My Version of Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Alright, so *Olive Garden has this chicken and gnocchi soup that is actually pretty good, but I live too far from one now and well I like to figure things out and maybe change a few things to my liking.

So I researched online....read over a variety of copy cat recipes compared, took an idea from a few, but ultimately came up with my own version...so without further ado let's get into this soup!

The Goods:

- 1 to 1.5 lbs of diced chicken breast (raw)

- 2/3 medium sized carrots, diced

- 15/20 leaves of a nappa cabbage, roughly chopped

- 2 cups chicken broth (i used low sodium)

- 2 cups milk

- 1 cup heavy whipping cream

- 1/4 cup of all purpose flour

- 1 pack (16 oz) frozen gnocchi

- 2 tablespoons minced garlic

- 1 medium sized sweet onion finely diced

- roughly 1 tablespoon olive oil 

- black pepper, white pepper, cumin, chili powder, thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, ginger to taste

* Short side note* I named these spices without exact measurements cause I have no exact measurements.. I season at 3 points throughout the process, tasting as I go along until it tastes just right

The Works:

In your stock pot heat the olive oil and add the chicken, browning it on all sides, about 5 min....add the carrot, onion and garlic and fry till glassy another roughly 5 min....add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, this is the first point of seasoning ..add your spices with a slightly heavy hand here.

Once it boils, turn the heat down to a lowish, cover and simmer for roughly 30 min, stirring occasionally.

Add the nappa cabbage and frozen gnocchi, taste the broth and adjust seasoning adding more as needed. 

In a medium bowl mix the milk, heavy cream and flour till smooth. Add to the pot, cover back up and simmer for another 15 min, this time stirring frequently. Here your soup will thicken.

Taste and if needed adjust your spices again at this juncture also adding a small amount of kosher salt if you so desire.

The soup will thicken more as it cools, remember that should you have leftovers!

Put in a bowl and enjoy!! 

The Beginning

The Middle (after adding the broth and first round of seasoning)

The End Result

Laugenbrötchen (Pretzel Rolls)

Ok so, this is a must, and since I've been asked a lot now how to make them or to make them just so that people can have them, I decided to finally get of my lazy butt and write it down. So here it is....

The Goods: (makes between 9 and 15 rolls depending how big you make them)

4 tsps active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cup of hot tap water

5 cups of flour (AP is fine, but bread flour works better)
1/2 cup sugar
between 1 and 2 tsps of salt (depends on your taste)
1tbsp oil

1/2 cup baking soda
coarse salt for topping

The Works:

Dissolve the yeast in the hot water with the tsp of sugar, let activate for about 5-10 min in a warm spot

Meanwhile combine the flour, sugar and salt (I sieve the flour before combining everything but that is an optional step). Add the oil and yeast mix and form a dough, kneading it until it forms a firm ball (between 5 and 10 min). Cover and put in a warm spot to rise for an hour.

Preheat oven to 450. While oven preheats, in a medium pot heat a gallon of water and the 1/2 cup of baking soda to a boil. Separate your dough into rolls and give each of them a 15 sec bath in the hot baking soda water, turning them once then putting them on a baking sheet you sprayed with none stick. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and bake between 16 and 20 min on the middle raxck until golden brown. Enjoy

Möhrensuppe mit Ingwer - Carrotsoup with ginger

Well it's cold, so I call it soup season. This one is another yummy, warmign soup for a cold winter (or fall, or spring or maybe even summer) day.

The Goods:

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 medium potato, diced
1 1/2 lbs carrots, diced
2 teaspoon freshly diced giner (if needed this can be substituted with grated ginger out of a glass)
1 1/2 liter (~50 oz) chicken broth or stock
7 tablespoons heavy cream
salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

The Works:

Melt the butter in your soup pot and roast the onion and celery for about 10 min. Add the potato, carrot, ginger and broth. Bring to a boil while stirring, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 to 40 min, stirring occasionaly to make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom. Use a stick blender to purree (or blend in your blender in batches), add the cream, mixing it thouroughly, season to taste and enjoy.

