Tamale Pie

One of the things I miss about the United States is the plethora of casserole dishes.  This dish is truly the embodiment of the 'Melting Pot' culture.  I am a huge fan of tamales, but unfortunately I have not been able to find the corn husks that tamales need to be wrapped in.  This dish tastes spectacular and is a good substitute.  Credit for this recipe goes to All That Splatters. Of course, serve with a generous dollop of sour cream!

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups corn
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons chili powder
Dash black pepper

6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (I used grated Gouda)

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon butter

Cook meat, onion, and bell pepper in a large skillet until meat is lightly browned and vegetables are tender.  Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, chili powders, and black pepper.  Simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until thick.  Stir in cheese. Turn into a greased 9x9x2-inch baking dish.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Stir cornmeal and 1/2 teaspoon salt into cold water.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thick.  Add butter, and mix well.  Spoon cornmeal mixture over hot meat mixture.

Bake 40 minutes.

Roast Duck Breast with Ginger-Peanut Sauce

Duck is one of my favorite things to order from an Asian fast food.  The other day I noticed duck breast at my local supermarket and decided to give it a go.  The peanut sauce is a recipe I have been making for quite some time and is very popular everytime I make it.  This dish could also be made without the duck and vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth for a vegetarian main dish.

Duck:
 Ingredients:
3 Duck breasts (about 1 1/2 lb.)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

With a sharp knife score the fat of the duck breasts. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Warm a heavy bottomed ovenproof skillet over medium heat.

Place the duck breasts, fat side down, in the skillet to render off the fat, about 6 minutes. Reserve rendered duck fat. Turn the duck breasts over and sear for 1 minute. Turn the fat side down again and place the skillet into the oven to roast for 7 to 9 minutes, until breasts are medium rare. Let the duck breasts rest for 5 minutes then thinly slice.

Peanut Sauce:
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
6 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
1 teaspoon chili powder
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

	Combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, chili, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through

 


Vegetable Lo Mein:
Ingredients:
16. oz Chinese noodles
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch green onions (chopped, whites for Lo Mein, green tops for garnish)
1 Carrot, grated
1/4 lb. bean sprouts
soy sauce
sesame oil (for frying)

In a large pot boil water, cook noodles according to package instructions.  In a large wok, heat sesame oil.  When very hot, add the chopped green onions and cook for a few minutes.  Then add the mushroom and continue cooking.  Add a dash of soy sauce and continue cooking.  Then add the bean sprouts and continue cooking.  Then add the shredded carrot and continue cooking.  Add soy sauce to taste.

To serve, load up some noodles in a bowl.  Add the sliced duck breast and then spoon over the peanut sauce.  Serve garnished with crushed peanuts and green tops of green onions.

Lamb Goulash with Green Beans (Lammgulasch mit grünen Bohnen)

I found this recipe in a cookbook my boyfriend bought for me called Das Thüringen Kochbuch.  I've never made goulash with lamb before but figured I've give it a try.  Green beans were in great abundance at the market and figured it was a perfect match.

Ingredients:
1 lb Lamb meat (cut from Shoulder, without bone)
1/2 lb. fresh green beans
6 potatoes
1 carrot
2 onions
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon of each, savory, rosemary and thyme
butter for saute
1.5 Liters broth (instant or homemade)
salt and pepper

1. Wash the meat, dry with paper towels and cut into mouth-sized pieces.  Wash the beans and snip the ends and cut into pieces that will easily fit a spoon.  Wash and peel the potatoes.  Carrots grate and set aside.  Peel and chop the onions.  Mince the garlic.

2.  In a dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter in a pan.  Add the meat and brown on each side.  Add the onions and garlic and continue sauteeing.  Cover with the broth.  Cover and let cook on middle heat for 50 minutes.

3.  Then add the beans and the herbs (no salt at this point) and continue cooking for 10 minutes.  Then add the grated carrots and the potatoes and cook an additional 10 minutes.  Serve warm.  The soup can also be garnished with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream.

