Smores, German-style

Graham crackers are one of the few American foods or ingredients for which we haven't found a good replacement yet.  However, I suspect crushed Spekulatius cookies would even better than graham cracker crumbs for making a pie or cheesecake crust. So we took that guess a step further and made smores. 

Marshmallows are widely available in Munich, so we paired those up with some Milka minis and our homemade Spekulatius cookies. 

Milkas are the perfect substitute for the Hershey's squares commonly used for smores, and they actually melt more smoothly than Hersheys. 

Put in the oven around 200˚C and cook until the chocolate melts and the marshmallows are toasted.



Mmmm....perfectly browned marshmallows....the kitchen is smelling really good at this point....



And the finished product - a perfect winter treat, and I think the Spekulatius added a nice twist to the smores. If you make your own, you can make them more or less spiced or buttery to fit your taste. We'll definitely be making these again and I'll probably never use graham crackers again. Hmm...I bet Spekulatius and peanut butter would be really good....

Thanksgiving 2012

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. Here in Munich, most people who do celebrate Thanksgiving either have a dinner after work or postpone the celebration until the weekend. We opted to celebrate it on Thanksgiving Day, but to go out for an American dinner. 

A couple of places here offer Thanksgiving menus, and we decided to go to Hard Rock, where they were showing the NFL games. 

We started off with some beer and wings.

 

Since they offered both a Thanksgiving set menu and a selection off the normal menu, we decided to have the best of both American food worlds:

Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, cornbread, and cranberry jelly. The turkey was surprisingly moist and perfectly cooked, the gravy tasty like a pot roast or zwiebelrostbraten gravy, and the stuffing was pretty good too.  The cornbread was a little dry, but tasted good enough that it reminded us how much we love cornbread. We'll be making some soon!


And for the other meal, we ordered a cheeseburger and fries. Maybe not traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but classic American and so good.


And the Thanksgiving menu included "pumpkin pie," which really was more of a pumpkin cheesecake. Very nicely done. The funny thing is that crust on the bottom seemed to be uncooked storebought pie dough. Not that it tasted bad or that I expect Hard Rock to have experience baking pies, but it was kind of funny that they seem to have forgotten to cook the crust. Of course, the pumpkin cheesecake part was so good that we ate the raw dough anyway. 



Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels from Schnitzelbahn! 

Munich Hamburgers: Cosmo Grill

We took a hiatus from trying new burger places while we were getting in shape for the wedding. But a few Sundays ago we did finally try the much-hyped Cosmo Grill. 

The first thing you notice is that it doesn't look like your average burger bar....it's small, white, and minimalist, but with a nice open kitchen where you can see the food preparation.  

Judging from the menu - a wide variety of meats and toppings and everything organic - it was clearly more of a gourmet burger styled place.

This is actually a burger place fit for everyone...if beef or meat aren't your thing, there are multiple veggie burgers, tuna burgers, and chicken burgers. We haven't ordered those yet, but will be curious to see if the "chicken burger" really is a burger made of chicken or more like a grilled chicken sandwich. Sometimes you just never know....

The burgers are cooked up fresh on the grill and they do not skimp on the cheese. It was a nice surprise to get some good orange cheddar, but the burger/bun ratio needs some work. Check out my burger below....the burger is half the size of the bun...not so good.  

But more importantly, what about the taste? This was the biggest surprise to me - a non-greasy cheeseburger. The meat wasn't really seasoned at all, but was clearly top quality and all beef. And after eating the burger, I felt pretty good and not at all like I'd just eaten a cheeseburger. It's definitely a great burger option when you want to still eat healthy.  Probably a big contributor to that is their lack of french fries. They do serve roasted potatoes (your choice of spices - we had the sea salt and the Provence ones, and there's also a rosemary one as well). I have mixed emotions about the potatoes. One one hand, they weren't great. Not bad, but a bit boring and not cooked thoroughly. On the other hand, I'm kind of happy they weren't irresistable because I feel like I could go back to Cosmo Grill, just have a burger, and leave having had a healthy meal. Perhaps we caught them on an off day, so we'll give the potatoes one more try next time. 

