German Hamburger with Balsamic
Carrots
German Hamburger are a little bit like american Meat loafs. After adding your basic
ingredients, there is no end to your creativity. Those Burgers are pretty open also to all
kinds of addens. In this case I used Brie cheese. And I must confess, you didn't really
tasted it prominently. It gave it a hint of something else. You can also add different vegetables.
I like to add to my basic Burger recipe some shredded carrots. But you can use also Zuccini
or Tomatoes or whatever your heart desire. Even Avocados would work. Well, here is my
basic Hamburger recipe with the little twist.
This is what you need:
- ground meat ( i usually mix veal, beef and pork ground meat and freeze it in zip lock bags)
- 1-2 eggs
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 1 old bread roll ( I use the one from our locale store called Publix) softened in warm water
- bread crumbs , plain
- salt, pepper, Paprika and Marjoram
- 1/2 Brie cheese, cubed (optional)
This is how you do the Hamburger
Mix everything in a big bowl together beside the cheese and the bread crumbs. Once you know
how wet it is, add the bread crumbs till you have a nice dense consistence like a bread dough.
Now stir in the cheese and mix it carefully. Make Tennisball size balls and pad it just slightly
to a patty. Then fry it in the pan with oil from all sides till the inner temp is reaching 160 Fahrenheit.
You might want to turn your heat on medium so you don't burn the burger before its done. It
takes a bit longer then an american Burger. Once they're done, take them out of the pan.
Now you can add whatever liquid you prefer for the sauce. Here i was using 1 cup of red wine
I reduced 1/3 and then I added some cold butter. If this is not thick enough for you, you can make a corn starch slurry and thicken the sauce up like this.
For the Balsamic carrots you need:
- some nice baby carrots with a bit green on the end.
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Thyme
- Balsamic Glaze
This is how you do it the carrots:
Place the Carrots on a baking sheet. Pre-heat the oven to 350 Degrees. Springle the Carrots
with Olive Oil, salt and the Thyme. Place it the oven for 35-45 min. (depends how thick they are)
Once you took them out, sprinkle some of the Balsamic Glaze over it. Enjoy with the decadent german Hamburger and red wine sauce. (or whatever you want to serve them with)
Guten Appetit
Polenta with Ragu
I have given you the recipe for my Bolognese Sauce (Ragu) before. I just want to show you that
this dish is more diverse then just for Lasagne. Here I made it with Polenta. The Polenta
recipe is with the grilled Mahi Mahi in here as well. But I will give you a little reminder.
Polenta is open to every herb and season you want to put it to. You can be creative from just
plain water and salt to all kinds of broth and cream and herbs like Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley,
Garlic. Even wine is tasting very decadent in it. You might just want to use half the amount of
ingredients. Also, as it sets, its getting kinda like corn bread consistence. Therefor you can
put it in any kind of mold you want. Heart shaped muffin tins or for christmas a star or half moon,
everything is possible. In this case I put it in a big oven dish and spread it out thin so I was able
to cut them in rectangles. I fried them from both sides nicely brown before serving.
This is what you need for the Bolognese:
- 1 lbs ground meat ( I used 1/3 of ground veal, beef and pork)
- some pork sausage (optional)
- 1 pack of diced Pancetta (You can find that at Target supercenters or Publix)
- 1 cup of red wine ( I used Chianti)
- 1 Onion, diced (or if its a big one, just a half)
- 2-3 Carrots, diced
- 1 stalk Celery, diced
- 1-2 Parsnip, diced
- 2-3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cans whole Tomatoes, broke apart with your hands
- Salt, Pepper
This is what you need for the Polenta:
- 500 ml Veggie broth
- 400 ml heavy whipping cream
- 300 gr Polenta (corn flour course)
- salt
- Thyme
- Parsley
The Bolognese sauce would be the easiest to prepare a day ahead since you want to cook it at least
3 hrs.. You can also go ahead and make the Polenta and put it in the mold you want it and then
you just re-warm everything. Quick and easy for the day you want to serve it. You are welcome lol.
