Churros Paris

[Niobe Hennigan]

Igot too close to the churros when the guy there poked one at the camera's lens. It was his way of telling me not to shoot. As you can see all his secrets have been exposed. The kiosque is on a dark stretch, lit like a theatre stage. He should be performing, doing his thing with flair, instead of worrying about his scraggly nosehairs. I couldn't resist it though. It's like the lighthouse of churros on the boulevard.

On Sunday night's episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian's pregnancy cravings turned her into a globetrotting foodie. She flew all the way to Paris purely for some churros and cheesecake and to New Orleans to experience the taste of crab fingers and beignets.

But while Kris's comments were coming from a place of motherly concern (Kardashian eventually went to the doctor later in the episode, where she had a brief diabetes scare), the trolls of Twitter weren't as nice. When one Twitter user popped into Kim's mentions to shame her for loving sweets so much, she responded in a delightfully tongue-in-cheek fashion.

A recent example was seen on Chrissy Teigen's Instagram, when the model uploaded a mouthwatering picture of a Cap'n Crunch and Fruity Pebbles cereal combo. Instead of being like, "Oh, that sounds like a delightful combination of cereals," commenters got all up in her grill about whether or not it was an appropriate choice of food for a pregnant woman.

But food shaming is hardly just a pregnant woman's problem. Pretty much everyone has to deal with the occasional passive-aggressive comment or side-eye if they tear into a bag of Cheetos too aggressively. But as YouTube star Meghan Tonjes pointed out earlier this year in the wake of the infamous Ariana Grande donut-licking scandal, judging people for their food choices is a garbage practice that highlights just how hypocritical our society is about food and weight.

In short, anyone who yucks your yum on social media is probably not worth responding to. But if you must defend your junk food choices, take a page from Kim Kardashian's book and just own up to it. Even if you are flying all the way to Paris for some churros.

Tokyo is without a doubt the best foodie destination city in the world. Paris isn't bad either but Madrid probably just pips Paris for second spot, especially if your food obsessions runs to pork and donuts. Jamon and churros.

The itinerary for our first full day in Madrid was essentially breakfast, breakfast two, churros, coffee, lunch, lunch two, coffee, pre-dinner snacks and dinner. We hoped to do a bit of site seeing between meals.

Conveniently for us just around the corner from our apartment is an Enrique Tomas outlet. Enrique Tomas is a chain of franchised jamon shops. I know, it sounds as appealing as trying to get gourmet burgers from Maccas. But trust me, they have great jamon. From great slabs of piggy legs to the most delicately sliced shavings of the finest Jamon Iberico. All sorts of cured pork products. And cheap. Well maybe not for a 500 euro leg of jamon bellota, but the jamon bocadillo's - in bread rolls or croissants, were very cheap. A couple of euros each, max. The Spanish bread was almost as good as French bread. Crikey, even the croissants were approaching French standards. We sat outside the shop and demolished the rolls. It was a perfectly porky way to start the day.

So after the jetlag and cold and frenetic pace of Paris, Madrid is all Jamon and chill. A timeout for breakfast of a bellota jamon bocadillos and watch the world go by. I must mention the people who worked in the shop too. A man and a woman. Both very very friendly, chatty, helpful and informative. For the record this particular outlet is at:

It is also across the alley from a couple of Madrid's best tapas bars. We could stay in Madrid for a month and not need to venture further than about 100 metres from our apartment. But unfortunately for us the the best churros place in town was a bit further away. We'd have to see a bit more of Madrid first. So more on the tapas bars later.

Not far down the street from Enrique Tomas, and just across from Puerto del Sol, is what some say is one of Madrid's worst tourist traps. The fabulously named Museo del Jamon. Apparently this place has a reputation for rudeness and for ripping off tourists. Definitely abrupt service, possibly verging on rude, but we weren't ripped off. It was really cheap. Jamon bocadillos were only 1 euro for example. The coffee was underwhelming but I didn't expect it to be great. It filled a great coffee shaped hole though. There is an art to the way the barista threw down and saucer and a cup of espresso then slopped steamed milk into the cup. All the time with a look that said "Whatever, I don't give a fuck".

Puerta del Sol today had at least one Pikachu, both Mario Bros, the entire Paw patrol, Mr Bean, Charlie Chaplin, 2 Minnie Mouses, Mickey Mouse, a Predator and an Alien, 70 bazillion human statues, at least 15 beggars with various deformities and disabilities, a mariachi band and Santa. And us.

