Gourmandises: Chai Latte Ginger-Lemongrass

This is one of my new favourites: a do-it-yourself Chai Latte, flavoured with Ginger and Lemongrass. Just empty a sachet into a mug, fill with hot water, stir, and enjoy.


Available in every decently sized grocery store, I guess. The foam is perfect, and the ginger-lemongrass taste makes it lighter and more refreshing than the xmas-sy ordinary Chai Latte. Definitely worth a try - and I am definitely buying this one again.

POM - Stay young without the hilarious clothes.

At least that´s what they promise in their brand new advertising campaign. POM is a pomegranate juice, comes in a funky sand hourly shaped bottle, and is dark red, almost purple. Made from 100% californian pomegranates, promises the lable.


Interesting, I thought, and shoved it into the already full shopping cart. Worth a try. Don´t we all like foods that promise us youth, prosperity or the like? But as with all other promising things - disappointment is already waiting on your doorstep. There´s no pill that will make you lose weight while continuing to eat your favorite foods, and none to turn you into a smartie if you´re a retard. Sorry, but that´s the truth.

And the truth about POM? Well, it doesn´t taste bad. A bit sour, not overly sweet. But any regular cranberry juice will be just as good, and will cost you only half the money. Don´t know about you, but I don´t need a fancy packaging. I´d go for the regular cranberry jug.

Minute Steaks with Rosemary Potatoes

Quick and easy cooking doesn´t necessarily mean you have to open a can or pop something into the microwave. This dinner was made quick and easy, and it only requires a handful of ingredients: minute steaks of beef, potatoes, rosemary, butter, salt and pepper. That´s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes, the joy of things is in simplicity.


The minute steaks are just very thinly cut steak pieces. Guess how long they take to cook? Exactly, only a minute on each side. I sear them in neutral oil, and add a knob of butter at the end. The potatoes are just as easy: boil, peel, melt butter in a pan and sear potatoes, add rosemary and be done. Now go cook yourself some decent food - it´s easier and faster than you may think.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Risotto Quattro Formaggi with Chicken Steak

Arborio Rice.
4 kinds of cheese.
2 chicken steaks.
1 lucky stomach.

Perfect sunday night dinner.

Rump Steak with Duchess Potatoes and Pepper Cream Sauce

Another German Classic: Rumpsteak with Pepper Cream Sauce and Duchess Potatoes. For my significant other, A., a total trip down memory lane.


The duchess potatoes are pretty much mashed potatoes, bound with egg yolks and dressed in shape with a piping bag. Not extraordinary in taste, but nice to look at. To be honest, I prefer gnocchi - I don´t think the duchess potatoes are actually worth the effort they are taking to prep. But that´s just me. They are sure nice to look at.

The pepper cream sauce is really good though - seasoned with cognac and pickled green peppercorns. Spicy, but not breathtaking. Just right. A great way to serve a good portion of meat - I used nice medaillons from the rump. No need to take fillet, the rump piece is even more flavourful.



Recipe for Rumpsteak with Duchess Potatoes and Pepper Cream Sauce

Ingredients

3 medaillons of rump
salt and pepper
neutral oil
knob of butter
750g potatoes
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon pickled green pepper corns
150ml milk
150ml cream
25ml cognac
1 onion


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
   
2. Peel and cook potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Drain and let cool for a bit.
4. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
   
5. Mash potatoes. Add 3 egg yolks (save one for brushing). Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Knead until smooth.
6. Fill the dough into your piping bag, using a wide nozzle with zigzag cutouts. Pipe small lumps onto the baking sheet. Brush with whisked remaining egg yolk.
7. Shove into the oven, and bake for appr. 15 minutes until golden.
8. Heat a pan with oil. Season rumpsteak with salt and pepper. Sear in the pan from all sides.
9. Place on a rack in the low third of the oven for appr. 10 minutes (depends on how you like your meat).
10. Add knob of butter to the meat pan. Dice onion. Sear in the meat pan.
    
11. Add pickled green peppercorns, and a bit of the liquid they come in. Quench with a little water.
    
12. Add cream and milk, and let simmer until the beef is done.
13. Remove beef from the oven, wrap in aluminium foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
14. Remove duchess potatoes from the oven.
15. To serve, place three duchess potatoes on each plate, put steak on the side, and cover with pepper cream sauce.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Cherry-Hearted Almond Muffins

Here comes one for all of you busy-bees with little to none time for baking. These muffins are seriously easy as 1-2-3. You don´t even need a kitchen machine, or a hand mixer. All you need is two bowls and a whisk. Sound good? Thought so.


The basic dough is fast: mix all wet ingredients in one bowl and whisk. Mix all dry ingredients in another bowl. Pour liquid mixture into bowl #2, and mix until just combined. Done.

