Sweet Pie of Mine - Covered Apple Pie

Weekend. Sunshine. Calls for Apple Pie.

Basically, I´ve known two kinds of Apple Pie from my very childhood on: a sponge cake with halfed apples that are placed on top of the dough - which my mum used to make - and the covered apple cake, a shortcrust filled with apple pieces and raisings, topped with another shortcrust, frosted, which my grandma used to make.

In remembrance of Grandma, I decided to go for the old-fashioned covered version. You don´t find it too often anymore, only in the traditional, old-fashioned confectioneries. The shortcrust is really simple to prep: 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter, 1 part sugar, egg if wanted. I´ve reduced the sugar for this one, because the filling itself is pretty sweet. The shortcrust needs to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge - otherwise, it will stick and you will not have a lot of fun working with it. Patience is the key word here.

The filling is easy again: soak raisins in rum, peel and dice apples, mix with apple sauce and sugar. Done.
Assemble your pie, bake, enjoy. I love it.

Recipe for Covered Apple Pie

Ingredients for a 26cm baking pan

300g flour

180g butter

30g sugar

1 egg

600g apples, sour

50ml lemon juice

80g brown sugar

handful of raisins

dash of rum

250ml apple sauce

confectioner´s sugar

Preparation

1. Soak raisins in rum.
2. Mix flour, butter, sugar and egg in a large bowl.
3. Knead until blended and soft.
4. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge (for at least 30 minutes, see above).
5. Preheat oven to 200°C (no convection).
6. Peel and dice apples. Mix in another bowl with brown sugar, raisins, apple sauce and lemon juice.
7. Remove dough from the fridge. Dust your work area with flour. Divide dough into 3 parts. 
8. Well one piece to fit the baking pan´s bottom.
9. Use the second piece to cover the sides.
10. Use the third piece to make the cover. If there is any excess, use to decorate.
11. Cover bottom with dough. Pour filling on top. Cover with your dough lid.
12. Punch some wholes into the cover (use a fork) to prevent the dough from cracking up.
13. Bake for appr. 40 minutes until golden brown.
14. Let cool. Dust with confectioner´s sugar.
15. Serve either plan, with whipped cream, with vanilla sauce or vanilla icecream.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Eat Out: Fiesta Mexicana

Surprise, surprise - was the quote of the day on Wednesday. I was summoned to a professional training in Metzingen, near Stuttgart, starting Thursday morning, ending Friday afternoon. To put it in a nutshell: the training was awesome (no kidding!), we were only 5 participants, and our teacher took great care of us. The hotel was wonderful, very friendly. The food was excellent, and they spoiled us with lots of local goodies like Maultaschen, Kässpätzle and the like. Yum.

The downside: being apart from your loved one(s). So there was great joy upon reunion in Dusseldorf on Friday night. Nothing better to celebrate than go out for dinner, right? My significant other, A., had missed me a lot obviously, because he had no restrictions (!) on where to go. I have been wanting to try this mexican place called "Psssst...Bandidos" in Dusseldorf FOREVER, but there was always a reason against it ("do they have anything I would want to eat?"...."Mexican?! I don´t know..."..."Not today, maybe we´ll go some other time"...).

So I took advantage, and dragged him to the Bandidos place. The outside landmark is a big cactus, and the inside is decorated like you would imagine from a movie. Like a mexican saloon, that is. The waiter brought Nachos as complimentary starter, and we ordered our drinks. I had to order a Desperados, a beer flavoured with Tequila, of course. The evening just turned really good.

The menu looks like a newspaper from the Western days, and is really extensive, I doubt that someone could not find anything they would like. From soups to salads to poultry to meat - they even have a separate kids menu. I chose the Combinacion Mexico lindo: a beef taco, a chicken enchilada, and a veggie burrito. A. went for the Carne asada, a rumpsteak with potatoes and veggies. The food came quickly, and was EXCELLENT. Maybe a bit too much coriander, but everything else was really good. So if you are looking for something different to eat out in the Dusseldorf area, you´ve got your hint now.

Steak with Cherry Sauce and Wholewheat Knoedel

This is the main dish that followed the appetizer I showed you yesterday. The combination of something light and refreshing fishy and something contrastingly hearty and beefy is something I really like. This dish is especially great because it is somewhat extraordinary because of the cherry sauce, but yet fairly easy to make. The whole prepping takes about 40 minutes (if it is not the very first time you´re cooking food).

 

Steak with Cherry Sauce and Wholewheat Knoedel

The beef steak is cut from the hip, and very tender. I like it best plain, with only salt and pepper as seasoning. The knoedel are a german specialty, made from bread and boiled to perfection. Perfect to soak in sauce, and wipe your plate with them, so you need a great sauce: like the cherry sauce pictured above. Sweet and savory, nice and thick in texture. With a hint of Kirsch, a liquor made from cherries.