Käsenocken (cheese dumplings)

Ah this one brings back memories!! It's a recipe from South Tirol, a region in the north italian alps where I used to go skiing all the time. They have some absolutely deliscious food, this is one of them. it works well on it's own or with a nice refreshing salad.

The Goods:

1 oz (1 small) onion, diced finely
1 oz butter
3.5 oz hard cheese (Gouda, Cheddar, something like that), finely diced
5 oz old, dry bread,  finely diced
2 eggs
3.5 oz milk
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
4 table spoons chives
1 oz grated parmesan
salt, pepper to taste

The Works

Brown the onion in butter. In a bowl combine the diced bread, onion and cheese. quirl the eggs and milk, season with half the chives, some salt and pepper and then pour over the cheese mixture. Add the flour and knead into a dough. Using moist hands form small dumplings out of the dough and chill while bringing salted water to a boil in a large pot. add the dumplings carefully and cook for approx q0 min, dumplings are done when rising to the surface. Do NOT overcook. Fry the dumplings briefly in butter after you cooked them, sprinkle some parmesan and enjoy alone, with some salad or as a side dish.

Genoese Minestrone

Well.. my dear friend Tiffany, who is a like minded culinary explorer asked me to bring her back an authentic Minestrone recipe. Genoa is a city in Italy which is known for their Minestrone, so naturally, the recipe I brought back was a Genoese one.

The Goods:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 diced onion
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, sliced thinly
5 oz string beans, cut italian style
1 zucchini, sliced thinly
1 medium sized potato, diced
1/4 head savoy cabbage, cut finely
1 small eggplant, diced
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 roma tomatoes, diced
42 oz vegetable broth or stock (cgicken works, but since it is meant to be a vegetarian dish, to keep it authentic it, I recommend vegetable)
3 oz vermicelli
salt, pepper, paprika, oregano and basil to taste (experience taught me that spices can't really be pre-measured in a dish like this as everyone likes a differnt spice level, so season it to your taste)

The Works:

in a large pot ( you could pre-roast the stuff in a pan and then transfer, but why? you'll only loose all the goodies of taste i nthe bottom of the pan, so do this in the pot you intend to cook the soup in) heat the oil and roast the onions, carrot and celery for about 10 min, add the string beans, zucchini, potatoe, cabbage.. roast for another 3 to 5 min. Add the eggplant, cannelli beans and tomato and give it another quick roast (3 mins tops). Add the broth, season with salt, pepper, oregano and paprika and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for about 40 min, stiring occasionally. Add the vermicelly and bring the heat back up, letting the vermicelly cook to all dente (approx. 3 to 5 min). taste and re-season as needed then serve and enjoy.

Basic Bread Recipe (Einfaches Brot Rezept)

Ok, so the original recipe that I modified for my own needs I found on Pinterest and it let me to Simply So Good (this link will take you to the original recipe). Me being me, I of course had to play around, I don't think even the first loaf was exactly according to her recipe, however her recipe is awesome and very easy to follow. So here is my version of it (or better said one of my versions). Before you start collection the ingredients, please note that you need an oven save pot with lid (a Dutch oven, cast iron or enamel is ideal), but any pot or bowl with lid that will withstand the oven temperature and duration should work.

The Goods:

3 cups of flour (simple all purpose works, but preferably unbleached)'
1/2 teaspoon of rapid rise yeast
1 3/4 teaspoons of salt
1/4th cup of dried italian herbs (oregano or the mixed ones)
1 1/2 cups of WARM water

