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Home-style cooking with OnkelC, Vol. 1
- Thread starter OnkelC
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Great stuff Onkel. What is that you're using to start the charcoals under your charcoal chimney? I usually just roll up a piece of newspaper and fold it in there and light that on fire. Works like a charm for me. Also, pick up some wood chips from your grocery and add those to your charcoals after you dump them, it will add a really great smokey taste to your meat.
Thanks!sefskillz said:
Those were pressed woodchips. Newspaper works out, too.
The idea of wood chips for flavoring the barbecue stuff is godd, I use stuff like that when grilling fish or more delicate meat or poultry. But for "profane" stuff like Bratwurst, it would be pearls before swine.:lol
Edit:
I'm calling it a day. See you tomorrow and keep posting the delicious stuff!
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Tried a rosti earlier. I actually forgot to add some butter, which I think was why it went golden rather than browning (really didn't mind), but it worked well regardless.
If anyone else is trying, make sure you make them thick enough. I thought I'd made it as thick as in the pictures, but I guess not, it ended up much thinner than I wanted. Still was a bit gooey in the middle, but would have been better if I'd stacked it up better at the start.
If anyone else is trying, make sure you make them thick enough. I thought I'd made it as thick as in the pictures, but I guess not, it ended up much thinner than I wanted. Still was a bit gooey in the middle, but would have been better if I'd stacked it up better at the start.
Mama Smurf said:
I am happy to hear that it worked out for you. I used about two handfuls of the raffled potatoes for each small rösti.
This is what the usual breakfast of yours truly looks like:
It is called 3 K Breakfast (Kaffee, Kippe, kacken), which translates roughly into:
"Take a coffee, take a cigarette, take a dump!":lol
Maybe we will have some pillsbury (?) buns for the later morning.
Todays dish will be Spaghetti with tomato sauce after a recipe of my wife. It is a very slim and slender dish, involving a minimum of cream and stuff.
Hooker said:Nah, I'd rather be surprised with things I don't know. Anyone can make a lasagnaGive me the weird stuff, or things you wouldn't even think about making.
I'm gonna do another cheap student dish next week, and fast as hell to make. Stay tuned for that ^^.
Thanks for the input. I am looking forward to your contribution. :lol
The variety of lasagna recipes is as numerous as the people preparing them, so a little show of different styles would not hurt imho. My lasagna will/would be made nearly completely from scratch, with homemade bolognese style and bechamel sauces.
I would like to pick up the "croquette" discussion from this week again. After googling a little bit, i cameto the conclusion that the german "Kroketten" (made purely from mashed potatoes) would be best compared to a side dish that goes by the name of "tater tots" in the USA.
Could somebody confirm or deny this, please?
Hooker said:Yup, tator tots is the correct translation.
I'm going to cheat a bit today. My sis, "the master cook", is making me dinner today. I'll take some pictures while she's going through it
My wife will be doing the cooking for tonight, too, so let us relax, take pics and enjoy or nitpick, as we like!:lol :lol :lol :lol
The ingredients for tonights dish are as follows:
-unused pasta (from yesterdays sausage fest and another occasion),
-bunch of fresh and ripe tomatoes (these are homegrown from my very own plant. Sadly, a bird went rambo on the plant yesterday and seriosly damaged it, hence the rather easy recipe for tonight.),
-tube of double or triple concentrated tomato puree,
-three medium-sized onions,
-salt, pepper and some fondor (old style universal condiment, contains mainly of mono-sodium-glutamate, can be substituted with broth extract) and
-The wife for preparation, as it is her dish:lol
Preparation will start around 6-6.30pm Berlin time.
-unused pasta (from yesterdays sausage fest and another occasion),
-bunch of fresh and ripe tomatoes (these are homegrown from my very own plant. Sadly, a bird went rambo on the plant yesterday and seriosly damaged it, hence the rather easy recipe for tonight.),
-tube of double or triple concentrated tomato puree,
-three medium-sized onions,
-salt, pepper and some fondor (old style universal condiment, contains mainly of mono-sodium-glutamate, can be substituted with broth extract) and
-The wife for preparation, as it is her dish:lol
Preparation will start around 6-6.30pm Berlin time.
:lolPhoton said:
Actually, it is an ancient and today rare breed, the so-called "San Marzano" or "San Mazzo". They are of intensive taste and were the standard in italy until the 1970s/1980s when industrially bred tomato hybrids with more and bigger fruits took over. The "San Mazzo" is slowly coming back and I would recommend them over the off-the-shelf tomato plants any time.
Alright, time for a little contribution of my own.
A little history on the dish. London Broil is an American WWII-era dish. During that time, obviously choice cuts of meat were in short supply. There is some debate as to how the dish came about - some say it was invented by soldiers stationed in the UK, hence "London Broil" - the general theme is that it is a tough piece of meat (usually flank steak or shoulder steak or skirt steak, something like that) that is marinated overnight for tenderness, then cut diagonally along a bias into thin strips (to further sever any tough tendons). My girlfriend's family recipe involves shoulder steak marinated in teriyaki sauce overnight. It is actually very easy to make - it just requires some planning beforehand (as the marinade must be started the night before). Additionally, we made a very simple potato dish to eat with it.
