Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

This is one of my favorite soups. It can be a full meal or appetizer and also works great as hangover food. 2 slices of bacon cut into small pieces 3 tbsp of margarine 1 pack of Eckrich Turkey Sausage , sliced 1 medium onion chopped 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes 1/2 jar of Famous Dave's spicy pickles spears chopped (1/2 of the pickling liquid) 8 cups of tomato juice  2 tbsp of Tostitos medium chunky salsa I buy bacon by the slices and actually leave the package open in the fridge. It dries out, but that is what I want. In a stock pot render the bacon. Over medium heat add the margarine and let it melt. Add the sausage slices and let them get some color. Then add the onions and let them get translucent. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring it to a boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 45min to 1hour. Check the liquid levels every 15 minutes. Serve with sour creme, a slice of lemon and a slice of fresh bread. -Mahlzeit-

Meat has gotten really expensive. If something is on sale, I will buy and use or put it into the freezer. Last weekend I found chicken leg quarters on sale. 4 of them were just 6$. While they say, no antibiotiks and hormones, 2 of them were 2x the size of the other ones. Who knows. They were expertly packaged. Without opening the package the difference in size was not noticeable. In any event. I remembered a conversation with another customer about our favorite chicken leg recipes. Here is what I remembered and that is what I used. Spices: Montreal chicken spice (lots of it) Preheat the oven to 375F. Wash and pad dry the chicken legs. Leave a little bit of moisture, so the spice can stick. Liberally apply Montreal chicken spice on all sides. In a frying pan, that can go into the oven, heat some oil and sear the chicken legs. When they have some color make sure the skin side is up in the pan, add some water (for my 4 legs I added 1 cup) and put it into the oven. Check every 15 minutes f...

On Friday I picked up 2 T-Bone steaks and a full rainbow trout.  I was not in the mood to go after another lemon dill thing. After reading about 10 other recipes a few days ago, this is what I came up with: On Friday I made a spiced butter for my steak. 3 tbsp of unsalted butter on room temperature 1/2 tsp of dried oregano 1/2 tsp of dried basil 4 medium cloves of fresh garlic smashed 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper 1/3 tsp sweet ground pepper Mix all of this in a small bowl. This is good for a few days in the fridge. Trout filling: 12 campari tomatoes (halfed) some fresh basil (frozen works as well), sliced 1/4 small white or yellow onion very finely chopped 1 tbsp of a good olive oil salt and pepper to taste   Mix all of this in a bowl and set aside. The trout: Preheat the oven for 450F. Take a large heavy duty aluminum foil (large enough so it can be folded in on the sides and the top to make a pouch) and place it on a baking sheet. Wash and pad dry the tro...

While I was making a potato salad, I decided to make an egg salad as well. The ingredients are almost the same, except for the potatoes and the sour cream. (One can add eggs to a potato salad btw) 6 large hard boiled eggs 2 tsp mayo 1/2 small red onion finely chopped 1/2 spear of Famous Dave's spicy pickles finely chopped  1 tbsp of pickling liquid from the pickles 1 tbsp of capers salt and pepper to taste On the internet I found the following instructions how to cook hard boiled eggs, so they never that that blue outline on the yolk. I only buy large eggs and that works very well. In a pot  add the eggs and make sure they are not stacked. They should be all laying flat. Cover with water about 1/2" above them. Put on high heat and bring to a boil. As soon as they are boiling (not just tiny bubbles are showing), set the timer to 6 minutes. When the timer barks, drain them. If you need them cold for a salad add cold water and ice cubes, to cool them down rapidly. If they are a p...

It was time to make potato salad again. This time a little different 6 medium potatoes (yukon gold) 1/4 cup of sour cream 2 tbsp mayo 1/2 small red onion finely chopped 2 spears of Famous Dave's spicy pickles finely chopped 2 tbsp of pickling liquid from the pickles 2 tbsp capers salt and pepper to taste Cook the potatoes unpeeled the day before. When done, remove the all the water, let them cool down and put them over night into the fridge. The next morning peel them and cut bite size 5mm thick sices. Add all the potatoes and remaining ingredients to a bowl, mix it up cover and back into the fridge it goes. By the evening all the spices should have mingled well. Serve with hot Wiener, to scrambled eggs or just some veggies. -Mahlzeit-  

There are many words for Hamburgers in Germany: Frikadellen, Hamburger, Beefsteak, Fleischpflanzerl, Boulette and many more. What it is called depends on the region.  On the weekend I got a pack of ground turkey 85/15. The original idea was to create a baked dish that could serve as a cold cut. And then there was reality, I needed something for dinner and a bit faster then what I had in mind. Summary the ground turkey ended up as hamburgers/Frikadellen/Boulette/.... you get the idea. We need 1 lbs of ground turkey 85/15 1/2 medium onion finely chopped 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (use the brand Le Perrin, it really makes a difference) salt/pepper to taste 1 egg 1/4 cup of bread crumbs In a bowl mix all of the ingredients.  In order to get similar size sliders, I use a an ice scoop to measure the portions. Depending on how generous one is, this are about 20 portions. When the ice scoop releases the portion smash it down to a bit less then the thickness of your pinky finger. In a...

I had 2 cooked potatoes left over from lunch. Rather then frying them, I decided to make a potato soup out of them. 2 cups of a broth 1/2 cup of half/half 1 cup of cooked potatoes. A hint of nutmeg Get the the broth to  a boil and add the potatoes. As mine came out of the fridge, I let it cook for about 3 minutes, to get the heated up in the broth.  With a hand blender, carefully smash all the potatoes to a consistency of your liking. Add the half/half. Bring it to a boil gain, cook for a minute and then turn the heat off and serve. I garnished it with a bit of garlic powder and dried savory. With a fresh toast this is delish. -Mahlzeit-