The works:

in a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, salt and herbs together... add the water and stir with a spoon till it is a gooey mess. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for 12 to 18 hours. (hence I usually set the dough on around noon and then bake the next morning. Now forget your bowl till that time is up (usually the next morning) and don't worry if it sits longer or just slightly less it will forgive you. But make sure you had a large bowl cause the dough will rise.
The next day.... put your pot with the lid in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees (I always put the pot in while it pre-heats already, given it even more time to warm up). Once the oven is pre-heated, set the timer to 30 min and let the pot warm up. Meanwhile... put a generous amount of flour on your counter or where ever you dumb the dough out of the bowl. form a ball and cover it with the plastic wrap you had used for the bowl, letting it rest while the pot pre-heats. Once the 30 min are up.. carefully take your pot out, remember it will be HOT by now... put the dough ball into it, no grease or nothing needed, close the lid and put back in the oven for 35 min, same temperature. Take the pot out and carefully take the loaf of bread out of the pot and put on a rack to cool. Remember it is HOT and don't leave in the pot to cool either cause the pot will keep baking it since it traps the heat. ENJOY.

If you want different bread, you can easily add different things...like garlic powder, dried onions.. whatever you want... you can also divide the flour into rye, wheat and so on...but be warned that the dough will not rise as high, will still taste as delicious though. I tried 1 cup rye, 1 cup wheat, 1 cup regular flour before...for example. Add shredded cheese for a cheesy bread... there really is not many limits.

resting dough

the Result of a pure white bread

Crock Pot Sirloin Roast in White Moscato-Creme Sauce with Roasted and glazed Carrots and Tators

Well. I experimented with my Crock pot..this is not a fully crock pot put it in in the morning and dinner is done when you come home at night, since only the meat was done in the crock pot, but it is yummy, fairly easy and the meat you can pretty much forget all day  long. This one is truly and fully my creation and hubby tested.. hehe.

The Goods:

top sirloin roast (roughly 5 lbs) sliced in 4-5 1inch thick slices

1 large red onion, sliced but not too fine

about 1/2 baby carrots, fresh from the farmer's market (or carrots cut into about baby carrot size, which I prefer cause I do not like the taste of  packaged baby carrots)

about 1 lb small to medium potatoes

1/16 cup balsamic vinegar

1 bay leaf (whole)

2 star anise (hole)

small piece of  fresh ginger (about 1 inch long) also whole

salt, pepper, paprika to taste

olive oil, salt, pepper and sesame seeds for the carrots to roast

For the Moscato Sauce:

 1/4 cup sweet, white Moscato

1/4 cup whipping creme (does not have to be heavy, can be light or normal too)

1 table spoon chilli sauce (Sambal Oelek is my favorite)

salt, pepper, bit of cayenne pepper (to taste, depending how much heat you like)

For the carrot/potato glaze:

1/2 cup honey

1/8 cup ponzu sauce (soy or teriyaki works too)

The Works:

Cut the Roast in 1 inch thick slices and pepper them, Slice your onion.. then layer the meat and onions in your crock pot...drizzle the Balsamic Vinegar over it, season with  salt, pepper, paprika and add the bay leaf, ginger and star anise. Cover Crock Poy and turn on low for 8 hours...walk away.

After about 6 1/2 hours Wash and peel your potatoes (you can quarter them now or after you boil them, I usually do it before boiling to keep myself from burning my fingers). Boil in salted water for about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size, you want them done but still firm. While they boil pre-heat your oven on  425 and split the racks so that they are even. Wash and peel then cut your carrots. If you have fresh, small carrots from the farmers market it might be better to just wash and scrub them, since peeling will take too much of them. Dry them with a paper towel, then toss in olive oil, salt and pepper them..arranging them on a cookie sheet in one layer.. sprinkle with sesame seeds. Take the meat out of your crock pot to add the creme, moscato, chilli sauce and spices, stir, return the meat and close lid again. Roast the carrots for about 15 min in the pre-heated oven.

Meanwhile you mix your honey and ponzu sauce together. The potatoes should be boiled by now as well..arrange them on a second cookie sheet, slightly salt and pepper them and brush with the ponzu/honey glaze. Get your carrots out of the oven, brush them as well with the glaze and then put both cookie sheets back in the oven for another 20 min.

