Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

I just came up with that name. Don't get me wrong. I found that to be very tasty, but it has a lot of fat. More then I want in my diet. In any wevent, here we go. 2 x 1" slices about 5" long of pork belly Marinate that for 24h in 1/4 cup soy sauce 4 slices of ginger 1 large crushed garlic clove 2 tsp of hoisin  sauce 1 dash of hot asian pepper powder Cut them into 1.5" pieces. After 24h (give or take 3-4 hours) In a dutch oven, add 1tbsp of veggie oil and sear the pork belly from all sides including the skin side. Then add 2 cups of water and cook for 1 hour  at 350F for 1h in an oven. Remove the belly from the pot, add a rack right above the pot, put the pieces back onto the rack, but try to place them over the dutch oven to catch the drippings. But the oven to broil for 5-10 min for each side. I used Mondamin to thicken the the sauce a bit. Aside from this serve with potatoes and a side salad. -Mahlzeit- The Thai Spice Pork Belly ...

Yesterday I was at my favorite Asian Grocery store again. I worked my way through their spice isle. I have no idea what I am looking at most of the time.  On jar caught my attention. It looked like one of the very hot spices that I usually get at a Thai restaurant. So I picked one up. I also got chicken hearts. In my fridge there are still chicken thighs (no bones, no skin). This should make a good chicken noodle soup Britta's Thai style. 4 bone and skinless chicken thighs 2 packs of chicken hearts 8 cups of water 8 tsp of Knorr chicken bullion 3 carrots peeled and cut 1.5 cups of chopped celery 3 kaffir lime leaves 3 inches lemon grass, chopped into 1/4 inch chunks All of this goes into a pressure cooker. Use the chicken/meat program + 3 minutes In the mean time cook any pasta you like according to the package instructions. When the pressure cooker is done, make sure to release the pressure before opening. Serve in a bowl with cilantro or parsley as garnish and th...

It is hard to come by good bread. So I am going to work myself through recipes. Ursula M. posted the following on Facebook. I just halfed everything, I didn't want that many broetchen. We need: 3/4 cup of hand warm water 2 cups unbleached King Arthur bread flower. 3/4 tsp salt 1 tsb dry yeast 1/4 tsp sugar I used the dough hook on my kitchen machine. Add the salt, sugar and yeast to the water and stir until it is dissolved. Turn on the kitchen machine and start on very low speed. Slowly add the water with the dissolved salt, yeast and sugar. When the dough comes together keep the machine on low for another 2-3 minutes. Then turn it off. On a flowered surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes. I formed a roll, then put on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 45 min. Preheat the oven to 500F. Cut the dough into 1" slices, and cut a slice over the full length. Drip your finger in a little bit of milk and smear it on the top of the broetc...

It was time to cook something real German without putting my spin on it. Buletten (German Hamburgers) got the vote. I actually went shopping for some of the things I needed. Ketchup is not a staple in my pantry. We need 1 lbs of 90/10 ground beef 1 tbsp breadcrumbs 2 tsp ketchup 2 dashes of Worcestershire (use the real thing from Lea & Perrins, and not some store brand, you will taste the difference) 1 egg 1/2 medium onion finely chopped salt, pepper Mix all of the ingredients and form patties. I form my patties in the middle a little with a little bid of a mold. It will fill in while cooking. In a frying pan add some oil, and heat it up. I tend to cook over a little less then medium heat, so the meat has time to cook and develop color on the outside. Cooking time depends on the thickness. Mine are usually a around 1cm thick (1/3") So per side I cook them 5 minutes for medium well. For the peas I was lazy this time and just heated up a can. oops. Tomato salad: C...

Leg of Lamb: Remove the net from the leg of lamb and open it. Add 2 springs of fresh rosemary, 4 big cloves of garlic, salt and pepper. Close it back up, put the net back on, and salt and pepper from the all sides the outside. In a dutch oven, add olive oil and heat it up. Sear the leg of lamb from all sides. Add quartered carrots, 2 large cloves of garlic, 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, allspice , 2 bay leaves, 3 cups of after. Close the lid bring to a boil and cut the heat so it just simmers. Cook till done, For me it this was 1 hour. Potato Dumplings: Cook 6  medium pealed golden Yukon potatoes. When they are done, remove all the water and press them though the a potato ricer. Let's it all cool down. Add   4 tbsp of potato starch, 1 egg, 2tbsp of semolina, some nutmeg and mix all of this up very well. Bring a big pot with salt water to a boil, turn down the heat, so it does not simmer anymore. Form dumplings that are about 1.5" in diameter. and put them into ...

I know liver is not something for everyone. This will still have a liver taste. We need 2 tetra packs of beef broth, 2 cubes of beef broth. 4 slices of calve liver, still a bit frozen 1/3 lbs of lean ground beef 2 small cut onions 1 slice of extra thick cut bacon, or 2 regular thickness, cut into small pieces parsley (dried or fresh) marjoram 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs salt, pepper, nutmeg Put the liver through the meat grinder into a bowl. Add the ground beef, set aside in the fridge. In a pan render the bacon, add the onions let it cook till the onions get translucent. Add a bit of nutmeg, parsley, marjoram, a little salt and pepper.  When the onions are translucent, turn off the heat and set aside. This needs to cool down. Bring the beef broth to a simmer in a pot that is wide enough to hold all dumplings, add the 2 cubes of beef broth for additional spice. Take the liver beef mix out of the fridge, add the onion/spice mix, the breadcrumbs and a little salt and pepp...

This is a very easy and fast one. We need 2 eggs per person potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 1 cup chicken stock 1/2 cup of half/half 3 tbsp capers (less if you don't like them) 3 tbsp of yellow mustard (any mustard actually will do) 3 tbsp of sour cream 2 tsp of margarine 2 tsp of corn starch In pot add the peeled potatoes with water and salt bring to a boil and cook till finished In a 2. pot, add the eggs,  cover with water about 1/2" above the eggs, bring to a boil, turn off the heat and let it stand. Large  eggs let them stand for 8 minutes, extra large eggs for 10 minutes. In a 3. pot melt the margarine, add the corn starch. Let it cook for 5 -7 minutes stirring constantly. Add slowly the almost boiling chicken stock. Again stir, stir, stir. Add the half/half, sour cream, yellow mustard  and capers. Cook the sauce for about 5 minutes. Stir, stir, stir. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve with a side salad -Mahlzeit-