Duvel

Not quite. Is was a pre-lunch experiment to test the consistency of the bar staff ... alas, the second Old Fashioned was presented in a slightly different manner (and with!teo cherries). They get full points anyway, as each rendition got bigger ...

Thanks ... but am on my way out already, enjoying the perks of the United Polaris lounge - impressive !

Yup ... 1.5 days Houston 😉 Nice place !

The first breakfast burrito of my life. With chorizo. Not bad at all ...

I do like shrimp and/or squid versions as well. Steamed and then grilled on a skewer. And usually made a but seeeter than the fish ones ... As they dont absorb the broth so well, I usually dont put them in oden, though. In many prefectures in Japan they use fatty fish (mackarel, even sardines) for the paste ... excellent products as well. Very good with hot mustard.

It definitely deserves its own thread! I do miss surimi products a lot since coming back from Asia to Germany. Technically, surimi in Japanese refers to the groud paste of fish with seasoning (salt, sugar, mirin, sake, MSG) and binder (potato starch). It is then formed and cooked, either boiled (hanpen and others), steamed (kamaboko and others) or fried (satsuma age and others). Now, with the winter coming I am craving hot oden soup with satsuma age, daikon and eggs ... I prepared some satsuma age varieties two weeks ago and will use them up in the next weeks in homemade oden 🤗

Yup. Just had it last sunday on FRA-EWR ... yummy !

What happened to that zucchini ?

Thanks & well notes. I will arrive tonight (Sunday, 17th) at ~17.00h and depart Monday at 7.00h in the morning. So some hours, and I will take a nap in one of the airport hotels (will need to check which one) ...

I am travelling to Houston soon, but due to short notice was unable to secure a direct flight from Frankfurt. So, I was “blessed” with a layover at Newark. As I am arriving around 17.00h there is little I can do ... except gaving a decent dinner. Any recommendations around the airport ?

My first impulse would have been to eat them ...

Home. Tired. Lazy. Fresh bread roll, kewpie, north sea shrimps. Happy. (disclaimer: a whiskey highball was consumed as well ...)

I am always impressed by your breakfasts - first and foremost by your cooking (of course) and getting up so early to provide them. But secondly, by Moe‘s ability to metabolize all this glorious food (yes, I know ehat he gets for dinner, too). I always imagining him happily marching off to the depths of the famous coal mines of British Colombia for a double-shift to compensate for your great meals ...

Pizza al taglio with caramelized pears, balsamico onions, rosemary and pecorino sardo (and some sausage/tomato/rosemary area, just in case). Eaten on the sofa, yet very well received 😉

Yes, sourcing food grade lye can be tricky. If you want to upgrade, you can try to bake your baking soda (the solid), producing sodium carbonate, which is far more alkaline. It will allow you to shorten your boiling time, thus creating smoother surfaces and gives a better coloration ...

Nice ... which alkaline solution are you using ?

Your bread looks great, but if I eat that much Roquefort I prefer to have a big steak under it ...

Schmalz is rendered fat, irrespective of the origin. In my home region in Germany the word itself is used exclusively for lard, an the word Gänseschmalz is used for goose fat. At least the German word is derived from the verb „schmelzen“ (to melt) and thus does not contain a „t“.

Fantastic - that’s the crumb shot 🤗

The most common choice (and from the look of it employed here as well) would be Bergkäse (usually a harder variety, in taste and texture close to Gruyere) ...

Pasta with oxtail ragu (no leftovers edition 😉) ...

Dönerteller (commercial product 😉)

Given the plethora of things living in your bedroom I feel you’ll need to post a picture* soon ... seeing is believing 😉 (*bedroom, not rotisserie)

And in all fairness - the Spotted Pig burger is just that: a bun, a giant patty and the blue cheese. No other fixings ... So asking without blue chhese is essentially eliminating one out of three ingredients. I do understand April.

Damn it ... eGullet really is an enabler. Idea written down and saved for next pizza night. For tonight: Pizza Oxtail (with greek-style braised oxtail, braising liquid as sauce and spring onions for contrast) ... ... and Pizza Anchovy with San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and salt-cured anchovies.