Autumn Goodness and #300

It's taken a while to get this one up - but since it officially is post #300 - hiphorray!! I started this blog in September 2006, while we were planning our first trip to Germany - and really kicked into it in the six-month afterglow. Now, it's become an ongoing spreading funnel that captures our various crazy interests in Germany.

I'll admit, that's expanded to include other favorite European cultures: Slovenia, Northern Italy, England, and more. For instance, I'm reading a few books: one is a historical travel essay on the Balkans immediately following the early 90s wars there. The other is a historical spy fiction novel, circa 1938, that currently is displaying the depths of immigrant Parisian culture.

There is a theme here - it's not trying to be who you are not. It's falling in love with specifically what you are not and adding it in - if it fits - like trying on and then buying the clothes. If you looked at my 3-ring binder of recipes, you'd see exactly what I'm talking about.

With that said...a few randoms from this Autumn...

Poffertjes
We feel in love with these little delightful heavenly pastry pancakes in Amsterdam, at a cafe near our hotel (by Westerkirche). We found a pan at Williams Sonoma, Ryan attacked the recipe, and heavenly eating ensued...





Oktoberfest!
While rain ditched our chances to head out to Fredericksburg for their official Oktoberfest, our friends Melissa and Spencer hosted one at their house! The food was delicious and we made Spätzle - homemade, of course - and created through our manual Spätzle maker. Who thinks that trying to squeeze a very bouncy dough through essentially a flat colander that is perched above a big pot of boiling water on a hot gas stove only to get a handful of heavenly dumplings is fun?? We do!





Isaac and the Wine Rack
Often, friends ask if Isaac can talk or if he's really as intelligent as they say. As a proud papa, I think he's very smart! Smart enough to know what things frustrate the heck out of us and lately, it's when he climbs down his cage and jumps on the floor, then runs over to the wine rack, and takes up residence. He thinks it's hilarious but will nip ferociously and growl if you try to pull him out. Rooowrll! I love our little green guy.



Oktober
Not only did we have a beautiful Fall in Austin, but we had plenty of fall activities that made it extra special - two pumpkin carving events, a great Halloween night in (one trick-or-treater...humph), and Nightcrawler Noodles for dinner. They rocked!





So, that wraps up Post #300. I have some Slovenian cooking tips queued up soon!

Tschüß!

Sachertorte

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Ryan decided to make Sachertorte for this month's supper club dessert. Everyone always quickly claims all the other parts - appetizers, main, sides - and leaves desserts wide open for Ryan to offer up a new concoction. Sachertorte, this time.

We have a funny history with Sachertorte: even while we travelled to Vienna (2008), walked by the Sacher cafe, and read about it in guidebooks, we kept walking past because the cafe was full of American tourists. It's like we have a radar in our hands that starts to electrocute us if we get closer. You can pick out the brands on their fanny packs (Polo or Kirkland) or the common color selection (blue umbrella, red windbreaker). Nowadays you just look for a gut and sloppy clothing.

I'm being overly-dramatic, since in intimate situations we've made neat connections with other Americans - like the two sisters we met in Triberg (2006), the only other room taken in our ancient hotel, and they were so excited about their schedule of Black Forest city hopping, seeing more and more churches, and checking off the sites on their guidebook. We all picked out our Cuckoo clocks together, hugged, and said goodbye.

But on that cold evening in Vienna, seeing the bright lights of the Sacher hotel, the gorgeous black dots of cake on everyone's table alongside coffee, it all wanted us to come in and try out the famous 1832 torte...but alas, no, we boogied across the street, around the corner, and out of sight. (We did end up somewhere much more local, with hilarity ensuing.)

So...Sachertorte...Ryan surprised me with the selection, but I was super excited to watch him build his masterpiece. I guess I never realized that the key to the yumminess is the layer of Apricot jam in between the cakes. He bought Hero brand, the best, and he went to town.









More history on Sachertorte.

The result was loved, adored, and eaten by all.

Tschüß!!

Apfelrotkohl

One of the Central Market's in Austin just expanded its German offerings - they even had cute little signs separating the "German" items from the "Thai" novelties. I picked up a few things, but could not pass this packet - and it was tasty!



We also tried out Fabi and Rosi, a new European Bistro in downtown Austin, on the west-side. It was fantastic! Ryan tried to Schnitzel and Spätzle - his first question was, "is it deep fried or pan fried?" Our server, who was a bit blank in general, replied, "pan fried" and so he ordered it. My spätzle is better, in my unbiased opinion, but their Schnitzel was paper thin and fabulous! We will definitely return, although this vegetarian thing makes it super limiting since the only veggie item was a Vegetable Shepherd's Pie. I had that and it was awesome! Other than a bit of Schnitzel and some Proscuitto in Lasagna Rolls that I made for Ryan's family, we've not had a thing and feel great! After seeing about 100 dead chicken heads in a National Geographic article last weekend, it reiterated my feelings.

Tschüß!

Cheater Schweinebraten

On our last trip, we had Schweinebraten no less than three times (as many times as I had Goulash) and it all comes down to pork tasting so good in German cooking. I noticed, though, that many recipes take you on a 2 hour journey that essentially roasts the pork, uses the drippings for gravy, and off you go. But when we ordered it during our trip, it seemed like it was really a pork roast that had not been in the oven and had been first cut into 3/4-inch pieces, sautéed in butter, and then served along Spätzle with a mushroom sauce. Divine!

