BonVivant

Toasted bread with cold roast beef (store bought) and Tyrolean ham. "Otto" "Max" Max and Otto together

Chicken hearts. Very garlicky.

Bratwurst flavour and it is nice! Not Lay's but maybe someone finds it "interesting". From Netherlands and tastes revolting. I ate 2 crisps, the partner ate the rest.

Franconian smoke beer braised pheasant legs (imported from north eastern UK), with juniper berries, garlic and Speck/smoked air cured pork belly. Drank the same beer that was used in the braise. Hope you can see something in this brown mess.

Thanks. I have never made a fondue myself so this is my super easy cheese fondue. My friend in Switzerland makes a good one so I eat his when I visit.

Soup made with leftover meats from my pseudo Choucroute. Vegs were swede, parsnip, celery and kale. I'm a (French) cheese fanatic. (This was yesterday)

Host's Note: This is part of an extended topic that became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it into shorter segments; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Lunch! What'd ya have? (2014-2015) A small and simple one.

KayB, not this time. I almost always have Riesling, Sauv. Blanc and Gewürztraminer in the fridge but today I used Norton Torrontés, the only white wine I had left in the house. It's time I went shopping tomorrow!

BKeats: No, it has not crossed my mind to make my own Sauerkraut only because reasonably good Sauerkraut is readily available at the market for 2 euros a kilo. But I don't completely rule out never wanting to try making it myself. Enjoy your China trip! (Where about? I have been there only 3 times)

Steve Irby: thank you! ------------------------ Today's dinner: Made with what I have in the house today so it's my version of "Choucroute". Big chunk of pork is the cut just above the heel. Smoked sausage, Speck (smoked pork belly), and Sauerkraut -warmed up with plenty of juniper berries- which is sold raw/fresh directly from the barrel at the market. I rolled the boiled potatoes in chopped parsley. And a smokey Franconian beer is a natural accompaniment. Simply one of my all-time favourite meals. Similar meals I love are called Cocido and Cozido (Spanish and Portuguese respectively). Merci Deutschland!

Actually, I have no idea how that would work. Biggest problem is the flaking and not holding its shape. Hope someone who has experimented with SV fish could help out.

First sheet to hold the shape of the cod whilst steaming (takes no time, watch it like a hawk or it'll be overcooked). Second sheet when fish has cooled enough to handle. I do it this way to prevent stickiness of cooked nori and for the photos later. --------------------------------------------- Shelby, thank you kindly!

Recent dinners. Mushrooms ----------------- Miso sauce has sherry, sugar and sesame oil. ------------------- My new favourite mushroom Spätzle

Braised octopus, chorizo and potatoes. There's also blood sausage but it's kind of hard to see. I ran out of parsley so just used fresh bay leaves for greenery and something for the camera to focus on. The focus seemed to struggle to find some texture in this red-brown mess.

A couple of recent lunches. Strammer Max doesn't normally contain any seafood. Brown shrimp (Crangon crangon)

Thanks, Gfweb. I can never get enough of pan con tomate and jamón.

I like your savoury version. Looks like Dampfnudeln in Swabia but that one is steamed in milk and butter. Buchteln is as Austrian as Strudel but it is actually Czech. If only I had a sweet tooth...

Now back home from holidays in Sheffield (UK), Albania and northern Greece. Monkfish was seared then finished in oven, on top of celery and young carrots. Added the Speck in the last couple of minutes. Samphire before the photos were made.

Oregano because I'm in Greece at the moment. The beers are also Greek, btw. Bought half kilo of oregano at the market today to take home with me for all things Greek. Here they really do sprinkle it on almost anything (savoury)!

My first souvlaki in Meteora, Greece.

I did recently cross into northern Greece from Albania. Beautiful and is a lot more developed here. Having just spent 18 days in Albania almost everything hits me in the wallet here in Greece. However, it is still cheaper than some other European countries. A couple of lunches I had in Meteora. The most memorable thing about Meteora is its monasteries atop sheer cliff walls. All the tourists flock here for that. --------------------------------------------------- IowaDee: many thanks! I still have photos from about 4 previous trips to sort out when I have time and inclination. For now you might want to have a look at my food (and more) photos taken in Porto, Portugal. (04:21m, has sound)

A "speciality" of Gjirokaster, Albania. Fried rice "balls". Spinach pie Qifqi frying pan (with spinach pie in background) Seen from the castle's terrace (Posting from northern Greece now)

(Not Lay's, just Albanian crisps. Is there a thread or non Lay's? Please move it if there is such a thread.) The wine is from right here in Berat.

Picnic in the park (in Berat) today. The little wedge is sheep's cheese (quite strong). Yesterday in Tirana. Byrek is Albanian version of Turkish Börek, which is popular snacks in cuisines of former Ottoman empire. (Also in the photo is 9 bags of seeds I got at the market in Tirana) Posting from Berat, Albania.

Had a semi "fancy" shish qebap* today at the "outdoor beer garden fest" in the capital of Albania. I ordered pork and chicken skewers for my qebap. Yoghurt sauce with pickled green tomatoes and roasted/pickled pointed sweet peppers for the bread. You can pick whatever sauce you like for your (shish) qebap. Typical not fancy qebap from a street rig looks like this (see pics below) and it doesn't come with any sauce or pickles/vegs. Nothing. I did ask why (when there was someone round who could translate for me) and the answer was because in the old days Albanians couldn't afford any sauce or any extras in their qebap. Well, now they certainly can but still keep it simple if buying from a street rig. The capital has a 10 days of beer drinking outdoor at the moment. At night the entire street (temporarily closed to traffic) is full of people enjoying (draft) beer and snacks. Too bad there's only 1 beer, which is Birra Tirana. Snack menu