Käsesuppe mit Porree (Cheese Soup with Leeks)

 This is my version of a recipes I got from the side of a package of leeks I bought at a grocery store here in Germany.  After seeing the originial recipe, I did some research online to look at other versions.  Most of them did not have mushrooms, and if I made it again, I may omit the mushrooms, but since I'm a big fan I figured they would be yummy.  Also, no version of this recipe called for garlic, but it is very difficult for me to make a dish without garlic.  This is what I came up with.  This soup is certainly not healthy, but super super delicious.  Most of the recipes I found said to make the soup one day, chill and serve the next.  Because I looked up the recipes on the same day it was not possible, but the leftover the following day were divine!

1 lb. ground meat (beef and pork mixture)
4 strips bacon, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 stalks leeks, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
400 g. cream cheese (roughly one package)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1.5 liter broth

In a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium high heat, add the bacon.  Then cook until the bacon release its fat and the bacon begins to crisp.  Then add the onions and leeks.  Cook for about 5 minutes until they soften.  Then add the ground meat, stirring so the meat does not clump together while browning.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and dried herbs and stir well.   Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower broth to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, add the cream cheese and mix until blended.  At this point you can allow the soup to cool, then transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator overnight.  You could alternatively just put the dutch oven in the fridge if you had enough room.  Reheat the next day and serve with bread.

Bisteeya (Moroccan Chicken and Almond Pie)

At the Maybachufermarkt in Berlin, there used to be a Moroccan lady who sold this delicious phyllo dough pies.  I only ate it once, but I will remember that little pie for the rest of my life.  I immediately started looking on Pinterest and the internet for a recipe.  This is what I came up with after reviewing a number of different ones.

Ingredients

2 lbs. chicken thighs
2 red onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp saffron
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup almond slices
powdered sugar
ground cinnamon
50 g melted butter
6 sheet phyllo dough
1 egg, lightly whisked
fresh minced parsley
salt and pepper

Place chicken in a large pot.  Cover with water, add salt and bay leaf, bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked.  Remove chicken from water and let sit until cool and then remove meat from bone.  Add oil in a pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes, then add garlic and ginger and continue to to cook.  Add chicken, saffron, stock and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 20 minutes or until all the liquid evaporates.  Let cool. Brush a shallow round 20cm (base measurement) cake pan with melted butter to grease. Place the filo sheets on a clean work surface. Cover with a dry tea towel, then a damp tea towel (this will prevent the filo from drying out). Brush 1 sheet of filo with a little of the melted butter. Sprinkle one-fifth of the almonds on top. Top with another filo sheet, turning slightly, and brush with a little more butter. Sprinkle one-quarter of the remaining almond mixture on top. Continue this layering process with the remaining filo, butter and almond mixture. Line the prepared pan with the filo stack, allowing edges to overhang. 

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Add the egg and parsley to the chicken mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the chicken mixture into the pan lined with filo. Bring the filo edges over the chicken mixture to enclose. Brush with remaining butter. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and turn onto the lined tray. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden and heated through.  Sprinkle powdered sugar and cinnamon on top and serve in wedges,.

Tuna Casserole

I was really feeling an itch the other day for Tuna Helper.  Now I'm generally opposed to ready-meals and strange out-of-the-box creations, but Tuna Helper was something my dad would always made.  Luckily, Irma Rombauer had a homemade version in her cooking compendium, The Joy of Cooking.  I modified it a little, adding peas and carrots because I feel that a needed a little more veggies, you could easily add broccoli or any other vegetable for that matter.

Ingredients

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3/4 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup cooked peas
1/2 cup carrots,diced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cups shredded Cheddar (I used Gouda as Cheddar is hard to comeby in Germany)
12 ounces (2 cans) of tuna, drained and broken into chunks
2 cups cooked egg noodles (4 ounces uncooked)
1/2 cup minced parsley
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs (I used crispy onions for the topping)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Grease a 1 1/2 to 2 quart shallow baking dish.  Melt in a medium saucepan over medium heat the butter.  Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic and carrots.  Cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in the milk.  Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add, whisking until hot the cheese and the tuna.  Add and stir together the egg noodles, minced parsley, cooked peas and then salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Mix together and sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top.  Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes or until browned on top.

