Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

Growing up in East Germany, Hungarian food was always popular. And there was a picture of Kesselgulasch. It must be like 40 years, that I had it last. Ok, 20 recipes later (some of them claim orignal and are very different) here is my version. Note it takes time to simmer. Part 1: 1 large onion, chopped 4 cloves of garlic chopped 1 cup of a dark full body red wine (optional) 8 cups of beef broth 6 oz tomato paste 2 cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes 3 tbsp of diced pimento peppers 2 lbs of beef stew meat (a piece of chuck roast will do as well, just cut it to bite size pieces) 2 slices of bacon chopped 3 tbsp ghee Spices 1 tbsp smoked paprika powder 1 tbsp of sweet paprika powder 4 bay leaves 2 tsp ground all spice 1 tsp ground cumin Part 2: 6 medium potatoes 3 bell peppers, color does not matter I used my big Dutch Oven (DO) for this. The cooking process ended up in 2 parts, as life's plan were different from what I had in mind. The cooking needed to go into a 2 day process. In t...

This is a very simple recipe.    1 roll of puff pastry 8 oz of fresh raspberries raspberry jam Glaze Juice of half a lemon powder sugar Unroll the puff pasty and cut it into 6 equal size squares. Put raspberry jam down and then some fresh raspberries Fold over the empty corner and seal the seams. Take a fork and put a bit of pressure on the outside border, and then make little waves with the tip of the fork all around the seam. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line  a baking sheet with parchement paper and add all finished wedges on the sheet. Bake for 25 min or until golden brown. While in the oven, mix the lemon juice with the powder sugar to a thick paste.  Once baking is complete, pull the sheet out of the oven and put the lemon sugar glaze on the still hot wedges. Eat while they are still warm, but they are tasty when cold as well. -Mahlzeit-

Last weekend I saw a butterflied leg of land. Last night I did read up on lots of recipes.  My version: Calculate time for 4-5h of marinade In a bowl mix for the marinade 4 large cloves of garlic minced juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime 1/4 cup of olive oil 1/2 tsp of ground pepper 1/2 tsp of salt 1/4 tsp of dried thyme 1/2 tsp of all spice 2 fresh bay leaves (cut in half) 3/4 tsp of roughly chopped rosemary 1/2 tsp dried oregano In a flat dish, lay down the lamb flat. Drip over all the marinade and cover the surface. Turn it over and cover the other side. Cover and put it in a fridge for 4-5 hours. Turn over 1x an hour.  After 4h-5 hours, remove the dish from the fridge and let the meat come to room temperature. You may see the oil become liquid again. Turn it a couple of times during warm up. Preheat the oven to 420F. Grill on each side for about 10 minutes, depending on how thick the cut is. There are may ways to serve lamb. I opted for grilled potatoes and a tomato salad. -M...

This is a keeper.  1 slice of bacon, cut into small size pieces 4 Tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 pack of Eckrich Turkey Sausages, sliced 1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes 6 cups of low sodium tomato or veggie juice 1/2 of a 7oz jar of sliced pimentos 3/4 cup of famous Dave pickles slices, chopped a bit more. 1 tsp of curry powder 1 tsp of ground cumin 1 tsp of smoked paprika 2 tsp of Knorr Tomato Bouillon   In a pot, add the bacon and the olive oil, rander the fat, add the onions and let them get translucent. Then add the sausage slices and let them get a bit of color. Pay attention that the onions don't start to burn. After 7-10 minutes add all the remaining things. Bring it to a boil, turn the heat down. Let it simmer with a cover for about 20 minutes. This can be a a soup by itself. A sauce for noodles, rice or couscous. As a soup serve with a tbsp of sour creme and a slice of lemon, or just like this. -Mahlszeit-

This is a keeper. We need: 1 lbs ground turkey (85/15) 1 medium onion finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp smoked paprika a little less then 1/2 tsp of cinamon 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 egg 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Mix all of this in a bowl until it is completely mixed up. On a plate add some breadcrumbs and roll the balls in it.  Form balls slightly smaller then a tennis ball and put them on a baking sheet. I usually line the sheet with parchment paper. It makes it easier to clean. Bake for 20-25 minutes. My balls got a little larger. I baked mine about 30 minutes. Serve with couscous or pita bread and and a nice side salad. -Mahlzeit-

