Duvel

It has been quite a while that I made chili con carne, most likely because noone in my family cares for it except me. Made a “child friendly” version (why ?), then added Sriracha and chipotle to my portion - which ended up to be the whole pot ... Need to make this more often 🤗

Belated Easter dinner: Raclette ! Not much to explain ... cooked & cured meats, cheeses, condiments and a “build you own dish” approach. Yum !

A well-rounded breakfast ... Freshly “cut” Tête de Moine is a thing if beauty (and pretty tasty, too) !

I requested that next time bunny delivers something like that he’ll bring it already assembled 😉

My Easter weekend consisted of (almost) finishing a dry wall in the cellar and building up a huge trampoline, that the Easter bunny brought to my 6yo (seems Easter bunny is on steroids if he can carry that thing alone). So, I was in no mood for preparing a huge Easter dinner (and couldn’t have lifted my arms either). Luckily, family was happy with some quick Japanese comfort food nonetheless ... Yakisoba (red cabbage, carrot, onion, bbq leftovers & shrimps) Gyoza (curtesy of Ajinomoto) Happy Easter everyone 🐣

@Chris Hennes: Your crust structure looks interesting - there is no distinct cornicione (in the sense of stronger inflated dough). I know this style from several places here in Germany and always thought of it as a more “even” cooking style to avoid char. Is that what you aim for ? Do you roll out your crust instead of stretching ?

This is the point where the carnivore me fights with the little, persistent responsible me (that usually is so easily suppressed by expensive, imported whiskey from Japan): how do you make a tasty black bean-quinoa-sweet potato patty ?!

Come on, you know the rule ...

Does it come skin on ? I’d probably riff off a porchetta, open the collar up, score crosswise, rub with fennel, rosemary, garlic, chili, salt. Roll up, tie into a fat sausage and SV. Dry surface in the fridge for some hours ( w/ skin on, otherwise coat in seasoned starch) and deep fry ...

Tonight we had - you may have guessed it - BBQ again. And I have to admit that while originally we used the electric grill because I still haven’t bought a German gas bottle adapter for my Hong Kong gas grill, it is kind of convenient to have it just next to you on the table ... Tonight: chicken wings, Nürnberger, pork collar and Raclette cheese-stuffed pork “meatballs” ... Two kinds of tomato salads on one plate... Oven-roasted potatoes. Money shot on the meatball ... Becks ! And dessert ... Aaaaand dessert #2 🤗 - Happy Easter !

It feels like a Sunday, soooo ... Pizza & movie night, featuring Ghibli’s “Arietty” and ... Salami & mushroom Olive & ham

That looks interesting - care to elaborate ?

Forth day in a row BBQ in the garden... Chicken wings, marinated pork collar, Nürnberger sausages and lamb fillet ... Homemade herb & garlic butter Leftover red cabbage salad for me ... Salad nicoise for the rest of the family ... Lye bread roll with herb butter (Aldi) ... Beer of the day 😉 I foresee the BBQ streak to continue for a while - yummy !

As per popular demand: another round of BBQ (electric Ersatz version): Marinated pork collar, chicken tenders and sausage “snails” ... Accompanied by a greek salad ... Red cabbage salad ... And some herb butter-stuffed sour dough baguette (from Aldi - very good) ... Washed down with a spring edition beer !

May I suggest a Catalan preparation ? Chop the rabbit up in a few pieces, salt & pepper lightly dredge in flour and fry in hot olive oil until golden. Remove, add some garlic & onion. Fry until slightly colored, then add some chopped mushrooms (any will do), and - ideally - some dried ones as well. Add some Brandy and white wine. Return the rabbit, cover in aluminum foil and put into moderately hot oven to braise for 1.5h. Adjust seasoning and serve ...

Gas bottles have been sold out for a while. Luckily, I have this old (and pretty weak) electric grill that under these circumstances does perform well. First “BBQ” this year, with pleasant temperatures permitting: “Italian” potato salad with dried tomatoes and basil ... Green asparagus & feta frittata ... Mozzarella di buffala with the fixings ... Thüringer sausage and skewers of marinated turkey leg ... All enjoyed with a whiskey highball ! With the moon shining upon a locked down neighborhood...

In Spain, canned clams (or any canned seafood) is considered a dish of its own right, and - depending on the quality - fetched prices much higher than the fresh product. Berberechos are typically eaten as an aperitif, after being generously seasoned with Salsa Espinaler (or any equivalent). Usually accompanied by a glass of Vermouth ...

Saturday night family movie, accompanied by the Baconator !

Credibility score +1 😜

An “Indian” themed dinner ... Palak paneer, prawn curry, yellow split pea dhal, raita, coconut turmeric rice with cardamom and quick Ersatz naan. All served on some plates I bought an eternity ago in Singapore ... lovely food with lovely memories.

Found some freezer gold - three large braised oxtails, which were swiftly transformed into oxtail ragu pasta ... accompanied by some toasts with hummus and herring/red beet salad topping.

I think the picture is a bit misleading. Thats the tip of a regular bamboo yakitori skewer. I haven’t used any other skewers for the last decade ...

Marinated chicken skewers, a lye roll stuffed with herb butter, leftover creamed spinach and nibbles ...

Something along the lines of this ...

The sweet potatoes came from a bag 😏 and were nice. But yes, coating with a bit of oil, salt and starch is the only way to get them somewhat crunchy. Creamed spinach is indeed a basic bechamel (with sauteed onions and garlic, salt, plenty of nutmeg), rather stiff, and the thawed & drained spinach folded in. Then kept in the oven for about 20-30 min, during which the bechamel incoporated the water from the spinach and becomes silky.