Kalter Hund - Chilled Cookie and Chocolate Cake

This is a Childhood Memory Lane Recipe. A German Classic, very indulgent Chocolate and Cookie cake. The ingredients are not really easily available everywhere, but I found them online and had them delivered right to my doorstep.

150g Light Brown Sugar

250g Palmin (a Coco Palm Fat)

50g Cocoa powder

1tsp Vanilla extract

1tsp Coffee Instant Granules

1 pinch of Salt

2 Eggs

20 or so Butterkekse

100g Hazelnuts

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan before whizzing them up in a food processor.

Melt the Palmin in a pan then leave to cool slightly.

Whisk together the eggs and sugar then stir in the ground Hazelnuts, Cocoa powder, Vanilla and Coffee.

Carefully incorporate the melted palm fat, then assemble the cake. Line a rectangular cake mould or bread tin with cling film and start with a layer of the cocoa mix. Precisely as you can lay the cookies in line then follow with a cocoa layer. Make as many layers as will fit but finish with a layer of cocoa.

Lightly cover with cling film then chill in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours.

Turn the cake out and serve sliced. Keep the leftovers (if there are any) in the fridge.

Chicken Liver Massala

I love Liver and Chicken Livers are my favourite. First I was thinking of making Peri Peri Chicken Livers, but then decided to try something new and different. A little research with my best friend (she is called Google) and I found this recipe and after a little adjusting to personal liking I made this astonishingly yummy little curry.

Here the Ingredients:

500g Chicken Livers, cleaned and each cut in half

2 Potatoes, diced

1 cup of frozen Peas

2 large ripe Tomatoes, grated, (skin discarded)

1 Onion, sliced

3 Garlic Cloves, crushed

1 long Green Chilli, sliced

1 Cinnamon Stick

Oil for frying

The Massala Paste:

(mix all these spices to a loose paste)

2 tsp Water

1 tsp Cumin Powder

2 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

Start by flash frying the Liver in a hot pan for about 5 minutes, tossing them with a cheffy flourish every now and then. They do not need to be cooked though at this stage as they will cook some more in the sauce later on. Set these aside and in the same pan fry the Onion with the Cinnamon Stick and a sprinkle of Salt until softened. Then add the diced Potatoes and fry some more. Add a little water and cover to get those Potatoes to cook through.

 

While that is happening, start another large pan with a little oil and fry the garlic. Just for a moment, do not let it colour to much.

 

 Then add the Massala Paste to the pan and fry until fragrant and the oil gives out a lovely red colour and starts to separate.

 

Next add the grated Tomatoes and season with Salt. Let this bubble away for about 5 minutes.

 

Now the Massala is ready for the fried Potatoes and Onion to go in with the Peas and the precooked Liver. Simmer everything for about 7 minutes and check the seasoning. Add more salt if needed.

 

Finally stir in the Garam Massala just before serving.

 

Serve with Rice and Indian Bread and a vegetable dish of your choice. We are having Roasted Butternut Squash with Indian Spices today.

Banana Bread

I have tried a couple of different ways of making Banana Bread and the one that turns out the best is this Recipe. I have used Bajan Brown Sugar just because I had some and because I got the inspiration while I was in Barbados. The Banana Bread I had there was truly divine. I ask the chef what they did to make it so dark and delicious and she gave me a few ideas.

3 very very ripe Bananas

180g Plain Flour with 2 tsp Baking Powder and 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

(or 180g Self raising flour with 1/2tsp Bicarbonate of Soda)

1/2 tsp Salt

140g Bajan Brown Sugar or (Light Brown Sugar)

2 Eggs

100g melted Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tbs Molasses

Mix the Eggs, Sugar, Butter, Molasses and Vanilla with an electric Mixer until soft and fluffy. Mash the Bananas on a plate with a fork and add to the Mix. Sift in the Flour, Salt, Bicarb and Baking Powder and stir until smooth.

Transfer this batter into a greased 750g size Loaf tin and bake in a preheated oven at 160-170C or gas 6 for about 1 hour. I found that ovens vary a lot, so adjust the temperature as you need to. If it goes to dark to quickly turn it down, if it doesn't seem to do anything much turn it up a bit.

Leave to cool slightly before turning out of the tin. Then rest ona  wire rack until cool. Though here in this house it doesn't even seem to last that long.

My Boyfriend likes butter on his and I like peanut Butter on mine. How do you like yours?

Tunisian Slow Roasted Leg of Goat

My leg of goat has been marinating for 48 hours in Harissa Paste. Now it is ready to rest on a bed of sliced onions and tomatoes and roast slowly in the oven for 5 hours at 160C. I covered the roasting tin with tin foil throughout. 

Once finished roasting a wonderful sauce has been created in the bottom of the tin, helping to keep the meat moist while cooking. 

I pulled the meat of the leg with 2 forks and returned it to the sauce.