Onto the dish!
here are the ingredients for the marinade the night before. Notice my expert photoshop skills on the oil, as I forgot to put that out beforehand. The marinade is made of teriyaki sauce, garlic, and rosemary. The oil is for a quick rub on the meat.
Begin by chopping the garlic finely. I believe we used 2 large cloves for this.
next, lay out about half the chopped garlic on the bottom of the pan with 3 sprigs of rosemary.
lay the meat on top and use the oil to rub it down a little bit - cover it LIGHTLY, you don't want extra oil floating around the pan.
Here it is post-rub. Don't know if you can tell a difference, but I figured you'd like it anyway.
after you've rubbed it down a little bit, put the remaining garlic and rosemary on the meat itself, and dump about half a large bottle of teriyaki sauce in the pan. Make sure it's enough to come up the sides of hte meat, but it doesn't have to be swimming on it. That's it - you're ready to refrigerate the meat now:
And you're done for the night. Go out, have fun, whatever - you've already got dinner figured out for tomorrow.
Next morning one cannot forget to flip the meat over - don't want the marinade to only penetrate one side. Notice how much darker the meat is now? That is from absorbing the delicious teriyaki sauce. Now flip it:
Cover it again, put it back in the fridge, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Now the meal. First, the potatos:
Begin by slicing them thinly - try to keep it even so they cook evenly. If you have a mandolin, perfect! If not, just do your best. You'll have some more crispy than others, its ok.
all the ingredients. Another simple dish. Throw the potatos on a pan, put a little olive oil on it, then add the rosemary, salt and pepper and mix with your hands. It will end up looking like this:
Throw that in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, and you have a tasty, easy, potato side dish!
And last but not least, the main course!
Take the meat out of the refrigerator, and take the rosemary out of the pan - that will burn easily and not taste good. I advise taking it out and letting it sit on the counter for at least a half-hour prior to cooking - don't want to run the risk of cracking your dish due to the cold->hot transition.
Now turn on the broiler and throw the meat in! The hallmark of london broil is the fact that is cooked underneath the broiler, no more than 3 inches or so away from an open flame. After 5-7 minutes, take it out and it should look something like this:
Tasty, no?
flip the meat over to the uncooked side and throw it back in for another 5-7 minutes.
For peace of mind, use a probe thermometer to read the temperature after the flip. Cook to desired doneness. For a more well-done meat, some like to throw the beef back into the oven (not the broiler) for 5 minutes or so after it's been cut. I, however, like my meat more on the rare side. 144 is fine, as the internal temperature will raise another 5 degrees or so as you let it sit on the counter.
After letting the meat sit for 5 minutes or so (so the juices are reabsorbed back into it), slice it thinly along the diagonal:
Look at those tasty slices of meat!
That's it! You're done. Serve the teriyaki in a little side dish along with a few slices of the london broil, potatos, and salad of choice, and bon appetit!
keep in mind there are almost as many different recipes for london broil as there are cooks in the United States - but the general theme for all of them is:
a) tough cut of meat that is tenderized via an overnight marinade (rather than a tenderizing hammer)
b) cooked directly in a broiler
c) cut and served into thin strips along with a sauce.
All in all a very easy dish that anyone can make.
A little history on the dish. London Broil is an American WWII-era dish. During that time, obviously choice cuts of meat were in short supply. There is some debate as to how the dish came about - some say it was invented by soldiers stationed in the UK, hence "London Broil" - the general theme is that it is a tough piece of meat (usually flank steak or shoulder steak or skirt steak, something like that) that is marinated overnight for tenderness, then cut diagonally along a bias into thin strips (to further sever any tough tendons). My girlfriend's family recipe involves shoulder steak marinated in teriyaki sauce overnight. It is actually very easy to make - it just requires some planning beforehand (as the marinade must be started the night before). Additionally, we made a very simple potato dish to eat with it.
Onto the dish!
here are the ingredients for the marinade the night before. Notice my expert photoshop skills on the oil, as I forgot to put that out beforehand. The marinade is made of teriyaki sauce, garlic, and rosemary. The oil is for a quick rub on the meat.
Begin by chopping the garlic finely. I believe we used 2 large cloves for this.
next, lay out about half the chopped garlic on the bottom of the pan with 3 sprigs of rosemary.
lay the meat on top and use the oil to rub it down a little bit - cover it LIGHTLY, you don't want extra oil floating around the pan.
Here it is post-rub. Don't know if you can tell a difference, but I figured you'd like it anyway.
after you've rubbed it down a little bit, put the remaining garlic and rosemary on the meat itself, and dump about half a large bottle of teriyaki sauce in the pan. Make sure it's enough to come up the sides of hte meat, but it doesn't have to be swimming on it. That's it - you're ready to refrigerate the meat now:
And you're done for the night. Go out, have fun, whatever - you've already got dinner figured out for tomorrow.
