Out of the kitchen & out of the country



bier

 Recently we visited Germany and—along with copious amounts of German beer—enjoyed lots of local foods.

A foodie who marries another foodie (who happens to be a beer snob) is bound to have culinary adventures, particularly when on holiday.

Unfortunately, the camera was not handy when we devoured what had to be The Best liverwurst I have ever had, freshly made at the Pinkus Mueller Brewery in Muenster. We also missed the opportunity to take pictures of pfifferling (commonly known as chanterelle), which was in season. We were also fortunate enough to enjoy the very end of white asparagus season.



schnitzel with mushroom sauce
&  spaetzle

Needless to say, we had our share of wienerschnitzel and spaetzle (served my favorite way, with mushroom sauce), soft pretzels (the waiter was appalled when I asked for mustard!) and my husband's favourite: schweinshaxe.

A lovely dinner: schweinshaxe for my husband, and pike with pfifferling and lemon sauce—spectacular flavor

schnitzel mit"tots"

Several dishes we ordered came with a version of fried potato we fondly referred to as "tots" (a nod to Napolean Dynamite).

These crunchy bits of deliciousness were tasty, but not really my thing, as I tend to prefer my pototoes roasted, not fried, and preferably with the skin intact.

  

We also set out to taste many versions of apfelstrudel. Of all the strudel we had the most interesting was served with the typical vanilla sauce and fresh whipped cream, but also some sort of ice cream and honeydew melon:



apfelstrudel with mystery ice cream
& honeydew melon



In addition to the food, some of the best times were spent walking, hiking, exploring and recollecting. It was always nice to come back to a cold beer and a snack.

cold bier + apfelstrudel = happy

What's more, all that fresh air and walking made us all the more ready to sit down and enjoy a good meal—to the very last bite.

no caption necessary

Dreaming of coconut cake

It’s almost March, which means it’s almost time to make my annual version of Food & Wine’s Six-Layer Coconut Cake with Passion Fruit Filling.

I start looking forward to this cake sometime in February, after all of the holiday gluttony has passed and I have had my fill of the dark chocolate my husband and I typically exchange for Valentine’s day.

My coconut cake typically features a mere four layers. I also use a different recipe for the cake than Food and Wine. Mine uses cake flour (resulting in a lighter-texture cake) and light coconut milk.

Since I haven’t been able to find passion fruit puree, I have tried several types of fruit filling—from peach puree to Valencia orange—all of which have been fantastic. The cake is slathered with a cream frosting and forgivingly coated with toasted coconut.

I can hardly wait for the first bite.

For the love of cupcakes

Who doesn't love a cupcake? They are perfectly portioned little bites of heaven. What's more, they give me an excuse to wield my pastry bag.


I dream of piping, creating flowers, making buttercream frosting, chocolate ganache.... It's becoming borderline obsessive.

Just before the holidays, I caved and bought a pastry bag kit. My "starter kit" included petal, star and round tips. Of course I had muffins in the house — carrot oatbran — so I figured why not frost them with cream cheese for a healthy after dinner treat? My first attempt:

From there, I have been looking for any excuse to bake and frost cupcakes.


One of the first batches I made were rum raisin mini cupcakes with rum glaze and rum frosting. They were so delicious, I didn't even get to take of picture of them.

Another batch that didn't receive photographic evidence were gingerbread mini cupcakes with orange-ginger frosting. I brought them to an open house party and convinced myself that eating four of them was equivelent to eating one standard-size cupcake.

For our special Hanukkah dinner I made chocolate Frambois cupcakes with raspberry frosting. They were quite lovely.

The obsession continued with a batch of lowfat orange chocolate cupcakes for dinner guests:

And then I found an excuse to use my naturally dyed red, white, and green jellybeans at Christmas-time:

Most recently, we hosted our annual holiday open house. With kids afoot, I thought brightly colored mini cupcakes would be a fun treat. Earlier in the week I had roasted beets, so I used the beet juice to create a fushia frosting. The cupcakes were devoured by kids and grown-ups alike.

What's for dinner? Molasses-brined pork chops

Molasses-brined pork chops are a weeknight favorite in our house. The recipe may sound complex, but with careful planning it's rather simple. Brining not only adds depth and flavor to the pork chops, it makes the chops exceptionally tender.

I begin by brining the pork chops in a mixture of water, molasses, brown sugar, sea salt, vanilla and ice cubes. Leave to brine for at least eight hours and up to two days.

Meanwhile, I create a spice rub with using dried sage from our summer farm share, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and black pepper. Once the pork chops are removed from the brine and patted dry, I dredge them in seasoned flour.

The spice mixture is then rubbed on both sides of the pork chops, and they are refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before they are broiled to perfection. Although this recipe does require some advance planning, with a little preparation, it can make an extraordinary weeknight meal.

The broiled pork chops go well with a variety of side dishes:



molasses-brined pork chops with roasted root vegetables



molasses-brined pork chops with roasted brussel sprouts and tzimmes



molasses-brined pork chops with cheddar grits and collard greens



A few of my favorite things

Some pantry, freezer and refrigerator ingredients are essential to have on hand. They can make food basic, extravagant, or even last-minute. Here's a short list of my personal favorites.

If you've ever read my blog, you know Greek yogurt is a must-have in our household. I must use it least once a day. I enjoy it with a sprinkle of cinnamon, a drizzle of honey, and a handful of blueberries. I also use it in cooking and baking — I add it to mashed potatoes, hummus, muffins, breads and cupcakes. I also use it as a replacement condiment for sour cream and mayonnaise.

