....of the Deutsche Variety: Bacon-Cheddar-Jalapeno Stuffed Pretzels and Cabbage Roll Soup

Hello dear friends--I am sorry I've been away for so long.

I've been busy out in the world working and of course eating!

While living in Sarajevo, I enjoyed amazingly delicious food and traveled enough to taste even more! Now that I am back in the United States among my cooking tools (those aren't easy to travel with, by the way), my pangs of nostalgia for the adventures of Europe have been soothed by reliving memories through the power of food!

So first on the list--Germany.

These recipes are German food with a twist. With that said, I have three recipes that round a delicious and hearty meal, perfect for a cold winter day.



Bacon-Jalapeno stuffed Pretzels
Cabbage Roll soup 
Corn Bread







Bacon-Jalapeno stuffed Pretzels

Ingredients: 

Dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 package instant yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salf
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft

 Cooking Liquid:                                                        
 8 cups water                                 
 3/4 cup baking soda                                            

  Fillings:                                                                      
  8 ounces cooked bacon, diced                                       
  4 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, Shredded                     
  4 ounces Cheddar cheese, Shredded
  1  Jalapeño, minced
     Add:  half of a red onion minced and sautéed for some sweetness

   Egg wash:
   1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Combine the water, yeast, sugar and salt and allow to rest for 10 minutes or until bubbly and frothy. 

2. Combine with both all-purpose and wheat flour and butter in mixer or processor. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour. It should pull away from the size of the bowl and shouldn't be sticky. (FYI, you can use only all-purpose flour if you prefer.    

3. Knead the dough for 10-12 minutes until smooth and elastic.

4. Let the dough rise for 1 hour, covered by a warm damp cloth. 

5. After an hour, pour the dough out and divide into 8 pieces. 

6. Roll a section of the dough out with your hands until it is about a foot and a half long. Then use a rolling pin to flatten and roll it 4 inches wide. 

7. Stuff the dough with 2-3 tablespoons of filling then roll it back up. You can make the filling literally any combination you like. I love the combination of bacon, cheese and jalapeños. Mix those ingredients and spread across the inside of the dough.  

8. Shape the filled dough into a pretzel by making a "U" shape and crossing the two ends over each other. 

9. Once all of the dough is filled and shaped, boil each pretzel one at a time in the water and baking soda mixture for one minute each. This gives us that chewy crust we love so much on pretzels and bagels. YUM. 

10. Place the boiled pretzels on a parchment lined backing sheet. 

Hit each pretzel with the egg wash and cover however you like. I just sprinkled a bit of course salt, but you could put a grind of pepper, poppy seeds or even some parmesan cheese. 

11. Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes, until a deep golden brown. 

Eat right away or share with friends!

Cabbage Roll soup and Corn Bread

This soup is hearty and comforting, and it tastes like home. Cabbage rolls, of course, are stuffed cabbage leaves. Stuffing and rolling all of that cabbage can be time consuming when it comes to prep so this recipe takes that work out but it still flavorful and filling!

This is definitely a German delight, but it is found in many slavic countries as well and if you are feeling a bit Eastern European, try it with a dollop of sour cream. It won't disappoint.

AND, AND, "you can't even tell there is cabbage in here!" This quote comes from our cabbage-phobia-ed friend. He ate that bowl up in no time and requested this medley of German Comfort food for the Super Bowl Party in a few weeks. You can find the recipe here, thanks to Spend With Pennies. 

As for the corn bread, we thought it was a perfect contrast to the tomatoey soup. I'll give you two options here as they are both pretty darn good, just one is quicker than the other.

Krusteaz Honey Cornbread is what we had with the soup and it was perfect--Light and fluffy with the slightest touch of sweet honey.

I also have a tried and true Amish Corn Bread recipe that is delicious, mostly because of the sour cream!

Amish Sour Cream Corn Bread

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salf
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)\
4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Sift the dry ingredients and beat in the egg, sour cream, milk and butter.
2. Pour into your baking dish, usually a 9x9 pan.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

• 
  

Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes.

WARNING: You'll never make American style pancakes the same way again, these are that good.

We all have a pinterest account now. There is no denying myself the nifty and uber-convenient recipe wealth of that website. But some of the recipes seem too good to be true. Thus, I've begun experimenting. I found was this amazing trick to take the classic pancake breakfast up a notch.

I love breakfast food. I can never decide whether to make french toast, cinnamon rolls, pancakes or a million other things. This recipe takes pancakes and makes them cinnamon-y delicious.

Make the traditional pancake batter. I just use bisquick, but this pancake recipe does well if you don't have a pre-made mix.

Pancake:
1 1/2 c. flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 c milk
1 egg
3 tbsp butter (melted)

Literally, whisk the wet with the dry and you have batter.

To make this special, you must make a swirl mix.

