Sunday, July 11, 2010

Congratulations to Spain!

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We went to the theater to see the game with 500 of our closest friends.

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We made paella de Valencia.

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I prepared the beans, boned the chicken and rabbit. I browned the meat, and cooked the beans and tomatoes

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I added the stock, saffron and rice.

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Wine:

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Finished product:

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Results- Viva la Furia roja!!!! The paella was great, congrats to Spain on adding their names to the World Cup!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Today: Netherlands

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Sarah made pannekoeken with blueberries and cream cheese with brunch.

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First she melted butter in a skillet, then whisked eggs and salt in a bowl, then added milk, then flour.

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She poured the batter into the pan added the blueberries and put it in the oven.

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While the pancake was baking, she made a honey whipped cream cheese topping with cinnamon.

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Out of the oven.

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Finished product.

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Results: Not bad - maybe a couple minutes too long in the oven. I'm guessing that a proper pannekoeken pan would have probably helped with aesthetic appeal. My sister suggested this dish, remembering it fondly from a pannekoeken restaurant in Amsterdam. The kids ate it too.
Last night: Germany

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We made a Bavarian hot pork sausage and a Frankfurter style sausage.

First, I prepared the casings by rinsing off the salt, soaking, checking for leaks, then softening with in water with vinegar.

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Bavarian hot pork sausage:

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I ground pork shoulder and fat and seasoned with sage, salt, pepper, marjoram, crushed red peppers, savory, cayenne, nutmeg and allspice.

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Stuffed the casings

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Then cooked the sausage in a beer bath with sauerkraut.

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Frankfurter style sausage.

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I ground and mixed beef, pork, and fat, then mixed with onion, garlic, coriander, marjoram, mace, mustard seed, paprika, white pepper, egg white, sugar, salt and milk.

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I stuffed the casings and cooked the sausages in a water bath.

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Finished product:

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Results: The Bavarian hot sausage is almost too hot. The Frankfurter is good, although one of the casings burst in the water bath making quite a mess. (Also, I've now typed Frankenfurter instead of Frankfurter three times, sigh). Last night was a comedy of error and the sausages weren't ready until after midnight hence waiting to post until this morning.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Tonight: Argentina

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We made spice rubbed flank steak with salsa criolla.

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We first made a dry rub with garlic paste, thyme, black pepper, chili powder, brown sugar and salt. We rubbed the steaks, covered and refrigerated overnight.

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Also the night before, we made the criolla. we combined onion, tomato, red pepper, olive oil, vinegar, water, garlic paste, thyme, salt and black pepper, mixed well and chilled overnight.

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Today, I grilled the steaks over lump charcoal, cut and served.

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With wine:

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Finished product:

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Results: We eat flank steak about once a month, and this is the best flank steak I've ever made. I like the criolla even more than the chimichurri. The wine paired very nicely as well. I'll be making this one again.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Tonight: Paraguay

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The flag of Paraguay has different images on the obverse and reverse sides. Who knew?

We made empanadas de carne.

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I boiled the eggs.

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Then I cooked the meat filling with garlic, onion and green pepper.

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Then I added the egg to the meat mix.

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Next I made the dough with salt, flour. baking powder, lard, and water.

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Then I filled the dough with the filling.

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Then I fried one in oil. LOL fail, no picture though.

I baked the rest after brushing with a beaten egg, then served with hot sauce.

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Finished product:

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Results: These were pretty meh. I wouldn't call it a complete failure, but it ranks with the South Africa dish as my least favorite. I can't help but think I did something wrong, but I don't know what that might be. I think cheese would have been an improvement.