This week I ended up getting some organic chicken tenderloin. They were on sale. So I got 1 pack. A few days earlier I had made chicken curry, which was good, but I ended up not posting about it. This time it is really a keeper. We need (on the picture) 1 tsp of Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon 1 can of coconut milk 1/2 of a jar of green curry 1/2 tsp if ground ginger 1/2 tsp of ground coriander 1/4 tsp of ground cinamon 2 medium cloves of garlic mashed We also need (not on the picture) 1 cup of water 1 onion chopped 2-4 tbsp of olive oil salt/pepper to taste 1 lbs of chicken tenderloins cut into bite size pieces (any kind of chicken will work) Heat up the oil, add the onions and let them get translucent over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes, like 5-7 minutes. Stir it. The goal is not get color on the meat, just to sear the outside.  Add the water and the bouillon powder.  Bring it up to a boil and cook for a minute or 2. Add all the remaining things from t...

I watched Ali Güngörmüs cooking with hobby cooks. The concept of the show is, a hobby cook makes a meal for Ali and then he takes the same ingredients and makes a different meal out of them for a home cook. There are plenty of inspirations on this show. This is based of one of his shows. I used 1 lbs of boneless beef short ribs 1 medium onion chopped 2 cloves of garlic chopped or minced 1 can of tomato sauce 1 can of diced tomatoes 1/2 cup of chopped celery root (optional) 1/2 tsp of paprika 1/2 tsp of ground allspice 4 tbsp of harissa 2 bat leaves olive oil water i9f needed) Pad dry the short ribs and cut them into bite size pieces. In a Dutch Oven heat up the olive oil, add the onions and the celery and cook till the onions are translucent. Add the meat and let it get some color. Then add all the remaining items. For the spices and the harissa you can use more or less depending on how spicy you want that to be. Taste it. One can always add. The meat should be covered with liquid....

A few days I saw a Reels where somebody made chicken drum sticks. All nicely laid with the meat side to the rim side in a frying pan. Next step was to add some garlic and honey, and then the stirring started. Gone all the nice layout... I decided to keep watching and the recipe then caught my attention. It was already almost midnight, I didn't write anything down. Here is what I came up with and that is a keeper. One needs: 2 chicken thighs, skin on with bones (I would guess, no bone no skin would work as well, but I have not tried this 2 tbsp of olive oil 2 gloves of garlic chopped or minced 1 can of diced tomatoes 4 tbsp Harissa 1 tsp of honey 1/3 of a cup of water 1/3 of a cup of low sodium Soy sauce 1/3 if a tsp of smoked paprika (more or less depending on desired spice level) Salt and pepper Pad dry the 2 chicken pieces. Salt and pepper them. Choose a frying pan where you have a matching cover. Add the oil to the frying pan and heat it up. Add the 2 pieces of chicken skin side...

Potato salad, there are as many recipes as there are families. My version (you need time and planning) :     2 Russet potatoes, boiled with skins to be tender, remove and let them cool down. Over night into the fridge Next day:  peel the potatoes and slice them into bite size pieces. Add them to a bowl.  clean and cut 1/2 medium onion in small pieces and add to the potatoes use 2 hard boiled eggs and cut them into small pieces, add to the potatoes Use your favorite pickles and cut them into small pieces and add to the potatoes Mix 2 tbsp of sour cream, 2 tbsp of yellow mustard, 2 tbsp of mayo and add to the salad Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.  I would prepare this in the morning. At dinner time time spices had time to mix and mingle. Potato salad goes with  a ton of things.  Christmas eve it is "wiener", although I can't get the original. This comes close. -Mahlzeit-

Somebody posted a Harissa Chicken on Facebook. It sounded delish. So I worked my way through a few recipes. I didn't want to use a whole chicken. I didn't want to  eat all week from this. Here is what I came up with. 4 tbsp of mild Harissa 1 read onion quartered and then pick the leaves apart 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces 1 yellow red pepper cut into bite size pieces (I had some frozen yellow and orange bell pepper, so I wanted to use some of this) 2 medium potatoes, peeled and in cut into small pieces 2 chicken legs olive oil salt and pepper to taste Preheat the oven to 350F In a oven save bowl, add the peppers and the onions. Drizzle some olive oil over it and add the Harissa. Season with some salt and pepper.  Mix all of this up with your hand.  Then take the 2 chicken legs and put them on top. Coat them with Harissa as well.  Put it into the oven. After 15 minutes add the potato pieces. Make sure they are coated as well. Bake for another 35-40 minu...