I never make more than 4-5 pancakes at a time. The recipe above will make 12-15. Adjust accordingly.

Melt 3 tbsp butter and mix in 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, this will make enough drizzle for the 4-5 pancakes. For a larger batch of batter , melt 1/3 cup of butter, 3 tbsp brown sugar and tsp cinnamon.

Pour your pancakes and immediately drizzle some of the swirl mix on the top of the batter. Once the patter makes bubbles, the pancake is ready to flip. The swirl mix with sizzle a bit and might run off a little in the pan but don't let it freak you out. Some of it will caramelize and some of it sinks into the batter for a gooey surprise, just like in a cinnamon roll.

For the kicker, throws it over the top, a cream cheese glaze.

Again, I make enough for a small batch of pancakes. Not because it makes sense, but because if I made more, I'd eat it ALL.

2 tbsp butter (melted)
4 tbsp cream cheese, cold
3 tbsp powdered sugar
dash of vanilla or maple syrup

Melt butter and whisk with softened but cold cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and dash of maple syrup or vanilla. Voila.

Stack the pancakes with dollops of the cream cheese mixture between and top it with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Cooking tool kit...on the go and Banana Bread

Next blog: all about weirdly awesome Bosnian products!

Clearly I travel a lot and I have cooked in many kitchens. My last post alluded to the tragedy of parting with one's kitchen. We had become such good friends! But in the rational world, I had to leave behind the kitchen and the toolkit I had built there. I gave my good friends my must haves. You know, Ikea mixing bowl, spring form pan for cheesecake, hand mixer. All of those little essentials that do not travel well. Heartbreaking, but I have some tricks to help you weather the traveling storm.

First, this all depends on how you prioritize your cooking. I love to bake so I need at least one metal cake pan, spatula, a mixer, and measuring cups. Those are a must. But you have to be flexible with your concepts of the rest of your utensils. I love to make muffins, so I purchased a silicone muffin "pan".

I love Ikea tupperware because it is a packing material in itself. Use it to hold and organize products in your suitcase and once you arrive, send it to the kitchen. The largest size tupperware can be a mixing bowl or storage or a great tote for a brown bag lunch at work. I always thought I needed a round bowl but honestly, I have started to prefer the square. Anything in the corners you can get out with a spatula and pouring batter is so much easier out of a corner (silver lining, stuff, I know).

For cooking, a medium size non-stick skillet is pretty important. It seems like an unnecessary weight in your bag, but you will never regret it when you are making eggs or a comforting grilled cheese sandwich.


In addition, you need a recipe book. Not one of those full of recipes, unless you have a favorite. I am talking about a homemade one with all of your own recipes. My moleskin has so many simple recipes that make me feel like am home. Banana break, pancakes, chocolate cupcakes, my Grandma's potato soup recipe. It beats emailing people for their recipes all of the time, and where ever you travel you can add local recipes that you love.


As for ingredients, I always carry a few because you can't be sure when they will be available. Always always always baking powder. I learn that lesson over and over again. Baking soda is available in ever country I have lived in, but not baking powder. I learn that lesson over and over, which is why by boyfriend is bringing some with him when he visits. Another hit or miss is brown sugar. To get an idea of the ingredients that will be available, look up recipes for the local cuisine. Here in Bosnia, baking soda is the only other major baking component besides butter. They don't get much crazier than that. Finally, semi-sweet chocolate chips. Sounds silly, but it is difficult to find semi-sweet chocolate in Europe. Just trust me on this. You will be so happy that you have chocolate chips and brown sugar to make choco-chip cookies. It will remind you of home and nothing is better than food to take you home.

You're reward for getting through this is a banana bread recipe. I have no idea where it is from, my mom always used it and I make it when I want my apartment to smell like home.

Ingredients:
1c sugar
2c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c butter
4tblsp sour cream
2 eggs
3 bananas (browned or ripe)
1 c nuts (optional)
1/2 c choco chips (optional)

The procedure is simple.
1. Mix bananas, butter, eggs and sour cream.
2. Add flour, suga, and baking soda
3. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips
* Because this recipe will make two loaf pans of batter, I like to do half and half. One loaf has nuts and the other has nuts and chocolate chips. If you want both to have chocolate chips, use one cup.

Bake until golden brown on top at 350 degrees.

And for my single dwellers tip, take half of the baked goods to work or freeze it because you don't want to eat all of it by yourself and regret it later. Great in muffin tins for a quick breakfast. Enjoy!

Sarajevo! A new frontier

If you haven't noticed, Sarajevo isn't on the worlds' fastest growing cities list. People aren't pushing and shoving in the airport to get through immigration and settle down here.

Well, I am, at least for a little while.