Next morning one cannot forget to flip the meat over - don't want the marinade to only penetrate one side. Notice how much darker the meat is now? That is from absorbing the delicious teriyaki sauce. Now flip it:
Cover it again, put it back in the fridge, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Now the meal. First, the potatos:
Begin by slicing them thinly - try to keep it even so they cook evenly. If you have a mandolin, perfect! If not, just do your best. You'll have some more crispy than others, its ok.
all the ingredients. Another simple dish. Throw the potatos on a pan, put a little olive oil on it, then add the rosemary, salt and pepper and mix with your hands. It will end up looking like this:
Throw that in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, and you have a tasty, easy, potato side dish!
And last but not least, the main course!
Take the meat out of the refrigerator, and take the rosemary out of the pan - that will burn easily and not taste good. I advise taking it out and letting it sit on the counter for at least a half-hour prior to cooking - don't want to run the risk of cracking your dish due to the cold->hot transition.
Now turn on the broiler and throw the meat in! The hallmark of london broil is the fact that is cooked underneath the broiler, no more than 3 inches or so away from an open flame. After 5-7 minutes, take it out and it should look something like this:
Tasty, no?
flip the meat over to the uncooked side and throw it back in for another 5-7 minutes.
For peace of mind, use a probe thermometer to read the temperature after the flip. Cook to desired doneness. For a more well-done meat, some like to throw the beef back into the oven (not the broiler) for 5 minutes or so after it's been cut. I, however, like my meat more on the rare side. 144 is fine, as the internal temperature will raise another 5 degrees or so as you let it sit on the counter.
After letting the meat sit for 5 minutes or so (so the juices are reabsorbed back into it), slice it thinly along the diagonal:
Look at those tasty slices of meat!
That's it! You're done. Serve the teriyaki in a little side dish along with a few slices of the london broil, potatos, and salad of choice, and bon appetit!
keep in mind there are almost as many different recipes for london broil as there are cooks in the United States - but the general theme for all of them is:
a) tough cut of meat that is tenderized via an overnight marinade (rather than a tenderizing hammer)
b) cooked directly in a broiler
c) cut and served into thin strips along with a sauce.
All in all a very easy dish that anyone can make.
@Nerevar and friend:
That is great! Easily the best dish posted in here yet. I am so gonna try this out!:lol
I like the rosemary potatoes(sp?) in particular, they are great to anything beef.
My humble dish for tonight is already outshined by your effort. But I take that as a motivation to go on and get some of the gems of german cuisine in here!:lol :lol :lol
@8bit: I tried to figure out that utensil by using my school english:
to broil: braten (Verb)
broiler: Bräter (oven pan) (noun)
would this be correct?
Pics are uploading, please stand by.
That is great! Easily the best dish posted in here yet. I am so gonna try this out!:lol
I like the rosemary potatoes(sp?) in particular, they are great to anything beef.
My humble dish for tonight is already outshined by your effort. But I take that as a motivation to go on and get some of the gems of german cuisine in here!:lol :lol :lol
@8bit: I tried to figure out that utensil by using my school english:
to broil: braten (Verb)
broiler: Bräter (oven pan) (noun)
would this be correct?
Pics are uploading, please stand by.
Nice, Nerevar! I'll try it out at my parents place sometimes, I'll cook, they'll pay, slabs of meat like that are usually not in my student budget range .
ChryZ: probably goes nice with Parmesan, but I'm not really fond of cheese on pasta. I am somewhat an anomaly in the Netherlands I guess :lol .
Anyway, my contribution to the thread,
Hot Chicken in Tomato Sauce (for four persons)
Stuff youll need:
Chicken fillets (slices? Dunno what it is called)
Rice (I used Pandan)
Salt/pepper/oil
Sambal Badjak (1 tablespoon)
Concentrated tomato stuff (75 gram)
Chicken Bouillon/Broth (solved in 250 Ml. water)
Ginger syrop (2 tablespoons)
Onion (1)
Garlic (two pieces)
Castor Sugar (two tablespoons)
First, rub in the chicken with salt and pepper.
Grill the chicken gold/brown in a pan.
Meanwhile, cut up the onion and garlic:
Take the chicken pieces out when they look good:
and start frying the onion and garlic.
After a minute or two/three, when the onion and garlic pieces are coloring a little, add the castor sugar, sambal and concentrated tomato stuff:
Fry this for two minutes. Stir this and add the chicken broth, dissolved/heated in the water, and the ginger syrop:
Heat it till it is boiling, then toss in the chicken again:
Regularly pour over sauce over the chicken pieces, and heat this softly for 15 minutes. Also flip the chicken every now and then.
End result. I served it with kroepoek (shrimp chips? I dont know what it is called in English, and it isnt in my dictionary) and a salad. Also goes nice with wokked veggies or paksoi.
.ChryZ: probably goes nice with Parmesan, but I'm not really fond of cheese on pasta. I am somewhat an anomaly in the Netherlands I guess :lol .
Anyway, my contribution to the thread,
Hot Chicken in Tomato Sauce (for four persons)
Stuff youll need:
Chicken fillets (slices? Dunno what it is called)
Rice (I used Pandan)
Salt/pepper/oil
Sambal Badjak (1 tablespoon)
Concentrated tomato stuff (75 gram)
Chicken Bouillon/Broth (solved in 250 Ml. water)
Ginger syrop (2 tablespoons)
Onion (1)
Garlic (two pieces)
Castor Sugar (two tablespoons)
First, rub in the chicken with salt and pepper.
