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Showing posts with label German. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German. Show all posts

Germany 2013: Snapshots

Here's my last post about our trip to Germany. I've blogged about Germany a zillion times before, so rather than going on about everything in great detail, I just wanted to share some pictures with you. Enjoy! (If you want any more info on any of the pictures, just hit me up in the comments section and I'll do my best to respond!)

View from Cafe Talblick

Lunch at Cafe Talblick: schnitzels, meat platter, spaetzle and more

Dinner at the local Greek restaurant, Paradies

Beer!

The hottest Currywurst in Ludwigshafen

Crumbed fish, potato salad, remoulade

Lunch at a local family restaurant for Susan's confirmation

Pork schnitzel with potatoes, asparagus and hollandaise sauce at Kreuzhofbauer. Literally the best schnitzel I have ever eaten!

Vintage ads

Different grades of Spargel / asparagus at the Lampertheim market. Well, Lampertheim ist der Spargelstadt!

Sausages being cooked at the local farmer

Freshly made sausages and smallgoods at the local farmer

Homecooked: smoked and natural pork ribs with Sauerbohnen (sour beans)

Rindfleischsuppe mit Dampfnudeln (beef soup with yeast dumplings)

Smoked and natural pork belly, with Sauerbohnen (sour beans), Sauerkraut and mashed potato

Kartoffelsoße - bread dumplings with potato sauce

Spaghetti-Eis

Ice-cream with chocolate whipped cream

Sahne-Puff (Cream puff),Rahmskuchen (cream cake), Marmorkuchen (marble cake), Apfelkuchen (apple cake)

Prost! Cheers!


If you can't get enough of all things related to German food, or just want to marvel at my incredible consumption of pork and bread, check out my previous posts about Germany!
Here's my last post about our trip to Germany. I've blogged about Germany a zillion times before, so rather than going on about everything in great detail, I just wanted to share some pictures with you. Enjoy! (If you want any more info on any of the pictures, just hit me up in the comments section and I'll do my best to respond!)

View from Cafe Talblick

Lunch at Cafe Talblick: schnitzels, meat platter, spaetzle and more

Dinner at the local Greek restaurant, Paradies

Beer!

The hottest Currywurst in Ludwigshafen

Crumbed fish, potato salad, remoulade

Lunch at a local family restaurant for Susan's confirmation

Pork schnitzel with potatoes, asparagus and hollandaise sauce at Kreuzhofbauer. Literally the best schnitzel I have ever eaten!

Vintage ads

Different grades of Spargel / asparagus at the Lampertheim market. Well, Lampertheim ist der Spargelstadt!

Sausages being cooked at the local farmer

Freshly made sausages and smallgoods at the local farmer

Homecooked: smoked and natural pork ribs with Sauerbohnen (sour beans)

Rindfleischsuppe mit Dampfnudeln (beef soup with yeast dumplings)

Smoked and natural pork belly, with Sauerbohnen (sour beans), Sauerkraut and mashed potato

Kartoffelsoße - bread dumplings with potato sauce

Spaghetti-Eis

Ice-cream with chocolate whipped cream

Sahne-Puff (Cream puff),Rahmskuchen (cream cake), Marmorkuchen (marble cake), Apfelkuchen (apple cake)

Prost! Cheers!


If you can't get enough of all things related to German food, or just want to marvel at my incredible consumption of pork and bread, check out my previous posts about Germany!
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Germany 2013: Bread, Bakeries, Breakfasts and Bacony Goods

Brezel

German bread post! I love, love, love German bread, and the three weeks we spent in Germany were like a continuous carb fest. Jawohl! Each morning, Sandra's dad would go to the local bakery, and purchase a selection of frischgebackene (freshly baked) bread rolls and pretzels for us to eat at home with Sandra's mum's homemade Kirschmarmelade (cherry jam, made with cherries from their tree!), or perhaps some porky products from the supermarket or local farmer, all washed down with a strong mug of filter coffee. Oh lecker! In addition to the breakfasts, we had quite a few Aufschnitt dinners (cold cuts, bread and cheese). So much Teutonic deliciousness!

