Spaghetti Eis (Ice cream)

                   Spaghetti Eis (Ice cream)

This is a stable in German Gelaterias. We really like this one and its so simple. It needs some preparations though. It's called this way because of the way it looks. Nothing more. It's not a thing in Italy though, only Germany.

This is what you need:

- A package of fresh strawberries

- either Strawberry marmalade or Syrup to sweeten

- Vanilla Ice cream

- white chocolate, grated (to make it look like Parmigiano)

You will also need a "spaetzle Press" with bigger holes. Ikea has some or probably on amazon. 

This is how you do it:

Put all plates you are planning on using in the freezer for at least 30 min or longer. Otherwise your ice cream will melt immediately. 

In a blender, add all the fresh strawberries and puree them to a sauce. Now add Strawberry marmalade or syrup or both until it tastes really strawberry-ish and sweet. Put it in a container and store in the fridge. You will probably not need all of it.

When the plates are nice and cold, get the Vanilla Ice cream and the press. Press the Ice cream through it to get the Spaghetti look. Try to arrange it nicely in a big pile like you would with the spaghetti. It will take some practice and I haven't really mastered it yet so be patient with yourself. You might want to practice it first some day else before you want to "show off". Once the Ice cream is on the plate, put it back in the freezer. Give it some time to set again (or you can prepare it ahead of time and leave it in the freezer until you need it) Now you just drizzle some Strawberry sauce over it and garnish it with the grated white Chocolate. It will definitely impress your guests. 

Guten Appetit 

Pesto a la Genovese

                                        Pesto a la Genovese

Pesto a la Genovese is a classic in Italy. You may know it as green Pesto or just Pesto (but there are other Pesto's out there too) You can use the traditional ingredients but you can also play with Spinach instead of Basil or walnuts instead of Pine nuts. It's also very yummy.

This is what you need:

- a very, very generous amount of Basil (at least 3 hands full, the more the better)

- around 40 gr. of grated Parmigiano 

- 2 gloves of Garlic (or more if you have more then that)

- 1/2 a bag or 2 TBSP of Pine nuts

- Salt

- Olive Oil (a good one)

This is how you do it:

In a frying pan, add the Pine nuts without anything else and carefully pan sear it until they are golden brown and smell. Be careful. That goes pretty fast. Now add all dry ingredients (but the salt) into a good blender and mix it as fine as you can. Now gradually add Olive oil until it forms a nice paste and sits like pudding on your spoon. You don't want it to flow like water but you don't want a paste either. Add salt to taste.

You can put the Pesto on literally everything. If you are using it for Pasta, always, ALWAYS keep some Pasta water in a separate measuring cup and add gradually to your Pasta-Pesto mix. Starch water and the Olive Oil will create this creamy sauce we all love so much. Otherwise it will be just to dry. 

Guten Appetit or Buon Appetito 

Homemade French Fries

                 Homemade French Fries

Unfortunately I don't have pictures yet but I will work on it next time and add them in here. I will explain it as good as possible.

This is what you need:

- Idaho Potatoes (or whatever "frying potatoes) I count 2 per person if big, 3-4 if small

- Lots of Oil

- big pan or a deep fryer if you have. I like a Wok for the frying

This is how you do it:

Peel the potatoes and wash them quick from dust. Horizontally cut slices of around 1/2 inch thick and then cut them in the middle to make "wedges". Leave the cut potatoes in a bowl of Water for at least 30 min to help release some of the starch (which makes them creamy but not crunchy) 

After the 30 min remove the potatoes and let them dry well. In the meantime, heat up the oil in the Wok or the deep fryer until bubbles form when you hold in a wooden spoon. Now carefully add the Potato wedges to the hot oil. You might have to adjust the heat but usually you don't. Fry them until they are nice and golden and crispy, don't stir them to often though. They will soften first and then tend to break when you stir them before they get crispy. In the wok in will take at least 30 min until they are nice and golden so plan ahead. I am not sure how long it will take in the deep fryer but probably around the same time. I personally don't like the deep fryer because you add more oil then needed (you will toss after, what a waste) and its hard to clean. 

BTW, i usually add the cold oil back into the bottle (if empty) or another empty plastic bottle and toss it in regular trash. I do not flush it down the drain. I hope that is environmentally better .

Now enjoy your homemade fries.

Guten Appetit

Zucchini Pasta

                        Zucchini Pasta

I love Pasta, in all forms and shapes. Who doesn't? and you have to have something new every once in a while. More healthy. Technically you can make a creamy sauce out of every vegetable and add Pasta to it. In this case, I found a german recipe for Zucchini Pasta and I really like this. I want to try it with bell peppers soon too or just plain "Romanesco" sauce. Well, anyway, here is the recipe.

