Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

My grandma made great pierogies. I loved her blueberry version. I will make them some time, when the blueberries in my backyard are ripe. For now I am going for the potato/cheese/sour cream version. The idea for the recipe comes from  Nagi . Now I don't need to feed many people. So I am cutting things down and changing the process. There are several components that come together at the end. Potato cheese mixture (part 1): Peel about 6 potatoes, cut them, and cook until done. When they are still fairly hot, put them through a potato ricer. (I got myself one a few years back, as I also like to make German potato dumplings, and for those I would need that.) Spread the potatoes on a flat board or plate and let it cool down. When they are room temperature, cover tight with cling wrap and into the fridge they go. I did that yesterday. The next day (part 2): Put the potatoes in a bowl, add some salt and pepper, 2 tbsp of melted butter, and some cheese. I used a mix of smoked gouda and par...

In a small household one does not need a bread with 3lbs of flower or a big cake.  I am starting to get experience with the process of changing recipes, so it is enough for 2-3 people. The original version can still be found  here  . I used 1 lbs of cream cheese (original Philadelphia) 2/4 cup of heavy whipping cream 2/3 cup of white granulated sugar 2 tbsp of all purpose flower 3 large eggs 1 tsp of vanilla extract 1 pinch of kosher salt (oops, I forgot that one) Grease a 8" spring form generously with butter.  Preheat the oven to 400F. In a kitchen machine bowl I added the cream cheese, the eggs and the sugar. I wanted to get that mixed up first. The cheese came out of the fridge, so it needed some time to get smooth. Then add all the remaining things. Bake for 30 minutes. Then the skin was already colored pretty good. I turned down the temperature to 375F and baked it for another 10 minutes. Use a think stick to test if the cake is done. It is done if it comes out...

This year I asked around and work for things they would have over the holidays or something that is popular in their country. One of the suggestions was Chicken Biryani. I did read myself through plenty of recipes. I failed to figure out how the cooking process really needs to be. So I gave up on that part and made it my way.  So here we go:   2/3 of an eye balled plain yoghurt 1/2 cup of water 3-8 cloves of minced garlic fresh grated ginger , about 1.5 tsp a few dashes of ground dried turmeric 1/4 tsp cinnamon 5 pieces of green cardamon. I didn't have ground cardamon. 2 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cumin 2 tbsp paprika(not smoked) 3/4 tsp of salt.  All of that goes into a bowl and gets mixed. Add the chicken and make sure it is all covered and over night into the fridge. The next morning I added some oil into a non-stick pot. Add the chicken and cook it. I added a bit of water, to make sure, it is not sticking. I added the remaining marinade, and cooked until all the chic...

I picked up a deboned butterflied leg of lamb the other day. It is time to prepare that.  I have a couple of good recipes for marinating the lamb, but I was looking for something new. Again I researched the internet and this is what I came up with. 1 generous tbsp of olive oil 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar. (There is a story to the bottle of red wine vinegar I have on the counter top. Red wine vinegar is not something I use a lot, not to say never ... The bottle on my countertop was part of set of olive oil and balsamic. Of course both of those bottles have been empty for 25+ years, but the set with the red wine vinegar in the middle just looked nice. According to the internet, if the bottle is properly sealed and stored in a dry place, it can last indefinitely. OK, I take my chances and it worked. Pssssst, the bottle is 28 years old, totally clear liquid, no smell and tastes like vinegar). 3 hand chopped cloves of garlic 1 eye balled tsp of fresh rosemary (I went to the grocery store...

Pork knuckles can be found in the many parts of Germany. However, the preparations can be very different. In the south it is usually grilled. The skin gets very crispy. In Berlin it is cooked. The orginal spice mix is from  "Calle cooks grandma's recipe's (in German)" . Of course some of the things I can't get here or they are really exepensive.  I used: celery (celery root would be better, but is hard do come buy and expensive) fresh thyme (I used some I had in the freezer, an eye balled tsp) parsley (I used frozen as well, a good hand full) 1 medium onion, cut into 8 pieces (on the internet some people don't even peel, I dont like that, I peel) 2 carrots, cut into larger chunks leeks or Chinese onions (they look like baby leeks, I used those) around 12 Allspice kernels around 10 juniper berries (smashed) around 12-15 whole black pepper kernels 6 bay leaves (fresh or frozen if you have, dried is fine as well) 1.5 tbsp salt water And of course a pork knuckle I...

It has been a long time since my last post. My pressure cooker decided to not keep the pressure anymore. l. I think I bought it 10 years ago for 99$. With all the dishes I cooked, I got a lot of milage out of it. In the summer I started to research a replacement and found an Instant Pot. The price back then was $149.99. That was more then I wanted to pay. This year the Black Friday deals came in very early. The price was now $119.99. That is a price I could live with. Gulasch = beef stew is something that many cultures have. Time to explore how I can use my Instant Pot for this and change the recipe a bit.  Here we go 2tsbp veggie or olive oil  1 large onion coarsely chopped 2 lbs of beef stew meat 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 can tomato sauce 1 can diced tomato Spices 3 bay leaves 3/4 tsp ground all spice 6 juniper berries 1/3 tsp of dried thyme 4 cups of water 3.5 tsp of beef bouillon 1 tbsp ground paprika 1/2 tsp smoked paprika Turn on the Instant Pot and select Sautee. Add the oi...