Here's the pretzel machine in the front window of Grimminger bakery.
Raw pretzels

Brezel

Just to get things straight, a Bäckerei is a bakery, whilst a Konditorei is a cake shop. Most Bäckerei I've seen will focus on bread, with some pastries, donuts and a small selection of cakes by the slice, whilst Konditorei sell cakes, chocolates, biscuits and similar sweet treats. But just quietly, I think I'm over German cakes, which tend to be a bit bland for my tastes. (Contrast this to Sandra's mum, who found French pastries way too sweet! Zu süß!)
The Cake fridge at a local Konditorei

Although I totally love the pretty presentation and generous servings of German cakes, I'm much happier with a plain-old salt-crusted pretzel or a normal white Brötchen (bread roll)!

So with that out of the way, let's focus on some Bäckerei! 
The K&U Bäckerei 

Pretzels, Brötchen 

Schoko-croissant, Berliner, Streusel, AmerikanerKäsekuchen, Kirschenplotzer

A Berliner for breakfast. I love the soft powdered sugar, and the fluffy fluffy dough!
Berliner

Clockwise from bottom left: Pretzel, Brötchen, Rosinenbrötchen, Quarkplunder

In the above picture, we have a pretzel, normal white Brötchen, a soft and slightly sweet Rosinenbrötchen (raisin roll - soft and sweet by German standards, but nowhere near as sweet as, say, Bread Top Hong Kong-style bread), and a Quarkplunder (a Danish filled with quark. And yes, har har har "you can plunder my quark anytime").

Clockwise from top left: "Milchwek", SalzbrötchenBrötchen, Mohnbrötchen 

A Milchbrötchen (milk bread roll, or "Milchwek" in the local dialect), is an unsalted, lightly sweetened bread roll with (duh) milk in the batter. Also in the above picture we have Salzbrötchen (white bread roll with salt and caraway seeds), a normal white brötchen, and a Mohnbrötchen (poppyseed bread roll).

Vanilleschnecken - vanilla scroll

Let's talk about pretzels in more detail. In Germany, the big soft pretzels are called Laugenbrezel. "Brezel" means, well, pretzel, and "Laugen" is the lye solution in which the bread dough is dipped before being baked. (Or, for home cooks, a bicarbonate of soda solution, which is what I use when making homemade pretzels... although now I wonder if it would be more accurate to call my bicarb-dipped homemade pretzels: "Doppeltkohlensäuresnatronbrezel").
Breakfast basket, including a Laugenbrezel

Of course, Brezeln aren't the only things you can make out of Laugen-dipped dough. Below, we have a Laugenstange, which is Laugen-dipped dough formed into a stick shape.
Laugenstange

Also popular are Laugencroissant. (On the right hand side in the below picture).
Breakfast basket, including Laugencroissant

The next few photos are of some bread-based meals I enjoyed whilst in Germany - putting all that lovely bread in context, so to speak. Apart from the lovely homemade Kirschmarmelade, I loved having cheese for breakfast, as well as Frischkäse, which to my mind is like a cross between cream cheese, ricotta, mascarpone and cottage cheese. In other words, delicious. You'll also see a packet of Dutch stroopwafels in the below picture - more on that later.
Frischkäse

This is a loaf of gorgeous potato bread from Grimminger, which we had for dinner one night with a whole bunch of fab accompaniments. 
Potato Bread

The cheeses were sliced Butterkäse, a tub of gloopily delicious Kochkäse, and a couple of cheeses that we got from the local Italian deli - one coated in caraway seeds, and a strong Parmesan.
Aufschnitt supper!

The two dry-looking salamis were a Saucisson Sec d'Auvergne and some sticks of wine salami that we'd picked up in Paris. The German contingent, on the left side of the plate, from top to bottom, were tinned Bratwurst, Leberwurst, Fleischwurst and Schwartenmagen.
Sausagefest

The next two pictures are of the first breakfast I had on this trip - a simple loaf of Bauernbrot (farmer's bread) with Frischkäse, Knackwurst, and my favourite: Bratwurstfilzl (yes, raw bratwurst AKA Mettwurst, and yes, it's awesome).
Bauernbrot