Once they are done... the meat and the sauce are done too...Serve and enjoy.

Update since I have not added anything new lately

So... I've introduced *recipe day* in the house.. once a week I experiment with food..creating my own take on a recipe, currently anything Asian and mostly on the crock-pot...so it can simmer and cook and I'm not necessarily stuck in the kitchen, specially with the children out of school. I will try to actually measure or at least guesstimate measurement so that I can post the recipes and you can try your own version. I will say right up front.... that don't be skeptical at the amount of spices I put in.
When I first started playing with the crock-pot, following recipes from others I quickly realized that the measurements for spices they gave where good for if I would cook the meal on the stove or in the oven but not in the crock-pot..it would turn out bland since the crock-pot is such a long cooking process that a small amount of spices will have completely cooked out. So I put quite a bit of spice in, or add halfway through to preserve flavor..you might have to add even more, or dial back a bit when you try it, all depends on your own personal taste.


Also...a friend of mine has been haunting my German cookbook and I will get a list from her within the next few days for recipes she would like translated and converted over...so there should be more German recipes up soon too.

And now I have to go write the recipe for my version of crock-pot Mongolian beef down, that is cooking right now and after we tasted it tonight I will post it with a picture.

Mudsides a la me.. hehe

Ok, this one is for my friend Ashley, we met for mudslides behind the garage tonight to celebrate Betsy's B-day wit ha slide... she liked it so much and wanted the recipe.. so here is my version for a yummy slide... it is even on the *lighter side* though you won't notice that drinking it.. haha.

The Goods:

-Baileys (or any knock of Irish cream)
- Kentucky Bourbon (Whiskey)
- bit of Amaretto or a drop of almond extract if you don't want TOO much alcohol
-vanilla flavored frozen yogurt
- Vanilla Flavored Almond milk

The Works:
I didn't add amounts on purpose, cause I didn't measure, I eyeballed and went by taste...so the same goes for you...add as much or as little as you want, though I would go with the following ratios

frozen yogurt and Almond milk 2:1
Baileys and Bourbon  2:1
Amaretto, just a dash (or a drop or two of the extract)

Put it all in a blender and let it blend (I put it on low for about 4 minutes (not as loud as when you put the blender on high, but takes a few minutes longer)

Pour in glass.. ENJOY!!

Vanille Kipferln (Almond Crescents)

These were my favorite christmas cookies growing up so I just had to make them this year.

The Goods:

2.5 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1.5 cups ground almonds
1 cup COLD butter
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or better, if you have the option, 1 pack vanilla sugar, which you can find in the german aisle of the commissary)

powdered sugar for dusting.

The Works:

on a large board (or just your counter, you need some room so I use the counter of my island) sift the flour. Mix the sugar, vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar), almonds into the flour. Add the butter in pieces and the egg yolks and then knead to a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and cool in the fridge for an hour.
Pre-heat your oven to 360 degrees, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

on your counter (or board, whatever you used), roll the dough out in portions into a long snake (kinda like a pretzel snake) till it is about 1/2 inch thick....cut 1 to 1.5 inch pieces, form into a crescent (halfmoon) and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 min. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, dust with powdered sugar and let cool.

Store in a plastic container, it will keep the cookies soft and soften them if they got a bit too hard.

Enjoy

Gurkensalat (german cucumber salad)

This one is for my friend Jess, she asked me for it. It is my version of it, not an *official cookbook one*. Sorry it took so long Jess

The Goods:

1 large cucumber (I prefer seedless or english, but any will do)
1 small very finely diced onion (optional)
dressing

The Works

Peel the cucumber (if so desired, some you can eat with the peel), slice thinly and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for about 10 minutes then get rid of the liquid that collected. Add the onion of you opted for it and your dressing and mix well, let stand in fridge for about 30 for best taste, but it is perfectly fine to eat right away.

