Duvel

Excellent, @rotuts 🥳

Loooong day at a conference (semi-)far away from home. Was not feeling to go out anymore to source food, so I had to make do with what I bought on Monday, when I arrived … Spiced nuts, Parma ham and Balvenie 14 🤗 No complaints !

According to the Catalan Wikipedia entry, sofregit is mostly made up from tomatoes and onions, however, “a little bit of pepper” may be used. It seems in the south of Caralunya - Valencia county - a sofregit made from tomatoes and onions alone is used for fish and seafood, while the one including small amounts of peppers is used for meat and (likely salted) cod. Interesting - it’s all a continuum 🤗

So true ! I better not show this to my MIL 🤭

Fantastic, @blue_dolphin, just fantastic 🤗

One question to all - the two recipes vary in one important aspect: the inclusion (or omission) of vinegar. For me, the sweet & sour aspect was always the hallmark of peperonata. In fact - at least in my head - it was was differentiated the dish from the similar French or Spanish vegetable stew ... So: vinegar or no vinegar ?

Strangely, no. The Catalan sofregit is just comprised of tomatoes and onions (or garlic). I asked my MIL, if she knows sofregit with peppers and her answer was "you can put it, but its more of a sofrito then". So, acoording to her the Spanish sofrito might contain peppers (which contradicts some recipes I found online), but it also contains variable amounts of different onions, carrots, celery, garlic, even herbs - so maybe it doesn't matter to have pepper in there as well 😜

I think ~30, all well stored in the mancave under the watchful eye of a Suntory ad girl 🤭 …

Technically, yesterday … Two nice examples of a distilled alcoholic beverage of Scottish origin, made from fermented sprouted barley mash …

Damn enablers here at eGullet: two days ago I hadn’t even heard of Vadouvan, now I have a pack winking at me from the cupboard …

I very much like peperonata, but make it not very often. Our household uses bell peppers mostly in samfaïna (which contains quite some amount, even if the English wikipedia entry suggests otherwise) and escalivada (a mix of roasted and skinned peppers and aubergines). The latter is a great topping for flatbread, sometimes with sardines added, known in Catalunya as coca de recapte … My personal favorite, however, is simply roasted yellow peppers (roasted until the skin is black), skinned and mixed with the best anchovies you can buy. A bit of garlic and some olive oil. Best eaten at room temperature with some bread and a good wine.

“Keto” is an umbrella term for all ketogenic diets, meaning those where the body primarily breaks down fats into so-called keto bodies, which can be detected in your bloodstream, in your breath or in your urine (there are neat little testing strips, so you can see if you are “ketogenic”). I order for this to happen you need to restrict carbohydrates significantly. The Atkins diet starts like this, restricting carbohydrates severely (<20 g/day), while fat and protein can be consumed ad libitum. This phase of the diet is called „induction“ and leads to a ketogenic state of your metabolism. Later, carbohydrates are stepwise reintroduced, leading at ine point to a mixed metabolism, so this part of the diet („maintenance“) can’t be called „ketogenic“ or „keto“ anymore. As fat is pretty much always accompanied with protein (unless you intend to drink/snort/… oils or animal fat directly), all ketogenic diets lead to an increased protein intake, which makes them less suitable for people with kidney issues (who can’t take the nitrogen load). Regardless what some of the different diet flavors prescribe, a diet of 70+% fat in the absence of significant dietary fibre (that is usually accompanying carbohydrates) is not workable from a gastrointestinal point of view. Don’t ask me 🙄 …

Si tacuisses …

Keto is meant to be relatively low carb, in order to induce ketosis (the use of keto bodies converted from fat). Therefore it is high in fat and relatively high protein.

In my case as well.

I also do 6.5 min ones for ramen, but I have gone to 5.5 min eggs for some applications. Even in those the whites are fully set.

As every Sunday: pizza & movie night ! Tonight featuring a thin crust dough and the usual salami and mushroom combo, that I didn’t manage to get a picture of - a long afternoon walk and one more eater (my father is currently visiting) made the first pie disappear while I was preparing the next one in the kitchen 🙄 … Gorgonzola & spinach Anchovies, olives and capers Enjoyed with “Die Schule der magischen Tiere” (The school of magical animals) …

But maybe close to a Parsi restaurant 🤗 …

The food or the book ?!

@Bernie: If you graduate to cask strength or general higher proof expressions you will find that not only water is necessary*, but actually beneficial to experience the full range of flavors the whiskey has to offer, as it tames of the alcoholic nose and the volatiles. Similarly, if you are are into peated whiskeys you’ll find that water modulates the smokiness (buy a bottle of Laphroaig and try it out). And lastly, adding ice gives you a chance to sample expressions at higher proof than you would find enjoyful at room temperature. At the end - and not only with whiskey - it is all a matter of personal taste (and experience). —- *except for @JoNorvelleWalker🤗

Nope. You do, however, in the German equivalent called Saumagen, if you choose to …

They had a couple of brands, but the friendly guy I chatted up was positive this was the most popular one …

Today Burns night … Starting with a little (cost efficient) dram while prepping … Starters: Cullen skink with a crouton with smoked trout / miso compound butter … For the main you would expect me to make haggis myself, but … Borrowing the presentation from an Edinburgh pub … Scottish beer to go with it. And of course trying to cover most of the regions … Sweet and smokey from the isles … An excellent cask strength option from the Speyside … And the Lowlands … Finally, a treat for my father who is currently staying with us (as he doesn’t like anything above 80 proof ..) No complaints 🥳

Don't cut it short. I've made it several times and it is well worth making. @Duvel yes please. I Googled the recipes and they are all in German. My German is pretty rusty. Those potatoes look wonderful You peel and cube (maybe 1/2 inch) some potatoes, preferably the “mainly waxy type”. Boil in quite salty water - this is the only salt you add. When almost done, take out, drain and let cool down (at least 30 min). The residual heat will cook it to the point. Heat some animal fat (duck, goose, chicken - all good. I used beef today). Fry the cubes at medium heat to get a light crust. Move to one side in the pan, sprinkle a tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary on top. In the “empty” side of the pan add one teaspoon of animal fat, add one some finely chopped garlic (amount depending on the vampire threat level of your area) and fry a bit. Flip the potatoes and the rosemary on top of the garlic, mix well and fry for a minute longer. Potatoes should have a light and flavorful crust and should be creamy inside.

Fish chowder was scheduled for tomorrow night as a starter, but I found some mussels I couldn’t resist to buy and so fish chowder was upgraded to seafood chowder (with extra shrimps and some smoked fish) and became a full dinner today …