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[OnkelC]

ChryZ, the first one sounds like a great club sandwich.
I know I chickened out of the true Penaut Butter and Jelly thing, but I was too indecisive about combining peanut butter and jelly yet. I read a lot about this combination and it might work out well, but when I tasted peanut butter for the first time, only salty additions/toppings sprung to mind. I will be brave the next time and give it a try .

What jelly is the jelly of choice? The cherry jelly I had yesterday would have been too sour for the pb. Strawberry perhaps?

I don't know if you have already, but you should really start a blog OnkelC. Just awesome stuff!

Thank you!

Actually, I am working on one, but it is still under construction.

 

[ChryZ]

Any jelly or jam will do, just pick your favourite. There are also variations with choco cream like nutella or marshmallow fluff spread. I prefer raspberry jam though.

Regrading that peanut butter of yours, I spotted "hydrogenated vegetable oil" on the ingredients tag of your jar. Trans fats are not good for you, you might wanna pick some other brand of peanut butter. I'm sure you will be able to get one with close to 100% peanut content in a health food or organic products shop.

 

[OnkelC]

Any jelly or jam will do, just pick your favourite. There are also variations with choco cream like nutella or marshmallow fluff spread. I prefer raspberry jam though.

Raspberry jam sounds nice, I'll give it a try.

Regrading that peanut butter of yours, I spotted "hydrogenated vegetable oil" on the ingredients tag of your jar. Trans fats are not good for you, you might wanna pick some other brand of peanut butter. I'm sure you will be able to get one with close to 100% peanut content in a health food or organic products shop.

Yeah, I know of the trans fats in hydrogenated oils, but, like Quark in the US, there are acquisition-related problems with finding a "healthy" brand:

Peanut butter is a real rarity to find around here, only the bigger food retailers stock them at all. The pictured "brand" is nearly the only stuff to be found without resorting to import. Health food/organic shops do not sell peanut butter at all, mainly because it is not very known / common as a spread over here.

I use peanut butter mostly for satay sauces and only occasionally as a spread. The pictured jar lasts about 6 months for our household.

Maybe I'll go ahead and prepare a portion of pb on my own, it does not seem too complicated to make it.


Suggestion time:
Tonights base dish will be some Maccaroni or Spaghetti.
I would make a quick bolognese sauce to go with them, but I am open for suggestions.
If you have another idea for a sauce or topping, feel free to post it.

 

[8bit]

Thanks for the heads-up. Reading about the preparation of pastrami, I would have imagined that the taste is more in the direction of stron smoked ham rather than corned beef.

I can't stand corned beef, it's nasty.

The only thing I've found similar to Pastrami is Rindsaftschinken(Juicy Beef Ham for our American readers) in some Edeka supermarkets. It's not quite the same, but has a nice flavour not entirely unlike Pastrami. It is more like a smoked ham though.

Oh and Edeka also has Sunny brand peanut butter, it's the only one I've seen and as you say, it's good for Satays.

 

[Mallika]

Onkel, I made the Salmon Wellington last night for my in-laws and they just raved about it! Thought you would like to know.

Thanks for the recipe.

Edited to add: I made them into fishies and pretty much went wild on "decorating" them. We all had a good time doing the "Fishy fishy ... where is the fishy?" scene from the Monty Python movie. :lol

 

[ChryZ]

 

[OnkelC]

:lol :lol :lol

Mallika, as much as I would like to take the kudos for the wonderful Salmon Wellington, it was ChryZ and ChryZ alone who has prepared this work of cooking mastery. So you made him sad and me too for getting undeserved credit.

Better give him all of the credit and affection. ChryZ really deserves it.

 

[Mallika]

Oh my. ChryZ -- I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive my mistake. I wasn't paying attention.

The fishies were YUMMY and you are a wonderful person and nice and kind andandandand... *babble*

Well, here's some love.

Thank you for the wonderful recipe. My in-laws loved it. ^_^

 

[onion_pixy]

Maybe I'll go ahead and prepare a portion of pb on my own, it does not seem too complicated to make it.

I love this thread, its so interesting to learn what people aroudn the world eat, or don't. I can't imagine a life with out PB&J :lol Please try it, its so tasty. I suggest toasting the bread first so the PB&J gets warm and melty. Also, it's easy to make your own peanut butter or any nut butter really. Just grind them in the food processor and add in a small bit of flavorless oil or peanut oil

At health food shops by me they have large grinders filled with all kinds of nuts and you can grind your own fresh into a container. Almond is my favorite and Cashew butter is also to die for. I have also made pistachio butter. mmmmmmm

example of grinder.

now for the quiche!!! I never use a recipe for a quiche, and I make them a lot I like to think of it as a custard with yummie things suspended in it. So bascially there are two parts, the custard and the fillings. You can make the custard as rich as you want to by changing the ratio of eggs to dairy and by using different creams or milks. For this quiche I used 3 eggs (jumbo, the store was out of large so it was close to 4 eggs really) and 1 +1/4 cup of half and half. You can play around until you get something that is to your preference of taste and dietary concern.