Seved on a bed of giant couscous and vegetables, it was delicious!

Battista's Hole In The Wall, Las Vegas

I know I haven't posted much lately but this place Battista's has made me want to share about it. 

It is just off the Strip on Flamingo East and if I hadn't researched restaurants online I would have walked pass it every time. But it's reputation made me come and check it out. And I'm glad I did!

The menu is simple. You get various Pasta dishes and typical Italian meat and seafood dishes all accompanied with free Salad or Soup, Garlic Bread and best if all unlimited Red or White House Wine.

As soon as I was seated the first question was did I want Red or White Wine and then 3 seconds later a whole carafe yes a whole one appeared before me. All just for me!!! I didn't drink it all, mind.

I asked my waitress what she would recommend and she was very happy to tell me a little about the dishes. The accompaniments that come as standard are lovely and plentiful. Nothing fancy but that's just the way it should be in a typical old fashioned Italian restaurant. 

Meanwhile I am munching away on my garlic bread and salad, Georgie, a charming little creature who must be nearing his 90's, appears with his Harmonica. 

He asks me how I was doing and where I was from. I said great and Germany. So he goes: 'watch this!' and started to play and sing an old German song that even though I didn't know, I found such lovely and welcoming gesture.

The mains arrived. I am having a New York strip and the sides yet again come free as standard. Pasta, creamed Spinach and a Parmesan crusted baked tomato. All tasty and perfectly cooked. Again no gimmicks just plain yummy food.

The only thing is this would be perfect for  a group of friends or family and I only have you to share it with :-) so I hope you enjoy it. 

Geogie is singing another song and people are starting to sing along. What a lovely atmosphere.

Oh, and then just I was ready to leave it all behind, the free homemade Cappuccino arrives. It tastes like a hug. All warm and sweet and homely. Actually it tastes like a really nice coffee flavoured hot chocolate.

Seriously do come here! I mean it.

The Iranian Flatbread Sandwich

I'm sure there are plenty of things people put into a flatbread sandwich, but to me this is the one, the ultimate and the best. I first had it when a friend who is from Iran bought the ingredients and made it for me. I was puzzled over the paper thin bread and the huge bundle of mint. I could not imagine how this would make a sandwich. 

He assembled the bread in a few layers crumbled bits of Feta all over, added a few slices of red onion and finally a whole handful of mint leaves. Then he rolled it all up like a big cigar and voila the Iranian Sandwich was made. 

The mint and feta work together like a dream and the crunchy ping of the red onion completes the dish. And yes you do want all that mint. 

This sandwich I made today resembles the same method but I chose the freshest Flatbread I could find  instead of the Village Sheet Bread, which can be bought in Middle Eastern supermarkets. I also added a few bits of Radish and Bell Peeper for some more volume and crunch. A drizzle of Olive Oil made it perfect. Served with some pickled Peppers and Olives on the side this made a great summer Lunch.

I seriously urge everyone to give it a try. I know you will love it!

Mussles in Tom Yum Broth

You may have figured by now, I love a good Tom Yum. With Prawn, with Fish, with all manner of Seafood, but also with Oxtails or even with Pork Knuckle. I don't even mind a simple Vegetarian Mushroom version. 

Just a few days ago I had the pleasure to revisit all my favorite Thai Restaurants In Male in the Maldives.

Still undefeated is of course Sala Thai Restaurant with its crisp clean and perfectly balaced flavour as well as the biggest Prawns, freshest Crab and prettiest Squid Curls. 

Today however I found myself wanting both a bowl full of fresh Mussels with chunky Bread to dip in or a Tom Yum of sorts. So I fused the two and made a Bowl of Mussels in a Tom Yum Broth with Chunky Bread to dip in!

I started by pounding 3 stalks of chopped Lemongrass (tender part only) with an inch of chopped Galangal and 3 hot chopped Chillies in my new Pestle and Mortar. The very talented and quite opinionated SheSimmers convinced me in a recent article on her blog, that pounding releases the Essential oils in parts of the plant, that the blades of a food processor will never reach. If it doesn't pound smooth enough, one can always finish the paste off in a food processor... and everyone is happy.

Now the paste goes into a large pan with 300ml of water a good splosh of Thai Fish Sauce, Some sliced Spring Onion, a couple of sliced Mushrooms, a couple of halved baby Plum Tomatoes and a few Kaffir Lime Leafes. Bring Everything to a simmer then add a bagful of Cleaned Mussels. 

Remember if they don't close after tapping them, when fresh, throw them away. And if they don't open after cooking, throw them out as well. 

Cover with a lid and cook just as long as it takes for the Mussels to open up. About 3-4 minutes.

Pour everything into a large serving Bowl and squeeze over the juice of 1Lime and sprinkle with Coriander.

As I already mentioned a nice chunk of Crusty bread will soak up the juices beautifully. But a spoon for the broth also comes in handy. The mussels can of course only be eaten by hand!