Duvel

Heading out tomorrow night for a spontaneous, yet very much needed short break over the Easter weekend - „cleaning out the fridge sandwiches“: Tomato mozz & Jägertoast (ham, fried champignons & cheese) …

You can also check the original ingredients (that are pretty basic), use a standard ratio and take it from there … INGREDIENTS: ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE. I‘d start with 200 g flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, tsp baking soda plus a pinch of salt. Process as the original mix.

Would you mind sharing your recipe / pictures ?

At least over here, the Bauer/Bauern prefix typically denotes a rustic preparation: coarse, mostly with all parts of the pig (beef is not often used here), robust spices (think majoram, caraway, allspice, ...). Country-style or de campagne will head in the same direction.

2h might be a stretch - but remember: you are #1 to be welcome here to move in 🤗

Part II of my sister’s visit: the Schnitzel evening. She specifically requested with Bratkartoffeln & mushroom cream sauce, so that’s what we had (plus Kochkäse and lingonberry jam for me). Little one breaded again enthusiastically … Mine ! Bratkartoffeln were very good. I upped the caraway & garlic powder. Since the oil was hot and there was some Mett left over from breakfast … Scotch eggs 🥳 ! The rest of my family did not share my enthusiasm for these - I on the other hand loved them ! Some Manhattan as a digestif … Asking for some bar snacks. I‘ll sleep well tonight …

Nooooo - the man wants to make a terrine … I fully support that !

Lobster & salmon will do … if not, let me send you a astaxanthin sample 🤗

Yeap … astaxanthin.

My sister came over this weekend for a long due visit. When I asked what she wanted to eat her list was Schnitzel, potato soup or lasagna. Little one narrowed it down to Schnitzel and potato soup, so tonight we had the latter. When I asked why he likes the soup better than the lasagna (which would have been my first pick) he answered „because of the bread bowl“ 🙄 It wasn’t really part of the original plan, but hey … Served with a smoked Frankfurter sausage and a great local unfiltered & unpasteurized beer … Happy camper … And a little liquid dessert for my BIL and me 🥳

This one …

Truth to be told, I never had cretons. From what I have read so far it is softer & spreadable compared to a firm pâté; more similar to rillettes. But this is a Cook-Off and we want to embrace the topic in all its facets, so please show and teach us how to make your cretons, and we‘ll compare together 🤗

I am pretty certain (and can wholeheartedly recommend) to have a pâté on the table 🤗 …

The meat was marinated (salt, bit of vinegar, garlic, spices) and was nice and tender.

That is correct. @rotuts asked whether the cuts change much in the course of the whole piece, and from my view - despite being comprised of several distinct muscles - the resulting steaks are pretty similar, with the remark the ones closer to the head have a bit more connective tissue …

It makes me wonder what those shops/vendors do with that cut if they don’t sell it as such …

I am not quite sure. As far as I know the pig has two collars, and they are separated left and right of the spinal cord …

A whole collar (as sold here) looks like this … It is more or less uniform; the „head“ end has a bit more connective tissue than the „body“ end, but it doesn’t matter much.

Collar steaks (German: Nackensteak) are by far the most popular cut for grilling/BBQ in Germany. You can get them in any shop that sells meat in literally dozens of marinates and of course also au nature. The whole collar is equally ubiquitous ...

Lazy dinner: Nackensteakbrötchen … Grilled pork collar, salad, dijonnaise, pickles on a fresh wheat roll.

Thanks, @Baron d'Apcher. So, you‘d make the distinction that pâtés are assembled raw and binding occurs via the cooking process, while terrines are assembled from already cooked ingredients and binding does happen via the gelatine-rich juices ?

Yeap, that’s the one …

The „duo“ was a a combination of two cuts. A piece of probably tenderloin (medium, super tender) and two kind of spring rolls, filled with braised cheek. Served with a super rich demi-glace type of sauce. The restaurant is open at all times. It consists of a large dining room in the second floor for a-la-carte lunch or dinner and plenty of rooms for private functions (doubling as meeting rooms for business during the day). I had booked a room for 10 in the top floor, and picked above menu. At night, the large dining room is open to the public and the food is pretty good. Wine is even better (the company I work for operates one of the largest wine shops in Germany, conveniently located just next to restaurant).

Business dinner at our company‘s restaurant … Lecker !

So … which one will you make ? 😉