Duvel

@heidih, that is the "go to" brand in Korea as well. They make one variety that is mixed with beef drippings. If you come across it its fantastic as a sandwich spread ...

Well, mine ARE from Germany and they are excellent

You refer to the towels, right ? To your question: we have about a dozen. I have in 10 years maybe replaced one or two, because they lost their structural integrity. Other than that, I see no reason to replace a sturdy piece of cloth, whose pattern or appearance does not matter and only job is to absorb water and the occasional spill ...

As part of the New Year's "Clean out the freezer" project, 1.2 kg of boneless lamb shoulder turned into sous vide lamb carnitas. Garlic, onion, orange zest and juice, cinnamon, bay and cumin; 18h at 65 oC. First batch crisped up in the oven and made into sandwiches with queso fresco, tomato, cheddar, avocado and chipotle hot sauce. Yummy

Again, must be a regional (cultural ?) difference. If I buy my meat here in Hong Kong, last week in Spain or in my hometown in Germany, there are no signs nor oral warnings about safe handling or cooking temperatures. Maybe because if I buy a pound of raw minced pork the vendor can assune that I know how to process it - or in the case of buying it in my hometown, how to enjoy it raw with onions and a rye roll ... (but then again maybe in these places nobody gets sued from a customer who can claim he got sick from a piece of meat that he prepared wrongly ?)

Captain Morgan Private Stock ... (they had it in the mixed soft drink / toilet desinfectant shelf in our supermarket and I got lured in by the label with said picture )

I was under the impression we are talking about foodstuff here. Are you typically finding the drain cleaner you serve as a snack next to the other juices ? How about 50% alcohol solutions, packaged irresponsibly in a regular bottle with a funny pirate on the cover ? How about salt that is dyed pink to make it more attractive ? How about produce that is indigestible (at best, if not worse) if not cooked ? I just can speak for myself here: if I go to the shop I buy what I want to buy, not what is in the same shelf. If I eat somethIng or serve it to my family I do it because I know what it is. Rum, nitrate salts and dried beans are found in my household. I can handle all of them because I know how to, and that's why I bought them ...

Yeah, right. For foodstuff ... If I buy a product that I put in my mouth I think I should make the decision consciously. Meaning I know what I am buying and eating. If not, just leave it in the shelf. This "I did not know this is searingly hot / semitoxic / highly caloric" card is something that is very, very unsettling to me. If you eat it it is your responsibility to make sure you can digest it. Blaming the producer / vendor / server is unique to a certain mindset (dare I say culture) and in most of this world certainly met with the same disbelief that I am trying to convey here ... P.S.: This is not meant to offend anyone personally. I just feel very strong about this ...

Make no mistake: a lot of people here are well acquainted with was is authentic in different European countries, because in cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai or Tokyo you will find fantastic recreations of those dishes. And they value and appreciate it for what it is. That does not mean that the mainstream flavour (and that is what the fast food chains are catering for) will demand for something else ...

I have some negotiations scheduled in Shanghai in two weeks. If it's still available I'll give it a try. I enjoy these "local" renditions, even if they don't compare with the real thing ... And corn - yes, on basically every pizza in Japan, together with kewpie mayo (hello, Pizza-La) or on every pizza for my four-year old that I make for him

Now that's my dinner - both food and beer. The Duvel size makes for a happy evening for two ... Wondering whether my invite got lost in the mail

Back to Hong Kong from 2.5 weeks in Germany and Spain. Tired after 2 long flights the unanimous vote of our family as to which comfort food we should have for our first dinner: Japanese (namely sushi, gyoza and miso soup). And the best thing everything was ready in less than 15 min - including the walk to pick up the sushi ... Good to be back home!

The tandoori on the website look pretty large. I have a Weber chimney and would struggle to imagine that the amount of heated coal from the chimney starter would be able to impact a heat shock to that size of tandoor. I would also be surprised if it is sufficient to prime the tandoor for cooking ...

Yes, you can introduce heated coals into the tandoor, provided that the amount compared to the total volume is reasonable. It will not bring the entire tandoor to working temperature immediately, but will heat gradually via convection and radiation.

Yes.

Sorry

On the topic of food photography: Is it my lousy phone, you using a filter or is that meatball purple ?

Gin & Tonic with an oddly coloured Gin from supposedly the neighbouring town. Flavoured with some sort of orchid derivative and also named after it. Made a nicely colorful drink, that was unnecessarily bitter. I decided not to invest in that Gin for solely novelty purpose ...

Thanks. Its pretty straightforward: make a cream ("crema Catalana") from 500 ml milk, boiled with orange zest, a cinnamon stick, 100 g of sugar, cooled a bit and then thickened with 6-7 tempered egg yolks mixed with tablespoon cornflour. Reheat until set and let cool. Stirr occasionally to retain the creamy texture. Line a baking sheet with puff pastry, brush a thick layer of cream over it and top with another large sheet of puff pastry. Brush with an egg yolk mixed with milk for glazing. Sprinkle with sugar and pine nuts. Bake at 200 oC (preheated) for 20-25 min, until golden brown. If it browns too fast, cover with aluminium foil. Let cool cool completely and serve cut into small squares.

It's the night before King's day ... Tradionally (at least in the Catalan family of my wife) this means "pa amb tomaquet" (bread rubbed with tomato, olive oil and salt) and "embotits" (assorted cold cuts): Aged Manchego. "Butifarra negra" (blood sausage), "butifarra Blanca" (boiled sausage with tongue, skin, intestines), two types of "fuet" (a kind of salami). "Truita" (potato omelette). More "butifarra blanca" - quite peppery. "Pa amb tomaquet". "Bellota", sliced freshly from a ham. "Bikinis" (grilled ham & cheese sandwiches) for the kids. Of course, around 22.30h, one of the kings arrived to distribute presents for the kids. And although I have not been always good in 2017 (), I got a little something. (after that I snug into the guest kitchen, where the bellota was hiding and thanks to my willing and very professional helper I got some extra treats ...)

@gfweb, thanks ! I have never considered that combination. Recently I came across "red eye gravy" in some other context and found it strangely appealing, so I guess I have to give coffee-based meat sauces a try ...

Intriguing... care to elaborate on the chilli/coffee sauce ?

Tonight's the night before King's day, the day when all the children im Catalunya get their presents (instead of Christmas). And they also get a slice of the "Coca de Llavaneres" - puff pastry, filled with cinnamon and orange flavoured English cream, sprinkled with sugar and pine nuts ...

Hmm ... weird. Maybe you are not taking enough ?

Try the distilled, liquid form (preferable barrel-aged). Much easier to process ...