Things Could Be Worscht

Today is the day all of the Daring Bakers post their monthly treat for all to see. Since I’m out of the country right now, I haven’t been able to do mine. I actually made the lavash (crackers) here, but I just don’t have the time to get the post done. But things could be worscht..

I’ve come to think of Germany as “The Land of Sausage.” Well… that is because it is. The variety of tube-steak here is utterly mind boggling. Just in the regular grocery store, you can find hundreds of different weiners. You can find it in the refrigerated area, the fancy stuff in the butcher area… even suspended in liquid and unrefrigerated. This one scares me a bit. Meat that doesn’t need refrigeration makes me think of spam. Spam is bad… on many levels. This is where I found a peculiar shape of weiner. Balls. Yes, in Germany, you can find weiners in the shape of balls. I can just imagine the lovely display you could create with weiner balls (appropriately called Party Balls.)

Due to the immense worscht eating society, I’ve noticed a peculiar by-product… a phenomena, if you will. Worscht Air. The air is scented with it. You can be having a nice walk in the neighborhood, and it is possible to catch a whiff. Walk in the city, and you definitely smell it, coming from the grills at the outdoor worscht stalls. I think the frankfurter sellers here have found a way to release the smell into the air, so people constantly crave it… Anyone else that has been in Frankfurt know what I mean?

We’re leaving first thing in the morning for Miami…. it was a fabulous vacation, and three weeks suddenly seemed too short… :(

September 27, 2008 | Filed Under Kitchen Gossip

7 Critiques

Eating our Way Through Roma

As you can see, I’ve put blogging on the back burner… I’m just entirely too busy relaxing and doing the tourist thang. However, between waking up at noon and eating like a swine, I have found the time to blog about our time in Rome. Yes, its tough being me… but once we get home, Stephan and I will be working non-stop for several months.

Rome is an amazing city, and the history there is just fascinating. When you see the Colosseum, which is probably one of the most well known structures in the world, it takes your breath away. You just sit back and wonder how the hell this was built back circa 70 AD. The architecture of Rome is simply gorgeous. Every direction you looked, there is a beautiful sight. We touched on all of the main tourist spots, Colosseum, Vatican, St Peter’s Basilica, etc… but spent the majority of our time on the side streets, just wandering and drinking in all that is Rome. Four full days was the perfect amount of time to spend there and see everything we wanted to see. Also, the weather in September is magnificent in Rome!

One of the totally unexpected moments of our trip was seeing Al Pacino and Robert De Niro at the Rome Red Carpet Premier of Righteous Kill. The event was held in the theater around the corner from our hotel, and we were fortunate enough to arrive there right before Pacino and De Niro arrived. What are the odds of seeing two of my favorite actors TOGETHER… in Italy… bliss I tell ya. I can’t wait to see the movie now!

About the food… Although I did tons of research beforehand, it was difficult to stick to the list of restaurants I had hoped to try. Unfortunately, when you’re walking around Rome, looking at the amazing sights, you get hungry and it is easy to make the mistake of stopping to eat somewhere that preys on tourists. This is where you will get a mediocre meal that costs MUCH more than it should. We found that if we got hungry in a heavily tourist area, it was better to grab a gelato and take time to find a good place to eat. Perhaps this is not the healthiest alternative, but it sure was yummy!

In choosing restaurants to eat, we were looking for traditional but casual Roman fare, preferably with good prices. Its easy to find good restaurants that cost an arm and a leg, but my mission was to find some that were actually well priced. Our best meal was at Antica Boheme, which was just one block from our hotel. We had an amazing dinner with three courses including wine for about 35 Euros per person. Trattoria Lilli was a very close second. Two traditional dishes to try are gnocchi and spaghetti carbonara. I tried them both… a few times. It just so happens they are two of my favorite pasta dishes.

Check out some photos we took of food below, and more amazing photos of Rome on Stephan’s blog.

