Duvel

A bit improvised “Catalan” dinner, based on a dish I remember seeing in a book somewhere and still wanted to make ... Chickpeas, in a sofregit-based sauce with raisins, topped with crispy blood sausage, roasted pine nuts and parsley. Very good.

I usually make two pies for „pizza and movie night“. Out of curiosity, I decided to use the same amount of dough, but double the amount of pies. You could call it thin crust, and it bakes in my setup in 2.5 min ... quite tasty ! Mushroom & salami Anchovy & olive Artichokes & parma ham Half „quattro formaggi“, half mushroom & salami. Featuring the leftovers from yesterday’s cheese board. Enjoyed with „Das Sams in Gefahr“ ...

I will not comment anything more on the subject itself. As others have pointed out, material-wise vac-sealer bags and zip-locks should not differ in terms of safety. If endocrine disruptive effects would be present, a decade of daily exposure would have led to a manifestation. Concerning the cited study: please look through the author list and their affiliations. If you are looking for „harmless“ plastics, two of the authors work for a company that certifies these (for a fee).

Four shad fillets - ahhahhahhhah ..

Due to Covid restrictions my sister and her husband couldn’t join my parents and my family for Easter this year. As they are visiting us right now, I try at least to replicate some of the food we had. Tonight: cheese board & breads ... Made (again) some rye bread with walnuts (and nut vinegar), plus some regular bread: The milder ones (clockwise from the top): St. Felicien, Comte 12m, fresh goat cheese, St. Maure. The slightly more pungent ones (starting with the plastic packed one, clockwise): Epoisses, Bleu d’Auvergne, Langres, Brie de Meaux and some fig-horseradish marmelade ... A local off-dry Grauburgunder and a very fruity Primitivo to go with.

Family breakfast ... Recently, we discussed the usage of a different egg preparation for the Eggs Benedict. My wife doesn’t care much for poached eggs, so today I used 6.5 min eggs. She and the little one preferred it over the traditional prep (probably a textural thing), I am not sure ...

That looks pretty good ! Butter for Germans is a must indeed, in some areas butter with chives is served as well. Mustard might come with the sausages, that accompany the Brezn, but not with the bread itself. The Liptauer is definitely an Austrian treat; the southern German / Bavarian version is called Obatzda and is more rich and pungent due to the use of (ripe) Camembert instead of cottage cheese. Typically, one orders a portion of it and then the Brezn comes as an accompaniment. It’s pretty much a meal.

I think throwing the skin (or any tasty bits) into the beans will always be a good idea 🤗

During my time of monthly visits to Xinjiang I had plenty of „tiger salads“, but you are right - all other veggies were either cooked or pickled ...

Thanks for giving this a go, @TdeV - how would you judge the skin ? It does look crispy, yet not „expanded“ ... would you do your protocol again ?

And my point was to make your point it would be helpful to include the English translation. Not everyone is fluent in Chinese ...

I think the translation „cold skin (noodles)“ would explain the off-putting aspect a bit ...

Got some of the first green asparagus of the season. It’s a big thing in Germany. Served with some varieties of cured raw ham, parsley potatoes and veal cutlets (w/ bone 😉). Sauce Hollandaise because it is tradional, and 6.5 min egg because I like them. And some Champagne, because ... why not ?

My knowledge of Chinese is very limited compared to yours, but as a frequent business traveler I know a little bit of the associated terminology (purely theoretical, of course) 😉

Soooo ... you mean there is a chance my tattoo doesn’t say “accomplished cook “ ?!

Well ... one corned cow‘s tongue makes a looooot of sandwiches 🤗

She typed with her toes - who knew ..?!

Beginners ... 😜 (from here)

But ... there is this 😳

By popular request (from both our little one and his grandparents): (Marcella Hazan‘s) Ragù alla Bolognese with maccheroni ! Plus a pinot gris ...

I think you had Flädlesuppe ... We usually eat it in beef broth, but a strong chicken soup should be equally delicious. You can find the proportions for the dough here (German), and for making crepes out of that you are already more than qualified 😉

You sell them in Canada as sausages ...

After visiting my mom for her 70th birthday last week the little one stayed a week at his grandparents. Today (after the obligatory bilateral negative Covid testing) my parents brought him back and will stay for three days. For tonight they requested “Nur Abendbrot”, or just the “evening bread”, which is the correct German term for dinner. Bread with cold cuts. Both of them love corned tongue, so I made some ahead this week and prepared some tongue Reuben sandwiches ... Had a wee dram while prepping ... Freshly made rye (with caraway and pickle juice) Corned tongue, pressure cooked ... TRS ... Of course my parents brought my hometowns Mett 🤗 For dessert some caraway-scented Schnapps for my dad and me ... A good way to start the weekend !

I got another rainbow trout today. Unfortunately, my filleting skills are ... somewhat rudimentary. Which is still a euphemism. Soooo ... I made fishcakes 🤗 Served with Swabian potato salad, (commercial) remoulade and a quick cucumber salad. And a Bavarian “Helles” !

My apologies - should have merged the two posts. The full recipe is a few posts before ...