Nicolai

A short cut for dinner. One main and one Dessert.

Well, I am glad you like the old style rectangular original pizza as I think it is the best. The crust question is a difficult one as the sides are crisp but you do not always get a full side as it depends on the cut. The middle is usually baked to perfection as it will create a drama and a revolution for the Italian people having their pizza any other way. The small Pizza shops, and they only sell pizza and calzone, they also offer a Pizza Bianca which is simply the baked version with no cheese or sauce or toppings whatsoever. And here you can taste the real dough base and frankly, it is delectable. You should try it if the opportunity arise. Unfortunately, only in Italy and outside the main cities.

Dinner with the Illuminati numero un pizzaiolo: Pier Daniele Seu When is a Pizza not a Pizza? When presented to you by the top voted numero uno Pizza maker: Pier Daniele Seu Did I like it?.......................... Well it's a Pizza but I still prefer the original Pizza sold only in Italy small Pizza shops baked in a rectangular tray cut with scissors and sold by the Etto.

Noma Seefood Season I like Seafood and even more to Seefood and we decided to hit Seafood Season at Noma post NYE festivities to start 2020 on a high. Copenhagen was cold - wet and windy and I was jet lagged and sleepy but the show must go on as instructed by my loving wife....... and you have not met my MIL yet...... Noma The Seafood menu The offerings pics in no particular order Next stop will be in a small French restaurant with an Argentinian Chef: Le Mirazur.....here we come.......

Ohhhh. Your wife has great taste. But how did you come across this famous Yemeni dish? The name of the dish is Saltah Fahsa and is one of my favourite Yemeni dishes. It does come in different concoctions and the way to eat it is with Yemeni Malawah bread dunked in the soup with fishing the shredded meat. So spicy and comforting. I have posted pictures sometime ago and here are some from the web: - Malawah Yemeni bread - Saltah Fahsa

Just in time to finish 2019 and open a new jar of Little Scarlet Strawberry Conserve. Sour Dough and beurre d'isigny butter with a side of mature Gouda or Manchego and a pot of steaming coffee for the perfect start of the day. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/tiptree-little-scarlet-strawberry-preserve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Scarlet

Dear oh Dear......... I got this for Xmas.......I wonder if the wife is trying to tell me something......

Artsy Farsty private dinner..... We had a nice dinner with a modern French styling prepared and served by a private Chef and we ate everything including the kitchen sink. First the printed menu as it makes things look more posh: Started with a salad or should I say une salade or Premier Plat which makes it even more pompous. The assaisonnement was perfect to work with the watermelon - Goat cheese and Passion fruit. This was followed by a medley of sea food and cut with a Sorbet of Soursop and Yuzu pearls which was heavenly The main were a kind of surf and turf which I personally find ridiculous. Filet Mignon and a Josper Prawn are too far away in taste and I do not see the point. They were both nice but there was only a single sauce which was for the Filet Mignon. Two dishes on the same plate. No dice for me. and finally the kitchen sink dessert and we had to roll back home.... The winners were the salad and the Sorbet.....

Dunno the cost as we were invited and expensive vino was involved. I estimate around USD350 per person for the Kobe meat only, for a party of 5 hungry Ladybirds: As for my Statins, I am a walking pharmacy........ Admin: Pls delete if not appropriate.

Eating money......... We landed again at Tokyo Narita airport and took the train to Kobe as sheer lunatics to have dinner at Kobe. So our friends invited us us to Mouriya in Kobe to have some Kobe Beef. The cuts of beef were Grade A5 which is supposed to be the top grade. and here it is: with certificates as well. Good thing they did not give us a DNA test as well. V No idea what the docs say but please translate for me if you wish. Taste wise and the bottom line is that we were not bowled over as the meat is too tender for our taste and I am more used to feel a bite on my steak. Kobe grade A5 and you are eating softer and tender money........Mind you I don't even like Truffles Piedmont or Périgord. So Aberdeen Angus is still our favourite and we love Scotland and it's people. Oh well, Argentina ere vee come........Love Tango!

A dinner of two extremes. So we have this friend who shows up freshly landed at the airport and we have to take him out to dinner as one would. He fancies fish and we go to the seaside fish place and order a large serving of fried shrimps hot and spicy with a 2kg grouper for three people. We clean up both with a helping of coconut curry sauce and some salad and Parathas to dunk the sauce. The fish shack does not do dessert and I have to have a dessert to finish my meal. So as usual, back in the car to the French Patisserie and we had: - Éclair au praliné - Mousse chocolat framboises - Gâteau au Chocolat Gourmet ..........quelques heures plus tard.........I went to sleep counting Macarons......