You can spice up the whole thing with endless varieties: add chocolate drops to the base, or nutmeg and cinnamon. You can also skip the almonds, and replace with any other nuts - or, if you are allergic, replace the nuts with flour. As long as the dry stuff adds up to 200g, you will be fine. Or spoon a teaspoon of marmelade onto the muffin dough once you´ve placed it in the muffin cups. Yum!


One more trick on filling the muffin cups: I like to use my ice cream scooper. That way you make sure that your muffin cups are filled and baked evenly.





Recipe for Cherry-Hearted Almond Muffins

Ingredients for 8 muffin cups

150g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
75ml neutral oil
150g yoghurt, 3,5% fat
150g flour
50g ground almonds
1 flattened teaspoon baking powder
8 teaspoons cherry marmelade


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
2. In a bowl, whisk together sugar, vanilla extract, egg, oil and yoghurt until smooth.
3. In another bowl, combine sifted flour, ground almonds and baking powder.
4. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture, and mix just until they both blend. Can be a bit lumpy, don´t worry.
5. Line muffin pan with paper cups, or grease. Use your ice cream spoon to fill the cups evenly with batter. Place a teaspoon of marmelade in the middle, and cover with the rest of the batter.
6. Bake in the lower third of the oven on a rack for appr. 30 minutes.
7. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool thoroughly on a rack.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Frikadellen with Curried Tomato Risotto

Ladies and Gentlemen. Please give a random round of applause to... my significant other, A., featured on this food blog for the very first time! *clapclapclapclap* And to the dish he is 50% of liable for creating: German Frikadellen (A.) with Curried Tomato Risotto (me).


Joint Cooking (ad)ventures don´t take place too often in our kitchen - much to my disappointment. I love cooking together with people. So hopefully, this wasn´t the last time we´ve cooked together. To be continued at its best.

Frikadelle is the german version of a meatball, just that it is not round, but more oval-shaped. Made from mixed ground beef this time, half pork and half beef (note to self: only beef next time). A. adds some water-soaked whole wheat toast to create a fluffier texture. And onions are a must for him. I like to add some mustard, too, but that´s the fancy version then.

I decided to go for a tomato risotto as side, actually merely because I was out of potatoes and I didn´t have any basmati rice on hand either. BUT, I still had some risotto rice, so there we go.
I kicked it up with a tablespoon of yellow curry powder, and skipped the parmesan risotto usually calls for. Turned out great - definitely a keeper. Just like A. as sous chef.

Recipe for Frikadellen with Curried Tomato Risotto


Ingredients

500g ground beef
salt and pepper
2 slices of whole wheat toast, soaked in water
1 onion, diced
1 egg
250g risotto rice
1 onion, diced
knob of butter
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 litre of veggie broth
2 tablespoons paprika powder
1 tablespoons yellow curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice


Preparation

1. Drain slices of toast.
2. In a big bowl, mix ground beef, toast, salt, pepper, egg and diced onion. Knead well.
3. Form oval patties, and set aside.
4. In a wide pot, melt butter. Add onions.
5. When onions are golden, add tomato puree and risotto rice.
6. Quench with veggie broth, adding only so much broth that the rice is barely covered. Repeat any time the liquid is almost gone, until rice is done (takes about 20 minutes).
7. Add sugar, curry and paprika powder and lemon juice in the middle of the process.
   
8. Meanwhile, heat a pan with neutral oil, and fry the meat patties. First harsh on both sides for a minute each, then turn down the heat and cook until done (about 8 more minutes).
9. To serve, pile risotto in the middle, top with Frikadelle and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Oreo Cheesecake

Big news ahead - my brother is going to be married! So we had to drive by his place yesterday afternoon for cake & congrats. I decided to go for an Oreo Cheesecake - something funky for the rural folks.


I love Oreos, and I love cheesecake - the combo of both those things is just adorable. Plus, the base is made of cookie crumbs and butter - no baking necessary. And the filling doesn´t call for flour (especially great for gluten sensible people). The cake is crunchy, sweet, but not overly, and the filling is moist and dense, but not too heavy. A great cake for any occasion.



Recipe for Oreo Cheesecake

Ingredients

16+4 Oreo cookies
50g butter
750g quark
300g cream cheese
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
110g sugar


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
   
2. Crush cookies in your blender.
3. Melt butter. Mix with cookie crumbs.
4. Press into round baking pan (26cm diameter).
5. Mix quark, cream cheese, and sugars well.
   
6. Add eggs, one at a time.
7. Pour on top of cookie crumb base.
8. Decorate with halfed Oreo cookies (if you like).
9. Bake on second rack from bottom for about 45 minutes.
10. Let cool at room temperature for an hour.
11. Place in the fridge and cool for another 5 hours before serving.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!