BauernbrotFrischkäse, Bratwurstfilzl, Knackwurst

While we're talking about breakfasts, I just wanted to share with you a couple of non-bread breakfasts I had. This is Dr. Oetker brand Vitalis crispy chocolate muesli! (Well, I was on holiday, after all!) So crunchy and fabulous. I brought a box of it home with me too, and can't wait to try out the recipe on the packet for Buttermilk Knusper Shoko Muesli pancakes!
Dr Oetker Vitalis Knusper Schoko mit Vollmilch-Schokolade

Next up was a simple apple with peanut butter (my addiction!), as well as a Stroopwafel from Hema. I wasn't a fan of the Stroopwafels - too sweet and not crisp enough - but perhaps I need to make the trip to Holland next time, and have a freshly baked one at a market!
Apple & peanut butter, Stroopwafel

Stroopwafel on tea

And after reading this post, I am sure you'll understand why I've been at the gym constantly since we came back! When you're overseas, do you mix it up and try the local breakfasts? Or do you go out of your way to have your regular breakfast?
Brezel

German bread post! I love, love, love German bread, and the three weeks we spent in Germany were like a continuous carb fest. Jawohl! Each morning, Sandra's dad would go to the local bakery, and purchase a selection of frischgebackene (freshly baked) bread rolls and pretzels for us to eat at home with Sandra's mum's homemade Kirschmarmelade (cherry jam, made with cherries from their tree!), or perhaps some porky products from the supermarket or local farmer, all washed down with a strong mug of filter coffee. Oh lecker! In addition to the breakfasts, we had quite a few Aufschnitt dinners (cold cuts, bread and cheese). So much Teutonic deliciousness!

Here's the pretzel machine in the front window of Grimminger bakery.
Raw pretzels

Brezel

Just to get things straight, a Bäckerei is a bakery, whilst a Konditorei is a cake shop. Most Bäckerei I've seen will focus on bread, with some pastries, donuts and a small selection of cakes by the slice, whilst Konditorei sell cakes, chocolates, biscuits and similar sweet treats. But just quietly, I think I'm over German cakes, which tend to be a bit bland for my tastes. (Contrast this to Sandra's mum, who found French pastries way too sweet! Zu süß!)
The Cake fridge at a local Konditorei

Although I totally love the pretty presentation and generous servings of German cakes, I'm much happier with a plain-old salt-crusted pretzel or a normal white Brötchen (bread roll)!

So with that out of the way, let's focus on some Bäckerei! 
The K&U Bäckerei 

Pretzels, Brötchen 

Schoko-croissant, Berliner, Streusel, AmerikanerKäsekuchen, Kirschenplotzer

A Berliner for breakfast. I love the soft powdered sugar, and the fluffy fluffy dough!
Berliner

Clockwise from bottom left: Pretzel, Brötchen, Rosinenbrötchen, Quarkplunder

In the above picture, we have a pretzel, normal white Brötchen, a soft and slightly sweet Rosinenbrötchen (raisin roll - soft and sweet by German standards, but nowhere near as sweet as, say, Bread Top Hong Kong-style bread), and a Quarkplunder (a Danish filled with quark. And yes, har har har "you can plunder my quark anytime").

Clockwise from top left: "Milchwek", SalzbrötchenBrötchen, Mohnbrötchen 

A Milchbrötchen (milk bread roll, or "Milchwek" in the local dialect), is an unsalted, lightly sweetened bread roll with (duh) milk in the batter. Also in the above picture we have Salzbrötchen (white bread roll with salt and caraway seeds), a normal white brötchen, and a Mohnbrötchen (poppyseed bread roll).