Sorry about the imperial measurements, its all I got. Half and Half is half cream, half milk. Is that sold outside of the US? I have no idea, but of course you could mix that yourself. Enough about the custard! on to the fillings. I usually use what I have around the house or what looks good in the store. I was at the market yesterday and they had the MOST amazing leeks so I grabbed one of them. I had some ham and cheese lying around. I always keep cans of artichoke hearts on hand and I love them, so I tossed some of them in at the last minute. Oh, NON marinated please

so here is the final recipe, I think

3 jumbo eggs
1 1/4 Cup 1/2 & 1/2
1 Cup Sharp Aged Provolone shredded.
1/4 C cubed ham (would have added more if I had it)
1 leek
about 6 artichoke hears in brine. Are canned artichoke hearts availble everywhere? Please ask if you don't know what this ingredient is.
salt and pepper to taste
few grinds fresh nutmeg

a word about nutmeg. I didn't add it this time, as I coudlnt find my nutmeg nut. Its best to add if you can tho. DO NOT use the pre ground stuff from a can. Its better to go without if its not fresh IMHO. I LOVE nutmeg.

ok, enough broing chit chat. On with the show. Oh, I am a sucky photographer

First the goods, minus artichokes as they were a last minute addition.

chop yer leeks.

cook them in small bit of butter til glassy.

They got a little too brown, but no big deal. Put in a mixing bowl to cool

Add to the bowl the rest of the ham, cheese and artichoke hearts, this will help the leeks cool. You don't want to add raw eggs to anything thats warm, the eggs will begine to coagulate and we dont want that. Yet Give everything a good mix and let sit. Sorry I have no pics of the cheese being grated, the artichokes and ham being cut up or everything in the bowl together. I was doing that while cooking the leeks. bad mise en place I know. But I was tired! I couldnt find the cheese grater so I ended up dicing it with my knife. I actaully went to culinary school years ago, (dropped out after a year) so i have mad knife skillz :lol ok, not really. but I can still do a decent brunoise, which is what I did to the cheese. Here is what the artichokes look like. Sorta. http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/443327/2/istockphoto_443327_artichoke_hearts.jpg

Time to prepare the pans. I wanted to take this to work so I used foil pans. Oh, did I mention I don't use crust? Ive been making my quiches crustless for so long I forget they are even supposed to have them. I figure the fat don't use in the crust is more cheese/cream I can have in the quiche. So butter the pans and add the filling to them. Trust me, you wont even miss it.

I wasn't sure how much the pan could take, so after pouring in the custard I decided to only use one pan This pan ended up with twice that amount of filling, and I tossed the other pan out .



Time for the custard. Now beat the eggs and 1/2 & 1/2, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl. I used the same one that I mixed the filling in. Less to wash you know! Then, pour over filling and give a small stir. I like to have some filling poking out the top, so it gets nice and brown and has a bumpy "rustic" texture.

action shot! Mine aren't nearly as nice as Onkles tho

Into the over. 375F for about 40 minutes. I would cook at 350F for 35 minutes by my oven SUCKS SO BAD, the thermostat is wack. Use your judgement here. and we're done. The pan bent a bit when I was trying to cut a peice. thats why it's slid away from the pan. These were very flimsy pans I wouldnt use them again. But I had them laying around. Thats the beauty of quiche to me, just whatever is laying around floating in cream and milk How can you go wrong with that!

It was quite tasty, a bit salty tho as the cheese is quite salty. I shouldn't have added salt to the custard. Still quite edible tho.


after doing all that. I decided to marinate some left over tofu I had lying around. Quite ambitious wasn't i! :lol


marinade ingredients are Dark soy sauce, schewan peppercorns, ginger juice and chinese five spice (not pictured) I would have liked to use fresh ginger but I didnt have any, it's shelf life is so short. I keep "ginger juice" around for when I don't. It's a fair substitute. A word about dark soy, its very concentrated so I added quite a bit of water to keep this from being to salty and overpowering. You could easily use regualr soy in its place and skip the water. If I had regular soy on hand that is what I would have used. I just eyeballed everything, til it smelled/tasted/looked right. I will dry off the peices tonight, lightly coat them in rice flour and pan fry them.Yumm, I can hardly wait for dinner now! :lol


tofu and marinade ingredients, and into the fridge it goes.

 

[Cornballer]

onion_pixy - thanks for the Tofu marinade. I have an unused chunk left over from my Mapu-Tofu the other night, and I was trying to figure out how to use it. So after marinading, you just dry, flour it, and then pan-fry? I guess I'll give this a try tonight.

 

[onion_pixy]

To be honest I've never done the tofu before! I have pan fried it, but only without the marinate or flour.

There is a small Chinese "food boutique" that I go to sometimes. They sell small pre packated food and baked goods to go. They also serve hot meals in, its a Chinese style place.

Anyway, they have this cold marinated tofu that is TO DIE FOR. The to go package has the ingredient list, and it was just soy and five spice, it also appears to have been fried and lightly coated in something. Very very slight coating, it's not crispy at all. It'sserved cold, soaking in a bit of the marinade. Im hoping agasint all hopes that this will be a sufficient knock off as its inconvient to keep buying it at the shop. and expensive :lol

I tasted a piece of the tofu last night after it had been in the marinade for a bit and it tasted right. I had to add the peppercorns and gigner cos I like some spice. The beauty of tofu, you can eat it raw to check your seasoning! Im worried it might be in the marinade too long, as it will be about 24 hours total. I'll post pics tonight after I fry it up for dinner

 

[Cornballer]

Ha! I didn't know it was new to you as well. Ok, I'll give it a whirl tonight, too, and we can compare results. Mine will only be in the marinade for a couple of hours, though. I might use some strangely labeled spice packet that I guy at my workplace gave me. It's got the usual ingredients (szechuan peppercorns, five-spice, etc...), so that might do the trick. I'll probably throw some green onions in there for good measure, too.

Good luck!

 

[ChryZ]

Oh my. ChryZ -- I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive my mistake. I wasn't paying attention.

