Choucroute Garnie - Sauerkraut with Sausages

Alsas, tucked away in the North eastern Corner of France is famous for Alsations, Riesling, Quiche Lorraine, Kugelhopf and this dish, Choucroute Garnie. 

It is one of those recipes like Cassoulet, that can have ingredients varied or left out to your personal taste, but basically it is a slow cooked Sauerkraut with the addition of meats and sausages.

My recipe is a totally easy one pot delight, made with a few exotic ingredients from my local Cornershop in the multiculti South of England and some leftover roast Pork Belly.

Into a nice big Dutch oven go my Ingredients:

(serves 3 greedy Meat Feasters- never mind the WeightWatchers points, -about 17-)

3 thick slices of Roast Pork Belly or other 'cheap' cuts of Pork (Ribs, Knuckle, Hock)

6 thick slices of Smoked Bacon

3 Sausages suitable for braising (mine are of the Polish persuasion and are called Slesian Sausages)

1 Glass of Sauerkraut (500g) (yes they sell all this in my local Cornershop! Isn't it great?)

9 small Potatoes, whole with skin

3 Garlic Cloves, crushed

3 Bayleaves

6 All Spice Berries

3 Cloves

6 Juniper Berries

a pinch of Pepper

1 tbs Brown Sugar

1 Glass of White Wine (yes, Riesling would be the ideal one)

1- 2 Cups of Chicken Stock

Everything goes in the Pot together with the Chicken stock added until nearly at the top. Now it will spend at least 1 1/2 hours in a medium hot oven, but longer is better. If I was using a joint like Hock or such, then I'd cook that beforehand and the use liquor as stock, yumm yumm.

When ready to serve just divide the Sauerkraut, Potatoes, Sausages and Meats into equal amounts for the 3 servings and dollop a little German, French or indeed Alsatian Mustard on the Side.

The smell of Choucroute Garnie cooking in the Oven makes everyone's mouth water. Even the neighbors!

Bon Apetit!

Boston Clam Chowder

Just one of many Chowders, but this one must be a favorite for me. First discovered when I went to Faneuil Hall, a buzzing Marketplace in Boston, where it was served in a delicious Sourdough Bread Bowl.

Here is the picture I took then, with Didi, my traveling rubber Dragon.

I have made a version of Chowder before and called it Brighton Clam Chowder as it had some extra ingredients that would not be authentic. But today I am sticking to the basic recipe. 

Potatoes, Clams, Clam Juice, Broth, Cream and Onions. No more. 

Ok, if you want you can add Bacon, Celery and  Parsley, but that's it.

The ingredients: (serves 2 @ 5 WeightWatchers Points each)

300g Floury Potatoes, diced small

1 white Onion, diced

1 small tin of Chopped Clams in Clam Juice

250ml Chicken Broth

a pinch of Nutmeg, Salt and White Pepper

1 tbs thick Cream (I use the low fat variety)

Sautee the Onion in a suitable cooking pot until translucent. Add the Potatoes and the Clam Juice and top with Chicken Broth until just covered. Simmer on a low heat with a lid for about 20 minutes until the Potatoes are soft, really soft, so soft they fall apart when stirred.

Sir in the chopped Clams and Cream and season to taste with a pinch of Salt, White Pepper and a grating of fresh Nutmeg.

To serve you'll need those little dry and cardboard like crackers. Actually you won't need those, they add nothing to this lovely dish. But if you can get hold of the Sourdough Bread Bowl, then I envy you! They are fantastic and I love them. I only have a plain old China bowl for my chowder, but nonetheless I can't wait to tuck in!

I couldn't resist adding a bit of greenery at the end, though maybe a sprinkling of Parsley would have been the ideal garnish.

Paella

I am so looking forward to returning to Barcelona in a week's time that I had to make one of the Spanish Classics, Paella, today, just to keep the excitement at bay.

It's actually not difficult to make at all and can be varied in many many ways to suit your taste buds.

My version includes Chicken, Prawns, Scallops and of course Chorizo. But I would happily use Rabbit and some Clams or Mussels as well.

I also added a few extra vegetables just to keep the calories low and the healthy high.

Here are my ingredients for 6 portions (10 Weightwatchers Points each):

300g Paella Rice

1 small Chicken

100g Chorizo, halved then sliced

100g raw shelled Prawns

80g mini Scallops

a handful of frozen Peas

a small bunch of Asparagus, cut into 1 inch length

a handful of Sugar snap peas

1 red Pepper, roughly chopped

1 red Onion, diced

2 garlic Cloves, sliced

a pinch of Saffron

a scattering of chopped parsley

1 Lemon cut into 6 wedges for garnish

Here is what I did with the Chicken. To make good use of the whole bird I first used the good meat for the dish, which I carefully cut off the chicken and then cut into largish chunks. The skin and bones I made into the Stock, with which I then cooked the Paella. Once ready I infused the Saffron in the Stock to give it a lovely color.

In a large pan fry the Chicken Pieces in a little olive oil, then remove them onto a plate. Next the Chorizo, Red Pepper, Onion and Garlic go in and everything get's tossed and sizzles for a little while. Measure the 300g of rice in a Measuring jug, so you know how much volume of stock to add. It takes about 1 1/2 times as much stock as rice. Which works out about 350ml ish.

So now the rice goes in with a little stir to absorb flavor and color, before the Chicken pieces rejoin the pan and 2/3 of the hot stock. If the stock is seasoned nicely then there is no need for extra salt. The Chorizo also helps  to flavor the Paella. Bring to a simmer, then cover and turn the heat to low.

After about 10 minutes gently stir in the green vegetables and the rest of the hot Stock. After 5 more minutes scatter the seafood on top, or better still place it decoratively.

Cover again and after 5 more minutes turn off the heat and leave the Paella to sit for yet another 5 minutes.

Arrange the Lemon Wedges around the side, sprinkle with the Parsley and serve in the Pan to your delighted guests.

I want to apologise for the lack of quality of my pictures. I cannot find my Camera cable, since moving house, so I'm using my Phone camera, which isn't my perfect idea of Photography. But it'll have to do until my cable is found.

Shula's Steakhouse Tampa

So I suppose it's ok to treat myself once in a while. Today, I decided, is the day! 

I am in Tampa and have been looking at the steaks in this restaurant for a while. As it is located right in our hotel I have of course had breakfast here . The staff are always extremely courteous and professional. I like that in a restaurant, especially if I am dining solo and have nothing better to do then watch what's going on. At Shula's they pay all the right attention to detail, but not too much to make me feel smothered. 

One thing, I don't quite get the whole gangster stroke celebrity actors kinda theme though. There are pictures of many all around. But have all them actually dined here? Really? I don't know. Well at least I don't think so. Either way it's not important enough to me to go starting a conversation with the waiter about it.

The waiter recommended a Pinot Noir grown in the California region and it is really very nice. Now I am looking forward to the perfect Porterhouse. Please don't let me down :-)

Yummmmm....... Words are not needed here. Get your taste buds 'round this little chop.

Now I do want to mention something about the breakfast in this restaurant, just because .... they serve here the most amazing bacon I have ever had. No really it's out of this world!

That's all I have to say about that.

Here a link to their website: Shula's Tampa