My inspiration came from Surly Blog, A blog from the guys at Surly Bikes. They make steel frames and forks that I can personally recommend as some of the best-built frames for the money. (If you are into bikes... If not... suck eggs.)
Speaking of eggs, The Surly boys were in Scotland for the SSWC-07 at the beginning of this month, and blogged about being on the hunt for 'Scottish Eggs'. My interest piqued, I Google'd Scottish (or Scotch eggs as they are properly referred to...) and found a recipe only a drunken bike-riding idiot could love. (Well, we shall see about that.)
Scotch Eggs are a hard-boiled egg, wrapped in sausage meat, breaded and then deep-fried. Sound good? You're on your way to cholesterol heaven.
It starts off easily enough. Hard-boil some eggs, let them cool, then shell them. Mix your ground meat of choice with various spices, etc. I used a mix of 50% pork 50% cow. Mix in some salt, pepper, red chili for pop and a bit of 'Italian seasoning' and you're ready to go. I powdered my eggs with flour before packing them in a meat cocoon. Then stick them in the fridge so they can firm a bit up. After about 15 min, take them out, and cover them well with breadcrumbs. (One recipe says to coat the meat with egg yolk to make them stick better. I did not do this, but can see the advantage of it.)
Heat up a pan with a decent helping of oil and fry them till deep golden brown. Depending on your cocooning you may have to leave them in longer or shorter.
Once finished, you can cut them in half or 3rds and serve hot. A ranch dip is good, or and variation of hot mustard. Make sure your phone has 911 on speed dial.
—Christian
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So the wife had something written on the chalkboard the last few days; "Carrots, Coconut milk, thai soup...?"
I took it upon myself (with her help) to make something out of that little bit of information.
I started with 500ml of carrot juice and a can of coconut milk. Throw that in a pot on low, and get started on some ginger. (Yes, FRESH ginger.) I have one of those mixing wands; good for smoothies but thats about all. I tried to make hummus once, but it's just not up to the job. Dump a bit of carrot juice in with the sliced ginger and puree it till its good and liquid. Dump that in your base.
Next I added bamboo strips (not fresh) and baby carrots(also... not fresh. I can hear Anthony "smokes a lot" Bourdain bitching from here...)
While that simmers on low, I panned up 2 chicken breasts, and then salted and peppered them, and cut them into strips when cooked. Into the soup with them.
While that simmers, go have yourself a smoke or three or in my case; a beer or three. I actually did a beer run while it simmered, but to each his own.
Lastly i added a 'decent' helping of green curry paste. This is one of those things that has to be done little by little. 'To Taste' I think they call it. My portion came to just shy of 2 golf-ball helpings. This has more to do with the quantity of what I made, rather than how spicy I wanted it. It was fine for me, but a bit weak for the missus.
Make yourself a tasty bed of rice to lay underneath and you're done.
This was a perfect dinner, as it started storming right as we sat down. the temp dropped a good 10c and it was nice to eat a bit of healty stuff that warmed us as well.
Fix'ns : 2 chicken breasts, panned and sliced into strips.
2 good sized ginger knobs, sliced and then pureed.
1 500ml bottle of carrot juice (Think pint glass of beer)
whole jar of baby corn
1/2 jar of bamboo strips
1.5 cans of coconut milk (try to get the creamier kind.)
1 carrot sliced into thin strips or discs, your choice.
2 tbsp green curry (to taste. Add slowly to get to your level.)
pinch chili powder
—Christian
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So Steen tagged me, and in keeping with the sharing theme she mentioned, I will be posting my S.O.H. 4 here, and my other persona will do his bit on Rottenmac.
I am breaking the rules (unless Steen overrules me on this...) I am only posting my facts and then 4 links, but won't FORCE them to do the same.
1) I drink. In fact, there has been more than one time that I drank, and due to someone else's actions/deeds/words I took it upon myself to "go upside their head" as Bender would put it. I have a habit of filling my pockets with beers as I leave a party, and in one case, most of them were thrown at someone who made a girl cry at a party. Big no-no in my book. Something similar happened this past weekend, but I don't want to get into details that are fuzzy.
2) Since moving to 'Old Europe' I have become a better and more frequent cook. this is due to the fact that when I left, I was a student, and subsisted solely on beer, Cheez-its and burritos from El Farolitos on Mission and 24th. Now I can make Pesto from scratch and a schnitzel to die for.
