Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

This is a recipe from my favorite food blogger Ree Drummond. I really followed the instructions as outlined in the order outlined. And???   It looked so promising during the baking process.  After 50 min, the cake actually did raise past the spring form.  After I took it out of the oven, it started to disintegrate. The consistency was like  mush. So back in the oven for 20 minutes on 350F. The height did recover some. The consistency has not improved. Ok, same thing again another 20 min into the oven at 350F.... Again, some height was recovered. The mush did not improve. I called  it quits after that. This recipe needs some help. I don't think, that only 3 tbsp of flower can stand up to that much cheese, eggs, and heavy creme. I have to look at a German cheese cake recipe and see what is used there to  get a less mushy consistency. Taste wise, there is nothing that needs improvements. Together with the  blueberries, lemon juice and some sugar it was gr...

I only wanted to get some things to bake a cake. And then I saw brisket at the store. Change of plans. the smoker got to work. The spice rub: 4 tsp kosher salt 3 tsp ground pepper 2 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp smoked paprika powder There was a lot of trimming that needed to be done. This are about 1.5lbs of fat that got trimmed.   The smoker is heating up to 250F. The meat is getting seasoned.     Waiting until we get to 165F. We are there now. Remove the brisket into a tin foil container, add 1.5 cups of beef broth, insert the thermometer back. Cover the tray with heavy duty tin foil and back into the smoker it goes until the inner temperature is 210-215F.    Lets make the serving really American. Bush's baked beans, some sour cream and a BBQ sauce. -Mahlzeit-      

Growing up we always had cold dinners. I smoked salmon 2 days ago. 2 pieces are still left over. Time for a salad. last 2 pieces of my smoked salmon coarsely shredded 2 tbsp of capers 1 tbsp of lemon juice 1 tbsp of fresh dill shopped (frozen is fine as well) 1.5 tbsp mayo In a bowl mix all of this in a bowl. Serve on a ciabatta roll with butter or a toast and a side salad e.g. the pomegranate apple salad . Time to prepare 10 minutes. -Mahlzeit-

The grocery store had pomegranates on sale. I have no idea if it is season or not. I only bought one once before. A quick internet search and an apple and a box of mixed spring greens went into the cart. For the salad: 2 handful of mixes spring greens seeds of one pomegranate  1 apple sliced into bite size pieces (any variety is fine, I bought one that was on sale) 2 slices of water melon cut into bite size pieces 1/4 cup of feta crumbles (or more) For the dressing: 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp balsamic 1 heaping tsp agave sweetener or liquid honey 1 tsp of poppy seeds 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper In a bowl mix all the salad parts. In a small bowl mix all the dressing ingredients well. Then pure them over the salad and mix again. Left overs can go into the fridge and are still good for 2 days after preparation. -Mahlzeit-

Salmon is for some time on my list to smoke. A friend did send me this video .  Yesterday morning the journey began.  3 got myself 3 filet of salmon, removed the thin ends.  I mixed  1 cup of kosher salt  1 cup of light brown sugar 1 tsp of Prague Powder #1 I had to descale the salmon a bit more. I don't know why this can't be done before it gets sold. In a glass container I put down a  layer of the salt/sugar mixture. Then I added the 3 filets. I left a little bit of room between them, so I can press the salt/sugar mixture down between them. Add all the remaining sugar/salt mix and make sure it is all covered.  The video talks about adding weight. I did not do that. I simply covered the glass container and into the fridge for 36h it went. After 36h I removed the salmon. Then I rinsed it with cold water. In a clean glass container, submerge the fillets for 20 min to remove the access salt from the fish. Now it needs to be dried up. On a rack it now go...

Let me start and spill the beans from the beginning. This cut of meat does not have enough fat for smoking. On the outside it ended up a little chewy. However the taste was great. Th rub is a keeper. The rub: 2 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp dark brown sugar 1 tsp allspice powder 1/2 tsp Chipotle powder Remove the meat from the fridge about 1h before you want to put it on the smoker and let it come up to temperature. Mix all the spices in a bowl. Wash and pad dry the meat. Try to get it as dry as possible. Cover all sides with the spice mixture. My piece of meat was less then 1" thick. It will not need a lot of smoking time. In about 2h at 220F the meat was ready. 1hour into smoking I added 3 potatoes, washed and each wrapped into aluminum foil. (Turned out, I should have added them from the beginning...). Smoked potatoes are actually really good. The potatoes still needed about 30 min at 450F in my counter top ove...

I am exploring red beets these days. Until a couple of weeks ago I literally never had them.  My first try was a salad. I was not to sure about the textures and taste. Now before I put them  into the category "I don't like them", may be a different preparation might be a good idea.  I remembered, I stayed at a Courtyard downtown Austin a few years ago. Behind the hotel in a small side street was an authentic Russian restaurant named the Russian House. My friend Sue is always game for some fun food experiences. So we ended up there a couple of times. She had borscht there and she liked it. I am lucky that my colleague Larissa is into cooking as well, so I asked her for a good recipe. She gave me the link to a Russian website and translated it for me. Larissa, you are such an angel. Despite me taking a few liberties as I couldn't get some of the things, it turned out to be a home run. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Larissa. For the broth 1 bag of frozen bones for soup...

There is nothing more German then Curry Wurst. It is a very popular street food in Germany, just like hot dogs in New York. There are many articles how to make Curry Wurst sauce and what sausages to take. If an article suggests Weisswurst, don't continue reading. They don't know what they are talking about. Weisswurst is eaten before the clock shows noon and with sweet mustard. Italian style sausages are not suitable either. I like Octoberfest Bratwurst the best as a sausage.  Any kind of Bratwurst will do. If pictures show the sauce sprinkled with curry, this is not good either. The curry must be inside the sauce. 2 tbsp olive oil 2 small onion finely chopped 1 small clove of garlic 2 tsp high quality curry powder 1 tsp sweet paprika 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp onion powder 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrin, for something one just uses the best) 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar 1 cup of water 1 cup Sir Kensington's Classic Ketchup (Heinz really does not taste ...

I like my potato soup rather chunky and not watery.   I cooked 4 medium potatoes and then let them cool down a bit.   In a separate pot  bring 2  cups of water to a boil, add  1 1/2 tsp of Knorr Tomato bullion 1/2 tsp Allspice 1/4 tsp Tumeric 1/4 tsp Thyme a pinch of cinamon a pinch of ground smoked paprika a pinch of nutmeg a pinch of ground cloves. Turn off the heat and let it cool down. Put all into a blender and blend to the level of chunkiness you like. Back into a pot it goes and then heat it up again. Serve with a spoon of sour creme and a chopped parsley -Mahlzeit-    

I was seriously not feeling well yesterday. My stomach could only tolerate water for most of the day. And then I got hungry. This is a good sign.  Chicken noodle soup did sound like a good idea. 3 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on (can be frosted) 1 cup copped celery (stalks or roots) 7 carrots chopped 1 large onion coarsly chopped 2 tbsp veggie oil 3/4 of a gallon of water 8 tsp of Knorr tomato bullion 1/4 tsp of thyme 1 tsp of ground allspice 3 kaffir lime leafs  3 bay leaves 3/4 inch of fresh grated Turmeric root Add the oil to a stock pot and add the carrots, onions and celeries. Over medium heat cook until the onions get translucent. Then add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer. Cook until the meat falls off the bone on the chicken over . For me it was about 90 minutes. Remove the meat from the bones and put them back into the soup. There are many things one can add, noodles, couscous, rice, quinoa. It all depends what you l...