Oktoberfest!

I'm declaring this week's culinary theme to be German.
I've been negligent on writing on this blog for a while, busy with all kinds of stuff in preparation for Eldest daughter heading to Germany, where she's going to be catching the very end of Munich's Oktoberbest this weekend!

Here's a good saying that sums up food and drink in Germany:
"Iss, was gar ist,
trink, was klar ist,
und sprich, was wahr ist:" Translation:
Eat what is well cooked,
drink what is clear,
and speak what is true.

How do you describe German food? Well, there's my first husband's grumbling summary: "Everything is some sort of a product of fermentation: beer, bread, cheese, sauerkraut..." This same husband (yes, I do number them!) also did not care for the sad state of overcooked vegetables at my mother and grandmother's house.
Current husband (a.k.a. #2) is much more tolerant of German food, with the exception of chicken still on the bone when served. He still raves about the food and all the tortes served at my brother's wedding (an amazing assortment all baked by the bride's mother and her friends) -- they sure beat the pants off your run-of-the-mill american wedding cake, which is typically pretty to look at, but making up in sugariness what it lacks in flavor. But I digress...

Well, there's meat: what a variety just in sausages alone, and what a central part meat plays in German cuisine! There are vegetarians, of course, but most Germans, my own mom included, feel very strongly about the nutritional need for meat -- you need something to "stick to the ribs".

Bread, I daresay, has an even more central role than meat. Germans take their breads very seriously -- the variety is mind-boggling, and it's got to be fresh, made with whole grains, and have a decent crust on it: none of this squishy Wonderbread stuff. Can you tell I'm biased?!? To me, the lack of decent bread was the hardest thing to get used to when I moved to this country 3 decades ago -- american bread back then was truly appaling! But again, I digress...
Coldcuts of cheeses and meats arealways served with bread, and there's usually a wonderful variety...

Starches at the main meal of the day are either potatoes or some sort of noodles or Knoedel.
I still think of a "real" entree as consisting of a meat, starch and vegetable, perhaps accompanied by a sauce or gravy. Before the entree, there's a salad tossed with a simple oil & vinegar dressing, and after the entree, there's usually dessert (Nachtisch in German, which translates literally to After-table).

My daughter flies to Germany as I'm writing this, and my thoughts are there as wel. So I shall get out the German cookbooks. Time to set aside garlic and Louisiana Hot Sauce, and get out the mustard and horseradish -- and serve us up some Wuerstli!

Filling for Humitas

Been searching for a good recipe for the corn-pudding-like filling for humitas, which I recently declared as one of my favorite childhood foods from Chile.

Humitas are basically vegetarian versions of mexican tamales, and I found this recipe for the filling at a website called Rickcooks.com

This is a sweet and savory, creamy corn filling used in the Chilean tamal called humita, and the casserole called pastel de choclo. It employs a Chilean sweet corn called choclero which I believe is unknown in the U.S. Choclero is distinguished by its stout ears and fat, semi-milky kernels. It is harvested just as the kernels have reached maximum size and turned from white to golden yellow. The popular American sweet corn hybrids are characterized by long, slender ears, and small, very sweet, milky kernels. This recipe has been adapted to account for the extra sweetness and moisture of American sweet corn, primarily by the addition of polenta. (In Chile, the cornmeal, or grits, made from the choclero is called chuchoca, which is Chilean polenta.)

Buy the corn fresh and unhusked, if possible. Reserve the husks for the humitas.

You will have to play with the milk and polenta to acheive the right consistency. It all depends on the moisture content of the corn. Some chocleros are so dry, a cup of milk (and no polenta) will be necessary, while fresh American silver queen may require no milk and up to a cup of polenta. You can even use both, and you won't do any damage.

6 large ears of corn
2 shallots, chopped
8 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped
1 t salt
3 T butter
½-1 c milk, or
½-1 c polenta or cornmeal, depending on kernel consistency

Remove kernels from ears of corn using a grater. Or cut off kernels with a knife and process very briefly in a food processor (do not liquefy). Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan and sauté the chopped shallots.
Add the corn, chopped basil, and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring. If the mixture is too dry, add the milk little by little, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. The amount will depend on the moisture content of the corn. Stop adding milk when the mixture begins to lose consistency.
If too soupy, add the polenta gradually, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. It should be creamy, not soupy nor thick. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, let cool, and chill overnight.

Another recipe on the internet added squash, bell peppers and parmesan cheese.

Also: if substituting frozen corn kernels, use about 3-4 cups.

Viva Chile!

As a child I spent six wonderful years living in Chile. This week Chileans celebrate Dieciocho on the 18th, which commemorates when Chile gained Independence from Spain.
My childhood memories of the Dieciocho holiday involve our family cramming into our little Volkswagen Beetle and driving to the countryside for a long weekend to celebrate with friends. Chilean flag were decorating everything, there were parades and dancing, and we would stop at the roadside to buy empanadas or humitas (steamed packets of corn pudding encased in corn husks), -- this was my absolute favorite food , seconded only by corn on the cob-- imagine my disappointment when we moved back to Germany, where corn is not sweet, and fed to pigs! I missed corn so much that I'd beg my mom to buy baby corn in cans, the only form of corn ever eaten there... but I digress...

Here are some other wonderful foods that I remember from my childhood:

Empanadas, meats fresh off the grill, queso fresco, pastel de Choclo (a meat and corn casserole), porotos granados (Bean-vegetable stew), and dulce chileno (a sweet), and of course lots and lots of seafood, such as congrio and langostinos.