I have been to Bosnia two times before. Now I have moved and settled in an apartment about 20 minutes from city center. It is a huge change, but not as big as you may think. It's just that, change.

I am learning here.

Of course I have an internship, working on finding a job and living in a country where the native language is completely different from my own. There is a lot of learning going on.

My kitchen is a brand new experience too. I am very lucky. I have a nice big fridge, an oven and a stove top. Things are good. The downside is that leaving London, I also left my kitchen that was stocked with flour, sugar, spices and the other basic ingredients any cook needs. With a new kitchen, I've had to rebuild, restock, re-organize.

Another change is that I don't have anyone to cook for, which, for lack of a better word, sucks. I love to cook for my friends, for my family. I am just one person and I cannot eat the food I cook for people all on my own. As a consequence, I have to plan a lot more. The food I cook has to be adaptable and can be used to make many different meals.

Last week, I roasted a chicken and two pounds of vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms). From that roasted chicken and veggies, I made four different meals. First, I kept the drumsticks and made easy meals to pull out of the freezer. Just drumsticks and veggies. The second meal was a soup. I poured frozen peas, two cups of chicken broth, roasted veggies and shredded chicken into a plastic bowl. This is a pretty tasty soup to begin with, but you can add cream or a cheese once it is thawed for a little more flavor.

I also made corn and potato chowder. I chopped roasted carrots, potatoes and chicken and let it simmer with two cups of chicken broth, one cup of cream and a can of corn. I topped it with pan toasted croutons and parmesan cheese. Delicious!

Finally I put aside red onions and mushrooms to make my own creamy mushroom topping for my own version of mushroom bruschetta.

This is how I feed myself when I am living on my own. This is how I keep myself from eating out or out of a cereal box every night.

What's more. I have a pretty demanding palette. I like variety and spice and flavor. Bosnia has great food, but it doesn't live up to those standards and if I eat Bosnian food all the time, I'm going to have to buy new pants. All of this means that I will be learning how to make the foods I crave. Pad thai, why not. Coconut curry, sure. But I draw the line at Sushi. I don't trust myself with sushi.

If you have any tips or tricks or recipe suggestions, bring em on! This food blog is about to get interesting.

Taste of Maine

Let me start by saying, Maine is awesome. I love everything about the time I spend there, mostly in the Bar Harbor area and around Acadia National Park. The scenery is majestic, people are friendly and the food is insane. The routine and vibe of the island is comforting and when I travel there with my adopted parents, Richard and Lorraine, we always know where we want to go.

We have a must dine list. The Quietside for pizza and ice cream, the Asticou Inn for a sunny day luncheon on the patio, Jordon Pond for a late and lazy afternoon, Jordan's for an All-American pancake breakfast, Abel's for a lobster pound. Life is simple and good in Maine. I attribute my happiness there to the company and the food. I can't say no to the delicacies of the island, and after this post, you won't be able to either.

 First up, Jordan Pond. Famous for their Popovers, Jordan Pond is an institution in the middle of Acadia National Park. The restaurant looks over the pond which provides the island with most of its water.

Popovers are a crowd pleaser. The batter is simple (eggs, milk, flour, baking soda and salt) and bakes quickly into a hallow, fluffy and chewy delight. We tear a chunk off of the side and slide small slabs of butter and jam and seal the hole while the butter and jam melt inside. Generally they sell them in sets of two and almost every dish on the menu comes with a popover. You can find the recipe here (http://www.food.com/recipe/jordan-pond-popovers-360513)

Lorraine and I love the lobster stew there. I can't speak for her, but the first time I had the stew was on a rainy afternoon and we were tired of being in the house. We made our way to Jordan Pond to sit and drink hot chocolate, intending only to eat popovers, but the lobster stew sounded so good we had to try. Now I can't get enough. That recipe is simple too! Chunks of lobster, cream, butter and some lobster broth. Top with oyster crackers and you have amazing comfort food.

Richard doesn't enjoy seafood. But he tells me the grilled ham and cheese is good. After seeing it though, it looks exemplary as well. (He doesn't get excited over food as I do.)

The Asticou Inn is another island institution, although it is a tourist treat more than a local favorite. Most of the people I've dined with there are not from the island. It is delicious nonetheless clad with creative twists on island favorites. Start with a bottle of wine to sip on the sunlit deck and nothing can go wrong. We started with a little cheese platter that had Brie, smoked cheddar and some other treat.

Lorraine and I typically coordinate our orders to maximize utility (i.e. we figure out two things we would both like to try and split them). This visit we tested the lobster roll (yum) and the shrimp po boy (double yum). My apologies for the haphazard photo. We were so excited to taste, we forgot to take a snap shot. By these time we remembered, this is what was on the plate. :) Their fries are the thinnest little trinkets filled with the powerful flavors of truffle oil, parsley and parmesan. This meal could only be made better by one thing, dessert. I will not be challenged on this point, creme brulee is the best and the Asticou delivers.

