Duvel

Tonight our usual three pizza varieties, accompanied by the lovely “Ponyo” of Studio Ghibli ... “Hawaii” with pineapple and smoked lardons ... Mushroom & bolognese sauce - this was very, very good ... 4 Cheeses, coppa & basil

When I do LC, my weekly dinners feature heavily cauliflower crust pizza (& derivatives) ...

For me it is not the chili, it is the Sichuan pepper ... it’s like the Khmer Rouge invading you lower intestines and the intestinal fools surrender and retract 😱

With Sichuan food, that is typically the next day ..

But only from your limited perspective 😜 “Swimming with the fishes” was a phrase originally coined in Mesopotamia (at around the same time that Schweinshaxe was invented) and referred to the annual salmon* migration up the Euphrates ... *Salmon was native to the Fertile Crescent, until the Mongols came and took them to Norway.

In German its „riding a dead horse“. Makes one wonder how the original expression in ancient Mongolian was 😜 ...

I overheard someone mentioning that riding a dead horse is Mongolian in origin, but now a global phenomenon ...

Neolithic, my friend, neolithic ... God knows what they have consumed in my area, when the cradle of civilization was enjoying the dung-spiced gruel ...

Everybody knows that Schweinshaxe, a beloved German staple, can be traced back to neolithic Mesopotamia , where it began as a simple millet gruel spiced with dried scraps of dung. Over the centuries, the dish made its way to the east, where the base was changed to brown rice and dung was replaced by fermented goat butter. The mongols brought the dish as far as the Danube river, where a travelling Bavarian trader bought the recipe, ditched the carbs, replaced the fermented goat butter with bone-in pork hocks and moved from boiling to the more economic roasting by open fire. But the real question for me is whether Schweinshaxe did exist in preneolithic times ? I mean millet certainly was not invented in Mesopotamia, so might Schweinshaxe have a far older history, e.g. originate in Africa !? Any hint would be most welcome !

Please check the definition of Knödel ...

Pizza & Movie night on Sundays ... „Indiana Jones and the last Crusade“, enjoyed with: Salami & Mushrooms „Mapo Dofu“ w/ Sichuan chili oil. Pizza is for us essentially a way to use up the cold cuts in the fridge. I had some mapo dofu from yesterday and gave it a try akin of pizza bolognese. It worked pretty well - only disappointment was that after I thought I was so inventive I checked, and of course David Chang and Rene Redzepi did that during their guest stage at Mission Chinese in SF already. Was good, nonetheless ... And another good, yet already commercialized idea from Spago, Las Vegas: Pizza with herb cream and smoked salmon. Very good (if I may say so) !

Fritters look great, @Franci !

Easy-peasy chineasy ... Smacked cucumber ... Mapo Dofu ... Shuijiao (with aromatic soy & Sichuan chili oil) Shuijiao (kids version, sesame & sweet soy) And a Japanese whiskey highball for the cook 😉

Burger. Brioche bun, aged Gouda, bacon, avocado, caramelized onions. 220 g of beef per burger ... Little one insisted on getting two patties ... so I had to split his one. He was so proud that he ate more than us 😜

Most likely it originated here ...

„Dönerteller“: trying to improve my döner recipe and I am getting closer. I wish I had more power on my stove to crisp the slices - a gas one would be so much nicer ...

Maybe my translation of the cut is off ? It is the lower back of the lamb (“under” the ribs), cut into cross sections through the spine. Edited: Saddle it is ... thanks @BonVivant!

Freshly fried cashews always hit the spot for me ...

After some very pleasant days, rain has finally arrived and temperatures have dropped to a mere 16 oC. Something hearty was requested, so I made pan-fried rack of lamb and a huge pot of ratatouille. The little one is allergic to Aubergines, so I made him a Döner-style sandwich with grilled chicken and tons of veggies, which he ate without any complaints...

That made my day, @BonVivant. Thank you for the clever idea ...

Family dinner, enjoying the last warm day on the terrace before thunderstorms are coming tonight. Comfort food - much appreciated by the whole family and especially by my father: Cherry Old Fashioned Ossobuco in bianco with mashes sweet potatoes ... Gremolata butter Yesterdays flatbread, toasted, for the bone marrow ... Our village’s beer to complete the dinner ... Good times 🤗

Thanks - I would be very happy to host you @Franci anytime ...

My parents are visiting over the weekend and I prepared some BBQ ... All ready to go ... Tomato & buffalo mozzarella ... Mixed dips & cheeses ... Freshly made flatbread ... A surprising find - very tasty ! Grilled veggies ... Fennel salsiccia, veal skewer, lamb saddle ... Shrimps ... A childhood memory: Dolomiti

Funny ... for me it is exactly the other way around: with a nice piece of meat, I don’t miss any mushrooms 😉

Today was a public holiday in Germany, and this might be the only place where I can report that I spend a good part of the day making what you can get 5 min away from here for a few Euros 🤔 Anyway, I decided to make Döner. I used ground beef, kneaded it with spices, onion, ice water and a bit of cornstarch into a meat dough. Baked it to an internal temperature of 70 oC. Cooled down and sliced thinly, before flash fryind in a screaming hot pan ... Made two flatbreads to go with it ... A classic “Dönerteller” with all fixings and some fresh bread (and a beer). Super tasty - a day well spend 😉