Grill the chicken gold/brown in a pan.
Meanwhile, cut up the onion and garlic:
Take the chicken pieces out when they look good:
and start frying the onion and garlic.
After a minute or two/three, when the onion and garlic pieces are coloring a little, add the castor sugar, sambal and concentrated tomato stuff:
Fry this for two minutes. Stir this and add the chicken broth, dissolved/heated in the water, and the ginger syrop:
Heat it till it is boiling, then toss in the chicken again:
Regularly pour over sauce over the chicken pieces, and heat this softly for 15 minutes. Also flip the chicken every now and then.
End result. I served it with kroepoek (shrimp chips? I dont know what it is called in English, and it isnt in my dictionary) and a salad. Also goes nice with wokked veggies or paksoi.
@Rei_Toei:
That looks marvelous. I like the Kroepoek as a a side dish, cool idea!
Usually, I have some dried Kroepoek in my supplies and deep-fry them when I get the munchies:lol
How hot is the sambal badjak? Hotter than sambal oelek or milder?
Your and Nerevars dish are WORTHY CONTRIBUTIONS!
Edit:
To all the contributors so far, please have this little badge as a token of appreciation:
That looks marvelous. I like the Kroepoek as a a side dish, cool idea!
Usually, I have some dried Kroepoek in my supplies and deep-fry them when I get the munchies:lol
How hot is the sambal badjak? Hotter than sambal oelek or milder?
Your and Nerevars dish are WORTHY CONTRIBUTIONS!
Edit:
To all the contributors so far, please have this little badge as a token of appreciation:
Badjak is one of the strongest sambals I think. It is definitely hotter then Oelek. I just found out Wikipedia has a sambal page - even in Deutsch! http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambal
D
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Unconfirmed Member
This thread is booming :lol
Ok, heres my "Simple man, girlfriend away" entry for this evening.
CURRY! Ingredients
400gm Chicken fillets (dice those up)
1x jar Pataks BALTI curry sauce
1x Sambal Brandal (HOT gebakken, pittige sambal)
1x Basamati rice (1cup) not pictured whoops
I cannot state enough how easy this meal is, and it's sooo delicious. probably my favourite meal infact. I love curry and this means I can have it all the time with about 30mins prep.
First sort the rice out. Rice should be WASHED, reason for that is
because of that white stuff. It's mostly starch which makes rice sticky. Keep washing it 3-4 times until the water when tipped on it's side is mostly clear and doesn't hide the rice underneath.
Now put 1.5 times the amount of water in the rice. I used 1 cup and put just over 1.5 cups of water (to allow for screwups)
Now start browning the chicken and after a little bit put the rice on an element to boil
As SOON as the rice begins to boil, move it to another element set to low, or if you use gas turn down the stove to very low. This will begin it simmering. This is cooking rice with the absorption method. This means that all of the water will evaporate/be absorbed into the rice and no water will remain in the pot at the end. It makes delicious fluffy rice.
the chicken you should be able to get brown by by about the time the rice goes onto simmer.
When the chicken is brown, dump in the BALTI and then throw in a good lump of the Sambal, I use half a little jar, but I like my curry as spicy as a mass market curry mix can make it
you can basically get the curry up to a near boil in the pan/wait till its bubbling and then bring the heat back down. now simmer both this and the rice until the water is gone in the rice and keep the curry on heat until it's looking not runny at all and quite gluggy.
The great thing about the rice it's actually recommended that you let the rice stand with the lid on for a while to let the absorption take place to the top layer of the rice. You can let it stand for up to 30 minutes apparently! I let mine stand for about 5. It's important not to take the lid off the rice while you use this method, but that can be hard to do, because you want to check if its working right. If you must look, do it quickly and use a fork to see if the water is all gone.
If it's too sticky you can always take the lid off at the end and give it a little bit more on the element to evaporate off some excess water.
Now serve on a plate and enjoy with a beer!
Best thing about this recipe is that with the above amounts of ingredients you have lunch tomorrow!
So that's my easy curry. If anyone could school me in the art of making a proper naan bread, I would be eternally greatful.
Ok, heres my "Simple man, girlfriend away" entry for this evening.
CURRY! Ingredients
400gm Chicken fillets (dice those up)
1x jar Pataks BALTI curry sauce
1x Sambal Brandal (HOT gebakken, pittige sambal)
1x Basamati rice (1cup) not pictured whoops
I cannot state enough how easy this meal is, and it's sooo delicious. probably my favourite meal infact. I love curry and this means I can have it all the time with about 30mins prep.
First sort the rice out. Rice should be WASHED, reason for that is
because of that white stuff. It's mostly starch which makes rice sticky. Keep washing it 3-4 times until the water when tipped on it's side is mostly clear and doesn't hide the rice underneath.
Now put 1.5 times the amount of water in the rice. I used 1 cup and put just over 1.5 cups of water (to allow for screwups)
Now start browning the chicken and after a little bit put the rice on an element to boil
As SOON as the rice begins to boil, move it to another element set to low, or if you use gas turn down the stove to very low. This will begin it simmering. This is cooking rice with the absorption method. This means that all of the water will evaporate/be absorbed into the rice and no water will remain in the pot at the end. It makes delicious fluffy rice.
the chicken you should be able to get brown by by about the time the rice goes onto simmer.
