Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

It is Christmas and I didn't want to go for the standard potato salad and wieners on Christmas Eve and the duck on Christmas day. I decided on a beef and pork stew. I just posted a few days ago on my Hungarian  version of a beef stew. This is a bit different. I was planning to use some peppers here  as well, but then forgot to take them out of the fridge and then of course forgot about it. I don't plan cooking upfront. I go by what comes to mind. Ok, that requires me to write down what I used, so I can write here. This time I go with: Not on the picture: salt and pepper 2 tsp of tomato paste 3 tbsp of salsa 1/2 cup of red wine 1 tsp of smoked paprika 1 tsp of ground paprika 1 tsp of ground Allspice 1/2 tsp of thyme 2 tsp of margarine 4 cups of water In a pot, melt the margarine and add the onions over medium heat. Let them get translucent. Add the meat (I actually counted the pieces. it was 12 pieces each. I just didn't want to have so much left over.) When the meat is sear

It is Christmas. I now have a full fridge and can cook something different every day.  I start with fish. Red Snapper with a German cucumber salad and toasted brioche buns I bought the snapper fully dressed. The descaling was already done.  For the spices 1 tsp of ground paprika 1/2 tsp of salt 1/2 tsp of pepper 1 tsp of cajon spice mix (more if you like it spicy) 1/4 tsp mustard powder 2-3 tbsp of olive oil Mix all the spices including the oil in a little bowl. Preheat the oven to 450F. This snapper was about 1 lbs. Wash and pad dry the snapper. Then cut about 3 times on each side. Generously apply the spice mix everywhere. Push some into the cuts. Don't forget the cavity.  Put the snapper on a baking sheet with an rost. Add 1 cup of water to the baking sheet to prevent drippings from burning. Bake on convection for about 20 minutes. Cooking time very much depends on the size and the thickness of the fish.  Mine went a little to far. Oh well. It was still tasty. -Mahlzeit-

On Facebook, I read a couple of food groups. This is a good source for inspiration.  Growing up we had a lot of Hungarian dishes, or what we thought to be Hungarian food. This is my version of a Hungarian Gulasch. We need Not on the picture: 2 bay leaves 1/2 tsp of thyme 1/2 tsp of ground allspice 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp of margarine 2 cloves of garlic 4 cups of water It pays to prep everything up-front. Cut and clean the peppers. Bell peppers work just as fine. Coarsely chop the onions Pad dry the meat and cut it into bite size chunks. Coarsely chop the garlic In a big put heat up the oil and the margarine, Add the onion and let them get translucent. Add the meat. and sear it. Add 1.5 tbsp of the tomato mark. Keep cooking for another 4-5 minutes. Keep paying attention so things don't start to burn. Add 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika, 2 tsp of paprika, 3 tbsp of salsa, 2.5 tbsp of bullion paste. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring all to a boil then turn the heat down and let it simme