Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

The last 2 weekends I did experiment with sour dough bread. This weekend, I decided to switch gears and make a Turkish bread with sesame seed. The original recipe I found on the internet. I have a habit of not following instructions from time to time, so it ended up with some modifications. We need 1 egg 500g of all purpose flower 2 tsp active yeast 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup milk sesame seeds olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar Mix the water and the milk and warm it up, so it is lukewarm. Add the salt, sugar and 1 tsp of yeast. Mix it all up and let it stand for 15 min. In a mixing bowl add the flower and the remaining yeast and mix it all up. Turn mixer on 3. Slowly drip the water/milk/yeast mixture. Keep mixing for about 10 min.  Mix the dough per hand on flowered surface for 5 more minutes. Greece a bowl with the olive oil, put in the dough, cover and let it rest at a warm space for 1 hour. It should double in size. After 1h knead the dough again for 5 minutes, roll it out. Cover a b...

At my shopping trip today I saw some thinly cut beef round bottom slices. The pack usually has 6 slices. Per person one should count with 2 Rouladen = 2 slices. In total we need: Rouladen: 1 small finely chopped onion 6 slices of of your favorite pickles 1/4 slice of bacon, chopped per Roulade Mustard Salt and pepper Veggie Oil Spices: 2 Bay leaves 10 juniper berries 10 whole Allspice 2 cloves of garlic (cut into slices) 1/4 tsp of thyme Sauce: thickening agent to bind the sauce 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup of  Half and Half Salt and Pepper Cauliflower 1 head of cauliflower Salt and Pepper bread crumbs 2 tbsp browned butter Start to assemble the Rouladen.  On a cutting board lay out the slices of meet. Slightly salt and pepper them. With a knife spread mustard over the full surface.  On the widest part add some finely chopped onions, some bacon and 1 slice of pickles. The roll them up and bind them together. I have special needles for it, but you can take tooth picks as wel...

I love a good chili. Every time there is a new variation coming. Every thing marked optional contributes to the spiciness. Skip it, if you want to cut down on the hotness. Meat: 3 lbs of lean ground turkey Spices: 1 chipotle pepper from a glas chopped 3 roasted peppers from a glas chopped 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground tumeric 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp cumin 3 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp dried chipotle pepper powder (spicy, optional) 1 dried bohut pepper (really spicy, optional) 1 fresh bay leaf 2 dried bay leaf 3 dried Guajillo pepper (spicy, optional) 2 Chile Arbol (spicy, optional) 1 pinch of thyme 1 pinch of clove 1 pinch of cinamon Cans: 1 can drained corn 2 cans tomato sauce 1 can diced tomato 1 can roasted diced tomato 2 cans red kidney beans drained and rinsed 2 tsp tomato paste Other: 1 medium onion 2 medium garlic cloves chopped 4 cups of water 3 tsp of Knorr Tomato Bullion 1/2 cup half&half buttermilk Optional for serving  Sour cream buttermilk fresh cho...

Christmas deserves a good dinner. My favorite Asian store had ducks. They have usually a lot less fat than what one can buy in the domestic grocery stores. They also have the head and the feed still attached. I don't know what to do with that. I cut them off and throw them out. For the duck we start out with all of this: 2 apples salt and pepper 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp honey (I love clover honey) Preheat the oven to 400F. Wash the apples and clean cut them into small pieces. They will fill the cavity of the duck. Wash and pad dry the duck, remove any extra fat if you like. Salt from all sides including the inside. Suff the duck with the apples and close the entry of the cavity.  Pepper a little bit from the outside.  In a bowl mix the balsamic and the honey. Make sure the honey is disolved.  In a roasting pan with a rack add water so it get to the rack. Add the duck  breast side up. Brush some of the balsamic honey mixture on it. Into the oven the duck goes. a...

There is nothing more German than Glühwein (spiced wine). There wouldn't be a Christmas market without it. My version is very tamed down because I don't like it when the spices overpower the taste of the wine. Here we go 2 cups of red wine (I use Black Box Merlot, for this one, I can even have a glas every now and then) 1 tsp sugar 1-2 cloves 1 cinamon stick 1" long fresh squeezed juice of 1 orange All of this goes into a pot. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or there about. Then heat it up until it is hot. Please do not boil it. Strain into big coffee mug. -Prost-

It was time to make another chicken soup. In an attempt to clean out my freezer, I pulled the following out: 1 pack of chicken containing 2 chicken thighs with skin and bone and 2 drum sticks (they can still be frozen) 2 fresh bay leaves 2 small lime leaves From the fridge: 3 medium carrots cleaned and chopped 1 cup of celery chopped 1 medium to large onion coarsely chopped 3 sticks of leeks cleaned and chopped From the pantry: 10 whole Allspice 1/2 tsp of dried thyme 3 tsp of Knorr Tomato bullion powder 3 tbsp of veggie oil And last but not least: 4 cups of water and may be some more In a Dutch Oven add the olive oil, the  carrots, onions, celery, leaks. Over medium high heat, cook them for about 7 minutes, stir every now and then, just don't let anything burn. Add 4 cups of water, the remaining items from the pantry and the freezer. Over medium heat bring all to a boil, then take the heat down and let it simmer. Until the chicken pieces have separated I check every 10 minutes. Th...

 Something I didn't have a for a long time was traditional German gulasch. There are many different style. This is how I grew up eating it. Meat: 1.5lbs of beef meat 1.5lbs of pork shoulder 1 medium onion coarsely chopped I cube all of this myself because I can decide the size of the pieces. Sometimes I have to trim it a bit especially for the pork shoulder. Spices: Salt and pepper 10 juniper berries 10 pcs Allspice  (whole) 1/4 tsp thyme 3 bay leaves (fresh or dried) 3 cloves of garlic 3 tbsp of olive oil 3/4 cup of butter milk water a handful of dried mushrooms.  I still had chanterelles around, chopped dried shitake will do as well. In a Dutch Oven heat up the oil, add the onions and let it get translucent. Then add the meat, season with salt and pepper, turn up the heat to medium high and now pay attention. We want to get some color on the meat. So we want to sear it. Don't move it around to much, but make sure things do not burn. When you are happy with the color, ad...