When the chicken is brown, dump in the BALTI and then throw in a good lump of the Sambal, I use half a little jar, but I like my curry as spicy as a mass market curry mix can make it
you can basically get the curry up to a near boil in the pan/wait till its bubbling and then bring the heat back down. now simmer both this and the rice until the water is gone in the rice and keep the curry on heat until it's looking not runny at all and quite gluggy.
The great thing about the rice it's actually recommended that you let the rice stand with the lid on for a while to let the absorption take place to the top layer of the rice. You can let it stand for up to 30 minutes apparently! I let mine stand for about 5. It's important not to take the lid off the rice while you use this method, but that can be hard to do, because you want to check if its working right. If you must look, do it quickly and use a fork to see if the water is all gone.
If it's too sticky you can always take the lid off at the end and give it a little bit more on the element to evaporate off some excess water.
Now serve on a plate and enjoy with a beer!
Best thing about this recipe is that with the above amounts of ingredients you have lunch tomorrow!
So that's my easy curry. If anyone could school me in the art of making a proper naan bread, I would be eternally greatful.
So, let's cook.
Tonights' dish is called "Nudeln mit Tomatensoße" (Noodles with tomato sauce) and is a very basic but tasty dish that my wife brought on our schedule. As mentioned before, it was scheduled on the menu "last-minute" because my tomato plant was vandalized by a bird yesterday morning. It was a bad year for tomatoes in every aspect, we had snow and below-zero temperatures until early may, and the spring in total was too cold and humid. After the world cup the weather turned cold and rainy again. We had to turn on the radiators in August, which kind of says it all.
Most of my tomatoes were crippled at the bottom that rendered them unusable for a nice salad from an aesthetical standpoint, so the vandalism of the plant itself was only the tipping point for making that sauce. The dish itself is very light and slender, as there is only about a teaspoon of butter involved.
Special utensils needed: Hairnet sieve (pictured in earlier recipes)
First, rinse the tomatoes under cold water:
Cut off top and bottom and slice them in raw cubes, do the same with three medium onions and put them into a medium-sized pot:
Add a little bit of water and put it on the stove, turn heat up to the max:
It shold start to boil fast. When the melange is boiling, reduce the heat to 2/3 from max.
Next, put a big pot of water for the noodles on the stove and add some salt:
When the onions start to get transparent/glassy, put them into the hairnet sieve and mash them through the sieve with a spoon or a ladle:
Put the resulting sauce (little in amount, but pure concentrated taste) back on the stove and get it reheated and slightly boiling.
Let the remainders in the hairnet sieve rest over a bowl about 2-3 minutes to regain the last drop of the liquids and add it to the sauce:
The noodle water should be cooking now. Add the noodles and prepare them "al dente" according to package:
Next comes the "secret ingredient": Fondor!
Fondor is a artificial spice that was invented and marketed in the 1950s. Its main ingredients are Monosodium glutamate and iodized salt.
Monosodium glutamate is normally used as a softener/tenderizer for meat and is common in the asian cuisine, too.
Fondor was marketed as a "universal condiment" and initally had a very strong market share in Germany. In the 1970s, when more exotic ingredients and foods started to appear in Germany, people started to realize that fondor, the "universal spice" fitted for nearly every dish, also egalized the tastes of every dish and made them all taste the same.:lol
The bad reputation of the german cuisine may be based by a good part on the heavy usage of that condiment in that period of time.
PRO TIP:
When entering a restaurant, check out first if there is Fondor or its liquid grandfather, Maggi, placed on the tables. If so, steer clear of that undoubtedly bad eating place and look for another restaurant!:lol
Anyway, the unique taste of fondor adds favourably to this dish, so it shall be allowed in this case.
Add about a quarter of a tablespoon to the dish:
If not available at your grocer, you can substitute it with dry bouillon or half an oxo cube.
Add about 20 centimetres of double or triple concentrated tomato puree to the sauce. This will thicken it a bit and add to the taste:
Stir it in and let it cook once.
Finish line:
When the noodles are ready, put the sauce from the stove, add a little piece of butter and whisk it in. This technique is called "montage" and adds some additional binding and overall taste to the sauce:
Done!
This dish can be served "as is", but I would add some grated parmesan, pecorino or grana padano to top it off:
Guten Appetit from Bonn and from Jeannie, who did all the preparation.
-Epilogue-
The wife and I have the following agreement concerning kitchen hygiene:
One does the food, the other one does the dishes and cleans up the kitchen.
Since Jeannie did the dish of today, guess who had to do the laundry?
<<CHEAT MODE ON>>
Feedback, as always, is appreciated and heavily encouraged.
Tonights' dish is called "Nudeln mit Tomatensoße" (Noodles with tomato sauce) and is a very basic but tasty dish that my wife brought on our schedule. As mentioned before, it was scheduled on the menu "last-minute" because my tomato plant was vandalized by a bird yesterday morning. It was a bad year for tomatoes in every aspect, we had snow and below-zero temperatures until early may, and the spring in total was too cold and humid. After the world cup the weather turned cold and rainy again. We had to turn on the radiators in August, which kind of says it all.