Overall, we'd have to give it a mixed review. We'll definitely go back and try it again. I really liked how fresh everything was and it's a great option for getting a burger and not feeling bad afterwards.  And I'd like to try some of the other menu items. They definitely have a lot of options to try and Herr J was a big fan of their guacamole.

But the buns were way to big for the burgers and everything could use a little pepper. One tip - unless you love your burgers with marinara sauce, you may want to ask them to hold the tomato salsa. It was quite good, but it overwhelmed all other tastes, so that it tasted like a burger with marinara sauce. Not bad, but I'm more of a burger purist...I like my burger plain, or with cheese when I'm really feeling crazy.   Just my preference. 

Cosmo Grill's address is Maximilianstrasse 10, however it's actually located on the back side of the building, more on Falkenturmstrasse.  Another big plus in its favor is that they're open late night if you're out at the clubs and need a 2am burger (or a 5am burger on the weekends)!  If you're searching for a big greasy burger and fries, this is not the place for you. But if you like the gourmet burgers or you want a more guilt-free burger, definitely go to Cosmo Grill. 

So far in our quest for Munich Hamburgers, we've visited the following restaurants:

Hard Rock, Zum Goldenen Kalb, Kennedy's, and now Cosmo Grill.  Hard Rock remains the clear front runner, but we're enjoying trying the new places and welcome any suggestions!  

The U.S. can't make real German food

Frau A and I are getting married soon. (!)  For the wedding reception, we wanted to bring a sense of Bavaria back home to the U.S..  It would be fun, interesting, and something (hopefully) unique for our family and friends.

The first step was speaking with the caterers about food.  They had never done käsespätzle and other dishes before, but seemed pretty professional and took the time to research recipes, etc.  We'll see how their food turns out...

But that triggered some memories and thoughts about how the fast/convenience culture of the U.S. simply does not "allow" some true German foods to be made (correctly) and served in America.  We could, but we don't.

The main reason?  Patience.  Or, lack thereof.  Here are some examples:

1)  The whole, rotisserie-roasted chickens over here (the most popular food at Oktoberfest, by the way) always seem to be jucier and taste better.

I asked a store that sells them daily, and the department head said that they brine the chickens for at least a day before roasting them.

Jamie Oliver says to do this too, but I think typically Americans just rub some spices on the outside and get cooking (or stores skip brining to cut costs).

2)  Similarly, I noticed that I actually *like* the sauerkraut here.  Growing up, I always hated sauerkraut at picnics, etc..  So I asked a traditional restaurant (Augustiner) that serves the good stuff about the general approach.

They said the cabbage should be cured in salt at least 3 days to ferment enough.  (This web page and this page say 2-4 weeks.)  This is what generates the right texture & flavor.  Most U.S. sauerkraut is just cooked cabbage.

Now I'm NOT saying that traditional German food is "better".  (A lot is drowned in sauce or generally not to my taste.)  The point is that by shortcutting some original techniques, you don't get the real, tasty version.

Another place we noticed where the lack of patience (or refusal to put in extra time and cost) prevents us from finding (and then liking) authentic German foods?  Desserts.  An underrated part of German cuisine.

3)  Frau A and I needed to select a wedding cake, of course.  One of the treats we love here is Prinzregententorte.  Highly recommended.

The thing about this dessert is that it has "at least" (from Wikipedia) six thin layers of cake, each one separated by a thin layer of chocolate/hazelnut buttercream.  I counted at various bakeries here, and usually see seven layers.  That's a LOT of work to assemble!

My colleague's grandma used to make this, and it took her half the day. 

I did a Google search for German bakeries in Charleston, SC. The first thing that popped up was Rococo German Bakery.  My first reaction was to be surprised at the name (Rococo is obviously not German) but what the heck.  They did not have Prinzregententorte on their website, so I called and asked if the can make it.  The response?

"We don't know what that is."  Major fail.  Then I checked their website further...