So, I tried to replicate that off the cuff and did pretty well. Pork roasts are so cheap! Just cut them in 3/4 to 1 inch filets, put some butter in the skillet, and saute them until golden brown (I always use an electronic thermometer to be sure). Don't overdo it, since pork can be cooked "medium" and be safe unlike chicken. Anyone who like their bacon a little on the raw side (Melissa U, I'm talking about you!) can corroborate my story.

In München, we were walking back from the Deutsches Museum on the Tal (just past Isartor) and found the "Maggi Kochstudio"! Also known as the "Haus der MSG" we took a peek at the insane amount of product they have! We are more Knorr boys but couldn't resist not picking up a package of Pffefersoße to bring back with us. We made it this night and it was actually a bit like salty pasty glue! Disappointed.

But the pork turned out great! Onion and broccoli on the side...


A package from my grandpa showed up the other day...full of postcards from Germany that he picked up while serving in WWII. They are so precious and show the various places he lived, including Freising, München, and some places in Österreich! I am excited to share them at some time.

Tschüß!

Isaac loves Späzle!

We brought a package of Maggi Spätzle back from München (they had a company store) and Isaac loved it so much he even licked the spoon!

Grilled Parma Schwein (Pork) Rounds

On Thursday nights, the weekly menu is usually out of sorts. I try to plan around the days...Monday's recipe needs to be quick and easy since Ryan is off all day. Tuesday and Wednesday can be more elaborate since he's not home until later and it gives me time to cook. So Thursday sometimes becomes "FFY" or "Fend For Yourself" night. I grew up in a family of 8 and Thursdays usually were "leftover night" - my favorite night of the week. It was always fun to make a hodgepodge plate of some leftover roast pieces (never a roasted carrot survived the original day), mashed potatoes (with some gelatinous gravy plopped on top), sweet-and-sour pork (takeout from China Platter), a bit of chicken enchiladas (G-ma Peyton's recipe), and homemade chop suey.

In our house, with only two of us, most leftovers are eaten the next day for lunch.

Last Thursday night, the freezer had some frozen pork tenderloins and frozen rolls, and the fridge had remnants of a Parma Proscuitto package (today being the last day to use them) and a few carrots. What to do...



Parma, to me, is the tastiest variation of Proscuitto...so after defrosting the tenderloin legs, I cut them into 1 1/2 inch rounds, wrapped them with a piece of Parma folded in half, stuck a toothpick through it, and generously salted/peppered the centers. I put it on the grill (always get it hot, sear one side for a minute, then flip them over before they stick, and then turn the grill down to medium-low), tossed the carrots in olive oil, salt, and pepper and popped it in the oven.

Voila...



And there were enough leftover rounds for a good lunch the next day. We actually repeated this recipe a few nights ago and reheating the rounds in the oven is even better than the microwave. YUM!

For fun, I gave it a somewhat German/Italian name since the Parma is definitely Italian, but pork always reminds me of Germany.

Tschüß!

Gemüsegulyas (von Schwein)

A good goulash is always perfect for a wintery evening - when I made this last week, it happened to be cold and foggy here in Austin. Although I now write this in the balmy 60s, I'm thinking back on the two cold nights we had Goulash on our recent trip...first, in Ljubljana Slovenia, and the second in Salzburg, Austria.

So, what is goulash? With its hungarian origins, it's basically a meat and vegetable stew or soup...depending on how thick you make it...with the key ingredient being paprika. Traditionalists say that thickening agents should come from fatty meat not flour and taste should come from paprika not tomatoes. I like a good standard chameleon goulash that does a little bit of everything.



I used a recipe from my "The German Cookbook" by Mimi Sheraton, written in the 60s, and the influences of the decade are clearly present. To me, that's a good thing since I am a fan of 60s and 70s based food. I used pork sirloin roast, since it's both flavorful and cheap, and loved the use of whole, peeled tomatoes!

The two aforementioned times I ate it in Europe used game, whether just deer or a mix of deer and wild boar (Carolignian boar, a regional type) and it was amazing. There is always the fear of deer being "gamey" and I frankly don't quite know where I'd go to get some...but maybe we leave that to the Slovenes and Austrians and my memories.



Notice the cute Christmas tablecloth; thankfully it fit on our table. We bought it last year at the city-wide garage sale and couldn't resist it...it is homemade, a cute print, and other than trimming the yarn fringe it needed no other repairs.

Time to figure out what I should do with the leftover bits of Honey Baked Ham that we have. It's been amazing and I know there is a soup or stew in our future...just not sure how the honey aspect will play into it. Hrmmm...

Tschüß!

Leberkäsesemmel

Thought this was a great link about a rather decent german food that, once translated to English, does not sound appealing at all. "Liver Cheese" has no liver and no cheese. More here.

On another note, we see Rick Steves in 3 hours! Woot!

Tschüß!

German Cooking Roundup

We started the month out right with some great Deutsch Essen...when my parents visited, we made Rinderrouladen (which ended up tasting spectacular!!) and then taught my mom how to make Spätzle. She laughed as I donned ovenmitts and rammed the dough through our maker into the boiling water. I know there are some easier contraptions out there...but as Ryan says, it's no fun unless Scott gets burned.

Then, my Mom helped me make Gherkin mit Sauerraum und Dillsoße. It was amazing! Even Ryan tried and liked it, which was a big win.



My parent's visit was fantastic, we really enjoyed them being in our house. We headed out to the LBJ Ranch for a tour of the Texas White House and also did a great 4 mile hike right in our own backyard!



Another night, Ryan and I carbed it up with Knodeln and a packet of Knorr Schwäbische Käsespätzle...wow, what a difference between packet food and homemade food!