The fishies were YUMMY and you are a wonderful person and nice and kind andandandand... *babble*

Well, here's some love.

Thank you for the wonderful recipe. My in-laws loved it. ^_^

LOL, no worries. I knew right away that our thoroughly honest OnkelC would sort this out

I'm glad you guys liked the dish.

Thanks for the cute reaction, check out my honey&garlic pork ... I bet, it's as sweet as you are

 

[Cornballer]

Check out my honey&garlic pork

Your Honey & Garlic Pork recipe is goooooooooood. I made it last week.

 

[OnkelC]

onion_pixy, thank you very much for your WORTHY CONTRIBUTION! That looks like a fine quiche topping. Have you tried it with a pizza dough underneath it? It would be a nice addition.The marinated tofu also looks nice, I appreciate experimenting around. To try out new stuff is what makes a good cook.

So, let's cook.
I prepared another incarnation of the "Workday Bolognese" tonight, but instead of red wine, I went the fruitier route and used some water and ketchup for it. The secret and main ingredient of a good and traditional bolognese sauce is time. It should cook on low heat for one to two hours or longer to achieve the optimal taste. The time factor renders it useless for after work cooking, though, as the wife and I do not want to eat at 10pm. The following preparation substitues the taste of a genuine bolognese to the best possible, but takes significantly shorter time. The preparation time for this was about 70 minutes from the first pic to first plate served.

These are the ingredients:

1/2lb minced meat (half beef, half pork),
1/2lb pasta of choice (I had short maccaroni),
1 can of tomatoes,
one medium sized onion,
one large garlic clove,
one stock cube,
one carrot,
one piece (1/8lb) celery root, can be substituted with the same amount of sliced celery stalks,
salt, pepper and triple concnetrated tomato puree (not pictured),
some grated parmesan, Grana Padano or other aromatic Italian cheese of choice.

First, put a large pot with salted water on the stove and heat it.
Prepare the vegetables(not much typing from me as the cat occupied my right hand):

Heat a small pot with some olive oil, then add the meat and let it take a bit of color. Then add the onions and the garlic, stir fry them along with the meat and add the carrots and celery:

The water for the pasta should be boiling right now. Do not add the pasta yet.

Add a glass of cold water to the sauce and cook loose the roast substances on the bottom of the pot. Add the stock cube, the tomato puree, ketchup, a hint of oregano and some concentrated tomato puree and mix thoroughly:

Finish line:
let the sauce reduce on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Rule of thumb for the sauce: It is ready when the minced meat shows on the surface of the sauce:

Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions.

DONE!
Pour and rinse the noodles and serve with the sauce and some grated cheese on top:

Enjoy! from Bonn.

Feedback and comments are heavily encouraged!

Keep'em coming!

 

[OnkelC]

No dish from me today, as it is restaurant friday.
Any wishes for the weekend dishes?

 

[NinSoX]

You sure know how to eat. I need to try to avoid this thread as I've gained 15 pounds the last few months (from 145 lb to 160). :lol

I'm not sure if you've done it before but have you used curry as your recipe before? I tried it last time as an experiment (curry with beef and onions) and it was artery cloggingly good.

 

[ChryZ]

I made Hong Kong Curry Chicken last tuesday.

It was my first take on the dish and flavours were a bit off. I'll report back when I managed to make it yummy.

 

[OnkelC]

You sure know how to eat. I need to try to avoid this thread as I've gained 15 pounds the last few months (from 145 lb to 160). :lol

Hi NinSoX. Thank you for the feedback.
Good (as in pleasing and tasty) homemade food is one of the things that keep me ticking; cooking on your own is a way of contemplation and leaving the workday behind. Also, it is a good feeling if a recipe comes out well and the people around you are pleased by your dishes. Concerning the weight issue, rest assured that all ze pictures in here are 100% fat and sugar free, with minimum carbohydrates:lol.
But honest, if you use fresh ingredients and normal amounts of oil/fats, you will fare better (calorie-wise) with homemade stuff than with convenience food, take-aways or deep frozen stuff.

I'm not sure if you've done it before but have you used curry as your recipe before? I tried it last time as an experiment (curry with beef and onions) and it was artery cloggingly good.

To my shame, the only curry dish I prepared in here so far was the “Pork fillet Indian style”, which is about as authentic as a Bratwurst Naan :lol. Not to forget the Currywurst.

Both ChryZ (as he has proven above) and also bovo with the vegetarian Kedgeree are much more worthy experts on the far east/exotic front, and every new contribution from a new contender is welcome!

As I had the cat sitting on me the better part of yesterday night, it was difficult for me to type, but I want to add the following to onion_pixys post from yesterday:

I love this thread, its so interesting to learn what people aroudn the world eat, or don't. I can't imagine a life with out PB&J Please try it, its so tasty. I suggest toasting the bread first so the PB&J gets warm and melty. Also, it's easy to make your own peanut butter or any nut butter really. Just grind them in the food processor and add in a small bit of flavorless oil or peanut oil

I will so try this out, that sounds like a recipe I read yesterday.

Half and Half is half cream, half milk. Is that sold outside of the US? I have no idea, but of course you could mix that yourself.

Such a readymade mix is uncommon (in Germany), the milk and cream are sold strictly separately. The same goes for the “half cream/double cream” variety. The only cream on sale here would be considered, according to wikipedia , the whipping cream (US) or double cream (UK) variant, with a fat content, depending on manufacturer and season of the year, between 30% and 35%.
Other common cream related ingredients are crème fraiche, sour cream (10%-15% total fat) and “Schmand” with 20%-25% total fat.