Kotopita

This is one of my all-time most requested dishes.  Once I made this for somebody, they usually request me to make it again.  The best way to describe it is Greek Pot Pie.  Being Greek, it uses Phyllo dough instead of a traditional pie crust.  I came across this dish originally in a Greek restaurant back in Norfolk, Virginia.  It sounded good in the discription, but once it arrived, it was mediocre.  I decided that I could make it better.  This recipe is what I created after comparing various recipes I researched online.  It does take a bit of time to make, but it it totally worth it.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
3 cups stock (made from stewing chicken)
1/3 cup butter
1 bunch scallions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups Feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons mint, chopped
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
3 eggs, beaten
12 to 14 sheets Phyllo dough
1/2 cup melted butter

1. Place the chicken, stock or water, salt and pepper into a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate, reserving the broth, and set aside to cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers.
2. Heat the butter or oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour, reduce heat to low and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour the reserved broth into the skillet all at once and whisk to eliminate any lumps. Simmer the broth for about 5 minutes to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the feta, dill, parsley, mint, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and the thickened broth and stir together. Adjust seasoning and then stir in the beaten eggs.
5. Grease a 9x9-inch baking dish or a deep-dish pie tin. Lay a layer of filo into the dish and brush it with meltied butter or olive oil. Add 5 or six more sheets of filo, brushing each with oil or butter and laying them at different angle to cover the dish. Press the filo gently down into the corners of the dish or pie tin.
6. Pour the chicken-cheese filling into the dish and spread it out evenly. Lay the remaining layers of filo over the top of the filling, brushing each layer with butter or oil and draping the excess over the edges of the dish. Trim the filo to leave about 1 1/2 inches draping over the edge. Roll the filo edges up toward the center of the dish to form a rolled edge.
7. Place the dish in the oven and bake for anywhere from 45-75 minutes, or until the center is bubbly and the crust is nicely browned.
8. Remove from the oven, cool about 15 minutes and serve with a salad.

Hazelnut Brownies

This is a yummy German/American infusion I thought up.  I had to find a brownie recipe because unfortunately here in Germany they do not sell brownies mixes cheap.  I found this on Pinterest and the original recipe is from the Fake-It Frugal website, which I totally think is a great concept.  The great thing about these is how cheap they are to make.  What I also find great is that you probably already have these ingredients in your cupboard.  If you don't have unsweetened cocoa, use a sweetened kind and then cut a bit of the sugar out of the main recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crushed hazelnuts

Mix all the ingredients together and place into a oiled 9x9 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Moroccan Shredded Carrot Salad

This was acutally a dish I made after I was inspired eating over a friend's house.  He prepared this salad in the traditionally French style with a really good wine vinegar.  It was delicious.  The following week it was my turn to host for dinner, and I decided to use the shredded carrot idea but add a Moroccan twist.  This salad was also divine.  Its also super heathy, cumin and cinnamon are both spices one should eat regularly.

Ingredients for about 4 people
1/2 lb (500 g) carrots ( I chose smaller carrots as my friend had recommended)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)
1/4 cup parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (I'm sure a smoked on here would also be good)
salt and pepper to taste

Grate all the carrots on the side of the grater with the biggest holes.  Then add all the rest of the ingredients and cover.  Place in fridge for about 2 hours.  This will allows all the flavors to blend together.

Soljanka

This was a typical dish back in the Former East Germany.  It was usually available at most canteens and public restaurants.  It is essentially soup that was made with left-overs.  As was common in both parts of Germany, there were always plenty of sausages. Strangley enough, this soup has ketchup as an ingredient, although an odd addition, it gives this soup its unique flair.  This makes a good quantity, so feel free to freeze some and thaw it out when you are short on time.