I find many uses for organic fire-roasted tomatoes — first and foremost being my homemade salsa. We also use this type of canned tomato for Spanish dishes. We love the smokey flavor.

Although I prefer to simmer my own dry beans, there are many instances when the canned variety is far more convenient. I most frequently use garbanzos (chick peas) in homemade hummus. Both canned garbanzos and black beans are great to have on hand for a last-minute chili. Additionally, I love adding canned black beans to homemade guacamole — not only do they boost the nutritional value of the dip, they double the amount of guacamole.


Another "cheater" ingredient we always have in our freezer: frozen cubes of basil, cilantro, and ginger. I use frozen basil for quickie pesto, salad dressing, and pasta. When we don't have fresh cilantro on hand, I use the frozen variety for salsa, and just about any Mexican, Spanish, or Indian dish. I am obsessive about ginger. I add it to smoothies, muffins, cookies, and cakes.

While fresh-squeezed is best, I keep bottled lemon and lime juice on hand for many drinks and dishes from hummus and salsa to salad dressings and sauces. We enjoy lemon and or lime juice in a variety of mixed drinks as well — gin and tonics, dark n' stormies and of course sangria.

I call these my pizza all-stars. My homemade pizza crust is at its simplest: unbleached bread flour, extra virgin olive oil, active dry yeast, sea salt, and warm water. I sometimes add some whole wheat bread flour, as well.

When our little one was really little I preferred to make homemade baby food. Now I stash jars of organic varieties for use in my muffin making. It began with banana baby food — which I use when making muffins for our son, who cannot stand anything "lumpy" in his foods. Then I started to use carrot baby food to save the time of manually grating carrots for muffins and cakes (now I use the grater attachment on our food processor). From there I just experimented.

I can't help being in love with mango ginger chutney. I love most varieties — both spicy and sweet. It's delicious with Indian food, especially on naan bread, and it's fantastic with a cheese platter. For a real treat, try it on top of goat gouda or brie. 

I love quinoa! Maybe it's mostly because I enjoy saying the word "KEEN-wa." But I do enjoy this high-protein grain as a light yet hearty side dish and also in many types of salads. I especially love using it in salads with red beets since it makes the grain turn a lovely shade of pink.

Oh bacon. I've already dedicated an entire post to as ode to bacon, but of course it tops my list.

Agave nectar and honey are great alternative sources of sweeteners. Not only is honey is a good way to sweeten baked goods (and chai lattes!) — local honey also helps with seasonal allergies. I honestly have not experimented with using agave for too much baking, and I am not ashamed to admit that in our house it is most frequently used in my husband's notorious sangria.

I've already mentioned my love of lattes, but this happy bunch I call my latte all-stars. Dark sumatra is hands-down our favorite roast. And I always have Tazo chai tea — both decaffeinated and full strength — on hand for chai lattes. I also brew decaffeinated chai with plenty of honey when anyone in the house has a sore throat or head cold.

As long as I am mentioning lattes, I should include baking cocoa on my list of favorites. I use it for hot cocoa, mochas and in baking and chocolate frosting. I like that it is slightly bitter and does not have added sweeteners or dairy.

And while I am on the topic of sweet things, I cannot help it, I must have at least a tiny piece of chocolate most days! Generally we prefer the dark variety in our house, but somehow that beautiful triangular bar of nougaty milk chocolate goodness known as Toblerone always makes its way into someone's stocking at Christmas time.

Naughty & nice

I never know what to bring to a party. This year's family Christmas Eve gathering was no exception. On the one hand, I have been obsessively making cupcakes since I bought my new pastry bag kit. On the other hand — like most other people — I have been overindulging this holiday season.

The solution for me was to make little, nearly guilt-free cupcakes and bring a low fat veggie dip with vegetable crudite.

First the cupcakes. Ever since I found naturally dyed red, green and white jellybeans at Trader Joe's I have been wanting to use them for holiday cupcake decoration. Since the jellybeans are flavoured, I didn't want to get too fancy with my cupcakes, so I opted for simple vanilla. I searched online for a low fat, oil-free recipe and sort of winged it. Once I made the vanilla frosting, I thought why not have chocolate as well?

The veggie dip was simple — starting with one of my all-time favourtie ingredients: Fage 0% Greek yogurt. I added spices, lots of seasoning, a grated clove of garlic, and a touch of mayonaise. Then I thawed and squeezed the liquid out of some frozen organic spinach and gently folded it in. I peeled, chopped and arrange a colourful assortment of organic veggies, and my appetizer was done.

Now what to bring to the next party....?

Homemade pretzels - easier than you think

Ever since this month's Food & Wine magazine arrived, I have been craving Bavarian soft pretzels.

To me, the perfect pretzel has a liberally salted golden exterior, is soft on the inside, and is most definitely accompanied by sweet German mustard, bier and weisswurst!

I began making these deliciously doughy treats from scratch several Oktoberfests ago. They are super fun and easy to make with children, and the recipe is often requested.



shaping the pretzels

 I found a basic recipe by searching "bavarian pretzel recipe." The process is simple enough — make a dough, let it rise, then boil, salt and bake.

The real trick is in the shaping of the dough. Begin by rolling into a long thin rope. Gently holding both ends of the rope, cross the ends, twist around twice then pull down to the center to form a pretzel shape.

 

shaped pretzels ready to be boiled and baked

The pretzels are best enjoyed while warm — and with your favourite German bier of choice.

Prost!