Vanilleschnecken - vanilla scroll

Let's talk about pretzels in more detail. In Germany, the big soft pretzels are called Laugenbrezel. "Brezel" means, well, pretzel, and "Laugen" is the lye solution in which the bread dough is dipped before being baked. (Or, for home cooks, a bicarbonate of soda solution, which is what I use when making homemade pretzels... although now I wonder if it would be more accurate to call my bicarb-dipped homemade pretzels: "Doppeltkohlensäuresnatronbrezel").
Breakfast basket, including a Laugenbrezel

Of course, Brezeln aren't the only things you can make out of Laugen-dipped dough. Below, we have a Laugenstange, which is Laugen-dipped dough formed into a stick shape.
Laugenstange

Also popular are Laugencroissant. (On the right hand side in the below picture).
Breakfast basket, including Laugencroissant

The next few photos are of some bread-based meals I enjoyed whilst in Germany - putting all that lovely bread in context, so to speak. Apart from the lovely homemade Kirschmarmelade, I loved having cheese for breakfast, as well as Frischkäse, which to my mind is like a cross between cream cheese, ricotta, mascarpone and cottage cheese. In other words, delicious. You'll also see a packet of Dutch stroopwafels in the below picture - more on that later.
Frischkäse

This is a loaf of gorgeous potato bread from Grimminger, which we had for dinner one night with a whole bunch of fab accompaniments. 
Potato Bread

The cheeses were sliced Butterkäse, a tub of gloopily delicious Kochkäse, and a couple of cheeses that we got from the local Italian deli - one coated in caraway seeds, and a strong Parmesan.
Aufschnitt supper!

The two dry-looking salamis were a Saucisson Sec d'Auvergne and some sticks of wine salami that we'd picked up in Paris. The German contingent, on the left side of the plate, from top to bottom, were tinned Bratwurst, Leberwurst, Fleischwurst and Schwartenmagen.
Sausagefest

The next two pictures are of the first breakfast I had on this trip - a simple loaf of Bauernbrot (farmer's bread) with Frischkäse, Knackwurst, and my favourite: Bratwurstfilzl (yes, raw bratwurst AKA Mettwurst, and yes, it's awesome).
Bauernbrot

BauernbrotFrischkäse, Bratwurstfilzl, Knackwurst

While we're talking about breakfasts, I just wanted to share with you a couple of non-bread breakfasts I had. This is Dr. Oetker brand Vitalis crispy chocolate muesli! (Well, I was on holiday, after all!) So crunchy and fabulous. I brought a box of it home with me too, and can't wait to try out the recipe on the packet for Buttermilk Knusper Shoko Muesli pancakes!
Dr Oetker Vitalis Knusper Schoko mit Vollmilch-Schokolade

Next up was a simple apple with peanut butter (my addiction!), as well as a Stroopwafel from Hema. I wasn't a fan of the Stroopwafels - too sweet and not crisp enough - but perhaps I need to make the trip to Holland next time, and have a freshly baked one at a market!
Apple & peanut butter, Stroopwafel

Stroopwafel on tea

And after reading this post, I am sure you'll understand why I've been at the gym constantly since we came back! When you're overseas, do you mix it up and try the local breakfasts? Or do you go out of your way to have your regular breakfast?
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Germany 2013: BBQs and Parties

Bringing it back to the Germany posts!
BBQ!
Mmm... meat. Today's post is going to be about the different barbecues and parties we enjoyed whilst on our trip. I thought it might be interesting for y'all to have a look at - when overseas, I personally find it can be hard to get an insight into a country's regular eating habits unless you're staying with a family for an extended period of time, like with your own friends and family, or on an exchange. Let's roll!

For Sandra's mum's birthday, we had a Fleischkäse Party. Fleischkäse (known as Leberkäse in Bavaria) is a spiced meatloaf, which you can buy in slices at the deli. You can eat it thickly sliced, wodged into a bread roll (like in my German Supermarkets post), topped with an egg and cheese in a "Strammer Max", or in thin slices as part of an Aufschnitt supper or in a sandwich. For this party (with about twenty guests, from memory), they bought three raw loaves, and baked them at home.
Raw Fleischkäse loaf

Slicing the Fleischkäse
There were three flavours: normal, onion and pizza (with cheese, capsicum and spices inside). My favourite was plain - you can't beat a classic.
Fleischkäse 

Haha, my fifteen-year old pork-avoiding self would have hated this sight. Now I'm just like: "Give Me All Of The Pork!"  (N.B. you can buy Fleischkäse here in Melbourne - I normally get it from Andrew's Choice in Yarraville or the The Wursthütte on Glenferrie Road. I can't remember if the Polish deli in Victoria Market sells it, but if they do, I assume it'd be pretty good there too. Everyone here calls it Leberkäse though, how Bavari-centric!)

