tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85213625022857752552010-08-26T01:07:57.084-07:00Food and other encountersElindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-36540625718398012982010-01-03T18:03:00.000-08:002010-01-03T18:30:18.586-08:00

One of simplest desserts and unguilty pleasures in the wintertime is this hot fruit assembly - here is one version I like a lot.This also goes really well with Gluehwein.Cut 4 apples in half and take the core out.Fill each apple with raisins, powder cinnamon over them, and turn them upside down in a baking form. Add some raisins & cinnamon also between the apples. Add brown sugar over the apples,

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-86000651383046207042008-09-17T20:42:00.000-07:002009-12-27T09:55:53.505-08:00

Taking the train through Germany is a beautiful thing to do – watching the landscape change with the faces of people entering the train, and the dialects mutate along with the city names. You can even smell some transitions between states: Saarland is one of these that you can identify blindly – in summer, the border is marked by a smell of grilled meat. Sorry, SCHWENKED SCHWENKER. It's not

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-6275316288688523192008-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:002009-12-27T09:46:55.096-08:00

What would a real german party be, after all the serious staple foods, piggly, salads and the such, without ending on a sweet note? It would simply not be.Here is the outline of the dessert list of the recent Oktoberfest that I was lucky to be invited to:- Kirschstreuselkuchen- Apfelstrudel- BundtkuchenLets do a little language lesson:Streusel [ˈʃtrɔyzl̩] (pronounciation) can be translated as

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-80628036004404786142009-12-25T12:41:00.001-08:002009-12-25T20:41:35.296-08:00

Try this - classical german christmas birdie with classical stuffing - just to get you started, here is how it looks after 2.5 hrs of baking at 350 deg F:But how did I get there?If you start with a frozen goose, you might want to thaw it over night in water, i.e. have it in it's plastic bag in the sink covered in water. Mostly the package tells you how long this will take, but 12 hrs is a safe

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-76031308802158768762009-12-25T12:47:00.001-08:002009-12-25T13:37:12.649-08:00

Apfelrotkraut, or red cabbage with apple, is a great veggie dish to accompany my christmas goose.These are some of the main ingredients: a nice red cabbage, one or two small apples, half an onion, a shallot, and a small wedge of celery root.Cut up the vegetable, and add a bay leaf, three cloves, a couple of piment (allspice). Start by frying the onions lightly in some goose fat (coincidentally

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-74796961049769094162009-12-13T09:20:00.001-08:002009-12-13T09:35:05.825-08:00

As you might remember, I've written about the famous Currywurst before (at the occasion of eating it in Berlin, and another time for its birthday), but this here caught my eye today - check out this short & sweet BBC report about Berlin's Currywurst!The music is from Udo Lindenberg - a german musician/songwriter who wrote lots of good music, as this politically & culturally important adaptation

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-89075485370832522902009-12-05T12:48:00.000-08:002009-12-13T09:19:57.262-08:00

I'm in the mood for a lemony-spicy dessert - it's too cold for icecream - I'm not in the mood for creamy stuff anyway, and would like some kind of crunch experience.. and it should be something I have not tried before.How about lime-chili-baiser?Baiser (which you might know better as Meringue) are an unusual pastry, simply eggwhites wipped stiff with sugar, and baked until completely dry. In this

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-50425088672133968642009-10-19T19:23:00.000-07:002009-10-19T20:49:05.552-07:00

My friend says I am the craziest fusion cook he knows. Him being crazy himself, I take it as a compliment, and feel compelled to share what triggered his remark.I wanted to cook something quickly. I had chicken. Spaghetti are fast. And I had fresh tomatoes from the garden of good friends. There are always onions and various spices around.Simple.But now about that madness aspect of it...Take some

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-65882250553683666232009-09-20T20:00:00.000-07:002009-10-19T20:31:32.521-07:00

Previously I have described how to make Spaetzle, the egg noodles of various shapes that are typical for the german south, specifically Schwaben. But, once you got these beautiful noodles, what to do with them?Traditionally they are a side dish to a sunday potroast with a nice dark gravy, or some other piece of meat with sauce - or you use them for Kaesespaetzle.Here is how to do that:you start

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-75471246415512699312009-07-11T14:55:00.000-07:002009-07-13T21:19:35.348-07:00

If you ever go to Paris, go to La Cordonnerie (20, rue St-Roch, Paris 75001, France ). Here are some tripadvisor reviews - this is where we found out about it, looking for a restaurant close to where we were staying.In my opinion, La Cordonnerie is outstanding in style, setup, quality, taste, and the art going into each dish. We had a table right next to the chef and his surprisingly tiny kitchen

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-81979317312235010632009-07-04T19:27:00.000-07:002009-07-13T19:44:47.510-07:00

The last weeks, and months, have seen me crazy and busy, once more, so cooking was reduced, documentation was little, and writing about food was boiled down to nothing. Now I am sitting, after a cheesy dinner, in my hotel room in Zuerich, enjoying the end of my first day of real VACATION and finally have the time and pleasure to continue what got started by a dinner my parents once had.A few

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-35680995874391483412009-07-07T00:14:00.000-07:002009-07-13T19:00:36.002-07:00

Cheese is at home here. The best way to taste that is to experience the traditional, deep-rooted specialties Switzerland has to offer, for example in Zuerich. After a day of exploring bridges bridging the Sihl, churches with varying sized clock faces, and brigthly colored glass windows, photographing people and places while roasting in the much hotter sun than we had expected while drinking cool

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-9636383436223202372009-05-04T18:12:00.000-07:002009-05-04T18:38:09.299-07:00

