Duvel

Yeap … the “homey” touch if you will. I would never put them in mine, but also have to admit that they truly belong and complete my moms. Family moments ☺️

Stewed veal tongue, with mushrooms and sausages in a Madeira sauce, served with red cabbage and potatoes. This is one of my father’s favorite foods and my mom cooks it very often when we come to visit.

Still visiting my parents and my hometown. Meeting up with my best friend since childhood days - just us, in the woods next to an prehistoric site on a hill. No solid foods were harmed in this lunch gathering …

Thanks. That is one of the the conclusions of the selected articles, if the studied rodent specimens were subjected to a standard diet after a limited period on low carb. I think it would have helped (me at least) if you would have opened with that context, as remaining on a low carb diet does produce exactly the opposite effects.

For that claim I’d like to see a reference, please.

Visiting my parents in Lower Saxony. A classic German Abendbrot …

Thanks, that helps a lot - it is an Emmentaler derivative rather than a geographical description. I got a bit puzzled by aligning Emmentaler and Gruyere in my head; in the classic (Swiss) cheese fondue, both are used in different proportions to tailor the resulting fondue in terms of taste, viscosity, … because there are distinctively different (as is Appenzeller, the last of the „big three“). So I am happy to learn the „US Swiss“ only refers to one of them.

These are two animals: listeriosis is caused by a bacterium, while mold is a fungal product. If one comes to the conclusion that the mold is caused by improper („unhygienic“) storage, a superinfection by harmful bacteria could be present, yet is not a causal result of the developed mold. And contrary to popular opinion (and to that of the EU), properly produced raw milk cheeses actually carry a smaller risk of harmful bacteria than industrial cheese. The process (and inherently production conditions and equipment) will encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria that will compete and outgrow the harmful ones, even in a „finished“ product like a soft cheese.

I wish I could show you a picture from my favourite cheese monger in nearby Strasbourg … even not intentional, all soft cheeses will get moldy over time. Whether you find that palatable - as @Margaret Pilgrim has pointed out - is your personal preference, but you won’t succumb to a horrible death by eating it. Especially if made from raw milk … And no, you don’t cut it away as you would on a hard cheese. You scrape it off.

Well noted the definition of Swiss cheese, though personally I feel that beside the geographical origin from my point of view Gruyere and Emmental have few similarities, neither in preparation not in characteristics. I do not subscribe to the statement that a mouldy piece of either has to be discarded.

For harder cheese, sure, but, if you see any mold on a soft cheese, it's done. Mozzarella is toast, as is Swiss I know quite some „soft“ cheeses that have mold. Mozzarella will likely go sour before any mold will appear, and I have no idea what characterizes Swiss …

I am slightly surprised as well - isn’t shrimp cocktail sauce just ketchup plus acid plus something sharp ? In any case it is what I grew up with and as mentioned I was very much in the mood for something comforting tonight …

The non-German part of the family had hers with tartar sauce … it wasn’t half bad, but just bot what I wanted tonight.

Great minds think alike (though execution might be slightly better on your side): Fried cod sandwich „Bremer style“ (tomato ketchup, vinegar, roasted onions) on a personally purchased brioche bun. Served on an IKEA plate 😉

Mixed bean soup with wild boar meatballs, tomatoes & spinach. Warm and filling …

I am a bit confused - until the Merguez that’s one plate ? Or until the tomato gorgonzola vodka sauce and the Merguez is hidden under the pasta or served separately ? And the artichokes are also part of the pasta dish or part of the kitchen sink salad ? I know it might not matter much if everything gets combined at the end, but curious minds want to know 🤗

That is a thing of beauty !

Turns out that a roasted turkey leg yields more than three portions for dinner … now what to do with the rest ? I found a pound of champignons in the fridge and some bacon cubes that were reaching their expiration date. Chopped up with onion & garlic, fried and passed with all the turkey meat through the grinder. Cooked up with a bit of wine & two cans of tomatoes to give a decent turkey mushroom bolognese, which in turn with a quick bechamel & dry lasagna plates resulted in a decent turkey lasagna.

Yeap, that’s Preiselbeermarmelade (lingonberry jam). Yes, I would do it again. The turkey was moist, with a nicely crisped skin and the whole family agreed that the gravy was one of my best (although I thought initially the bag juices were not that special, but with the cream and the herbs …).

With a potato masher until fine, then whisking to fluff up …

Culturally, I have no connection to Thanksgiving and thus I had never really turkey other than a very few times in small, preprocessed (think minute steaks, shredded etc) portions. Last week our supermarket had some turkey legs on offer (>2.5 kg each) and I bought one out of curiosity. SV @66 oC for 30h, only seasoned with salt, pepper, bay leaves and pinch of garlic powder. Crisped up in the oven brushed with goose fat for about 20 min. Bag juices boiled with roasted onion, thyme and heavy cream, strained and thickened with cornstarch and butter. Mashed potatoes and buttered peas. And a Moritz 7 beer. Actually not bad at all … especially the gravy.

That’s what I want for tonight 🤗

We are trying to reduce the content of the freezer. I picked up some salmon, shrimps and what I thought was stewing beef … Turned out to be slices of beef shoulder that I purchased for making Döner. Difficult to think of anything to do with those. Enter the little one, requesting noodles - with the shrimps, Pad Thai came to mind. Salmon turned into Thai-ish fish cakes and for the odd beef cut after some perusing I dug out the recipe of “Heavenly Beef” from David Thompsons Thai Food. Yummy !

Still going through a lazy streak: Poor man‘s raclette - Ofenkäse with some accompaniments (pickles not shown) … A fruity red (current wine of the month from my companies wine cellar) … Fed the family well at minimum effort ☺️

I’d eat you one sheet linner in a heartbeat. Healthy portion, too 🤗