Accompaniments to the pork were ciabatta bread...
Ciabatta bread

...and salads! I think the pictures are pretty self explanatory, but a few comments: these were all homemade, and not purchased; mozzarella balls are super cheap in Germany, like €1 per ball; and Sandra's mum's potato salad is my favourite German food of all time! (More on that later).
Salads
What's a German party without beer? This was a bonus keg, in addition to the actual keg in the Partyraum, and the fridge full of drinks.
Mini-Keg: "Eine Konigin unter den Bieren" - A Queen among the beers
I whipped up a few desserts for the party: a chocolate mousse, Nigella's white chocolate and passionfruit mousse, and her Bailey's tiramisu. With all that raw egg, (plus the meat, the bread, the salads and the beer), I was terrified someone might get sick, but the eggs were fresh and everyone was fine. Yay!
Ingredients for white chocolate and raspberry mousse

Desserts: white chocolate and passionfruit mousse, Bailey's tiramisu, chocolate mousse

For Sandra's birthday, she requested that her uncle make Gulaschsuppe. You can read about more detail about how to make Gulashsuppe in this post from my previous trip to Germany, but it's a fun, all-afternoon process that involves the entire family preparing the ingredients, a big cauldron in the backyard, and quite a few beers while you wait for the meat to slowly cook to tenderness.
The Gulaschsuppe pot

Bubbling away

All the flavourings and secret ingredients

Dishing up the Gulaschsuppe

Mmm... tasty
I love the rich, paprika-spiked broth (extra rich from all the marrow bones it's cooked with!), the soft potatoes and carrots, and the tender meat.

The accompaniment for this delicious stew were some fab caraway bread rolls that Sandra's sister made herself. Don't they look great? Super professional and artisan-looking!
Kummelbroetchen - Caraway bread rolls

Of course, we had a couple of barbecues. Here's one we enjoyed at a (different) uncle's house. (The same BBQ from the pic at the top of this post).
BBQ
This one was relatively small, with just two salads (pasta salad and Sandra's mum's potato salad), a bowl of tzatziki, and a loaf of türkische Brot (Turkish bread), which was also heated through on the BBQ.
Salads
I know I've gone on about Sandra's mum's potato salad a lot before, but ZOMG it is so good! I just wanted to share a picture of it being made. Look at all that bacon! Bacon, potatoes, onion - pure deliciousness.
Kartoffelsalat - Potato salad

The following pics are from a barbecue we had at home the day we left - when the sun finally decided to come out! Totally dorky, I know, but I had so much fun choosing the different meats at the supermarket the day before. So many options! Apart from the amazing variety and quality of sausages that you'd expect, there were heaps of different marinated steaks, chicken wings, chicken skewers and, thrillingly, pork belly rashers. I must, must remember to buy pork belly rashers and marinate them the next time I barbecue!
BBQ at home
This time, I had a go baking some bread and made a Fladenbrot (flat bread, or focaccia), which I kneaded by hand, thank-you very much!
Raw Fladenbrot

Baked
And... phew! It was cooked all the way through and fluffy. Super yay!
Fluffy, fluffy Fladenbrot
Now that we're back in Australia, I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit so I can enjoy some barbecues and beers in the sun!

What are your favourite things to barbecue? Do you have standard dishes and menus that you turn to for family celebrations, or do you like to mix it up?
Bringing it back to the Germany posts!
BBQ!
Mmm... meat. Today's post is going to be about the different barbecues and parties we enjoyed whilst on our trip. I thought it might be interesting for y'all to have a look at - when overseas, I personally find it can be hard to get an insight into a country's regular eating habits unless you're staying with a family for an extended period of time, like with your own friends and family, or on an exchange. Let's roll!