Are canned artichoke hearts availble everywhere? Please ask if you don't know what this ingredient is.

Canned artichoke hearts are a common ingredient over here, but mainly used as an ingredient for salads or as a pizza topping.

Spoiler

Message to silent readers: This would be a good opportunity to post your questions! Don’t be shy!

Any wishes for the weekend dishes? So far, I got a red wine cream as a dessert on the wish list, as well as filled green bell peppers. As I am not too fond of the latter, Alternatives are welcome!

 

[ChryZ]

OnkelC, that pretty much how I'm doing my bolognese too. I like to add a little red wine and balsamic vinegar to it though.

Your quiche looks pretty tasty, onion_pixy ... no idea why, but I've never made quiche so far, something for the to-do-list!


Yesterday I've cooked:

Sake Teriyaki Donburi
(rice bowl with teriyaki salmon,
swiss chard with miso/sesame dressing
and hot korean chili paste braised veggies)

It's not a classic donburi combo, this arrangement is something that I came up with.
It sports some nice flavours that work very well together ... here we go:

main ingredients:

2 X small salmon filet
6 TBSP teriyaki marinade
1 CUP cooked japanese short grain rice

side dish #1 ingredients:
(swiss chard with miso/sesame dressing aka goma-ae)

1 X swiss chard (exchangeable with spinach, green bean, etc)
1 TBSP veg oil
2 TBSP roasted sesame
2 TBSP miso
2 TBSP mirin
2 TBSP honey
1 TBSP rice wine
1-4 TBSP water or rice wine
1/2 TSP soy sauce
1 TSP rice wine vinegar

side dish #2 ingredients
(hot korean gochujang braised veggies)

1/3 X cucumber (exchangeable with zucchini, swiss chard stems, etc)
1 X handful soybean sprouts (optional)
1 TBSP gochujang
2 TBSP thai fish sauce, anchovies stock or strong ichiban dashi
2 TBSP mirin
2 TBSP rice wine
1 TBSP honey
1 TSP roasted sesame

marinate the salmon with teriyaki sauce for 15-30 min, get the rice cooker going

wash the chard and cucumber, chop'em up, then blanch the chard with boiling water,
swiss chard is not as delicate as spinach, 3-4 min are okay, drain hot water, quench
with cold water and gently press the remaining liquid out of it

combine all side dish #2 ingredients in a small pan, except the sprouts and sesame

bring to boil for a minute or two, then reduce heat to simmer and let it braise away

prep the goma-ae (miso/sesame dressing), combine all remaining side dish #1 ingredients

in a food processor blend until smooth, season to taste, some miso pastes are pretty salty,
adjust the seasoning accordingly or go for 1 TBSP less miso, 1 TBSP more sesame

have everything else ready by now, because the salmon will require your full attention,
use paper towel to pet-dry the salmon, too much marinade on it would carbonize, the result
would be a black and bitter crust

oil the pan, crank up the heat, add the filets and flip them after a few seconds
to sear from both sides, then lower the heat to medium

back to the gochujang braised veggies for a second, just drop the sprouts on top

keep a close eye on the salmon, it's better to flip than to burn it

when the salmon is almost done (check for pinkness on the sides of the filets),
then deglaze the pan with a small splash of rice wine, don't drown the fish,
just add enough to have a thin film of liquid in the pan, flip the filets in
the deglaze, lower the heat to low, add another sip of teriyaki marinade and
flip the filets in it while watching carefully for caramelization, again too
much heat and the sugar of the marinade will burn to black and bitter coal

check back on the veggies, if it's too runny crank up the heat and evaporate some
liquid until there is just a thick syrup-like sauce left, this will take just a moment

arrange all items in a bowl of rice, dress the blanched swiss chard with miso dressing
and sprinkle some sesame on top of the gochujang braised veggies





Itadakimasu!

 

[OnkelC]

Thanks for this.
I usually prepare the bolognese with red wine, but I felt like trying out the ketchup route because we had no red wine suitable for cooking at hand. It was surprisingly good btw.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

I made Hong Kong Curry Chicken last tuesday.

It was my first take on the dish and flavours were a bit off. I'll report back when I managed to make it yummy.

Please do!

I haven't joined in in a while as I've been travelling and a bit crook, I think I'll post something early next week though.

 

[ChryZ]

Thanks for the kind comments. I really appreciate it.

 

[onion_pixy]

Ohhhh that salmon bowl looks so good! I want that for lunch right now :lol

I had never thought about peanut butter and cheese until I saw Onkel's sammie post here. Well, yesterday at work there was a left over cheese and cracker tray from some clients. So I made up some cambazola and peanut butter on crackers. It was VERY VERY GOOD! A fabulous combo I must say.

I was about to post a Wiki link to Cambozola just in case it was not widely known, and I see it's from Bavaria! Learn something new every day! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambozola


I didnt get home in time to fry up the tofu. Hopefully tonight

 

[Cornballer]

I didnt get home in time to fry up the tofu. Hopefully tonight

I ended up going out for Vietnamese, so I didn't fry mine, either. Yours is going to have the super-marinade by the time you get around to it.

 

[OnkelC]

onion_pixy:
congratulations on your experimenting courage! I'll try some jelly on my pb to show myself worthy!:lol

Some impressions from tonights dinner out:

Beef Carpaccio:

Tagliatelle with Salmon and a Pernod/Dill sauce:

Keep'em coming!

 

[OnkelC]

Late night PRO TIP update (brought to you by insomnia and late night tv cooking shows):

To check out the doneness of a steak without cutting it open, you can use the "rule of thumb".