- Only 1 of the 19 items shown in "Cakes and Pies" is even remotely German (Black Forest Cake... but it looks like it is made with American super-sweet buttercream frosting rather than whipped cream).  They do list a 'German Chocolate Cake', but this is not German!  (It's American, actually.  Dallas, Texas!  See the link to Wikipedia.)

- Only 1 of their 7 items in "Cookies" is consistently found here -- the black & white frosted sugar cookie -- but it's not truly German.  (Chocolate chip and macaroons are available here and there... the chocolate chip never very good.)  At Rococo, no Christmas classics -- which are good all year -- like vanillakipferl, zimtsterne, or even lebkuchen are available.  Maybe in December?

- Of the 15 items in "Pastry", they do offer apfelstudel (technically Austrian, but good enough).
And one positive surprise:  bienenstich (bee sting)!  I rarely see this in the U.S., but it's a great coffee-time indulgence.  Crumb cakes are popular here, but with more fruit than crumb (vs. the Rococo photo).  Fruit roulade and lemon bars are available here, but are French and American repsectively.  Overall, here's where they come the closest to a "German" bakery (breads not included).

I don't mean to pick on Rococo, just wanted to show an example of the gap.

One last point -- the other thing that creates this divide is the use preservatives (whether its desserts, bratwurst, or bread).  There's a reason that Germans shop for bread at least every other day (often daily).
There are no preservatives, so it doesn't last.  But that's the way it goes here... and it tastes pretty good.

Restaurant Heaven: Le Bernadin

Having lived in Manhattan and worked as a consultant (translation: Lots of business dinners at great restaurants) for many years, Herr J has been to many of New York's top restaurants. We've tried unsuccessfully a couple of times to visit some of his favorites. While we did have an amazing steak frites lunch at Les Halles, a Christmas blizzard forced us to cancel most of our reservations. 

So, when we went back to the US in May to finalize some wedding plans, we decided to celebrate with a visit to somewhere truly special - Le Bernadin. 

Herr J had raved about this place. I was slightly skeptical, since I'm not the biggest fan of haute cuisine and fancy French food. (Not that I don't like French food...I just go for the simpler and less rich dishes). But Le Bernadin surpassed all my expectations. 

With 3 Michelin stars, it's not surprising that we had to take a 10:30pm seating to get in on a specific Friday night. After a few days in Charleston planning and after an afternoon visit to Long Island to pick out wedding bands, we were finally able to relax and unwind over a fabulous dinner. 

We started in the bar area, with a glass of prosecco and their tasty snacks. The trio of snacks had candied walnuts (likely with a little fish sauce for that great salty/sweet taste), rice crackers, and popcorn with bits of dried seaweed. I could have happily stayed there and just had the bar snacks!

But it was time to move into the dining room for the main event. 

As this was a celebration for us, at the end of a very hectic week, we decided to splurge and do the tasting menu with wine pairings. There generally are two tasting menus available, all consisting mainly of seafood. Yes, this was where I was suprised....while it's fine French dining, there isn't much cooking and there's a strong Asian influence.  You can, of course, order a la carte and find some lamb or steak, but the real treat here is the seafood. 

Before the first course came an amuse bouche, consisting of a trio of salmon, lobster, and a bisque with parmesan crisp. All excellent mixes of flavors and textures.

The first course - Fluke sashimi with jalapeno lime broth - was probably my favorite. Every dish came out perfectly arranged; then the waiter poured on a light sauce. All were very flavorful, without overwhelming the fish. This one was a great mix of mexican and Asian flavors, and my first time eating Fluke. 

This next picture does not do justice to the perfection of the fish.  Whoever so perfectly seared the yellowfin tuna and then cut it in such thin slices is truly an artist. Not only did it melt in my mouth, it looks like candy!  

After these first two courses, we kept being amazed by the tastes and presentation. And the wines were so well paired. We're certainly no wine experts, but this was one of those times where the wines were so perfectly matched to the food that you just say "wow!"  The diversity of the wines was impressive too, and that most were from smaller, local vineyard.  Next up was a lovely decorated seared escolar (in kaffir-lime and lemongrass). Not only two of my favorite aromas, but I adore escolar sushi. You don't find it often, but there's a sushi restaurant in Austin that serves it and it's outstanding. 