3) I look more clean than I am. Yes, I shower regularly, but I tend to have a filthy mouth; curse like a sailor, and have a few habits that would make a Vegas local blush.
4) I once saw a Le Creuset set in Gilroy and honestly thought about grabbing all that would fit in my Timbuk messenger bag and making a break for it. That stuff is EXPENSIVE.
That's all. I don't have any food links to share, but If you dare to visit my site then you will get non-food related links. (Much to Steen's chagrin, I will not be forcing said people to continue this chain-email-linkage. It is an interesting idea, but well... It's just as bad as the 'Save my baby from the evil bears' spam the we all get from time to time. Not going to contribute. (I really am sorry...and I promise to drop a foodie post ASAP. Promises promise.)
—Christian
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I like to tease Big Jonny about how I can get a really awesome schitzel with country potatoes that would feed an Ethiopian family of 7 for at LEAST a week. He keeps commenting about it, and I keep linking to the pics Steen made while she was here.
Last night I texted Sara about her wishes for dinner. Her reply? "Something greasy."
Off to the store I joyously skipped, thinking of grease, pork and fries. And beer, or course.
Making schnitzel is easy, fast and it tastes damn good. First the ingredients.
Pork, chicken, veal or turkey tenders
2 egg yolks per schnitzel
Flour
Breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil (I prefer sunflower, but use whatcha got.)
Beer.
First pound the meat as flat as you can. In vienna, they make it (no joke...) wafer-thin. So thin, it could be used as paper. But pound it till its as thick as your pinkie or so. Then dust it well with flour. This helps the yolk stick.
Next heat up the pan with a generous bit of oil. Youre frying these babies. We want grease, people. When it is sufficiently hot, dunk the meat in the yolk, covering it well, then into the breadcrumbs. The more evenly covered the better, but don't get your knickers in a twist if it's not. Also, your fingers will be well-covered in the yolk-breadcrumb goo, so wash liberally. TIP: After yolking and breading, leave them resting on the breadcrumbs. Saves you a bit of hassle, and you want that oil to be really hot, so the crispy outer doesn't fall off.
Fry it till golden brown. You can cut one to see if it's still pink inside, or you can 'go cajun' like me. I prefer a bit more black, that way I know it's well done inside. Don't forget a lemon wedge for drizzling like I did.
Serve with fries or country potatoes, and a nice cold beer. Any leftovers make a great cold sammich for the morning after a long night of drinkin as well.
—Christian
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When Steen came to visit, we ate local and it was great. She was all excited to have a real döner from the Turkish place near our old apartment. We ate Bavarian (lots of pork and gravy with a side of 2 dumplings.) Many things we tried, yes we did.
One of the most interesting things I learned to love was Leberkäs. (Literally translated it means Liver-cheese.) the name is in no way appealing when you translate it but by no means don't let that stop you from trying it.
We were out sightseeing and wandering the city in general, when we both got a bit 'peckish'. I pulled her over to Vinzenzmurr, the local butcher shop that is a bit more than just a butcher shop. Always good for a kaiser roll filled with something tasty, we opted for one Schnitzel and one 'meatloaf' semmel. (I can't seem to recall the name right now. Damn Germans...)
As we were sharing our rolls, someone walked by with a Leberkäs semmel, and Steen said "What's THAT?!!?!"
"Huh?... Oh, that's a Leberkäs. Its like a fried bologna sandwich."
Her look of disbelief and sad puppy-dog eyes said everything.
"We can get one next time. Promise."
Well, we never did, as far as I can remember. I saw this in my local grocers and decided to have at it.
It doesn't smell really, but yes, it looks like liquid meat. I'm not a fan of spreadable meats in general, so off to the oven right away with this bad boy.
Finished baking after 45 min. Smells great and the crunchy crust is awesome.
There are many ways to enjoy this delicacy, but I usually go for either a slab on a roll with sweet mustard. There is also a 'traditional' breakfast that consists of a slab with a fried egg on top and a side of Brez'n or maybe german potato salad. If you get to Munich, you gotta try one. It took me 3 years before I did, and now I need one a week to satisfy my soul.
—Christian
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and raise you some rocks.
I was in Sweden last summer for the Singlespeed World Championships. It was a disaster from the word go, but one good thing came out of it. We were in Gamla Stan (Old Town) and we were doing some late night wandering and bar hopping, when I came across these.
