Some pictures ...

[Vader]

Not much and nothing really exciting this time.


An argula based salad with curry chicken, mango, cherry tomatoes, carrots. The vinaigrette is made of good olive oil, raspberry vinegar plus drippings and jus from the pan the chicken was prepared in


Chocolate tiramisu. Looks like a mess but the taste was very satisfying.


Cevapcici --> clicky

Here served with homemade wild garlic (Allium ursinum) butter.


Spaghetti alla puttanesca - another classic pasta dish I could murder for. Sicily on a plate - onions, garlic, chili flakes, tomatoes, capers, anchovis, black olives and parsley. Simple as it gets.

[Vader]

I've been experimenting a lot with my new pizza stone recently. Of course it can't replace a real wood oven but I'm getting more and more pleased with the results. The stone is like 2 inches thick and I heat it up at full blast for about an hour or so. The oven should go up up to 250°C / 480F, but three different thermometers show it actually reaches 270°C / 520 F.



We all have our favorite pizza. The Vadress loves pizza frutti di mare. The more squid, the better.


Mrs Vader goes for the classic - pizza margherita with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella (fior di latte) and basil.



My favorite is what is usually being served here as pizza napoli - with black olives, capers and anchovis.


pizza prosciutto served with arugula.



pizza salami e funghi


A simple pizza bread. Just olive oil, garlic, salt and Italian herbs.


They grow fantastic white asparagus around the place I live and it's in season now. Usually I eat it pretty plain - cooked al dente and served with melted butter and potatoes - sometimes with air dried ham and hollandaise. This time I put it on a pizza with hollandaise, parmesan and prosiutto and served it with arugula. The Missus was very pleased.

[Menolly]

Those all look worthy!

I've been experimenting a lot with my new pizza stone recently. Of course it can't replace a real wood oven but I'm getting more and more pleased with the results. The stone is like 2 inches thick and I heat it up at full blast for about an hour or so. The oven should go up up to 250°C / 480F, but three different thermometers show it actually reaches 270°C / 520 F.

Vader, you have to check out this article, written by the author of The Food Lab, James Beard Award nominee Kenji Lopez-Alt.

The Pizza Lab: Combine The KettlePizza and the Baking Steel For The Ultimate Home Pizza Setup

sweet...

[Vader]

Fried meat patties German style.


Green asparagus from the grill. Top right: grilled halloumi cheese.


The "good" fastfood: German Bratwurst in a crispy bun with Sauerkraut. Serve with mustard.


Parma ham wrapped medallion of pork fillet.


The same pork served with asparagus, home made hollandaise and potatoes.


Baked meat balls on eggplant ragout - a dish from Sicily.


Honey glazed chicken with lemon-honey sauce. A dish inspired by Greek Cretan cusine.


Ricotta cake with raisins and cranberries.

[Vader]

Welcome to the Germany of the 50s. The classic Toast Hawaii. Invented or at least made popular by Clemens Wilmenrod, the first German TV chef (who actually was more of an actor than a chef). His trademark was giving “exotic” names to trivial food, something which struck a nerve with early “Wirtschaftswunder” Germany.

You simply toast your bread and spread some butter on it. A slice of cooked ham, a ring of pineapple, a maraschino cherry and a slice of Kraft cheese, into the oven - et voilà. You could use fresh pineapple, fresh cherries or REAL cheese, but it’s just not the same. If you feel fancy you could sprinkle some mild paprika over the cheese ...

(Wilmenrod) focused the cravings and desires of a complete age on a few square inches of wheat bread: the lavish combination of ham and cheese displayed the newly gained wealth. Pineapple and maraschino cherry expressed the yearning for the big, wide world.

[Vader]

Wok'n'Roll






Beef roulades. Actually a classic winter dish but the Vadress was craving them. I can tell you how they turned out once they cooked for a couple of hours.

[lorin]

will you tell me how to make the eggplant ragu?


I just bought myself a Lodge 15" cast iron skillet. It is a monster. I always wanted a cast iron skillet and bigger is always better with ambien. I figure I can make paella with it, or corn bread, or use it to level the slope in the house.

[Menolly]

use it to level the slope in the house.

Is the pan already seasoned, lorin?

[lorin]

use it to level the slope in the house.

Is the pan already seasoned, lorin?

Yep. I was surprised to read that you should wash it after use. I thought you just wiped it down. They say to wash it, then dry it in a warm oven for 15 minutes. I didn't get a lid because the lid cost more than the pan!! And I can always use aluminum foil. I have never seen such a huge cast iron.

Doesn't fit in my cabinet. I have to store it on top of the fridge. I am a hazard on ambien. I really have to quit it.