Only 20 days until our trip to Europe! I can't wait! Today, being Veteran's Day, I had the day off and worked on train tickets and adding more details to our planning website: http://germany2008.ryanscottsalon.com. Also went to Barnes and Noble to pick up a new Moleskin journal for the trip. My memories in my 2006 journal are precious and I look forward to documenting our experiences again!

Tschüß!

Under 30 days, German Meal Tonight, Train Dilemma Results

I can't believe it's less than 30 days until our whirlwind trip! We are so excited and are also looking forward to the "crunch time" and making sure we've got everything lined up. October was very busy for us, mostly making sure our rental house got the love and attention it needed before the new tenants moved in. It's interesting that all the little things you learn or do incrementally on your own house sure come in handy on when prepping another. Work will continue to be a major focus; unless you're living under a rock, it's both a good and a bad thing to work in the financial industry. Needlesstosay, I am happy to be employed and very busy.

Belatedly, THANK YOU to Adam and c n Heidelberg for your advice and thoughts on my dilemma. I'm going to stick with going through the train ride since we really want to go to Rothenburg, I've endlessly checked flights and other alternatives, and really just need to get moving on this trip. Even cutting the trip in Köln means only one night in Amsterdam...I'm part-Dutch, you know, so snubbing my ancestry is probably a bad thing.

My parents are coming in town today and I'll be entertaining them with a very German meal - Rinderrouladen, Käsespätzle, Gherkin mit Sauerraum und Dillsoße, Salat, Eis. They will be thrilled, they like that type of food. They will be here two nights, leaving on Tuesday; I'm hoping that we can go to Wurstfest over in Gruene (south of Austin). I've always wanted to go!

The clocks moved back this morning - ahh - the extra hour of sleep was nice!

Tschüß!!

Sauerbraten

Finally did it -- yup, marinated (or do you say pickled?) a piece of meat for 4 days...and the results were delectably fantastic. Sauerbraten is one of the most popular Deustch dishes that Amerikaners think of, but it's usually done awfully wrong. Now that I've tried to make it myself, I can see how many failure points are there! Probably the toughest part is drying the meat before you sear it to brown it. It's tough and having the meat tied with butcher's string that has been soaking for four days is even more difficult.

I love a good challenge and this was perfect for me -- the vinegar smell was unmistakable and luckily I did this while Ryan was out in Los Angeles and I had run of the household.



After tying up the meat, you dunk it into a watery, vinegary marinade full of onions, pickling spices, cloves, carrot bits, and more. Then, a few times a day you turn it over -- back and forth.



I used a pretty traditional recipe (from Mimi Sheraton's book) but have since seen several "speedy" Sauerbraten versions that might be interesting to try...

Tschüß!!

Chicken Korma (Huhn Korma) and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce (Kartoffeln in der Tomatensauce)

Another night of Indian food -- this one turned out ok, but not as tasty as the cashew sauce. I think they made it ultra healthy and that took a lot of the really neat flavors away. I also think I've had it with Coconut Milk which makes it sweet. I did like learning how to add yogurt (we used Bulgarian Yogurt, something we get locally...it's so good) without curdling it. You add it tablespoon by tablespoon and it just melts into the mixture and props it up.



Not traveling for work can get me in an exploratory mood - it's so easy to get into a funk with work, home, work, home, work, home, that you forget how cool your city really is and all the fascinating places out there. So, we hit the local Indian food market. It actually is rather nice and situated in a new strip mall.



After walking in, two men greeted us and we started puttering around. We were the only people in there - a nice lady (probably the wife of one of the men) asked if we needed help and I explained we were looking for Curry Leaves. I had thought they would be dried like Bay Leaves, but she took us to a fridge and they are fresh beautiful leaves. She also helped me find Onion Seeds (Nigella), which are these little black seeds. We picked up a huge bag of Gram Masala, a mix of spices used in a lot of currys, for $2.50. The woman explained they get it direct from the factory, no middle person.



I really enjoyed the Potatoes in Tomato Sauce -- they were delicious. For both dishes, I used onions from the local farmer's market. These aren't your traditional bulb onions...they have a thicker stalk on it. Almost like a green onion that was allowed to grow very large. I'm not hitting up the market today, since Ryan leaves tomorrow for California, and I'll have to pick the stinkiest, most vinegary food to make. Sauerbraten anyone??



On another note, Germany did fantastic this week in the Euro 2008 - they skipped by Austria and pounded Portugal. Up next is Turkey. I'm heading to Mother Egans to watch Russia play the Netherlands. My last name is dutch so I suppose I should root for them...

OK - I have a preview for you here -- the most important part of our house has finally been finished...and no, it's not the coffee table (where we honestly eat a lot of our carefully prepared meals...especially when Dancing with the Stars is going on...terrible, huh)...here you go:



Tschüß!!

Schwäbische Rühreier

I love the name of this fairly simple but rewarding dish -- "Schwäbische" points to a regionality of food, much like "Southern Biscuits" means its biscuits done like the Southerners do it. Schwaben (Swabia auf Englisch) is a regional area with quite a fascinating history and culture. Technically, my Baden Baden ancestor falls in the area of Swabia but I don't know if we have any true roots with the Schwaben people. They originally started near the Baltic Sea and migrated during the times of the Romans to settle in present-day Baden-Württemburg and Schwaben. All I can say, is I love the dishes from this region - especially the Schwäbische Spätzle.

This is an egg/breakfast dish that translates as "Swabian Scrambled Eggs with Onions and Croutons." You dice up some bread into little cubes, then fry that slowly with onions in butter. Then on ultra low, pour on the eggs (with a dash of milk) and fold it around until the eggs are done. I like them a little drippy with this dish to be honest!



