Dinner 2023

[Kerala]

45 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Germans eat a lot of pork. When we say „Fleisch“ (meat) it is usually understood that it means pork. That being said, every slaughtered animal will undergo the Fleischbeschau by a veterinarian, where selected organs and cuts will be examined for potential diseases. For pork this examination includes a test for trichinosis. The last reported case of trichinosis in Germany as a food-borne illness was in 1970.

That is reassuring. I'll be more adventurous next time I'm there!

[KennethT]

4 hours ago, Duvel said:

Picking up the little one after a week at my parents … this is what Germans have pretty much everyday for dinner: Abendbrot. Usually with a rye bread instead of the rye rolls, and maybe with one or two cold cuts less. But that’s essentially what I grew up with …

 

 

 

I'm drooling looking at all this.  Your discussion of pork being the most widely eaten meat reminds me of China where the word for meat and pork are the same (pork is assumed when one says meat).  But this discussion brings me to a widely debated topic and one which I'm concerned with - not necessarily obesity as I believe that can be effectively dealt with with portion control, but my concern is over the ratio of saturated fat to overall calories consumed.  We in the US are led to believe that reducing the amount of saturated fat to as low as possible is considered healthy with regards to heart/vascular health.  I try to not be too militant about this, but I will say that we don't eat nearly as much red meat and pork as I would like, taste wise.  We basically reserve eating pork to when we're in restaurants - mostly regional Chinese or SE Asian, and I almost never cook it at home.  Even while doing this, my lipid panel is at the borderline where it should be controlled by medication.

 

I don't know if this is the right forum for it, but can you talk a bit (no specifics needed) about your thoughts on this regarding a typical German diet which is very pork heavy and (seemingly) less focused on vegetables?

[heidih]

@Duvel Your Abendbrot is similar to my late grandparent's routine. The main at lunch - a hot cooked meal. With the changes in work life across European cultures - s that still common? Of course back in the day as farmers who got up early and worked physically hard there was also the mid morning Jausen. 

 

On pork and trichinosis - it existed. My father did his apprenticeship as a butcher in Croatia and then practiced his craft esp as a sausagemaker in Austria. Now he is 100 - but that pork fear was drummed into the apprentices and all these many years later I've given up telling him it is not an issue anymore. 

[C. sapidus]

Made a quick batch of Vietnamese caramel sauce for caramel pork. Trimmed and thinly sliced pork butt, fish sauce, caramel sauce, cilantro, and lots of black pepper. Simple and very good, but I prefer a version that uses ground pork - lots of crispy pork bits.

 

Stir-fried baby bok choy with garlic and chiles. I need to make this more often. Jasmine rice to go with

 

[Ann_T]

I don't know if you can call a pizza pretty, but I think this little 9"  Margherita pizza I baked on the Ooni

is the prettiest pizza I have ever made.

The dough had been in the fridge since Monday. 

[Duvel]

16 hours ago, KennethT said:

But this discussion brings me to a widely debated topic and one which I'm concerned with - not necessarily obesity as I believe that can be effectively dealt with with portion control, but my concern is over the ratio of saturated fat to overall calories consumed.  We in the US are led to believe that reducing the amount of saturated fat to as low as possible is considered healthy with regards to heart/vascular health.  I try to not be too militant about this, but I will say that we don't eat nearly as much red meat and pork as I would like, taste wise.  We basically reserve eating pork to when we're in restaurants - mostly regional Chinese or SE Asian, and I almost never cook it at home.  Even while doing this, my lipid panel is at the borderline where it should be controlled by medication.

 

I don't know if this is the right forum for it, but can you talk a bit (no specifics needed) about your thoughts on this regarding a typical German diet which is very pork heavy and (seemingly) less focused on vegetables?

I will make a personal comment first (without trying to convince anyone, just to give you my angle), and then move to the actual question.

 

I do not believe in the mantra that saturated fat is necessarily bad for you, nor do I believe that controlling your blood lipid levels (which I believe to be dominated by ones genes) is 1:1 linked to cardiovascular events and lastly I do not subscribe to taking e.g. statins to modulate the outcome of my bloodwork.

 

As for the actual food question: I started with the intro that „This is what Germans eat everyday“, and it has been like this for ages. I don’t think that traditional food necessarily means „most healthy“, it’s merely a reflection of availability and custom.

 

What makes it suitable for everyday consumption is undoubtedly the ability to balance it with your lifestyle, and that is for me a question of calories in versus calories out. One possible misconception I thought of is that what you see on the table is actually all eaten in one dinner - it is not. The term Abendbrot describes it pretty well: we‘ll eat bread - two slices if rye bread, or maybe a rye roll with some flaxseed, or whole wheat plus cold cuts or cheeses on top of it. All the rest of the spread goes neatly back into the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast or dinner (whch are basically the same, except the former has maybe a marmalade or two). The Mett on the table is a 200 g portion, for four people (and there were leftovers). Yes, Mett is pork meat, but it is also a raw, seasoned salty sausage. You can’t really eat a lot of that - it is a topping for bread, not a main dish. Same holds true for the salami, the cured ham, the cheese. And that combined with „heavy“ breads is enough for two out of three daily meals. So, there is not a lot of meat per se.