This is done by comparing how the steak reacts to pressure to the reference of firmly pressing the different fingers against the thumb of the same hand (imagine it like forming a ring with them), while checking the stiffness of the muscle right below the thumb on the palm of your hand with the index finger of the other hand.

The conversion chart would look like this:

thumb-index finger: rare/english
thumb-middle finger: rare to medium
thumb-ring finger: medium to done
thumb-pinky finger: well done

Good night and keep'em coming.

 

[OnkelC]

Sneak peek of the weekend schedule:
Today, we'll prepare some pork roast in a dark beer sauce with dumplings and Brussels sprouts as side dishes. As a dessert, I'll prepare some red wine cream (convenience style).
And I'll prepare a German cheese cake without flour.

Sundays dish will be some cold cuts from todays pork roast, served on homemade bread rolls. As a dessert, I'll prepare a dessert after a recipe from fellow GAFfer EGM92.

AAAND, as a tribute to the podcast of some IRATE gamer, there will be an alternative preparation of a casserole to hate on.

Stay tuned and keep yours coming.

 

[OnkelC]

A small preview of things to come later tonight:

Stay tuned.

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Oh, I'm here to funk this thread all up with lazy style cooking!

Simple 15 Minute: The Pizza for One

Ingredients:

Ingredients can vary depending on what you find delicious!

However I strongly advocate Aladdin's seasoned Focaccia wraps. Unless you want to season your own.

I prefer two tablespoons of sauce. Just right for me. I prefer saucy wenches, not pizza.

Next step, put it together:

Sauce > Cheese > Bacon > Cheese > Pepperoni > Olives > Cheese

Bake for 15 Minutes around 375.

You win a pizza!

For about $20 you can have several tasty one sitting pizzas through the week, made to order.

I'll try to post some more involved stuff, unfortunately my kitchen is limited to a two burner electric range, toaster oven, microwave, and George Foreskin Grill. :\

 

[OnkelC]

:lol :lol :lol

Thank you for that classy work, Take Out Bandit! Really cool gif use and a good idea for the QnD pizza creation. Consider yourself a WORTHY CONTRIBUTOR!

 

[OnkelC]

So, let‘s bake a cake. German „Käsekuchen“ (Cheesecake) that is. As I have learned, the main ingredient used in this part of the world, the „Quark“ is uncommon in the US of A, so it might be a huge difference in taste to the american cheesecake.
The German cheesecake is considered a must at every bakery/pastry store. I would go so far to say that it is, along with the Black Forest Cherry Gateau, the most popular cake over here. It comes in many different preparations, the most common are with or without raisins baked in and with a crumble dough containig the custard filling.

I got the following recipe from a fellow lawyer, so it is safe to say that it is legally great! :lol The twist with this recipe is that no flour is used for making the cake, and the cake itself comes without a pastry case.

The ingredients are:

-1000 grams (2.2lb) low fat „Quark“,
-375 grams (13 3/8oz) sugar,
-125 grams (4.4oz) butter,
-4 medium to large eggs,
- two tablespoons of wheat semolina,
- one pack of vanilla pudding,
-one small packet of baking powder,
-one small packet of vanilla sugar,
- the juice of one medium to large lemon.
As with every cake recipe, it is strongly advised to stick to the given weights, measurements and amounts. It is less about the absolute amount of a certain ingredient, but more about the proportions of the ingredients to each other.
Special utensils needed:
a spring form (28cm / 11in diameter, pictured above), some butter/margarine to grease it,

a mixer,
a kitchen scale, a juicer and a mixing bowl (pictured below).

Preparation is dead simple. First, pre-heat the oven to the following temperature:
Electro/Gas oven:
175 degrees Celsius (345 degrees Fahrenheit)
Convection/fan oven:
160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit)
Cut up the butter a bit, this will facilitate the mixing process. Since butter is sold as 250 gram sticks over here, there was no need to do any weighing for me, just cut it in half and put it in the mixing bowl:

Add the other ingredients except for the lemon juice:

?(the semola),

Now roll the lemon under the the palm of your hand. this will maximize the juice output. Squeeze it with a juicer or, if you are stronger than me, with your bare hands:

Do not throw away the lemon peels yet, you will need them for the PRO TIP that follows.

Mix the ingredients in the mixing bowl for 30 seconds on low speed, then for two minutes on high speed. Add the lemon juice and mix for another two to three minutes until you get a smooth dough/custard:

Now prepare the spring form with butter or margarine (Don‘t be puzzled, dear readers, the form I used has a glass bottom). This is done best with the bare hands. When done, remove the excess grease:

PRO TIP:
To get the grease off of your hands after preparing the form, rub your hand down with the leftover lemon before washing, this will get you rid of the fat FAST:

Pour the dough in the form:

Now put it in the oven. let it bake for 60 to 70 minutes. When you are restrained to a hot air oven, carefully turn the cake clockwise after 30-40 minutes:

When the cakes edge is golden to medium brown and the center starts to crackle a bit, take it out of the oven and let it cool down for about 15 minutes before removing the outer ring of the spring form:

Finish Line:
Now comes the difficult part that will require a lot of patience and strenght of will from you: let the cake rest (best under a cover) over night!
Especially difficult in those DST challenged parts of the world, as it added another hour of waiting time today:

DONE!
Have a nice piece for breakfast:

Enjoy! from Bonn.
Comments are appreciated.

The preparation of pork roast with a dark beer gravy is next.