The recipe calls for salt and pepper to be added before the egg cooks, but I learned from Gordon Ramsey that it may cause the egg to go gray...so add it afterwards. Makes sense to me. And the salted butter helps make sure there is plenty of salt around anyway.



My serving style, which was to just put the pan on the table, was a bit rustic but you can't see the yummy pancakes, turkey bacon, and the rest of the spread.

Last night, we watched The Science of Sleep, which was a fantastic movie - a bit trippy - I loved the fact that part of the movie was in English, Spanish, French. See it all play out does make you think about identity. While I know I'm Utahn (even though I like to proudly say I wasn't born there) I really don't have an identity from there. No regional dishes (Funeral Potatoes?) that I cling to...I know a lot of our recipes come from my Mom and her family's days in Southern California. So is that the identity? Oh boy, too much to analyze with only 1/2 a cup of coffee in me.

We are off to Lockhart this afternoon to try a hand at beautiful BBQ -- and see a stop on the Chisholm Trail. This isn't a historically "german" town but was founded by some Anglo and is the site of the Texans' victory over the Commanches. Of course, the Germans instead made a treaty which has lasted to this day. Ah, love them.

Tschüß!!!!

Rotkartoffelsalat

I made that title up -- but I made a really good batch of it yesterday for a Sunday BBQ at the Jeff and Steve's house. I didn't want to make an American-style version with loads of Mayo and French's Mustard...so I went with a Paula Deen recipe that turned out perfectly!



Tip: Instead of shelling out $1.79 per pound for the Class 'C' Red Potatoes, which are really cute and small, go for the $.79 per pound regular Red Potatoes. For this recipe you want the bulk of the potato, not just skins.

Click here for the Red Potato Salad Recipe

Meanwhile, most of the day we relaxed and recovered from our night out. These days, we don't go too crazy with hitting bars but we did have a great date night - I bought tickets to Indiana Jones and we walked to the theater (people are going to be sick of me gloating over that but it's really one of the coolest things in the world) -- it was a sticky afternoon and even though we arrived early, we were about 3/4 back in the line...right at the door. The sticky heat of summer air rushed through the doorway, right past our legs into the lobby.

The movie rocked!! We both really enjoyed it, as well as two pitchers of hoppy IPAs...I've been anti-IPA for some time, but I can't remember exactly why. Tasting these, I'm actually enjoying the flavor of the hops!

We left the movie, stumbled home and at the last minute Ryan pulled me toward the Horseshoe Lounge and we stopped in for a beer. Well, after talking to a few of the regulars and three beers later we finally made it home.



Ryan sleeps off his migrane

It didn't help that we have both been sick because Ryan had a migraine the next day (yeah yeah in most countries we call that a hangover...but this was pretty bad) and my cough was a bit strong.



Even our pet Squirrel was sleepy and wanted to nap

At about 3, Ryan rolled out of bed and declared he wanted to mow the lawn! He's such a good mower and I'm glad he likes yardwork. I'll take care of the kitchen, he'll take care of the landscaping, and all will be well in the world.



Ryan expertly mows the lawn

At the BBQ, we were comparing couple's notes with Jeff and Steve -- they had a similar arrangement when they first got together. Jeff does the lawn, Steve does the finances. Although for Ryan and I, we were so young and I really had no concept of domestic life. I suppose at the time my life was school, laundry, write papers, live cheaply, date Ryan. Sounds nice and easy!



Isaac and Scott

Now, it's work, fold laundry (Ryan does the washing around here), write checks, try to live cheaply, love Ryan......cook meals, grocery shop, love my bird, love my cat, clean up after the bird, scoop out cat poop, play Wii, read magazines, check e-mail, forget birthdays, drink good beer and good wine, read newspaper, listen to music, and try, try, try to live well.

Since it's Memorial Day, I should be thinking about those lost in War. I don't understand war (couldn't corporate innovation and teambuilding help vet out issues???? haha!) but proudly have two grandfathers who served in World War II, a father who was in the US Army, an uncle who served in Vietnam, and ancestors who fought in the Civil War (both sides!) and the Revolutionary War!



My grandma and grandpa (dad's side) reading cards at their 70th Wedding Anniversary. My grandpa served in Europe, driving German soldiers back to their home towns

Off to go have a nice Memorial Day -- it also means lots of furniture sales and we need chairs for our new dining table!!

Tschüß!!

Dinner Tonight

Our friend Mary, who just accepted a bitchin' job and will be moving to Seattle next month (sad, sad, sad, as she is one of our first friends in Austin), is coming over to our house for dinner. Since we're saving money for the rental house and I'm sure she's saving up for her move, it made sense to eat at home.

Although she's not vegetarian, she does have some restrictions -- so I'm thinking I'll just go vegetarian, since it will be a nice change. About a year ago, inspired by my best friend Melissa, I was trying a lot of veggie things...fake meat, dishes that didn't require the obligatory ground beef, etc. I enjoyed it, but the "meat and potatoes" kid inside of me would always pick up his utensils and demand some meat.

It also doesn't help that a majority of traditional Deutsch dishes want Fleisch. Especially my favorite recipes, like Reisfleischtopf and Rinderrouladen. Would I really shun vegetarianism simply because the bulk of good German recipes use meat?