Most of my tomatoes were crippled at the bottom that rendered them unusable for a nice salad from an aesthetical standpoint, so the vandalism of the plant itself was only the tipping point for making that sauce. The dish itself is very light and slender, as there is only about a teaspoon of butter involved.
Special utensils needed: Hairnet sieve (pictured in earlier recipes)
First, rinse the tomatoes under cold water:
Cut off top and bottom and slice them in raw cubes, do the same with three medium onions and put them into a medium-sized pot:
Add a little bit of water and put it on the stove, turn heat up to the max:
It shold start to boil fast. When the melange is boiling, reduce the heat to 2/3 from max.
Next, put a big pot of water for the noodles on the stove and add some salt:
When the onions start to get transparent/glassy, put them into the hairnet sieve and mash them through the sieve with a spoon or a ladle:
Put the resulting sauce (little in amount, but pure concentrated taste) back on the stove and get it reheated and slightly boiling.
Let the remainders in the hairnet sieve rest over a bowl about 2-3 minutes to regain the last drop of the liquids and add it to the sauce:
The noodle water should be cooking now. Add the noodles and prepare them "al dente" according to package:
Next comes the "secret ingredient": Fondor!
Fondor is a artificial spice that was invented and marketed in the 1950s. Its main ingredients are Monosodium glutamate and iodized salt.
Monosodium glutamate is normally used as a softener/tenderizer for meat and is common in the asian cuisine, too.
Fondor was marketed as a "universal condiment" and initally had a very strong market share in Germany. In the 1970s, when more exotic ingredients and foods started to appear in Germany, people started to realize that fondor, the "universal spice" fitted for nearly every dish, also egalized the tastes of every dish and made them all taste the same.:lol
The bad reputation of the german cuisine may be based by a good part on the heavy usage of that condiment in that period of time.
PRO TIP:
When entering a restaurant, check out first if there is Fondor or its liquid grandfather, Maggi, placed on the tables. If so, steer clear of that undoubtedly bad eating place and look for another restaurant!:lol
Anyway, the unique taste of fondor adds favourably to this dish, so it shall be allowed in this case.
Add about a quarter of a tablespoon to the dish:
If not available at your grocer, you can substitute it with dry bouillon or half an oxo cube.
Add about 20 centimetres of double or triple concentrated tomato puree to the sauce. This will thicken it a bit and add to the taste:
Stir it in and let it cook once.
Finish line:
When the noodles are ready, put the sauce from the stove, add a little piece of butter and whisk it in. This technique is called "montage" and adds some additional binding and overall taste to the sauce:
Done!
This dish can be served "as is", but I would add some grated parmesan, pecorino or grana padano to top it off:
Guten Appetit from Bonn and from Jeannie, who did all the preparation.
-Epilogue-
The wife and I have the following agreement concerning kitchen hygiene:
One does the food, the other one does the dishes and cleans up the kitchen.
Since Jeannie did the dish of today, guess who had to do the laundry?
<<CHEAT MODE ON>>
Feedback, as always, is appreciated and heavily encouraged.
oh you're just being modest. My girlfriend and I are already planning to make one of your heavy sauce-based European style dishes. They look delicious!OnkelC said:
hmm, no, it is not. It's hard to explain exactly, but broiling and grilling are definitely different. The best way to describe it is like this: grilling is cooking the meat directly from an open flame with the meat on top of the heat source, whereas broiling is cooking the meat directly from an open flame with the meat underneath the heat source.
for more information, here's the food network Q&A
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_culinary_qa/article/0,,FOOD_9796_1702280,00.html
I'd like to point out that, of course, you can cook london broil on a grill. The point is to blast the meat with intense heat. It is traditionally broiled because that allows it to cook in its own sauce, which results in a much more juicy final piece of meat, but either way will work fine.
Just a quick FYI - the beauty of London Broil is that you're making a very inexpensive slab of meat (tough pieces like shoulder steak or skirt steak). I don't know how meat costs in Belgium, but here in the United States I believe that piece of meat cost me $7.00-$8.00, and we will end up using it for at least 3 meals for 2 people. In the end it is about the same cost or less than a chicken meal for us.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
Kangu said:
I have no cooking skills either, I just like to post my crapness, I swear this thread has made me at least 70% better at cooking already, my food has been turning out great and I haven't eaten this well in 6 weeks.
Take pics and downsize them with a cellphone, that's all I'm doing. Try copying a recipe and posting results as a yardstick for accurate descriptions.
Hey Nerevar Awesome dish, that looks right up my alley, More americans!
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
hmmm. Think that might be an american/english english difference thing? I know it as grilling is what you call broiling. What you describe as grilling I think of as frying, do americans fry things, or is fry=grill.
I'm so confused.