Flammkuchen and Wein

On our first day in Frankfurt, Stephan and I headed out to Fressgassa (downtown Frankfurt) for a little shopping and sightseeing. As usual, we stop for a little nosh. They had a weinfest where there is traditional foods and wine to sample. This is common during the warm months as the Germans love to sit outside with a beer or wine in the afternoon. We decided to get a Flammkuchen, which is like a very very thin pizza. Ours was topped with Creme Fraiche, feta, pepperoncini and red pepper. Very good. We also shared a glass of white wine and an apfelwein, which is a typical non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice you will find only in Frankfurt. Then we stopped for a Pretzel, then we stopped for…. kaesestangen. Good thing we’re doing a lot of walking, or we would have to buy a new wardrobe while we were here!

We’re off to Rome tomorrow, which I have been looking forward to. We have planned our sightseeing and dining very well, and hope to see (and eat) everything we can in the four days we will be there. I’m sure we will find a little time to take some pics and blog when we’re there.

Some pics of our little snack at the weinfest. Flammkuchen…

Bretzel (soft Pretzel)

September 14, 2008 | Filed Under Kitchen Gossip, Travel

9 Critiques

Cracking Up

Its time for my vacation! Its a much needed time away from the hustle and bustle of my crazy life. Between blogging, my career and Stephan’s business, we stay VERY busy. So when we can find time to take a few weeks to travel, its very necessary! We leave today for Frankfurt, Germany and then will be making side trips to Cologne (for Photokina), Rome and possibly (hopefully!) Amsterdam. I do plan on blogging while we’re away, since we lug the “big” camera everywhere we go. You can also keep up with Stephan’s blog, as he will definitely be updating more than me.

As for today’s post… they are some of the easiest crackers you will ever make. I think a monkey (OK, a well trained one) could make this. All it takes is about 10 minutes mixing and rolling, and another 10 or so in the oven. Fresh, delicious crackers in no time. I saw the recipe in Gourmet Magazine (July 08) and knew I had to try it. You rarely come across such a fool-proof recipe that sounds so good. I made two batches, both very different, both fabulously tasty. The first batch (as photographed) was as the recipe was written with fresh rosemary. The 2nd batch was with 1/2 whole wheat flour, pink peppercorn and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Unfortunately, too much wine = no photo of 2nd batch…. but it was fantastic!

Twisted Bureaucracy (and Cookies)

We’ve been tying up all the loose ends in preparation of our (much needed) vacation which starts in a little over a week. One of the things I did this week was get the dogs’ international health certificates in order. As I sat in the waiting room of the USDA, waiting for my vet to fax over the completed paperwork, a woman came in. She did not have an appointment, but did have all of her paperwork in order. It took 2 supervisors and the receptionist ( who was probably playing solitary) to explain that they could not help her since she did not have an appointment and they didn’t take walk-ins after 8am. It was 8:20am. In the time they discussed their rules on appointment making, they could have easily stamped her documents. I understand that the woman should have made an appointment… but the waiting room was completely EMPTY. If the room as packed, as it was when we traveled at Christmas last year, I’d understand. But this was ridiculous… I don’t know if that was pure laziness or a rule that just couldn’t be broken. Either way, it was stupid and a perfect example of a government office (not so) hard at work.

So on to my twisted cookies… (nice segue, eh?) Two of my favorite ingredients when it comes to sweets are almonds and honey. When I came across this cookie that has a large amount of both… I just had to try it. This Sicilian twisted cookie, Infasciadedde, comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri. Mine looked nothing like the photo in the book, but they were still very tasty. We’ll call mine rustic… this is the word I use whenever something I make looks like poo, but tastes fantastic. Repeat after me… Rustic.

Spicing Up Lunch

Stephan and I finally got to sample our first Miami Spice menu of the season. We chose Novecento in Coral Gables primarily because we would be on Miracle Mile and it was in the vicinity. When I was looking for restaurants that were offering Miami Spice lunch, I noticed several offered only sandwiches, salads or wraps for the special menu. This is clearly not true when speaking of Novecento. Their menu was surprisingly varied and had a nice selection of courses.

As per the usual, we ordered different things, so we could try more stuff. First course: Stephan chose the empanadas (one beef and one chicken) and I had the blue cheese, arugula and roasted beet salad. Although I’m not a big fan of beets, this was a wonderful salad. Perhaps I should give beets another chance? Yes I should.
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