[Menolly]

use it to level the slope in the house.

Is the pan already seasoned, lorin?

Yep. I was surprised to read that you should wash it after use. I thought you just wiped it down. They say to wash it, then dry it in a warm oven for 15 minutes.

Does it say to wash it with soap and water? I would only do that before initial use, if even that, but never again. There may be chemicals in the factory seasoning which need to be removed, but otherwise I can not imagine why one would be told to wash with soap.

I like what SD has shown me to do, which is to rinse under running hot water, and use a Pampered Chef stoneware scraper to scrape off anything else that sticks. No soap, ever. I allow to air dry, but if it needs to be reseasoned, I'll put it upside down over a half sheet pan in a 350F oven for an hour, after rubbing good quality vegetable oil, or shortening, all over the interior.

[lorin]

I just looked at the tag. It says do not use "harsh detergents".

[Vader]

Zucchini burger with smoked salmon


Are you ready
For Meatball, Spaghetti?


Tapas. Serano ham, chorizo, olives, salted potatoes and "mojo picon"


Safron risotto frutti di mare with steamed chicoree and safron vinaigrette


Chicken breast "surpreme", mushroom risotto, fennel and leek and balsamico-elderberry reduction.

[Menolly]

Those all look fabulous, but I need some of that saffron fruitti di mare, now!

[Vader]

I've been trying to replicate quite a lot of Gordon Ramsay dishes lately. Here is some stuff together with other stuff.


Lemon pie


Berry pudding with lemon crème fraîche


Pan fried red mullet with sesame crostinis


Stuffed chicken leg wrapped in parma ham on risotto


Fried chicken breast on safron risotto


Wild mushroom ragout with penne


Chicken salad with guacamole


Egg benedict


Chocolate mint truffels


Roasted scallops with potatoes, truffles and salad


Roasted scallops on cauliflower purée and caper-rasin vinaigrette


Pan seared veal chop on creamy polenta


Lobster-salmon ravioli with a chervil-lemon grass velouté and lobster stock reduction


Cottage pie


Baked feta cheese


Ground pork and chorizo in puff pastry


Spanish tortilla and Italian frittata


Creamy scrambled egg


Beef Wellington with butter spinach and sauce hollandaise


Cheat's soufflé with three cheeses


Frittata

[Menolly]

Oh golly...

[Vader]

Pressed pork belly. Recipe by Gordon Ramsay. Delicious.


Making pasta. Tagliatelle. Some saffron in the dough.


French onion soup with toast and cheese.


First go at a dragon roll. If it does one thing than it shows I'm not completely useless at making sushi. Now I need to work on precision and speed. A good shushi chef assembles this roll in about two minutes.


Doesn't look too bad from this angle.


5-spices Duck breast on creamy potatoe mash with orange sauce and cauliflowers.


Ragoût fin (veal, chicken and mushrooms) in pie crust.


Tiramisu (recipe by Gordon Ramsay)


The Vader has finally gone molecular - strawberry-mango caviar.

A whole new world is waiting for me and I'm feeling excited like a kid finding out it's Christmas, Easter and birthday all on the very same bday.


Fascinating ...


Butter poached lobster tail with lime-tarragon mayonnaise and pan seared scallops on a cauliflower purree.

I'm not living in Maine, so lobster is an extravagant delicacy over here and inlands hard to get fresh.

[Vader]

Thanks to my former provider/upload site the old pictures are gone for good, so here are some new.


Skrei - Norwegian cod on pea puree with roasted potatoes and chorizo.


General Tso's chicken, Taiwanese version.


Green St. Patrick's Day risotto (pureed peas and herbs)


Nashville hot chicken.


Chicken etouffee.


The classic pizza marina - just sauce, garlic and oregano.


Skrei on fried veggies and tater mash.


Southern style barbecue shrimps.


Tomato risotto.


Lemon chicken Cantonese style.


Grilled flat iron steak (Black Angus, dry aged)


Pirzola - Turkish lamb chops.


Fried cod and plaice filets on tater mash with creamy carrots.


Grilled meat in home made pita bread.


18th century fried English chicken.


Lemon-rosemary chicken.


Rogan Josh - lamb stew from Kashmir. Here the Indian Hindu version.


Arrosticini d'Abruzzo - grilled lamb skewers from the Abruzzi (Italy).


Grilled seabeam.


Grilled salmon.

[Savor Dam]

While mourning the loss of all the old photos, these recent ones continue the tradition of capturing all of the appeal of your skillfully prepared, plated, and photographed food porn.

[Sorus]

That pizza crust looks amazing.

[Skyweir]

God it all looks amazing


I want to go to there