Talk about going all-out retro. Forget Titanium go-fasters, Caveman is where it's at. Drop these in the freezer for a day, then use them to keep your drink ice cold, without diluting said beverage. They are a booze-hounds dream.
The box reads:
"Hot and Cold Stone.
The purpose of these stones are
to keep your drink cool and heat.
Just cool them down in the freezer
and use them in your whiskey
or heat them up in the oven
and use them in your the or glühwein.
After use, clean the stones in water."
(I assume they mean Tea.)
In any case, since it was St. Patty's last night, I decided to give them a proper go. I cooled them, and dropped a few in my glass. Ice cold scotch was my reward, with no dilution as one would expect.
The biggest gripe if I have to have one, is that if you are caught unawares, you could easily chip a tooth when it slides down to your lips as you finish your beverage. That and I'm a consummate ice-chewer.
A nice way to start off St. Patty's.
All in all a great idea that can give you the 'Coolest Host' award in your tiny circle of drinking buddies. And, yes, they are by no means restricted to just booze. Drop a few in your carbonated leisure beverage of choice, juice, whatever. Heat them up and drop them in your morning coffee to keep it warm. Whatever.
—Christian
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Love him or find him the fool, one of the best things ever was and still is the George Foreman grill. I got a knock-off a while back, and only occasionally use it. Let me tell you, it is nice to be able to grill a chicken breast at home and get those cool stripes on your own. Not to mention grilled cheese sammiches. I know one can just as easily make it with a pan, but again, My contraption comes with a sandwich option, where it grills it, AND makes into little triangles all by itself!
Anyhow, I wasn't in the mood to really cook anything, but at the same time I didn't want to just order a crappy pizza and be done with it. The old lady offered up a platter of tomatoes and mozzarella, and another 'to be announced' item. I mulled it over, and said."You know... I cold really go for a bike sammich."
"Ooooh... that does sound good."
I ran to the store to get the parma, some baguette and rucola and we were red-to-go.
A little background. Across from the cinema where we rarely go to see films, there is a place called Pinnochhio. run by a group of Italians, it has some great gelato, wood-oven pizzas and a few pannini. Always friendly, we usually hit it after buying tickets before the show. (You can reserve tickets, and pick them up when you get there. Ain't the internets wonderful?) I go for the bike sammich 98% of the time, and the others I get the King. (A tasty but boring tomato/mozzerella affair. Does the trick, but it just doesn't >pop<.) We were waiting this summer when the world cup was on TV and of course, we had to order while Italy was playing. Not the final against France. That would have been murderous, and I would bet they were closed. the wait took a bit longr than usual, but it was still hot and tasty. Perfect to top you off before seeing some Hollywood tripe.
Finished product.
Cut the baguette in half, lay on the mozzarella (or mortadella if you want...) throw on the parma and some rucola. Salt and pepper and throw it in the grill. (If you are unfortunate enough NOT to have one, just grill it in the pan. Squishing it is essential, as is the melting of the cheese.) Get on this easy and cheap sammich while you can. A warm meal is almost the best thing since sliced bread when its cold out.
—Christian
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I really do. I eat pasta most often of all the dishes I make at home. When it is really cold and gross out I will make Maultaschen soup with garlic bread, but its been unusually warm here, so that hasn't happened yet.
In any case, I whipped up this quick and tasty pasta dish last night and will share it with you today.
Pasta with Pancetta and butter sauce.
Here is what you will need.
I have (clockwise from top) A tupperware with pre-grated Grana Padano, a nice Rioja from 2005, Pasta (your choice...) fresh Grana Padano, Pancetta and butter.
First, slice the Pancetta into strips or make nice smallish bits of it. I made this dish first with fresh homemade pasta from my pasta machine. (I told you I love pasta. I made some Tagliatelle and the pancetta strips went perfectly with the fresh pasta. Fresh isn't necessary, but boy does it make a difference.)
Melt the butter on medium heat, and add in the pancetta. DON'T CRISP THE PANCETTA! You can theoretically use thick-cut bacon, Serrano or whatever, but we are not going for crispy, just cooked and a bit firm.
Cook the pasta as per required, and drain. Add in the Pancetta and butter, tossing well. You wont need salt, as the pancetta is plenty salty. Grind some fresh perrer and top with fresh grated Padano, reggiano or parmesean.
Voilá!