I bought last week a few more things, thinking I can cook more meals and freeze them. Life had a different plan. I ended up with 1/2 celery root, leaks, plenty of tomatoes, red peppers. The original idea was to make Letscho . This is a pepper based with tomato dish, that can be a side dish or a sauce.   What my fridge had in mind: Veggies: 1/2 celery root 3 stalks of leeks 6 tomatoes 2 red peppers 1 large onion 3 stalks of regular celery Other things 3 tbsp of olive oil 4 cups water 3.5 tsp of Knorr chicken bullion 4 cups of tomato juice 1/2 tsp thyme 1 tsp of ground cumin 1 tsp dried smoked paprika 1/2 tsp of curry 1 pack of turkey sausage (optional) Clean and cut all the veggies into almost  equal pices. Slice the sausage into thin slices, but keep them seperate.  In a large pot add the olive oil and heat it up over medium heat. Add the onions. when it starts to get translucent add all the celery. Keep them over medium heat. Stir every now and then. After another 1...

My fridge was the home for 2 bottles of Guinness.  I had bought them for cooking some time ago. I don't drink Guinness. I don't like the muddy taste. I like Kilkenny a lot better. What do I want to do with that? Krustenbraten is made from pork shoulder with skin still on. For my version 2.0 I decided to variate things a bit. I did read about 10 recipes and that is what I came up with. Pork shoulder with skin on. The shoulder I found was bone in and pretty small already. I had the butcher cut it 1 more time, so I end up with food for about 2-3 days. The other piece went into the freezer.  1 large onion , coarsely chopped 3 carrots , peeled and chopped into pieces 1/2 celery root, cleaned and cut into pieces similar size to the carrots 2 bottles of Guinness (0.33l) 4 cups of veggie broth ( I used Better then Bouillon, 1 generous tbsp for 4 cups of boiling water ) 1 tbsp of tasteless veggie oil 1 tbsp yellow mustard 1/2 cup of water Salt, Pepper Wash the pork and then pad it dry....

This rub will work on any pork. It depends on how much pork you have.  The unit is tbsp. So (1) is 1 tbsp and (2) is 2tbsp and so on. The rub I used Ground coffee (2) Salt (1/3) Pepper (1/3) dried thyme (1/3) ground smoked paprika (1/2) light brown sugar (3/4) ground cumin (1/2) garlic powder (1/3) According to google,  3 tsp are 1 tbsp. I did not measure anything. I just eye balled it.  Wash the pork, pad dry and then rub some olive oil over all the surface. The spices need to stick. Cover it generously with the spice rub and let the pork sit on the counter. Preheat the oven to 375F.  My pork was pretty fatty. So I covered a tray with tin foil added some water to catch the fat drippings and cleaning easy. I added the water so the fat does not burn and stinks up the kitchen. With a deeper dish and water, this mixture can be used to make a nice sauce. Cook until you reach your desired temperature. For me it was about 30 min. It really looked as it all burned, but noth...

Pedro is a friend at work. He loves cooking as much as I do. Every now and then we talk about food. I asked him last week for a recommendation. So this is him. This is very easy and simple: one needs duck breasts and rice.  I bought 4 duck breasts. They were frozen. I did defrost 2 of them in the fridge for 24h. After defrosting them, I did pad dry them, sliced a skin just a little bit. Season with salt. I didn't use any pepper on them. In the biggest frying pan I could find (has about 1ft in diameter), add the duck breast skin side down. Keep the temperature to a very low setting.  The purpose is, to render the fat and get the skin crisp. The breast meat does tense up at during the process.  For my duck breast it took about 15-20 minutes for the fat to render. Now I didn't put a timer on it. Turn up the heat and sear the breast all around. When you are satisfied, remove the breast from the pan, put aside and let them rest.  In my fridge I found a small little jar wi...