Guten Appetit
Oven Salmon in Cream Sauce
Lachs-Sahne-Gratin
I tried this recipe once and fell in love with it. I got asked from a friend if I can include
this recipe into my blog (she downloaded the app to her phone) and of course I am following
her wish. This one is for you Alexandra
This is what you need:
- 1 pack of frozen salmon (usually they have 2 small steaks in it)
- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream (or cooking cream)
- 1 TBSP Tomato Paste
- 1 TBSP Lemon juice
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 TBSP fresh Dill (or frozen)
- 1 TBSP fresh Parsley (or frozen. not the dry one though)
- 100 ml white wine
This is how you do it:
Fry the onion in a pan with a bit oil till they start to get a little bit brown. Then add the
Tomato paste and fry it a bit too. Then add the white wine and let it reduce a bit. Now you can
add the heavy cream. Let it get back to a simmer and then you add the Lemon juice, Dill, Parsley
Salt and Pepper.
Take the Salmon out of its bag and place it in an oven dish. Pour the sauce over it and put it
in the 400 Degrees preheated oven. Thin Salmon steaks should be done within 20-25 min..
I served Polenta with it I had from a day before dish. Polenta recipe you find at another recipe with
grilled Mahi Mahi. But rice does also go very good with it.
Guten Appetit
Cremeschnitte
Cake with Vanilla Cream
This is a super delicious cake but messy lol. It's actually pretty easy to make. This cake you can find
in Hungary, Romania and I am pretty sure in some more Balkan countries. In Romania, where I
had it, it's called Kremes (ch).
This is what you need:
- 6 Eggs (divided)
- 200 g Sugar
- 6 TBSP Flour
- 100 g Corn Starch
- 3 pack or 42 g of Vanilla sugar
- 2 L (8 cups) Milk (whole milk)
- 50 ml Water
- 1 Pack of Puff Pastry sheets
This is how you do it:
First, preheat the oven like the Puff pastry package is saying. Take the Puff pastry sheets out and
let them thaw first before you unfold them. Once their soft, unfold them and flatten them to the
size of a oven tray. Place them on the oven tray, poke them with the fork and bake them till their golden brown. Let them cool completely.
For the cream, use a very big pot. Add the 2 liters (8 cups) of whole milk and the Vanilla Sugar
and heat it up to a boil. In the meantime, divide the eggs. Put the egg yolks in a baking bowl. Add the sugar and whip it till its creamy. (if you have, use your kitchen aid for this)
In a bowl, weight the corn starch and the flour and mix it. Now slowly add the flour mix with the water to the egg yolk/sugar cream.
Shortly before the Milk with the vanilla sugar is starting to boil, take a big spoon and add it spoon by spoon to the egg mixture to start temp up the eggs so you don't end up with scrambled eggs. Once
the egg mixture is temped up and the milk is boiling, add the egg mixture to the milk and stir it well.
It's going to get thick really quickly so stir them fast and good.
Take the Pot from the heat and stir it gradually so its not producing a skin. Now take the egg whites and a pinch of salt and whip it till stiff. Fold it carefully under the warm cream.
Put the Bottom puff pastry in a casserole so the walls stop the cream from running away. (if the bottom puff pastry is to puffy, roll it a bit flat.) Now add the cream on top. You probably won't need
the whole cream but it should be a real thick layer. Place the dish in the fridge and let it set till its
completely cold. Then you add the top layer puff pastry and dust it with powdered sugar.
Cut them in slices and serve it really cold.
If its going to be to much, I froze 2 pieces per container so if I just want one or two pieces, I don't have to thaw the whole cake.
Guten Appetit
Apfeltaschen
Apple Puff Pastry
In Germany, you can find filled Puff Pastry with Apples everywhere. We love them. It's like a
mini apple pie to go.
This recipe I found at Lorraine. She is from England and she did that one on her show. She added
Ginger in her Original recipe. I didn't. You may want to, if you like. Just give it your own little
twist.