Increasingly, I am fascinated by irrationality and (as I heard in an NPR story) how "humans are predictably unpredictable." I see this at work constantly, including on my own team. There are certain associates that you know, at some point in the future, will throw a fit about something that really has no bearing, merit, or meaning. But, they're going to do it soon about something and I'm going to have to deal with it. Now I'm at the point where I can spot it and circumvent it before it becomes an issue. (Well, some of the time...I still get surprised.)

The same predictability applies to training. There were some courses where you anticipate not only questions that emerge from natural human thought process, but also the flaws in your own capabilities. For instance, there are certain concepts that I always stumble over when I teach them. Just before I do the aforementioned stumbling, I will find myself giving the disclaimer, "I'm about the screw this up, so bear with me..." and then I bumble on down the path and maybe I get it right, maybe not.

Back to food -- if you put escargot in front of me at home, I'd probably gag a bit. However, put me at a nice wine tasting in a historic house with peacocks roaming the lawn and I might foray into it. Add to that scenario that I have just gotten lost getting to the place, which led to an angry argument with Ryan about event preparation, laziness, dragging him to the event, and then watched him embarrassingly highlight my faults in front of our friends...and that escargot tastes really, really good.

Wait...maybe it's not irrationality...but am I just a shallow, bitter, revengeful person? Haha, my reader, I read your mind and I demand you stop thinking those nasty thoughts! Shame on you! I'm nice!

Anyhow, time to plan the menu for tonight and this week. The house is fairly clean (still cluttered a bit) and I really have no desire to do a whole lot of outdoor activity. It is going to be in the 70s today so that plan might backfire on me!

Tschüß!

Messy, messy

Lasagna.

Ceasar Salad.

Goulash.

All of these dishes have something in common with our life right now...filling, a jumble of ingredients, and really really messy. Kind of like the below picture.


(We've cleaned most of that off...seriously, things are dire right now.)

So, what's keeping us busy? Another house. Well, thankfully we're not planning on moving into it, just renting it out. The house out front of ours was for sale when we bought ours, but he took it off the market for a while and then put it back up. We're in our option period and trying to get estimates on some fixes...but it's taking a lot of work to arrange everything and I really look forward to it being done.

I've done quite a lot of cooking lately, which new and old recipes...the goal here is budget meals. I'm focusing more on fresh ingredients (nothing from a can except maybe broth) and good meat. The house thing has put my German hobby on hold a bit, since unfortunately this means we won't be able to go to Germany this year. Sigh. I'll get back on track in a few weeks, I'm sure. I did make a mean Wienerschnitzel last night...

Tschüß!

Stuffed Porkchops and Knödel

I whipped this one up pretty quickly -- I had the pork chops for "Polynesian Pork Chops" but I didn't have onions so that was out of the picture. It was really simple, especially using the THICK cut pork chops from Whole Foods. I made the stuffing (in the microwave), put it in the pork chop and threw it in the oven. Then, made the Knödel (okay, okay I made it from a package) and then the 3-Pfeffersoße that I brought back from Siegfrieds in Utah (yeah, yeah another package) and BAM! A great meal.

Next time, I'd add some apple bits to the stuffing...it's a pretty bland stuffing anyway and I'm just trying to get rid of it. I really don't like throwing food away! It just seems sad to me. However, if it has High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in it I am glad to get rid of it -- it shouldn't be in the house to begin with!

I really only allow one form of HFCS to be in the house -- Ryan's croutons. He doesn't like other croutons and if that will help make salad eating a pleasurable experience, I am ok with it. Still, it gets to the root of my problem with the stuff...what the hell is HFCS doing in croutons anyway???!!!

Tschüß!!!!

Chicken Kiev

This was the second in my retro series -- quite easy to make...holy cow it has a good amount of butter! I'm really interested in dishes where you roll the meat up and dredge it. This dish, certainly, also the Käse-Shinken from a few posts back and Rinderrouladen, which will appear in a future post since we ate it on Christmas day.


Gladly, our friend Kris came over to enjoy this with us. It turned out great!

We are lazily enjoying the time off -- I saw "I'm Not There" with my friend Melissa yesterday...it was an amazing movie! I really am not a fan of Bob Dylan but that really doesn't matter because the storytelling, the visuals, and the acting was superb. I think the less I related the film to Dylan the more I enjoyed it.


Grete, as you can see, is cute as ever. She always looks a little fake...like we stuffed her and make her pose...but honestly she does walk!! :)

Tschüß!!!

Beef Wellington

Last week, I started into a "retro food" kick and put Beef Wellington on the menu. I found a neat website of original recipes from era cookbooks. For my first foray, it wasn't too bad! Holy cow the meat is an expensive cut; I always forget that Beef Tenderloin is super pricey but super good. So, after purchasing it, I knew I really couldn't screw this up.


This recipe called for a mix of onions and mushrooms...next time, I'd mince the onions and mushrooms into more of a paste instead of a goopy mess. It started to soggy the pastry you wrap around. I'd also do some new tricks on getting the pastry tighter to the meat. (Gordon Ramsay shows how it should be done.)


A beauty!


Scott dishes it up.

I think this dish should go on the "once a year" rotation. I do want to try some more soups...now that it's winter, the ol' standby soups always look super appealing. We have a ham bone from our Xmas ham...perhaps a bit of ham soup is on the menu??

Another lazy holiday day...did some shopping yesterday, a big cleaning blitz (even scrubbed the master bathroom with our german Coronet Scrubber, and then watched "The Wind and the Willows/Legend of Ichabod Crane" on DVD. Not sure what we're doing today...maybe another movie? More shopping? Certainly more laziness......haha!