Sour creme dressing for salads

I use this dressing for all kinds of salads it works perfectly for really anything and it is creamy, but yet on the lighter side, you can easily substitute the sour creme with greek yogurt regular yogurt or if you want to go extra creamy, heavy creme.


The Goods


1/8 of a cup very cold water

3 tablespoons oil ( I prefer extra virgin olive or grape seed)

3 tablespoons vinegar (I prefer balsamic or apple cider)

salt, pepper, italian herbs to taste (usually 1/3 of a teaspoon of each does the trick)

1/4 of a teaspoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon mustard

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons sour creme (depending how creamy you want it


The Works


Mix the water, vinegar, herbs, spices and sugar thoroughly, add the mustard and sour creme, mix toroughly again, then add the oil and do the same. Pour, into bowl of salad and mix up or if you add portionwise just drizzle to taste

Kartoffel Suppe (Potato Soup)

This is one of the recipes my mom gave me, I will post 2 version here (well ok 2 1/2) hers, my own variation and the add on that works for both versions so that out carnivaurs are happy too. It is a very simple, quickly done soup that is a major comfort food and absolutely awesome on cool or colder days, but works just as nicely in the summer.

The goods for 3 to 5 people

for the original

3-4 medium/large potatoes (if you cook for more people just add a medium potatoe per person approx.)
1-2 medium onions (or 1 large videlia)
1-2 stalks of leek
4-5 carrots
 just enough broth to cover veggies (I use beef broth for this one but chicken or veggie works too)
spices to taste (my mix for this consists out of chilli powder, tumeric, a bit of seasoning salt, nutmeg, italian herbs, black and white pepper)

for my own variation:

same as above, but split the potatoe ratio for half regular potatoes, half sweet potatoes

add on for both variations to satisfy carnivaurs:

once the soup is finished, add sausages or hot dogs and let it simmer until they are heated through


The work:

peel the carrots and potatoes, shred into a large stock pot ( you can slice them too, but shredding saves time later), slice the leek and onions thinly and add to the pot.. cover it all with broth, put the lid on and cook over medium heat till all the veggies are nice and soft, stiring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom (approx 30 to 45 min). Use a stick or handblender to purree the veggies ( you can leave the chunks, but experience showed that smooth is better in that case). season to taste and let simmer for 5 more minutes or however long it takes for the sausages to heat through if you added them.
Serve and enjoy. This soup can easily be premade and frozen.

Marksklößchen Suppe (bonemarrow soup)

Yes yes I know at first glance it sounds yukie, but trust me it is DELISCIOUS!!!. Another one of my mom's recipes, this one being one that is easy but essential to keep the measurements to a t, course I still managed to find a slight variation hehe.

The goods:

60 g (2 ounces) of bone marrow ( out of a beefbone)
60 g (2 ounces) breadcrumps (variation here would be using flavored breadcrumps, i.e. parmesan, italian and so on)
3 eggs
salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
1 small onion VERY finely diced
1-2 teaspoons of finely diced (if used fresh) or dried) parsley
 broth ( I use chicken or veggie broth, but any is fine)

The work:

melt the bonemarrow in a pan ocver medium heat, do NOT boil.Strain the melted marrow through a very fine strainer to make sure no bone fragments are left behind...slightly roast the onion and parsley, then mixwith the strained marrow and let cool down to at least room temp.  Whisk the eggs and then slowly stir into the COOL marrowmix. add breadcrumps slowly until  firm dough forms, make dumplings (using a teaspoon as sizer)

In a pot heat up the broth and add one test dumpling to cook over medium heat for about 10 min or till cooked through. if the dumpling is too soggie add a bit of bread crumps to the mix, if too firm, add a bit of milk. cook rest of dumplings (like regular dumplings they float when done, but usually around 10 min does the trick).

ENJOY!!

Nudelsalat (pasta salad, a lighter version to the mayo heavy ones)

There are tons of pasta salad recipes  in every country almost it seems, here in the US one of the ingredients that is usually used is mayo, which makes the salad very heavy in my opinion. In Germany, very few dressings are mayo based and even pasta salad has a vinegrette, which makes it a lighter version in my book. Since pasta salad is a favorite for cook outs and bbq's I thought adding my version of pasta salad here would be a good idea.