Veggies are served at every meal depending on seasonal availability. In spring this means for example ramps and the first herbs of the year (that my parents and little one had pureed in a sour cream based sauce over potatoes and hard boiled eggs for lunch, while I was on the highway and enjoyed a bottle of sparkling water). At yesterdays dinner we had french radishes (not on the picture), pickled cucumbers (in the glass) and onions. A salad or some tomatoes, fresh cucumbers, paprika etc. could be served as well, but usually not more, and no warm vegetables. That usually covers your vitamins requirements, together with the bread toppings, while the bread takes care of your fiber needs. If you haven’t had German bread, your gastrointestinal system is in for a treat 🤗

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Duvel (log)

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Wow. Five days of posts to catch up on. Lots of good looking food.

Dinner last night after a seven hour drive: Freezer pot stickers, chicken wings, green beans and mushrooms and a 'salad'.

 

[OlyveOyl]

Shanghai style rice cakes, ginger, garlic, mushrooms, onions, cabbage, ham slivers sautéed with the addition of several Asian sauces.

Hazelnut cookies for dessert.

 

 

[scamhi]

grilled aged prime rib eye last night. husband had a baked potato, me just salad with the meat.

Lovely volnay with dinner.

[KennethT]

Ever since the mini-heat wave we've had in NY (and our air conditioning system not working yet), it's either been no cooking here so I don't heat up the apartment even more (it's been about 84 degrees in here consistently for the last few days) or something I made last night - an Indonesian chicken stew that's basically a one pot meal.  This dish pretty much unique to central Java where people like their food on the sweeter side, so it's spicy but also has a slight sweetness to it.

 

[mgaretz]

Salmon, cooked in the Speedi, served with steamed snap peas.

 

 

[liamsaunt]

Chicken souvlaki with tzatziki, lemon rice, Greek salad and flatbread

 

[Duvel]

1 minute ago, liamsaunt said:

Chicken souvlaki

Lovely 🤗 Would you like to share your marinade and cooking technique ?

[btbyrd]

Grilled halibut with green chilli adobo and grilled vegetables. Fish on charcoal, most everything else on gas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by btbyrd (log)

[Raamo]

Tonight Chutney Chickpeas with Tamarind

 

 

My wife asked why Chutney - and you can see - it's very thick.  I followed the recipe much closer this time.

 

It's really good - I liked the last chickpea on better, but this is quite tasty.

 

It's on page 380 of 1,000 India Recipes.

[Shelby]

2 hours ago, btbyrd said:

Grilled halibut with green chilli adobo and grilled vegetables. Fish on charcoal, most everything else on gas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that's amazing!  

[MaryIsobel]

Everything looks so delicious. I have defintely slid into a cooking funk. Husband, post surgery and long hospital stay has zero appetite and frankly I am getting tired of trying.Oddly enough today we were talking about camping and hot dogs came up and he lit up. So I guess we're having hot dogs tomorrow. Found top-split brioche buns and bought European weiners. We have sourkraut and I'll do carmelized onions. May be the best meal we've had in weeks.

[liuzhou]

Tagliatelle with prawns, matsutake and truffles - garlic, chili, Chinese chives.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

10 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

Everything looks so delicious. I have defintely slid into a cooking funk. Husband, post surgery and long hospital stay has zero appetite and frankly I am getting tired of trying.Oddly enough today we were talking about camping and hot dogs came up and he lit up. So I guess we're having hot dogs tomorrow. Found top-split brioche buns and bought European weiners. We have sourkraut and I'll do carmelized onions. May be the best meal we've had in weeks.

 

That's really a bummer. You may find this topic to be an inspiration and/or help: Help! I've lost my cooking mojo and I want it back!

[Katie Meadow]

56 minutes ago, Smithy said:

W

That's really a bummer. You may find this topic to be an inspiration and/or help: Help! I've lost my cooking mojo and I want it back!

Wow I forgot all about that thread, including my own contributions to it; always a somewhat disconcerting occurrence. 2020 was a very bad year, although skewering hot dogs to char them over a gas flame while naked but for spike heels is something you can do whenever house-bound. Alone or not. 

[liamsaunt]

22 hours ago, Duvel said:

Lovely 🤗 Would you like to share your marinade and cooking technique ?

 

The marinade was just olive oil, lemon juice, chopped garlic, dried oregano, a little bit of chopped rosemary, red pepper flakes, paprika, salt and pepper.  I didn't really measure anything, just mixed it up in a big bowl and tossed the chicken in.  I left the chicken to marinate in the fridge for a while and then cooked it on the grill (first grilled food of the season!).

 

Last night I made Ina Garten's mushroom bolognese from her newish cookbook Go-To Dinners.  I swapped in white wine for red wine only because I don't like the color of red wine in most dishes.  We all really enjoyed it.    

 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

skewering hot dogs to char them over a gas flame while naked but for spike heels is something you can do whenever house-bound.

 

I am house bound, but right out of spike heels!

 

Quote

Tagliatelle with prawns, matsutake and truffles

I have to say that Chinese truffles are useless. I had to buy a couple to photograph for something I was working on and thought to not waste them.  I wasted time instead.

 

Totally tasteless but decorative, I suppose - like the gold leaf those idiot chefs put on steaks for their idiot customers!
 

Edited April 17, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

11 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I am house bound, but right out of spike heels!


 

They ship to Costa Rica so maybe you can have some delivered to China. Please post a photo.

 

Come to think of it, they were probably made in China.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, Tropicalsenior said:

They ship to Costa Rica so maybe you can have some delivered to China. Please post a photo.

 

They are probably made here and taste better than Chinese truffles!

[Tropicalsenior]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

 

They are probably made here and taste better than Chinese truffles!

I was going to ask you how the Chinese truffles were. After your post, I looked them up and they aren't recommended.