Tschüß!!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always a magical night -- Ryan and I really try to not have anything else going on, since it's so much fun to cook, play with the kids, listen to music, eat and drink! We started a new tradition this year, making Apfelstrudel. Now, there was a little drama when I introduced this...mostly because its a two-page recipe and a several hour commitment...but we got over it, got into it, and got it done!



The strudel dough was very interesting...you beat it up a ton to stretch the glutens. (Oh we had stretched our own glutens earlier in the day with a walk around the lake...in preparation for the Scalloped Potatoes that have 4 cups of heavy cream.) I have no idea how to bake; this was very apparent early on and Ryan thankfully took over and saved the dessert. Luckily, I did get a glamour shot in...see below:




It turned out beautifully. Ryan also whipped up a vanilla creme sauce (I don't know how he does it...double boiler and everything!) and the whole dessert was delicious!

I was spoiled with a new kitchen gadget...a Mandolin! I was about to handcut four potatoes for the Scalloped Potatoes and he pulled a gift out of the tree...it's beautiful and will make isaac food preparation very easy and fun! I also see Waffle Fries in our future.

Take a gander at our Xmas Eve photos...

Käse-Schinken and Chicken Cacciatore

This was a GOOD one -- we had ordered a "packet" from www.germandeli.com called "Käse-Schinken" but I wasn't sure what the package had in it...the picture looked like a Chicken Cordon Bleu sort of a roll with tomato sauce on it. Come to find out, the packet is simply a tomato sauce that goes on top of a turkey/gouda/ham roll-up.



Mmmm it was really good. The deli counter at Central Market recommended a Smoked Gouda and he was right! Perfect flavors. Next time I'll skip the packet since making my own tomato sauce is very easy.

Also made a Giada Laurentis recipe for Chicken Cacciatore and it turned out really good. Sadly it didn't compare to Buca di Beppos' dish.....



Christmas/Weihnachten is fast approaching -- I picked up our traditional Honey Baked Ham and today need to plan our dinner. We're thinking Scalloped Potatoes....hmmmm...I need to think about this!!

Tschüß!!

Mid-week Spaghetti

The menu has been pretty light this week and I'm running out of groceries -- I guess that's what $65 gets you these days.

Sunday: Pizza
Monday: Lemon Herb Chicken, Broccolini, Krautersuppe (with added Peas and Bacon)
Tuesday: Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, Parboiled potatoes
Wednesday: Homemade Spaghetti

Kind of uninspired but all freshly made. The Kratersuppe (which means Herb Soup) was from a German Knorr packet and by itself was really bland. Think of a white sauce with herbs that include dill. Yuck. So, we added cooked bacon and peas...marvelous! It rocked!!

Ryan put up holiday lights on our house -- they look fantastic! He ran to the store to get two more strings to wrap it a bit more around the house. He's such a crafty boy.

Oh -- we've been in quite a movie mood...we watched Sommersturm, a german coming out film that was really good, and then No Country for Old Men, which was well written and filmed. Pretty darn violent and bloody. I didn't faint, thank god, but pneumatic cattle prods will forever haunt me........

Tschüß!

Reisfleischtopf

Reisfleischtopf means "Rice-Meat Casserole" but literally translated means "Rice Meat Pot" and my co-worker, Barb, insists this should be "Reisfleischeintopf." Regardless, this recipe is a keeper. Savory chunks of sirloin tip, a hearty beef and tomato sauce, and swirling thick flavors. It smelled and tasted so good, we forgot to add Parmesan cheese as a topper.

The cookbook continues to thrill me! Our meals are also staying diverse...Italian (Chicken Parm) on Sunday, German on Monday, Mexican (Taco Wreath) on Tuesday...can I keep this up? I hope so!

[EDIT: I had to remove the picture because apparently it looked more like burnt dog food than a genuinely awesome German dish. Humph. It really was good! I'm a good cook! Promise! .....]

I'm working from home today, which will be nice, and then I'm off for the rest of the week.

Tschüß!!

Pilz Knödel

I love German packaging -- last night, trying to bring some order back to our kitchen, I put together a meal that also included "Pilz Knödel" which are these amazing dumpling-type balls that include pieces of bread, mushrooms, etc. Think of taking Stove Top, getting it wet, smashing it together in a tight ball and cooking it. It has more potatoes than Stove Top but you get the idea.

We bought some that had smaller Knödel in it -- but since each ball needs to be in a pouch that keeps them together and allows boiling water to get through...these came in their own plastic pouches with two holes for your fingers and a perforation down the center to release it after cooking. Ingenious!!

They were delicious. Last night was a joy -- being home with my hubby, watching some tv, and eating good food. Work today was a bitch but that's to be expected some days.

Tschüß!!

Back in Austin

I love Austin. I was seriously missing some home time -- I loved my trip and had a fantastic time...but there is nothing like coming home, cooking some good grub, and getting ready to watch "Dancing with the Stars." It was sad to leave this morning, but I feel like this trip was the right amount of time and I accomplished all that I wanted to: spend some quality time with Mom and Dad, hang with my brothers and their families, see the new doggie, spend some time with Ryan's parents, and then have a brunch outing (courtesy of my friend Ann and her husband -- Ann used to be my boss but will always be a fantastic friend).

Yesterday was a blast -- family dinner, a Sunday staple, and there was singing, gaming, eating, laughing, caking (?), and simply a lot of fun. We also got to do some family pictures...although we're missing the older three siblings and their family -- this is the core family that make up my High School and College memories.



My flight was fairly early, so I had a quick start to the day -- but my energy peaked on the plane and I did four Deutsch lessons and feel like I made some great progress. Now, I'm cooking turkey filet minions, roasted carrots, a salad, Pilz Knödel, und Drei Pfeffer Soße. I'm a nut! (Ich bin ein Nuße! Okay, that's not quite right...)

