Duvel

Kombu … (part of the sweet soy stock, too)

Reconvalescence dinner #3 for DW: Sukiyaki (Kanto style) 🤗 I can’t tell you how much time it took to slice up some 700 g of chuck eye roll (the most marbled beef you can find in Germany) into thin slices. And it still looks like a mess … Veggies, tofu, algae, mushrooms - all nature has to offer to offset the beef … Udon for the finish … “Fry“ the beef in a tare based on sweet soy sauce … Mix up some raw egg … And start dipping the barely cooked beef with all the sweet soy clinging to it into the raw egg. Heaven 🤗 After the meat, all the veggies get cooked … And finally the udon noodles are stirred into the concentrated juices … Some shichimi togarashi and the conclusion of the meal is ready … No complaints - none at all. And DW is getting better quickly 🥳

Kind of … salt with spices. My version can be found here 🙏

Reconvalescence dinner #2 for DW: I picked something dear to my heart - Din Tai Fung, an eternal favorite ever since I set foot into their Xinyi branch in Taipei during my graduate studies. The works … Their „house appetizer“: smoked tofu, bean sprouts, vermicelli & konbu … Cucumbers with chili oil … Braised beef with celery, peanuts and cilantro. Basically Fuji Feipian, with a Taiwanese twist. Very good ! (Commercial) Xiao Long Bao - no 18 folds, like Din Tai Fung prescribes it, but pretty decent. Will need to scratch that itch before we have their original XLB in May at their London branch … Sesame noodles with spicy meat topping. A version of Dan Dan Mian - it disappeared together with the rest in a fraction of the time it took to make it. Which made me happy 🤗 So - again - no complaints 🥳 DW is getting better … what else is there to ask for ?

DW had to spend a few days im the hospital after a small procedure. You might have heard that German hospital food is not for the faint of heart … She was released todat, so I picked her up and asked for her first recovery meal - surprisingly, she opted for “more” German food: SchniPoSa - Schnitzel, pommes frites and salad. I bought some veal and got cracking … (Commercial) Fries from the airfryer, doused with Duvel dust - always a good option … Salad with balsamic reduction … And some mushroom cream sauce for good measure … Little one breaded the Schnitzel and had some breading on the tip of his fingers, which we fried as well 🙄 The whole ensemble … And as usual - plenty of leftovers for tomorrows Schnitzelbrötchen … Finally, from our trip back through France we had some puddings left. Paris-Brest themed: cream, caramel, praline - what can go wrong 🤗 No complaints and we are more than happy she is back 🥳

Beside all the cheeses served yesterday I also bought a lovely raw milk Vacherin Mont d’Or while stopping over in Besançon. As per tradition I removed part of the upper rind, added dry white wine, grated garlic and some rosemary (thyme would have been ok as well), “closed” it again and popped it into the hot oven for about 35 min … Glorious - instant cheese fondue, served with some cold cuts, roasted bread slices, pickles and (not traditional, but good) chutney. No complaints 🥳

Browsing through the treasures safely hidden in the mancave, I unearthed two of the fancier instant ramen from Japan … Left: Kyotos Tenkaippin ramen, with a thick gelatinous chicken based soup called kotteri - my personal favorite ever since I lived there. Right: the famous black fish soup ramen from Toyama. Tenkaippin: with four different soup packages to be added at various steps definitely a “complicated” instant noodle - but I managed 🤗 Toyama Iroha: great chewy noodles & light bodies, yet intensely flavorful soup - haven’t had that style in years. All good - and a welcome warm up in this cold weather. No complaints 🥳

On our way back from Spain on Tuesday we stopped at Besançon to refuel the car and pick up some cheeses, that finally made our dinner tonight… From 12 o’clock: Roquefort, St. Maure, Le Chevrot, Langres, Rocamadour, Comte and a Petit Billie in the middle. Pickled gherkins, olives, artichoke hearts and red beets on the side. And also some pâté to go with it … And made some baguette - simple poolish-raised dough, then folded in some extras (from the left): Walnut/cranberry (unfortunately not scored deeply enough), caramelized onion, dried tomato/olive & “au nature” No complaints 🤗

That for months 👆 Freezer for years …

After some 11h drive finally back home - to a freezing cold house & empty fridge. Soo … spaghettini puttanesca ! Hits the spot every time 🤗

That’s half a grilled tomato, topped with cheddar and emmental (utilizing the fridges bounty 🤭) …

2% of the meat weight.

The full Irish (in Spain, nonetheless) …

It it - and it is meant to create a mutual „connectednes“ (if that’s the correct word). I have been to two places like that in Japan - both tiny (lile this one - 8 seats only, maybe two seatings oer night, omakase only) - both very memorable dinners. You don’t. You have to know a former patron (likely a regular) who introduces you via an invite (to dine together).

The most prized wild mushroom in Catalonia is the rovellon (lactarius deliciosus). I snatched up a batch at the market - and while they always look a bit “rotten”, be assured they do taste great … I fried them simply with garlic & parsley as a most welcome mid-day snack. The rest … … went into estofat de vedella (Catalan beef stew) … … served with buttery mashed potatoes (with tiny bit of saffron). The family demolished the whole lot 🥳