After the lighter fish, we start to get heavier and more cooked, with a still very lightly seared salmon in a lightly buttery sauce. This one still was excellent, but not as outstanding or unusual as the others. However, it was paired with a fantastic Swiss wine. There aren't many Swiss wines, and very few of them are exported, so we were excited to try one.  This one was a white wine from the Amigne grape. For more on Swiss wines, see this NYT article. 

Which brings us to the final dish, and the only one that really was cooked. (Not at all a complaint....I LOOOOVE sashimi and sushi....but it was not what I expected from a top French restaurant. And it was great!!). The sauce with this crispy black bass was made with black garlic and Persian lemons, for a really subtle and tasty accent. You see a chunk of black garlic on the left side.  This one was paired with a very light red wine - our only red in the tasting. 

After these main courses, we cleansed our palate with a glass of pink champagne and roasted pineapple sorbet. I will definitely be trying something like this in future kitchen experiments, since roasting the pineapple first really enhanced the flavor and cut down on the sweetness. It was a more mellow pineapple flavor. 

And for the final course (or, so I thought), we had a "Black Forest" trio. Very appropriate for two visitors from Germany!  Apparently the new pastry chef likes to do some deconstructed dishes. I just enjoyed the different textures, temperatures and the chocolate and cherry flavors.  This dessert course was paired with a dessert Riesling from the Mosel valley. 

And if that weren't all enough...with the check comes another plate (each) of sweet bites. 

This was the perfect treat to us to have finished our wedding planning and to relax for a night. For me, it was also celebrating surviving a really hard 6 months at work. We finished our busy season that week, so this was a double celebration for me! 

It's hard to know if restaurants live up to the hype, but this one does. The food, the service, the wine...everything is perfectly done without being too stuffy.  You can definitely tell the work that went into every aspect of the meal, starting with whoever went to market and picked out the fish.

In traditional fine French style, there is a huge staff, all of whom have very specific duties.  But they were all friendly and eager to answer questions or provide more infomation. We learned quite a bit from our sommelier - she was quite happy to tell us more about the grapes and vineyards and how each wine was unique. 

With the wine pairing, it's quite a feast and a big splurge. But I'm hoping we can pop in for a smaller taste of the experience next time we're in town. They do serve much of the menu (and the full tasting menus) in the bar area. I would be perfectly content with a glass of wine, those tasty snacks and a small plate or two to share.  And if we're really being honest, that "Chocolate-Peanut" concoction on the dessert menu is calling to me...Madagascan Chocolate Ganache, Peanut Mousse, Salted Caramel Ice Cream...mmmm....

Easter in Istanbul

While I was expecting a lovely Easter brunch with friends, sun, flowers, and chocolate bunnies, I had no idea what was in store for us. 

First, the hotel was decorated for the season, with giant chocolate egg sculptures throughout the lobbies. I guess they knew the subtle scent of chocolate would be a temptation to eat the art, so they kindly left jars of chocolate eggs on all of the tables. 

 

And made frequent refills...because these eggs were GOOD! They had a thick candy shell and wonderful chocolate inside, with just a hint of hazelnut. Our group ate a lot of these, but I was thankful the hotel had them out the night our dinner cruise was 2 hours late for pickup-

 

In between days of siteseeing, we took Easter off and celebrated with a lovely brunch on the terrace - good friends, good conversation, and great food! 

 

They did a wonderful job decorating the terrace with flowers and eggs, as well as had clowns and a play area for the kids. But most importantly, the food...Instead of a traditional buffet, it was a bit of a mix between buffet and made to order. There were chefs at each stand cooking the foods, so that the food on the buffet was always fresh and frequently replaced. From breakfast (waffles, eggs) to sushi and tempura to grilled meats-seafood and freshly made caprese salads (choose your type of mozzarella!), it was all excellent. And of course to supplement the mains were a huge variety of sides, tapas, salads, and of course a döner stand. And wonderful turkish breads!