For Sandra's mum's birthday, we had a Fleischkäse Party. Fleischkäse (known as Leberkäse in Bavaria) is a spiced meatloaf, which you can buy in slices at the deli. You can eat it thickly sliced, wodged into a bread roll (like in my German Supermarkets post), topped with an egg and cheese in a "Strammer Max", or in thin slices as part of an Aufschnitt supper or in a sandwich. For this party (with about twenty guests, from memory), they bought three raw loaves, and baked them at home.
Raw Fleischkäse loaf

Slicing the Fleischkäse
There were three flavours: normal, onion and pizza (with cheese, capsicum and spices inside). My favourite was plain - you can't beat a classic.
Fleischkäse 

Haha, my fifteen-year old pork-avoiding self would have hated this sight. Now I'm just like: "Give Me All Of The Pork!"  (N.B. you can buy Fleischkäse here in Melbourne - I normally get it from Andrew's Choice in Yarraville or the The Wursthütte on Glenferrie Road. I can't remember if the Polish deli in Victoria Market sells it, but if they do, I assume it'd be pretty good there too. Everyone here calls it Leberkäse though, how Bavari-centric!)

Accompaniments to the pork were ciabatta bread...
Ciabatta bread

...and salads! I think the pictures are pretty self explanatory, but a few comments: these were all homemade, and not purchased; mozzarella balls are super cheap in Germany, like €1 per ball; and Sandra's mum's potato salad is my favourite German food of all time! (More on that later).
Salads
What's a German party without beer? This was a bonus keg, in addition to the actual keg in the Partyraum, and the fridge full of drinks.
Mini-Keg: "Eine Konigin unter den Bieren" - A Queen among the beers
I whipped up a few desserts for the party: a chocolate mousse, Nigella's white chocolate and passionfruit mousse, and her Bailey's tiramisu. With all that raw egg, (plus the meat, the bread, the salads and the beer), I was terrified someone might get sick, but the eggs were fresh and everyone was fine. Yay!
Ingredients for white chocolate and raspberry mousse

Desserts: white chocolate and passionfruit mousse, Bailey's tiramisu, chocolate mousse

For Sandra's birthday, she requested that her uncle make Gulaschsuppe. You can read about more detail about how to make Gulashsuppe in this post from my previous trip to Germany, but it's a fun, all-afternoon process that involves the entire family preparing the ingredients, a big cauldron in the backyard, and quite a few beers while you wait for the meat to slowly cook to tenderness.
The Gulaschsuppe pot

Bubbling away

All the flavourings and secret ingredients

Dishing up the Gulaschsuppe

Mmm... tasty
I love the rich, paprika-spiked broth (extra rich from all the marrow bones it's cooked with!), the soft potatoes and carrots, and the tender meat.

The accompaniment for this delicious stew were some fab caraway bread rolls that Sandra's sister made herself. Don't they look great? Super professional and artisan-looking!
Kummelbroetchen - Caraway bread rolls

Of course, we had a couple of barbecues. Here's one we enjoyed at a (different) uncle's house. (The same BBQ from the pic at the top of this post).
BBQ
This one was relatively small, with just two salads (pasta salad and Sandra's mum's potato salad), a bowl of tzatziki, and a loaf of türkische Brot (Turkish bread), which was also heated through on the BBQ.
Salads
I know I've gone on about Sandra's mum's potato salad a lot before, but ZOMG it is so good! I just wanted to share a picture of it being made. Look at all that bacon! Bacon, potatoes, onion - pure deliciousness.
Kartoffelsalat - Potato salad

The following pics are from a barbecue we had at home the day we left - when the sun finally decided to come out! Totally dorky, I know, but I had so much fun choosing the different meats at the supermarket the day before. So many options! Apart from the amazing variety and quality of sausages that you'd expect, there were heaps of different marinated steaks, chicken wings, chicken skewers and, thrillingly, pork belly rashers. I must, must remember to buy pork belly rashers and marinate them the next time I barbecue!
BBQ at home
This time, I had a go baking some bread and made a Fladenbrot (flat bread, or focaccia), which I kneaded by hand, thank-you very much!
Raw Fladenbrot

Baked
And... phew! It was cooked all the way through and fluffy. Super yay!
Fluffy, fluffy Fladenbrot
Now that we're back in Australia, I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit so I can enjoy some barbecues and beers in the sun!

What are your favourite things to barbecue? Do you have standard dishes and menus that you turn to for family celebrations, or do you like to mix it up?
reade more... Résuméabuiyad