This is what you need:

- 1 Zucchini

- 1 glove of Garlic

- 1/2 red Onion (or 1 Shallot)

- handful of fresh Basil

- 50 gr of Pine nuts

- 150 gr. Sour Cream

- 40 gr. grated Parmigiano 

- Olive Oil

- Salt and Pepper to taste

This is how you do it:

In an oven safe dish add the cut Zucchini, Garlic and Onion and cover it with Olive oil. Put it in the preheated  400 degree Air Fryer (or conventional oven at 425) for 20 min.. In the meantime, gather all other ingredients and start cooking the Pasta of your choice. Don't forget to add salt to your pasta Water. When the vegetables are done, put the veggies in and Stand mixer and mix it very fine. Now add all the other ingredients and mix it well and season with Salt and Pepper to taste. At the end, add 1 big ladle of Pasta Water to the veggies. When the pasta is done, just add the sauce to it and stir well. Grate some Parmigiano on top of it and its ready to serve. 

Guten Appetit

Romanian Cevapcici or Mititei

           Romanian Cevapcici or Mititei 

This sausage without a casing is popular throughout the Balkan and Turkey. In Turkey they call it Koefta, in the Jugoslavia's they call it Cevapcici and in Romania they call it Mititei or short Mici. I seriously love this dish. you can eat it with Polenta, homemade fries (I prefer this) or just store bought fries or plain with bread. Anyway, here it is.

This is what you need for the spice mix:

for 2 lbs of meat:

- 22 gr salt

- 2 TBSP sweet Paprika powder

- 1 TBSP dried Thyme

- 2 TSP Pepper corn

- 10 Allspice

- 1 TSP ground Coriander

- 1 TSP Cumin Seeds

Add all corns/seeds and Thyme in a Coffee Grinder and grind it very fine.

- 1 TSP Baking Soda

- 2 TSP ground Garlic (or 6-7 big gloves of Garlic or 10 small ones)

- Beer of your choice

This is what you also need:

- 2 lbs of ground meat (just beef, beef/pork mix or beef/pork/lamb mix) (I prefer beef)

- Oil to pan fry or you can grill them too

This is how you do it:

Add all spices and at least half a bottle of beer into the meat and mix it well. Let it sit for at least 30 min so it can develop the flavors. I use a big zip lock bag to store it in the fridge and then I cut off one corner of it big enough that I can squeeze the meat out. So you get around same size sausages. Squeeze out around 3-4 inches, they will shrink unfortunately. I wet my hands and form the ends a big after squeezing them out of the plastic bag. Wet hands prevent the fat sticking on your hands and helps giving it a nice finish. Now pan fry or grill them until they are done. Sear hot on all sides and then let it sit on low heat until they are cooked through. 

I prefer to make my own french fries with it. I prefer that fries over store bought anyway. You always have fresh Potatoes at home (at least I do)

Enjoy and guten Appetit or in Romanian: Pofta buna 

Loaded Tex-mex Potato

                                   Loaded Tex-Mex Potato

This is the Potato Taco Option 2 recipe just like mentioned in Option 1, Taco Skillet.

This is what you need:

- 1 very large Potato, 1 for each

- Taco package of your liking

- 1 lbs ground meat

- green onions

- Taco cheese

- Guacamole (garnish)

- Sour cream (garnish)

This is how you do it:

Wash the Potato but leave the skin on. Poke all around the Potato with a fork. Oil it and salt it. Put it in a 350 degrees pre-heated oven for at least 1 hrs or until fork soft. Meaning, you should be able to poke a fork into the Potato easily because its soft. 

In the meantime, pan fry the ground meat and add the Taco seasoning according to the Package. Add the cheese so it can melt. 

When the Potato is done, take it out and let sit for some min until its cool enough for you to handle. Do not turn off the oven. Cut the Potato carefully length wise but leave some edge so you can scrape out the most of the soft Potato. Add the scraped out Potato into the meat-cheese mixture and stir well. Now add the mixture back into the Potato and cover with more cheese. Put it back in the oven for around 15 min to heat it back up and to melt the cheese. Its basically cooked already at this point. 

Serve it loaded with Guacamole, green onions and Sour cream. It's super delicious 

Guten Appetit 

Potato Taco Skillet

                                          Potato Taco Skillet 

If you love Taco just as much as we do, I have 2 options for you. This is option 1. I will post option 2 right after this one. You can do this as a vegetarian dish or you can add the ground meat to it. That's up to you. 

This is what you need:

- hard boil Potatoes, depending on how many in your family. I usually count 2 per person

- 1/2 lbs ground meat (optional)

- 1 -2 Packs of Taco seasoning to your liking

- green onions

- Tomato salsa

- Guacamole

- Corn chips

- Sour cream

- Cheese to your liking. I like the Taco cheese for this one

This is how you do it: 

Clean and cut the Potatoes into 1 inch cubes. I usually boil them for like 5 min so they get a head start. Pan fry them in oil in a big skillet until crispy and brown. You also may fry the meat in a separate skillet so you can remove the water. When meat and potatoes and browned, mix them together, add the water like stated on the Taco package and add the Seasoning to it. Stir good and reduce the liquid like stated. 

I got me those cute little skillets from Amazon for everyone to add whatever they like. My daughter isn't crazy about most of the ingredients so I can leave them out better for her plus it looks professional and cute. I add the potato-meat mixture onto the skillet and add the cheese on top. Put them in the microwave for just 30 sec or until the cheese is melted. Serve having all ingredients on the table for everyone to load themselves. I like all of it so that's what I put on mine. 

Guten Appetit