Honkman

Sausage and Leek Pizza - used the Jim Lahey dough and cooked in the oven at 500F for 7 minutes. Topped with béchamel sauce, parmesan, mozzarella, blanched leeks, fresh pork sausage, panko bread crumbs and chili flakes

Sausage-Filled Portobello Mushrooms with Broccolini and Cherry Tomatoes - From the Dinner in One book - Portobello mushrooms are filled with a mixture of Italian pork sausage, panko bread crumbs, garlic, thyme, parmesan, parsley and white wine. Cooked in the oven with some broccolini and cherry tomatoes.

Braised Chicken and Potatoes in Curry Sauce - Bone-in chicken thighs and potatoes are braised in a sauce made from slightly crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, curry powder, onions, garlic, ginger, jalapeño and cilantro

Penne with Radicchio Pesto - penne with sautéed radicchio, shallots and lemon zest and a pesto made from radicchio, pine nuts, lemon juice, parmesan, garlic and olive oil. Finished with some mozzarella and basil.

Deviled Eggs (mayonnaise, mustard, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce) with Bacon Quiche Lorraine (onion, bacon, thyme, eggs, half-and-half) with a Wilted Spinach Salad with goat cheese, strawberries, hazelnuts and an olive oil and grapefruit vinaigrette

Penne alla Norma - Quickly pan-fried eggplant cooked with celery, onion and garlic in a sauce made with diced tomatoes and white wine. Finished with some diced mozzarella and dill.

Meat tends to be cheaper in many parts of Europe compared to the US. Every time we are back in Germany I am reminded how much more we are spending here (and often in lower quality) and we are not talking about $1-2/lb

Vine Grower’s Sausages and Green Beans - Fresh pork bratwurst cooked in the oven in a mixture of celery, onions, red grapes, red wine and saba (which I couldn’t get and substituted with a mixture of acetic balsamic, red wine vinegar and pomegranate molasses). The green beans were cooked with diced tomatoes, shallots, garlic and basil.

Vietnamese Tofu and Mushroom Curry - Button and cremini mushrooms are first sautéed with browned onions, grated tomatoes, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, curry powder, sirarakhong chili and maggi (forgot to get some MSG) and afterwards braised with pan-fried extra firm tofu in coconut milk. Finished with some cilantro and served over rice

As Germans we celebrate always 12/24 as the big day with gifts and special dinner. This year a meatloaf with ground beef, shredded cheddar, smoked paprika, cumin, crushed chili flakes and filling made from spinach, onions, garlic and ajvar, wrapped in bacon. Served with peperonata (made from green, red and yellow peppers, onion, anchovies, parsley braised for some time in its own juice) and tangy mashed potatoes (made with buttermilk)

Variation on a quick goulash - Crisp up bacon and then use the fat to sear some diced pork tenderloin. Afterwards sautéed red and yellow peppers, onion and quickly braised it with diced tomatoes, caraway seeds and paprika before quickly warm it up with the pork and some pasta water to thicken the sauce. Served with basil and fusili.

Korean style fried rice with calrose rice, chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, green cabbage, scallions, garlic, ginger, gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar

Cauliflower “Couscous” with Vegetables - Coarsely grated cauliflower sautéed with leeks, baby spinach, green peppers and cranberries. At the end mixed with sauce made from Greek yoghurt, mustard, garlic, dill and cumin.

Cauliflower and Avocado Salad - oven roasted curry cauliflower mixed with baby spinach, pomegranate seeds and avocado - and vinaigrette made from olive oil, white balsamic and mustard

Beef and Broccoli from Woks of Life - velveting of beef with a mixture of baking soda, oyster sauce, cornstarch and oil. Broccoli briefly blanched before everything was stir fried with a sauce made from chicken broth, dark and light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, roasted sesame oil, cornstarch and white pepper.

Lamb Tagine with Okra - lamb leg (diced) braised in vegetable broth and orange juice with tomatoes, dried mission figs, onion, garlic, cumin, honey, cinnamon sticks and finished with roasted almonds and parsley. Served with quickly seared okra and finished with garlic, preserved lemon, cilantro, parsley and zaatar. Served over basmati rice cooked with cracked cardamom pods

Lentil Stew with Vegetables - depuy lentils cooked with carrots, broccolini, green beans, cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, bouquet garni in vegetable broth. Finished with red wine vinegar, olive oil and parmesan.

Udon noodles with sautéed mushrooms (button, shiitake, portobello, king oyster), leek, onion, great northern beans, parsley and sauce made from vegetable broth, white miso and cream. Topped with panko crumbs pan fried with smoked paprika

Penne with ground pork, sautéed napa cabbage, onion, garlic, tomato paste, marjoram.

One of the nice things about risotto, besides that it is nearly always a great dish, is that it is more or less a blank canvas which allows you to combine many different flavors. This risotto had asian influences with ginger, lemongrass, garlic, scallions, coconut milk, chicken broth, cilantro, peanuts and chicken breast.

Tuscan Bean and Shrimps with cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, shrimp broth, anchovies, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and zest, basil

Quick dinner, sometimes called Reispfanne in Germany - pretty much putting together what is in the fridge in a pan (Pfanne) and serve it over rice (Reis). Today it was ground pork, red and green peppers, tomatoes, bok choy, ginger, onion, garlic and some vegetable broth. Served with some sour cream (as every Reispfanne should be)

Curious to try chili with “fake” meat (beyond beef) and it wasn’t actually that bad. Chili made with red kidney beans, red peppers, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, chipotle in adobo, chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomato sauce

Shalgam Gosht - Braised Lamb with Turnips and Mint - Lamb braised with black cardamom in a sauce made from bin bhuna hua garam masala (made by grinding coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, whole cloves, green cardamom seeds, bay leaves and sirarakhong chili) and puréed caramelized red onions, garlic and ginger. Later you add sautéed turnips, cilantro and a mixture of pounded mint, tomato and dried chili) - served over rice

Two Ottolenghi recipes for dinner tonight - chickpea pancakes (chickpea flour, ginger, garlic, scallions, jalapeno, cornstarch, baking powder, apple cider vinegar, cumin, garam masala) with mango pickle yoghurt (yoghurt, mango, mango pickle, lime zest) and some crispy, fried curry leaves. Served with eggplants with herbs and crispy garlic (oven roasted eggplant mixed with mint, dill and cilantro in a vinaigrette made from garlic olive oil, white wine vinegar and jalapeño and topped with some crispy garlic slices)