roasted beets and raw aged goat cheese on caramelized onion rye from Fressen

 

This is Alex at the Steigerwald Lake wildlife refuge, stretched out in the back of the VW with the hatch open, having lunch and looking at the scenery like a good German . . .

pear tart

 

My first tart! Alex made the glaze for it out of apricot jam and Zwetschgenwasser —plum liquor from the Schwarzwäld.

firewater!

I agreed to give these friends temporary shelter while Alex's house is under construction.

papas bravas with harissa and aioli

chicken and potatoes braised in coconut milk with homemade curry powder

This curry was kind of a hodgepodge, starting from a recipe in Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" (you can tell this is me writing, since Alex doesn't really need the Bittman). This one started with braised potatoes, and then had many options for what to braise them in, coconut milk being one. But I added the chicken, which I browned in the Le Creuset and then browned the potatoes in the same pan after removing the chicken. Then I threw in some onions and carrots and then the coconut milk and put the chicken back in and added the curry powder (again, I started with the Mark Bittman recipe for the hot Indian curry powder, but I threw in some freshly ground cardamom leftover from some ridiculously spicy chocolate I made for Susan's birthday {sorry Susan!}) and then I let it all cook for 20 minutes. For liquid I added some of the water/vinegar mix I had used to reconstitute dried peppers for another recipe (big ancho chilies and some little chilies de arbol). I cut up a couple of the hot chilies and added them as well. The cabbage never made it in there.

poached eggs, rösti, maitake and avocado

This is starting to look familiar, this conglomeration.

shephard's pie with ground lamb, roasted carrots, parsnips, fennel and apples, topped with mashed celery root and potatoes

garlic roasted pork shoulder with kabocha, goat cheese & onion skillet pie

The photo of the skillet pie doesn't do it justice. The recipe is from The Glorious Foods of Greece by Diane Kochilas. The squash gets sliced and salted, then sits stacked up in a collander with a weight on top and drains for an hour. Each slice gets tossed in seasoned flour and then half of the squash slices get layered in a hot, oiled skillet, followed by the goat cheese, onion slices and salt and pepper, and then the rest of the squash slices go on top. It cooks covered for 15 minutes or so, and then you flip the whole thing over and let it cook for another 15. Amazing. The pork was from Tails and Trotters, that chef turned pig farmer. That is where the recently posted pork steak came from as well. The fat melts in your mouth and tastes like chocolate. That might sound gross, but . . .

field peas, collards, carolina gold rice, pork sausages with peppers & onions, and cornbread

pflaumenkuchen and coffee

Yes, it doesn't look like coffee—because it has whipped cream in it.

fried eggs, sausages & chantrelles

sourdough waffles

cassoulet!

spaghetti sauce with sausage and meatballs

 

This was the dinner we made the night we should have flown to LA for christmas but were grounded due to Arctic Blast 2008. A memorable G.C.S meeting ensued.

seared rib eye with mushroom gravy, salad with radishes, salt roasted potatoes

sausages, salad, and beer

Another lunch from a time gone by (a.k.a. summer).

dandelion salad with steak and egg, quinoa with morels and sugar snaps, avocado toast

This is a lunch from late spring of last year. I can't believe it is February already.