 

Here at the stand where they made artichoke and prosecco risotto and lobster ravioli (yum!) the chefs had all the ingredients ready. I had never seen what an artichoke looks like on its plant! 

 

And dessert...Instead of a dessert bar, they brought a selection of desserts and sorbets to each table. Wow...words fail me here, but let's just say macarons, peanut butter chocolate cake, lemon tart, and caramel cream puffs...just to start. 

 

And these lovely centerpieces. I think they're real flowers, but I'd never seen anything like them. Sort of like peonies, with lettuce in the middle. But in a good way!

 

But what really made the day for me was the little petting zoo. I thought I might have chocolate bunnies and chicks, but never dreamed I'd have the real thing!

 

Yes, the littlest bunny is cuddling with 3 ducklings. I thought I might die from cuteness!

 

How perfect are these guys?

 

Hi!

 

Adorable.

 

After a wondeful afternoon (yes, we spent 3 hours at brunch) we returned to the room to find a chocolate creation. A white chocolate egg with marshmallow fondant flowers and a few more of the tasty chocolate eggs. 

More to come on our long weekend in Istanbul. It was a really wonderful trip. A chance to see good friends and to relax a little and enjoy the sun and the beauty of Turkey. But so many photos to sort through first!

Favorite New Kitchen Gadget

Both Herr J and I may independently have a "problem" with ktichen gadgets. Though we do actually use them, so it's yet to be decided if it's really a problem....

But there's a new one I'm really loving.  One of the best Christmas gifts this year was a gift certificate to Williams Sonoma. And being a gift, I decided to buy stuff I wanted but didn't really need or might not buy for myself. And I've been wanting the Zoku popsicle maker for a while now.

The big problem was the space it takes up in the European freezers and the weight it would take up in my suitcase on the flight home. Well, they now come in 1 and 2 popsicle sizes, which seemed more manageable.

I had wondered if these really work as well as claimed. Past attempts at popsicles using the plastic molds didn't work as well. Those pops were more icy than the soft popsicle texture that you get with the ones from the store. But, as (1) they don't have popsicles in the store here, and (2) I don't want to have all that sugar, making popsicles seemed to be a good idea.  I was a little sceptical of the claim that all you had to do was pour in fruit juice, but there were so many great recipes available online that I figured it would be useful.

The first batch we tried was a strawberry yogurt pop. I just put strawberries, sugar, nonfat yogurt, and a little lemon juice in the blender. Apparently you need to have a more liquid texture for the freezing to work, so I added skim milk to make it more liquid. They were great!

There's a little removal tool that screws into the hole in the handle and then lifts it out of the mold.

Then I bought some pomegranate juice at the store to test out if it really works with just plain juice. And it does - pomegranate was great! A little different taste, and a good balance of sweet with a little tart.

I'm sure the same is probably true in the US now, but Germany has a wonderful abundance of juice varieties. And though you can buy the expensive ones at the bio stores, they have some impressive range in the affordable section (i.e., under €3 for a box). There so many more to try, and to try mixing. But I brought home the Amarena Cherry and the Pineapple-Coconut for a taste test.

Yum!  I'm a huge fan of cherry, so I liked this one. It's very tart, though, so is a good lesson. If you don't like tart flavors, you should test the juice and then possibly add some sugar or honey. But loved it!

It's hard to pick a favorite - all 3 of the juice ones have been favorites so far. But there's something special about the Pineapple-Coconut...probably because it tastes like a beach holiday!

 

We'll be back in the US for a wedding soon and I'm seriously considering getting another one, especially since I have a $20 coupon at Williams Sonoma. I'm using it almost every day! Great for summer and also for winter sore throats!  

I'm sure we'll eventually try some of the more creative pops you can make...chili-chocolate paletas, pops with different color layers, or a different flavor center. But it's hard to beat the simplicity of just pouring juice out of the box into the mold.