Veggie Lasagne - American style

Dear Lal, I can't believe it has been over a year since I tried your delicious vegetable lasagne at one of your guys's dinner parties around Chritmas 2013. We had just started to become friends and your cooking skills were one more thing that convinced me what a great person you are :) Anyways, after bugging you for the recipe for months, it took me now so long to recreate. I had to make some "cultural" adjustments, as not every cheese was available here in Germany. Thanks for this amazing recipe!

Note: I call this the "American style lasagne" because in America you use Ricotta cheese instead of Bechamel sauce (which is more European style). Also, it is a little hard to find Fontinella cheese (which is a north American cheese) or Asiago cheese in Germany, so I substituted with other semi-hard cheeses. As for the veggies, I added a zucchini and I am sure you can add/substitute anything you like, but what I really enjoyed was, that the pieces were big.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 jars pastasauce (tomatoes)
• 1 box lasagne noodles
• 500 g (16 oz) ricotta cheese
• 500 g morzarella cheese, shredded
• 250 g fontinella chesse, shredded (or subsitute with manchego)
• 250 g asiago cheese, shredded (or substitute with pecorino romano)
• 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
• 2 teaspoons oregano, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 red pepper, cut in big pieces
• 1 green pepper, cut in big pieces
• 1 zucchini, cut in thin stripes
• 1 onion, cut into half rings
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt, pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit.

• Boil the lasagne noodles in salted water for about 3-5 min each and lay them on a plate. Do not lay them on top of each other as they would stick. The noodles don't need to be fully cooked, just softened.
• Make a ricotta cheese mix (this would be where Europeans use bechamel sauce). Add the ricotta chesse, the egg, about 1/4 of each of the other cheeses, and the herbs to a bowl. Mix well, salt and pepper.
• Fry up the vegetables (peppers, zucchini, onion, garlic) for about 5-10 minutes (depending on how big the pieces are). The vegetables are not supposed to be cooked fully, you only want to bring out some of the flavor.
• Spread a little of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the caserole and then start layering your lasagne: First, add a layer of lasagne noodles. Second, spread a thin layer of the ricotta mix on top of the noodles. Third, add a layer of tomato sauce on top of the ricotta mix. Fourth, sprinkle some of the veggies on top. Fifth, sprinkle some of the shredded cheese on top (2 parts morzarella to 1 part of each of the other cheeses). Repeat this about 3 times. The last layer should be noodles, ricotta mix, sauce and sprinkled cheese (without veggies).
• Bake in the oven for about 30-45 minutes till the cheese on top is melted and golden brown.

Ricotta cheese mix

Last layer ends with shredded cheese

Dinnerparty November 2013

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BRUNCH TIME - Black Forest Buns

This is something that I made a year ago and never found time to post. I love desert, especially something with chocolate, fruits and a nice icing glaze. I came across a recipe of these amazing Black Forest Buns and just had to try them.They are similar to the traditional cinamon rolls for brunch, but they have so much more...

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg (room temperatur)
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3 cups all purpose flour

For the Filling:

• 1 large can cherry pie filling
• 1 can cherries in syrup
• 3 large chocolate cupcakes

For the Icing Glaze

• 1 cup powder sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preparation:

1. Combine water and milk and heat slightly in the microwave for a few seconds. Add one teaspoon of sugar, stir well. Add the yeast, stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. That will activate the yeast in about 5 minutes. You will see it bubble.
2. Use a food processor and add the flour, sugar, salt, melted butter and milk/yeast mix. Process till dough forms a ball. You might need to add a little bit more flour. You can also do it by hand, but its easier with the food processor or dough mixer.
3. Grease a big bowl, place the dough ball into it. Cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm spot and let rest and rise for 1.5 hours until it has doubled in size. Then open it up, punch the dough down, wrap it up again and let rest and rise for another 0.5 hours.
4. Now, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle. Pour the cherry pie filling on top of it, distribute evenly. Drain the other cherries and add them. Crumble up the chocolate muffin on top of it.
5. Roll the dough from the long side into a jelly roll. Slice it into 1.5 inch thick slices and place those pieces into a greased pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes till it doubled in size.
6. Bake it at 350 degree Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. If you used a lot of filling, you might need to bake it longer. It should be slighly golden brown on top.
7. Let the pan cool for 30 minutes. Combine the powder sugar and cream until it is a thick paste that you can drizzle from a spoon. Drizzle it over the dough. Cut and serve.

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New Year's Resolution for Pudica's Food Corner

My dear followers,

a new year has started and how better to start it than with some very motivated resolutions for the new year. I have big plans for my food blog and want to try to make it a little bit more professional. My final goal is, after I have posted enough of my Mom's Recipes, to put together a cookbook about those recipes, but this might still be out a couple of years....