 

[OnkelC]

So, let‘s cook.
We prepared another German classic yesterday, the „Schweinebraten in Dunkelbiersoße“ (pork roast with a dark beer sauce/gravy). Side dishes were potato dumplings and brussels sprouts, which compliment to the strong and slighty malty taste of the gravy. This is a nice autumn/winter dish, perfectly suited for consumption after a longer walk in the woods or as a solid base for a hefty Helloween booze night!
I prepared more roast than we were able to consume, as I will make some cold cuts from the leftover roast, which will be served with homemade bread rolls tonight.
In spite of being called „pork roast“, most of the cooking process actually involves braising, with the oven roasting occurring only in the last 15-20 minutes of the preparation. A decent pork roast is no fast food, the whole preparation takes about 60-80 minutes in total.

The ingredients are:

For the roast itself:
- 750 grams (1.6lb) of lean pork (preferably a loin cut),
-one bottle of „Schwarzbier“ (wiki),
-0,5 litres (16 fl oz) of water,
-some neutral oil for frying,
-two stock cubes,
-one tomato,
-one onion,
-hot/sharp mustard, like Dijon or Düsseldorf flavors,
-two or three bay leaves,
-salt and pepper,
-some gravy thickener (can be replaced by mixing some starch with water),
-two tablespoons Creme fraiche and about two inches of concentrated tomato puree (not pictured)
For the side dishes:
-dumplings of choice (we had some miniature potato dumplings, but any side dish will work out fine, even potatoes or noodles),
-brussels sprouts,
-two tablespoons of butter (not pictured) and salt.

No special utensils are needed, but a cast iron pot with matching lid and a hairnet sieve are recommended.

First, wash the meat under cold water and dry it with some kitchen towels and remove any bone/tendon leftovers from the underside:

Cross-cut the top of the roast, then rub the meat down with salt, pepper and a good helping of mustard:

Pre-heat the pot to max (spritz-test!), add some neutral oil , then add the peeled and halved onion, the meat and the whole tomato:

Fry the meat from all sides for a few seconds each to sear the meat and thus keeping it juicy:

Now add half of the dark beer, the bay leaves and the stock cubes. Put a lid on it and let it braise for roughly 20 minutes on medium temperature while occasionally turning the meat:

Now is a good moment to prepare the veggies. Wash the brussels sprouts and cut off the stem whilre removing the outer leaves and occasional brown spots:

Put them in a pot with salted water. Do not cook them now.

After about 20 minutes, the liquid in the roast pot should have cooked down to a quarter of the original amount. Add the rest of the beer and braise for another 20 minutes with closed lid:

Pre-heat the oven to about 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit).

After another 20 minutes,put the meat in the oven and let it finally roast for another 15-20 minutes. The malt contained in the beer has covered on the outside of the meat, so the roasting will give a nice crust to the pork:

Finish Line:
Start the cooking of the brussels sprouts and prepare the dumplings according to the poackage instructions (no pics, sorry).

Add the water to the sauce and deglaze the bottom of the pot by stirring for a few moments. Pour the sauce through the hairnet sieve into a smaller pot and strain until only the solid parts are left in the sieve:

Put the sauce back on the stove and let it cook again. Spice it to your likes and add the gravy thickener and finally the creme fraiche and tomato puree:

Take the roast from the oven and cut 1/4 to 1/2inch thick slices:

DONE!
Serve with the dumplings and brussels sprouts and a good helping of gravy:

The perfect beverage to accompany this dish would be the beer used for the sauce.

If you got some gravy left over, you can freeze it and use it later as a pasta sauce or as a company for other meat dishes.

Guten Appetit! from Bonn.
Dessert preparation is next.
Comments are welcome.

 

[ChryZ]

Awesome cake! I also got a good cheesecake recipe, but it's a lot more loaded with calories. I definitely going to give your version a try!

 

[Wraith]

I just wanted to thank all of the contributors to this thread. So far I've tried OnkelC's cheese-stuffed focaccia and ChryZ's Kung Pao and both have been really excellent. Since I'm a total novice, the pictures and detailed instructions have really been awesome. I didn't really start cooking for myself until I got my own apartment a couple of weeks ago, and you guys have given me a great way to eat well despite my limited experience. Thanks all and keep up the good work!

 

[OnkelC]

ChryZ, thank you for the kudos.
If/when one can get a hold of genuine lean "Quark", it is worth a try, the taste should differ dramatically from recipes with cream cheese.

I just wanted to thank all of the contributors to this thread. So far I've tried OnkelC's cheese-stuffed focaccia and ChryZ's Kung Pao and both have been really excellent. Since I'm a total novice, the pictures and detailed instructions have really been awesome. I didn't really start cooking for myself until I got my own apartment a couple of weeks ago, and you guys have given me a great way to eat well despite my limited experience. Thanks all and keep up the good work!

Posts like this are the main reason for me to keep on posting my stuff. Thank you very much and welcome to this humble thread. Keep us posted of your results!

Update as of 5.45pm:
Due to a heavy case of procrastination, the bread rolls are cancelled. We will have the rest of the roast with gravy, noodles and potatoes tonight.