Ingredients:

2 onions, chopped
4 pickles, chopped
3 red peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1 lb. leftover meat (pork or beef), chopped
1/2 lb. salami, chopped
1/2 sausage (mixed bockwurst, jagdwurst or whatever you have), chopped
4 1/4 cups beef stock
salt and pepper
1 tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
butter

sour cream and lemon wedges, to serve

Heat butter in a dutch oven, add onions, cook until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add the red peppers, garlic and continue cooking.  Add the sausages and leftover meat, stir.  Add the ketchup, pickles, paprika and chili powder, stir.  Now add the beef stock and mix well.  Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for about 1 hour.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Ladle into soup bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream and lemon wedges.  Guten Appetit!

Madrid-Style Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Albóndigas con Tomate)

Spanish-Style meatballs have always been one of my most favorite dishes.  There was a tapas bar in Jerez, Spain that I ate at frequently as a child called Bar Alegria (Happiness Bar) and that was certainly the feeling you got as you devoured those meatballs.  Since then, my aunt and mother have been trying tirelessly to replicate that beloved balls of meat.  I was always more than happy to try each and every one of their attempts.  Unlike the Italian cousin of this dish, Spaniards tend to eat meatballs with fried potatoes.  Gotta love anything fried in oil.  This is a recipe I got at a book fair in Madrid.  It is called Madrid Al Fuego

Ingredients for 6 people

1 lb. ground beef/pork mixture
2 cloves or garlic, minced
1 teaspoon parsley
fist sized quanity of left-over inside of bread
equal quantity of milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
6 tablespoons of flour
vegetable oil for frying
2 big potatoes, cut into pieces

For the sauce:
3 tablespoons of oil that the meatballs were fried in
1 medium sized-onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup tomate frito (or homemade tomato sauce/tomato puree)
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

In a big bowl, mix the meat, garlic, parsley, white pepper, salt, cinnamon and bread together and blend together.  Then mix in the eggs.  At this point, its best to let this mixture set for about an hour, covered, while the flavors blend together.  Now, roll the meatballs about the same size as ping-pong balls.  Set aside.

Now in a deep pan, add oil and allow it to heat up.  Add the flour to a wide plate, and roll the meatballs, then, place them one by one into the oil and brown on each side.  Once the meatballs are brown on each side, remove and reserve.  Finish browning all the meatballs.

Once the meatballs are all brown, use some of the oil from frying the meatballs and add the onion and cook.  Cook until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.  Then add tomato sauce, white wine, water, salt and cumin.  Now, return all the meatballs to the pan and cover.  Let the meatballs simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are cooked completely.  Serve over fried potatoes with a generous helping of the sauce.

Spanish Giant White Bean Soup with Chorizo

I was hoping to make something that was a bit like a white bean stew I had in Plaza Mayor in Madrid.  I saw these beans at the Mediterranean grocery store in my neighborhood thought that they would be great to make this soup.  I soaked the beans overnight as indicated on the package.  The beans got a lot bigger overnight.  They were very similiar to something I've eaten in a Greek restaurant that were called Elephant Beans.  I cooked them in my pressure cooker for over 45 minutes with the vegetable that my mother told me to use and chorizo.  Although the beans were big, the stew tasted incredible.  My chorizo had a slightly smoked flavor and it made the stew taste a bit smokey, yum!

1 lb. giant white beans
1/2 lb. chorizo sausage, cut into big chunks
2 medium onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
salt and pepper
olive oil
water from soaking beans

Soak the beans overnight in water.  Make sure you use a big bowl as the beans will expand in the water.  In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Then add the pepper and stir.  Then take the cloves are garlic and smash them on a cutting board with the blade of a knife.  Place the garlic cloves into the pot.  Then add the bay leaves and sweet paprika.  Dump the beans into the pot with the soaking liquid.  Make sure the you have about twice as much volume of water as beans.  Then place the the chorizo into the pot.  Bring the pot to a boil and lower to a simmer.  Cover the pot and let simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.  Taste the stew and see if you need to add any salt (The chorizo is salty and you may not need to add much salt).  Serve with beans on the bottom and a big piece of chorizo on top.

Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Curry and Mint

I've always eaten lentils ever since I was a small child.  My mother makes a fantastic Pardina lentil (brown) soup.  It was not until a Turkish restaurant Pasha Mezze opened up in my hometown of Norfolk, Virginia that I actually tried red lentil soup.  Unlike brown lentils, red lentils are usually pureed before serving and contain no meat.  It greatly reduces the amount of saturated fat, and lentils are extremely rich in protein and this soup is packed with tons of vegetables.  This soup was my attempt to replicate that of Pasha Mezze.

Ingredients for 4 people

1 cup red lentils
4 1/2 cups water
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, cleaned and whites chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoons curry
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
1 bay leaf
olive oil
salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat olive oil, then add chopped onions and fry until translucent.  Then add carrots, leeks and bell pepper, cook until softened.  Then add garlic cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Then add the curry, paprika, mint and bay leaf, stir to mix.  Then add the red lentils and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to low/medium and cook for about 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender.  Once the lentils are tender, use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until everything is nice and smooth.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread, or where available, Turkish bread.

Altmark-Style Wedding Soup

This is a soup that hails from the Altmark region of Germany.  It is tradionally served on the day of a wedding to bring good luck in the future of the marriage, but it is commonly also made for special occasions.  This version of the soup use white asparagus which are a seasonal vegetable in Germany during May.  They can however be purchased year-round.  If white asparagus are not available, then green asparagus will be a suitable replacement (they do not need to be peel however). The soup is also traditionally served at the table with a bottle of Maggi Würze.

Ingredients

1 soup chicken
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. white asparagus
4 eggs
vermecelli noodles
water
onion

Put the soup chicken in a large pot and cover with water, cut the onion in half (with skin still on, it gives the broth a little color) and add salt and pepper, if you are using white asparagus, peel the asparagus and cut off the ends, add these to the stock.  Bring to a boil, cover, then simmer for 1 1/2 hours (30 minutes in a pressure cooker) until the meat is coming off the bones.  Remove chicken from pot, and strain the broth.  Return broth the the pot.  Take the ground meat and season to your liking (I used lovage or Liebstöckel, but parsley should also work well) and add salt and pepper.  Roll the meatballs about 1 inch in diameter.

Bring the stock to a boil, add the meatballs one by one to prevent sticking.  Then slice the asparagus

Now add the asparagus to the pot. 

The next step is to crack the four eggs in a small saucepan and beat until smooth.  Place the saucepan into a larger saucepan filled with boiling water.  The heat from the boiling water will begin to cook the egg, wait until the egg is completely cooked, then remove from pot.  Cut the egg into small cubes and add to the soup.  Finally, add the small vermecelli noodles to the soup.  Continue cooking over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until noodles are done.  Serve the soup ladled into bowls with a bottle of Maggi Würze at the table. Guten Appetit!

Flan

This is my all-time favorite dessert, and my all-time favorite recipe.  After some steady nagging, my mother finally revealed to me her secret Flan recipe that kept a young Alex content for so many years.  Since I believe in sharing (a principle I also learned from my mother) I am gracing the world with this wonderful recipe.  This ingredients are suprisingly easy, the work lies in caramalizing the sugar, and making sure the oven is completely unheated before you place the flan in.  Don't worry at first if the sugar doesn't look like its caramalizing properly, keep the heat steady and it will eventually liquify, make sure you are swift in putting into the mold, or else it will reconstitute.  The water bath or bain-marie is a must, this recipe will not turn out otherwise.  I've experimented with various molds, I even used a flower-shaped mold one time and it turned out perfectly.  Once the flan has cooled (either to luke-warm or several hours of refrigeration, depending on preference) run a knife along the outside edges, give it a gentle shake to ensure the flan is not sticking to the mold and place a plate over the mold and flip! If you've done everything properly, you will have a beautiful flan.  Since you've already went through all the work of making the flan, might as well take a few extra minutes to decorate with flowers, fruit, mint leaves, anything to make the presentation even better!