With all that talk about swine flu I got inspired.Actually, that's a lie.I just have a thing for pork in combination with all fruits I can find in my kitchen. Somehow it always works.It may have to do with my mom's cooking.It may be related to the sweet&savory combination dishes that are normal in Saarland.Or it plain and simply just tastes good..Here just quickly another example in the long list

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-18730689840293331662009-02-08T19:13:00.000-08:002009-04-19T11:12:22.936-07:00

Sometimes the world is so in admiration of something, that it cannot get enough of it - over and over you encounter this one single item, as if there is nothing else noteworthy in this life. So, you trust the spirits, the vibes, the improbability accumulation and your coincidence detector, and enjoy what is offered to you.Good choice!That's how it felt to me last week, when I repeatedly

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-77296403031939049772009-04-19T10:57:00.000-07:002009-04-19T11:11:06.374-07:00

This is the last of this year's easter presents:Easter ice cream!Take 200g carrot puree, add some lemon juice (probably 1-2 table spoons) and 150 g sugar. Adjust the flavor with a little bit of maple sirup, and mix 1/8 l heavy cream into it. Cool that mixture down in the fridge, and when it's cold, stir it well again (or don't if you'd like it to be orangy-marbled) and pour it into your ice

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-42072248449580892782009-04-18T09:21:00.000-07:002009-04-19T11:10:42.063-07:00

Last week I had a visitor, Christian, who loves ice cream and always discovers the newest, strangest and most delicious ice cream creations in the freezer section, local ice creamery and private cookbook of secret ice creamers.. When I saw him last, he introduced me to Pomegranate-Chocolate, which is outstanding. This time, in Nashville, there were no really wild things to be found, but we ate

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-57633038574771396072009-04-11T19:53:00.000-07:002009-04-12T08:38:26.263-07:00

Where there is an easter bunny there must be carrots.While this is not a real traditional saying, there is certainly truth to it. During the easter holidays, carrots show up in form of Marzipan treats, as sugary decoration on pies, and, most importantly, in the carrot cake.My version, as almost any other I've ever seen, has a combination of all, sugary, marzipany, and real veggie carrots to make

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-79127626227340349392009-04-11T19:59:00.000-07:002009-04-11T21:06:39.941-07:00

Happy easter!As you can see, the easter bunny dropped in for a visit!..and, no, this is not my cat but some poor kitty that could not fend of his/her can-opener's silliness and ended up engraved as feline easter bunny in the net.Eastern in Germany is still a big holiday, actually the most important one after christmas. People visit family, children receive gifts, there is a lot of cooking and

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-52808665503465512942008-09-21T08:49:00.000-07:002009-04-05T09:49:05.994-07:00

“Essen un Trinken haelt Leiw un Seel beisammen.”, Eating and drinking keeps body and soul together this is one of the most important sayings in Saarland, and now it reminds me on how I seemed to slowly loose control over my body contours with every day of indulgence back there.. but the soul, oh man, the soul.. On my last day to celebrate life Saarland-style it was all lunch: Boudin, with fried

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-35327092896040465802009-04-04T10:25:00.000-07:002009-04-04T12:49:21.791-07:00

Luxembourg is a beautiful tiny country between France, Germany and Belgium. It's native language sounds like a mix between french and german (here is a sound example with german translation), and is very similar to the local dialect of my home state Saarland, which is immediately bordering Luxembourg. The two languages are actually more similar to each other, than my dialect is to german.

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-89037129087809054452008-10-21T22:54:00.000-07:002009-03-28T22:54:50.512-07:00

Depending on which kind of meat is available, you can find Kloesse on your Oktoberfest menu, or Knoedel, dumplings made either from potatoes or bread. A real staple food of Oktoberfest, unthinkable of not being present, and also commonly served in beer gardens all over Germany, however, are Brezeln, or, in bavaria, "Brezen", specifically Laugenbrezeln.These on the picture were actually made by me

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-16996783625469105052008-10-21T22:51:00.000-07:002009-03-28T22:52:42.367-07:00

THE one major veggie item on the Oktoberfest menu has to be Sauerkraut!Do I need to comment on this? Maybe a little - there are big differences in how much Sauerkraut one eats, and how it is prepared, across Germany. Actually, germans do not eat it a whole lot to begin with. A few times in the winter, and that's it. I've never seen Sauerkraut being eaten in spring or summer until I came to the US

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-31268418735926924462008-10-21T22:48:00.000-07:002009-03-28T22:49:35.382-07:00

I failed. Miserably. There was Bratwurst, and I did not even try it!Yes, shame on me. But, honestly, I wasn't in the mood. The Nashville-Oktoberfest Bratwurst got many good reviews, though, and looked alright, and can be bought at Publix, so I heard. Go, try it.Anyhow, in the context of german food, I need a different thing than what you can get at Publix - here's my Bratwurst concept:You go to a

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-53974429276590811892008-12-18T19:11:00.000-08:002009-02-17T18:42:46.169-08:00

Counterintuitive point #1: Accelerating aging is a good thing.Counterintuitive point #2: Car batteries & wine go well together.Chinese researchers seem to have had these paradoxical thoughts. They exposed young red wine to strong electrical fields, let sommeliers test the result, et voilà: the wine had magically matured, improved beyond wildest imaginations.Here's the recipe from their abstract:"

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8521362502285775255.post-50225844596126752892009-01-07T17:06:00.000-08:002009-02-17T18:41:50.968-08:00

Dinner for the start into the new year, an economically challenged year, if I may say so, may have to be on the lean and readily available side..Here is a possibility that is rarely considered:SquirrelRead the NY times article, it is definitely interesting to hear what british chefs came up with and why. :)In Wisconsin, it is a more common entertainment for fall to hunt squirrels for dinner -

Elindrekihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08592335242602315065noreply@blogger.com1