My significant other wiped the plate with the knoedel, which is the unbeatable sign that what I´ve cooked up is really good. Go ahead, try it yourself. It will make you very well-liked in your neighborhood.

Recipe for Steak with Cherry Sauce and Wholewheat Knoedel

Ingredients for 2

2 steaks, beef, from the hip

salt and pepper

oil

1 clove of garlic

150ml beef broth

100ml port wine

100ml cream

200g cherries, pitted

dash of Kirsch (optional)

6 slices of toasted bread

100ml milk

1 onion

1 egg

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 150°C, convection.
2. Dice bread. Place in bowl.
3. Heat milk to lukewarm. Pour over bread cubes. 
4. Add egg and diced onion. Mix well. If the dough is too sticky, add breadcrumbs. If it is too dry, add more milk.
5. Stretch out a piece of Saran wrap. Place dough on it, and shape into a roll that will fit in the pot you´re wanting to cook it in. Wrap in two more layers of aluminium foil to prevent leakage.
6. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add knoedel roll, cover with a lid and let simmer for at least 20 minutes. Doesn´t hurt if it takes you longer to finish the dish.
7. Heat pan. Season beef steak with salt and pepper. Squeeze clove of garlic.
8. Sear beef steak in oil, adding garlic clove, from all sides. Remove from the pan and place in the oven for about 15 minutes.
9. Quench pan with beef broth. Add port wine. Reduce to a third.
10. Remove garlic, and add pitted cream and pitted cherries. Let simmer for another 5 minutes until consistency is right.
11. Remove knoedel roll from water, unwrap and cut into slices.
12. Use slices as bed for beef steak, and cover thoroughly in cherry sauce.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Smoked Salmon Tartelette with Cucumber and Horseradish

Work has been keeping me as busy as never before, so all we ate in the last couple of days consisted of either bread with ham and the like or something quickly thrown together, requiring no more than 3 ingredients. Definitely nothing I would want to share with you.

But, this weekend I will make up for the lack. Because my fingers were already itching to get back into the kitchen, I decided to prep appetizer and main dish for dinner. Here´s my appetizer:

 

Smoked Salmon Tartelette with Cucumber and Horseradish

This is the perfect recipe for summer: light and refreshing. I love smoked salmon, and this tartelette is the perfect way to serve it even to people who usually don´t like fish as much. The prepping is easy, but the outcome will certainly impress your guests. Slice your cucumber thinly (as you can see in the picture, I didn´t), and it will look like star-cuisine.

Recipe for Smoked Salmon Tartelette with Cucumber and Horseradish

Ingredients for 2

3 slices of smoked salmon

1/2 cucumber

4 tablespoons cream cheese

dash of lemon juice

1 teaspoon horseradish

Preparation

1. Line molds with Saran wrap. 
2. Cut slices off your cucumber. Salt (will make them more flexible).
3. Cover sides of mold with cucumber slices.
4. Place a piece of salmon on the bottom of the mold.
5. Dice remaining salmon and cucumber. Put into a bowl.
6. Add cream cheese and horseradish, and mix well.
7. Fill into molds.
8. Cover with Saran wrap.
9. Place in fridge, and let cool for at least 2 hours.
10. When ready to serve, dump onto plate, and decorate with crema di balsamico.

Strawberry Yoghurt Copula Cake

Spring is finally here. Temperature is rising, and the sun is cautiously, but continually deciding to come out and shine these days. Perfect opportunity for a spring-inspired cake, with the fruit of the season: strawberries. And since spring is light-hearted, I matched them with some pre-biotic yoghurt, and fresh lemon juice.

 

A light-hearted delight. Fresh because of the yoghurt and lemon juice, and a total strawberry flash - only from strawberries. Nothing else added. No food colouring or artificial flavour or any of that ****. All you need is some nice, ripe strawberries and a little patience, since this is one of your classic "upside down" cakes.

You start with baking a sponge cake. Easy. No more actual baking needed. Next, you line a bowl with Saran Wrap, slice some strawberries and decorate. If you are not into deco, skip. It won´t look as nice, but it will taste the same, promise.

Then you prep the filling: yoghurt, lemon juice, strawberry puree, and gelatine. That´s it. Fill on top of your sliced strawberry pattern. Cover with the previously baked sponge cake, stick in the fridge and wait. That´s the hardest part, if you ask me.

 

But it is well worth the time. The cake is light, refreshing and the perfect announcement for spring.