Caramel Sauce:

¾ cup granulated sugar

Custard:

1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 can of evaporated milk (12 oz.)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat sugar in a small saucepan on medium heat until it caramelizes, stirring all the while. Pour caramel sauce into flan mold or any oven-safe dish, it will immediately harden. Mix custard ingredients together and pour over-top of harden sugar sauce. Place mold in oven in a roasting pan and pour 1 inch of water in pan Set oven to 350 degrees, do not preheat. Bake for 1 hour. Flan can be served slightly warm or cool. To serve, run a knife around the edges of the mold, place a plate over top of mold and flip. Be careful not to spill any of the caramel sauce.

Kısır - Turkish Bulgur Salad

There is a very large Turkish expatriate community living in Berlin.  One of the things I am constantly noticing at the Turkish Imbiss is this salad.  I've tried cooking Bulgur before and found it to be pretty tasty.  The fresher the ingredients are in this salad, the better it will taste.  Bulgur is suprisingly easy to prepare, even easier if you have a water cooker to boil water quicky.  The majority of the work in this salad is all of the chopping.  This recipe makes enough for several people, it can easily be multiplied.  Get a couple of friends together and have yourself a Kısır Party!  Prepare little Kısır cups to-go, keep in a bag or a lunch box and it will keep for several hours without regrigeration.

2 cups fine bulgur (avaiable at most grocery stores in the Middle Eastern section)
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon red pepper paste (spicy or regular, or just another teaspoon of tomato paste)
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 medium lemon
2 tablespoons pomegranate paste (nar ekshisi in Turkish, usually the bulgur)
1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped green onion
Crushed red pepper (optional, add depending on how spicy you want it)
Salt

Preparing Bulgur: Place Bulgur in a medium bowl or pot and add boiling water, place a cover over the bulgur and set aside for 20 minutes.  You can now begin chopping your other ingredients.

Once the bulgur is set, add the tomato and red pepper paste, pomegranate paste and olive oil and stir to mix well.  Then you can add all the other ingredients and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours so all the flavor can mix.

Leek Soup Saalfelder Style

This is a recipe that I found in a cookbook from the Thüringen region of Germany.  This dish comes from Saalfeld. It's basically a chicken soup with lots of leeks.  Once the soup is finished, its hard to notice all those leeks in there, but they sure do give the soup a great taste.  The recipe also called for Parsley, I decided on using an Herbes de Provence blend I found at the Maybach Ufer Market here in Berlin.  Although this soup is super tasty if made on the same day, its even better the day after.

Serves 4
Ingredients

1 soup chicken
5 leeks
1 lb. potatoes
2 carrots
2 tablespoons Parsley or other herb blend
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water, add a little salt and pepper, bay leaf and 1 tablespoon of herb mixture.  Bring pot to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hour.  When done, the chicken should be falling off the bone.  Remove the chicken from the pot and strain and reserve the broth.  Place chicken on a plate to cool off.  While the chicken is close to being done,  wash and dry the leeks, cut them into 2cm long rings.  Wash and peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them.  Add these and the other tablespoon of herbs to the broth and cook an additional 20 minutes.  Pull the meat off the chicken and dice.  When the potatoes are done, add the chicken.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Pork Ribs Adobo Style

This is a recipe given to me by my Tita Paqui, my aunt living in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.  She made this dish for me when I was visiting her this past few weeks.  The seasoning blend makes me thnk this recipe has been passed down as part of the Maurish tradition in Spain.  The use of pork ribs I find to be a bit ironic, since Spain was predominantly Muslim during the Maurish period.  In any case, this make a super dish is great.

