potatoes in pink & purple, best together with Gremolata

24. November 2012
by troutandhawk
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Dinner / Lunch

Lately  my organic vegetable provider asked me if I wanted him to add some pink and purple potatoes to my weekly order. I immediately agreed because 1.) I always love to try something new and 2.) Sophie Calle’s chromatic diet in mind, two difficult colours suddenly seemed to come within reach.

But before throwing myself again into the sophisticated Fine Arts of monochromatic cooking I went for a very quick and simple potato lunch: oven roasted wedges with  Gremolata using the last fresh herbs from my garden: rosemary, thyme, parsley and summer savory.

 

My Gremolata
1/3 cup olive oil
the zest of a small lemon, grated
1/2 ts grated orange zest (optional)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 ts red pepper flakes
2 tbs parsley, chopped
1 ts fresh rosemary, chopped
1 ts fresh thyme
1ts fresh summer savory

Whisk together 1/3 cup olive oil and the herbs, zests, garlic and red pepper. Set aside for at least half an hour.

 

 

“Salad Blue” potatoes

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Cut the potatoes into wedges. Toss the potatoes with the gremolata and add salt and pepper to taste. Spread the wedges out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes.

The result: delicious taste with an avant-garde look!

 

my resolution for this winter: the outdoor hour

18. November 2012
by troutandhawk
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the outdoor hour (n.) to spend one hour daily outside

It’s easy when the weather is nice and sunny like yesterday, but the deal I made with myself is one outdoor hour, no matter how ugly the weather will be.



Hm, and here we are, first doubts on my overhasty winter resolution are lurking…  Today’s sky has been hanging grey and wet giving a foretaste of the never ending frozen Saxonian winters.



Grandma’s Classics: Weincreme

5. November 2012
by troutandhawk
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Sweets

Another delicacy is Weincreme . Life in a wine growing region ( Grandma is from Heidelberg )  requires  a well stocked fridge with open bottles of wine, and desserts like “Weincreme”  belong to the traditional repertoire of any housewife.
In very special occasions (baptism, wedding, famous guests) Grandma even replaces Chantilly  by Weincreme to accompany her homemade apple cake.


Weincreme (Sabayon)

yields 4 servings

8 tbs sugar ( Grandma takes 4-6)
4 whole eggs
1 tbs cornflower (Maizena)
2 cups of white wine (Grandma takes 3/4l)
a slice of lemon to be cooked with

Now the most difficult part: all ingredients have to be beaten continuously on slow heat until close to  boiling.  For this task you need a good eye and your full attention. Actually it could be easier to use a bain-marie, but of course not for a cook with the experience of Grandma!  Weincreme is ready when it turns from liquid to creamy.

Pour in glasses and cool.

Grandma’s Classics: Schinkenhörnchen

28. October 2012
by troutandhawk
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Snacks

Today I’m going to introduce a new feature: Grandma’s Classics.

Grandma does not experiment in the kitchen. No potions, no asian, no magic ingredients. No no… she is most fond of the traditional German recipes, which have been passed on for centuries and never fail to please.

The lady in fire engine red is Grandma.

#1 Schinkenhörnchen

The tiny croissants hold a lot of butter, the ham gives the right amount of saltiness.
Grandma loves to offer them especially as a complementary snack with champagne.

for the dough:

250g flour
250g Quark (fromage frais/ curd)
300g butter
1 ts baking powder

for the filling:

250g cooked ham (chopped)
250g smoked ham (chopped)

for the finish: 1 egg

Knead the dough quickly with your hands and let it repose in the fridge for half an hour.
Roll out the dough thinly with a rolling pin, cut it in triangles, fill them with ham and fold them into tiny croissants. Beat the egg and brush the croissants with it.
Bake them in the oven at 180° until they turn golden.


 

 

 














We prepared the original recipe but our drink of choice yesterday was a blue Margarita rather  than  champagne.


 

Spaghettini with Coquilles St. Jacques and Seaweed

23. October 2012
by troutandhawk
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Dinner / Lunch

This time I brought a couple of coquilles St. Jacques and a little box of emerald green seaweed salad from downtown Dresden.
As my family is very fond of pasta I created a quick spaghettini lunch with the coquilles and the seaweed.

These are the ingredients:

For the sauce

olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
a handful of baby tomatoes, quartered
a bunch of parsley
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
the zest of half a lemon
10 coquilles St. Jacques
a small box of Asian seaweed salad
a glass of white wine
salt and pepper, and
2 or 3 sun dried tomatoes to intensify the flavour.

Cook the spaghettini:

From now you have exactly 7 minutes to prepare the sauce – (Haha, of course you are allowed to start with the sauce before you cook the spaghettini… )

Start stir-frying the bell pepper, the garlic and the tomatoes, then add the coquilles. When the coquilles are nearly done, add the stripes of lemon zest and the chopped parsley. Continue stir-frying at low heat.


The moment your kitchen starts to smell like heaven and you hardly can refrain from eating the coquilles right off the pan, it’s time to pour in the wine. If one glass doesn’t seem to be enough, add more.

Let it reduce for a few minutes, then mix in the spaghettini and in the very last moment before serving add the seaweed.

Lunch is ready!

Liqueur de noix 2012

22. October 2012
by troutandhawk
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Drinks / Jams + Preserves / Sweets

My green walnut liqueur experiment finished and bottled!

Of course I gave it to taste to all my friends who passed by. Here is a short collection of their judgements:

  • could be sweeter!
  • is this meant to be a medicine or just for fun?
  • nice for Tiramisu with a touch of nut
  • a bit rough, has it any healing effect?
  • perfect with vanilla ice cream
  • next year you should make more of those little bottles

You see, David Lebovitz’s recipe didn’t turn out too bad. My own opinion? I loved it with chocolate and vanilla ice cream. And surprisingly, with the creamy quince sauce I had prepared at my mother’s home.