Hrmm, here in the States frying and grilling are also different. Frying is generally done in a pan on top of a stove or oven range, therefore the meat is not directly exposed to the flame. The heat is transferred from the pan to the food inside it.catfish said:
edit: Picture for reference:
Grilling is generally done on a grill, such as this (ignore the weird lines on the picture, just look at the chicken and grill):
so the radiant heat from the flames is cooking the meat directly. Does that make sense?
edit2: looked at wikipedia, the British term for "grilling" is the same as the American term for "broiling". For Americans, "grilling" is cooking the meat over an open flame, similar to what OnkelC did, what the British call "barbequing". For the Americans, "barbeque" refers to a specific way of cooking either beef or pork, which is usually a very slow method of cooking the meat with lots of smoke. Does that clarify?
Fallofmart
Member
Grills in britain are inside our cookers and are like ovens with the flame at the top.
On top of the cooker we have stoves and we can use them to cook in a pan over the flame.
So which one is broiling? Or are none of those right?
Edit - In the pic above that looks like what we'd just call a BBQ here...
On top of the cooker we have stoves and we can use them to cook in a pan over the flame.
So which one is broiling? Or are none of those right?
Edit - In the pic above that looks like what we'd just call a BBQ here...
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
Fallofmart said:
MY BRAIN
US/UK
fry/fry
broil/grill
grill/BBQ
I think I've done it! am I missing something?
EDIT: Saw your edit nerevar, the mystery is solved!
Fallofmart said:
yeah, just looked at wikipedia, for clarification:
The British term for "grilling" is the same as the American term for "broiling".
For Americans, "grilling" is cooking the meat over an open flame, similar to what OnkelC did, what the British call "barbequing".
For the Americans, "barbeque" refers to a specific way of cooking either beef or pork, which is usually a very slow method of cooking the meat with lots of smoke.
Hopefully that clears everything up. That, of course, only adds to the irony of the fact that the dish is called "London Broil", when a Brit would have no idea what broiling even means :lol
@ catfish:
That curry looks awesome. And a nice description on the preparation of rice, too.
If these are only your simple mans' dishes, you can consider yourself the luckiest simple man in the world (or Europe for that matter.
Grab yourself a badge, you more than earnt it! Isn't Madge Allsop of early Dame Edna fame from New Zealand, too?:lol
@ Nerevar:
Thanks for the clarifications. A good dish is understood internationally, its preparation is pure Babel!
Same goes to Fallofmart.
@ S.L.:
I choked too when I saw it the first time, but the taste is great and completely different from a classic italian "Napoletana". Give it a try!
@ Kangu:
Your feedback (and of the other silent readers) to this thread makes it worth the effort. Since this is no dick-measurement in here, every contribution is appreciated. Go out and spread the word on NeoGAF!
By the way, this humble thread is just one week old, already has more than 300 replies and short of 7000 views. "thread got legs" in NeoGAF terms.
Lets keep it growing and growing. There are so many recipes left to be tried out and posted.
Thanks again to all of you.
I will do one of my genuine German specialties tomorrow. Stay tuned.
That curry looks awesome. And a nice description on the preparation of rice, too.
If these are only your simple mans' dishes, you can consider yourself the luckiest simple man in the world (or Europe for that matter.
Grab yourself a badge, you more than earnt it! Isn't Madge Allsop of early Dame Edna fame from New Zealand, too?:lol
@ Nerevar:
Thanks for the clarifications. A good dish is understood internationally, its preparation is pure Babel!
Same goes to Fallofmart.
@ S.L.:
I choked too when I saw it the first time, but the taste is great and completely different from a classic italian "Napoletana". Give it a try!
@ Kangu:
Your feedback (and of the other silent readers) to this thread makes it worth the effort. Since this is no dick-measurement in here, every contribution is appreciated. Go out and spread the word on NeoGAF!
By the way, this humble thread is just one week old, already has more than 300 replies and short of 7000 views. "thread got legs" in NeoGAF terms.
Lets keep it growing and growing. There are so many recipes left to be tried out and posted.
Thanks again to all of you.
I will do one of my genuine German specialties tomorrow. Stay tuned.
cloudwalking
300chf ain't shit to me
Hey, OnkelC, just a suggestion, but could you possibly edit into the first post somewhere the names of all the recipies in this thread and what page they are on? The thread is getting sort of big, and I know I'd like to come back and make some of these recipies later, but I don't want to have to spend a bunch of time going through pages to find them all.
It would be like a cookbook table of contents!
If it's too much trouble, don't worry about it. I just thought it might be helpful.
It would be like a cookbook table of contents!
If it's too much trouble, don't worry about it. I just thought it might be helpful.
Fallofmart
Member
catfish said:
Thanks for clarification dude!
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
kojacker said:
I do! I'm veggie. Though....anything more specific? Do you mean side dish as in a secondary part of a meal, or like a snack to eat on its own?
Wow Hooker (maybe) and Mama Smurf, more veggies than just me then - cool
I'm open to any ideas really and happy to try anything - snacks, main meals are all good.
Actually yeah, what about healthy snacks. I like making humus but I'm sick of that. Any ideas?
I can ony cook simple things (pasta dishes/omelettes/simple curries) and would like to hear about some simple but healthy dishes (trying to lose weight, and find it too easy to reach for crisps/chips rather than the pan).
I'm open to any ideas really and happy to try anything - snacks, main meals are all good.