If you would like to see the photo album of the trip, then...

2007-11: Salt Lake City

Tschüß!!!

TGIF and Oktoberfest Stories

TGIF -- that's all I can say. Just downed the first Vodka Gimlet (my drink du jour) and looking forward to more.

Spent some time talking with Beth at work, who went nach Deutschland for Oktoberfest. Her brother moved there a while ago, married a German, and now is a musician in a small town. How cool! She told me of her trip to München with her dad, sitting in the Spaten, Franzischkaner, and many other brewery/braüerei tents...we then talked about the different foods. She said her sister-in-law made a Zweibelkuchen (Onion Cake) and it was amazing. I have the recipe and should try it! It was great to hear her reminisce.

I'm ready for the weekend -- we are going to watch "Notes on a Scandal" which I am super excited about. Cooking Bacon-wraped Turkey Breast Filets and Saffron Rice. I need to pull a veggie out of the freezer too... :)

Tschüß!!

Post-travel blues

It's been a long week -- 4 nights away and a total of 34 hours of training. Went from really sick, to losing my voice, to better. I'm mopey today which is kind of odd but I'm chalking it up to a confused and tired body. Even working on this week's food menu is a chore; and now I'm off to go shopping.

Deutsches Beefsteak is back on the menu for this week -- we received our shipment from Germandeli.com and we have some really cool stuff!

My grandma sent me some family history in the mail -- a genealogy sheet of my ancestor Daniel Shuster, my link to Germany... specifically Baden-Baden. So, I went searching and found some webcams at the Löwenbräu we ate at (and Ryan consequently smashed is finger at). I am up to a dozen webcams, showing instant pictures of our favorite places. I noticed that in Oberammergau it snowed!

Off to try and force a pleasant day upon myself. I'm sure I'll get back into it.

Tschüß!

Oktoberfests in Central Texas

Funny, I just attended my third Oktoberfest celebration...of course, in Central Texas they take it literally (it really happens at the end of September in preparation for October) so last week's festival in Fredericksberg was just the start!

Central Market, a local grocery chain, had "Oktoberwest" and I happen to shop there every Saturday...I've been eyeing the signs for weeks and today, solo, I went and had some Pork and Kraut, a draft Paulaner Oktoberfest and a draft Ayinger Oktoberfest (they also call it Märzen, because it's brewed in March and fermented until September for Oktoberfest). Ran into Julie, who was over for our dinner last Thursady, and had a nice chat. The second beer, the Ayinger, I took in the store with me and shopped. At first it felt a little strange, pushing my cart around through the vegetable aisle, list in one hand and beer in the other.

Then, I reminded myself that I'm in Texas...that was followed by several minutes of "OMG, I live in Texas..." a phenom that I've gone through many times during the past 3 1/2 years since we moved to Austin.

Anyway, the Oktoberwest was great -- had an Oompa band out front (not as good as the one from Fredericksberg, but I can't pas up waltzes and marches) -- and I have my eye on a couple others coming up throughout the month. Dare I say, Oktoberfest Slut? :)

Off without a hitch

Our Oktoberfest dinner with our monthly Mira Monte supper club went off perfectly! We had such a fun time and I think everyone else did as well. The fun part was everyone did their part to bring a "German" dish and by the end, some were surprised how GOOD german food really is -- no sauerkraut or bratwurst at this meal...nothing wrong with it but this isn't a festival or a picnic.


Das Menu:

• Wienerschnitzel: Homemade, of course. Made 8 of them and timed it well...I was worried that after making them, they would get soggy or the breading would fall off. But I put it in the oven at 200 afterwards and it really kept it warm and dry. Might have dried it out a bit but the Jägersoße (see below) helped.
  
• Käsespätzle: I made a double-batch and had to do it in 4 sets...making Spätzle isn't easy! But it was worth it...they looked authentic, and broiled with Butterkäse and Butter made it sehr, sehr gut.
  
• Jägersoße: Totally used a packet from germandeli.com and it was AWESOME. Everyone could not believe it was from a packet...I will so be buying more of this.
  

Others brought...

• Bretzen: Pretzels...Whole Foods makes some fancy pretzels! Rosemary, parmesan, etc.
  
• Gherkinsalat: Spencer, who told great stories about how his dad's family would run around their Georgia backyard in lederhosen, made two types...American and Deutsch. The former had red onions and white vinegar. The latter was more creamy. Both were amazing.
  
• Kartoffelnkuchen: Julie did a great twist on these, using butternut squash and garlic in the batter -- they were fantastic!
  
• Deutscheßhokoladenkuchen: Totally made that word up -- German Chocolate Cake, a decidedly American dish, that was sooo awesome. Yum!
  

With that large of a party under our belt, I suppose we are ready for more. Sadly, our dishwasher gave out (a short maybe?) the day before so we had a lot of dishes to manually wash. But, it gave us time to talk about dinner and relax. Isaac was a GEM. He knows everyone, but usually only sees them on a one-on-one basis. He chatted a bit, even sat on Dennis' shoulder!



Tschüß!

German Oktoberfest Dinner Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we are hosting our first Oktoberfest celebration at our house and our first large dinner party! The "Mira Monte Originals," our monthly dinner group, are coming over.

OK, I am not smiling because I am a bit nervous -- so much to do, like cleaning, shopping, cleaning, figuring where everyone is going to sit (9 people total!), compiling all of my German music, getting our treat bags ready, and and and...