For this year, I am planning the following changes:

• Register a domain name to add a little bit more security to my own blog and to have a nicer name (without the "blogspot")
• Buying a template that is actually more pleasing and more professional
• Trying to add a custom made header including Pudica's picture
• Adding a menu point featuring speacial topics, such as "Brunch at Bobby's", "Tea Time", etc.
• Talking a little bit more about Food Photography
• And maybe trying out to add some ads... 

Wish me luck with my resolutions and I hope that 2015 will be a successful year for everyone!
 Cheers,

            Pudica

My Mom's "Apfelkuchen" (Apple Cake German style)

It's Christmas time and this year I am back home with family in a small town in southern Germany, near the blackforest. To my delight it even started snowing which transforms this little town into a fairytale landscape. My Mom decided to make her special German style Apple Cake. she doesn't bake much, but this cake is just a dream. It's really moist, the apples are almost like apple sauce and combined with the almonds and sweetness of the jelly-rum glace, it's just delicious. I have tried to make it myself, but it never is the same :)

Here is the recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 200 g Butter
• 200 g Sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1 pinch of Salt
• 200 g Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder 
• 1 Lemon
• 6 Apples (tart, e.g. Boskop)
• 3 tablespoons of Red Currant Jelly
• 100 g Almond Slices
• 6-10 teaspoons of Apricot Jelly
• 5 teaspoons of Rum
• Powder Sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 330 degree Fahrenheit.

1. Whisk butter and sugar till foamy. Add eggs one by one. Combine salt, flour and baking powder. Add spoon by spoon to the egg mix. Pour dough into a buttered spring form.
2. Next, prepare the apples. Use a kind of apple that is slightly sour such as Boskop. Peel apples and cut in half, remove the core. Put the apple halves face down on a cutting board and cut them lenghtwise in thin slices but do not cut entirley through, just scratch them (hasselback style, see picture). Drizzle the lemon juice over the apples. Add a bit of red currant jelly in each apple half.
3. Arrange the apple halves face down in a circle in the baking form and add more in the middle (see picture). Top everything off with sliced almonds. 
4. Bake in preheated oven at 330 degree Fahrenheit for 35-45 minutes on the lower rack. Try with a fork whether cake is ready (pinch the dough, if fork comes out clean, cake is ready).
5. In the meantime, combine the apricot jelly and rum and heat it up. After the cake is done, coat the top sides of the apples that peek through the cake with the jelly-rum mix. This will give the cake a nice glance. Let cool for a bit. Then sprinkle with powder sugar.

And the main star: Kitty :)

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At "Tamra's" in Berlin

Tamra 

- a tiny little Arabic restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin, my new neighborhood. It was one of those days you don't want to cook, long and emotionally stressful. So we decided to try this little place for Dinner as it carries the name of a very special friend. We took it as a sign :) And indeed. The food was delicious.

What we ordered:

• We bought a mixed appetizer plate (Tamra Platte), really good to try all the different little things that when you read the name you just don't know what it is (e.g. Metabel? Kobbe Taschen?)... 
• We also ordered the special of the day, a Cous Cous tangine. 
• And of course a banana-guave shake and a mango lassie to share. 

The owner/ waitress was very accomodating, the place was small and quiet with a nice atmoshpere and I would recommend this place to anyone. However, be aware that the bill that you will get, will be handwritten and an estimate but that should not hinder you to try the food :)

Culinary Experience in Breslau (Poland)

My friend Bianka spent her birthday in Poland with her boyfriend Nick and her family. We took the chance to take the bus and drove over there for 2-3 days, it was only a four hour drive from Berlin and we had never been to Poland before. It was so nice to meet my friend's parents, to see where she grew up and to have another get together to play Cards Against Humanity and to drink some foreign beer :)

Wroclaw (also called Breslau in Germany) is the largest city in western Poland. An interesting fact about it, during World War II, half the city was destroyed during the "Battle of Breslau". During this time the city became a fortress, to be hold at all cost. They surrendered two days before the end of the war. Today, a lot has been rebuilt. It is a beautiful town with lots of history.

What we ate - Real Polnish highlights and all from scratch:

As it turned out, this was not just a visit to see my friends and do some sightseeing. We had the privilege that Bianka's Mom cooked all the traditional Polnish food for us to try.