This is what you need:
- 1 sheet of Puff Pastry
- 2 big apples or 4 small ones, cut in little cubes
- Cinnamon
- 2-3 TBSP Butter
- Handful brown sugar
- Egg wash
This is how you do it:
It's actually really simple and fast. Just peel your apples, cut them in little cubes and put them in
a frying pan along with the Butter. Let them fry just for a little bit. Then you add the cinnamon and Sugar (and ginger if you like) and stir and let it softly cook till the apple is nice soft.
Cool completely
Take the Puff Pastry out of the box. Let it thaw just for a bit so you can work it. Roll it a bit thinner
and cut in 6 even pieces.
Brush Egg wash all over the 4 sides. (Egg wash is just a scrambled up egg with a bit water)
Fill the Puff Pastry with the cooled Apples but don't overfill. Fold them together and use a fork
to squeeze around the edges. Just like Ravioli.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the apple bags for 20-25 min till their nice golden brown.
Let them cool before you dust them with powdered sugar. Enjoy
Guten Appetit
Cauliflower Casserole
with Bacon
This recipe comes from my all time favorite, Giada de Laurentiis. This one is really, really good
and you can use all kinds of vegetables with the same Base.
This is what you need:
- Cauliflower, taken apart and cooked in salt water for around 10 min
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- Gruyere Cheese, grated
- 1 TSP flour
- around 5 slices of Bacon, diced
- fresh made Breadcrumbs ( I used 5 slices of Toast)
- Salt/Pepper
This is how you do it:
Cook the Cauliflower in saltwater for like 10 min.. Set aside.
Fry the diced Bacon crispy. Set aside
Put the 5 slices of Toast into a food processor. Don't cut it too small. You want bigger chunks.
Saute the Breadcrumbs in lots of Butter and the Bacon drippings till its nice and crispy. Set aside
In a bowl, mix the heavy cream, 1 TS{ flour, half of the Gruyere cheese and the salt and pepper
together. (Be careful with the salt. Just a pinch is enough). Now add the cauliflower in the mix and
stir evenly. Also add the Bacon and stir it.
Pour the cauliflower into a oven dish. Now sprinkle the Breadcrumbs on top of it and at the very
last, add the rest of the Gruyere cheese.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the Casserole in for 40-45 min.. If the top is
getting to brown, cover it halfway with Aluminium foil
Add from me: I mixed the Gruyere Cheese with Parmigiano. I also used smoked Gruyere.
Guten Appetit
Buon appetito
Paglia e Fieno
(Straw and Hay Pasta)
As you might already know, I love to watch cooking shows. I like to try to cook after the recipes
I see on TV. This one is from Ina Garden. But I used a bit different things then she did. Anyway,
this is an amazing dish and a keeper.
This is what you need:
- around 10 slices of Bacon (or Pancetta) When you use the thick cut, just around 5, diced
- 1 cup diced Onion, chopped
- 3 gloves of Garlic, chopped
- 1 TBSP Butter
- 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream (or 1 cup cream, 1/2 cup milk like I did)
- 4 ounces of good Gorgonzola cheese (also known as Blue Cheese)
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
- 1 TSP Salt/Pepper (she used 1 1/2 TSP. It was a bit to salty for us)
- Frozen peas. around 1 cup or more if you like
- handful fresh Basil, roughly cut
- good, fresh Pasta if you can find. You should half the needed amount with green Pasta
Keep some of the Pasta water
This is how you do it:
Fry the sliced Bacon/Pancetta in the pan till its nice and crisp. Put it aside but keep the Bacon
drippings. To them, add 1 TBSP Butter and the onions and fry on medium high till their nice
glassy and soft but not burned. Takes around 5 min.. Then add the chopped Garlic and let sit
for another 30 sec.. Now add your heavy cream (mixed with milk or without) and get it back to
a soft simmer. Cut the Gorgonzola into pieces so its easier for it to melt in the hot sauce. Stir
softly. When the Gorgonzola is melted, add the Parmigiano and let it melt in the sauce. Salt and
Pepper it.
Cook the Pasta like it states on the package al dente. Once its cooked, add right away in
the sauce and stir. Remain some of the Pasta water for the case that the sauce is getting to thick.
Now you add the frozen/thaw Peas and the Basil and the fried Bacon pieces and stir everything
evenly. Serve immediately.
Buon appetito