How neurotic of me -- I suppose eventually this will be a non-issue, easy process to put on these sorts of shows. We had a run-through dinner party with our friends Suzanne and Gary last week -- it was a great success! But prepping for 9 is much different than prepping for 4.

My part of the menu: Weinerschnitzel and Kaesespaetzle. Should be a snap, right?

Tschüß!

Westfälischer Pffeffer-Potthast

This was an interesting experience because...sadly we hated this dish. The cookbook touted it as “piquant” and “a favorite” but...it tasted like paper. I followed everything perfectly. Oh well, you can’t like them all.

It started off pretty innocently. Bunch of onions and short ribs. We’re not short ribs people, but I wanted to try something different.

As you can see from the recipe, this is a very simple dish. Did I use too much water? Should I have done beef broth?




Oh, well -- it was a bomb. It looks good, though! Check out the mashers in the background!

Tschüss!

Deutsches Beefsteak

My “German Cookbook” has turned into quite the gem. We’ve now tried a dozen recipes and each one has been fantastic. I’ve compared notes with my German co-worker and she nods her head each time I walk her through my cooking experience -- authentic, yes.

This week I was a culinary nut -- some fantastic meals. Chicken Madeira (of Cheesecake Factory fame) with real mashed potatoes and roasted red bell peppers, Balsamic Beef Tenderloin with roasted carrots and leeks, Deutsches Beefsteak with Serviette Knoedel, Spargel (asparagus), und drei Pfeffer sosse.

The Deutsches Beefsteak, aka German Hamburger, was very similar to something my mom makes -- Navigator Burgers -- but without the sour cream. You don’t put a bun on these, simply serve them with onions on top.

Today I have to go and finalize what we’re doing with what’s left at the old house. There is an entertainment center, a desk, a fake tree, and a bunch of little things. At this point, I don’t really want to do a garage sale and would rather truck it all to Goodwill...except I don’t have a truck. I’ll try to craigslist some of it, but don’t know if it’ll move fast enough.

Tschüss!

Settling In

This move has been fairly smooth in some aspects (the movers, packing, the kids) but rough in others (the builder, the sub-contractors) and it’s still not over because we don’t close until later this month. Although we’re about ready to let out a scream of “phew” I won’t and can’t until it’s truly done.

Isaac and Grete have settled in perfectly -- it took Grete a few days to find her groove, but this morning the “shredder” was back at my Saturday newspaper inspiring me to clean by throwing bits of newspaper throughout the house. Last I saw, she was vigorously reading the Sports section downstairs.


Isaac loves the windows and talks every moment of the day! He’s even learning some more sounds, though, a by-product of practicing. We’ve started making him a weekly “Layered Salad” with green goodness and that’s really showing in his feathers and demeanor. I think his internal bio-systems are happy. I also love the fact that each morning he can wake with the sun, roost as it goes down, and just watch birds, squirrels, and airplanes from the big windows. The Saturday morning shower has come and gone.



I went to Norfolk for work last week, and it was a great trip -- met some of the newer trainers on the team and reconnected with everyone else. All good news. When I went to my favorite restaurant there, Havana, the bartender immediately poured a glass of the Montepulciano without me asking. I go there too often and will be going there more through the end of the year.

Oh, Ryan had his birthday and I bought him a new wallet and lots of clothing. I wrapped everything and made a “Present Skyscraper.” He wears the same stuff over and over and frankly isn’t as messy with color/bleach as he used to be -- so it was time for more clothes. Unfortunately, one of the best shirts was too small and since I got it on sale I can’t take it back...it fits me...how big of a loser do I feel that I buy him something that only I can wear. Ugh.



I love the kitchen in this house -- I’ve already cooked a few meals, including a German one with Wienerschnitzel (Ryan said it was the best I’ve made) and Gemüse au Gratin.


Time to do chores around here. I really love this house. Listening to Caribou and ready to take on the day.

Tschüss!

Dunkle Zweibelsoße

I’m recycling a picture of the amazing Black Forest cake that Ryan made me on my birthday -- but he made another cake for a dinner party last weekend. We went to Melissa and Spencer’s new beautiful house down south and it’s now helped us put a framework around our wants for a single-family home...we’ll talk about that later.

Last night, I made my first real German gravy from scratch! Since we both love onions (zweibel, auf Deutsch) and we were having Bacon-wrapped Turkey Steaks I made “Dunkel Zweibelsosse” which means “Dark Brown Onion Gravy.” Once it was done I had Ryan taste and he said that it “tasted like Germany” which made me so proud!

I love my cookbook! Also I made Kartoffelnpuffer (Potato pancakes) which were amazing too -- they’re like a lump of hashbrowns with egg added and then sauted. I used a prepared mix so it actually tasted like a McDonald’s hashbrown in some ways...they must add egg to theirs.

Time to read the paper and see what’s out on the market. We put a 2-page list of “must-haves/deal-breakers, nice-to-have, and dream” items for a potential house. The search begins!

Tschüss!

www.germandeli.com

We discovered Germandeli.com a few months after our trip -- and found quite a few items that we either saw at grocery stores or consumed while there. They have tons of fun stuff and we’ve already done one large order.

I love their sauce mixes...I guess I could research and figure out how to recreate them...but they taste perfect out of the pouch. And the instructions are in German, of course, which is a fun exercise.

We started another order and it was up over $100...mixture of detergents, food, and much more...unfortunately we lost it when the browser closed. Suppose that’s a good thing for the wallet but I’m desperate for my Three-pepper sauce (pictured above)!

Tschüss!