Ingredients

2 - 3 lbs. pork ribs, cut into serving size pieces
2 onions, sliced
olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
water

Heat up olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven.  Brown the ribs on each side one by one in the olive oil.  Remove from the pan.  Fry the onions in the pan until translucent, then add garlic.  Add the paprika, cumin, oregano and bay leaves to the pot.  Then stack the ribs into pot.  Add the wine vinegar and add water to cover the ribs.  Bring to a boil and cover, reducing heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.  After about 1 hour, remove lid and bring heat to a medium-high and cook until the sauce thickens.  Serve over fried or boiled potatoes or rice.

Andalusian Country Potato Salad with Tuna

Serves 6

This is a recipe that I acquired from my mother.  Its traditionally a potato salad that farm laborers would take out to the fields with them.  Unlike most traditional potato salads, it is not mayonnaise based, which reduces the calories, but not that taste.

3 lbs. potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1 bunch green onions, green parts sliced
2 cans tuna (I used Bonito or White Tuna)
6 boiled eggs
1 can green olives stuffed with anchovies, sliced (reserve canning liquid)
bundle of Parsley, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil about 1/4 - 1/2 cup

 Place potatoes and eggs in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender, rinse with cold water then drain.  While the potatoes are boiling, slice the green parts of the green onions, slice the olives and mince the parsley, set aside.  In a large boil mix add the potatoes.  Peel and diced 5 of the boiled eggs and add them to the potatoes, then add green onions, olives and parsley.  Then add the tuna and 1/4 cup of the reserved olive juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Then carefully stir until all the ingredients are well mixed.  Garnish with the remaining boiled egg, sliced.  Refrigerate for about 3-4 hours to allow all the flavors to blend.  Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

This has always been one of my favorite dishes.  I know Cracker Barrel has an awesome version; however here in Germany they don't have any, so I've got to make my own.  Albeit I used the dumpling recipes from this link (http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/11/homemade-chicken-and-dumplings/), I decided to make my own stock by simmering a chicken in some water for 1.5 hours until it was nice and tender and began to fall off the bones.  This is a great method because you can also make some tasty chicken stock at the same time.    This dish takes a bit of time to make, but the stock and chicken can be prepared ahead of time.  It's well worth the wait.  Here's what you'll need:

1 2-3 lb. chicken
Enough water to cover chicken in pot
1 onion, cut in half
Dry herbs (whatever you would like to season your stock with)
2 bay leaves
3 Allspice kernels
Salt and pepper

In a large stockpot, place the whole chicken in the pot and fill with enough water to cover.  Wash the onion with the skin, cut in half, and add to pot.  (Leaving the skin on the onion gives color to the broth)  Add the 2 bay leaves and allspice kernels, dry herbs, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower to a simmer and simmer for about an hour and a half.  Afterwards, take chicken out of the pot, strain the broth, discarding the onion, bay leaves and allspice.  Reserve broth.  Allow chicken to cook.  Once cool, pull meat off the bones and reserve meat.

For Dumplings:

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons butter
a little less than 1 cup milk
2 quarts of chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken

This is where it gets fun.  Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and butter with your hands untin incorporated, similiar to how you would make a pie crust.  Then add the milk and stir until well blended.  On a well floured (the flour will later thicken your stock, so don't be shy) surface, roll out dough.  Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough into 2x2 inch squares. You could probably also use some small cookie cutters if you wanted.  Bring the chicken broth to a rolling boil.  Then drop the dumplings in one at a time (this is to avoid them sticking).  Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15-20 minutes until done.  You can test a dumpling and see if its cooked all the way.  Then, add the reserved chicken and cook until the chicken is warmed through.  Its now ready to serve!

Next time I plan on making the chicken stock well ahead of time, then refrigerate, so all the fat rises to the top of the container and solidifies.  I will then use the chicken fat to help make the dumplings.  I know this will make it more fattening; however, sometimes for me, taste usurps health :)