The goods:

1 pound of pasta cooked per package directions and cooled
1 cucumber (sliced, peeling optional)
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 or 2 bell peppers, diced (color of choice)
 4 ounce of hard cheese (cheddar, monteray jack, swiss, really up to you), diced
4 ounce of honey ham, diced
 1 small can of sweet corn

for the vinegrette:

1/4 cup of cold water
1/16 cup of apple cider, wine or balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard
3 tablespoons sour creme or plain fat free yoghurt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons of mixed herbs (dried italian is an easy option)

You can also scratch the herbs and sugar and use a pack of italian dressing, mixing it as directed and adding the mustard and sour creme/ yoghurt if you are pressed for time or simply lazy hehe.

The work:

mix all together, chill and enjoy

Beef Ossobucco

Yes I know, normally Ossobucco is made with veal shanks, however living in the US...well veal is not as easy to come by here than it is in Europe, plus it is extremely expensive to buy here compared to beef. So, I decided to play with a common recipe for Ossobucco and adapt it for beef, gotta say it came out nice, so I figured I share the recipe. This is another recipe that was on the old site and I am happy to say that I know of at least 1 friend who tried it and liked it, hehe.

Ok...then here we go...

The Goods:

1 bone in beef shank piece per person

1 to 2 medium onions

1 to 2 carrots

1/2 can of tomatos (you can choose yourself if whole, diced or sauce since some ppl don't like tomatoe pieces in their sauce, i.e. my husband..lol)

1 cup marsalla wine(chardonnay works too)

2 tablespoons flour

 butter to fry

1/2 lemon sliced

salt and pepper to taste

fresh rosemary

The works:

wash the shank pieces and dab dry with a paper towel. In a large, deep pan, melt some butter and fry the shank pieces for about 3 minutes on each side to brown and give a nice crust. Meanwhile, peel and dice your onions, peel and  cut your carrots. Add the tomatos, onion, carrots, rosemary and wine to the pan, stir, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes. Add flour to bind sauce a bit, plate, add a slice of lemon ontop of each piece of meat. Serve with rice, noodles or cooked potatoes and enjoy

Glühwein (hot mulled wine)

Well, the season is coming quickly and this is something that is simply deliscious.Since I can't go to the Christmasmarkets in germany living in the US, I have to make my own. This recipe is one of those that  turns out better depending on what wine you use. You can use red or white wine (traditionally it is made with red wine) and the better wine you use, the better the outcome, cheap wine.. well.. let's just say in this case it pays to pay a bit more and buy some decent  wine.

The Goods:

Wine (I find that Lambrusco or a nice Chardonnay works well), the amount depends on how much you want to make.
sugar (about 1/2 cup per 8 ounce of wine, play with the ratio, depends how sweet you want the endresult to be)
 4 to 6 whole cloves
 1 teaspoon nutmeg
 1 t cinnamon sticks
 2 slices citrus fruit (lemon, lime or orange all work)
all quantities for about 8 oz of wine

The Works:

pour your wine in a pot and set over low heat, add in the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and citrus fruit (if you want to make things easier for you pack them in a coffee filter that you tie with some string and add that pouch in, eliminates straining the drink at the end). Let heat up until it almost comes to a boil, but do NOT let it boil. Add the sugar, stiring until it is disolved, let simmer for about 5 to 10 min and serve hot. If you added all the spices and stuff without a pouch, strain the wine first so you have no pieces in it. Enjoy!!
On a side note, while your wine is cooking it will fill your kitchen and maybe even your house with the deliscious smell of christmas

Pfannkuchen German pancakes)

Ok this is mainly for my friends that are in the US. Most of the time the pancake you get here is the sweet, fluffy buttermilk pancake, which in itself is not bad, but often clashes with a desire to have something a bit hardier such as eggs and stuff, cause it just don't quite fit (at least in my opinion). If you ever went to IHOP and had the international passport, liek the swedish pancakes, then you have a slight idea what kind of pancake you will be making, thinner, similar to a crepes somewhat hardy and compatible with sweet or savory foods, In short a german pancake or *Pfannkuchen* as we would say.