I added the pre-grated padano to the pancetta/butter, but it just made it more clumpy, not so creamy. It is a trick I use when making alfredo sauce, but here it did not turn out as I wanted. You will need to add a bit more butter than in the second photo as well, what I had was not enough for a half-package, so I added another bit near the end. you can butter as needed.
—Christian
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I have in the last few years, really enjoyed scotch as an after-dinner drink. Something to enjoy while under a blanket watching a rented DVD of 'My Name Is Earl' or something else that is not available on TV here in Munich.
During the SSWC'06 in Stockholm, we flew there thru Amsterdam (Schipohl?) and I bought a hip flask of Famous Grouse. Known as the 'Absolut of Scotch' for its economy as well as easy drinkability, It helped me get thru a horrible race, where my allergies were all tuned to 11, and there was no relief in sight. Thanks to the organizers of the race, and my hip flask, one lap was made bearable, and now I can say I appreciate the relaxed atmosphere that embodies (and encourages) the love of a good single malt.
That said, I chose to do a side-by-side of two single malts. Aberlour is the current favorite of the missus, and rightly so. It is sweet, with a light smoky nose, citrus and oak-y taste, and a light but satisfying afterburn.
Talisker was the newest that I decided to try. I like Aberlour, but I get bored of the same thing all the time. (It is the same with beer. I need to switch out the traditional 'Helles' for a Weissbier or Dunkel once in a while. But I get easily distracted.)
The Talisker has a much more smoky nose. So much so, that it even recommends a dollop of water to bring the aroma to its fullest. Even with water, (possibly more than a true scotsman would add...) it was still surprisingly smokey. The taste was more full and a bit more aggressive than the Aberlour, but not unpleasantly so. The finish was smooth with no hint of that fishy aftertaste that goes with some of the more smokey scotches. (Smokehouse, I'm talking to you. That shit is like drinking a smoked fish covered in 80 proof. Ugh. Cleveland, I still owe you a replacement for that. Bad choice on my part.)
Both of these 10 year old scotches are a good starting point for anyone wanting to try a sipping scotch for those lazy evenings at home. Be warned, it can be addictive. You may end up with a shelf full of half-drunk bottles varying from 10 year old Aberlour, to cask strength; from Highland to Isle of Skye, to blended variations and then some. Just don't drink half of one in a night. Not only will you not appreciate it, your pee will smell like asparagus pee the next morning. Not to mention the possibility of a well-earned hangover.
—Christian
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In summer in Munich, there are many 'beach party' clubs. Ibiza is a popular place to party for the young'ns (and some crazy old guys...) and due to the popularity of such vacation spots the Caipirinha has migrated over the Pacific to Europe as the 2nd most ordered drink here. (No way will beer ever be out sold here. My belief, it won't hold up to scrutiny, I'm afraid... or will it?)
The Caipirinha is a traditional Brazilian drink prepared with cachaça, refined from cane sugar. It packs a whallop, let me tell you. Its also quite refreshing in summer weather. In winter, it can give you that 'summertime feeling' that we all need when it is hovering around freezing and snow is piling up outside.
First, go get yourself some cachaça. Pitu is a brand that I use, and it does the trick. Make sure it is the 'white' or clear kind. As with tequila, the yellow is aged, and is sipped in highball glasses by those in the know.
Now the fun part. Drop about 2 tablespoons of raw sugar in a glass with 4-6 wedges of lime. Fill the glass halfway with crushed ice, and use a spoon, hammer, what-have-you to mash it all up until the sugar and lime juice is a mostly-syrupy goulash. Then fill to top with ice, then top off with cachaça. Drink till it hurts. Repeat.
Now on to my preferred variation. substitute Vodka for the cachaça, and call it a Caipiroshka. Bam, you just made a whole new drink. Again, I use Absolut, because its is better than paint thinner, but still affordable. Maybe it is the half-Swedish in me.
Now another variation on a theme. This one takes a little more doing. Get yourself some gin. Bombay sapphire is what I use, because that's how I learned to make the drink. Raw sugar, check. Switch out the Lime for about 6 kumquats, halved. Smash 'em up and ice, and gin. Voilá. I don't know if it has an official name, but I'm calling it a Caipiquatta. I think it fits nicely.
—Christian
Inhalt :
Pitu, Vodka or Gin
Fresh Lime, double-quartered
Raw Sugar
Collins glass or pint, depending on severity of thirst.
Kumquats for gin variation
(Don ho or Bossa Nova music optional)
tags: alcohol, drinks, mixed+drinks, beverages, drinking
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