Creme brulee is not the easiest dessert to make. It requires patience and a great understanding of how eggs and cream work together. I've only ever made it once, and it wasn't great. What's more, I don't like to make it because I end  up keeping it all for myself! Some things are too good to share. Places like the Asticou have a practiced hand.

Enjoy the island and the food!

Baked cheesecake!

Now, I love cheesecake, but I very rarely make it. I'm not sure that my self control (and ego) could take the failure of eating an entire cheesecake by myself. That's why I have a 24 hour rule. I only make cheesecake if I know I will give it to someone (for their birthday, for no reason at all) within 24 hours. This is pretty easy to do, as most everyone I know will take a cheesecake.

The recipe I use is very easy and never fails. And it is easy to adapt to your needs. This cheesecake was made for a good friend on his birthday and he loves blueberries so I dropped a few in. You can also puree or reduce some fruit in simple syrup to give it your own spin. The possibilities are endless, but for now, cheesecake with blueberries.

A quick note on the ingredients, as always. Cheesecake crust is the main trouble here. If you are dedicated to the notion of graham crackers to make the crust, order them online because you really don't find them in Britain or Europe. I use plain digestives cookies, but you can also use Oreos or ginger snaps--- oh ginger snaps would be good!

Ingredients for crust:
2 cups of cookies/biscuits/Oreos, processed to crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), melted
A splash of vanilla

Ingredients for filling:
16 oz/ 500 grams of cream cheese
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon vanilla

Recipe:

1. Combine cookie crumbs, butter, cinnamon and vanilla until evenly moistened. Use coat the pan evenly with the crumbs and pat down with hands. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to firmly press the crust. Don't forget to coat the sides of the pan as well, about 5 centimeters or an inch up. Put in the fridge until ready to use.
2. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs one at a time until combined.
3. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is creamy.
4. Add the sour cream, vanilla and lemon.
     *The filling is very thin, but don't worry. It is supposed to be the consistency of cream.
5. Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Allow to rest in the pan for 30 minutes in the pan before putting it in the fridge. Allow it to set for at least four hours before serving.


Enjoy!

Baking in review

This year has been a whirlwind. The only constant has been my baking. Everything else in London was up in the air. I found comfort in baking. When I was stressed from exams, I baked. When we had birthdays in the group, I baked. And when we left each other after one of the best years of my life, I baked. My last baking project in London was chocolate chip cookies.

I baked chocolate chip cookies in the middle of dissertation madness. We had to have a break from writing, researching, and cursing the gods to enjoy chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches. The rest went toward getting Luuk to Washington DC without starving because I wasn’t sure he was going to make it… (That story is for another time and place).

Here is the list of recipes this year and the many memories we made!!!

Yannik’s Birthday—Double Chocolate cake pops

Richard’s Birthday—Pumpkin Pie

Aurore’s Birthday—White Chocolate Almond Cupcakes

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hugo’s Birthday—Cheesecake

Dominik’s Birthday—Blueberry cheesecake

Study session—Pumpkin Bars

Rebecca’s Birthday—French Silk Pie

Josh’s birthday—Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes with Ganache

One of my favorite memories was my first night out with Rebecca and Pamela, and that amazing chocolate cake from Waitrose. There is absolutely nothing wrong chocolate ganache cake shared between three friends.

Other great memories that I find bittersweet are the times when others have pirated my baking skills—a sacrifice I am willing to make for my friends to gain favor with our professors.

Aurore’s birthday is a for instance. The next morning was a rough one. We had a great night, but Yannik and Aurore has an early meeting with our professor to review their presentation for the next week. They had nothing prepared. Nothing. So they bribed her with a cupcake I baked. I gave Aurore two gifts—birthday cake and that meeting. Because I love her, I let it slide.

A few short weeks later, I was hoodwinked again! It is a tradition I carried over from the family and undergrad. I bake pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to take to the last day of class every Christmas. But this year, we had a lot of fun the night before our 9am class. Very few of my classmates showed up, I won’t name names. It wasn’t until the afternoon seminars that the cookies came out and yet again, my cookies were pirated to gain favor with a preferred professor of the program. That was worth it though. I would bake thousands of cookies just to see Aurore take credit for them because it was so hilarious.

Any other stories are welcome but the reminiscing is getting in the way of my packing. I’m off to a new city. Off to new beginnings, new people, and new opportunities, but I will never forget the people I met, the lessons we learned together and the comfort I found in taking care of them by cooking and baking.

This is why I bake—to see the look on Hugo’s face when he eats cheesecake. Luuk’s smile after chocolate ganache anything. Or the glee on Deborah’s face when we make cake pops together.

I’ll miss these people and baking for them.