Recipe for Strawberry Yoghurt Copula Cake

Ingredients
for the sponge cake:
3 eggs
100g sugar
75g flour

for the filling:
400g strawberries
450g yoghurt (whichever kind you like)
100g confectioner´s sugar
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons lemon juice
10 pieces of gelatine


Preparation

1. For the sponge cake: divide the eggs. Beat egg yolks with half the sugar until foamy.
2. Whisk egg whites until stiff with remaining half of sugar.
3. Sift flour on egg yolks, add whisked egg whites, and fold in with whisk.
4. Pour into baking pan, lined with baking sheet.
5. Bake at 180°C for appr. 15 minutes. Remove and let cool.
6. Line a bowl with Saran wrap.
7. Wash and clean strawberries. Slice half and cover bowl with slices.
8. Puree remaining half and set aside.
9. Soak gelatine in water (as directed).
10. Blend yoghurt with lemon juice and 50g sugar. 
11. Dissolve gelatine (as directed). Mix with 2-3 tablespoons of yoghurt, and then add mixture to remaining yoghurt mixture. THIS IS IMPORTANT: you level temperatures this way. If you dump all the warm gelatine into the cold yoghurt mixture, it will be a lumpy mess. You don´t want that, believe me.
12. Cool until mixture starts to thicken (takes about 10 minutes in the fridge).
13. Meanwhile, beat egg whites until stiff with the remaining sugar.
14. Add egg whites and strawberry puree to the yoghurt mixture in the fridge.
15. Pour the whole mixture on top of the strawberries in your bowl.
16. Cover with your sponge cake. You might need to trim it to fit your bowl. That´s fine, and yes, nobody will know whether there were any excess pieces of sponge cake or not. Just don´t tell them.
17. Push down a bit. Cover with Saran wrap, and stick in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
18. When wanting to serve, turn upside down. Remove Saran wrap, and show off.

 

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Easter Braid

If there is one thing closely related to Easter - baking wise, that is - it must be the Easter Braided Sweet Bread that my mum makes. The recipe comes from an over 30 year-old cookbook that she learned cooking from. Ages old, but no need to fix a thing. The same book carries my mum´s famous apple cake, and the Baumkuchen that is requested from all family members for all special occasions. I have to do that again soon, too.

But for now, I will just indulge into my mum´s sweet easter bread. It is made with yeast, and moist and soft and wonderful. My brother likes it with leberwurst, I´m more of a sweet tooth - but to the honest, this one is best pure, with nothing else on top. It takes a little time to prep, but you are rewarded, I promise. Plus, you can always make a bigger batch, and form two braids - I am sure your friends will love you for your sharing with them.



Recipe for Easter Braided Sweet Bread

Ingredients

500g flour (type 405)

250ml milk, luke-warm

50g sugar

1/2 cube of fresh yeast (about 20g)

75g butter, soft

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

another egg (for glazing)

coarse sugar (for decoration)

Preparation

1. Sift flour into a big bowl. 
2. Heat milk to luke-warm. Add sugar and yeast and mix until dissolved.
3. Pour into flour, add butter and salt and knead well until the dough is elastic and shiny. This will take appr. 10 minutes (if done by hand).
4. Cover with a wet kitchen towel, put in a warm place and let rise until doubled (may take up to 2 hours).
5. Cover your working place with flour, and knead dough well. Part into three portions, and roll three pieces. Stick them all together on the top, and braid.
6. Place the braided bread on the greased baking sheet.
7. Whisk the remaining egg,  add a pinch of sugar and salt. 
8. Cover with coarse sugar.
9. Let rise for another 30 minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 200°C. No convection.
11. Place in the middle of the oven, and bake for appr. 45 minutes until golden brown.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Bon Appétit!

Vote Now! Windbeutel 2010

Yes, I know, I was going to do nothing. Well, you know how it goes. I get bored pretty easily. After sleeping in and running a 15k run, I had nothing better to do than browse the internet. And stumble upon the voting for the "Windbeutel 2010", a title that FoodWatch, a German Association against false statements on nutrition labels, is awarding to one malicious product per year.

This year, they´ve nominated five products that you can vote for now - see box in the right hand column. All these products have one thing in common: they are designed to mislead US. The buyers. Which is a shame. And we should all stand up and do something about it.

Voting is open until April 22nd, so please go ahead and let the industry know what you think about this kind of product.

B&Js FairTrade YummyYum

Guess what, people? It´s Easter Holidays. Finally, a couple of days off work. And since work has been hell lately (work-load-wise, that is), I decided to do - NOTHING. At least today. And indulge in some nice Ben&Jerry´s Chunky Monkey Ice Cream.


This ice cream is not only good for you soul (banana ice cream with little banana-shaped chocolate pieces and walnuts), but also for your conscience. All ingredients are bought in FairTrade. Feeling good has never been easier - you get to indulge in ice cream, and by doing that, you are supporting a good cause. Why can´t everything be this easy?

The banana ice cream serves as the base, and is smooth and creamy. The chocolate pieces are shaped like bananas, and crack in your mouth when you bite on them. The walnut pieces add a wonderful hearty component to the otherwise pretty sticky and sweet story. A true gain for all you ice cream monkeys out there!