Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

I saw beef tenderloin on sale. So I had to buy. 4 lbs for 50$.  I have not had old fashioned Sunday dinner in years.Here we go. Garlic Butter: remove 1/2 stick of butter from the fridge the night before mince 2-3 cloves of garlic  mix in a small ramekin and put it back in the fridge Mushrooms and Brussels sprouts: I cheated for the Brussels sprout, I had a bag of frozen ones in the freezer, that had instructions for the microwave peel 1 medium onion and cut into smaller pieces melt 2 tsp of margarine in a frying pan, add the onions when they start to get translucent add the mushrooms.  cook over medium heat, stir occasionally, season to taste When they are done, add 2 tbsp of creme fresh or sour creme and the Brussels sprouts Garlic Mash: peel and cook a more starchy potato till done and discard the water. add 2 tsp of butter, 2 minced cloves of garlic, a hint of nutmeg, butter milk. Mash until it has the desired thickness. Steak: I cut 2 steaks about 1/2" thick. This eno...

I picked up a small pork loin yesterday. It is supposed to go on the smoker today. I decided to brine it over night as follows: Fosters beer, so it is all covered 10 allspice kernels 10 juniper berries 1 medium red onion coarsely chopped All of this goes into a bowl and then it goes covered into the fridge over night. I took them out of the fridge this morning and let it come up in temperature for about 30 minutes. During this time I made the basting mixture. 2 tsb balsamic 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp sweet paprika 1 tsp ground Allspice 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses  Mix all of this in a bowl. Remove the meat from the brine and pad dry. Baste the spice mix on to the meat from all sides. In the smoker it goes, at 210F until the inner temperature reaches 148F. I had different bags pellets left, so I just emptied all of them into the tray. Use what ever is your favorite. If the temperature is 145F. 148F or 150F does not matter to much either. It all depends on how...

I would think, that everyone has a few go-to meals. Chili and  Koenigsberger Klopse belong into my list as well as chicken fricassee. We also call it exploded chicken. Once can use left over already cooked chicken, just specific favorite chicken parts or a whole chicken.  I decided, some of the meals need to go into the freezer, so I use a whole chicken. This cooks in a pressure cooker pretty fast. For cooking the chicken 1 whole chicken (mine was a large one) 2 bay leafs 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp of ground Allspice 4 carrots peeled and chopped into bite size pieces 4 stalks of celery chopped 8 cups of  water with 6 tsp of better then chicken bullion or 8 cups of chicken broth or chicken stock Add all of this to the pressure cooker. Check if the chicken has a bag with giblets. If so add everything as well, except the liver. The liver cooked with a bit of salt and pepper is a nice treat for me. Close the lid and follow the instructions of the manufacturer. I tend to add 2-...

I found a pack of ground elk at the grocery store. Finally something else. Burgers are a good thing, as I can also use them in  soup.   1 lbs ground elk 1/2 onion finely chopped salt and pepper 1 egg 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce   Mix all of this in a bowl until it is good combined. Form small flat patties out of them, It gives between 6 and 8 of them. I used 2 different seasonings on the outside. 1/2 I added Old-Bay seasoning the other half sweet and smoky spice mix just one side. In a frying pan melt some margarine or heat some oil. Cook the patties on both sides to your liking. I did mine on high heat for about 4 minutes. When I turned them over I added some more spice to the other side. In the meantime I defrosted some fries in the oven. Serve with a side salad. -Mahlzeit-    

I love lentils.  Instead of making a lentil stew, I wanted to have something similar, but more deconstructed. I buy lentils in a bag, that don't need overnight soaking and cook in about 30 minutes. For the lentils: chop some carrots, celery and onions wash the lentils and pick through them to remove any little stones that may slipped in 1 tbsp margarine water with chicken bullion flavor or chicken stock salt and pepper, allspice, thyme, 1 bay leaf In a pot melt the margarine, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the onions gets translucent. Add the chicken stock or water with the chicken bullion flavor and all the remaining spices. Cover, bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer. Check on the liquid. The lentils should always be covered. At the end, remove the cover, so move of the liquid can evaporate. I like Eckrich turkey sausage. I cut them up into 1/2" piece and heat them up in water until they are really hot. Cook potatoes ...

It is always a challenge what to do with left overs. I had 4 chicken drumsticks and 2 uncooked chicken drumsticks lefter over. What to do with it? I decided to make a chicken noodle soup out of it it. In a pressure cooker, add the  uncooked chicken drumsticks chopped carrots, celery, onions water with chicken bullion flavor or chicken broth a little Allspice, thyme, 1 bay leaf Cook until it turns itself off. Release the pressure, open and add the grilled chicken drumsticks, close and let them come up to temperature. My pressure cooker has a 'keep warm' feature, so I can do those kind of things. When it is time for lunch or dinner, cook some noodles. Optional serve with some herbs or add some hot sauce. -Mahlzeit-

A long time ago I got a recipe to marinate chicken wings. I remembered it had balsamic vinegar. So with some reading this is what I came up with.   Marinade 1 cup of olive oil 1 cup of balsamic vinegar 1.5 tsp of sweet ground paprika 2 tsp of smoked paprika 1 tbsp dried thyme 2/3 cup of brown sugar 2 tsp of orange pepper (something I found  in a store and wanted to try. It has a nice citrus flavor) 1 tsp of Himalayan or sea salt Heat all of this a little bit on the stove to not more than hand warm. This is to dissolve the brown sugar. The brown sugar was already pretty hard. This is a good way to get rid of those things, that are a bit harder to get into the original condition. (I know the trick with the wet towel and the microwave) My bowl holds 8 drumsticks. Cover it is with marinade and then in the fridge it goes over night. If the drumsticks are not fully covered, turn them over before you go to bed. By then the meat started to take on a brown color from the balsamic....

It takes time to marinate. Best if it goes over night into the fridge. This is a recipe that is in the family for many moons. This time I decided, to give it a my spin.  The marinade that is turning into your steak sauce. One needs (per steak you got) 3tbso sour cream 2 tbsp ketchup (use your favorite ketchup, it tastes better) onion slices to cover 2 sides of the stake (loosely) per steak 1 tbsp of lucky 32 southern kitchen voodo sauce (optional, that is my spin) Except the onions mix all the other things in a bowl with a spoon. Season the steaks with pepper (no salt to not get it dry). layer as follows: marinade onions slices steak onions marinade onion slices steak onions... marinade.... and so on. Put into the fridge at least over night. 24h is better.    About 1h before the steak should hit the grill remove it from the fridge, remove the steaks from the marinade, put them on plate and let it come up to room temperature. I tend to remove the onion slices and access ke...