Duvel

I am not quite sure if I get this correctly … do you mean that he might be put off by the edible mold ? If so, I can assure you that while he is not a huge fan of longaniza (because it is too soft for him), he loves* the fuet (a bit more right in the original picture), with casing, mold and everything. He has never eaten it sans casing. As a matter of fact, we usually have both hanging in the kitchen for snacking … *just not as much as a soft boiled octopus arm

In this regard, please have a look at this video, brief discussion on the frying process starts at around 5:30 min … (the rest is informative as well)

I‘ve got only passive restaurant knowledge: I have been to quite a few tonkatsu places in Japan and Hong Kong, including the ones that prepare the tonkatsu in front of you. It has always been prepared to order, including the coating.

Frozen cooked octopus legs - very good product. Just thawed in salted water, sliced in thick slices, slightly warmed and dressed with olive oil & pimenton de la Vera … aka pop a la gallega.

Little one requested „pica pica“, basically tapas. I pieced together what freezer & pantry had to offer. My wife was super happy; and the little one told me „Papa, for me next time only the octopus“ 🙄 …

I second @mgaretz advise: start with a dry piece of meat. Do not presalt/preseason the meat directly, or add anything that draws moisture out of the meat. From my experience with Schnitzel present moisture leads to a „tighter“, more consistent breading that is much more likely to detach (via evaporating residual moisture) in much larger pieces from the meat.

Maroccan chickpea & spinach soup, with lamb meatballs.

Nope. Just the soup … although you are right: a nice mixed rye would have been nice 🤗

It gets chilly outside, so warm and comforting soups are in high demand by my family. Today potato leek, with cured & smoked pork neck and a boiled sausage …

Do they adjust the hydration level when introducing the dough relaxer ?

I have the Neuro Fuzzy. For the last 14 years. Works still like a charm and makes perfect rice every single time. Can’t imagine what other models can possibly do better for rice …

It’s been raining cats & dogs outside for the whole day, so there was no way I’d make pizza in the Ooni today … Instead I used the prepared poolish to test the inclusion of cornmeal, as described by @Chris Hennes in the Cooking with Modernist Pizza thread. So, 90% Caputo Cuoco flour, 10% fine cornmeal, 65% hydration, 1.75% salt, 18h poolish (20%). Knead, 1h bulk ferment, balling 225g pieces, 2h rise. Baked for 5.5 min on my preheated pizza steel at 250 oC. Crust was sturdy and crunchy, with quite some chew. Taste was good, my family liked it. Italian sausage (from Italy, for that matter, heavy on the fennel) Tuna and onion And since we are deviating anyway from the usual - the popular Japanese “ebi mayo” pizza: Shrimp, kewpie mayo and sweet corn

Thanks for the reference to WWII - could have as well been the Brexit edition for the upcoming holiday season 🤭

If it was very good, I’d say that’s the second difference. You seemed to be slightly displeased with the first incarnation …

We decided to take the little one to Legoland. For our US readers thats the little cousin of Disneyland, just with a strong emphasis on bricks … As an added bonus, Legoland is pretty much in the middle of (Swabian) nowhere. In the town, where we had our hotel, there was just one restaurant. Actually the village pub. It was ancient & somewhat fun … Little one found a greeting pillow for his grandma … My wife had the Käsespätzle (fantastic), little one opted for the Schnitzel (great, please forgo the Ketchup) and I had the mixed plate, including some terrific homemade Maultaschen, Käsespätzle and fillet of pork with wild mushrooms … Some homemade pearbased Schnaps to close the meal and provide for the way home … I slept well that night 🤗

Yep. Bikini always works. Always …

Got some new wine (called Federweisser) yesterday, still sweet, yet with already some alcohol development. Decided to make Speckkuchen to go with it … No pictures of the meal, as it was too quickly consumed 🤭

This one‘s from IKEA. I don’t know how it is sealed, but I use it for years and it goes everytime in the dishwasher. No water goes in, hence none drops out …

Exactly ! Isn’t that what the “e” stands for ..?

Nice ! What kind of dipping sauce do you like to use ? It looks not quite like Tonkatsu sauce …

Fridge & freezer dive dinner (because according to my wife both are way too full 🙄): Homemade kotteri ramen stock, shrimps, very soft boiled eggs, caramelized onions, thai basil, nori. All in all a weird combo, but tasty nonetheless …

“Raiding the freezer/fridge” type of Chirashizushi …

Lovely … I haven’t had that for ages. Would you mind sharing your recipe ?

And I thought for a second thats the famous Chinese equipment set for removing earwax …

Thanks, @Kim Shook ! Actually, these are my standard „whole“ shrimps. Not especially large or anything, just for being served whole and potentially sucking their heads empty. I keep them and a back of shell-on easy peel headless ones for different applications.