Duvel

The pumpkin (and onion) was roasted as the base of the soup, the pear accentuated the sweetness nicely. I added some creme fraiche to get a bit of acidity and the blood sausage for umami. All in all a good combination. It went into my “keep” file 😉

Getting very chilly in this part of Germany - hot soup to the rescue: pumpkin & pear cream soup with fried blood sausage slices ...

And I could have sworn it would have been Chicken Cacciatore ...

I am watching you (and the topic) closely ... 😜

Yes, easily ... Especially in the weeks leading to Christmas. These specific legs were purchased fresh, at a reasonable price of about 25 €/kg. Goose breasts are available as well, but I find the legs so much more rewarding ...

Today is St. Martin‘s day - and tradition dictates roasted goose in the spirit of this occasion. So, after a short walk with a selfmade lantern (as a Corona-forced substitute for the more traditional bonfire) we came home to this: Goose legs (after 12h @ 80oC, spiced with juniper, quattre epice and thyme) ... Roasted at 220oC for 25 min ... Red cabbage, made from scratch using copious amounts of goose fat, apple, onion, cinnamon and clove ... Knödel „halb & halb“, a commercial product. Plated and accompanied by a nice sauce, featuring plum preserve ... And preceeded and accompanied by a economic, yet very drinkable red from the Rioja. Aaaand chased by caraway-scented Schnaps ! Followed by some Baumkuchen (to complete the meal for the other 2/3 of the family) One happy Duvel tonight 🤗

I’d pick holiday in Spain anytime over Germany (at least as long as my Catalan wife is reading my posts) 😜

There are a very few leftovers, but more importantly more than one litre of intensively flavoured stock. I am so looking forward to this ...

As one does ... Care to share some details on the quail ?

We did a cycling tour through the vineyards surrounding our hometown. November brought cold weather and great autumn foliage, but our 6 year old did not appreciate his parents dragging him out for a two hour bike ride in the misty weather ... Coming back home I felt I had to make it up to him and improvised a hot pot ... luckily we had some items at hand. Got this shichimi togarashi with yuzu peel from a dear Japanese friend. It is so aromatic ... Asahi - good to have stock ! Getting ready .. Yum - and the little one was happy, too ... And finally something to warm up the cook 🤗

Please check here ...

Beautiful ... If it freezes at night, they’ll be perfect !

Traditionally, pork is used. In some areas of Greece and especially in Turkey, veal or lamb is used. The ground mixed meat variety seems to be a American-Greek speciality ...

That would have been my suggestion as well ... and if you want to go in the nutty direction, stir in some sesame paste (or peanut butter, if sesame is not available). A bit of vinegar to balance and some fried shallots for atone and you’ll have a great nutty & chilli-laden condiment ...

It depends a bit on what you want the flavour for. I do use the syrup of Amarena cherries for flavouring a lot of things (but I do go through a lot of cherries for my Old Fashioneds) ...

Tonight - in the spirit of the occasion- something from the cradle of democracy: Gyros (I hear you, @robirdstx & @kayb) Ouzo ! With Mezze, while waiting for the gril l to do it’s job ... Need to work on my stacking skills ... Done ! Red cabbage salad ... Greek salad ... Zaziki made from greek yogurt with a loooot of garlic ... Happy faces around the table ! στην υγειά μας

Actually, that one is pretty good. I always brought back one or two packages when returning from mainland China ...

Hailing from Lower Saxony - the gastronomic epicenter of the country - I of course need to disagree 😜 Trotzdem Herzlich Willkommen !

This type of cheese is very popular in Germany. We go through 1-2 packs per week, not only as a spread but also as a quite versatile ingredient. A very similar product available in the US is Boursin ...

It is very finely chopped spinach with dash of salt, boiled and drained. Then a generous of cream cheese (I use this) is added and done 🤗

Our local supermarket had fresh cod on offer, so I whipped together some fish cakes with homemade tartare sauce and creamed spinach ...

Local butcher had suckling pig on offer. So tonight slow roasted suckling pig shoulder, served with two kinds of peas in butter and Käsespätzle ...

Goose fat alone is a bit too liquid for me as a spread*. I use about half-half of goose and pork - get all the flavour and something that allows to get a decent layer of fat on your bread ... —- * at least at the ambient temperatures my (Catalan) wife appreciates. Here, at my parents home, of course German household temperatures prevail and goose fat would be rock solid as well 😉

Thanks ! Dolomiti is (from top to bottom): lemon, raspberry and woodruff. When I was a kid (some 35 years ago), the green part was much brighter - it was shortly after discontinued as (legend has it) the green colorant was classified as CMR. The new version, which came out maybe some 10 years ago as part of the 80’s nostalgia wave at least tastes like I remember the original ... but the green color - I liked the old one better 🙃

This past week we had autumn school holidays. My parents were kind enough to take our 6 year old to the Baltic sea coast, where I already spend every autumn holiday as a kid. We dropped him off last week and today went to my parents home (about 300 km north from where we live) to pick him up. I prepared some food that he and my parents would enjoy to celebrate the occasion ... Sourdough, 80% wheat/20% rye at 80% “hydration” using butternut squash puree. Served with Hubertus Schmalz, a delicious mix of pork and goose fat with apples, onions and herbs ... Lasagna: Marcella Hazans ragu alla Bolognese recipe as the base, plus a butter-laden bechamel. It is so simple, yet so good. There are no further pictures, as the whole thing disappeared in minutes ... Donuts - Happy Halloween 🎃 And an icecream called “Dolomiti” - a fond childhood memory that beside me only my son enjoys ... Chased by some more adult options ... Good times ☺️