Duvel

Little one had a friend over, who stayed for dinner. I offered hot docs; little one requested gyoza. Soooo … Japanese diinner: I picked some dried hoya (sea pineapple) a snack. The perfect accompaniment to sake .. I am not sure if I ever mentioned tgat beside housing my whiskey collection and my cookbooks, the mancave is also home to a rather extensive collection of one cup sakes ? Tonights treat … And foodwise … rice crackers: Excellent menma … Gyoza: Ajinomotos pork one. Simply no comparison 🙏 Tuna tataki & salmon sashimi ..: Chicken tebasaki … Yamitsuki cabbage … Soinach with black miso-sesame dressing … And Dan Dan Udon … And for dessert: Melty kiss … very melty, very good ! No complaints 🤗

The latter. Pork reigns supreme here, and beef is more popular for the “finer” cuts (e.g. filet, Tafelspitz, roastbeef, …).

My butcher had Leiterstück on offer - an in Germany rather unpopular beef cut that translates to short ribs 😎. I bought quite a bit and the first dish I made was Gulaschsuppe : plenty of onion, garlic, peppers, carrot and potatoes. Spiced with both smoked & spicy paprika, caraway, bay leaf and marjoram. Cooked yesterday and rewarmed today. Great 🤗 Served with sour cream, breads, and some nibbles … No complaints 🥳

Google is your friend … https://heartswithfingers.com/blogs/news/how-the-grainy-texture-reveals-whether-your-ghee-is-truly-pure?srsltid=AfmBOoqMIIbmuM8auTDvcA-g1Nr0ZtjGfUJXUS5z7jYtC5U06Phs_MMU

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 🥳

We are still in Spain and had some friends over. Little one opted for Japanese, so I had to improvise a bit without my pantry … Hakushu highball (not improvised) for the cook … Half of the table (second part was blurry) Pickled cucumbers & pickles radish (on the right) … Edamame … Tuna tataki … Karaage. Three plates of this disappeared in a flash … Fried aubergine, marinated in mentsuyu … Spinach tofu salad with sesame dressing … Okonomiyaki … Steamed shrimp with ginger & mentsuyu … Yakisoba. Little one requested ramen, but that’s difficult for 10 people … “At least make some marinated eggs” … ok 😎 Choya plum as dessert wine, with chocolates & fruits. No complaints 🥳

Leftovers from the Christmas lumch became Trinxat, a savory potato-cabbage pie from Andorra, served with various meat toppings … Yum 🤗

Pizza night - always a bit challenging without “my” oven setup, but I macgyvered it … Llonganissa (the Catalan equivalent of salami) & mushroom with cheese-stuffed crust … Jamom iberico, aragula and shaved Grana Padano .. Butifarra (a raw Catalan sausage), olives & red onions … Encore (leftovers from the three pies before) … No complaints 🥳

Today in the supermarket … 13€ 😎

Making dinner with little one … We wanted to try the „viral“ minced meat Döner, that has been flooding short video platforms in the last months. Essentially, you are mixing minced meat with yoghurt, grated alliums and spices and spreading it out very thinly between two sheets of baking paper, before rolling it up and roasting the roll(s) in a hot oven. Little one decided to serve the meat in the Iskender Kebab style, so I made some fresh flat breads for that purpose … All topped with a tomato-butter sauce and thick yoghurt … Served with the roasted pepper & tomatoes and some chili flakes for good measure. Little one and me were quite pleased, as was the rest of the family, including mit parents-in-laws 🤗

Being in Spain at the moment you can’t find a shop they don’t have it on offer. And for a good reason - sweet, orange-y, with cinnamon & vanilla: it tastes like Christmas. I do like it with some ice cold (lactose free, because it’s sweeter) milk. So good 🤗