• Borscht - I am a big fan of soups, and this one was special. It is a beetroot soup, pretty clear, you can add some big beans as toppings. It had an unusual flavor for a soup, but very tasty. On the second day, the flavors are even stronger and you actually get it served in a little cup to drink up. Very interesting.
• Pierogies - Bianka's Mom made dozens of these little dumplings from scratch, I think they were stuffed with cheese or potatoes and served with traditional sour cream and parsley.
• Bigos - Also called a "Hutner's Stew", this is a mix of sauerkraut, cabbage and sausages, served with some potatoes on the side. Bianka's Mom made it the day before, so that the flavors can develop over night. It tasted delicious.
• Polnish cured meat, cheese and quail eggs - This was the standard breakfast that we got. And you all know what a big fan of breakfasts I am. This was like a dream buffet, especially because I do like any kind of salami. And Bianka's Mom was so nice to serve us some fresh quail eggs, first day sunny side up and the second day hard boiled. This was a first for me to cook (or assist cooking) and eat quail eggs :)
• Bismarck Herring - As Nick told me we have to try herring, I thought this will be one thing I will definitely not try. Well, I was wrong. I imagined finding these little ugly canned herring, but Nick and Bianka bought a selection of three different big curred and pickled bismarck herring that had no similarity to the canned ones. This was another little hightlight as I found out that I do like herring, especially the one with tomatoes and onions (middle one in the picture).

And of course, we did drink some Polnish beer. I cannot really say that I know what I tried (as I couldn't read the language) but I trusted Nick and Bianka and tried quite a few :)

At the oldest restaurant in the world: 

"Piwnica Świdnickathe" - basement restaurant of the Old Town Hall

You could say that for 2-3 days, we had all the food we needed, but we were able to even squeeze in some restaurants. They told us we just have to try the Old Town Hall restaurant as it is supposed to be the oldest in the world. Such a cute place, it has several different rooms and each has a different atmosphere. The food was delicious and very nicely arranged and served. 

• Zurek (left in picture) - Soup in a bread bowl made of soured rye flour, meat and egg (Sauermehlsuppe im Brot mit Ei und Weiswurst)
• Herring (middle in picture) with onions and apple in cream sauce
• Oscypek (right in picture) - Smoked cheese (Bergkäse) made of sheep milk exclusively from the Tatra Mountain Region in Poland, served with cranberry sauce

What we saw

Next to the delicious food, we actually also saw quite a bit of Breslau in those days and we had beautiful weather. Here is a quick ovreview of the hightlights:

• Market Square (Großer Ring zu Breslau)
• Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) with its delicious basement restaurant
• Flower Market (former Salt Square)
• Butchers Lane
• Dozens of Dwarfs (as part of an "Fighting Solidarity - Anti-Communist underground organization of 1982, the Orange Alternative)
• Wroclaw's Cathedral (Breslauer Dom) at the Cathedral's Island
• University of Wroclaw: Aula Leopoldina and panoramic view from the "Mathematik Turm"

Top: University of Wroclaw (at the top of the mathematic tower and Leopoldina Aula), Bottom: Market Square and Dwarfs

TEA or BRUNCH TIME: Etagere Brunch at Anna Blume in Berlin - Germany

As you might have noticed on my abundance of brunch and tea time posts lately, I really became a fan of these three tier etageres. I keep looking for brunch and tea places with those, however, it becomes more and more difficult for me to separate those for the TEA TIME or BRUNCH TIME posts... This was a brunch, but for every breakfast of mine, tea had to go with it.

Anna Blume

We tried this little cafe in Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg) called "Anna Blume". I actually went there before, once, about 6 years ago to drink some tea. My good friend Anna-Maria suggested I should try it. Her sister lives in Berlin and so they had experience. And what better reference than from a good friend? Of course I tried it out again.
First, I went there alone on an afternoon to get some tea and a slice of their German style "torte" that they advertise on their website. It was a delcious berry chocolate torte. Something very special was also the tea. It came in a small pot with candied brown sugar. They have a huge selection of fresh tea, black and green, herbal tea and berry tea. This time I chose a 'Wildorange' tea.
The next time I went to Anna Blume with my boyfriend and two friends. We tried their famous three tier etagere brunch, some more tea (this time a green tea with some berry flavor), a glass of mimosa (which the Germans don't seem to know) and a slice of their cake (a huge slice of carrot cake with walnuts) and had a great time.

Brunch at Anna Blume

We were four people and ordered the three tier brunch for 3-4 people which was enough food for all of us. This is Anna Blume's special and has a bit of everything from all the other brunch options. In addtion to the three tier etagere, we also got a dish with scrambled eggs and a basket of German style rolls and bread.

• The first tier had fresh fruits.
• The second tier had an array of salamie, smoked salmon, deli meat, and cheese.
• The third tier had some antipasti, grilled vegetables and also a bit of rice salad.

I did like the food, especially the salami, smoked salmon and the antipasti. However, there were a few things, I wasn't really used to and didn't know where to place them. So were the scrambled eggs really orange, and then there were a few little scoops of fresh dill cream cheese and horseradish and a small bowl of some sort of jam or red fruit jelly. Everything together, I really enjoyed the experience, the food and the tea. 

Top Tier

Middle Tier

Bottom Tier

German style rolls and bread