.....and now I found that the world is round........ ........after few tablets of digestives....... Modern North Indian Vegetarian restaurant cataclysm.....well the presentation was Moderm......kind off... I tried claiming leg pain and start of a cold as well as temporary amnesia but was dragged kicking and screaming to the Indian restaurant. I have no idea what most of the dishes ingredients were about and I was very much missing a Chicago Dog....Yummy. So here are some night shots of the food. These are some dishes names for the people in the know who can decipher the names as I gave up on trying. So in no particular order of dishes: - Pav Bhaji Fondue. You pick a piece of bread and dunk it in the Dal based mush and shovel it with some pickles down the throat. - Panner Tika Paratha. That your friendly cheese sandwich North Indian style. No Brillat - Savarin I am afraid. - Pani Puri thingy. Under the flying saucers you have different sauces to fill the Puri. - It is a Chat. Either Bakarwani Chat or Dahi Papdi Chat as we were served both and I don't know which is this one. You pour the Yogurt in the glass jar and shake and serve and eat. - Dal with Paneer and something eaten with a Paratha - Dessert: Jalebi with Rabdi - Drinks: Lassi with a pink straw for me as being a Feminist supporter. as per the Governor instructions! Damages: A large box of Rennie digestives and violent sweet dreams of juicy Rib eye steak and Lamb Shanks or Kebab for one......

Disaster has struck. I am emotionally devastated........ My better half advised me that we are having dinner with some friends tonight and it is at a modern Indian VEGETARIAN restaurant...... Vegeterian>>>>> Moi ?????? I am a born and bread carnivorous person so is all my family, relatives, friends, business associates as well as our dog and cat and the Squirrels in the garden..... Time for a Kirialaison - Kristalaison. Stay tuned for tomorrow...... Ughh, Garlic is for the evil eye and photography bragging rights.

Back to Aleppo cuisine which is the best cuisine in the Levant. It was the restaurant soft opening so we had the chance to taste some of the dishes and make few recommendations. We started with some freshly baked bread and I had to ask my guest not to have any bread as it just acts as a filler and no Humos - Mutabal...etc was ordered. We started with the typical Aleppo Mohamara which is a dip made originally with the specific Aleppo Red Pepper grown in the region of Aleppo and which is fruity and low heat. This is mashed and mixed with Pomegranate Molasses - and crushed Walnuts , Breadcrumbs and other ingredients and has a sweet/sour/hot/crunchy taste' A different dip is a mix of Tomatoes and Aleppo Red Pepper paste Yalanji are small parcels of Swiss chard with a Rice - Parsley - Crushed Walnuts....etc The mains were Kibbe al Sikh which is grilled Kebbe on skewers with the Aleppo spices The ubiquitous Lambb Shank And the famous Aleppo Yabrak which is Vine Leaves stuffed with a mix of minced meat and rice on a bed of Lamb chunks. I was too full and sleepy to move to the Arabic Sweets shop down the road and had to make do with the Knafe bel Jebn A meal is never complete without a sweets coronation.

Freekeh: They did have two Freekeh dishes on the menu but there is so much we can eat and might order it on another visit. They have the traditional one with Chicken and a modern one wit Cream And Mushrooms. The reason I say "might" is based on an old love affair with Wheat as we use to roam the fields and strip open the Wheat kernels and eat them when they are still milky soft and a tad chewy. The Freekeh was cooked with fresh Freekeh and you can imagine the taste difference with the commercial one. A very old dish of Freekeh was a sweet dessert with the kernels still whole and not turned into mush and this was the main sweet at the table on Dec 4th of each year for Saint Barbara Remembrence Celebration. There you go stirring up old nice memories of times gone by.......

Hummm. I rather avoid answering a politically loaded question. Mansaf is a Bedouins dish. From Irak - Syria and Jordan - Palestine. Each country have their own twist on Mansaf. Suffice to say that Palestine precedes the creation of Jordan and let's leave it at that.