Growing up we had a green house at home to grow tomatoes and cucumbers. During high season we had a lot of cucumbers. Of course a lot of them got canned. Many ended up in salads and then for lunch we braised them. This is a nice vegetarian version. If the cucumbers have a lot of seeds, you may want to remove them. Mine were seedless... or what the industry calls seedless...lol...  Here we go:  Peel the cucumber and cut them into 4 pieces. This is just to make the cucumber easier to handle. Then cut the 2 pieces along the long side and cut it into small pieces about 5mm wide. We also need  1/2 of a medium onion (chopped) olive oil ( it depends on how much cucumber you used. For me I used about 5-6 tbsp. ok, I didn't measure). 2 heaping spoons of creme fraiche or sour cream fresh chopped dill (frozen dill can be used as well) salt and pepper to taste In a pan heat the olive oil add the onions and let them get translucent. Then add the cucumber pieces, salt and pepper to tas...

I got some raspberries a couple of days ago. I love raspberries. I have a raspberry dressing. Why not add the raspberries into a salad. Here we go: Tomatoes, cut into small pieces Cucumber, peeled and cut into small pieces Onions, cut into small pieces mushrooms, sliced (optional) raspberries salt and pepper to taste raspberries dressing I was hoping that fresh raspberries would enhance the flavor of the dressing, but it didn't. A picture will follow. My main computer is in maintenance.  

 Saturday morning I ended up catching "The kitchen". Katie talked about slow cooking chicken breast. This is something I have not had in a long time. Normally chicken breast gets easy dry. What I made out of the inspiration: 2 chicken breasts, washed and pad dry 2 cans of diced tomatoes 1 can of tomato sauce 2 bell peppers, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces 1 medium onion coarsely chopped 1 tsp smoked ground paprika 1/4 tsp of ground tumeric 1/2 tsp ground Allspice 1 tsp of sweet paprika 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1 cup of water salt and pepper Mix the spices in a bowl and season the breasts with it. Add all the other ingredients into the slow cooker. Place the chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle all the remaining seasoning over everything. Cook on high for 4 hours. When done I ended up shredding the chicken breast a bit. Serve with rice. -Mahlzeit-

I just came back from a week in Portugal. Needless to say, I had a lot of seafood. I love octopus. Coming home, I found in my freezer a packages of octopus. Yeah 4 years old, but no freezer burn or anything. I took it out and put it in the fridge to completely defrost. It ended up being 4 baby octopuses. Surfing the net and asking a friend I came up with something. The consistent message on the internet is, octopus need to be cooked before it goes on a grill. And cook time can be 1-2 hours depending on the size. My recipe: water (make sure the octous is covered by about 1" of water) was 6 cups for me 1 medium onion coursely chopped 3/4 tsp of salt 3/4 tsp of ground Allspice, I wanted to use kernels, but I only had ground Allspice.  8 juniper berries 3 Bay leafes 1 black cardamon kernel Rinse the octopus and dry it a bit with a paper towel. Add all the items into a pot, add the octopus, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 1.5h.  Life throws sometimes a curv...

I still had puff pastry in the fridge, that needed to get a purpose. The original plan was to do  Beef Wellington. Then I didn't have the patience to work through all the steps. Back-up recipe: Pigs Ears. This time without the chocolate covering. The ingredients are very simple: 1 sheet puff pastry (store bought), sugar and cinnamon.  I mix the sugar with the cinnamon and then put it in a sugar shaker. It makes it for an easy distribution. Unroll the sheet of puff pasty. I do that on a silicon matt, that has measurements on the side. This comes up really handy when folding. The bottom left corner lines up with the 0 marker on the matt. The sheet is 15" high. The first fold of  both ends needs to meet roughly at 7.5". Add some of the sugar and cinnamon mixture on the entire sheet and then fold. Add more sugar and cinnamon on the folded puff pastry. Then fold both sides again, so they meet at the existing 7.5" line again. I did run out of the sugar cinnamon mixture.  I...

This is really easy to make and there is actually not a lot of room for screwing things up. The recipe consists of puff pastry sheets, sugar and cinnamon. And that is it. The trick is the folding. This is very nicely explained here .  Also it helps to put the folded pastry into the freezer for 30 minutes. It makes cutting a lot more easy. So far so good.  This looks promising: What I ended up with: The cookies did not expand as much as I have hoped. They were supposed to be at least double in size. Looking at the package: ok expiration date was about 6 months go. That explains that they didn't no expand as much. However taste wise, they were great.  I also got to have a few more tries on the chocolate covering. Well one lives and learns. -Mahlzeit-