent-like thing on it (soft g!), so you don’t really pronounce it, it just softly binds the “o” and the “a”. An the “c” has a thing underneath, so it is like “c” in the italian word “cima”.
But I do hope you had “simit” as well!
@Hande – I think I was so caught up with Menu for Hope stuff, we didn’t chat about it! Don’t worry, I am definitely going back and will pump you for info next time. Thanks for the name! I tried simit but I admit that I enjoyed the poğaça more :)
Did you read the Bastard of Istanbul? Just read it over the break (mixed feelings on it – it read very “translated” to me as the author is not a native English speaker and I felt the book probably would have been beautiful in Turkish but fell a little flat in English) but she talks a lot about all of the different kinds of bread including those mentioned above! Welcome back. Hope to see you soon!
@Michelle, never heard of it, but I would definitely be interested. I heard a lot about Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul which is not a novel, but full of insight about the city. I’m hoping to check it out soon.
Gosh, the world is full of so many beautiful places.
I can get turkish coffee here, will have to venture out. :-) yum
Whenever I travel, I find breakfast the most interesting meal, the one most often unlike what I have for breakfast at home. Having tiny crunchy fish for breakfast in Japan was probably hardest for me, and the noodle dishes I bought on the street in Malaysia the most appealing. Turkish breakfast looks wonderful.
The breakfast looks delicious! I’ve passed this post on to my Turkish coworker. I thought he’d enjoy your comments and pics. I hope to see more from your trip here!
Josh and I were drooling – can’t wait to hear more about your trip.
Well hello there. Someone who loves Turkish coffee as much as I do :) Though it looks like you went to a far more authentic source for it than I ever have.
For me, Turkish coffee is a very different experience to espresso, thick and rich, laced with spice and a little sweet is just how i like it.
Though do I love both, and would be lost if I didn’t wake up to my espresso machine each morning :)
Also your marocchino sounds similar to the way cappuccino is made in Australia. With a liberal dusting of chocolate powder on the top of the foam.
Very envious of your travels :) Enjoy !
Glad you enjoyed your trip to Istanbul. I was there 2 yrs. ago, plan to return to this enchanted, historical city.
Wow, it all looks great. I love Turkish coffee. I really love those cute little cups. Would have tried to buy them and bring em home. Glad you had fun!
So sorry about your lens. I am leaving Newark airport on Feb. 12 and arriving in Milan the next morning. I will be happy to courier your new lens for you. I will be in Milan the night of Feb. 13, then in the Emilia-Romagna region for a week before heading to the Dolomites to ski for the last week of Feb. Back to Milan the night of Feb. 28 before heading home. Let me know. I can give you plenty of references if you are wary – including friends in Milan, Piacenza, etc.
@ciaochowlinda Thanks for your offer, I’m hoping to get it settled before then, but I’ll send you an email to talk!
Hey Sara – I just saw your post. Sorry :) It’s a good thing you already got the info from Hande. Please do come back in the summer and I’ll introduce you to the best pogaca in town (have no idea who bakes it best yet – shame on me – but I should be able to find out by then). Cheers!
Beautiful pictures, as always. Looking forward to seeing whatever other pictures you have, from whatever lens you had available to you! :)
Wow, what a great time! And count me in on savory breakfasts and strong, tiny cups of coffee. So sorry about your lens – wish we were making a trip to Milan in the near future!
now that’s what i call breakfast – and those coffee cups are stunning!
belle foto
As someone who loves bread, your breakfast sounds amazing.
That’s some amazing eating! I love Turkish coffee but haven’t had it in years! thanks for the inspiration. I’m going to search out some this week!
Turkish coffee is so strong. We have the little special pot here to make our own. Like syrup! I have the same cup too! From Turkey. Sounds like a great trip.
Here is the link so you can see my cup!
http://www.bigredkitchen.com/2008/08/sipping-chocolate.html
oh, i would love to try the coffe…i can’t believe how thick it is!
THIS is my kind of breakfast! YUM!
I am going to be in Florence in March….probably too far away to be courier.
We love Turkish coffee :)