Duvel

Yeah ... pretty much 😜 I use pure pork. No beef, no cured meat (because you put curing salt anyway) and definitely no liver. But everything suffer a sea change when removed from its home turf ...

A fair warning ...

Eggs Benedict (and other assorted items) as part of a birthday brunch ...

Thanks again for all your input - we had a great birthday brunch and my mom enjoyed a lot ... for documentation purpose this is how it went: The full table - everyone ignoring the cook asking for a clean shot 🤭 Foie Gras Cappuccino - no picture, as I was a bit in a hurry. Stock based on dried ceps and death trumpets, cream, foie gras; all pureed and topped with milk foam. Liquid umami ... Eggs Benedict Graved Salmon w/ red beets & freshly made bagels Belgian crab croquettes - kitchen shot, as they didn’t last long enough on the table (took a bite for quality control after frying) ... Asparagus quiche Fresh walnut bread, raisin bread. Various cheeses and cold cuts. Individual strawberry cheesecakes w/ fresh strawberries: thanks to @Shelby for the recipe - it worked great. I cooked them in waterbath in the oven to 75 oC, then added a strawberry coulis and a strawberry when cool. Very light texture and good taste ... Champagne, fresh juices, coffee Mom was happy (but I can tell my father enjoyed the brunch even more) ... and so I am happy as well 🤗

Leberkäse !

After a Covid test run yesterday afternoon for the whole family (better safe than sorry) we headed north today for a relaxed Easter Sunday night and my mom’s 70th birthday tomorrow. Tonight a lazy evening - I got some nice cheeses and good wine and we called it dinner ... Made some walnut rye bread (with a shot of Maille nut vinegar in the dough) ... Wines: I am partial to a good Amarone, my wife wanted ÃN/2 and my father, who doesn’t care for red got a decent Sauternes ... Some meat for balance ... Plus 11 cheeses altogether 🥰 From the top left: Fresh goat cream, Tete de Moine, Iberico, Bergbauernkäse, Morbier, Epoisses, St. Maure, Langres, Corse sheep cheese with herbs, Le Rustique and very ripe Gogonzola. A little “Easter” digestive ... Happy faces !

That looks very yummy - I’d happily join ! A fun fact is that Germans never have sauerkraut on a Bratwurst roll, even though it is a tasty idea ...

Come to think of it - if you hard boil an egg (~10 min rolling boil), there is no residual salmonella anymore present 🤔 So that alone would not diminish the shelf life of the product to 2h at RT ...

Thanks, that is very helpful. Is there any data on how prevalent the salmonella infestation is amongst the chicken populations ? Eggs here are sold outside the fridge, and contain each an individual printed-on shelf life date for storage at RT, typically ~3 weeks in the future.

I understand that aspect, and for professional operations it certainly makes sense to follow (and document adherence to) very strict hygienic standards. But we are talking here home cooking. I hope that sueing family members over food issues is not common, even in a litigation-probe society ...

It seems that the general outlook on the bacterial load of eggs is vastly different between the US and Germany. I cannot judge whether this reflects the reality or not. From my personal viewpoint, the USDA rules of 2h out side the fridge is not comprehensible. Even the most conservative article I could find (and which I still would not fully subscribe to) assigns a minimum shelf life of 2.5 days at room temperature in summer for hard boiled eggs. If that were the case for the eggs sold in Germany, I’d assume larger areas of Germany would be unpopulated. Maybe the risk perception is a different one here, but I will consume our dyed eggs happily next week ...

A hard boiled egg, with no damages to the shell and that has cooled down naturally (not shocked in cold water) positively keeps for days, if not 2-3 weeks outside the fridge. As long as the dyeing process does not impart the structural integrity of the shell, it doesn’t shorten the shelf life.

You’ve got to be kidding, no ?

No worries - it’s “non-fattening” ... Think of it as a rite of passage 🤭

“Anybody hungry ?” ”Nooo ... we had so much for lunch. Maybe later. Or we skip today.” About 2 minutes later ... ”Maybe we can have something small and light ...” About 5 minutes later ... ”Papa, can we have Spaghetti Carbonara ?” 🙄 Luckily, I am a teamplayer (with Bucatini at hand) ... (Lesson learnt: Everyone likes light dinners - got to do them more often ...)

They do - hence I included my short history of suffering, in order not to diminute your hankerings. Let’s agree that you and me plus two bottles of fine scotch (one of which could possibly be Laphroaig) would make a fine breakfast, lunch and possibly dinner feast. I’ll bring the boudin d’oignons, you the Hunan blood sausage and we are all set ...

As someone who dealt over years with phenols, their derivatives and more than one ancient synthetic approach towards them, I just can’t stand the über-peated whiskys ... Now - a nice Speyside one for breakfast is a different animal altogether 🤗

Woke up with a hankering for Lahmacun. Found some minced lamb in the freezer. Done 🥳 Had a two dough discs surplus, so these were just dusted with sumac and some cheese. Chopped up what veggies I found in the fridge. Enjoyed outside with a cold (alcoholfree) beer, before taking a nap 🤗

Chicken cartilage ?

Smart idea 🤗

21 oC and sun, soooo ... BBQ and eating outside ! Some fixings ... Pork collar, beef and sausages ... A „beer“ based on recycled bread 🙄 Yum !

Crappy-o or more the Japanese way O-crappy ?!

Fantastic ! Do you do the pre-boiling step ?

The meat is cooked first skin side down submerged in liquid. So, that would technically count as boiling. I am not quite sure what your intention is. Do you want to roast the hocks ? I do not think that a preboiling makes much of a difference qualitywise other than shortening the time in the oven. The preboiling technique is usually enployed to create clear(er) stocks from protein, but has not that much advantage if you are aiming at „just“ getting it cooked ...

Spring be praised 🥳: mixed grill (again; pork collar, sausage, aubergine) with simple leaf iceberg lettuce w/ kewpie & sourcream dressing and couscous with chorizo and tomato ... Served with 2019 Chimay Bleu ...