Actually yeah, what about healthy snacks. I like making humus but I'm sick of that. Any ideas?
I can ony cook simple things (pasta dishes/omelettes/simple curries) and would like to hear about some simple but healthy dishes (trying to lose weight, and find it too easy to reach for crisps/chips rather than the pan).
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Well as an alternative to humus I have a guacamole recipe I like. I'm sure there are other ways to make it, but this is the one I've always used (don't actually know where I got it from).
This'll make easily enough for a whole family, so if you're eating alone or just with one other, it'd be safe to halve the ingredients. No pics.
You'll need:
2 avocados
1 clove of garlic
1/2 red onion (or a small one...a normal onion would do)
2 tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
tobasco sauce
lemon juice
salt and pepper
a large bowl
a masher (or just use a fork)
1. Pour boiling water over tomatoes in a bowl. Do this first so you can prepare the rest while the skins loosen.
2. Chop up the half red onion finely, set it aside. Not in the bowl yet. I tried grating it once and big mistake, the juices all came out and overpowered the guacamole.
3. Chop the garlic finely/crush the garlic. Again, put it aside but not in the bowl.
4. Remove the tomatoes from the water and the skins should come right off. Chops them in half and remove the seeds, which like the skins can be thrown away. Then chop the flesh up. Put aside, not in bowl.
5. Halve the avocados and remove the stone. If it's ripe, the skin should peel off easily enough with some small incisions at the top. If it doesn't try not to take too much of the flesh with the skin.
6. Chop up the avocado into small chunks and put in the large bowl. I tend to scrape off the stips of skin for the flesh which has come away with it as this is the greenest and adds more colour to the bowl.
7. Mash the avocado, almost to a puree.
8. Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, a dash of lemon juice and a dash of tobasco sauce. Mix.
9. I say half a teaspoon of chili powder as that's what I use, but do it to your taste.
10. Add salt and pepper to your taste. I tend to find it needs quite a bit of salt.
And that's it done. I suppose you could liquidize it at this point, but I've never tried. I hate smooth guacamole, this one's a bit chunky.
This'll make easily enough for a whole family, so if you're eating alone or just with one other, it'd be safe to halve the ingredients. No pics.
You'll need:
2 avocados
1 clove of garlic
1/2 red onion (or a small one...a normal onion would do)
2 tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
tobasco sauce
lemon juice
salt and pepper
a large bowl
a masher (or just use a fork)
1. Pour boiling water over tomatoes in a bowl. Do this first so you can prepare the rest while the skins loosen.
2. Chop up the half red onion finely, set it aside. Not in the bowl yet. I tried grating it once and big mistake, the juices all came out and overpowered the guacamole.
3. Chop the garlic finely/crush the garlic. Again, put it aside but not in the bowl.
4. Remove the tomatoes from the water and the skins should come right off. Chops them in half and remove the seeds, which like the skins can be thrown away. Then chop the flesh up. Put aside, not in bowl.
5. Halve the avocados and remove the stone. If it's ripe, the skin should peel off easily enough with some small incisions at the top. If it doesn't try not to take too much of the flesh with the skin.
6. Chop up the avocado into small chunks and put in the large bowl. I tend to scrape off the stips of skin for the flesh which has come away with it as this is the greenest and adds more colour to the bowl.
7. Mash the avocado, almost to a puree.
8. Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, a dash of lemon juice and a dash of tobasco sauce. Mix.
9. I say half a teaspoon of chili powder as that's what I use, but do it to your taste.
10. Add salt and pepper to your taste. I tend to find it needs quite a bit of salt.
And that's it done. I suppose you could liquidize it at this point, but I've never tried. I hate smooth guacamole, this one's a bit chunky.
Souldriver
Member
Seconded.S. L. said:
You're making a nice homemade dish with fresh ingredients into a standard "pasta with ketchup" from the deep freeze section in your supermarket.
cloudwalking said:Hey, OnkelC, just a suggestion, but could you possibly edit into the first post somewhere the names of all the recipies in this thread and what page they are on? The thread is getting sort of big, and I know I'd like to come back and make some of these recipies later, but I don't want to have to spend a bunch of time going through pages to find them all.
It would be like a cookbook table of contents!
If it's too much trouble, don't worry about it. I just thought it might be helpful.
+1 for this idea. You can link to specific post id's, right?
cloudwalking
300chf ain't shit to me
Rei_Toei said:
Yeah, if you click on the number in the corner of each post it gives you a permalink for that post.
cloudwalking said:Hey, OnkelC, just a suggestion, but could you possibly edit into the first post somewhere the names of all the recipies in this thread and what page they are on? The thread is getting sort of big, and I know I'd like to come back and make some of these recipies later, but I don't want to have to spend a bunch of time going through pages to find them all.
It would be like a cookbook table of contents!
If it's too much trouble, don't worry about it. I just thought it might be helpful.
your wish is my command, I'll do so over the day!:lol
Souldriver said:
Trust me, this one tastes anything like noodles with ketchup. Try it out. :lol
@ the vegetarian fraction:
I would be happy to oblige. Please post your preferences (Ovo-, Ovo-lacto-, pesco-vegetarian, strictly vegan) so I and the others can put up custom-tailored recipes!
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