The previous day we'd managed to avoid Pikachu and co in the Puerta del Sol. No such luck today. Georgia really wanted a photo with Pikachu. The going rate was one euro so a euro couldn't hurt to make Georgia happy. Unfortunately one of the Mario Brothers jumped in for the photo and Pikachu was adamant that Luigi got a euro as well. 10 years earlier we'd been entertained, for want of a better word, by Micky Mouse and a one-armed beggar getting into a wrestle on the plaza over... I don't know what? Your guess is as good as mine why a disabled guy and Micky Mouse would get into a fight? Turf wars? No such theatrics on this day. But who knew what Luigi and Pikachu would do if I didn't hand over a euro each. Georgia was happy and that is all that mattered.

Two breakfasts and some photos with cos-players builds an appetite. Spain isn't all pork products and tapas. Churros! One of the things I'd been looking forward to most in Spain was churros. We have a chain of chocolate and churros shops in Australia. Their churros is okay but I've never been compelled to go out of my way for their churros. Even the very best at home aren't a patch on Spanish churros. It just isn't quite right. Theses sweet delicious things are best had in Spain. Although it had been 10 years since we were last in Spain I still recall the three best places we had churros. Two in Barcelona - small nondescript places - one near the La Sagrada Familia and the other in an alley just off Las Ramblas. The third was right here in Madrid. Probably the most famous churros and chocolate shop in Spain - Chocolateria San Gins. They've been making churros since 1894 so it is no wonder they get it right. Cheap too. Half a dozen churro with hot chocolate for less than 5 euros. The coffee isn't bad either. Who knew deep fried dough sprinkled in sugar and dipped in chocolate could taste this good? Isn't that a stupid question. Let's call it rhetorical then.

We'd just finished our hot chocolate and half a dozen churros when the waiter brought us another half dozen "por los nios" gratis. Spain I love you. Chocolateria San Gins I love you. Spain is so kid friendly it is embarrassing.

You can never have too much powdered sugar. We needed it for energy. By Spanish standards the day was still young and it was nearly lunch time. Then there may be time for a visit to the fantastic Prado Museum.

One of the most famous places in Madrid to experience Spanish churros is the Chocolatera de San Gins tucked away in a back alley near the Puerta del Sol. This establishment has been going since 1894 and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Madrileos come here not only for dessert but for breakfast as well, often feasting on churros at 6:00 am after a long night of partying!

What went wrong? The recipe called for using butter, eggs and flour (like choux pastry). If you want crisp fluted edges, my advice is to leave out the butter and eggs and only use only flour, water, salt and a little sugar. Most traditional Spanish recipes follow this rule.

In a medium-size saucepan, bring the water and oil to a boil; remove from heat and pour the flour mixture into the water in one go. Mix with a large wooden spoon until the sides of the dough fall away from the sides of the pan. Let cool for several minutes, then place the dough in a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle.

To fry the churros, fill a sauce pan or wok with enough vegetable oil to reach about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil until it reaches about 350 F. (180 C. ) or until a small cube of day-old bread turns golden brown when placed in the oil.

Pipe the dough into the hot oil, with each churro measuring about 6-8 inches each. Gently swirl the oil around the churro as it cooks. If the churro is browning too quickly, remove the pan momentarily from the burner. Cook for several minutes until the churro is golden in color. Let drain onto kitchen paper. Dust each churro with a little sugar.

Combine the milk and cinnamon stick in a medium sauce pan; bring to a soft boil for several minutes to infuse the flavors. Lower the heat and add the semi-sweet chocolate; stir until the chocolate melts. Add the sugar and stir.

Combine the corn starch (or corn flour) with 1/4 cup cold water in a separate container then add this mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir until the chocolate sauce thickens. If the sauce is too runny, add more corn starch, if required.

\"I don't like cheesecake and the cheesecake at Htel Costes...it's heaven,\" she gushed. \"I get there and they tell me that they don't have it and I was like, 'You don't understand, I leave tomorrow!' They said, 'OK, we're gonna get it,' and they got it, and it really made my day.\"

Kardashian West, 35, added that another stop on her Parisian food tour was Ferdi, where she indulged in churros. (Talley also raved about the restaurant's hamburgers.) Now, Kardashian West is looking forward to Thanksgiving, she said, which she expects to take place at her mother's home.

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