The Goods (for about 8 to 12 pancakes)

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 cup flour
~ 2 tablespoons salt ( might be more, might be less depending on your taste buds)
butter for frying

The Works:

in a large mixing bowl mix the floour and salt. mix the eggs and milk thouroughly in a medium bowl before adding to the flour and salt (makes the endmixing easier) and then combine in the large bowl, mixing  thouroughly until thin, still liquid batter forms. Heat a frying pan up, add a bit of butter and then 1 laddle of the batter you made, swirl it so that it forms a thin layer, let fry until it slowly bubbles and is mostly solid on top (just like a buttermilk pancake) flip, finish frying to the darkness you like and serve. They are good with syrup, but also with eggs and bacon, or if you truly wanna get fancy.. ham and asparagus for example. Repeat process with rest of batter and enjoy

Gebrannte Mandeln (roasted almonds)

Ok so, Chris wanted something done with his nuts (the EATING kind!!) and of course his first thought went to the sweet, sugary roasted nuts you can get at the german christmasmarkets and sometimes over her at fairs. So I researched found a recipe or two, tried out and tweaked until I came up with a combination that I like and that truly tastes deliscious, not to mention it is easy to make!!. You can replace the Almonds in the recipe as you wish with Pecans, Walnuts and so on.

The Goods:

4 cups of Almonds (or whatever nut you wish)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/8 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 packet vanilla sugar (found at the commissary in the german food section around xmas if you have the option)

The works:

mix the sugar, cinnamon and water in a large, deep pan. Set over high heat and let boil. Once it boils, pour in the nuts and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture looses the liquid. The sugar will dry back up and make it all a gooey sticky mess. Turn heat down and stir for another 5 minutes (usually comes out to around 20 min of stiring total). On a Large flat cookiesheet covered with parchement paper spread the nutmass out thinly (to avoid later clumbing together) let cool and enjoy. Really, let cool first for a bit, cause just done they are hot enough to burn the skin of your fingers!!!

Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmellows

So Thanksgiving is now ever and I am sure we are all stuffed to the guts even now a few days later, I know I am. This recipe came about because we were having thanksgiving with friends and the task of making the various potato side dishes fell to me. For the longest time I did not even eat sweet potatos but that changed ever since I tried my MIL's sweet potato casserole a few years back. There are tons of recipes online for all kinds of variations on sweet potato casserole or candied yams and I guess now I am adding mine to the mix lol. So let's get to it, shall we?

The Goods:

3-4 lbs sweet potato, peeled and cut in small pieces (~1 inch in size)
 1 1/2  to 2 cups of brown sugar ( ore or less if you increase or degrease the amount of potatoes you use)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 to 2 teaspoons (depends how strong you want the influence to be) ground ginger
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 cup of water
marshmellows to cover

The Works:

preheat oven to 375 º. in a large roasting pan (foil or nonestick, if you make it to take along I recommend foil) arrange the sweet potatoes, set aside. combine the other ingredients except the marshmellows in a small to medium size saucepan and bring to a boil, stiring constantly until it is a gooey mass and all the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture evenly over hte sweet potatos and mix to coat. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 min. remove foil and decrease temperature to 350º. bake for another 30 to 40 minutes. Now up to here you can premake the dish up to a day before, simply cover and put into the fridge if you make it ahead, or if you are using it right away (and I mean right away, if you don't need even just for a few more hours, then forgo this next step until about 30 min before you serve the dish) cover  the sweet potatos with minimarshmellow and broil at 500º for about 5 to 10 minutes until marshmellows are melting and slightly brown ontop.

Enjoy