 

[ChryZ]

That roast is looking great with that sauce and everything! *drool*


So ... I've cooked up some mexican stuff:

Enchiladas De Pollo
(chicken enchiladas)

Frijoles Con Chipotles
(beans in chipotle sauce)

Arroz Verde
(green rice)

Guacamole
(avocado mash)

4-6 servings,
2h prep and cooking time,
2h of back-breaking multitasking

ingredients #1 (chicken enchiladas)

6-8 X tortilla
6 X chicken breast halves (3 whole)
2 X red chile
6-8 X lime wedge
2 CUP tomoato juice/paste
2 CUP shredded cheese
2-3 CUP chicken stock
1/2 CUP cilandro
1 CUP sour cream
1 CUP shredded cheese
1 TBSP dried oregano
2 TS ground cumin seeds
1-2 TS salt, pepper, sugar to taste

ingredients #2 (beans in chipotle sauce)

250 G pinto beans (soaked over night, ~8.8oz)
250 G skinned tomatos (use drained juice for enchildas, ~8.8oz)
1/2 CUP minced bacon
2-3 CUP meat stock
2 X dried chipotle chile (soaked over night)
3 X garlic clove
1 X red onion
3 TBSP olive oil or lard
3 TS ground cumin seeds
1-2 TS salt, pepper, sugar to taste

ingredients #3 (green rice)

2 CUP chopped spinach
1 CUP cilandro
1 CUP long grain rice
2 CUP vegetable broth
1/2 CUP parsley
2 X onion
3 X garlic clove
3 TBSP olive oil
1-2 TS salt, pepper to taste

ingredients #4 (avocado mash)

2 X avocado
1 X lime
1-2 TBSP salt to taste
1-2 TBSP garlic powder to taste (optional)
1-2 TBSP onion powder to taste (optional)
1-2 TBSP black pepper to taste (optional)

first roast the cumin seeds, then grind them up

make sure to soak the beans and chipotle chile overnight, strain the skinned tomatos,
keep the tomato juice for later, open the chipotles and remove the seeds

first the beans, they take the longest to cook (~90min), oil/lard pot, saute bacon &
onion & chipotle, add minced garlic when the onions are soft, saute for a moment until
fragrant, don't burn the garlic

chop the skinned tomatos, add them together with stock and beans, bring to boil,
then lower the heat, simmer with closed lid, stir gently every now and then

next the rice, mince onions and garlic, mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl

blend the content of the bowl unitl somewhat smooth

heat a big pan or pot with lots of surface, saute onions in oil, add minced garlic when
the onions are soft, saute for a moment until fragrant, don't burn the garlic, then add
the rice

stir-fry for a moment, a minute or two is enough

add the spinach/cilantro/parsley/broth mix, bring to boil, then lower the heat,
simmer with closed lid

grab a pan that got at least the size of your tortillas, add broth and chicken,
bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer

prep the guacamole in the meantime, core avocados, spoon out the flesh, mix, mash and
season with the remaining guacamole ingredients, set aside with a core in the middle

check the pan and pots, stir the beans and check the doneness of the rice, adjust heat
accordingly, the rice and beans are very happy on low heat in case that they are done
before the enchiladas

strain the chicken and stock, place a cup of chicken stock in a bowl, leave the rest
in the same pan that you've cooked the chicken in, add cumin, tomato juice/paste and
red chile (seeds removed) to the bowl

blend until smooth

add the chile smoothie back to the pan, bring to boil, then lower the heat, simmer,
season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano and cumin

shred chicken, prep cheese and sour cream

mix chicken, cheese, sour cream and season with salt and pepper, pre-heat oven

mince the red onion, soften the tortillas (microwave for 40-60 sec will do the trick),
then get the pan with the chile sauce, dip each tortilla in the sauce, fill with chicken
and close them up

repeat until all the stuff is gone, spread rest of sauce on top, place in oven and bake
for 5-10 min, all the stuff is cooked already, it's just to warm up everything

check the sidedishes, check the doneness of the beans, season them with salt, pepper
and sugar, remove the chipotle chile

plate all items and garnish with sour cream and cilantro






¡Buen apetito!

 

[Deleted member 1235]

jesus chryZ, I mean, my god.

*incredulous applause*

possible placeholder post if my meal isn't screwed (I'm learning and I don't feel right about this one)

 

[Mallika]

Sake Teriyaki Donburi

ChryZ, I think I love you. (We'll keep it a secret from my husband, eh? )

 

[OnkelC]

ChryZ: AWESOME as always. Please check you PM.

So, let's cook.

I planned on making some bread rolls as a base for the cold cuts from yesterdays roast, but was too lazy to do it. As we had some gravy left over, I made some potatoes and noodles for a "sloppy seconds", so to speak . Better mannered folks can call it a "Roast reprise" instead:lol

I cooked some potatoes:

and some fusilli:

Then I whipped out one of the "Secret Weapons of ze Onkel" - a trusty ceramic knife

Knives with a ceramic blade are the sharpest blades one can buy, putting even a razor to shame. They are significantly harder than steel blades, nearing the hardness of a diamond, and keep the sharpness much longer. Their downside is that they are extremely brittle and shatter in pieces when dropped. Also, the blades edge will chip easily if used on a metal or glass surface. A ceramic knife should therefore only be used at delicate tasks, like making cold cuts, for example :

Finish Line:
Heat the gravy and warm up the pork cuts in it:

DONE!
Serve alongside the noodles and potatoes:

Guten Appetit! from Bonn.
Comments and marriage proposals are always welcome.

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Thanks to Onkel's encouragement I'm back with a second installment!

Simple 15 Minute Volume 2: The Pancake and Chocolate Chip

Ingredients:

Aunt Jemima just add water mix
Vanilla Extract
Chocolate Chips

Step 1: Just add water!

I mix the pancake batter by eye, if you follow the directions you'll generally have more than a serving for one person. However today I am making breakfast for the rest of the week, so I'll make a bunch. You add water to taste. Start slow, and add more as needed. I prefer to mix the batter with a little more water so it's thinner and the pancakes are less bulky. You can work with less water for a more dense pancake.

While mixing the mix, pre-heat your pan on low-medium heat.