Palestinian Cuisine: The Beautiful unknown and tasty cuisine of the Levant. Palestine known for many things is rarely celebrated for it's food. And yet, It is food perfected over generations and it is what we call Cooking. Most of today's food worldwide is not really cooking but what I call Assembly Food or fried stuff. Real cooking such as French or Italian - Persian or Syrian and other cuisines is deep from the confines of the Terroir. We all know that authentic (I dislike this word) dishes originate from what grazed and grew in nearby fields..... Palestinian food similar to Syrian food is home bred and grown. I was utterly shocked, for example, to find Mohamara which is a pure Aleppian dish offered in the VIP lounge of Narita airport for crying out loud! We had a very nice dinner at a newly opened restaurant offering Palestinian food: Never mind the ubiquitous starters of Hummos and the likes. The mains were: 1- Mnazalat Eggplant Eggplant or Aubergines for the French inclined: This is an Aubergines and Lamb Stew in a clay pot cooked in the oven and covered by rising bread dough a la Kashmiri rice type. 2- Jordanian Mansaf. Lamb cooked in re-hydrated Yogurt on a bed of Shrek bread and rice. The lamb is marinated in Karak Jmeed. Karak being the original Goat yogurt from the town of Karak. The rice is drowned with the Karak Yogurt as well. What a Royal dish and is in fact the National dish of Jordan. 3- Mosakhan: Chicken on Shrekk bread cooked with tons of onions - Pine Nuts and Tons of Sumac. This is a very famous Palestinian dish which did make it outside the borders of Palestine. 4- Maftoul: This is a unique labour intensive dish whereby the Bulgur is swirled petit à petit with white flour until the flour is fully absorbed by the Bulgur and the hand swirling effect turns the Burghul bead into a small ball. This is then steamed and doused with the chicken broth.. It is served with a tomato sauce of luscious hummos. Dessert: Tamrieh Fried pastry filled with Semolina.

Whatttttt! They put Bourbon in sweet potatoes!!!!!!!! No way. Try this recipe: Soft boil or roast 750 g cubes sweet potatoes and dress with: I tbsp Honey - 2 tbsp Lemon juice - 2 tbsp EVOO - 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard - S&P and enjoy your salad......

Glad you like the post. Recipe PM'd to you just now.

Happy that you enjoyed the post. I am not into Beer drinker although tried to force myself and tried most types including Lager -- IPA - Guinness - German - Chezck.........and simply dislike the taste of Hops. I also do not drink Whiskey or Whisky or Cognac. I am more of an Armagnac and Wine person with Rum - Vodka and Tequila as chasers......And of course Sake and Arak.

You got me there. I have no idea. Probably going back to the restaurant in Dec and I will ask which cheese they are using. As for walking. I am being abused as I have to swim before the food and walk afterwards. Poor me. Sniff, sniff.........

Thank you. Tomorrow, we are off with some friends to a new restaurant offering Palestinian fare. I am really looking forward to the experience as Palestinian food is rather less popular and much less promoted worldwide. I called the owner and asked him tor reserve a table and planning to have the following delectable dishes. Palestinian food is real cooked homey food and very very tasty. You might have to google the dishes names to discover the composition. The dishes will be: 1- Yogurt Kebab Aubergines. Palestinian 2- Jordanian Jameed Mansaf Lamb . Which is Lamb cooked in re-hydrated Yogurt. Jordanian 3- Mosakhan Chicken on Shrekk bread cooked with tons of onions - Pine Nuts and Tons of Sumak. Palestinian 4-Makloubeh either Chicken or Lamb with rice and Aubergines. Palestinian 6- Maftoul Chicken or Lamb Couscous. Palestinian 7- Dessert: Tamrieh Fried pastry filled with Semolina. Palestinian I hope I am not walking back home as it is a 30mn drive by car....... I will post pics after the feast.

To make up for poor me having a Manousheh for Dinner. I dragged my better half to a Teutonic slap up meal. 1- Obatzda cheese with a Pretzel and Radishes 2- Kasespatzle 3- Giant Pretzel 4- Nuremberg Sausages with Saurkraut and Potatoes 5- Wiener Schnitzel (Pork) 6- Munich White Sausages (Pork and Veal) Off camera: Rotkohl - Some unpronounceable Beer and Burg Ravensburg Riesling Trocken - Baden That was a nice hearty meal but I was made to walk back home with the Stick and Carrot threat of a home made Dessert baked by the Governor. Apricots and Blueberries moist cake topped with Toasted Almonds slivers....... Yummy........

Breakfast for Dinner when your better half abandons you to have dinner with her friends....... I was not too hungry and opted to have a Lebanese Manoucheh which is more of a breakfast fare and also eaten at any time of the day/night. Manousheh Zaatar Labneh Tomatoes- Cucumbers - Black Olives and fresh plucked mint leaves Simply love it........

Thank you. I have a very happy Cardiologist 😎