Here are some recipes, most are taken from South American cooking by Barbara Karoff

Empanadas
any good piecrust or flaky pastry (2 c.flour, 1 c lard, salt, icewater)
Filling:
1/2 # ground beef
olive oil, onions, garlic
3-6 serrano or jalapeno chilies
1 T ground cumin
Salt, pepper
2 T parsley
2 T cilantro
2 tomatoes
1/2 c raisins
pimiento-stuffed olives, cut in half

Saute all ingredients (except the olives), let cool.
Roll out approx 20 circles of dough. Place 1/2 olive and spoonful filling. Seal w/ tines of fork.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Pastel de Choclo
The filling can be either ground beef (similar to empanadas above, with raisins and olives), or chicken, or both.
Topping:
6 c corn kernels (freshly grated, or frozen kernels processed in food processor)
1/3 c milk
1 egg,
1 t sugar (optional) for sprinkling on top


Bake in a casserole dish, with the topping spread over the meat.
I like to serve this with rice, but potatoes would be authentic too.

photo credit:
http://www.allsouthernchile.com

September Menu (South of the Border)

This week we're heading SOUTH - to Chile in South America where I grew up, by way of Mexico and other Central/South American dishes.

Sun: Carne asada, black beans, rice, tomatoes, avos, all rolled up in a tortilla
Mon: White chili, corn muffins, salad
Tues: eat out -lessons
Wed: empanadas, porotos granados
Thurs: Pastel de Choclo (*)
Fri - Sun: they're on their own while I'm in Homer on a mini-vacation with Eldest daughter.

Greek cooking

What image does Greek cooking bring to your mind?
To me, it's colorful, delicious food: lots of feta cheese & yoghurt, olives and olive oil, tons of vegetables (sun-ripened tomatoes, cucumbers & eggplant, which I love), stuffed grapeleaves, wine, and, of course, garlic!

In college I once met a Greek student, and what I remember most vividly is the smell of GARLIC seeming to come from every pore! A bit overwhelming for a German who grew up in a garlic-phobic home, and at first I pitied his girlfriend, but then I realized it was the wonderful food she fixed that caused his unique odor -- I'm sure they'll both live to be 110 years old!

SO, on to Greek cuisine.
Of course, I've got to make Moussaka, the traditional casserole of ground meat, eggplant (or other veggies such as zuccini, potatoes) covered with a bechamel white sauce and cheese, au gratin.

THEN, there are some wonderful Greek chicken recipes, often marinaded in lemon juice, then baked surrounded with vegetables. I know this wonderful greek recipe for a lemony chicken egg-drop soup, but I think I might spare my son who feels fervently about eggs not belonging in soup...

Here's an intreguing chicken dish I might just have to try:
Chicken with a cream sauce flavored w/ ouzo

• 1/2 pound of skinless chicken breasts
• 2/3 cup of carrots, coarsely grated
• 2/3 cup of zucchini, coarsely grated
• 6 1/2 tablespoons of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of ouzo (or other anize-flavored liqueur)
  
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Cut the chicken into large square chunks.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. When hot, add the chicken and sauté for 4 minutes. Add the carrots and zucchini and continue to sauté 3 minutes longer. Add the ouzo, cream, salt, and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes more until the sauce melds.

Next, I found these recipe on a "A Dash of Life", who writes about her life as a doctor in Greece, and wrote several interesting posts about the greek cooking and benefits of olive oil. Since I adore leeks (and grew some for the first time in my garden this year), I've got to try these!

Prasoryzo (Rice with leeks, tomatoes and lemon)

This is supposedly served alot all over Greece, a sort of "comfort food". I changed the recipe slightly from the original (I was pressed for time), and it turned out yummy, albeit perhaps not quite authentic.

Olive oil (I used my homemade garlic-infused, see recipe here*)
Leeks, cut up
water
chicken buillon cubes, or stock
stewing tomatoes from can (I skipped these)
rice (I used brown rice I had already cooked)
Salt & pepper to taste
Lemon juice

Saute leeks in olive oil. Add water and/or chicken stock and rice. Watch water level-- don't let it boil dry. Add lemon juice immediately before serving (tastes ok without lemon too!)

photo credit: http://www.greekrestaurant.com

September menu (Greek week)

The mediterranean theme is continuing this week -- too good to move away from, esp. with missing several days with us gone camping over the long weekend (Labor Day)...

Mon: return from camp trip -- threw together a meal of grilled meat (carne asada), baked potatoes, mess of greens, and freshly-grated carrots from Liesl's garden!
Tues: eat out at Nino's (lessons in Anchorage)
Wed: chicken-orzo soup w/ fennel, Greek-style burgers w/ onions & feta, fresh tomatoes, salad
Thurs: Indian Take-out (let's just say it was a CRAZY day!)
Friday: Prasoryzo (leeks & rice), Greek-style baked chicken, greens
Sat: Moussaka w/ potatoes and eggplant
Sun: something on the grill or Chicken w/ ouzo and cream sauce over rice, steamed veggies

Menu for September (Italian Week)

Lots of stuff from the garden is going into our dinners now.
Carrots, potatoes, kale, and even zuccinis are producing well right now. And the tomatoes growing in containers on the porch are ripening too -- yummy!

This week is Italian week. A nice change of pace and less work for me than last week's menu.

Mon: BBQ ribs, new potatoes in cream sauce, fried zuccini, tomato & mozarella salad
Tues: Baked ziti w/ veggies and pepperoni, cucumber & tomatoes w/ oil & balsamic vinegar
Wed: Lasagna, sauteed kale, green salad
Thurs: Spaghetti w/ Clamsauce, broccoli, carrot salad
Fri: Pizza at Moose's Tooth
Sat: Camping over Labor Day Weekend!
Pasta w/ kale, soup & panini w/ pastrami & provolone