Step 2: Add vanilla extract.

I use the cap to measure. Today I used two caps full. About a teaspoon.

If you use, say about a half a cup of mix, you will want to use just one cap of extract.

Step 3: Make a pancake!

Add butter or non-stick spray to the pan. I use spray as it's easier to work with an 0 calories.

Pour a bit of mix into the pan, keep in mind the liquid will spread; so don't pour too much, or too fast. The cakes I made are about four-five inches around.

Before the pancake cooks too much, go ahead and grab some chocolate chips. I find nine is perfect for this size of cake. Could also be OCD. I arrange the nine chips in three rows.

Or as illustrated above I just spaz out and chocolate chips go flying everywhere.

Let the pancake cook until you see a lot of bubbles in the side facing you. Once you've got a lot of bubbles, the side facing down is pretty well cooked and you're ready to flip that pancake.

Repeat these steps until done.

Here's the stack for the rest of the week. . .

Here is the plating! OH!

Man, those salmon and tofu dishes look good. I need some good simple tofu recipes. Keep them coming.

 

[OnkelC]

Take out Bandit, thank you for your contribution, that is one funny combination.:lol
Have you tried out the pancake recipe from Volume 1 yet? It is made in no time, too.

Keep'em coming!

 

[ChryZ]

Thanks for all the kind feedback!

Mallika, meet me at the motel at 9 ... bring cutlery :lol

OnkelC, I've read your PM and will reply soon.

 

[Doom_Bringer]

So, let's cook.
As a matter of luck, the chicken roaster set up his grill at the supermarket today, so I got half a roast chicken instead of the usual chicken breast. To keep in line with the barbecued flavor of the chicken, I prepared some Chow Mein noodles with veggies, accompanied by the fileted chicken and some eggs.
.

Very nice!

 

[OnkelC]

Thanks for the feedback, Doom_Bringer. Maybe the chicken guy will show up again tomorrow for more short winged goodness.:lol

We will have a veggie dish tonight, made from saisonal produce.
Stay tuned and post yours!

 

[OnkelC]

I just saw that there are only 6 or so more posts until next page. So let's post some random pics/rants/whatever:

 

[OnkelC]

C'mon, give me your best shots! Only 4 posts left till new page! Imagine the faster loading times! Post random shit!

You can do it!

 

[Cornballer]

Must....obey...OnkelC....

 

[Dachande]

Chefs of GAF, help me!

I've just purchased a rice cooker and a shitload of Jasmine rice from the Oriental supermarket. It works beautifully, and also has a steamer function we haven't used much.

We also have 250g of chicken breasts defrosted that needs to be used preferably tonight.

So what I am asking is, given a list of ingredients, what can you guys suggest and help me make? Particularly if you can make the rice more exciting, as I've done fried rice already and have no further ideas.

We have:
* Beef, lamb and chicken Oxo stock cubes
* Chinese five spice
* Soy sauce
* Pasta (but hey, we have rice remember)
* Tin of chopped tomatoes in juice
* Vinegar
* Butter
* (AMAZING) Barbecue sauce
* Some veg - carrot, lettuce, cabbage (steamer)
* The usuals - salt, pepper, olive oil

Tools:
* Wok
* Frying pan
* Pots and pans
* Etc

My tastes tend to fly on the sweet, BBQ side of things (sauce!), and fried chicken is good too. If anyone has any ideas to that end, that's what'd probably get done, but everything would be appreciated and considered, and at the very least done at least once in the future. My housemates will ****in' well get what they get since I'm cooking it.

I am moderately skilled in the kitchen and have some professional experience :O

Also, I'd like to start cooking in about 2-3 hours, so heeeyyyy.

 

[ChryZ]

Chefs of GAF, help me!

I've just purchased a rice cooker and a shitload of Jasmine rice from the Oriental supermarket. It works beautifully, and also has a steamer function we haven't used much.

We also have 250g of chicken breasts defrosted that needs to be used preferably tonight.

So what I am asking is, given a list of ingredients, what can you guys suggest and help me make? Particularly if you can make the rice more exciting, as I've done fried rice already and have no further ideas.

We have:
* Beef, lamb and chicken Oxo stock cubes
* Chinese five spice
* Soy sauce
* Pasta (but hey, we have rice remember)
* Tin of chopped tomatoes in juice
* Vinegar
* Butter
* (AMAZING) Barbecue sauce
* Some veg - carrot, lettuce, cabbage (steamer)
* The usuals - salt, pepper, olive oil

Tools:
* Wok
* Frying pan
* Pots and pans
* Etc

My tastes tend to fly on the sweet, BBQ side of things (sauce!), and fried chicken is good too. If anyone has any ideas to that end, that's what'd probably get done, but everything would be appreciated and considered, and at the very least done at least once in the future. My housemates will ****in' well get what they get since I'm cooking it.

I am moderately skilled in the kitchen and have some professional experience :O

Also, I'd like to start cooking in about 2-3 hours, so heeeyyyy.

I just came up with chicken balls in tomato bbq sauce on rice. Ground the chicken, combine with one egg, salt, pepper and bread breadcrumbs. Set up the ricecooker. Heat up a pan, pan-fry the chicken balls in a bit of butter and oil, brown them nicely (add onions if available). Add the chopped tomatoes in juice, a cup of chicken stock, a few spoons of bbq sauce, a spoon of mustard and a teaspoon of vinegar. Lower the heat and simmer to perfection. Season to taste with salt and pepper when almost done, then crack 2-3 eggs on top of it. Serve everything on a bed of rice when the eggs settled ... good luck